Everybody has a name

Oh for the innocence of childhood. For the unaltered friendliness and complete lack of self-consciousness. Did you know everyone has a name? Everyone cries. Every single one of us has a mother. God made us and designed us. He designed that guy who is always standing in his yard whenever we drive by. He designed the shirtless skateboarder, resting on a bench, absorbed in his ipod. He has plans for those individuals…

We walked to the park in Grandville. It’s a little bit of a trek from our home, but Tim and Sarah had bikes and the boys sometimes rode in the burley and sometimes walked. Plus Ryan was meeting us at the park. It was 82 degrees according to the church clock on the corner of Canal Street and 36th. when we strolled by. A beautiful summer day in the midst of April. Lovely. We crossed the street.

We passed the occasional biker, or walker. We all do the polite smile or nod and move on in our lives, don’t we? My three year old gave me pause. We passed a man standing in his yard. He wasn’t doing anything. Just standing there, looking around. Mark stopped and stared at him for a moment. Then he said, “Hi, what’s your name?” with a huge smile. The man smiled, “My name is Harry.” “Hello, Harry. I’m Mark. We are going to the park today.”

Now, it may be that since the van crash, we haven’t really seen too many new people, but I think it was more than that. My heart was warmed by my son’s words and as we walked away from Harry, I realized I would have never known that man’s name if Mark had not asked.

I know it’s typical three year old stuff, but I couldn’t help but think how we don’t want to involve ourselves with ‘strangers.’ We don’t really want to know their names. We just want to move on our way. I pondered this as we walked on. It was a long walk and at last, we were on the trail by the creek. Mark saw the shirtless young man from a distance. He was sitting on the bench, listening to an ipod, with a skateboard near his feet. “Who’s that?” “Oh, it’s no one we know, just some one enjoying the day…” Well, Mark stopped right in front of him, sized him up and smiled. “Hi, what’s your name?” “Jacob, “ replied the man, removing an earplug and smiling a pleasant grin I did not expect, “What’s your name?” “I am Marcus.” “That’s a nice name.” “Yup. I am going to the playground now. Goodbye.” I did the polite smile thing and we walked on.

I think I wasn’t just humoring a small child, I was learning that we need to care about what other people’s names are. We need to have and make room in our neatly ordered lives for new conversations, even new relationships with other people God made. God created Harry and Jacob. Their parents gave them names. They have souls inside. Now, I probably won’t be introducing myself to everyone I see, but I hope to listen to God’s voice, and obey, and remember, everybody has a name.

When Science comes to you (IV)

"Tim, look at this branch I found in the yard. What made these holes?"

"A woodpecker did that, mom!"

"See how it's hollow inside? What was the woodpecker trying to get?"

"Bugs."

"Yes, let's set the branch aside to show Dad tonight."

Later, I heard Tim showing it to Sarah, "Sarah, what made these holes?"

"A woodpecker?"

"Yes. See how it's hollow inside? What was the woodpecker trying to get?"

"Bugs?"

"Yes. Let's set it aside to show Dad later." It made me smile to hear my lesson repeated. I love to hear my kids teaching each other.

From a few sightings last year, we think it was a downy woodpecker, but it was very high up in the tree, and hard to see. If you hear a woodpecker in your trees, it means there's a dead branch. If there's a dead branch in your tree, it's going to come down eventually. :-) For more on Michigan's woodpeckers, look here for a video from Channel 9 and 10 in northern Michigan

http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=131279

Five things

Five favorite moments of today (okay, yesterday)

1. Taking a walk with the boys in the burley and Tim and Sarah on bikes. The sun is shining and the grass is actually green.

2. We have lunch outside. Classic PBJ and some cut up oranges. Sarah tells me I am the best mom ever. I remind her that no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. But Mommy prays to God and God helps mommy be a good mommy. Don’t we have a great God?

3. Washing two pairs of dirty hands coming in from outside play. What tiny little hands that will do so many things in two lifetimes. Oh Lord, bless those little hands.

4. Losing the parking ticket and having the husband find it in two seconds of looking after Tim and I looked for a half-hour with the flashlight and everything. Losing the checkbook (needed to pay the parking ticket). and becoming so upset I could cry. Calling the husband and being shocked by his laughter at the situation. It made me smile too and stopped the tears. Still need to find checkbook before I lose the parking ticket again.

5. Having a friend minister to us with grocery shopping this week. Her two daughters watched the kids while she took me shopping. It was a nice getaway and wonderful to talk to a grownup one on one. Oh, and it was nice to get the shopping done.

Spring is coming

Reading Lesson by Elizabeth B. Rooney

What shall I write, my Lord?
Write about me.
What shall I tell them, Lord?
Tell them how beautiful I am.

But that's been written already, Lord.
In the sky.
In the pine needles under my feet,
In granite and sand,
In all of the sparkle and shine
Of your world.

I know, Child,
I wrote the book.
Tell them to look.

Thank-you Lord for Safety

Smash-bam

I got into a car accident, on April Fools’ Day…No Foolin’.. Wednesday morning was gray, wet, cold, and rainy; a perfect day for the mall. I had all four kids with me and we were on our way to meet a friend and her kids at Centerpointe Mall. We never made it. . For those of you familiar with the old Rogers Department Store on 28th. street in Wyoming, you know there is a blinking yellow light there. Why it is there remains a mystery as Rogers Department Store has been closed for quite some time and there really is no extra traffic.
The young lady in the white car in front of me was a little confused and slowed for the yellow light, coming to a complete stop to wait for it to turn red, then green. I did not see her brakelights in time to come to a stop. I braked and slid smash-bam right into her. We both pulled off the road. Kids were all okay. She was very apologetic, very shaken, but physically okay. It was her first accident and I felt bad for her. I instructed her to use her phone to call 911 and report the accident and the police department would send someone. We went back to our cars and waited. Tim wanted to get out and check out the damage so I let him do that, and Sarah began to cry so I held her on my lap, and we sang and prayed together, “I just want to go home, Mom.”
“I know, sweetie, we have to wait for the police officer.”
Fresh tears, “Is he going to take us to jail?”
“No, not at all.” The boys just wanted out and Lucas kept trying to squirm out of his buckles. I found some toys for them to play with while we waited. I was much more calm, cool, and relaxed than I thought I would be. I have never been in an accident as a mom before and I think it’s a little bit of the mother-bear thing to stay calm for your kids. After I received my traffic ticket and began the drive home, I noticed my hands were a little shaky. By the time we arrived home, my voice was shaky. I got the kids busy with other things and by the time I called Ryan, I was in tears. Thank you God for keeping me calm, cool, and collected when I needed to be.
It's not that I hit someone stopped at a red light. More than just the damage, more than the ticket, more than "yeah, everyone's okay," lies a deeper issue. A vision issue. Should I be driving?
It was a wet, dark, rainy day on a road I don't drive all the time. I was calm during and after the accident. I only got shook up and crying when I reached home. Ryan was grateful no one was hurt, but his biggest concern is the same as mine and the one question he asked is keeping me thinking. He asked, "Do you think I would've had that accident?" Absolutely not. Do I think some other licensed drivers would have hit her. Absolutely yes. So, I am really struggling with my vision issues.

Concerns:
If I crash on 28th. st., what about the drive to the gardens or the zoo or the children’s museum? There is a blinking yellow by the zoo.
Should I limit myself to Jenison? Grocery shopping and the bank. What about the library? No driving on rainy mornings?
What about dental appointments? I’m not super-familiar with the trek to the kids’ dentist office?
These questions fill up my mind. How do I make this judgement call?
Do we look for housing on the bus line? How soon? Can I be within walking distance to the library, park, and grocery?
What about help? Who has the time, patience, and vehicle to haul four kids and their mom to the dentist, or the zoo for the afternoon?
In three years, we can all bike, which is good for my present location, at least part of the year.
In 6 years, Tim can be in charge, and I can go for short treks alone. Will I be driving then? Eleven years until Tim is driving... will I be driving then?
All these questions and no answers. Please pray for Ryan and I when you think of us.

As you know, the twins celebrated their third birthday in February. Age three has arrived. It’s the age of independence, ingenuity, creativity, interesting sentences, and the use of tools.

My boys are finally getting to an age where they can do things for themselves. They invent scenarios for their toys and they take their cars on trips to the library, the farm, and all kinds of places in their little imaginations. They are great play mates for each other and I can leave them unattended while Tim and Sarah and I have school…or so I thought.

Oh, no, tearing off the wallpaper wasn’t good enough….that’s two-year-old stuff, old-school tripe. Holes in the wall…now that’s three year old genius. Ah, but if there is now a hole in the wall, it should be fixed. Maybe they asked themselves, “What Would Daddy Do?” If there are plastic tools available, logic dictates that they should be used. I actually found this little scene after the boys had been tucked in bed. They were sound asleep and I reached for a book to read to Sarah and…there it was…there was nothing to be done tonight…., but take a picture… (Don’t worry, we had a serious “mom to little guys, ‘yes mom’” talk the next day.)