Changes

The events in the past two months at our house have followed a common theme...change. I am not new to change; in fact I love change. I have embraced lots of change throughout my life - big and small. Just ask my Mom. When I was a pre-teen, she was never surprised when my bedroom door hit a piece of furniture as she attempted to come in on a Saturday morning. I was known for rearranging my bedroom on a (sometimes) weekly basis.

But the past two months have been full of a lot of change; definitely much more than we are used to. The kids started school - Anna is in preschool and Ian is in pre-K. And once a few weeks of school were under their belts, the kids seemed to have grown up a bit more overnight. Ian has tried a few new foods and that is saying a TON for a child who will only eat about five things. He is choosing his own clothes and dressing himself for the most part. He can fix his own breakfast and, minus getting the gallon of milk out of the fridge, can almost fix his own warm milk without supervision. Anna is attempting to dress herself and can often entirely undress without help. She will also choose and get her own shoes on but she does need help with her socks sometimes. She can brush her own teeth and get breakfast out of the cabinet but needs help opening it. It seems as if we are seeing new milestones in the kids almost daily.

And about two and a half weeks ago we decided it was time for her to let go of the Pappy (pacifier). She had become very attached to it after her doctor's appointments/procedures this past summer so we knew it would be difficult. One Sunday she had a royal tantrum after we refused to let her have her Pappy on the way home from church. Her intense reaction was so unlike her and it made me realize just how attached to it she had become. So I finally got the guts to get rid of it. While she was eating lunch I snuck into her room and snipped the end off her last pappy and left it in the bed for her to find. When she discovered it she was surprised, confused and then sad. I just sympathized with her and explained that when pappies get old, they break. And once they "break" they aren't safe to have and we have to "get rid of them". I've been very careful to not say throw it away, trash, or anything similar. She has asked for it several times, especially when she's tired, but has not had a tantrum or been terribly upset over it. She has been more sad that she hasn't had it instead of mad. I simply reply that we don't have Pappy anymore and that it broke. And she accepts that and moves on. She's had a much more grown-up reaction that I'd anticipated. This is exactly how we ended the Pappy with Ian but in his case his really did break off because he would chew it all the time.

Over the summer the Lord called me to get out of my comfort zone and give back to the church we've called home for more than six years. Our kids love the children's programs at church and I felt it was time I got involved in some way. Without knowing much about the program, I signed up to be a storyteller for the first through fourth grades in the fall Sunday school rotation schedule. In the weeks leading up to my rotation I had great doubts - was I cut out for this, ready for this, or even willing to do this?? I felt like giving up but then the Lord placed the story of Jeremiah so conveniently in my lap as the story I'd be telling for four straight weeks at church. I always find humor in how the Lord works in our lives sometimes and He did it again. Jeremiah was just a child when God called him to be a prophet or disciple for Him. Jeremiah doubted his ability to do the job God called him to do because he felt ill-equipped, too young, etc. but the Lord gave him strength and guidance. Jeremiah never gave up as he attempted to share God's message. I can relate to Jeremiah in the sense that I often feel too immature as a Christian to be a proper disciple for Christ. But I now know that whatever God calls us to do, be it big or small, He will be by our side the entire time to guide and teach along the way. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday school rotation, and am so thankful for the work God has done in my heart and the strength He has given me to get out and be a disciple for Him in whatever way I can. I pray the story of Jeremiah reached at least one child over those four weeks so that child can have the confidence to boldly be a disciple for Christ.

In September, my passion for serving within the foster care community took an unexpectedly positive turn when a volunteer position I have enjoyed changed into part-time employment. I am able to work on Thursdays while both kids are in school or at home if need be. I'm thrilled to be a part of such an amazing organization that has quickly made great strides in changing the face of foster care in Oklahoma.

Our next change will be Ian turning five years old. Aside from birthday parties and fun gifts, his birthday will be a milestone, a sort of rite of passage, in his young little life. Mark and I have agreed that at age five Ian will take on more regular responsibilities, greater tasks of self-sufficiency, while letting go of some of his lingering "toddler ways" and Ian is preparing for that. He is such an amazing little boy - bright, loving, humorous, compassionate, inquisitive, and filled with the Spirit - and we are so proud of who he is and who he will be.