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My Christmas Baby

December 16, 2010 by Kelli

December 16, 2007

My Christmas Baby.

The boy who almost wasn’t.

The one who wasn’t planned.

The sweetest oops there ever was.

The boy who was adored from the moment he arrived.

A child of a thousand expressions.

Joyful and full of laughter. You light up a room.

You’re a mama’s boy.

I’m okay with that.

I’m kind of head over heels for you.

You have a special relationship with your dad.

You bond over sports.

I love watching this relationship develop.

You are a lover of baseball, basketball, football, anything with a ball.

Today you are three.

Not five ( or seven) as you are prone to tell those who ask.

Happy Birthday, Landon.

You are loved.

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Landon Tagged With: 3rd Birthday, Happy Birthday, Motherhood

Compassion International: Christmas Giving

December 14, 2010 by Kelli

Last week, I attended a monthly Bible study led by Carol Prosser, the woman who runs my kids preschool and my second mom growing up. Her daughter, Lindsey and I were joined at the hip as teenagers so I spent as much time at Carol’s house as I did at my own. Lindsey and I had many adventures together (galavanting through Ukraine, crashing my car, crashing her car, pulling middle of the night pranks, all around acting spastic…) and she remains one of my dearest and sweetest friends.

Outside of my own mother and mother-in-law, I believe Carol has had the greatest impact on me as a young mom. In addition to pouring into my kids, she also pours into me (and all the other moms at the preschool). She offers encouragement and support and is a wealth of knowledge on how to raise and train children who love the Lord. I am truly grateful for her influence in my life.

At last week’s study, Carol encouraged us to find ways to serve others with our kids this holiday season. One nugget she placed in my heart was donating to a worthy cause with the kids. Several wonderful organization were listed as places where you could purchase a well for a needy family, or formula for hungry babies, or goats or chickens for families living in poverty. This got my wheels turning and I began to search for a way for us to donate as a family.

As I looked, I found myself wishing that Compassion International had a place where such donations could be made. Not that the other organization’s listed aren’t fantastic, but I have a heart for Compassion and what they are doing and wanted to be able to donate through them.

And lo and behold, one day later I received an email about Compassion’s Gift Guide offering people the chance to help release a child from poverty/sickness/despair in Jesus’ name. It was an immediate answer to an inner prayer and I was thrilled to jump on board.

We’re making this fun and a little bit unique. I don’t want to give all the details because it will spoil the surprise, but we will be purchasing a goat or two tonight. We’re going to let the kids choose exactly what they would like to purchase. I’ll post an update in a couple of weeks with all the fun details but I can tell you this – when we told the kids we were thinking about buying a goat for Christmas they were stoked. I believe Sloan’s exact words were “Oh my GOSH – that. is. rockin’.”

They were slightly disappointed when we told them the goat wasn’t for us.

But they loved the idea of helping out those who are in need. I’ve already told you about my sweet boy’s tender heart here and here. He truly has a heart for others and I love to see how it manifests itself in his giving. And I’m beginning to notice the seeds of compassion take root in Tia’s heart. In general she is less aware of others than her brother. I think it’s partly the nature of her personality, partly the result of being a second child and partly caused by being constantly overshadowed by her older brother.

But recently there has been a bit of tenderness that has seeped through her rough and tumble little heart. Sloan is so much like his dad – so willing to give, so conscious of others. Tia is more like me – she’s introspective and guarded and she has a tendency to guard her emotions. I love watching her process the plight and need of others. It’s very sweet to see the way she quietly lets all the information soak in. That is when it’s not floating in one ear and out the other, of course…

Gifts!

Giving is very easy to do. Simply click this link to send a gift to a family that needs your…well…compassion. There are several different gifts you can choose – from a mosquito net, which will protect a child from the spread of malaria, to a small business start up, to a water well and so on. Make it fun for everyone!

This is a new holiday tradition that we want to start with the kids each year. And I’m excited to see how it affects the way they view the holidays, especially as they grow older.

So what about you? What do you do during the holidays to make them fun and special and memorable?

Image credit

Filed Under: Christmas, Family, Holidays, Kids, Ministry Tagged With: Christmas giving, compassion international, Gifts of Compassion, giving, Holidays, Kids

Oh the weather outside is frightful…

December 13, 2010 by Kelli

Filed Under: Kids Tagged With: kids in snow, Midwest blizzard

Game Night

December 9, 2010 by Kelli

On my one night at home in a nine day stretch, I wanted to soak up as much of my family as possible. So we agreed to have a family game night complete with a completely ridiculous kids game that, in my opinion, makes little sense but whatever. They like it so I like it.

We finished dinner and homework and got bedtime clothes on and pulled out the board. This is only a four person game so Lee and I shared our turn.

Wait. Scratch that. I played alongside the Board Game Nazi.

There are a couple of things you should know about the man of my dreams. Besides the fact that he is all kinds of good looking, of course.

He is hyper competitive.
He controls his competitive tendencies really, really well and you would hardly know he was competitive and hated to lose unless you were, in fact, the one with the misfortune to come home with him after he loses.
He is particular and leans toward perfectionism. This means he wants everything in order.
He hates when people mess around and waste time – especially when playing a game.

So we bring out the board and lay out the cards and we commence to playing. We play four rounds. Everyone gets a chance to draw first. Midway through round one I notice my husband’s hands tremble slightly.

“Sloan…don’t bend the cards!”

“I’m not bending them!” comes the protest.

“Yes you are. See the crease?”

“But you bend them when you shuffle!”

“No. Well, only slightly but see how they go back to straight when I let go? You leave a crease.”

“Yeah,” I chime in. “Like the creases on daddy’s forehead! See how they stay there even after his eyebrows go down?”

Ahem. Play on…

Then his breathing shallows a bit.

“Landon…don’t touch the pile! Just leave it alone. No! Don’t mess with the carpet. Your’e knocking the cards over. Just sit still!”

A vein begins to protrude from the side of his head.

“Tia, this isn’t a guessing game. We don’t have to guess which card you drew. Just put your card down and lay your chip on the board! Come on, now!” *clap, clap, clap*

At this point, I’m laughing. Right at him. No holds barred. The kids are laughing too.

Lee joins in on the laughter. But it’s more of a ha-ha-I’m-laughing-to-release-steam-but-I-don’t-really-think-this-is-funny sort of laugh. And then, my husband attempts to teach the kids strategy.

Have any of you ever attempted to teach a four year old strategy? What about an almost three year old? Anyone?

The object of Sequence is to get four of your own chips in a row either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. It’s mostly a luck of the draw type of game, but there is a bit of strategy in where you place your chips. Tia, who happens to be the luckiest child when it comes to games, was constantly one chip away from winning. In this case, a strategically placed chip would have set her up for victory. Lee, being ready to end the game, was trying to help without helping. The conversation went something like this:

“Tia, wait! Don’t put your chip down yet. Look at the board. Do you see a good place to lay your chip?”

Tia shrugs.

“Look closely at all the chips. If you put your chip here, do you think that would help?”

“I don’t wanna put my chip there,” she said. “I wanna put it over here.” Points to a place that would not be helpful at all to ending the game helping her win. I notice the vein pop just a little more.

“I understand,” Lee said. “But if you put your chip right here, do you see how it would help you out?”

“But I don’t waaaaaaanna…”

*sigh* “Okay, put your chip wherever you want.”

The next turn, Tia draws a card that would have won her the game if she had listened to the wise counsel of her father. I’m pretty sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

And then, the vein starts muttering. “O.M.G. If you had just listened to me you could’ve won. Mumble, mumble, mumble…”

Wait no. It wasn’t the vein mumbling. It was Lee. He was shaking his head and his hands were all a-flitter with pent up energy. And me? I just burst out laughing again. The vein frowned at me, then receded as Lee himself started to laugh. A real laugh this time.

“You’re going to blog about this tomorrow, aren’t you?” he asked.

Yes, dear. Yes I am. Smile for the camera!

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Lee Tagged With: family game night, playing games with kids, Sequence for Kids, teaching kids strategy

Today

December 8, 2010 by Kelli

– Opening night for The Christmas Post was last night. It went really, really well. I’m not going to lie – I was a little concerned. As of Saturday we had never made it all the way through the play. There was so much work to be done, so many little details to be fine tuned that it seemed we might never get it all pulled together.

But God is good and we did it and it was a lot of fun! There are still tickets available for the rest of the week – please come if you can! We have spent countless hours over the last few weeks pulling this together and we would love to see a packed house every single night.

– Today, mercifully, we have the day off. And I am thankful. The muscles in the left side of my body have decided to have a party and have all bunched up so that turning from side to side, leaning for forward, picking anything up or moving in general has become a bit of a task. I need a day to unwind, go to bed early and be with my family.

– Speaking of my family, my husband rocks. Seriously. He’s doing this parenting thing alone every night this week. That’s a lot of work. But he’s been great about it and I couldn’t appreciate it more.

– While this musical is great fun, it’s also a sacrifice. I’m sacrificing my own time and, while I’m having fun, I’m also working really hard. My husband is serving me and through his service, I am able to serve others along with all of the other members of the cast. Service is hard – even when it’s fun. It requires that we step outside what’s comfortable and easy and we sacrifice – we sacrifice our time, our resources, our sleep and more.

– I’ll be honest. Service has never been really natural for me. I’m very selfish, especially with my time and my gifts. But I don’t think service is ever easy. It really goes against our human nature. I’m grateful for the chance to serve others this week. It’s hard, but it’s fun and it’s rewarding!

– Switching gears…

– Sometimes this blogging thing stresses me out. Particularly in weeks like this one. I’m wiped, both physically and emotionally. I don’t have a lot to offer my readers. Yet I feel pressure to offer something quippy and funny. I have to remind myself that I don’t have to do this. It’s okay to take some time off. The world as we know it won’t cease to revolve if I don’t write a post or two.

Will it?

– I’ve had this little issue with my shoulder for awhile now. Like eight years. Ever since I coached gymnastics a lifetime ago. All that overhand spotting caused all sorts of craziness to take root. And instead of having it looked at, I ignored it. Until a few weeks ago when I realized I was having a hard time pushing elevator buttons without wincing in pain. I headed in to see a physical therapist and since that time I’ve been wondering what took me so long to do something about my shoulder. I have severe tendonitis, perhaps a bit of bursitis and who knows what else.

At some point I may see an orthopedic to get an MRI, but for now I’m sticking with my PT because he rocks and he’s nice and he has a great southern accent that makes me happy.

– Christmas is coming up in a couple of weeks. I’m not sure if you heard. It falls on the 25th this year. Someone I know is not ready…she hasn’t even finished her shopping. I’ll give you one guess as to who that is…

– Okay, this is the part of the post where I wrap it up.

Let’s all breathe a sigh of relief together.

I’ll be back next week with real content. 🙂

Filed Under: Christmas, Family, Holidays, Lee, Life Tagged With: Christmas, Motherhood, Random, service, The Christmas Post

He gets it all

December 6, 2010 by Kelli

He came to me yesterday as I prepared myself for dress rehearsal. The musical is set in 1947 so I had on dark eyeliner, a skirt, lips so red they glow in the dark and hair so curly that I vaguely resembled Simba.

He looked up at me with big eyes, then a slow smile spread across his face.

“You bootiful, Mom,” he said.

“Thank you, buddy,” I replied. My heart sort of melted at that point.

Then he grabbed my hand and gave it a tug. “Come down here,” he said, pulling me to my knees. “I wanna give you a hug ‘tause you bootiful.”

We hugged.

Then I promised everything he ever wanted and more. Money. Cars. His brother and sister’s inheritance.

He gets it all…

Photo courtesy of Lulu Photography

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Motherhood Tagged With: Kids, Landon, Lulu Photography, Motherhood, Photography

Friday Links

December 3, 2010 by Kelli

– Shaun Groves wrote this post yesterday that made me laugh out loud. If you’re not reading Shaun you really should be. He’s a great writer – genuine and funny. Plus, who doesn’t love a guy in his thirties with a mohawk, right? Or is it a faux hawk? Anyway, read the post.

– Another blogger I love is C-Jane. Her perspective on faith and God are very different from my own, but I love reading her thoughts, learning more about what she believes and laughing at her posts. She’s an amazing writer and is very engaging. She’s a daily read for me. I particularly enjoyed this post. (A few Cliff’s Notes: She calls her husband Chup or Chupa, her son is the Chief and her daughter’s name is Ever Jane. This will help when you’re reading the post.)

– Nicole has an awesome advent plan for her boys. If I were crafty, I’d be all over this. But I’m not. So I just look on in envy…

– A few years ago I had the privilege to work alongside the awesome Dana Loesch. While doing this I got acquianted with her husband who is a wickedly talented musician and producer. Recently Chris and his team at Shock City Music filmed this music video to go along with a song that he co-wrote. Becky Kelly is the singer. The song is really beautiful as is the video. It’s a great reminder of what the season is about. Enjoy.

Happy Friday everyone. I’m headed into a week of insanity. Taking deep breaths today. 🙂

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Random Tagged With: Becky Kelly, Courtney Kendrick, Links, Nicole Diehl, Shaun Groves, Where's the Line to see Jesus?

The Brawl

December 1, 2010 by Kelli

BASED UPON A TRUE STORY

The Scene

Three kids, all blonde, varying heights, clearly in posession of shared DNA. They are heading downstairs to play a game together with the largest of the three rallying his troops to action.

The Setting

A Basement. Vibrant colors, pathetically filthy, scattered with disregarded toys and costumes.

The Protagonist

The largest of the three blondes. Male. A smattering of freckles and deep blue eyes. Sweet natured but easily frustrated. Possesses a strong desire to be in control and a swift and thorough sense of justice. A natural leader who inspires others to action when he’s not using his leadership for personal gain.

The Antagonist

The middle blonde. Female. Dangerously cute. Freakishly strong. Possesses the rare trait of being able to push others to the very brink of their sanity then backing off as they self destruct. Can widen her eyes abnormally giving her the appearance of a lost puppy and making her nearly irresistible. Cannot say her ‘R,’ ‘TH,’ or ‘L’ sounds. A master of psychological warfare.

The Tagalong

The smallest of the three blondes. Male. Bright blue eyes. A mischevious grin. A natural born sidekick with the ability to alternate partners seamlessly throughout the course of an altercation, sometimes more than once. Has a seemingly unbreakable love for the word “stupid” and the phrase “I hit your butt,” despite repeated admonishments. Also unable to say the letters ‘R,’ ‘TH,’ or ‘L’ as he spends much time listening to, and mimicing, blonde number two. A free spirit, The Tagalong is prone to fits of bouncing and can rarely focus on any one activity for more than 60 seconds at a time.

The Conflict

The Protagonist orders all blondes into the filthy basement for covert operations and a mad game of tag. Naturally, The Protagonist begins laying out rules and restrictions upon the game that directly violate The Antagonist’s awareness of what is fair. In addition, The Antagonist has spent much of the afternoon being nice to The Protagonist and is simply in the mood to ruffle his feathers.

The Tagalong is just glad he was invited.

The Antagonist agrees to play the game as laid out by The Protagonist. She waits until the opportune moment and then, mid-stride, stops, turns and declares, “I don’t wanna pway anymore.” She throws a look at The Tagalong that lets him know he should take her side for a good time. He quickly chimes in, “Yeah, I not pway anymore too.”

They wait. But not long. The Protagonist falls into a fit of frustrated rage. He stomps. He begs. He pleads. “Please play with me, guys.” But they hold their ground. It’s just too much fun to stop. To really set The Protagonist over the edge, The Antagonist throws in, “We don’t wike to pway your games.”

The Protagonist responds, “Fine! Then I don’t like either of you. You’re not my friends!” This is declared at the top of his lungs at a decible that reverberates off every window in the house. The younger two blondes stomp upstairs indignantly.

“He’s mean,” they declare as they move to the couch, The Tagalong’s arms crossed over his chest in a mini protest. Minutes later The Protagonist runs up the stairs.

In two leaps he lands on The Antagonist, digging his nails into her arm. She lets loose a dramatic scream and brings forth a few tears for added effect. Then the smaller, freakishly strong Antagonist flies at the larger blonde, her hand finding contact with his face with a crack. Her finger somehow burys itself in his eye.

The Judge steps in, seperating the two brawlers. The Tagalong looks on with wide eyes as The Protagonist is taken to another room.

“Yeah!” The Tagalong says to The Antagonist. “You dot him, Tia. You beat ‘im up. Ha. Ha.” They give each other five. The Judge’s wife stifles giggles.

The Resolution

The three blondes are sitting at the dinner table. Little has been said about the earlier altercation until The Protagonist pipes up. “Why did you poke my eye?” he asks, pure offense dripping from every word.

“Because you hit me and you was bossing me,” The Antagonist answers.

“Yeah,” The Tagalong interjects.

“Don’t start again, guys,” The Judge says and shoots his dagger eyes in their direction.

“Hey! I have an idea!” The Protagonist says, throwing his hands up in the air.

“What?!” The Tagalong asks, clearly excited.

“Let’s all be best friends.”

“Yeah!” The Antagonist and The Tagalong reply in unison.

“Let’s all say it together,” The Protagonist says, relishing the fact that, once again, he is in full control. “Ready? One, Two Three…”

“WE’RE ALL BEST FRIENDS.”

And they all lived happily ever after.

Or at least for the next few hours…

The End.

Filed Under: funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: fighting, Kids, Sibling rivalry

Christmas/Advent Plans

November 30, 2010 by Kelli

With December just hours away, I find myself thinking more and more about how to make Christmas a special time for the kids. I should probably start thinking about this before November 30, but I’ve never been known to think or plan ahead so why start now, right?

I’ve instituted one major plan with the kids for this holiday season, but other than that I feel like December has snuck up on me. I mentioned the Christmas musical my church is putting on last week – this musical, while great fun and a great ministry, has taken a lot of my mental energy. Starting Saturday I will pretty much live at church until the following Sunday.

So here’s what I need from you, bloggy friends. I need ideas. Christmas tradition ideas. Advent ideas. I want to help the kids focus on the miracle of Christmas and not just the “stuff” of Christmas. We are going to do Elf on a Shelf for fun, but I also want to incorporate some kind of simple, daily exercise that helps them understand why we celebrate.

I need ideas that are simple and won’t take hours to plan ahead of time. Because I simply don’t have that in me. I’m not a crafty gal so if your idea involves extensive use of scissors, glue or glitter, I’ll have to pass. I’m sure it would be beautiful, but it just wouldn’t get done.

What do you all do this time of year to celebrate advent and to help your kids learn, see and experience the glory of the Christmas season. How do you mold their hearts to understand the magnitude of Christ’s birth? What do you do to make the season special and memorable and magical for your family?

I don’t just want to survive Christmas – I want to experience it. I’d love to hear what you all are doing to experience the season. Thanks for sharing!

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays

Sleeping in beds with boys

November 29, 2010 by Kelli

It was early 2002-ish and Lee and I, along with Lee’s brother Eric and his wife Becke’, attended a conference. It was held…somewhere. The details are really fuzzy. Wherever the conference was held required us to get a hotel room. Because we were young and poor, we decided to share a room and to secure it on Priceline.

It seemed like a really good idea when we got a hotel room just around the corner from the conference for only $50 a night. Score! Until…

We got to our room and found that it had only one bed. What to do? We couldn’t change the reservation without incurring much higher charges. So we did what any respectable couples would do in such a situation.

We all piled into bed together.

Eric slept on one end, then Becke’ next to him. I slept next to Becke’ and Lee laid on the other end. So as not to make the situation any more weird and awkward than it already was, we all slept fully clothed. Four people, fully clothed in one bed makes for a hot night’s sleep. Sometime during the night, Becke’ slipped out of bed, unbeknownst to the rest of us, and attempted to get more sleep on the floor. The rest of us were not aware of this transition.

When the early morning sunlight mercifully streamed into the room, I slowly opened my eyes. I looked to my left at Lee and smiled. He was on his back, straight as a board, arms stiff by his side, snoring. He looked wildly uncomfortable in his jeans. Then I looked to my right, expecting to find Becke’.

And there was Eric, sound a sleep. For a brief moment I was horrified as I laid all snuggled up to my brother in law. But after a few moments of wondering how on earth I ended up sandwiched between both Stuart men, I started to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. I sat up and looked down at Becke’ who was curled up on the floor. She looked up at me and we both laughed.

That’s the only time I have ever slept with my brother in law.

This weekend we went to Arkansas to be with Lee’s parents and brothers and friends. So much fun.

Except for the sleeping part. I’ve already told you my kids are systematically trying to ensure I never experience a full night’s sleep again. They were in full form this weekend. It all came to a head on Saturday night. Landon wet the bed (we had run out of pull ups and wouldn’t you know every night before Saturday he woke up dry) around 1:30. He bolted up and cried, “Mommy, I spilled! I need a towel!” I got him cleaned up and back down in time for Sloan to crawl in bed with us. I woke up around 3:30 to see Tia in bed with us as well. Around 4:00 Landon crawled into our bed. I didn’t have the heart to fight him on it so I put him on the end next to me.

And for the second time in my life I found myself sandwiched between two Stuart men boys. Sloan, being a fitful sleeper, kicked me in the kidneys all night long. Landon had his face right in mine and breathed on me for a solid two hours. It solidified my need to do a better job brushing his teeth at night.

Despite the lack of sleep, we had a great time eating, laughing, shopping and being together. It was, indeed, a Happy Thanksgiving.