Five Minute Fridays: Song

Another week of participating in Five Minute Fridays hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker, encouraging bloggers to write on a prompt unedited for five minutes.  This weeks prompt is Song.

GO

He loves to sing, just about any song, real or made up.  I love hearing his little boy voice belting out his favorites, with some interesting interpretations of the lyrics at times.  I also love how much he loves his favorite song.

It is not on the list of standard kids songs.  I heard it first last fall when a blue grass group led worship at church.  My son was at Grandma's and I knew it was a song he'd like (it was about animals - how can you go wrong?).  When he got home, I found it online. 

He loved it.  I mean really loved it.  Memorized it quickly and sang it all the time.  For a while it was what he wanted to pray at meals, sing to friends, and the most requested thing to do on my computer -- listen to his song.  He's tried to teach it to his friends.  He's even tried to teach it to the chickens.  Most of the time he sings it so fast that you can barely catch the words. But I know them.  I hear them. 

This song that is being written on my son's heart and mind celebrates God's creation.  It celebrates differences.  It reminds him that everyone has a song to sing, a way to praise, a unique way to join in God's choir.  Many times its something I need to be reminded of too.

So I sing along.

 

"All God's creatures got a place in the choir.

Some sing low and some sing higher. 

Some sing out loud on the telephone wire. 

Some just clap their hands or paws or anything they got, now."

STOP

Batman and His Batcave

Because some days you just need to have a super hero in the house to get anything done :)


As I posted on FB, he was playing batman in his batcave/fort and the ongoing dialog was just too much.

Son: "Mom, I took my special bat cape off so I can sleep, but don't worry. I don't keep my special super powers in my cape. I keep them in my tummy".
Me: "Oh, what do you eat to make super powers in your tummy? Spinach?"
Son:  "No Mom, I eat granola!"

Few minutes later... "Mom, I put a special a-guise [disguise] to look like the bad guys so I can sneak up on them and they won't organize me"

Mother's Day Ponderings

I was blessed today with a some moments to myself, time to slow down and ponder a bit.  And write a little.  A busy, full day like today is even better if I can slow down to remember. 

Remember all the blessings God has poured on my life.  Remember that even when this job of Mom feels so huge, so overwhelming, that He is always there, strength in my weakness, ready to pour grace and love into my life so I can pour grace and love into my son's. 

Remember that I'm not walking this journey alone.

Remember all the ways my mom impacted and continues to impact my life, my mothering, and pours out love on us.  Remember my mother-in-law and all she does, specifically how her mothering impacted my husband, who I think is pretty wonderful.  Remember my grandmas (and great-grandmas) who blessed and continue to bless me so much. 

Remember all the other women God placed in my life as blessings, who touch my life and my mothering -  women from church growing up, from small group, mothers of junior high kids when we were youth group volunteers, friends who became mothers before me, friends who are mothering alongside me in the trenches.

Remember my first Mother's Day as a mom.

Remember other past Mother's Days.

And take the time to store up a few special moments from today.... to remember,

and then thank God again for the blessing of being a mother.

Please join me in praying for those who find Mother's Day a tough day this year.  I remember how hard this day was when I was waiting, aching to be a mom.  Remember those who have lost their mother or a child.  Those who have made an adoption plan for their baby.  Those who are struggling with infertility or lost a pregnancy.  Those who are still waiting to become a mother.  Those who don't have children but have chosen to use their love to bless other children in their lives.

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Showers

 

Fun with the Letter "O"

Since we had so much fun learning about owls at the Zoomobile presentation a few weekends ago, we decided to celebrate O is for Owl last week.


Books We Read

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
• Lazy Ozzie by Michael Coleman
• Owly by Mike Thaler
• Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• All About Owls (All About Series) by Jim Arnosky

Owl for Lunch

This cute owl sandwich was super simple to make.  I made diagonal cuts to form the wings, adding banana slices with craisins for eyes, a cheese triangle for beak, cheese feet and some pretzels for a branch. 


Owl Crafts

We made these adorable owls out of toilet paper rolls.  After bending/folding in one end to make the top of the head of the owl, my kiddo excitedly started painting.  I was thinking we'd make one, maybe two, owls but he wanted to keep painting and painting.  After all the paint dried, we added construction paper wings, googly eyes, and paper beak.

We also did this quick project above.  After I drew the letter O on a sheet of paper, my son filled it in with small o's (to look sort of like feathers, really just keeping him busy while I gathered other supplies).  Then we put together the face, wings and feet.  He helped with some of the cutting.  Notice the extra detail he added to the feet -- he reminded me the owl feet needed sharp claws to pick up mice.  I guess he was listening to the books during the week!

Five Minute Fridays: Brave

This week I'm participating in Five Minute Fridays hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker again.  She encourages bloggers to write on a prompt unedited for five minutes.  This weeks prompt is Brave.

GO

The children's book made me pause.  My son wondered why Mommy stopped reading.  Being brave isn't doing something when you are unafraid (and maybe someone else would be).  Being brave is doing something that scares you but not letting that fear stop you.

Moving forward with knocking knees.  Saying yes while praying your heart out for strength.  Tears streaming down your face while you let go a dream for what God is whispering in your heart.

Brave can take on so many faces.  Telling the story that my heart says needs to be heard, even if it means crying in public.  Saying good-bye to home for a few weeks and travelling across the world, to an airport guarded by soldiers with machine guns, and smiling.  Holding onto hope, one month at a time, praying that someday someone will call me mommy.  Leaving a good job I was successful at for an important one with no pay, staying home full time.

Being brave is doing the hard thing, the scary thing, sometimes even when you don't want to, when you can't see what is around the corner or what will happen next.  For me, brave works best when acting alongside faith.

STOP

* I believe the children's book I'm thinking of is "Chester the Brave"

Wordless Wednesday: Ties and Tongues

Wearing a tie for church and sticking his tongue out for the photo :)