The connection between a two year old and prayer

Annie is 2 years and 4 months old. I am in the process of training her on social graces, aka how to have good relationships with others. When she needs something, she is to say “please” instead of whining to get it. When she gets something, she is to say “thank you” instead of snatching it out of their hands as if she was entitled to it anyways. If she hits someone in the face with her shoe, she needs to say “sorry”, and not just "sorry", “sorry for hitting you in the face with my shoe”. And then when she is hit with a shoe, she needs to say “I forgive you”. And round and round we go.

How often do I instruct Annie to ask for things appropriately, be thankful, to say sorry, and forgive? I am convicted that I do not practice this with God nearly as often as I remind her to, even though there is ample opportunity. When I am hit with an injustice that makes me want to scream (like learning there was a sex trafficking house off N. Lamar- I just get pissed every time I pass the street), I need to beg God to fix it, ask him to help and comfort the women, say sorry for not reacting according to his truth, verbalize my trust in Him, and forgive the offenders. When I am struck with inconvenience (like when Annie refuses to put on her shoes for the 10th time in a day or “paints” her shirt with mustard), I there have the opportunity to thank God in all circumstances and ask him to grow me. It sounds hokey, but I should really consider it a work-out in the patience department and thank my God who knows me best for recognizing my need to grow in patience in that moment and steps in as my personal trainer. Or when God delights to give me some good time with a long-time friend, I need to thank him for giving me a gift, not just thank the gift for making the time. It’s all too simple, really. Incase you are not seeing my ample opportunities throughout any given day, see the bolded letters. These are all my missed opportunities in the last day and a half.

The bottom line: I really should be growing in prayer so much more than I have been when you really think about it. If I am actually thinking about what I am doing all day, instead of just running on autopilot (“what do you say?”, “say sorry”, “how do you ask?”), I should take my instructions to Annie as reminders from God on how to have a good relationship with Him. Having a good relationship with Him means talking to him, and talking to him is praying. I read today that all that we think and feel about God comes to expression in our prayers. What is God to think that I think and feel about Him based on my prayers? Let’s put it this way, it’s a good thing God’s self-esteem does not depend on how I think and feel about Him. He probably feels like an afterthought or a last priority. So in the spirit of prayer, I am going to thank God that parenting is hard and that I have to repeat everything I do and say 100x daily, so that I might be reminded of my "social graces" and ultimately have a better relationship with Him.

Speaking of social graces, here is a pic of some of my favorite kids learning the art last summer. It's hard to know exactly what they were thinking and feeling, but as it appears, we have Annie on the left completely unwilling to share her berries, Micah next to her stealing them anyways, Calvin envying Eli's sandwich and Eli completely discontent with his sandwich. Love this bunch.

5 months goes quick!

Since Lucy's been born, I really haven't had much of a chance to blog. I really had high hopes of being a better blogger and record keeper for Lucy, but it didn't pan out. My friend Jenny did a really amazing job of documenting her son's first year of life and I told myself I was going to do that, but then I never did. Here is a little snap shot, nonetheless. Jenny, get ready to eat your heart out with my creativity....

1 Month Old

2 Months Old

3 Months Old

4 Months Old

Lucy is now almost 5 Months Old. I don't know where the time goes. She is so sociable. She loves being around people and is generally fine if she is being held. She loves to suck her thumb (which is new for us since Annie was obsessed with her paci). She doesn't look super Mexican, as you can tell. Everyone asks how Annie is around her. Answer: She couldn't be more thrilled about Lucy. She asks where she is every morning (right after asking where her Daddy is). She is so gentle around Lucy and really likes to "keep her safe". Since Lucy has been born we have been able to see Annie's protective nature come out more. Everyone also asks if they are more similar of different. Hard to tell at the ages they are, but what we do know....

Annie is a thinker. She really enjoys figuring things out and doing things "all by self". Hard to tell, but she seems like an achiever type, maybe just a typical first born. She is not concerned with what others are doing, she just wants to do her thing. She is very independent. She likes to decide things for herself. She is not very sensitive (although she has her moments as a 2 yr old). She gets over things fast. She remembers everything. She LOVES her daddy and they seem to be alot alike. :) She is very cuddly if it's her idea. Anytime you ask her anything she says "okay". She is also a rock-collector and LOVES every stuffed animal that has ever existed. On any random day she is either doing a puzzle, reading books, or nurturing stuffed animals.

Lucy already seems to be more of a people person than Annie. She thrives when people are in her face. She loves the camera because a person is usually holding it. Annie always seemed more interested in how the camera worked and holding it herself than smiling. Lucy is not very serious, she is easy to make smile even when she's upset, but if you should find her to be upset she will make you go deaf with her shrill cry. She is zero to sixty. She is on or off. She is definitely more sensitive to her environment than Annie ever was. She is still eating in the middle of the night because she has trained me to obey her shrill cry. (I know, I know...It's on my to-do list.) She is bubbly, chubby, and very insistent when she is hungry. She is still pretty great at sleeping anywhere since she loves to be held. She is my lap baby.

Two things in common to both of my girls: 1) Both of my girls were super chubby babies topping the charts. 2) Both don't look Mexican at all, but we hope they get scholarships anyways.

As far as me and J go, we just celebrated our 5 yr anniversary! We got a little time away together, thanks to J's parents!

I have been starting to sew again, which has been a great creative outlet for me! J's sis, Brittany inspired me to refashioning tshirts into kid dresses (like the green A&M one she made that Annie is wearing above). Been loving that and just ordered a pattern to make some booties! I will keep you updated and maybe post the result!

J is still loving his job and doing great things in Austin. I can't believe how well suited he is for his job. I am so proud of him. When the website is up and running, I will post the link!

I just found a bunch of videos of Annie learning new tricks from the last few months, so I am going to be posting those over the next month or so as I get the chance to upload them!