A Conversation with Boys

I was playing with my hair this morning, trying to make it cooperate with me. David asked me what I was doing, which led to this converation:

David: What are you doing with your hair?
Me: Just playing with it.
David: Why?
Me: 'Cause girls like to play with hair.
Harris: Well, boys don't. Boys like to play with stuff like dinosaurs - especially T-Rexes - and cars and trucks and...
David: And we like to run into walls.

At which point Harris pauses to consider this and then says, "Yeah, and we like to run into walls!"

That explains a LOT - not the least of which is why I've noticed my walls looking quite banged up lately...

A Roach by Any Other Name...

David is always asking, "What's that smell?" I usually can't answer because I don't smell anything. He must have the most sensitive nose in the world.

Tonight as I was brushing his teeth, he said, "What's that smell?" I replied with my usual I don't know. He then told me it smelled like a roach. I told him that I was not aware that roaches had a smell. He said, "Well, dead ones do." I don't EVEN want to know how he knows that.

I really just blogged about this because I wanted to use the title! : )

Some More David Stories

At supper the other night, David kind of choked a little bit. Here is our conversation about it:

Me: Goodness, are you ok?

David: Yeah (we are still working on the "yes ma'am and yes sir" thing). It went down the wrong way.

Me: Oh, I'm sorry.

David: It turned left.

Me: It did what?

David: It turned left, but it was supposed to go right. That's where the food is supposed to go.

Me: Ohhh. So if the food is supposed to go to the right, what is supposed to go to the left? (I have a couple of ideas of what he'll say - i.e. my drink, my spit, etc. However, as usual, David comes up with something out of left field.)

David: My energy goes down that side!

My other David story for this week is when we were on our way home from shopping at Kids' Market - that's another story for another post. He was so good, though, that I let him pick out a toy while we were there. He picked out a bag of Hot Wheels cars, of course. They were in a ziploc bag that was also taped. On the way home, he managed to pull the tape off. Now when David has something that needs to be thrown away, he wants it thrown away now. I normally have a trash bag in the car for such things, but I took it out recently and have not replaced it yet. So David wanted me to take his tape right now! I told him I was busy driving. I suggested he stick it to his leg and when we got home, I would take it off and throw it away. He thinks this is a good idea. However, a few moments later, he starts telling me the tape is hurting his leg. Now if you have a 4 year old, you know that they sometimes say something is hurting just because they're not happy with something. I assumed this was the case. I explained that the tape could not possibly be hurting his leg and we would be home in a couple of minutes. David continues to complain, so once we stop at a traffic light, I turn around to take his tape from him - and see why it didn't feel so good. He had pulled up his pant leg and stuck the tape TO his leg! I guess I should have been more specific. It just struck me as hilarious that Mommy would make such a seemingly bizarre suggestion, and he happily (and literally) obeyed without question. I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. David did not see what was so funny about sticking tape to his leg, which made it even funnier to me. Although, it may be one of those, "You had to be there" moments. In which case, you should have been there.

The Gospel According to a Three-Year-Old

Today after picking Harris up from school, we went to get the boys' hair cut. They were way past needing it. I don't normally go with them, because my father-in-law always takes them. It's a treat the boys always look forward to. I was with them today because we went straight after picking Harris up from school and eating lunch.
David went first today. I could hear his sweet voice, but wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying until I heard, "But I'll miss my house when I get to Heaven." It cracked me up. I am so glad he couldn't see me, because I try hard not to laugh when they are saying something very serious to them but hilarious to me. I decided I should listen a little closer. The rest of what I heard went something like this. (I never heard Mr. Linn respond. He wasn't talking as loudly as David was.) "Do you know how to get to Heaven? You have to believe in the Cross that Jesus died on. I have Jesus in my heart." He was witnessing to this man cutting his hair!!!! How adorable and amazing!! I was so proud and so convicted. I am not nearly as quick to share the Gospel as I should be, but I was just like David when I was little. I witnessed to everyone I saw.

Lord, help not to be ashamed of the Gospel, "for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Help me to see the divine appointments you set for me, and give me the courage to speak boldly of you. Just as I speak about my husband or kids to anyone and everyone who will listen, give me the same kind of passion when it comes to speaking about you. And please don't let David lose that boldness he had today when talking about You. To God be the Glory. Amen.

A Sign of the Times

When I was a kid, there were certain things that I took for granted that my parents had not had when they were kids - air conditioning, cable TV, microwaves, etc. And now that I am an adult, I realized that there were things my kids take for granted that I did not have as a child - internet, cell phones, digital cameras, phones that double as cameras, etc. However, yesterday I was taken aback by one thing my kids apparently take for granted. In the interest of trying to not look and feel like a pack mule, I was not bringing the boys' drink bottles with us to church. David (my 3-yr-old) noticed and protested. I told him that he didn't need his juice because the teachers would have water to drink for them at church. He said he didn't like water. I said, "Don't be silly. You love water." In his MOST indignant voice, he said, "But Mommy, at church, they make us drink SINK water!"

And that is what they call a generation gap, and a sign that I am now officially old!

I Sam. 17:40 - "Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine."

I Peter 2:5 - "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood..."

A couple of years ago, God showed me some cool things about how we are like the 5 stones David chose out of the stream. However, I was hesitant to share it with anyone because I couldn't remember a place in the Bible where God uses stones as an analogy, and I like using analogies that are backed up with Scripture. Well, the other day as I was reviewing my notes on the stones, God reminded me of the I Peter 2:5 verse!!! So, here goes...

Notice the verse says David chose 5 smooth stones. Stones are not naturally smooth. Instead, they are naturally hard, rough, and lumpy. So how did they become smooth? By being tossed about by the water. The stream carried them from their point of origin, when they were in their natural state, to the place where David could make use of them. Along the way, they were bumped and battered. If stones were animate, they would have been thinking, "We're scared and hurting. We can't control this or where it's taking us, and we don't like it." But it was a necessary process to be formed into the shape the shepherd could use. Likewise, we are battered by the storm-tossed waves in our lives to be formed into the tools that our Shepherd can use.
Notice also that it says David chose the stones. God has chosen you for a specific purpose and season. Who knows how long it was after the stones had settled in this part of the stream before David came along. It may have been a time of rest and refreshment before they came into the purpose for which they were created. Do you feel like you are sitting in one place, waiting to fulfill your purpose - whatever that may be? Be still and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10). God may have you in that place, waiting for the time and purpose for which He has chosen and ordained you. If you're in the stream, being refreshed, enjoy it. That's what He wants you to do. If you're still being tossed about by the water, know that it is for your ultimate good and His glory. Wherever you are, just know that it is where you are supposed to be right now.

More points will come in subsequent posts. Putting it all in one post will take too long to read.

Ha-a-a-a-llelujah!!!

This is a post about potty-training. I've tried to keep it clean, but you can only do so much when dealing with this topic. So be fore-warned and read at your own discretion.

David is finally getting potty-trained!!!!!!! I was beginning to get a little worried. I have always adopted the potty-training philosophy of not forcing the issue (no scheduled potty times, no making him sit on the potty until something happened, etc.), but encouraging them to try when they expressed an interest. David has been interested in the concept for a while, but to no avail. He would sit - or stand - at the potty, but nothing ever happened. That is, until Friday!

My beloved flute teacher and mentor, Janis Nichol, always told me that the way she potty-trained her younger son was by telling him to watch his older brother. Sounded good to me, I mean, David is always wanting to try whatever Harris can do, so why should going to the potty be any different? Another friend of mine, Judi Moore, who has 4 boys, said her boys always just eventually got it without forcing the issue. Again, sounded good to me.

So Friday morning, I was getting the boys in the shower. (They are young enough that I can give them a shower at the same time. It saves time and water.) Harris knows he always needs to go potty before getting in the shower, so he takes care of business and gets in. I turn around to look for David and tell him to get in, and he's standing at the potty - assuming the "position". I encouraged him to take his time, and after a couple of minutes.... TINKLE!!!! I was thrilled and did my "happy mommy dance". Harris kept saying, "I'm so proud of you, David!" David just grinned from ear to ear and got in the shower as if he always went potty.

The best part, is that it wasn't a one-time deal. He has been consistently going to the potty ever since. He isn't staying dry, yet, but he is well on his way. We also have to see how he handles the other aspect of potty-training. And because he has been watching Harris for so long, he knows all the potty rules - wiping, flushing, pulling up his pants, and washing his hands. In fact, he's in there going potty right now - by himself!!

2 down, 1 to go! And they say girls are easy to potty-train!

David Matthew Weed

Sorry I'm just now getting back to this. Lately, by the time I get a chance to sit down and blog, my brain is too tired to construct a cohesive sentence, much less a story.

So David is one of our surprise babies, meaning we were not trying to get pregnant, but we were not being very diligent in preventing a pregnancy either. After celebrating Harris' first Christmas and his first birthday, I remember thinking I was more exhausted than I could imagine. I knew I had been busy, but it still didn't explain this kind of exhaustion! It took a few days before it even occurred to me that I might be pregnant. This time I took a home pregnancy test, and that pink line popped up immediately. I was delighted, but in shock at the same time. After all, this meant I was going to have 2 children less than 2 years apart and at the time that sounded a little overwhelming. But among the lessons I learned trying to get pregnant the first time was that God's timing was perfect, especially when it comes to babies.

Unlike with Harris, I had no clear "feeling" about whether this one would be a boy or a girl. I was hoping for a girl since I already had a boy, and I have to confess that I was a tad disappointed when we found out he was a boy. We knew that if we did have another boy, his first name would be David, but we had the hardest time trying to decide on a middle name. Finally, I prayed and said, "God, Your Word says that our names are written in Your book before the foundation of the world, so You know what David's name is supposed to be. Would You please let me know what to name him?" A few nights after praying that, I had a dream where everyone kept coming up to me and telling me to name my baby Matthew. I would tell them, "that's a good name, but we've already decided to name him David." Finally someone came up and suggested that we use Matthew for the middle name. I thought, "David Matthew"...I like it, even though it might make some people think of the Dave Matthews Band." Then 2 thoughts immediately came to me in the dream, "This is the answer to your prayer" and "Look up the meaning of the name Matthew". The next day I hit the ground running and didn't think about that dream again until my eyes fell on the Baby Name book on the end table. I thought, "It seems like there was a name I was going to look up the meaning of." Immediately, the whole dream came flooding back. I looked up the name and found out that Matthew meant "a gift from God" and I already knew that David meant "beloved". It fit this baby to a T, he was already beloved, and he was definitely a surprise gift - he was even given to us around Christmas time! So David Matthew it was.



The first 3 months of his life were very difficult. He had really bad acid reflux so that he was always spitting up, always fussing, and never slept for more than 2 hours at a time - EVER! We tried everything the pediatrician suggested, to no avail. He was just miserable. Yet during that time, he and I bonded so strongly. Probably because the only way he would sleep most of the time was lying on my chest, while I was propped up in a recliner. My mom finally convinced me to take him to our chiropractor and see if an adjustment would help him. The idea of taking my 3 mo. old to get an adjustment seemed ludicrous, but I was desperate enough at that point to try anything. The chiropractor, Dr. Chris Harrison, said David had a sudal (sp?) hernia, meaning his stomach was pressed against his diaphragm, which kept the stomach from being able to empty properly. He gently pushed and massaged the area. That night, David slept for 6 straight hours!! I took him back for a second adjustment a week or so later, and after that David was a different baby. He went from being a very fussy baby who never slept to being the happiest baby I ever saw and sleeping like a log. Hallelujah!!

David is now 3 years old. He asked Jesus into his life this past Easter. He is a happy, funny boy who loves to laugh and to make other people laugh. Where Harris is our cautious, studious, make-sure-I-can-do-it-right-before-I'm-willing-to-try child, David is our adventurous, learn by doing, jump-in-with-both-feet child. He is a natural problem solver. If he can't reach something, he will figure out a way to get to it. He is also amazing with puzzles. He was doing small jigsaw puzzles by the time he was 2, and he can now do 100-piece puzzles all by himself. David loves to play with his big brother or friends, but he also knows how to entertain himself when necessary. David loves Lightning McQueen from the movie "Cars" and Thomas the Tank Engine. He is also amazing at imitating sounds - from animal noises, to machines, to sirens, to voices. (Yes, that particular talent can be somewhat unnerving at times.)

David is a blanky baby. He loves his blanky!

David is extremely generous to his friends and loved ones. He is always insisting on you trying a bite of whatever he's eating and gets very excited when he has 2 of something so that he can give one to somebody else. I don't know that I have ever heard him tell someone no when they have asked to play with something of his, but I could be forgetting something. However, he does have a temper (I wonder where he gets that from...) and has been known to hit or bite. Praise the Lord, he seems to be outgrowing that stage, though.

Overall, David is a delightful little boy who brings a lot of love and laughter into our world. He is proof that our Heavenly Father delights in giving good gifts to His chidren.

1. David crashed while enjoying 2 of his favorite things: Thomas the Train and "Cars"

2. I call this his "Calvin and Hobbes" impersonation because it reminds of one of their strips that says, "Don't you just hate it when your boogers freeze?"