The Sacrificial Duck

Well, here it is, barely 10am, and both TJ and Emma have been sentenced to a nap after lunch (among other things)....all because of the sacrificial duck.


Emma is not feeling well; she did her schoolwork but then settled into the couch during her normal "outside time". TJ was playing with the twins' teething duck (soft duck, hard extremities) and approached Emma to explain that in "TJ Pretend Land" the duck had died on the cross.



Maybe this would be a good time for a little detour.... Yes, I know TJ was being sacrilegious, but I don't think TJ understood that at all. He was just pretending, and at least he's starting to think about some of the important things about Christianity. When the whole Sacrificial Duck ordeal was over, I did redirect his play efforts toward something more theologically appropriate.


Back to Emma on the couch.... snuggled in covers and watching a Dora math video. As best as I can figure, Emma didn't want to take the time to explain to TJ why pretending the duck had died on the cross was innapropriate. So, to speed up the process, she sat up and punched him in the chest. Then she settled back down on the couch.



TJ, of course, was not pleased with the turn in conversation.... So he started wailing on Emma with the duck, hard limbs and all. Pretty soon they were a rolling heep of screaming children on the living room floor. Melanie, by the way, thought this was hysterical from her perch in the swing.


I could hear the bedlam but was in the middle of changing Marsha's diaper. I rushed the job, wondering how in the world the house had gone from content children taking a school break to what sounded like World War 3, with Melanie's "toe laugh" thrown in for good measure, in less than one diaper change.


Upon entering the living room, I had to stifle a smile. TJ and Emma are best friends, but when they get side-ways with each other...all bets are off. I settled Marsha in the excersaucer, and pulled apart the screeching wrestlers, and suddenly became a referee. The combatants separated to their own corners and explained why the other one was angry with them (I have found that much more effective than asking what the other did wrong). TJ had no idea what had disturbed Emma, which is apparently what had upset him so much. Emma justified it all by explaining that she was just doing her job as a "Christian soldier."


So, both children have had some individual lessons with Mom about exactly what Jesus sacrificed for us, and how a duck would just not do, as well as what it means to be a "Christian soldier."


It's not naptime yet, and Mason needs to move on to history, so I suppose that wraps up this post. I hope our family made you smile.... I'm pretty sure my best friend is still laughing. Being a Mom is such a great adventure :)

The Little Man...not so little, actually

Mason.... What to say about Mason? Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure that my Mom was right: God gave us nine year olds so we would still love them when they're fourteen. I love this age! He's growing up...laughing at things that are actually funny, caring about things that matter, connecting abstract principles to the happenings of the world around him....

And such a sense of humor.... We were in Walmart the other day (yes, I realize many of my blogs revolve around Walmart; we're there a LOT). Someone stopped us and asked how old the babies were; I answered six months. This lady then asked if they were twins.... I was so shocked that someone could wonder if two babies, both six months old, looking an amazingly lot alike, were twins...all I could think to say was "yes." As we walked away, Mason elbowed me and announced, "Here's your sign."

Mason has a very tender heart, too. When he was... oh, I guess about five, Hannah had just been diagnosed with autism the year before. She was very much lost in herself at that point, but Mason was always very patient with her and loving to her. I'll never forget turning around one day and realizing I had not seen Mason for a while.... I found him crying in his bed. When I asked him what was wrong, he just continued to cry in my arms. Finally he asked me, "Why doesn't Hannah love me?" A few weeks later he fought with another little boy on a playground because his friend had made fun of Hannah. This year he went to a nursing home and hit it off with a man who was pretty well lost in dimentia.... all of the other kids were afraid of the fellow. His leader asked him later how he was so comfortable with the older gentleman, and Mason explained to him that sometimes God makes people different...like Hannah...but He loves them just as much, so Mason would love them, too.

Talk about making a Mom proud.

I probably have more stories about Mason than about any other child....

When he was three, almost four, and we were expecting Emma.... Hannah was still a baby, maybe 8 or 9 months old, when one day I heard over the baby monitor Mason telling Hannah in a very serious voice, "Don't worry Hannah, Mommy and Daddy will find you a good home." I guess he thought there was just enough room for two, and since he wasn't going anywhere....

I'll share more stories here and there in future posts.... I think you'll come to enjoy Mason in a special way!

The Chickadee

Did you know that Chickadees do not fly south for the winter? When the world is cold and the days are short, these little birds tough out the winter and offer cheery little songs through it all.

Emma is our Chickadee. Our family went through its own winter when Hannah was diagnosed with autism; not long after that, Emma started having seizures. I was also having health problems....Life, in general, was tough. But little Emma was always smiling and ready to laugh. We are so thankful that God sent her to us when he did.

Lest you think Emma is the perfect child, perhaps I should let you know that she is also our Drama Queen. Everything is...big. The smiles are big, the tears are big. And so is that "brown nose." Anytime someone gets in trouble, Emma is there.... When Thomas is disciplined for lying, Emma will assure me, "Mommy, I nevvveeerrr want to tell a lie." If Hannah lost control and hit someone, Emma will make sure that I know, "Mommy, I nevvveeeerrrr want to hit anyone." I think you get the point.

Emma and Thomas are fifteen months apart and very close. They have a love-hate relationship, which I suppose is normal for sibblings. Last Christmas, as in 2007, Emma and TJ had... their own personal war. About two weeks before Christmas, Emma snipped TJ's hair with scissors. Now, she knew better than this. We've had...issues...with scissors, and all of the children know that they are not to cut clothing, hair, etc. They also knew that if they ever cut anyone's hair again, their mommy would shave their head. So, I'm not sure what Emma was thinking.

Nor am I sure what TJ was thinking when he chose to handle the retribution himself rather than telling his mommy. But that night, sometime around 4, TJ climbed up onto the kitchen counter and retrieved my kitchen scissors from on top of the refrigerator. Then my four-year-old preceded to Emma's bed and began cutting her hair. He cut, and he cut, and he cut. Emma finally woke up when the scissors were pressing against her scalp. She literally had bald spots all over her head, except for the little circle that had been resting on her pillow. TJ was quite thorough; the longest lock was about half an inch long.

I woke up that morning with Emma inches from my face, holding handfuls of blond hair, and crying hysterically. It took me a minute to realize what had happened.... I have never been so upset in my life. For the first time as a parent, I was too angry to discipline my children. I had them sit down against the wall in my bedroom while I calmed down.... Once that wave of fury passed.... I looked over the damage, cleaned up the bedroom (there was hair everywhere - yuck!), and shaved a couple of heads.

Emma cried and cried. I shaved her head, but, to be honest, I'm not sure I could have done it had there been any other option. Did I mention that Thomas was very, very thorough? I also explained to TJ that as long as Emma had to be embarassed by her haircut, so did he. He was given a reverse mohawk.... My friend Amanda thought that was just awful, but she didn't see the same potential that TJ did. I found him in the bathroom the next day driving Hot Wheels cars down his "road".

Needless to say, TJ and Emma are only allowed to use scissors when I'm watching.

Did I tell you that Emma was distraught? The first time we had to go to Walmart, she begged and begged to be left behind...at five. Of course, she had to go in the store. Picture this, bald- headed, chubby cheeked little girl... She had five different old men stop her and tell her she was beautiful. One tried to give her a candy, and one tried to give her money. I finally realized that people thought she was a cancer patient. We were buckling up in the car when our Chickadee chirped, "I don't mind being bald; I'm still beeeauuutiful."

Hmmm..... Maybe we need to do a few lessons on the true beauty of character....