Teachable moments

I realize I have not posted pictures in a while...for some reason I have not had the camera out much this month!

J's hair is getting long enough now that he has been mistaken for a girl several times this week. Today we were at Sears and J was pushing JB in the stroller. A lady looked at JB and said "is she pushing you around?" J stood there dumbfounded and give this lady the strangest look. I just had to laugh and then she realized her mistake when she saw how he was dressed. That is what I don't get. Most girls at that age are either wearing girly clothes or have something in their hair that indicates they are a girl. I guess I need to either cut his hair some or at least try daily to get the tangles out of his hair so that the curl will come back.

As soon as we walked into Sears, the boys saw all the fridge/freezers. I had no idea the entertainment that would provide. We walked around and opened up all 30 of them. We had to talk about all the drawers, shelves, etc. B would open one up and go 'how beautiful is this', 'I just can't believe these', 'amazing'. That is actually the one purchase I hope we can make with our tax refund next spring. Just seems our food gets lost in the one we have.

The other day I was preparing to put a roast in the crockpot. I was cutting off the bottom layer of fat and J asked what I was doing. I told him I was cutting the fat off the roast. He looked at me and said "Mom, you don't call meat fat and you don't call people fat."

The other night all five of us were in the car. We were heading home on a 4 lane road, going 65 (which was the speed limit), the roads were wet from an earlier rain and it was dark. I suddenly saw 2 deer in the middle of the road headed my direction. All I could do was say "Oh dear Lord, dear Lord, dear Lord" (no pun intended). They both ran in front of us and we missed hitting the second one by about 10 -12 inches. The closest call I have ever had. The entire rest of the ride home we talked about how God's hand of protection was on us and I explained that that is precisely why I pray for God's protection every day as I drive B to school. It was a great object lesson for the kids. I was glad that I was able to react with a short prayer and not other choice words. I was also impressed that after years of hearing JR say "if an animal runs out in front of you, I would rather you hit it than swerve", I stayed on course and did not swerve at all. It made me think of an Amy Grant song from years ago "Angels Watching Over Me"
......"God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
.......A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
.......Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
.......Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home."

AWANA has started up again and B and J are both in it. I am helping out with the under 3 crowd (watching the other leaders' kids so they can teach mine). The group B is in has a workbook that comes with a CD. The CD is basically the audio version of the book but with sound effects, etc. Today we were listening to the story of Eli and Samuel. At the very end of the story it talks about how Eli was a godly man but God punished him and his family. B's ears perked up and he asked why God punished Eli. We went back and listened to the story again. Eli was very godly but he had 2 very wicked sons. Eli knew his sons were doing wrong and Eli never did anything to try to correct/stop them. Seizing the moment, I explained to B that that is why we discipline him. God has made us the parents and it is our job to train him up and teach him to do what is right and honors God. He seemed to really hang on to my words, now I just need to remember to go back to that story from time to time to remind him of why we do what we do as parents. I love the teachable moments that God gives me and how applicable the two this week were.

Fluffy has hopped out of the coup. Numerous times she would get out and would eventually come back. JR would find the hole and fix it, only for her to find another one. The other day I looked out the window and saw some neighbors congregating out front. Between them they had a fish net, broom and small kennel. I knew what was going on. Sure enough, they had found Fluffy, soon to be cat food. We brought Fluffy in, only to have her leave again. The next day saw her across the street. JR tried to get her but she took off. He decided so be it.