Pete the Cat--I Love my White Shoes

Lucy LOVES going to story-time, which leads to a lot of playing "story-time lady" at our house.  She knows a few books really well (the ones we love) and this is one of them.  I present Pete the Cat:  I Love my White Shoes read by my favorite little story-time lady.

 

babies and ukeleles

We got a pink ukulele.  The idea is for Lucy to start learning, but I've been playing around with it and really enjoy it, too.  We're just working on strumming and holding it right for her right now, but she feels like a rock star.  Well, maybe more like a worship leader.  We often play first thing in the morning (when she's climbed into my bed WITH the ukulele, making it pretty necessary for me to get up).  Here is one morning's strum session:

We started to play but Lucy had to take care of her baby.

Then she got down to business.  This one is kind of long but I couldn't cut it off--she's so... soulful :)

(click here.)

 

And, jus so you realize how diverse her musical leanings are:

 

 

sliding, climbing, leaping

 

dress up

"I'm so styled!" she said.

Head tilt that is oh-so-familiar to me.

Glam is all in the (many, many, many) accessories.

Nana and baby are glam, too  :)

 

fun this summer

Lucy Joy,

You are a delight to you Mama!  I love my little Joy-Belle SO much.  Summer-time is especially fun because we get to spend all day together.

You keep saying Floor-to-Ceiling like it's a place ("When are we going to Florida-Ceiling?")  I have no idea  where you heard that.  Your geography also includes "Norgen Entucky" (Northern KY) and North Korea (I've been praying for them and you have too, but you keep asking when we'll go there and I really, really don't want to go there.)

You sing songs from your heart.  They are precious.

You  have a lot of ideas.  For example, on the way home, you started with, "One day at a store I saw pretty girls putting makeup on their LIPS!"  Our conversation wound around to this, "Well, I was thinking that after I get my hair done maybe we could go there and I can try that?"

This.  Just always.

Your prayers make your Mama's heart happy.  And your Maker's heart, I feel sure.

We talked about the Africa exhibit we were going to see at the zoo and you asked if we could bring a baby back from there.  (I wish!)

You are so enthusiastic about everything.  It makes little things like making our beds (whoo-hoo) and going to Kroger (yay!) a lot more fun when you give it a little fanfare.

We did a little re-decorating now that you're sleeping In your big girl bed.  We love it!

You noticed that I had pepper in my teeth as I tucked you in the other night.  I rebuffed multiple efforts on your part to get your tiny little fingernails intp my mouth and help me out.  At one point not long after that, we were smiling at each other and you gently took your thumb and finger and closed my lips over my teeth.  I guess if I wouldn't let you help with the pepper situation, you didn't want to look at it!

You're devoted to your idea to marry Silas.  You wondered out lout the other day, "I wonder if Silas will want us to live in Indiana?"   Yikes!  Nope!  You're staying put with your Mama!

You're doing a lot of thinking ahead and planning for your "four-year-old birthday.

You spend lots of time in tutus.  And princess dresses. 

Your best come-back is calling me a "stinkah-baGOOgah" (and CRACKING up at your silly self)!

You call ahead to Ms. Connie's if you're going to be there to pre-order your favorite, usually asking for a specific breakfast and lunch.  You eat like I've not fed you.  And you still say that your favorite food that I make is... Chipotle.  (Sigh.)

On a completely unrelated note, we've been having green smoothies for breakfast (fruit, almonds and lots of spinach!).  We're talking about and working toward eating healthy.  You always take a big slurp and then say, "You're welcome, body!"

You have your first journal, all of your own for you to write in.  You love it.  You spend lots of time making special drawings and letters and it just makes me happy to see you curled up with it.  I totally agree--a brand new journal is just endless possibilities!

A few more things:  You love high-fives.  Every bug you see is a spider.  You plop into my bed atrociously early and you want to talk about what we're going to do today.  (But first we both have to face each other propped up on our elbows). You have lovely manners.  You love to do ballet spins.  You rush out of bed at night with that little sleep-cap on with your made-up emergencies and
   and and and
           I just can't believe
                how blessed I am
                       to be your Mama.

 

His Word in her heart

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 6:23

 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10:13

 

 

This is Lucy saying the verses above (for the most part).  I share this because I'm so thankful that God's Word is in her heart already, at three years old.   It's so sweet--she even prays God's word (something that I'm trying to do that she just seems to naturally do).  Her prayers have these verses and the others she's learned woven into them.  It's indescribably precious to hear her little voice praying things like, "Thank you that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I'm not sharing this as an indication of any parenting skills, because it's God's grace that she's learning these things!  We stumbled into a few good things early, and I want to share a resource that I think has really made an impact in this area of our lives.  It's music from Seeds Family Worship (click here).  I've mentioned it before--we love it!  The song above with the verses from Romans is from the Seeds of Faith CD.  (You can listen to a sample here, and I just saw that if you're an amazon prime member, several of their songs are free--check them out!)  We also have the Purpose and Courage CDs in the player in the car, and we just listen to them as we go about.  It has been such a simple thing--just listening as we're in the car, and singing along (not big Bible-memory-cramming-sessions).  It has been a huge blessing. 

Let me just say that the first time I listened to any of the CDs, there were just a song or two that I really enjoyed, and the rest (as far as the music) were just okay.  BUT, many many many play-backs later, I enjoy most of the songs.  And they're lodged in my heart just like they're lodged in Lucy's.  They are mostly verses I knew before, but somehow having them to a tune just makes them pop into my head, often right when I need them.  On the Purpose CD there is this verse:  Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (I Thes. 5:16-18).  When I'm wondering about (read: worrying about) making the right choices or how to know God's will, it just pops up in my mind and helps me simplify--I can do those three things and KNOW that (at least that part) IS God's will for me, and that's always a good place to start.  So what I'm saying is that it's good for the grown-ups, too.

Has anyone else enjoyed the Seeds music?  Anyone else have good verse resources to share?

 

lovely night

We had a lovely night with some friends over.  They are just awesome.  They came over with lots of laughs and no comments on the sorry state of my house.  They prayed with us for little A who we think will be rejoining her family on Thursday.  They seemed totally cool with having their hair fixed and their skin accidently drawn on with a marker (and then wiped off with a Lucy-spit-bath!) and they even took out our trash.

I was so happy watching you.  You were so very much yourself.  You were funny and silly and serious, too.  You joined right in the conversations and invented (and ran) a few group games.  Alan was getting a little sleepy, so you tucked him in with a blanket and then "read" him No More Elephants.

You took a turn to pray for A when the rest of us did.  You prayed out confidently, "Dear God, thank you that we can take care of A.  And thank you that she is going to her grandma.  And thank you that we taked good care of her like you want us to. In your Son's name, Amen."  That moment--me in the floor, and you on my lap, and our friends who had just prayed with us and for us, and your sweet voice talking with God--that moment is a treasure in my heart.  It was super-special.

We were talking about upcoming weddings of friends and details and Keshia asked, "What about you girls?  What kind of wedding do you want?" (to Abby and I).  Lucy piped right up.  "I think I'm going to be married with Silas.  Then we will be husband and wife. I think I will be nine years old.  And then we will be husband and wife and we will live here with Mama and A.  And we will be husband and wife and then we will be a mom and a dad.."  "How many kids do you want to have?" Keshia asked her.  Lucy looked at her like she was a little slow to catch on.  "I said, Mama and A," she replied, like we would be her "kids."

It was storming, and you handed out instruments and instructed us to make storm music.  I was assigned lightning.  You scurried about, turning off all the lights so that I could flicker the chandelier on and off.  Alan's maracas sounded like rain, and you drummed away on the metal folding chair with your hands flat to make really thunderous thunder.  I love that you thought it was possible for us to make storm sounds and then... you actually did it, from your own ideas!  You're so creative, Lucy Joy.  God made you really cool, I think.  I'm thankful to be your Mama.