Turning Four

Jack turned four today.  As usual, God used an everyday parenting moment to teach me something.

Last night when I was putting Jack to bed, I took a super cute video of him and his thoughts on turning four (apparently four-year-olds can use real hammers.  Did anyone else know that?).  He finished by saying, "Bye three!  See you next year!"  After I stopped recording I explained how he actually wouldn't see three ever again.

And that sweet boy started to cry.  I was so confused.  Why is the kid crying when tomorrow is his birthday?  He's so excited for his birthday!  What is going on?  And then through the tears I heard, "I wanna keep being thrrrreeeeeeee!!!"

As a parent, I had a brief moment of panic.  What do I say to that?

What came out of my mouth next was most definitely from the Holy Spirit.  Because it was pretty awesome.  Whenever something awesome comes out of my mouth, it's because I have no idea what to say and the Holy Spirit steps in and speaks instead.

"Hey buddy.  God made us to grow and change.  He doesn't want you to stay three forever.  He made you to grow up.  He made you to turn four, and after that five, and six, and lots more!  He's going to keep teaching you new things as you grow up, so it's so awesome that you get to be four tomorrow!  And how about this, tomorrow mommy or daddy will help you use a real hammer!"

Okay, so the hammer thing was from me again.  But I'm so glad the Holy Spirit stepped in and spoke when it did.  Seriously.  That little message was for me just as much as it was for Jack.

God made us to grow and change.  It's obvious for kids.  They get bigger and learn things and develop new skills from year to year.  But as adults it's easy to forget to keep learning.  Keep growing.  Keep changing.  It's easy to think, "Well this is just the way I am."  Maybe it is.  Or maybe it's something that's keeping us from living out who God created us to be.  Who He is continually creating us to be.

This week I've been thinking a lot about my goals for 2014.  Probably sometime tomorrow or next week I'll write them down in my journal and on my bathroom mirror.  Goals of where I feel like God is leading me as a wife, mother, friend, employee, and child of Him.  I've been praying that He will point out some things that He wants me to consciously work on.  Things that will help me continue to grow and change this year.  Because I'm not done.  Not even close.  He is working on me and I can't wait to see what He will teach me in 2014.  And beyond.

We can try to stay three forever.  But it's so much better to turn four.

Happy New Year!

30 for 30 (32 days later)

It would have been a lot more poetic if I wrote this post two days ago.  30-30-30.  I thought about it two days ago.  Does that count?

I'm not going to share everything I did (see my last blog post).  After that post, I got a lot of feedback saying that no one thought I had wrong motives, and if people thought bad of me, who cares?  I appreciate the comments, but I wasn't concerned with what people thought, good or bad.  I was following the Holy Spirit's promptings and my personal conviction about Jesus' words in Matthew 6.  I had a wonderful time sharing some of my 30 for 30, and I had a wonderful time keeping some of them between me and Jesus.

I can't post this without mentioning The Birthday Project.  That's where I got this idea.  Look them up, they are wonderful.  Like them on Facebook.  And be inspired.

So here's my list.  Feel free to copy these ideas.  Most of them are not mine to begin with anyway.  If you see a number missing, it's because that one is a secret.  :)

I started my day a little before 7:00 am.  I wanted to do a whole bunch of my acts of kindness by myself in the morning so I could have a more relaxing afternoon/evening to spend with my family.  I got my little kindness kit ready: post-it notes, a roll of pennies, a roll of quarters, a bunch of dollar bills, gift cards, note cards, tape, pen, etc.  I got 22 acts done before 10:30 am!

1. Left a thank-you card and a small gift card for our mail carrier.  Taped it to the mailbox.  There is one lady that is my absolute favorite mail carrier.  If we're outside she always takes time to chat with us for a minute and she is so sweet!  I had no idea which mail carrier would be coming that day (especially since it was a Saturday), but turns out it was her!  How do I know?  Because about a week later I found this in the mailbox:

5. Stopped by Starbucks to get my morning coffee.  Left a little thank you note for one of our favorite baristas.  Just like the mail lady, she always wants to chat with us and play with our kids for a minute, even if Starbucks is crazy busy.  A few days later I was in there again and she said THANK YOU, and that our note made her day.  :)

8.  Took my treat receipt from Starbucks, put it in a baggie along with $2.16 and left it on the front porch of a friend.  (This one was gonna be a secret, but she texted me later in the day to say thanks.  :)  That's what happens when your friends know about 30-for-30.)

Next I went to Meijer.  I had to buy some stuff for Paisley's party the next day anyway.  While I was there I did a few acts of kindness:

9. Left a baggie full of pennies on the horse ride with a little note that said, "Take one!"

10.  Left a few quarters on the candy machines in the entrance.  

11.  When I went in to use the bathroom, I had an idea.  Yes, when I was sitting on the toilet.  I left encouraging notes on the mirrors in the bathroom.  Girls/women can be so hard on themselves, especially when looking in the mirror.  I'm hoping that the right people walked into the bathroom that day and read these words that they needed to hear!

This was probably my favorite act of kindness for the day.  Partially because I thought it up all by myself, on the spot.  And then someone told me about Operation Beautiful.  Check it out!

12.  While I was at Meijer I bought a few bags full of food items for the food pantry at Pathway.  Took them over to the church and delivered them to the food collection bin.

15.  Sent a care package to a young couple who lives far away from family.

16.  Paid for the car behind me at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru.  I was hoping he wouldn't see me, but he caught up with me at the stop light and rolled down his window.  He said, "Was this you? Wow! I never get a dozen donuts!  We have friends visiting from out of town!  Thank you so much!"  Okay, that kind of made my day.  

17.  Put gas in Dustin's car.  Don't forget your family when you're doing acts of kindness!

18.  Scattered pennies around a local park.  Because kids LOVE to find pennies, am I right?

22.  Brought donuts home to my family.  They were so excited!  

And that wrapped up my morning.  22 acts of kindness in about 3.5 hours.  It was like I was a ninja.  A Kindness Ninja!

Which brings me to Kindness Ninjas.  I stumbled across this awesomeness a couple years ago when we got a canvas from CanvasOnDemand.  When they sent us our order, they also included some Kindness Ninja cards.  I think the name "Kindness Ninja" is pretty self-explanatory.  But if you want to learn more, click the link above.  I took LOTS of Kindness Ninja cards with me throughout the day and I left them whenever I did something random (pennies on the horse, I gave one to the DD worker to give to the car behind me, etc.).  I highly recommend being a Kindness Ninja.  It is so fun!

After Paisley's morning nap we went to the zoo.  All four of us.  My pace slowed waaaaay down, but that was the point.  To be able to spend time with my family.  And do a few acts of kindness together.

23. We bought extra tokens at the giraffe exhibit.  Jack got to use one to feed the giraffes, and then he helped me pick out other kids to give the rest to.  I was surprised how my shy little boy was so eager to help give away the tokens to kids he didn't know!

This has nothing to do with acts of kindness.
It's just my crazy little family on the log ride on my birthday.  Love them!

24. When Jack and I were waiting in line at the bathroom to change into his swimsuit (for the next act of kindness!), a mom and little girl were in line behind us, and I could tell the little girl REALLY had to pee.  So we let them go in front of us in line.

25.  This might be my favorite act of kindness.  The whole reason I wanted to take my family to the zoo.  My act of kindness for Jack.  EVERY single time we walk past this fountain, he wants to get in it.  And EVERY single time, I've said, "Maybe next time."  Well today was the day. 

He was so excited!  And a little intimidated by the other kids in the fountain.  But all in all, he had a great time.

We left the zoo and took the kids home for nap time.  My parents came over so Dustin and I could finish the last few acts of kindness by ourselves.  

26.  This might be my favorite act of kindness (wait, have I said that before?).  I have a good friend (who shall remain anonymous) who owns a recording studio (wait, did that give it away?).  When he heard about my 30-for-30, he wanted to be a part of it.  So he donated a 4-hour recording session, enough to record and mix one song.  And he told me I could give it to anyone I wanted to.  I was SO excited!  I gave it to another very good friend of mine who writes songs in her spare time.  I called her and had to tell her in a voice mail.  But she called me back a couple hours later and told me that my voice mail made her cry!  She was so excited and thankful for the gift!  And I am excited for my friends to get together and record something beautiful.  Can't wait to hear it!  

27. We had a gift card to Biaggi's lying around our house (actually we had three, but I only used one for this).  I walked into the restaurant and gave it to the hostess (along with a Kindness Ninja card) and told her to give it to the next person who walked in the door.  

28. We walked into Bed, Bath, and Beyond and left a gift card (with a KN card) on a random shelf.  Well, not totally random.  Dustin got to pick.  And so we put it in the coffee section.  Of course.

29.  This one was maybe the most fun!  We left Starbucks gift cards (and KN cards, of course) inside books at Barnes & Noble.  It was fun looking through the books and figuring out which books to put them in!  We had four gift cards: Dustin picked a nursing book, one that he said every nursing student needs to purchase at some point.  I picked a book about Elvis.  Dustin picked a book about Tim Tebow.  And then I picked a novel called Snow Baby or something like that.  It was so fun!  And we were trying not to get caught, so that always adds to the fun.  :) 

30.  Last one!  I made up a few little baggies with $1.07 in them.  And we went to the dollar store and left them throughout the toy section.  Hope those made some little kids' day!

And that was it.  We went to Panera and ate dinner together before we headed home.  It was such a wonderful day!  I wouldn't have chosen anything else to do for my 30th birthday.  I was pooped (I might be getting old?), but so excited to think about how the tiny little things I did could maybe bless someone else in a big way.

And I was blessed too.  

Thinking on 30 for 30

I've gotta admit, I've been torn.  Torn with this whole "30 for 30" thing.

It's not whether I want to do it or not.  I'm so excited about that!  I'm torn with how much to share about it.  On this blog, on Facebook, in conversation, etc.  The past couple weeks I've been wrestling with thoughts like, "Am I tooting my own horn?  Am I being like the hypocrites that Jesus describes in Matthew 6..."

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

(I actually had this passage in mind BEFORE my good friend Tyler preached on it last Sunday. Funny how things line up like that.)

The last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself with this thing.  However, I feel like I need to share what I'm doing. That's what inspires people.  After all, I got the idea from reading about another lady who did it.  If she hadn't ever blogged about it, I would never have gotten inspired to do it.  You can read about her birthday here.  Her blog also inspired something called The Birthday Project.  You should go LIKE that on Facebook.  Super awesome.  

So after some serious thought and prayer, I have decided to share only part of my 30 acts of kindness.  Some of the stuff will be seen, and some of it will be unseen.  You'll have to trust that I'm actually doing 30 (I promise I will!), but I feel good about that.  I love that some of my acts of kindness will be a secret. That kinda makes it more fun!  

And now I'm just excited.  Can't wait for Saturday!!!

Mr. Beverage

Ok, real quick post.  Not sure why his name is Mr. Beverage.  Pretty sure that's a nickname. Anyway, I said I would post about him, so here he is.

His house is about the size of my living room.  He invited us all inside.  We barely fit in there.  And he has ten kids!  (Not all the kids were around for this photo.)  To be honest, I don't really know if he's their dad or uncle or what, but he's a pretty cool guy.  We gave his family lots and lots of FMSC meals.

If any of you Haiti ladies have any more clarity on Mr. Beverage, feel free to comment.  I guess I don't know a lot about him.  Except I like his name.  :)

Jeffrey

Haiti Day 4 Continued.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post (Sweet Baby Girls), while a couple of us were at each house, the rest of us stayed out in the street and played with the kids.  While I was at the house with the baby girl, something terrible was happening in the street.  I missed it, but the other girls told me all about it.

Bullying.

Bullying sucks, no matter where it is.  This time the kids ganged up on a little boy named Jeffrey.  Jeffrey is one of several children in his family, and is about seven years old.  He doesn't talk much, and he isn't quite as "good looking" as his siblings.  His eyes are a little bit different and his skin has some rough patches on it.  He may have had a slight learning disability of some kind.  Like I mentioned in an earlier post (They Are Weak But He Is Strong), in Haiti kids who are different or have a disability of any kind are seen as shameful or worthless.  I don't think Jeffrey's parents saw his as that extreme, but they definitely treated him differently than his siblings.  They didn't give him the nicest clothes or shoes they had.  The nice, new ones always went to his siblings.

This day (and probably lots of other days that we aren't there), the village kids were very cruel to Jeffrey.  I don't know all the details of what happened while I was in that house, but the end result was he was on the ground getting kicked and hit by the other kids.  Fortunately for Jeffrey, there were several adults in the street (and lots of them were mommas!) and they stepped in right away.  He was covered in dirt and had scratches and bruises all over.

We happened to be right by the ODH orphanage, so Tiroro (one of our translators) took him into the orphanage and gave him a shower and some clean clothes.  Jeffrey was at Tiroro's side the rest of the day.

Jeffrey in the red, resting on Tiroro.  

We saw Jeffrey a lot the rest of the week.  The next day he came with us to visit some other people.  And while I was leading some worship songs from the guitar, he sat on Angie's lap.  

When we left that house Angie looked at me and said, "Jeffrey was singing."  The whole week we didn't ever hear him say a word, except for telling us his name.  But he was SINGING.  How awesome!  That is why I do what I do.  Because people like Jeffrey who have nothing to say can somehow still connect with God and others through music.  WIN.

Throughout the rest of the week, our team took Jeffrey under our wings.  He had a whole bunch of mommas looking out for him!  There were several times that we caught the other kids being mean to him again, but we were quick to tell them "No!" (with the language barrier, that's about all we could say).  One of our girls held him while he took a nap.  We snuck him snacks when the other kids weren't looking (per our leaders' instructions).  We sent Tiroro to the store to buy him some new shoes.  We asked one of the other guys to give him a haircut.  And we gave him lots and lots of hugs.

A few days before I left for our trip, Jack had told me he wanted to get a card for me to give a little boy in Haiti.  I didn't know which little boy I would give it to, but by the end of the week I knew I should give it to Jeffrey.  

Giving Jack's card to Jeffrey.

I hope the card made him feel special.  During that week we got to know Jeffrey, he didn't smile a whole lot, but he was smiling when he got that card.  I showed him a picture of Jack and tried to explain that it was from him.  Whether he understood what I was saying or not, it was something special just for him.

In the card I had written, "Jesus loves you!  I'm praying for you!  Love, Jack"  I'm not sure he will ever actually read those words, but they are true.  Jesus loves Jeffrey very much.  And Jack and I pray for him all the time.

Sweet Baby Girls

Haiti Day 4

Went to Prayer Mountain.  Always a great way to start out the day.

Team photo on our way back down from the mountain.
Coolest tree ever!

Went to the orphanage to start painting the wall.  We didn't get it finished but planned to go back to complete it in a couple days.   The paint wasn't the quality that we were used to, so it was a little challenging, but we got the job done.

Liz with her blank canvas.
She designed an awesome mural!

Happy painters at work!

When we were finished.
We weren't able to add the green leaves on the tree
because of the paint issues.  However....

Another team came a few weeks after us and
brought the right paint to finish the tree!
It looks awesome!
And I love the little kids' feet at the bottom!

So glad we could be a part of making the orphanage a little more cheery!  

After lunch we gathered some medical supplies and FMSC meals and started walking around the village.  When we came to a house, we would stop and a couple of us would go in with FanFan to translate, to see if anyone needed medical care or food.  Heather, our RN on the team, was able to hand out some medicine and give medical advice to several people, and we handed out food to almost everybody.  

While just a couple of us were going into each house, the rest of us hung out in the street (dirt road) with the kids that started following us along the way.  It was so much fun!  Just spending time with the kids and getting to know them.  Teaching them some English and them teaching us some Creole.  And they LOVED carrying our backpacks for us. 

One house we stopped at had a baby girl about Paisley's size.  And her mom let me hold her.  Oh. My. Word. What a sweetie!  The mom said she was about a year old, but I'm sure she weighed less than Paisley (who was six months old at the time).  Everyone is smaller there.  

Giving them FMSC meals.
Nevermind the kid with no pants on.
And isn't the baby girl's half-done hair awesome!  :)

When we finished giving them the supplies, FanFan started praying for them.  I stood off to the side with that sweet baby girl.  And I prayed for her.  And I held her tight.  And I cried.  Not because I missed my baby girl.  She reminded me so much of her.  I cried because I started thinking about how different their lives are. About all the things and opportunities my girl has.  And how this baby girl has almost nothing.  And how their lives will continue to be different as they grow up.  I was so overcome by that thought.  

Praying for the sweet baby girl.

Later that night I was thinking about that little girl.  And my little girl.  And how God loves them the SAME.  Not only does He love them the same, but he SEES them the same.  It's not like He's thinking, "Oh, they are so different, but my love for them is the same."  He actually sees them in the same way.  He doesn't see their surroundings or their possessions or how many opportunities they have or how different their earthly lives are.  He just sees their hearts.  He just sees two little girls that He created and knows intimately.  He loves them both deeply.  That love sent Him to the cross.  For both of them.  Wow.  

This was my prayer in my journal that night:

God, that is one thing I love about You so much: that you see us all the same.  As precious children that You love so much.  Please teach me how to see people like that.  

There's more to Haiti Day 4.  Namely, a little boy named Jeffrey and a man named Mr. Beverage.  But I'll save them for another post.

"I like having a baby sister."

This post is mostly for me.  Because I don't journal about my kids.  And Jack was so stinkin' adorable tonight.  In a funny way, in a sweet way, in a cute way, in a stinker way....

Jack-ism #1
I told him to watch Paisley for a minute (literally a minute) while I ran downstairs to get her pajamas out of the dryer.  As I was coming back up, she started screaming.  I asked him what happened.

Jack: "Nuffing.  She just started crying."
Me: "Nothing?  You didn't do anything to her?"
Jack: "I just did this!"  (started doing his best dance move, the one with his elbows sticking out)
Me: "And did you hit her or kick her while you were doing that?  Did you bump her accidentally?"
Jack:  "No!  I just was dancing and she didn't like it so she started crying."
Me: (holding back my laughter) "Jack, you won't be in trouble.  Please tell me the truth."
Jack: "I won't be in trouble?  I won't have a time-out or get my bottom spanked?"
Me: "Nope, you won't be in trouble.  Please tell me what happened."
Jack: "I picked her up and she fell.  I think she has a headache now."

Two things hilarious about this story.  1.  He thought he could pick her up.  He's only got about 10 pounds on her.  I'm guessing she didn't get too far from the ground.  And 2. He thought that saying she didn't like his dance moves was a realistic reason why she was crying.  Ha!  Oh, Jack.

Jack-ism #2
He came upstairs as I was rocking Paisley and wanted to sing with me.  We sang "You Never Let Go" and "Happy as the Sun."  When we finished that one he looked up at me and said, "I like having a baby sister."  Ahhhhhh that makes my heart so happy!

Jack-ism #3
He brought me an apple from the kitchen and said, "Mommy, I washed this and dried it for you.  Eat it now."  I had already eaten one apple today (and I'm pretty sure the rule is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away; two apples a day gives you bowel issues"), but how could I turn him down?  He was being so kind!

Jack-ism #4
He said, "Mommy, what does 'Unnnnnnnn' start with?"
Me: "Unnnnnn?"
Jack: "Yeah.  Unnnnnnnn.  What letter does that start with?"
Me: "Um....uh.....the letter U?"
Jack: "No, Unnnnnnnnnnn!  What does it start with?"
Me: "N?"
Jack: "No!  Unnnnnnnnn!  Like 'ooooonion!'"
Me: "Oh, onion?  That starts with O."
Jack: "No it doesn't!  Unnnnnnnnnnn!!!!"

I still have no idea what he was asking.

Jack-ism #5
It was time to go to bed.  I told him to start going potty while I got his blanket out of the dryer (most of our clothes are in the basement/dryer).  I was downstairs for maybe 20 seconds this time.  I came back up and he told me he had already gone potty.

Me: "Jack, there's no way you already went potty."
Jack: "Yeah I did!  I went in that potty right there!" (points to the bathroom)
Me: "Jack, I know you didn't go potty."
Jack: "Yeah I did!"
Me: "Are you just teasing?"
Jack: "No, I'm serious!"
Me: "Jack, are you telling me the truth?"
Jack: "Yes, I'm telling the truth!"
Me: "Really?  Because God knows the truth.  And I'll ask Him."
Jack: "I'm just teasing, I didn't go potty yet."

Boom.  And that's how it's done.  :)