Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Cara's first sentence

Colin was sick today. So I threw together some good Chinese kid sick food. Congee. But, Cara inhaled it. And to our surprise, the beast who usually grunts said in a polite and almost mousy voice, "Mo jop jop?" translation: More congee??

ah, of course her first sentence would be regarding the replenishment of her food. of course....

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Wild Thing

Cara is a wild one. A beast, and silly to the bone. In fact, it was just 2 nights ago I was lamenting how mischievous she was. After we had put both the kids down, we had return to their room 3 times.

We knew trouble was brewing when we saw the lights flick on/off and heard giggling, so Joe just said with a stern voice from below, "Lay down. Go back to sleep." No sooner than 5 minutes had passed, I heard some noise over the monitor. Not crying, not snoring... a rustling of some sort. I went in to check, and there she was, mangling the blinds on the window. After the light switch and the blinds, I literally pulled her crib out into the middle of the room so she couldn't touch anything within arms reach. I had also noticed she had taken her sleep sack off. I put it back on.

Third time. Noise. Giggling. It was Joe's turn. He goes in, and finds the beast completely naked. She had taken her sleep sack and her sleeper off this time.

She's a sweet girl, really. But she's just wild.

She loves to jump off stairs, flip upside down, get tossed in the air as high as Daddy can throw her. And she loves to climb on you, and balance.

I was on the computer, and she usually climbs up on the chair with me to stand and hang on to me (much like a pet monkey). This time, she decided to get between me and the computer, and stand on my legs.

She kept trying to balance, taking her hands off while standing on my legs going "whoooaaaa, whoooooaaaaa". But eventually she would fall, and I would catch her and we'd smile and giggle.

She's loveable, but wild.

We kept doing that, and she kept falling, and I kept catching her. Then, I started thinking - one day, her risk taking and wild ways will be more than I can handle. She'll be taking emotional, academic, social and other physical risks. And as I thought, I'm going to always be there to catch her. No matter the risks. I'm her mama, and as hard her falls may be, I made a promise to her right and then - that I would always catch her.




Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Beginnings

I've been praying. I'll be honest though, I'm not very eloquent in my prayers, but on this 3rd day of the New Year, I've found myself spontaneously praying a lot more.

I don't make resolutions, but I'm thinking that talking to God is a good start. My life isn't perfect. My marriage isn't always happy, my insecurities are always creeping up on me, my dysfunctional family frustrates me, and my kids - well, they're kids - what more do I need to say.

I'm finding that in all these imperfections, I can only look up and in the moments where I can give thanks to God for giving me the life I am living. I've always said I can't be the supermom that everyone strives to be. I'm not trying to be her - I've given up on that (image). I want to be the mom that's real, knows my weaknesses, and am not afraid to show them - so that others can be strengthened and empowered to know they're not alone.

I want to be a good wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. There are serious weaknesses in every area of my life, and I feel like I need an instruction manual for life. I need chapters like "What to say when you're wrong", "How to not be lazy", "When you feel like giving up", "How to care more", and a chapter like "How to find the Apple TV remote' would be really helpful too. God is my guide. I need to constantly go to him for instruction to weave through this thing called life in a completely sane matter.

Praying doesn't automatically solve all my issues. Praying just allows me to reflect on them, and brings awareness of my ownership in each area. I feel transparent, and real - but I find myself giving thanks more than anything though each time I pray, because I feel so blessed and loved. The love that God has for me, is far beyond my understanding, but because I am loved like that, it flows through me and is poured upon my family. And the best thing I can do for my family, is to love them unconditionally.

I know I am rambling (re: eloquence issue), and my prayers are for the most part like this. And God doesn't mind.