Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. (Psalm 133:1)
Sweet Pea’s birthday is still a few days away, but we celebrated today. She and several friends got together for a birthday bash at a local pretzel factory. While the pretzels baked, the children decorated bags to carry their pretzels home in, sang Happy Birthday to Sweet Pea, and enjoyed cupcakes and pretzels.
I created a cupcake tower in blue and made a Barbie cake to match. Sweet Pea loved the Barbie cake and she and her friends gobbled up the cupcakes very quickly.
Our beautiful birthday girl takes a break from all the festivities to enjoy her snack: delicious soft pretzel nuggets and a cold drink box.
A couple of friends have fun working to shape their pretzel dough into works of art!
It’s clear Sugar Plum enjoyed her cupcake as well. If you look carefully you can spot lots of blue icing in her nostrils!
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Every once in a while, God provides JT and me with a lively parenting moment that abruptly zaps us out of our regular parenting routine and shakes things up. Perhaps God does this to prevent us from becoming bored with life or because He wants to see how we perform under pressure. Whatever the reason, God allowed this day to start with a big bang!
Both our girls have food allergies so at least once a year they endure a series of tests to determine the severity of their allergies. Part of the testing includes having the girls provide a blood sample and as you can imagine obtaining blood samples from little children can be a difficult task.
As we sat in the waiting area, Sweet Pea began to lament loudly about getting “poked”, while Sugar Plum played happily with her father, oblivious to what was soon to come. When our family’s name was called, JT took Sugar Plum back to the technician, while I sat in the waiting area and consoled Sweet Pea. While waiting, I braced myself for Sugar Plum’s wailing and crying as she was pricked and blood was drawn. But things remained silent and moments later JT brought a smiling Sugar Plum out to the waiting room where she happily showed off her orange Daffy Duck Band Aid.
Since Sweet Pea was still wailing, I knew her blood draw would not go as smoothly. JT carried her, kicking and screaming, back to the technician. Everyone in the building knew exactly when Sweet Pea was pricked because she screamed to high heaven! Unfortunately she wiggled around during her protest, dislodged the needle, and had to be pricked AGAIN! Poor Sweet Pea was so distressed by the whole ordeal that I wanted to cry!
On the way home, we stopped for doughnuts and that made everyone feel better. Once home, JT noted that parenting is an interesting trip. So, so true! I wonder what’s in store for us this weekend! You can be sure I’ll keep you posted.
Photo: Courtesy of crys_toll (Flickr)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum have become God’s greatest new prayer warriors. We do a lot of praying in our house, so neither JT nor I are surprised about their interest in prayer. We begin each day with our morning devotions, a short time of song, prayer, and a reading from the children’s Bible. No meal or snack is eaten unless we pray and thank God for providing the food. Throughout the day, we pray for the healing of boo-boos and the adjustment of attitudes (mine included!). At the end of the day, bedtime prayers include thanking God for the day’s blessings and praying for others as well as ourselves.
We can tell that prayer is becoming an active part of the girls’ daily activities. Sweet Pea regularly offers to pray for children having tantrums in the supermarket and those pulled over by the police. Sugar Plum often comes running/limping/hobbling/crawling over to her Daddy seeking prayer for even the smallest scratches or scrapes and solicits prayers for her sister when she will not share.
Yesterday, I learned that the girls’ prayerful ways have extended to inanimate objects as well. The girls were happily playing with their new dollhouse in the family room as I clipped coupons in the sunroom. Sweet Pea shouted, “Mommy, come look at this! I have something to show you!” When I stepped into the family room, Sweet Pea grabbed my hand and led me over to the dollhouse. “Look,” she said pointing to the upper level of the dollhouse, “they’re praying!” After congratulating the girls on helping the Fisher price family learn to pray effectively, I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo.
This morning, as I looked at the photo once again, I smiled and thanked God for using toys to remind me of the importance of teaching my children about God. Sometimes JT and I aren’t always sure that the girls are absorbing the lessons we teach them or the values we instill in them, but every now and then God makes things crystal clear and often in the most unexpected ways!
