From Whom All Blessings Flow

I just wanted to take some time to praise God “from whom all blessings flow”. Two years ago, was my D&C. I haven’t memorialized this day or held on to, it is really just a day BUT I did want to just really praise God for how faithful He has been to us in those two years. Two years ago, I had NO idea what the future would hold for us with my molar pregnancy diagnosis, and I had in mind the worst that could happen. However, God did care for us during that time. Even though it was a difficult time, should I not accept difficult from God if I so readily accept blessings? Because truth be told MANY blessings came from that difficulty. Sweet Eleri Cate is one of those blessings. She is such a treasure to us, and I do not take it lightly that she is part of our family! So, Thank You GOD for healing my body and for blessing us with another child, among many other things!

Oh Mali

I thought I needed a little update on Mali. She is really doing good, just as smart as can be...sometimes that is great and sometimes it is challenging. Mali is pretending to speak Spanish and it is pretty entertaining. Uncle Brandon says that we need to expose her to as much Spanish as possible right now!:) The "Lizzy" doll that he gave her that speaks Spanish is coming in really handy right now. Mali loves to play. I've really enjoyed watching her play and giving her the gift of free time during the summer. We've been swimming a lot at the Town Club and playing on the big slide up at Paramount Baptist with her preschool friends. Mali absolutely adores her daddy! She wants to be just like him, even down to sleeping only in shorts! I've tried to explain to her that little girls don't do that, but I love watching how she admires her daddy.
On the other hand, we have been engaged in battle. Over the last few weeks, Mali has decided to go to battle with us. I'm determined to win, not in a bad way, but I really hope that if we establish ourselves as the authority right now, then maybe she won't challenge us as much in the future, and if she does she does, but right now I think it is vital that Eric and I establish our authority with her. After going to bed at night for four years with very little problems, suddenly we have been fighting nightly battles with her. She wants to sleep in our room. That is a big no no in my book, however we have let it slide on occasion when we've been so tired from having a new baby, hence the battle. This girl, once you give in ONE TIME, it is an expectation and battle after that. I have known this from the beginning and been strong enough to mostly avoid it, but then a baby came along! Some nights she has been disciplined over and over to no avail. Other nights she has been bribed, and she has even "complied" just for me to end up stepping on her when I get up with Eleri! Last night she went to her own bed and then ended up on the couch. Our other new battle has been eating. She has decided that she wants to have something different at dinner than what I have prepared for our family (never a healthy substitute I might add). This is also something on my list that is worth battling over. I never have fought her on how much she eats, but she will be served what the rest of us eat. On and off there has been some whiny-ness about eating what I make, but now it has become a battle. I'm determined to win, and hoping to get enough sleep to stay determined.
I love her so much! I love her beautiful blue eyes and sweet smile, I love that God made her strong-willed....He knows the future and He created her this way. I love that she is witty and funny, just like her Daddy. I love that she is asking questions and learning about Jesus. I love that she wants to be good, but it is just so tough! I love watching her relationship with her Uncle Brandon. I love the moments when she is a sweet, big sister. I am so proud of her heart to be a friend to every child! I love her love her love her, but because of her I know that when I AM WEAK HE IS STRONG!

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The most important decision

I wanted to blog about this so that I have these sweet, special moments documented. Because, really this is the most important decision our girls will make. In the last few months, Mali has begun to ask lots of questions about Jesus and what it means to ask Him "into her heart." We talk about how if Jesus isn't in our heart, our hearts are "ugly". I've done my best, or at least I hope, to explain what I can, while veering away from cliche, "Christian" terminology and really stick with Truth from Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Mali has had some fear that if she asks Jesus to live in her heart then she will die. I hope that we've talked through that enough though. The other day, Mali saw a picture of Nana being baptized in the Jordan River so we talked about baptisms. She also was able to see a few baptisms when she has gone to church with us. Anyway, that night she asked me when she would get to be baptized. I do not believe so much that this is a one time decision, but a daily, even hourly, choice to walk with Jesus and choose His path over her own path. She has also been wanting to "play out" the empty tomb and Jesus not being there. All of my play therapist friends understand the importance of this too. Mali will pretend to be the angel at the tomb and has me pretend to be a woman at the tomb looking for Jesus. Sometimes, Mali also pretends to be Jesus. That could be an entirely different post. Mali is not there yet, or at least I don't know that she truly grasps it, but the wonderful thing to know is that seeds are being planted all around her and she is interested! Most often it is when we are sitting down to eat lunch or breakfast (another reason why sitting down at meals is soooo important for families). I feel so inadequate and wonder if my relationship and love for Jesus really does show through to her, or just the ugliness in my heart; but I have prayed since I found out I was pregnant with Mali that she walk with God all the days of her life. And since I'm blogging about this, I also want to celebrate the decision of her best friends, Zach and Calyn, as they did ask Jesus "into their hearts" and have gone in front of their church to share their decision. So, any advice from you seasoned moms out there is also greatly appreciated. I've decided that I definitely need to be more intentional in having a daily time with her that we read scripture. But as my good friend Carrie reminded me, accepting Jesus as our Savior is all related to seeing our need for a Savior. We laughed at how we constantly fail as mom's and we surely can teach our children to turn to Christ because we can't do it and desperately need a Savior!:)