Gratitude and Giving

I've been reading articles lately on Pinterest about some ideas of how to raise a grateful child or how to teach your toddler to give to others. Months ago, Charlotte & I were driving past a homeless man when she asked me to stop so she could give him money. A short time later, she gave again.  WOW, I can hardly keep my judgmental thoughts confined to my head but, give to them?! Years ago, I remember a message from Pastor Kendall about being instructed to GIVE (not necessarily money), regardless of whether the person addicted to drugs, hit a bump in the road, or devised a master plan to scam me out of money. God didn't tell us to give IF we thought he deserved it or give IF we felt she would use it for her child. We are instructed to help, give, feed, clothe, to do our part.

Matthew 25:34-40

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^[a] you were doing it to me!’

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matthew 25:34-40). - See more at: http://www.allaboutgod.com/helping-the-homeless.htm#sthash.seok5Nqp.dpuf

`Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matthew 25:34-40). - See more at: http://www.allaboutgod.com/helping-the-homeless.htm#sthash.seok5Nqp.dpuf

`Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matthew 25:34-40). - See more at: http://www.allaboutgod.com/helping-the-homeless.htm#sthash.seok5Nqp.dpuf

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matthew 25:34-40). - See more at: http://www.allaboutgod.com/helping-the-homeless.htm#sthash.seok5Nqp.dpuf

Chloe was yelling "MOCHA! MOCHA! as we pulled into the bank parking lot this morning. After our banking was done, we made our way towards Starbucks. As we were sauntering by Panda Express, I saw feet sticking out from behind a pole... We kept approaching the dirty clothed person on my right as my I turned my attention back to my gallivanting, little person on my left. Chloe had her fingers wrapped around my pointer finger and was chattering about "bigs" passing on the road, heading in for a "mocha", and even chanting "Hammy! Cabin! Hammy! Cabin" in anticipation for our weekend ahead. But immediately when we got around the pole to see the man sitting there, Chloe turned her entire attention to him. As she let go of my hand and leaned toward the man, she says "Hi! Hi! Sit. Sit." as she points to the spot next to him on the cement. What? Are you crazy? Why would you sit by a stranger? What if he's a creeper? What if he steals her? is running through my mind as I look in his eyes. I stopped short, with nothing to say. He's young, maybe only a few years older than me. He tries to chat with Chloe, asks what her name is, and says she is cute. He's a nice guy with ripped, dirty clothes. He's hungry. He's a person. My sweet girls' voice interrupts my thoughts as she points toward Starbucks and says "MOCHA!" while continuing towards the door. About 5 steps later, she turns around and tells the man "bye bye". I, too, turn to say goodbye and I see the man still smiling at my child. Nothing was creepy about him. Nothing indicated he was crazy or high. He looked like he could have been at my same high school, just a kid that hit a tough time and had no where to go. A dude looking for a meal. My thoughts were still on the guy as I neared the door to Starbucks. A lady popped her head out the door, yelled to the man and asked if he wanted a coffee. He said he would love one and thanked her before she disappeared back into the coffee shop. As we followed her in and stopped in line next to the food display, the thought finally hit me, "How can I teach my child to be grateful for what she has and give to others who are less fortunate if my nose is so high in the air that I can't stop to care for the guy outside? I didn't utter one. single. word. to him."  I ordered him an egg breakfast sandwich to go with the coffee ordered by the lady ahead of me, said a prayer for the man, and finished with a breath of thanks for the lesson that this mama learned today.

As I got back in the car, I heard this song ... Wow. 

I can tell you one thing, that man didn't see Jesus in me today.

Oh Lord, give me another chance. Let them see YOU, in me.

-Crystal

Weeds Weeds, Go Away!

After a not-so-lovely day at work, I came home to spend the evening with my little ray of sunshine. This has been one of my favorite evenings her yet! The lawn is…. slightly overgrown so I set to edging while Chloe greeted all the neighbors. Check it out:

After all our hard work, we took the Little Tykes car to get the mail and then headed around the block. Our little garage-sale bargain is a little shaky so I was glad it made it all the way! Along the way, Chloe got out to follow the "meow meow", bang on the "lellow" (yellow hydrant), waved at the "run" and "hamper" (runner and camper, ha!) and ended with a soak in the tub. 

Counting my blessings.

-Crystal

Seasons of Summer

Since leaving Nebraska (read about our trip here), our summer has flown by. Chloe joined daycare last week, we visited my brother & sis-in-law in Phoenix, threw a baby shower for Heather and Baby Ratliff, and celebrated our sweet friend Kaiya's 1st birthday party. I  will do my best to sum it up:

*While Chloe stayed in NE,  Luke and I spent our time hanging together. We stopped for coffee and donuts a few mornings, slept in later than we should, and spent a day at Six Flags. My childhood roller coaster experience was mostly spent at Worlds of Fun where I would ride the highest & fastest coasters with whomever would join me. When I was a teen, I made my poor grandpa ride the Kraken at Sea World countless times because I couldn't get enough. Sooo, when we got to Six Flags, I headed for the highest ride that I could find. After hitting a few, Luke wanted to head to the animal side of the park where we watched a dolphin show, exotic bird show, and checked out some other furry creatures. We plan to take Chloe back sometime this fall so she can experience the animals too.

*Planning a baby shower for my sister in law was sooooo fun. My mom & I got to do what we love (plan, bake, prepare and NOT have to decorate!!) and Heather had friends locally who did all the decorations. You can read her post and see more pictures here. She's absolutely glowing and we had a great time spoiling her! An added bonus to throwing a shower in Phoenix, we were able to spend 4 days down there with her and Justin, plus Mimi & Papa. Somehow, the trip never seems long enough. "yun-your" doesn't quite have the stealth down that a parent needs so Chloe did get to sneak quite a few cookies under his supervision….

  

*She LOVES toenails, cutting them, and making sure everyone knows where theirs are :-)

 

*In a very last minute decision, my mom came back to California with us and we are glad to have her! Chloe started daycare 2 days after getting home. The first day went off without a hitch. But the second day wasn't as seamless. She watched Mimi walk out while screaming for her and her nap has been cut short each day by all the surrounding noises. But, as each day passes, we hope to get more accustom to the new atmosphere so the days will be something to look forward to. She will go to the Turlock Christian daycare on Tuesday and Thursday, stay with Kirk & Jill on Monday and Saturday, and Amanda will watch her at our house on Fridays.

*We pray every. single. day. for our friend Kaiya and the foster care system. You can read about their impossibly hard journey here but only if you agree to pray with us that Kaiya will remain with her mommy & daddy FOR.EV.ER. If we pray too long without lifting up Kaiya in prayer, Chloe will open her eyes and yell "KAIYA! Mama! Dadda!" because she knows that's what we pray for every. single day.

Chloe's words are streaming together all the time. Read books, pants on, hi dolly, help me, hold me, go 'side... and the list goes on. I love the personality coming out more and more each day. She is the sweetest girl in the world.

Fun things at this age:

*She says "nope" in the most adorable little voice

*Every time she sees a glass of water, she slurps really loud because she wants a drink.

*All people are her friends. She will say hi, point out her Mama & Mimi, and even follow others around the grocery store!

*She is obsessed with diapers & poo-poo. We have yellow cleaning pad things that I cleaned out of my laundry room. Her new thing is to strap them on each of her babies and then check for poo-poo... every second of the day.... on every baby.... Did I mention that's her new FAVORITE game?

*Puzzles are second nature. She can complete the shape and animal ones in a few short seconds so we upgraded to the alphabet, numbers, and multi-piece ones that interlock. I love to watch her eyes as her mind is working to solve an issue

*"Bed & Elly" are her morning requests now.... oatmeal and eggs have taken the backseat to a boring old slab of wheat bread with sugar-free boysenberry jelly. Usually the jelly is completely licked off before the bread is consumed

*Most babies are still referred to as Norah or Kaiya. Even blond little toddlers earn the title "no-uh" and every baby with a complexion even slightly darker than hers is automatically deemed Kaiya. The other children are often weirded out by the shouting of these names while being pointed at but it's cute to watch on this end :-)

*While my mom has been visting, we will often find her sitting on the mattress just playing with the covers, wrapping them around her little waist or playing peek-a-boo with the thin air... 

*At her 18 month checkup, she checked in at: 20 lbs, 3 oz, 31.25" long, and her head is 18.1". Doctor said she is "petite but healthy"