Does God forgive?

Sawyer came over to me in the kitchen from the laundry room, where he had been cleaning the litter box. He looked up at me with these deep, inquisitive eyes. He asked me,

"Does God forgive?"

I replied, "Yes."

He reached his right arm up, pinky extended, beckoning a pinky promise from me. As we "swore" I added, "If you ask." He frowned. Joined pinkies again, made a fist with his left hand, and moved it through our promise. This symbolized a broken pinky promise. He was miffed.

I went on to explain my addition. I explained God does forgive, in general, but when we make a mistake we need to acknowledge it and ask for forgiveness. He accepted that explanation.

He started to walk away, looked back, and nervously asked me, "Do we have to say it out loud or can it be in our heads?" I told him that in his head was just fine as it was something between him and God. He walked away a mixture of sad and hopeful and proceeded to finish the chore he started.

Life lessons. Teachable moments. A tender heart. God is big and able.

Magic Trick

Jake and Sawyer had been practicing and working hard to learn a magic trick with cups. Sawyer got this wonderful set as a birthday gift. He is having so much fun learning these tricks.

So, they come in to show me.

Sawyer sets up the cups perfectly and executes the trick with ease and precision. I was impressed! He sets them up for me to perform the trick using the same sequence he did.

Problem?

I noticed that he set the cups up in the reverse order and I told him so. He about broke. #momfail  I had NO clue THAT was the real trick. I was supposed to perform the same sequence on the reversed cups and have it look like the trick didn't work.

Poor thing just about started crying.

HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW???

My mommy heart feels so bad and there just isn't enough praise to fix the broken boy.

Thankfully I know that he's had an overly emotional day.

Then Sawyer comes over to me... minutes later... and tells me, with the sweetest disposition, "I forgive you for ruining it." I just smile because that means on some level he's okay now.

He is convinced that my "brain is too smart" and he's afraid "other people will see what I saw" thus foiling the trick.

Life is hard.

Insects!

"I can't believe how something so dangerous can be so pretty."

This is what Sawyer said while playing with/ examining his birthday present of REAL insects suspended in acrylic.

I love that he loves learning and has a bajillion questions. I wish I had all the answers and, even more, I wish I had the patience to find all the answers.

Mother's Day and Sawyer's 7th Birthday

What a sweet day yesteray was. This mother has a heart overflowing with love and a family who makes her feel like a million bucks!

Yesterday was not only Mother's Day but also Sawyer's SEVENTH birthday. He is seven people!! How did that happen? Who allowed this? How do I make this stop? Just kidding. Aging is a part of life and although I want my kids to stay small forever that is not how we were designed, no matter how bad we wish it was.

I slept in a little because the boys were with my parents for their weekly sleepover. What a gift! When I picked up the boys we headed to church. I hung out with my friends and when I picked up the boys from their Sunday school classes Sawyer had a Mother's Day gift for me. A tube of yummy chocolates and a cute card he wrote on and colored for me. Thank you WACC Elementary Department- you know who you are!

After church we went home. When Jake got home Dempsey and I went down for our afternoon siesta. It was much needed and much appreciated.

When we awoke there were flower petals on the boys' table with handpicked flowers arranged for me. There were two cards, one from Jake and one from Sawyer. There was a bag containing some pieces of chocolate covered honeycomb from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Yum! To top it off was a video Sawyer had made, just for me, with his dad's phone and video app. Such a sweet momento.

After I opened my gifts we had Sawyer finish opening his birthday gifts. We had held on to some gifts that were given to him by people who were not at his party. It made his birthday fun last a little longer and he got to open some gifts ON his birthday. He opened a package from our friends, the Faulkners, and a package from Gram and Grampa. Science stuff, legos, and a handmade Batman pillowcase were among these gifts. Such fun!!

The evening brought a spaghetti dinner made with love by Sawyer and Jake. Waiter Sawyer took my order and Chef Sawyer made it happen.

Preciousness. During dinner I encouraged the birthday boy to enjoy an epi of Star Trek: TNG. He was happy about that. It's moments like these where my heart just overflows and I find joy in sharing something from my childhood (Jake's too) with our child. Full circle.

Dessert was ice cream with a buffet of topping choices. I chose vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and Cool Whip. Diet be damned.

Bath time for the boys was up next. Jake started it. I finished it after I finished doing the dishes and started the boys' laundry. Sawyer asked me, "Was it hard, Mom?" "No." "Okay, good. You're not supposed to do any hard work on Mother's Day." Now ladies and gentlemen, THIS is the Proverbs 31 child!! He is definitely raising the bar folks.

Thank you, Lord, for this amazing day. What a gift it was to my soul. It is so easy to feel like you don't matter when every day it's the same old thing and they all start to blur together. I am thankful for Mother's Day because it's a reason for the family members we pour ourselves out for take time to really focus on us. It's nice. It's different. It happens just often enough.

Deep Question

When talking with Sawyer about the #BringBackOurGirls situation he asked the question-
Why did provide us over here where there is safety?

What a great question!
I don't have an answer for him but it makes me appreciate being blessed by geography at the moment.

Everything Is AWESOME!

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