the naked romp and other blessings

Every night after their bath, my babies insist on at least 10 minutes of naked romping. Honestly it is one of the highlights of my life. I wish I could convey the joy of these two little people running and crawling and jumping on my bed, all while giggling hysterically at each other. It is great. My heart swells a little as I "chase" them down, one at a time, to lotion, tickle, and pajama them for the night.
Tonight I was rolling on the floor with Trenton after he "shot" me again, and suddenly heard a shout of concerned indignation from Chloe. She came crawling as fast as she could loudly chastising in baby language and proceeded to try to push Trenton off of me. She was so upset, and not until I sat up and picked her up did she calm down. It was so sweet to see the fierce protecter rise up in her. She has defended her brother a few times the same way, when she became concerned at his crying. I can see it will possibly be a problem in the future when he is punished. :)
I so love to see these little glimpses of their characters and personalities. It gives me pause to realize how much they already ARE the person they will grow up to be, and reminds me that no moment, no day, goes by without some influence affecting their developement. Oh I must remember to be intentional in my parenting, not to let time just go by as if it leaves no imprint on their souls. God, help us. You have entrusted us with so much. Let me keep my life a light to point my babies to you.

I don't know the last time my house was such a disaster. Probably a few times when Chloe was a newborn. I mean, sure, there is often a room or two that are really unfit for any eyes, but today it is the whole house. This is one of the reasons why I generally refuse to get sick, but I wasn't able to resist it this time. Guess I need to start taking my vitamins again. So today the kids seem to be feeling better, as evidenced by the relish with which they have destroyed the house. They both slept well last night, eventually. The eventually part holds alot of meaning....
The last few nights after I put Trenton to bed, he is not staying in bed. I tell him every night after we read a story and say prayers "now Trenton, if you don't stay in your bed I am going to spank you for disobeying mommy. do you understand?" "yes mommy" I go out, shut the door, and a few minutes later hear him coming out of his room. Go smack his bottom, lots of crocodile tears, and back to bed he goes. Repeat once or twice. Why? I don't know.
Anyway, this cold has hampered my hearing and last night after I went back downstairs I didn't hear his escape from his room. I went up to check on him after a few minutes and we did the whole spanking and crying routine and back to bed he went. About an hour later I went up to get ready for bed, and what do you know, he is in our room. Has been digging things out of daddy's closet, including the c.b. radio, the small safe, and various other stuff that he has no buisness in. Also, I notice he has stuck a shoe lace into the box fan motor, and it is no longer working. This morning I also found a nail in there. AAAAAAArgg. Feeling somewhat relived that he didnot manage to burn the house down, I take him back to his room. This time I just give up and put his mattress back in the crib. "What are you doin' mom?" ...sigh... "you won't stay in your bed so you are going to have to go back in your crib." He does not protest, but lays right down. I go to bed.
Wake up this morning feeling like someone large is sitting on my head and holding it underwater. Not keeping up with the kids very well. They manage to unroll a whole roll of t.p. in Trenton's room in an amazingly short period of time. ....its nice when they play quietly together.... sigh... So anyway, other than finding Chloe has sneaked into the laundry room and is eating the cat food, and Trenton is wiping his cheese stick on the glass table instead of eating it, things are still mostly afloat here. As long as I don't look around too much. Really hoping this coffee I am having will help me here...and my cold doesn't stick around too long.

happy New Year

I am sitting at the computer watching my one year old daughter play on the floor. She goes over to the couch and talks to the kitty, then back to the toybox to pull out some more things. She likes to play with the big lego blocks. I can tell she knows they fit together, even though she doesn't have the physical ability yet to build towers. She taps them together. I watch her potential. Babies are such wonderful pictures of potential, of future. She was born on the first day of the year, you know, and has been a little barometer of the years passage to me.

So are any of you (my imaginary audience) making resolutions for the new year? Part of me feels like it is a very silly idea. I mean, why pick an arbitrary line in time and make promises to yourself that you know will be broken possibly even before the month is out. But on the other hand, its a lovely optimistic feeling to look ahead at the new year as a kind of clean slate, never been marked, where we can do better, put hurts behind us, and be the kind of person we want to be. In that spirit, I have thought of some things. In no order whatsoever, here they are.
In this new year, I will grow in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Actually, this is probably not something that needs to be set as a goal, because I love Him and He loves me and I want to talk to Him all the time and hear what He says and this naturally leads to a deeper closeness.
I hope to be a better Mother to my babies this year. They are such amazing gifts, and I want to always remember that and treat them as such. I want to be more patient, more like Jesus to them. I want them to understand God's love a little bit by my example.
This year, I want to be the wife my husband needs. My heart longs for closeness with him, to truly feel connected. I need to learn and accept my failings, and somehow do better. I desperately need my Father's help.
In 2010, I will be more deliberate in my day to day life. More deliberate in my interactions with my family, more deliberate in my walk with God.
I will take better care of myself this year. I will acknowledge my own needs, and realize that I can better care for others when my own tank is full. This means getting a hair cut once in a while, or a pedicure, or a trip to the museum. Anything that leaves me feeling refreshed.

This past year has been one of the hardest for me. I know I have grown as a person, but so often growth only comes with pain, or so it seems at least. But I am so grateful as well. Some wonderful blessings came to me in 2009; my dear daughter, a wonderful church group, new depth in friendships, and a heavier leaning on Jesus.

Well, I know this may have been more personal than you were expecting. I hope you were not uncomfortable. ;) I have never been very good at facades, so as always, it is what it is!

I hope you are looking forward to your new year as I am, with an optimistic heart and faith in your heavenly Father's love.