A good prayer for a king ... or a parent

I just finished reading Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 3. God tells Solomon to ask for whatever he wants. Instead of asking for riches or power, this is his prayer: "Now, O Lord my God, You have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" (v. 7-9)

Any parent who is honest admits to sometimes feeling like "a little child." There are days when it seems that there is no one able to govern "the great people." And though we only have two kids, sometimes I feel like they are too numerous to count or number!

My prayer as a mother is for wisdom. It is my greatest need. Thankfully, God has promised to provide. " If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)

Hello

I have no recent photos worth sharing so I thought I'd write a short update. Both boys are sleeping, so I'm able to type with both hands. :)

Benji has been sick since late last week and as a result has been a very fussy boy lately. Yesterday my patience just about ran out. But today he seems to be in better spirits, and we just finished a sweet nap time routine (the opposite of yesterday's nap time). Thank You God for a better day.

Only bad piece of news for today is that I have two (small) cavities. I went to the dentist this morning and was able to get x-rays, which are late because it seems like every time I need x-rays, I'm pregnant. I'm glad we kept our dental insurance. :)

Zac is doing well - thankfully, he didn't catch Benji's cold. He had eczema (mainly on his cheeks and thumb) and so far nothing has helped but I got a few more hints which I have yet to try out. Though he doesn't seem to be in pain, it makes the rest of us sad to see his red, cracked cheeks.

Thankfully Benji hasn't asked to nurse again since Zac was born. Tandem nursing seems like a bit much to me. However, today he asked me to nurse his stuffed bunny. And he nursed his stuffed giraffe. I was going to explain how boys can't nurse but then I thought, "Why burst his bubble?" So he went to sleep at nap time nursing Mr. Giraffe. It was a cute sight to behold. We'll work on gender issues another year. :)

Hope you all are doing well.

Sledding

The value of time

One thing motherhood has taught me is the value of time.

Yesterday I went to aerobics (thanks to Jill for baby-sitting the boys). As is often the case, several people arrived 25 minutes early for the next class. They sat on the bleachers and watched us do the last 25 minutes of our class. As I was exercising I was thinking what I would be doing if I was 25 whole minutes early - I would have a book in hand to read, I would have my knitting to work on... or maybe I'd just lay down on the bleachers and take a quick nap --- but I DEFINITELY would not have sat on the bleachers doing nothing for 25 minutes. Just not a luxury mothers have.

Busted

Yesterday I closed the dishwasher door with my foot, swinging the door up with the momentum of my foot. Sitting in his highchair, Benji immediately said, “Try again.” We tell Benji to “try again” when he does something wrong. For example, if he grabs something from my hand, he needs to “try again” to take it gently. So I tried again with the dishwasher, that time using my hands to close the door, which is the rule that we have set for Benji. It's tough to be corrected by a two year old! Busted.

Zac says hi

Snuggling brothers

Benji and Zachary snuggling one morning last week.

Super dad

Not a light load!

Cooking helper

Benji is a big help in the kitchen, so I decided to sew him an apron so he can help IN STYLE. He chose the fabric from Hobby Lobby (or "Hob Bobby" if you ask Benji) - a tractor motif, of course!

Benji: attachment parenting advocate

Attachment parenting is defined as the philosophy and practice of parenting methods that foster strong, healthy emotional bonds between parents and children. This approach values responsiveness to the infant or child's physical and emotional needs, nurturing their trust that those needs will be met. It's common sense, right? But non-parents would be surprised how some books and "experts" recommend practices that can only be classified as "detachment parenting." However, Benji is decidely pro-Attachment parenting.

He is always looking out for Zachary's needs. He wants to make sure that I am very responsive to him. Benji tells me, "cry - pick um up" whenever Zac makes a bit of noise. (And I do of course!) Benji also tells me to nurse Zac whenever he sucks on his hand or seems hungry in Benji's eyes. He wants to make sure that poor Zac doesn't have to wait a second for his food. Zachary is definitely appreciative of Benji's consideration. He hardly has to cry because he has such a good advocate. I guess Benji has been there, so he knows what's important!

Baby-wearing is also big in Attachment Parenting. See the picture below of Benji "wearing" his baby giraffe and baby kangaroo in the sling. One day Benji will be a GREAT dad!!