The M&M Story

Today a friend told me her daughter moved back to town. And during the course of the conversation, she said something that has stuck with me all day. She mentioned how her daughter's church was so close and "if ______ broke fingernail, they would pray with her." And I thought of how crazy my life is and how I tell people I will pray for them and then as I fall into bed after an exhausting day of marble tracks and soccer and carpool and diapers, I realize how little I had prayed for them that day and now it is late and I'm tired and focus is hard. During Brian's illness I had the privilege of experiencing the verse "pray continually." And funny thing is, it works. No, not all our prayers were answered the way we wanted, but they were heard and they were answered, by the Creator of the universe. I see why God wants us to trust Him with our life, because I know He doesn't get distracted like I do.

Conversation on the way to school: Carsyn: I'm going to be a Rescue Hero when I grow up. Max: I'm going to be a daddy then a Rescue Hero when I grow up. Carsyn: I'm going to be a mommy, too, but first I'm going to be a Rescue Hero. Max: I'm going to be a daddy first, then a Rescue Hero. Hey, will you be my wife? Carysn: (with an incredulous look) Umm, no. Max: Okay. Well, I'm still going to be a daddy and a Rescue Hero. Carysn: I'm going to be a Rescue Hero, too. The other day Max and I were discussing marriage, or at least why mommys and daddys get married, and I explained that a person marries their best friend, besides Jesus. He responded with, "Well, I will ask Carsyn to marry me." It certainly makes sense to him.

color adjusted photo Originally uploaded by smaynor . These children are beautiful. And smart and sassy and creative and energetic and amazing.

Making apple pie at school Originally uploaded by smaynor . I spent Tuesday morning shooting video and taking pictures for Max's class as they made apple pie for part of their apple unit. It was great to meet kids that I haven't and see the class in action. I also enjoyed seeing Max outside the safety and comfort of our family. His two best friends are in the class, and they are thick as thieves. They have such loyalty for one another, making sure the others have a seat or a swing or a snack. I also noticed that my son is a little like his father. Now Brian was an exceptional man - loving, kind, generous, wise -but he was also quite lazy. He LOVED reading his New Yorker all morning rather than work on house projects. Not that I would qualify reading all morning as lazy, but he just enjoyed sitting reading, thinking, or resting far more than tasks. On Tuesday, I saw a little bit of that in Max. At first, the apple pie was a novel idea. But soon, his eyes wandered over to the bl...

color adjusted photo Originally uploaded by Maynor . This was the grand attempt to get four children, all under the age of 5, to take a picture.

Relaxing after a hard day's work Originally uploaded by Maynor . I love this child so much. He makes me laugh all the time. After he had worked so hard to find the apple he wanted, he settled down and leaned against my backpack and began munching. Imagine this picture in 16 years. Yes, he'll be a freshman in college, maybe doing the exact same thing, but instead with long hair and glasses.

We have an issue of sticky hands at our house, most specifically with my youngest son. On any given day, he will ask me to wipe his hands of whatever sticky substance has come his way (i.e., syrup, lollipop, popsicle). Now, the issue is not the sticky hands, but the drama that goes along with it. B., being a rather verbal child, will tell me over and over again that his hands are sticky really up until the moment I have wiped his hands clean. And since he thinks he can't really move ahead with his life until his hands are clean, I usually have to drop whatever I'm doing to immediately meet his need. A few mornings ago, I made waffles for breakfast. To backtrack a little, we had slept in a bit (7:00), so breakfast was of the upmost concern the moment everyone rolled out of bed. I, being the sacrificial mother I am, made the waffles BEFORE I had made my coffee. Well, actually, I had started the water boiling for the coffee, but that doesn't really count because it was still g...