In Remembrance

twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."
Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

True Story

A few weeks ago we went out for a girls night dinner to celebrate birthdays. We were at a family restaurant, nothing fancy, and we were waiting for our table. I am not kidding when I tell you this. A family walks in (mom dad and daughter, there may have been more but I went into shock) and let me tell you what I saw. This little girl who was around 7 was wearing a special little outfit. Think of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, now down size that junk to a 7 year old. Yep!! Are you in as much shock as I was?? Seriously, these parents let this little girl out in public with her entire belly showing, wearing boots and a skimpy little vest over her bra thing.

This completely blew my mind, and still does. What in the world are these parents thinking?? I know that Dave and I are way more on the conservative side of things, especially compared to people around us, but come on! And to make it worse…there was a whole gaggle of these little girls dressed like that..not kidding, they are a cheerleading team. It blows my mind that there are parents out there allowing and even worse, encouraging their daughters to dress like this.

Last summer we went round and round about putting Abby in dance because of the stuff most studios have their kids wear and what they listen to. Luckily we found a Christian studio and the girls at no point what so ever are allowed to wear anything that shows their belly, not at practice and not in competition. They are also not allowed to listen to anything dirty or dance provocatively, even in competitions. Their motto is let little girls be little girls. I love that and agree with that 110%. It really weirds me out when I see little girls in makeup and hoochy outfits, its just odd.

I also over heard a conversation over the summer in the dressing room. A mom was upset that her daughter did not want a bikini but instead felt more comfortable in boy shorts. The mom was actually mad and said “well all your friends are going to be in bikinis”

My whole point to this is that as parents we are to guard our children's’ hearts. We are what keeps them on the right path and we are the ones who need to teach them right and wrong. Why do we encourage little girls to act and look like grown women? We need to stop pushing our little ones and let them be kids, life is hard enough, let them enjoy this time.

 

Her Butterfly

 

A few weeks ago Abby and I went for a little walk down our street. Before we left the house I gave her a grocery bag so she could put things she found in there and take them home. I am not kidding when I say it took us at least twenty minutes to walk about 6 houses down because she was so careful about selecting the right things to put into her bag. When we finally get to the 6th house (which has security cameras around it…don’t ask) she looks down in the grass and sees this big beautiful butterfly. I knew right away that it was dead, but it looked like it had just landed there so it was still “standing” up.

Abby “ mommy, look at the buteeeful butterfly mommy, look do you see it”

Me “ yes honey its beautiful”

Abby “ mommy can I touch it? is it sleeping”

Me “ well honey, hes actually dead, it just looks like hes sleeping”

Abby “ no, his leg is hurt, that’s why he is resting, he has to fix his leg”

Me “ ok, well lets let him rest and we can keep walking”

Abby “ I will help him mommy, I will fix his leg”

And with that, before I could say anything she emptied out her bag of sticks, rocks, and leaves she had so carefully collected and placed them in a circle around her butterfly.

Seriously beautiful

The Elf That Got Away

 

After Christmas last year I was determined that we would have Elf on the Shelf this year. O yes, I had planned some fun/funny things for this little guy to do. I had spotted out creative places for him to venture to and some trouble he could get into.

Well here we are, three days into December (80 degrees and all), and I never got around to buying that elf. Dave and I were talking about it the other night and I think it was for the best.

Here's the thing(s):

- Abby is smart. Not that your kid is not, but she thinks of things most three year olds don’t, and you know what yall? She out smarts me all the time. I am not a good liar, like at all. I have the worst memory in the world and she has an excellent memory.

- I don’t like to lie to my kid, partly because it’s wrong, but mostly because I am no good at it. Again, I think it goes back to the memory thing, and the fact that I seriously lack in the creativity department.

- Abbys imagination is wild, beyond anything I have ever seen and I have worked with kids for 15 years. If anyone has spent more than 5 seconds with her you have met her kids (brothers and sisters), her friends, and some have been lucky enough to meet Seal and Owl. Yep, I am thinking that adding a little man with pointy ears that wanders the house at night might end badly for all of us.

- Last but not least, I don’t want to add to the exaggeration of Santa. Don’t get me wrong, I love Santa, and I seriously look forward to being able to use him to change behavior in an instant. However, I don’t believe I need to feed the big guys ego by letting his tight tights wearing little helper  creep around our house and cause me more explaining when Abby discovers THE TRUTH about Mr. Beer belly and his red nosed friend. Again, not good at lying and posses no creativity at all.

Here’s one story that has stuck with me for over ten years… I was teaching pre k (fours and young fives) and I was telling them about donating toys at Christmas time because some boys and girls don’t always get toys at Christmas time because their parents can’t afford it. One of the little kids looked at me and said “Ms Erin, why doesn’t santa bring them toys”? I was really caught off guard and I don’t even remember what my response was. All I remember thinking was that we don’t always give kids enough credit and we usually think they are so simple minded, they really aren’t and when we are honest with them they have a chance to show us that.