Sunday, May 27, 2007

Changes, They Are a Comin' Yes They Are!

An original song by Mary Lou

Changes, They Are a Comin' Yes They Are!
(sung to the tune She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain)

Changes, they are a comin' yes they are!
Changes, they are a comin' yes they are!
Changes, they are a comin'
Changes, they are a comin'
Changes, they are a comin' yes they are!

We are movin' by June 30th, yes we are!
We are movin' by June 30th, yes we are!
We are movin' by June 30th
We are movin' by June 30th
We are movin' by June 30th, yes we are!

God knows where, so we're trustin' yes we are!
God knows where, so we're trustin' yes we are!
God knows where, so we're trustin'
God knows where, so we're trustin'
God knows where, so we're trustin' yes we are!

Yes, we are moving AGAIN! We received notice from our landlord that we need to be out of our home by June 30th. We are still a little shell shocked and unsure as to the reason for our landlord's decision. There are so many things that we like about our current home and location but we rest in the knowledge that God knew this was going to happen. He is not surprised by this turn of events. What a relief! This is only one of the many blessings that I can think of right now as I write.

Please be praying for us as we look for a new home. We are going out with a realtor on Memorial Day to look at some homes. We are trusting God to show us where HE would have us to move. Please pray for the new neighbors that we will have. Dacia Grace just found a little friend down the street.

Other items to pray for include: continued good health for the entire family as this will be a LONG month; stamina for Mary Lou as she holds down the fort or rather packs the fort while still keeping all of the irons in the fire needed to keep things running smoothly; logistically speaking this is going to be a very quick turn around...boxes need to be sorted and repacked, a moving team needs to be assembled, moving van rented, etc.

Thank you in advance for keeping us in your prayers!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Antelopes are good to eat with sticks!

Lately it seems that many funny conversations with Dacia Grace have occurred during Snack Time.

Yesterday she found me and said, "May I have a snack Mommy?"

"What sounds good for snack?"

"Antelopes are good to eat with sticks! Don't forget the stick!"

"Okay" Hmmm...now what was she asking for?

"Like last night Mommy! On the porch."

Finally the light bulb went on in my head. She was asking for cantaloupe with a toothpick like we had the night before.

"Yes, Dacia Grace. Antelopes are good to eat with sticks!"

Today for lunch she was having carrot sticks and hummus when she said, "I like orange sticks with humans!"

She certainly keeps us laughing.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Oranges are my favorite!


Last week I bought a Winnie the Pooh bubble blower for Dacia Grace. She played for a long time with her friend on our deck. As you can see from the pictures she was quite entertained. I heard her talking to Pooh quite often.

Later that afternoon, while inside having mandarin oranges for snack, she shouted out the screen door.

"I'm having oranges Pooh! Oranges are my favorite. I will be out to play with you in a minute. Love you Pooh!"

This was her first verbalization of one of her favorite things.

(If you look closely at Pooh you can even see him blowing a large bubble!)

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I love you forever


Tonight as I was helping Dacia Grace get ready to sleep we were tidying her bed. In her bed I found the book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch that was given as a shower gift. Dacia Grace loved to have that read to her when she was younger (and still does).

The story includes a song which I put to a tune. I have sung this to Dacia Grace since she was just a few days old in the NICU; so it has a very special place in my heart. Tonight brought me to tears as Dacia Grace sang me the song! How precious to my heart.

As I ponder this story, I realize yet another reason why I find this book so special. It has to do with the time I spent helping my sister care for my mother just shortly before she died. What a privilege that was! The day I arrived my mom mouthed "Hi Mary Lou!" and smiled at me acknowledging that she knew that I was there for her in her greatest time of need. She never spoke to me or looked me in the eye again. As my sister and I cared for Mom we would sing to her hymns and read the Psalms to her as this seemed to ease her pain. So in a sense, I too, held my mother and sang this lullaby to her.

Lord thank you for my precious mother. Thank you for the privilege of caring for her in her greatest time of need as she did so many times for me! Thank you too for healing my precious daughter so that she could sing to me!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book I have included the text of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. (I will warn you, you will probably need some Kleenex for this one. )

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town.

But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

I Am Special

This evening as I was getting ready to go out to dinner for Mother's Day, Dacia Grace found me in the bathroom.

"I am special, Mommy! God made me special!"

"You are special honey! There is no one exactly like you or like me!"

"Daddy is special too."

"Yes, Daddy is special"

"God made Daddy! God made Mommy! GOD MADE ME SPECIAL!"

While the conversation is very Veggie Tale-ish, it still warmed my heart. I think sometimes that I am not getting through to her about how wonderful and special the God is that we serve and that we love and then out of the blue will come a conversation like this.

Happy Mother's Day to each of you! I hope that it was special to all of you.