Hear

I love to hear:

My oldest son pray. He prays deep and meaningful prayers. Prayers that I'm certain please the Lord! He's such a special boy.

My youngest son belly laughing. He's really come into his own and has developed quite the sense of humor!

My children talk to each other. We have overheard many interesting conversations between the boys!

My boys encouraging each other. Despite their tempers, tantrums and tattling, there are moments of encouragement and love between the boys. I cherish these moments!

My husband pray with our boys. He prays with them each night before bed and they WILL NOT let him forget. I love what he is teaching our children.

My husband teaching. He makes me so proud. He loves doing so and the Lord has given him a great gift.

The sound of rain...as long as I'm inside.

Crunching snow...such a cool sound!

Where Babies Come From....just in case you wondered

M and I had a chance to talk the other day. Somehow, in a rare moments, just the two of us were riding in the van together. We got on the topic of getting married and having babies. I decided to ask M some questions...seeing as he's only SIX, I wasn't sure of the answers that I would get. I was shocked at how certain he was of each answer! He's such a smart boy! Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Do you want to get married when you grow up?
M: YEAH! I want to have a wife...this is the part where I told him he had to have a job before he could get married...just thought I'd start drilling that in him now.
Me: Do you want to have kids when you grow up too?
M: Yes! I want to be a daddy when I get bigger!
Me: How many kids do you want to have?
M: I think 3, just like we have at our house.
Me: Do you want boy babies or girl babies?
M: I think I'd like some of each.
We are silent for a minute. Somehow, we go off topic and talk about mistletoe for a minute....
M: Mom, where do babies come from...
Me...uh...well...ummmm...When a mommy and a daddy get married, Jesus puts them in her belly. This answer worked for the older one...hopefully, it will work now (fingers crossed tightly)!
M: No, I mean HOW does Jesus get them there?
Me: I stammer all over myself, mentally debating on whether or not I should have this "talk" right now. I decide no...and answer like this: When a mommy and daddy are married and love each other, they do stuff alone together..
M: What kind of stuff?
Me: Sheeshh....Just stuff, by themselves.
M: I KNOW!!! Like when you and daddy go shopping together and stuff like that!
Me: YES!!!
**I do realize that M may never step foot in a store with his girlfriend for fear of pregnancy...but that's ok!
We now go on to have a brief conversation about a car that looks like the Transformer Bumblebee.
M: How do the babies get food in the mommy's belly?
Me: Through their belly button
M: Are you serious mom?
Me: Yes, it's called an umbilical cord.
M: That's just RIDICULOUS!!
Me: Do you want to grow a baby in your belly M?
M: NO WAY!! I'm glad it's just the mommy's who do that!!
Smart boy huh!!

Target

A few days ago, while shopping at...Target (as if you were surprised), I was in the check out line and getting ready to pay. I made sure I put everything on the belt, gave the cashier all the toys that O had thrown into the cart while I wasn't looking, and even handed her the one that I had let him play with to stop a tantrum...yes, I'm that mother. It happened to be my favorite cashier, so she smiled, took the stuff and quickly hid it while O wasn't looking.
She scanned my coupons, bagged my order, and chatted for a brief minute. I did a split tender. I often do that...part cash, part debit. I've been using photo money to pay for Christmas gifts this year and didn't want to use Christmas money on laundry soap..after all, who is laundry soap a gift for?!?!
I finished paying and she handed me back my change. I stuck it in my wallet, found my mom, bundled O and walked to the car. We got in the car and I stopped. I told my mom that I thought the cashier gave me back too much change. We looked, counted, checked the recent, recounted my money and it was decided that she did indeed give me back too much change...$20.00 in fact! I handed her $60 in cash and she rang in $80. She gave me back a $1.80 in change, when in fact, I owed her almost that much!
I went into the service desk and explained to the man what happened. He thanked me profusely for being honest and took the opportunity to tell him, despite the difficult time our family is having financially right now, the Lord has been faithful and provided for us. He looked at me like I was crazy, smiled and made a phone call to his manager.
He hung up the phone and told me that his manager said not to worry about it....WHAT?!?! They told me not to worry about it and have a nice day! What a blessing!! I guess honesty is the best policy...I had a clear conscience, had the opportunity to tell someone about God's faithfulness AND got a free Christmas gift!