Letter to My Daughter

I heard on the radio this morning that the number one person that influences a girls personal image is her mother...eek!

There are also hundred's of studies that say how important a fathers role in a girls life is...
A healthy relationship with her brother is also very important...
Healthy relationships with her extended family are important...

I know this...I know that both my husband and I play a huge roll in our daughter's self image...
I also know I will fail her.
I know my husband will fail her.
Her brother will fail her..
Her grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins will fail her...

Guess what, I don't need a study to tell me...
the number one most important relationship my daughter needs to become a healthy, responsible woman with a great self image...
Her relationship with her Creator God, Abba Father, Jesus Christ...

He.Will.Never. fail her!

and because of this I decided to write her a letter....

Dear Sweet Daughter of Mine,

I love you more than you can fathom {that is, until you have your own children, but until then}.  I want you to have a life filled to the brim with love & joy.

What I want you to know...need you to know.
You are designed to be loved.  
We all know that deep in our core, that we are created for love.  
But please never confuse what that love is.  You were created by the God of the universe to be loved by the God of the universe.  In the deepest part of your soul you will yearn for that love and search for that love.  
Make no mistake that you deserve that love, there is nothing wrong with this desire to be love.
But know this,
that NO man, no woman, no child on this earth that can love you enough to fulfill that need.  
God created that desire so that you would seek Him.

I love you more than you can fathom, but my love for you is nothing compared to God.
Your father loves you more than you can fathom, but his love is nothing compared to God's love for you.

Also, I am so very blessed to have met, fallen in love with, married and fallen more in love with your father.  
But guess what...
He is not my soul mate...  
He does not 'complete me'...
If for some reason your father was not in my life I would be sad, terribly sad, but I would go on and live the life that God created me to live, because my life is not set on a earthly man that I have chosen to live my life with.  No man on earth can make me whole!
My life is set on the Heavenly Father I have chosen to seek after.

You are beautiful.  Yes, I am your mother and because of that I will always believe you are beautiful.  But I also know that you are beautiful because of who created you.  
No article of clothing, hair style, make up brush can make you more beautiful than God Himself.  I will tell you that you are beautiful, your father will tell you that you are beautiful, your grandparents, friends, aunts & uncle, will tell you that you are beautiful {your brother may not, but that's just because he's your little brother!}, and someday, when you are grown {35'ish}, men will tell you that you are beautiful...those words, my words, "daughter, you are beautiful" aren't what make you beautiful!  You need to tuck this away in your heart, hear it over and over, what makes you beautiful is that the God of the Universe, the God that formed the stars in the sky, the mountains & oceans, paints the sunsets each night, that God...He.Created.You.  He formed you!  He drew the curve of your cheek, placed the twinkle in your eyes, counted every hair on your head, knew the size of your feet and the strength of your legs....  He is why you are beautiful!  You are not beautiful because your father and I tell you, you are beautiful because He says so!

That life filled to the brim with love & joy that I mentioned at the beginning of this letter...that isn't something that just happens.  And notice I didn't say a life without pain.  Not that I want you to have a life of pain, but I also know that pain helps us grow, that pain turns us to our Creator.  The greatest pain so far in my life was the first 17 days of your life...not knowing if you, my precious daughter, would live.  But that pain turned me into the arms of my God.  I sought out His Love and Peace and through that pain my life was filled with love & joy.  
God's plan for your life is to 
"prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 
{Jeremiah 29:11}......but don't stop reading the passage there...keep reading...
"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord."
We need to seek God with all our heart...God's plan 'not to harm us' plays into the fact that we are seeking Him!  Not seeking a life free of pain, not seeking to be beautiful, not seeking to find a man to share it with...
When you seek God and allow HIS plan to dictate your life, that is when the remainder of His plan for prosperity & hope will become fulfilled ...
oh, and prosperity isn't 'the American dream'...God's idea of prosperity looks a little different.  Prosperity is a heart issue not a bank account number!

There is so much more that I want you to know.  So I will end this letter with...
"till next time!"
Your loving, faithful, full of mistakes mom!

He Doesn't Babysit

Nope, my husband doesn't babysit!
And will NEVER babysit our children!

He is their father...gave them 1/2 of their DNA...why would anyone ever assume that he would merely 'babysit' his own children!?!?

We live in a era that women are put on a pedestal for all they do...glorifying women and all their choices...{don't get me wrong, I think some women are pretty darn amazing}...but for some reason to make everyone believe that women are amazing we had to be fed this plate of lies that men are idiots!  That the only way women can be amazing is if men are the opposite.

Sitcoms show us the bumbling, stupid father that can't make a trip to the store without making a mistake.

Commercials show us that the biggest challenge a diaper can be put to is to leave a diaper clad baby in the care of their father while a football game is on, because a father is to single minded to watch a sport and care for their child!

And society in general...they always assume if a man is with children he is 'babysitting' them, that he's 'stuck with the kids' for the day...that no man would actually choose to parent their own children, choose to hang out with their kids and be their dad!

Let's get real here, I believe in equality...some women are pretty darn amazing...and there are plenty of men that are bumbling idiots...
but their are plenty of women that share the title of bumbling idiots!  And there are some pretty darn amazing men!

I married one...and had his babies...

and he will never babysit our children...he is their father...he will parent our children!

When they were babies he changed diapers, he burped them, he fed them {when they weren't nursing}, he bathed them, dressed them, rocked them to sleep as infants, read to them, sang to them.

As they grow his role is changing, he still tucks them in each night and reads with them, helps them with their homework, makes them dinner, washes dishes or sits back and relaxes now that our children wash the dishes.

He has taught them that being yourself is way more important than being what others want you to be.

He takes them to old bookstores and thrift stores {helping them to respect the things from past generations}.

He teaches them about music; from Benny Goodman, to the Beatles, to Abba, to Journey, to Michael Jackson, to U2 {my kids can play the "who's this band/singer?" game WAY better than I will ever hope to}.

He helps them with their piano or just sits and plays with them.

He takes them on bike rides.

He dates our daughter, teaching her how and what to expect from the men in her future.

He plays games with them {board games, card games, video games, role playing games}.

Starting from a young age he taught them the history of the original Star Wars {and although he's morally opposed to the new movies has left it up to them to make their own choice}.

He is teaching them to mow the lawn.

He watches 1950's horror movies with them.

He takes them kayaking.

He has taught our son that hair style doesn't make you a man.

He loves & respects their mother.

He baptized both of our children!

He has taught them to pray, he has taught them to seek out God's truths in their lives, he has help them memorize God's word. He has put God first in his life and has modeled for them how to live a life that glorifies God.

He has never.once.babysat our children!  From day one he has been their father.

Happy Father's Day Beau, I love you, thanks for being my babies' daddy!

it's just hair

whatever...

I don't have amazing hair
never have
it's thin, straight, limp,
with just your basic
     I-got-it-trimmed-approximately-4-months-ago-style
good thing I'm not a hair person...
or maybe I just don't care enough,
          maybe I have the potential for amazing hair but I'm too lazy
     {this is a very high likelihood!}

but I married AMAZING hair,
my husbands hair is full and wavy and amazing
he sadly had rocked a mullet in high school...and NO it was not the 80's!
{for the record I DID NOT know him during the mullet and was already hopelessly in love the first time I saw mullet pictures}
since we've been together {almost 17 years} he has had more hair styles than me!


and back on track...
our son has his father's amazing hair...





and has worn it pretty shaggy most of his life
{something about his weird mom not cutting off those precious curls until he was almost 3, but he was bald for so long!}

pretty sure the shaggy hair had something to do with a lazy busy mom that would forget to make an appointment for a hair cut and months and months would pass before she would realize that her son's hair was out of control!

there have been a few times that I attempted the 'trim' myself, and that always resulted in something the boy child likes to call a 'mushroom head'...so that doesn't happen any more.





anyways...
about a month ago I had made the guys a hair appointment
{this hair is too amazing for any ol' barber shop/walk-in-for-a-cut place!}
when Beau was getting ready to leave Wilson asked if he HAD to get his hair cut...
well, it's getting kinda long buddy...
Yeah, I want it long...
okay!

the guys after Beau's hair cut and Wilson's non-cut

it's only hair, we have 3 hair rules {that apply to both him and his sister}
1.  keep it brushed
2.  keep it clean
3.  keep it out of your eyes!

 this is the boy child, yesterday, rocking some sort of 1977 Shaw Cassidy look....

makes me chuckle when boys have hair touching their ears and I hear a parent say it's WAY past hair cut time!
it's just hair people!

November 20

1}  I'm thankful  for lists...I just finished making my Thanksgiving grocery list...and when the kids wake up off we will go to get all or our Thanksgiving food.

2}  Thankful for leftover cookies that my kids will eat for breakfast!

YEP...I'm gonna let me kids eat a cookie for breakfast and then take them grocery shopping 2 days before Thanksgiving when the store is likely to be horribly crowded!
And ... there is a large possibility that they will end the shopping experience with a large donut...
{because I believe cavities and obesity will give my children character}
AND....I feel strongly in the fact that we all have jobs in life,
     and we do those jobs better if we get a paycheck when our job is completed...
my children have a job today...
    They will be expected to act like normal civilized humans
     {even though their only breakfast was a large cookie}
while I drag them through a crowed, unfriendly grocery store...
      when & if they complete this job, their paycheck will be a donut at the end!

3}  Thankful for the men and women working at the grocery store...such an unappreciated job!
People treat grocers horrible.
Yes, I know you hate shopping...
     Yes, I know it's crowded...
Yes, I can see that your child is throwing a fit and just broke a jar of pickles...
remind me why that is the grocers fault and you need to be rude to them?
Yes, I know the lines are longer then you were expecting...
Yes, I can tell you fed your children cookies for breakfast...
Yes, I know that you wish you were ANYWHERE other than grocery shopping....
Yes, I know that this normal 1 hour trip has taken you 2 and you're still not done...
remind me how being rude to the grocer is going to help this situation!
I have a small task for you and your family!
If you have yet to finish your Thanksgiving grocery shopping, or end up back at the store because someone forgot butter or pepper...
First...be thankful that you have the option of shopping at a grocery store,
Second...be thankful that there are people that work in this thankless industry and THANK THEM...
Give them a smile...maybe a kiss {Hershey that is}...
and bonus...if you head into the grocery store with a good attitude and your goal is NOT to get out of there as fast as possible...
     but rather to make the day of those that are serving inside the store...
your trip will be that much more pleasant! {you can even make it a game with your kids}...
extra points in the game...help a young mom or elderly couple that look like they might need help with their list or bagging their groceries...
double bonus...your kids will learn amazing kindness, grace, and character from this simple trip to the store.

November 8

1}  I'm thankful for our parents and their marriages.

my parents @ our wedding

my in-laws @ our wedding

I think it may be a rarity that both sets of our parents are still married.  Both got married young and in an age when divorce was pretty normal our parents stayed the course and are still married.  I'm sure their marriages haven't been smooth sailing, but they love each other, have grown together, and love God.  Both my parents and my in-laws marriage have taught Beau and I things about marriage, commitment, and love.  Their legacy of marriage is something I am deeply thankful for.  My children see marriage as the norm, they see commitment as the option, not quitting.  I know many marriages end today because one or both parties just don't 'feel' it...they made a promise, they need to sit down and communicate and work it out, especially if they have children.  If you fall out of love...DEAL...and then try your hardest to fall back in love!  I'm sorry, that's my opinion.  I'm sure there were times in both our parents marriages that it got tough, that they may have considered not sticking it out...but I'm thankful they did our marriage is stronger because of their commitment and our children have a better chance at having strong marriages because of our parents choices!  

disclaimer:  I think divorce is the answer to SOME marriages {the 3 A's Abuse, Adultery, Addiction}

2}  I'm thankful for my family...mom, dad and sister.

family Christmas pic, cira 1984,
I'm in front holding the cat.

My parents were amazing parents to my passionate personality.  They didn't control me, they taught me to control myself.  They reinforced over and over that I was responsible for the choices that I made, that I had free will, and I would have consequences if I broke the rules!  And BOY did I have consequences...but I'm thankful for those lessons learned at a young age because life consequences for bad choices {sin} at the age of 10 is way  better than life consequences for sin at the age of 16...18...21...  Their parenting taught me responsibility for myself and helped guide my life to where it is today.

3}  I'm thankful for my in-laws.  I am 100% totally blessed with great in-laws.  Those 'mother-in-law' jokes don't make sense in my world.  I have a mother-in-law that I love, who raised a great son, who loves my children and who only gives her advice with love and tenderness.  The rest of them are great too.  I also really appreciate my sister-in-law, she's an amazing aunt to our kids.  Both my mother-&-sister-in-law have taught me how to be a better wife and mother and I am so very grateful for them.  I personally think the Chambers Men marry amazing women!

a shot with the in-laws 2010...
we all look younger now, except the kids are all older

And this is posting a day late...I wrote it yesterday, but forgot to post...

Happy Free-Candy-From-Strangers Day

why, hello there!

l-r Wilson's "jack", my curly "C", Madison's Cat on a fence
and then my worty pumpkin with poka-dot holes (hard to see)...
also a plastic golden pumpkin in the background looks like it might have eyes, it does not!

yep, I've been blog absent for a whole month...life just got busy, and as I wrote at the beginning of the year, this blog is for fun and it will not take away from my family...so I have been present with my kids and husband and working, and yes, the blog has taken back seat...

Wilson as his Father & Madison as a 6th grade student in 1988!

but I wanted to do a re-post for ya'll on this day...my post about 'Celebrating Halloween' as a Christian...

enjoy!
http://chambersmade.blogspot.com/2010/10/celebrating.html

payday

what happened to this world...

yesterday was our payday...which in our home = allowance day for our kids...

I was thinking this morning as I packed the kids' lunch...

I remember there used to be a time...

...blog note...not in my time...

but at one time...in the not-so-long-ago history of this nation...

that parents didn't pay their kids for being kids...

rather, the kids paid their parents...

kids went out and got jobs and a portion, if not all, of their paycheck went into the family bank to just help the family meet their needs...

then the government went and got involved 

....and made laws against frowned upon kids with jobs...

I'm thinking of starting up a petition 

....maybe not kids working 

{child labor laws might be hard to reverse}

but for the kids to pay the parents rather than the parents paying the kids....

[editor's note: I can be paid in Jelly Beans.  Beau]

who's with me on this...

just sign your name below!

I'm gonna need a tardy slip please

there are some crazy hard choices to make as a parent...

like...
when you realize that your 'sick' kid might not be as sick as he was the day before and could...should...actually be in school....

so how do you think the school would react if I brought my child to school a little late...

like 40 minutes before school lets out, late....?

me....yes, um, I'm gonna need a tardy slip...
office lady...really?  it's 1:10
me...well, my son was sick yesterday, and I thought he might still be sick today, but it looks like he's much better now.  so here he is!
office lady...you know school ends at 1:50, right?
me...um, yes, I'm aware that school dismisses in 40 minutes, but he's all better now...so, um, give him some learning, you got 40 good solid minutes....

wake up God, our neighborhood is ON fire!

so, our neighborhood caught on fire this past Saturday.
actually it was the 'green belt'/canyon behind our neighborhood that burned...
it was one of the craziest experiences of my life....

It was Saturday afternoon and I was on the computer in our home 'office',
Beau and Wilson were also in the office, Wilson watching a movie and Beau sleeping soundly on the futon.
Madison was not home...she was swimming with a friend....

I heard a loud airplane overhead...
it sounded loud, big, and really low...
we have a small airport not too far from our house,
so we hear plans overhead... but small plans
so I began thinking...that was big and really low for the airport....
seconds latter I smell smoke...
why do I smell smoke?
I get up, look out front to the street...
it is smoky and eerily quiet...
I went to the back and our yard was filled with smoke, I couldn't see our back fence...

I yelled for Beau and Wilson...told them we were leaving, the neighborhood was on fire!

we jumped in the van (both Beau and Wilson with no shoes)...

Beau wakes up fully at this point and decides we need to know what is actually happening...

he runs out back, sees trees on fire and decides we're going to stay and fight the fire.

By this time the eerily quiet scene of our street, from moments before, has turned into chaos...

people running down the street carrying belongings, 

dogs running, 

kids crying, 

fire trucks, 

firemen, 

reporters, 

neighbors and strangers...

after some 'discuss-ments' Beau and I decide to stay and try to fight the fire...
We get Wilson out of the car and have him help us with hoses and stuff in the back yard...

we open up our gates...
now our backyard is like the street...
firemen...
reporter/cameraman...
strangers...
neighbors...

and then Beau tells me to call Steve..

Steve is our boss...

he's our Senior Pastor...

& most importantly he's a great friend...

so, I call & not-so-rationally tell him our neighborhood is burning down and to pray!

he does...and he sends out the request on our church email prayer chain ...

up to this point...the trees in our neighbors back yard were engulfed in flames...
the fire was feet away from our other neighbors fence...
the wind is blowing up the canyon towards all the houses...

the fire stopped moving forward...

against all reason...

against wind and dry grasses...

the fire stopped moving forward... 

the neighbors teenage son was fighting the fires with all the neighbors hoses...

the firemen have shown up...

but really...

the fire should have burned more...
houses REALLY should be burning...
...the prayer went out...and the fire stopped moving towards all the homes...
the bombers where dropping flame retardant
and helicopters were dropping water

the firemen were everywhere...
they saved many homes that day...

but God had a huge hand in the direction that the fire didn't take...

seriously...the fire came up to the neighbors stacked firewood...but did not burn it!

below is a bird's eye view of our neighborhood and the 'green belt' behind us...

(our house is the red X in the middle)...

the black is the approximate path of the fire...

it's my lovely paintshop job...so, it's not an actual picture of the fire damage...but you get the idea...

do you see ALL of the houses that the fire didn't burn...

did NOT touch...

60+ homes were threatened by this fire...

and NOT one was burned!...not one house was burned... 

don't worry...I didn't take this during the chaos...

when things had calmed down...these two firemen were just casually walking down the block back to their truck..I asked for a picture with Wilson...

two of the many many blistered oak leaves that litter our lawns now (both front and back)...

we are keeping these as a reminder of Saturday...

a reminder that in chaos we need to stop and seek God first...

ironically...or maybe not so much

Steve preached about "Kingdom Challenges" on Sunday...

Mark 4:35-41

where Jesus & His disciples are in the boat at night and a storm comes up...

Jesus is sleeping and the disciples are freaking out...

only to wake up Jesus...not to ask for help...

but to tell Him the boat is going down...that they are all going to drown...

Jesus stopped the storm with his words...

He then looked at the disciples and said, 

    “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

...

hmmm...I was in that boat on Saturday...

I was in a sinking boat and Jesus was sleeping in the back...and rather than wake Him up and ask for his help...

I FREAKED OUT...

and even when I did 'wake Him up'...rather than say, 

"God, you can stop this fire"...

I said..."wake up God, our neighborhood is ON fire!"

God knew there was a fire...and...

God stopped that fire!

beating the heat

Redding, California is HOT...

it's sort, kinda known for being HOT....

(although it's a dry heat...if Redding had humidity it would be inhospitable and would have a population of 2!)

I really don't mind the heat...

it's just a fact that you need to be willing to live with if you choose to live in Redding...

which we do!

This is the thing...everything in Redding has AC. 

blog note:  I say that, knowing that we lived almost 6 years in our fixer-upper sans AC...

we had a swap-cooler...

or an evaporative coolers, as those in denial call it...

which takes our lovely dry heat and in turns makes it humid...classy!

anyways...

most normal sane humans that live in Redding have AC...

no cars are sold in Redding without AC...

it's not an extra...

it just IS...cars have AC...

side note 2:  we bought a brand new car back in 2000 and while looking at the extra packages we said, 

"Oh, yeah make sure it has AC!" 

the sales guy looked at us and said, 

"Um, we can't sell cars in Redding without AC!  it's not considered an extra but a must have!"

okay...back to our regularly schedule blog...

about it being HOT and getting the HECK out of Hades!

the forecast for Monday was HOTx10...108+

which is pretty normal for July in Redding 

(as previously stated...

that is why/how Redding is known for being HOT)

so, to beat the heat, the kids, some friends and I packed up and headed for the snow!

yep...we went and played in the snow in July!

something that I've done a few times...but not nearly enough..

pack up the car...

pack lunch and plenty of water... 

and drive (usually...always...without the husband!)

have a minor goal in mind, but be flexible...

our goals...

1.  get out of the heat

2.  hopefully, possibly see/play in snow...

then go...

be spontaneous...

this is the fun part...

drive...see something pretty..

neat...

weird..

interesting...

stop the car...enjoy...

....look kids, it a Sound-of-Music mountain meadow....

trying to get a Sound of Music picture
look really really hard and see the teeny tiny pink spot to the right...
yeah, that's one of our kids!

our closest Sound of Music shot!

we spent about 30-40 minutes
(20 of that crossing the colder than ice creek to get to said Sound-of-Music mountain meadow)
enjoying the beautiful meadow

hey, kids...
look a patch of snow across the street from our meadow...
enjoy!

love the contrast of green field below the snow!

this snow is fun and all...but it's sort-of-kind-of a snow cliff...if the kids take a step or two back they will plunge to their deaths...or at least break a bone or two!

girl getting tagged by a snowball

seriously...
how many times have you had a snowball fight in July!

it's snowing in July...or maybe we just threw snow up in the air

okay, so this is great snow and all...but it's not fun/easy to play in...it's a snow cliff...so lets pack up and find what we set out to find...enough, safe, snow to play in!

hey, look it's a snow tunnel...so what if it's in a parking lot...
it's a SNOW TUNNEL...in JULY....
stop the car...get out and enjoy!

blog note #3...
try not to look too closely at the snow...it's snow in July...
so, this is not pristine white snow...
it's actually old dirty snow...
but, just don't think about it...
and make it VERY clear that there will be absolutely zero eating of any snow! 

okay, so this is fun and all...
but it's a parking lot...
so, lets pack up and find a better place to play!
eventually...
we reach our ultimate goal...
an area with enough snow...
that's not on the edge of a cliff...
or in a parking lot...
and let the kids play...

 midget July snowman!

Get some posed pictures at the ice cold Lake Helen....

Pack up and head home!

*special note...

when heading to the snow...even if it's July...

it would be wise to pack snow/rain boots...

your kids may or may not suggest this to you before you leave for said snow trip, and you may or may not think, "it's JULY and we don't need that"...

it would also be wise to bring mittens...

possibly also something that your kids may or may not have suggested that you bring...

and you may or may not think it's necessary because it's JULY...

trust me, bring the mittens!

so, your kids may or may not have the chance to say, "Told you so, mom!"

also good things to pack for a snow trip in July:
*flip flops 

*towel

*bug spray...snow and mosquitoes don't compute in my head, but swampy muddy areas around melting snow drifts and 75 degrees is the perfect environment for mosquitoes...and since there are little to no humans in these areas you will be eaten alive by them!

Go out and embrace the spontaneous trips!  Pack up the kids, invite some friends...and pack all the things that your kids may think you'll need!

and take pictures!

These are memories that you and your kids will cherish...

so don't NOT go because your husband/wife might not want to go or have to work

don't NOT go because friends can't come

don't NOT go because you have laundry to fold

this was an amazing day...it was in the high 70...when back in Redding it was 108+
the kids, our friends and I all had a great time!

just go...and embrace the spontaneous trip...

don't have any mountain snow anywhere nearby (we drove an hour and half to reach snow), drive to the lake, a waterfall, the beach, a local pick-your-own produce farm...etc...

what are some spontaneous trips that you've taken...or wanted to take?

How Clorox Wipes Ruined my Kids

back story for my not-so-short story about ruining my children!

....

so my children are responsible for cleaning their bathroom once a week...

Monday's to be exact...

and they clean the bathroom with non-other than Clorox or Lysol Wipes...you all know you use them...

I tried about 3 years ago to go all green in this area and stop using the cleaning wipes...yeah, that wasn't happening...

anyways, the kids clean every surface of their bathroom minus the inside of the toilet bowl, with the wipes, it works, they get it done, end of story...this is all they have ever used to clean the bathroom...the cleaning wipes and the toilet bowl brush...

summer is in full swing...and that means I have the kids 24/7...

like some home-school mom or something...

and so, things like errands...not happening!  

because taking the kids across town to WalMart to buy things like cleaning wipes and paper towels, when we could actually live without them 

(because in the history of the world we have lived without them), 

is not on my list of things I like to torture myself with...

end of back story...

so, first Monday of summer hits...

kids clean bathroom...all is well...

minus the fact that they used the very last cleaning wipe and failed to inform me...

second Monday of summer hits...

kids go into bathroom to start the cleaning process when they both realize the world has come crashing down around them! 

THERE.ARE.NO.CLEANING.WIPES!

boy child instantly sees this as a miracle releasing them from bathroom cleaning duties...

but girl child knows...

she's old enough to remember back...

back to that black time in history...

when mom went all green and there were no cleaning wipes in the house....

there is some discussing going on in the bathroom...

slight arguing...

boy child is elected to tell me the news about the cleaning wipes, 

probably because he's younger and I would never think to make him clean his own bathroom without the aid of cleaning wipes...

FAIL...I tell them to use...paper towels and cleaning spray...

back to the trenches they go...

then some more arguing...discussing...

girl child emerges now...

..."um...Mom...but there are NO paper towels left...none!"...

confidence has soared...they are golden...

NO cleaning wipes

NO paper towels

that can only mean one thing...NO cleaning the bathroom...

FAIL..apparently I have never introduced them to the wash rag!

what had I done as a mother?  

my children had no idea that they could clean surfaces, other than themselves with a wash rag...

AND that I actually had a stack of wash rags, in a long forgotten cupboard in the garage....

kids clean the bathroom...all goes well...

third Monday of summer hits...

paper towels have been purchased by the husband...

cleaning wipes have yet to be purchased...

because I have not come to the point of running that horrible errand mission...

but kids now know...

they have been educated on the old school ways of cleaning...

they are smart kids...

so, the smart kids that they are...and slightly lazy...

    they know they don't need cleaning wipes...

so, they start thinking outside the box....

do we really need wash rags?...

     all the way out in the garage...

or the paper towels?...

     all the way to the kitchen...

no, we can think outside the 'cleaning wipe' box that our mother held us in for so long...

and look, there is this roll of paper that we use to clean our bums...

why would that paper not work to clean the rest of the bathroom?

oh, and that cleaning spray...

     it's all the way under the bathroom sink...

     we'd have to like, open the cupboard door to get that...

but look, there is soap right here sitting nicely on the counter...

     nice soap...foamy Bath-&-Body Works soap...

     that's good enough to clean our hands...

     must be good enough to clean the entire bathroom...

     ...including the mirror...

yes...you read that right...

my children 'cleaned' their bathroom with toilet paper and not-so-cheap Bath-&-Body Works foamy soap!...their entire bathroom...

yes...Clorox Wipes have ruined my children...

and now I'm off to buy stock in them!

the swim test

back story to the story.....
we have 2 different swimmers in our family...
the girl child is a fish...
     has always had confidence in the water
     even when she didn't have form she had confidence,
     she just knew...she had FAITH she wasn't going to drown
     and she loves the water
    as a some-what-shy toddler and preschooler she had no problem taking a swim class,
          in fact she loved taking them

the boy child...he's been a totally different animal
     and not a water one
     has never believed he could swim, even when he can
     swim lessons have always been a fight
     one year he even refused to 'dress' for lessons and wore his jeans, I still made him get in the water with his jeans (not a happy little boy)
     he likes to swim....sometimes...half the time he'll chose to stay home with dad!
   
okay...the swim test!

last week of school (2 weeks ago) boy child's 1st grade class is going on a swim party field trip to the YMCA (the pool that we swim at most of the time).

The swim party is taking place at the outdoor pool that looks like this

the kids need to pass the 'swim test' to get the green wrist band and swim just on the other side of the rope from the shallow pool into the first swim lane
(a place where the kids can actually stand up in...but since the depth gradually increases to a point where they can't touch they need to take the test).

the swim test starts at the deep end and the kids must swim the length of the pool

the lifeguards were great,
one of them has been Wilson's swim teacher a few times,
Mr. Steve, he's a great guy that is amazing with kids, builds confidence in the water and has just an amazing heart for kids.
they had the kids jump in and swim... if/when they got a little tired they could grab onto the wall for a short break and then continue swimming.
by the time Wilson has decided he wants to take the swim test about 15 kids have already taken the test and passed...these 'green wrist band' kids are not swimming in the deep end they are all playing and splashing and stuff down in the shallow area

Wilson does great...
He jumps in, and he is swimming without stopping, he's closer to the swim lane (rope) and not the wall, not stopping to rest because he's too far away to grab on the wall.
He makes it down to the 'shallow' area...where he can actually touch...
and he hits a wall of inner-tubes, swim noodles, beach balls and kids...

he freezes...he doesn't move...
at this point he can actually touch, but he doesn't...
he doesn't swim under any of the things in the water
he doesn't move any of the water toys, he won't even touch them

boy child panics...and even though he can touch he almost drowns right here because he's stuck in the doggy paddle and is TIRED because he's just swam the entire length of the pool without resting....

the lifeguard has to throw him the lifeguard flotation thingy
(it's not the ol' round life preserver thingy that we all think about, but those long red foamy things...)
anyways, once Wilson sees the lifeguard throw that towards him his panic doubles...
"I'm getting rescued...that mean's I'm drowning!"
...he panics and doesn't grab it...lifeguard throws it again...
Wilson grabs it this time and is pulled to safety...10 feet away!

So, Wilson FAILED the swim test...
even though he swam so far, he panicked and had no idea how to swim or get to safety...not good...

kids that failed the swim test received a red-wrist band so the life guards knew what kids could be where.
Mr. Steve talks Wilson into re-taking the swim test...talking to him about how to get thru the 'water-hazard' at the end...

and guess what...same thing happens...
and now...
Wilson has FAILED the swim test twice...

What Wilson didn't see...won't see...can't see...
is that he SWAM almost the entire length of the pool...TWICE...
he SWAM in the deep end...
he never needed to grab the wall to rest...
TWICE...he swam twice the length and never reached out to rest on the wall!
HE CAN SWIM....
he only sees a failed red wrist band

fast-forward to the next week...first week of summer vacation...
and...
da.da.dum...
swim team...yep, I have boy child (both actually) signed up for swim team...

same pool...what happens...
Wilson doesn't swim...
the boy gets in the water....strokes twice...grabs the wall...
'monkey-arms' it about 20 feet...strokes twice...grabs the wall....
repeat...
all the way to the end...
and repeat for the entire 1 hour swim practice!
!

ARGH...
why?
He knows in his head that he FAILED the swim test...
he "can't" swim!

I convince swim coach that my son can in fact swim so please don't kick him off swim team...
(yep, I was that mom!  SHEESH)
and then sign him up for swim lessons...

fast-forward 2 weeks...
Wilson has now been on swim team 2 weeks...and taken 2 weeks of swim lessons...
and he has yet to swim the same distance he did for the 'failed' swim test...
his coach knows he can swim and has let him remain on the swim team...he's done amazing at his lessons...
but still he 'knows' he can't swim because he failed the swim test...

as a parent I can tell him over and over and over again that
He Can Swim...
all he can see is that red wrist band that told him he couldn't...
...
I have wondered ever since that fateful 'swim test'...

God, 
Do I have a failed swim test in my life?  Do I see the 'flotation devices' in my life as water hazards?
Have You told me over and over and over again that I can do something...
Yet, I keep pointing to my failures and telling you that I can't do it?  
Showing you where I failed, how I failed, how I'm not equipped to do what you've asked of me...pointing to my failed red wrist band and saying GOD, you have no idea what I can't do, but I know I can't do it!

Ouch...
I am grateful for the spiritual lessons my children teach me!

God, 
Remind me that I can swim...that I'm not swimming alone, and that you are always my lifeguard even when I can touch the bottom...and that my failed red wrist bands are ones that I have put on myself or the world has...not ones that you put there!