Discovering Hearts

If I had a dollar every time I....

...got up from the table during meal time...
...was accompanied by small people to the bathroom...
...reminded Eden to be kind to her brother...
...reminded Eden to share with her brother...
...told Miles to chill out (he's kinda spazzy)...
...got a phone call when my phone was upstairs/downstairs and I was the opposite stairs...

Et cetera, et cetera...you get the drill.  If I had a dollar every time...I'd be a billionaire.  Be on the cover of Forbes magazine.  Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.  What up Oprah?  (I blame radio tourettes for this Travie McCoy outburst.)

And if I had a dollar every time our family car looked like this...

...Momma would be buying herself a new pair of shoes.  (For the proverbial record, I have never spent close to that amount on a pair of shoes.  Still, they are pretty stinkin' cute, non?)

Winter sends hurricane winds of crumb storms and our car gets...icky.  But, honestly, I can't bring myself to stand out in the freezing cold to clean it up.  And so the layers build, one on top of the other, sucker sticks and cracker bits and the occasional waffle fry.

Ahh....but Spring...

I don't mind that it's cliché, warmer days and sunshine turn me into a spring-cleaning diva.  And two hours of being outside where the air was fresh and wild, scrubbing down car seats and floor mats, vacuuming set crumb storm and jellybeans, gave me the time I needed to do a little spring cleaning in my Momma's heart, as well.

I'm not exaggerating about the number of times I talk to Eden each day about being kind, especially to her brother.  (And I'm starting to have to talk to Silas about not hitting his sister...)  And sometimes I find I'm so focused on the people I want my kids to become, that I am nearsighted to the little people they already are.

I forget to simply be with and enjoy the littles growing before my eyes.  To marvel at the tiny people they are and the unique ways they take in their world.

Eden is imaginative.  (This morning she was playing with her cheerios, putting them on her pinkie finger saying, "Ahh!  Help!  Get us out of here!"  I know I shouldn't encourage food-playing-behavior, but seriously, what's a momma to do?)  She has a tender heart, her own sense of fashion, and is easily embarrassed.  And my girl has loads of gumption.  She's reserved, but fearless.  Last summer at two, she jumped off the side of a boat - as in it was the first time she was ever in a boat, the first time she was ever on a lake - refusing Daddy's offers to help her down.  'Cuz she can do it all by herself, you know.

Silas is laid back and observant.  He misses nothing.  Not the apple juice we have secretly stashed on top of the refrigerator, not the fact that your food looks different from his food...and yours looks better.  He is high on life.  Si is happy to take the world in from a stroller seat, but loves to explore and touch the grass and sticks and leaves around him.  He is a snuggler and always ready to give sloppy wet kisses.  I gotta say, he dishes out the best kisses.

Spring is all about renewal.

RE·NEW

transitive and intransitive verb return to doing something: to begin

something or doing something again, or be begun again

transitive verb repeat promise: to reaffirm or restate a promise or commitment

transitive verb replace something used up: to get a new supply of something

transitive verb make something new again: to make something new or as if new again

And so, in the spirit of renewal...

Eden and Silas, I pledged my love to you both on the days you were born.  I promised to love you, comfort and keep you.  I promised to take care of you, instruct you, protect you, make you sick with affection, put your needs before my own.  I pledged to enjoy you and treasure you, recognizing fully Who you belong to and that you are on loan to me.  Today, I renew my vows to each of you.

I promise you movie nights and tent-picnics.  I promise to do the things you love, like reading books together and playing with balls.  I promise to explore the world together, starting with the great outdoors.  I pledge to find fun in the everyday and to share that fun with you.

While we're at it, I pledge to make my jeans available to any and all rejected apple peels.

Photo by Kenna.

Ditto.  Photo by Kenna.

And I pledge to seek wisdom and understanding into your unique quirks and insights as I discover who your Creator has fashioned you to be.  I renew my promises to Him, that I will join Him in His delight over each of you.

And if God had a dollar...

For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Amen and amen.