Prayer for Avery

I mentioned baby Avery and her sweet strong family in my previous post. And I would like to do something for this family, but I need your help! I am proposing to make Saturday, April 21st a day of prayer for baby Avery.

I am asking for individuals, families, prayer groups to join together starting at 12:00 a.m. Central Time, for 30 minute stretches of prayer. Add fasting too if you are able and willing, and cover this family in prayer. Pray as you feel the Lord is leading you to pray, and commit to this only if you are serious.

I would ask that, once you have decided to commit, to put the time you will be praying (translated into Central Time. Ex: if you are in California and pray at 3:00 p.m., that is the 5:00 p.m. time-slot.)- you CAN sign up for more than one and there CAN be more than one sign ups per time- but try to sign up for times that have not yet been filled!, and to include your name in the response. A nickname is fine- just something for the family to be able to see a visual representation!

Optional things to include- your location (can be as general as a time zone or as specific as a city- no addresses please), and if you are also fasting you can choose to let the family know!- additional comments to the family and Avery should be posted to them on their blog

So, here are the time slots- I will update this as accurately as possible. Remember these are CENTRAL Times, please make the necessary calculations when signing up...

1. 12:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. : Erika P.
2. 12:30 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
3. 1:00 a.m. - 1:30 a.m.
4. 1:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
5. 2:00 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. : Jacquie H.
6. 2:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. : Amanda C.
7. 3:00 a.m. - 3:30 a.m.
8. 3:30 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.
9. 4:00 a.m. - 4:30 a.m.
10. 4:30 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
11. 5:00 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. : Matt B.
12. 5:30 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. : Kathe B.
13. 6:00 a.m. - 6:30 a.m. : Adria F.
14. 6:30 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. : Emily B.
15. 7:00 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. : Robin R.
16. 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
17. 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. : Jessica M.
18. 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. : Tasha F.
19. 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. : Ellen B.
20. 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. : David B.
21. 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. : Michelle F.
22. 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
23. 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
24. 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. : Tiffany T.
25. 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
26. 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
27. 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. : Melissa K.
28. 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. : Priscilla S.
29. 2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. : Alicia W.
30. 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
31. 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
32. 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
33. 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
34. 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
35. 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
36. 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
37. 6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
38. 6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
39. 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
40. 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
41. 8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
42. 8:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. : Hannah M.
43. 9:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. : Maggie B.
44. 9:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
45. 10.00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. : Ashley C.
46. 10:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
47. 11:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
48. 11:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Looking forward to joining in prayer with everyone for this precious baby girl and her family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes it's Days Like These...

Yesterday I felt like I was wonder-mommy. You know those days where it seems like you are doing everything right? Haha, oh the pride! I seriously take credit for the fact that both of my children were in a good enough mood that we could get in and out of a store in under thirty minutes... That I could finally really clean the house a little bit more than light sweeping... That BOTH kids took naps. At. The. Same. Time.  Talk about a breath of fresh air. And yeah, totally had to stop myself in the middle of the day...

My thoughts were along the lines of, "Look at me! I'm actually getting stuff done! Things are looking good... Heck, I'm looking good..." Y e a h... The trap of taking credit for a good day. I get trapped in that a lot. I also take blame for the bad days. Been there? The day falls to, well, you know... And you sit there looking at the mound of dirty underwear your toddler went through in under three hours, the infant who can't stay up for more than an hour and fifteen minutes at a time, and the entire house needing a good cleaning, again... Examine everything, and blame... myself.

But the fact is days are days. There will be good, and there will be bad, and there will be in-between days. And to seek Christ in the bad, praise Him in the good, and realize that sometimes what happens in a day is completely out of your control. Choose joy in the bad, be joyful (and take advantage) of the good, and really relish the time here... Because the days may be long, but the years are so short...

I was recently introduced to this family via a friend's link on Facebook to their blog. And, while crying desperately for this family, I wanted to go wake up my daughter and hold her close. My son peeing everywhere and belly laughing while doing so no longer seemed like the end of all ends. The reminder that life is precious, and sometimes much much much too short was harshly staring back at me from my computer screen.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this family's blog. Pray for this sweet baby girl and her incredible parents who have a strength I stand in awe at. Really, truly blown away by how this family has approached this time in their lives.

Tucker Talk: Hi-Ho

Nathan: "Tucker, can you say, 'Hi-Ho Silver, and Away!'?"
Tucker: "I am Silver!" (major belly laugh)

Tucker Talk: ABC's

Tucker in sing-song voice: "A, B, C, D, E, F, G! Now I know my A, B, C!"

Sometimes it's Incorporation, Bunnies, & Eggs

Have you ever experienced a heart moment? There is something going on in your head that won't leave you alone, at least not for long periods of time? And for the life of you, you have no idea how to handle the situation "correctly?" Well, I have that, a lot. And more often now that Tucker is older. 

He understands so much, process so much, retains so much more than he did as an infant... But he doesn't understand full concepts. For instance, holidays. He loves Easter. Well, more correctly he loves Easter eggs. And they don't even have to be filled with candy. In fact, he generally prefers them empty so that he can fill them himself with the things he likes. And I am perfectly happy with that. 

But here's the thing. My son pays attention to me. I have told him "You are going nuts!" enough times now as he runs around the house giggling his head off, that now when those instances happen he joyfully exclaims, "I'm going nuts!" -giggle- "I'm so funny!" -giggle- "I'm cute!" -more giggles-. And here is where I wrestle- allowing my children to enjoy the fun of the holidays, while at the same time being honest with them about the holidays. Nurturing their imaginations without twisting reality. And I'm not sure anyone has really mastered that yet... 

I loved believing in Santa Claus- I willed myself to believe in him until I was almost twelve years old- yeah... And it is probably one of my favorite parts of my childhood- that belief in the imagination. It was wonderful. And I want my kids to have that too. I just don't know how to explain everything to them. I want Christmas morning to be more focused on the celebration of Jesus' birth, of the gifts of the magi, than of the presents around the Christmas tree- but I want to still let my children know the thrill of Christmas morning... And to incorporate the two somehow so that they compliment without confusion. The same thing with Easter. Tucker has an obsession with Easter eggs, and a newly discovered obsession with the Easter bunny. And I would love to bring his excitement over those things into the excitement of the empty tomb- and everything that that has meant for mankind. 

But how to communicate to a toddler? It seems just beyond where he can mentally grasp at this point in time... and yet he can grasp the Easter Bunny, so how do we bring in the joy of opening an egg and finding sweet surprises, to the opening of the empty tomb- revealing the sweetest surprise of all?

For now, I speak and pray that the Holy Spirit uses my words to speak the loving truth to my son's gentle heart. 

Tucker with his empty Easter Eggs

Maddie waiting for Easter Bunny

Tucker meets Easter Bunny

smile says it all...

Tucker Talk: Safety Locks

Opened Tucker's bedroom door to find all of his freshly cleaned and folded clothes emptied from his dresser and thrown haphazardly across his room.
M: "Tuuuuccckkkeeerrr! I am going to put child locks on your dresser drawers!"
T: "No, that's not a good idea...."
M: "oh, really? Why is that not a good idea?"
T: "I couldn't open them!"

Yeah....

Tucker Talk: Apple Store

Tucker, in the car on our way home from lunch: "Go shopping at Apple store? Go Apple Store?"
Nathan: "What do you want to do bud?"
T: "Go Apple store!"
N: "What do you want to see at the Apple store?"
T: "Go see Jude at Apple store..."
N: "You want to see Jude at the Apple store?"
T: "Yeahah... That'd be fun."

Apparently the car means we are going to go shopping... At the Apple store (Hmm, wonder where he gets that from?). And if he is going to see anything/anyone, it will be Jude- a friend from small-group/MOPS. Although I am pretty sure he has never actually seen Jude at the Apple store before... And we don't go that often either...