Saturday, July 26, 2014

Who is Brother Ben, anyway?

Sweet summertime. Is it August yet? Time for school to go back? My routine to come back into play?

I have had a really good summer. Milkmaid #1 went to her first week long church camp last week! She had a blast and probably could have stayed another week if we'd let her! We are so proud of the girl she is. I can't even imagine what the teenage years will bring with her. She's 8 and thinks she's 18. A lot of sass, some eye rolling, and big opinions.
She is a sponge. She soaks up everything around her and tries to understand things well beyond her eight years. Then she tries to use it against me. My little sweet girl is getting to that point where she fights with her momma. Who knew?

She asks crazy questions. As we are driving down the road we see people holding signs that say "no amnesty" and "impeach Obama" she proceeds to ask me what they are all doing and what that means. Have you ever tried to explain amnesty to an 8 year old? And what impeach means? You think you pretty much know until you are explaining it to a kid. Then you feel like the biggest idiot in the world. And one conversation leads to another one and by the end I had done my best to explain those things plus our welfare system and the IRS. That day was done....good grief.

But the kid is smart...she got it. Maybe. I should probably try to carry a dictionary and a set of encyclopedias around....Oh wait...I have Siri and Google. And don't forget the accurate info on wikipedia!

Milkmaid #2 is....well....2. Going on 12. She is a mess. The kid is just like her father. She walks outside and the dirt attacks her. She comes in after two seconds with dirt smeared on her face, sweat rolling, she looks like a hobo. And she thinks she's a pirate. As we are driving through the field trying to find The Milkman (aka Daddy) she says, "Hmmm...where is that scalawag?"
What?
Did my sweet toddler call her daddy a scalawag?
Milkmaid #1 is rolling.
I am struggling to keep going. I gave up. It was hilarious.

She frequently calls me a "codfish," tells me that I am "Cap'in Hook," and when I tell her to do something (pick up toys, laundry, whatever) her response has become, "Aye! Aye! Cap'in!"
It's all in good fun.
She was really disappointed that her "Izzy" (Jake and the Neverland Pirates) costume's pixie dust doesn't make her fly. She attempted that between beds at the hotel in Branson. It was a lucky break that daddy was there to catch her.

My girls keep us on our toes.

Things get busy. And it's hard to keep up. We try to go to church on Sundays and pray before we eat. It doesn't always happen, but it isn't so rare that the girls are surprised when we do it. I am trying to find some new routine for us. One of the things we started last year was that we say a prayer on the way to school every morning. Yes...while I drive and eat breakfast and tell everyone to have a good day, we also work a prayer in. Milkmaid #2 does a great job. She prays like a pro. Toward the end of the year Milkmaid #2 wanted to say a prayer too. She has one prayer. It doesn't matter what activity is going on. She says, "God is good. God is great. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen"

Let me not leave off the very ending that my family has said since the beginning of time "Amen, Brother Ben. Shot a goose and killed a hen." My great-grandpa Jake was a preacher, my uncle Raymond was a preacher, and of course, my daddy has it in his blood. Don't worry...it's ok to talk about a goose and a hen at the end, we got Jesus. I don't think He minds.

I have been trying to find some quiet time for myself lately. So that I can just spend it reading a few verses, reading a devotional, or just talking to God. The other morning I managed to get up long before I had to, so I sat down and read a chapter in 1 Corinthians and had prayer time. I asked God to help us be less of us and more of Him. I want my girls to feel Him in our home and know He's with us.

We haven't said many prayers in the car since summer started because our routine has changed, but yesterday, when we loaded up so I could take the girls where they were going for the day so I could attend a conference, Milkmaid #2 says, "We need to pay, Mom."
Pay what?
You know pay.
Pay your daycare? or Pay at Sonic?
No! PAY!
Milkmaid #1 chimes in, "Pay Memaw? What for?"
NOOOO! PAY! GOD IS GOOD. GOD IS GREAT!!!
OOOHHHH pRay!!
Yes!

This momma was on top of the world. I had just sat and prayed that God would help me know that I was doing an okay job. That I would be humble enough to allow Him to work in our home. That I would know my girls were learning to have faith. And He moved me through my 2 year old.

All 3 of us said a prayer. We gave thanks for our many blessings. We prayed for grace and mercy and love. We asked that we could be good examples for Christ. And Milkmaid #2 thanked God for our food.

Amen, Brother Ben. Shot a goose and killed a hen.


No comments:

Post a Comment