{Israel recap} Day 10: the weakest link

June 20, 2013July 13, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

Like place for the setting of John 21 — Likely place for the setting of John 21

(Repost)

I wondered who would be most affected by Paul’s absence for two weeks.

Hope? Who’s connection to Paul still surpasses the other girls.

Sophia? Our emotionally fragile, oh-so-sympathetic roller coaster.

Gracie? Recovering Mama’s girl.

Mckayla? Happy as long as she has her food, her mama, and a chance to run around the house and play.

I must say the answered surprised me.

Ever since Saturday night, Gracie has been asking for Paul. Not whining, not crying, just asking, “Where’s Daddy?”

She doesn’t know where Israel is. She doesn’t understand a study trip. She just knows Daddy’s not at the dinner table. And she’s getting tired of it!

I’ve noticed a change in her behavior. Like I said, asking for Paul; also becoming super clingy to me. How many times can one girl come in the kitchen and ask me to hold her? So far there haven’t been any meltdowns, but we still have several days to go.

Hang in there, Gracie; Daddy will be home soon.

Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.

Series coming soon

It’s official: the Israel trip is on

Official introduction

Day 1: to turn out that last light

Day 2: lonely in a crowd

Day 3: Is something wrong with me?

Day 4: Sometimes you just need…

Day 5: It hit me

Day 6: The problem with “me” time

Day 7: I need you

Day 8: An answered prayer

Day 9: Letting others be there for you

{Israel recap} Day 8: An answered prayer

June 18, 2013July 13, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

(Repost)

I do remember praying before I went to bed the night before that God would somehow give me the strength and joy necessary to take of the girls the next day. Everything had been going so well, and then with the news of the shootings I felt all my physical and emotional stamina just caving in.

I woke up not feeling great, but determined to do my best regardless of my feelings. The girls all woke up early, except Hope, and they were pretty much ready by the time I heard my phone ring.

It was a long, weird number and I strongly suspected that Paul was on the other end.

I answered, smiling before I even heard his voice. But the smile after I heard his voice probably made the other smile look like one of Gracie’s scowls.

What he said hit me out of nowhere. After hearing the news about Connecticut, he said he needed to talk to us. He? needed? to talk to us? But you’re in Israel – the coolest place ever!

Why was I surprised? Of course I know how much he loves us. Of course I know how close he is to the girls. He would have had all the same thoughts and feelings that I had.

It was so good to talk to him. It was amazing to watch the girls excitement as they held the phone and talked to their beloved Daddy. It was so familiar to hear his excitement and love as he talked to them.

God could have answered my prayer in many ways. But He chose to give me strength and joy through my very favorite person, Paul. And once again, I was terribly excited for him that he was in Israel; and completely okay with taking care of the girlies alone.

***********

At dinner Gracie asked, “Where’s Daddy?”

“In Israel!” I replied.

“No,” she disagreed, “he’s at school.”

This was the first time that any of the girls had expressed concern over his whereabouts.

When thinking of how to best handle this time of them being away from him, I had thought about watching videos online of Israel or having some sort of countdown where we would eat candy out of a jar for every day he was gone and watch the amount dwindle. In the end, I did none of these things. The girls were handling it famously. They knew where he was and it felt best to just carry on and try to occupy ourselves with fun things.

It was interesting to me that Gracie had been the first to ask about him, sensing that it was weird that he was gone. Everything was fine, but I wondered what this second week would hold.

Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.

Series coming soon

It’s official: the Israel trip is on

Official introduction

Day 1: to turn out that last light

Day 2: lonely in a crowd

Day 3: Is something wrong with me?

Day 4: Sometimes you just need…

Day 5: It hit me

Day 6: The problem with “me” time

Day 7: I need you

Can you say “hermeneutics”?

March 21, 2013March 21, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

Hope is intelligent, articulate and exact. Sophia is funny, crazy and mischievous.

They were sitting at the table, coloring. I was in the living room folding clothes. Which seminary class their father would attend that night was the topic of their conversation.

Sophia asks, “What class does Daddy have tonight?”

“Hermeneutics,” Hope replies.

“Oh…” and Sophia repeats hermeneutics. Except…she didn’t say it quite right. Almost, but not quite.

“No,” Hope corrects her, “her-me-noooo-tics.”

“Hermejetics.”

“Hermeneutics.”

“Herbejuckus?”

“Say ‘herm-”

“Herm-”

“-men-”

“-noo-”

“-tics.”

Hope is very happy with this. “That’s it! Now say hermeneutics.”

“Hermalexa.”

This went on and on. Sophia never cracked a smile, never changed her voice at all. Honestly, I didn’t know she had such creative, verbal-convoluting abilities in her.

Hope never caught on. Okay, she caught on when Sophia digressed into using bathroom word endings. Ay-yay-yay. That’s when I stepped in between peals of laughter, “Okay, okay.”

Was that really my three and four year old? Yep. Thanks for the reminder that my husband’s stellar sense of humor …has definitely been passed down.

Can you say “hermeneutics”?

What love feels like

March 21, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes love feels like the cold blast of air that greets you as your faithful husband walks in the door from work

Sometimes love feels like hot, stinging dishwater.

Sometimes love feels like a heart that’s hurting inside while your mouth voices thoughts you’d rather leave unsaid.

Sometimes love feels like a tiny hand connected to a very wobbly, newly walking body.

Sometimes love feels like the side of your husband pressed up against your own as you do absolutely nothing.

Sometimes love feels a lot like playing ring-around-the-rosie.

Sometimes love feels so amazing you can only respond in wordless worship.

Sometimes love feels like a rock in your stomach once you’ve decided to apologize.

Sometimes love feels like a four year old climbing on you as if she was still two.

Sometimes love feels like your heart is bursting.

Sometimes love feels not so much like a dramatic explosion inside, but thirty pounds of soft, squishiness sitting down in your lap.

Sometimes love feels like a fuzzy sleeper holding a body that’s collapsed on your shoulder.

All the time, love feels undeserved.

What the fly on the wall heard, week 2

March 7, 2013September 7, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

This just in from Sophia

“We’re hiding from poisonous snakes. They have guns.”

(I say) “Poisonous snakes don’t have guns.”

“These ones do,” she insists, “They’re right in their brain!” (pointing to right eye)

She continues, “And when they want to shoot, they just raise up their tail, and it hits the gun, and shoots! Even if you’re far away.”

Wow.

****

(Gracie) “Mommy, what is ba-ba-jo-ja?”

“I have no idea.” (Mommy)

What the fly on the wall heard

March 2, 2013September 7, 2013 ~ Christie ~ 1 Comment

For a long time I have wanted to have a place where I could write down all the ridiculous things that are said in our house on any given day. My sister gets a great kick out of some of the things she overhears during our phone conversations. We’ll see if I can remember to record them as they come.

For today, here is your first edition of What the fly on the wall heard:

“Can you please get me that can of chickpeas that you put up on the piano, Sophia?” (Christie)

****

(Hope, teaching kindergarten to Sophia and Gracie; just after she taught them how to spell “owl”) “And the way you spell ‘ouch’ is O-W-L-T-H.”

****

(Gracie, on the way home from getting vaccines) “I’m going to tell Daddy the doctuhs huht me!”

Hope you enjoy! Have a lovely weekend.

Teaching piano lessons to your own child: The Name Game

February 28, 2013 ~ Christie ~ 13 Comments

Hope's first and only piano lesson from Daddy — Hope’s first and only piano lesson from Daddy

For a few years I’ve put off teaching my oldest daughter piano lessons because I didn’t want to do a bad job. The stereotype seems to be that most piano teachers do not have success with their own children. It’s challenging to play the role of parent and teacher simultaneously.

However, I also dearly love teaching children and am extremely ~~picky~~ passionate about how they are taught. I haven’t really run in the piano teacher circles since our move, so I didn’t have any good choices that I knew of for Hope. Besides that, right now, it would be best to have a teacher that was free.

A few months before Hopey turned five, I knew it was time to stop stalling. People had been asking for years when I was going to start teaching her and she had begun asking to play constantly. We decided that this would be one of her birthday presents; I ordered the books online before I could change my mind.

My piano pedagogy professor in college went through all the reasons why it’s not wise to teach your own children the piano. I do remember him saying something like, “The only person I ever knew it worked for would make her girls go out the door, walk around the block, and come back in for their lesson. They were required to call her Mrs. Swaim.”

This idea stuck with me, and I decided to try it. Since I had everything else going against me, I figured this was my only chance.

I told Hope that she would have to go out the door, and then knock to come in for her lesson. She would have to call her teacher Mrs. Mylastname and that she was to be very well-behaved. Her eyes lit up as she caught on.

Not quite knowing what to expect, imagine my pleasure when she walked in the door with the most adorable smile on her face and twinkle in her eye, “Hello, Mrs. ________.”

This little game has actually helped me a lot. I’ve been able to look at her like any other student. It’s been so fun to realize, Wow, she’s just like other kids; doing cute things, annoying things, childish things… she’s just my piano student for that hour.

After her lesson, I send her out the door again. When she comes back in, I ask her how her lesson was and she tells me all about it and shows me what she has to do for that week.

We’ve been going for at least two months now, and it’s been great. The name game has really helped.

Obviously, there’s still a long road ahead filled with many challenges. But since we’re on the way, I figured why not blog about it.

Hope you enjoy! Next time I’ll talk about why teachers really have it better.

Don’t want to miss this series? Follow my blog if you’re on WordPress, or sign up to receive posts through email. Do you have any experiences teaching your own children music lessons? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments! Thanks so much for reading and have a lovely day.

Day 14: Reunion

January 19, 2013 ~ Christie ~ Leave a comment

"I am the bread of life," was declared by Jesus here. "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Wow. This synagogue is built on the synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum. — “I am the bread of life” was declared by Jesus here. “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Wow. This synagogue is built on the remains of the synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum.

He’s back.

Safe, sound, and scruffy.

As he held me close and my head leaned into his big, hard familiar chest I heard him whisper, “Hi, mommy.”

His eyes lit up as he saw the girls. I thought they might scream or run to him, but they waited with huge smiles for him to walk down the “Do Not Enter” corridor and then hugged him and watched him with their ever-adoring eyes.

I teared up when I first saw him coming. He’s here; he’s really here; God brought him back safely to me!

As we went to get his bags and the car, I was so, so, so, so happy to not be the only adult in charge anymore; to have another pair of eyes to watch the girls with, to have a friend to smile at, to know that he would be with me now.

He showered us with presents. If I can get good pictures of them, I’ll share them in a couple of weeks.

Even though he was exhausted, he stayed up to talk to the girls while I made lunch. We ate together and then he went to sleep… for fifteen hours.

But I didn’t care; the backpack in the middle of the living room, the maps and books and pictures everywhere, the zonked out body in the bed, the mountain of laundry waiting to be done, the smiles on the girlies faces, all said one thing: Daddy was back.

And for now, that was enough to be completely happy.

Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.

Series coming soon

It’s official: the Israel trip is on

Official introduction

Day 1: to turn out that last light

Day 2: lonely in a crowd

Day 3: Is something wrong with me?

Day 4: Sometimes you just need…

Day 5: It hit me

Day 6: The problem with “me” time

Day 7: I need you

Day 8: An answered prayer

Day 9: Letting others be there for you

Day 10: the weakest link

Day 11: exhaustion setting in

Day 12: In other news

Day 13: Christmas shopping for Daddy, anxiety, and felt flowers

Day 10: the weakest link

January 15, 2013January 15, 2013 ~ Christie ~ 8 Comments

I wondered who would be most affected by Paul’s absence for two weeks.

Hope? Who’s connection to Paul still surpasses the other girls.

Sophia? Our emotionally fragile, oh-so-sympathetic roller coaster.

Gracie? Recovering Mama’s girl.

Mckayla? Happy as long as she has her food, her mama, and a chance to run around the house and play.

I must say the answered surprised me.

Ever since Saturday night, Gracie has been asking for Paul. Not whining, not crying, just asking, “Where’s Daddy?”

She doesn’t know where Israel is. She doesn’t understand a study trip. She just knows Daddy’s not at the dinner table. And she’s getting tired of it!

Hang in there, Gracie; Daddy will be home soon.

Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.

Series coming soon

It’s official: the Israel trip is on

Official introduction

Day 1: to turn out that last light

Day 2: lonely in a crowd

Day 3: Is something wrong with me?

Day 4: Sometimes you just need…

Day 5: It hit me

Day 6: The problem with “me” time

Day 7: I need you

Day 8: An answered prayer

Day 9: Letting others be there for you

Day 8: An answered prayer

January 13, 2013January 13, 2013 ~ Christie ~ 12 Comments

I woke up not feeling great, but determined to do my best regardless of my feelings. The girls all woke up early, except Hope, and they were pretty much ready by the time I heard my phone ring.

It was a long, weird number and I strongly suspected that Paul was on the other end.

I answered, smiling before I even heard his voice. But the smile after I heard his voice probably made the other smile look like one of Gracie’s scowls.

What he said hit me out of nowhere. After hearing the news about Connecticut, he said he needed to talk to us. He? needed? to talk to us? But you’re in Israel – the coolest place ever!

Why was I surprised? Of course I know how much he loves us. Of course I know how close he is to the girls. He would have had all the same thoughts and feelings that I had.

***********

At dinner Gracie asked, “Where’s Daddy?”

“In Israel!” I replied.

“No,” she disagreed, “he’s at school.”

This was the first time that any of the girls had expressed concern over his whereabouts.

It was interesting to me that Gracie had been the first to ask about him, sensing that it was weird that he was gone. Everything was fine, but I wondered what this second week would hold.

Thanks for reading my first series: Taking care of four little girls alone (while my husband is on an amazing study trip to Israel). Here are links to the other related posts.

Series coming soon

It’s official: the Israel trip is on

Official introduction

Day 1: to turn out that last light

Day 2: lonely in a crowd

Day 3: Is something wrong with me?

Day 4: Sometimes you just need…

Day 5: It hit me

Day 6: The problem with “me” time

Day 7: I need you