Huggies & Kisses

There are times when I wake up at 3 AM with my mind full of original and wonderful things to write. It flows with poetry, articles, witty things that my children could read years from now and think, "Wow, mom was a great writer!". Of course, I drift back to sleep as quickly as I had drifted out of it, and when I wake up in the morning, refreshed (or not), those words have been stolen by the dream thieves. I imagine their dream friends complimenting them on their writings, and I wonder if they feel guilty that they stold my words.

The Sun

In the late afternoon, on a summer day, the sun, soon to set, peeks through the kitchen window to bid farewell until the morning.

It is a precious moment as we, the sun and I, say silent words, make silent promises, and get ready for the nighttime.

He is one of my oldest and dearest of friends, we met the day I was born, and have seen one another almost every day since. He offers me warmth and light, I give him a smile and encourage him to shine.

When the sun finally sets, I am sad, if only for a moment. The kitchen is now dark, devoid of that golden glow that he offers in his presence.

Whether I win or whether I lose, the sun shines on me with the same warmth and light. Did you win? Your "sun" shines on you with an immense glow, I've seen it! But if you had lost, that glow would have been just as golden!

Consider your love... God has given you a prize worth more than one hundred sunrises and sunsets! Treasure this precious moment, and get ready for tomorrow.

Jenny Kathleen Alarcon

Of babies, pancakes, and the importance of a listening ear

Why are some people friends with others? I've come to realize that a connection is not only made with people who are like you. Some will tell you that if you are not of the same race, generation, political belief, or socio-economic background as another, you cannot be friends.

Well, I beg to differ! I have a friend with whom, on the surface, I have very little in common. As a matter of fact, after really thinking about it, the only three things that we really have in common are babies and a love of God and pancakes. How these three things have made us so close, I must admit I don't understand, since I have struggled to even be around certain people who have pages of things in common with me!

However, I have learned to appreciate the gift of friendship, no matter what the connection. So I will continue to love my baby, stuff my face with pancakes, and follow God's direction and not the world's!

The Deep, Deep Valley

When I suffered the debilitating loss of my two first babies, the thing that I heard the most was that this, in the future, was going to give me an opportunity to minister to other women suffering in the same way. From the moment that I was able to think clearly (about a year later), I waited patiently for that opportunity to arise. Yesterday, it did.

We have a young mother in our community who has a little boy Benjamin's age. She found out that she was expecting again last month, and immediately after she was diagnosed with a blood clot in the brain. Yesterday, she was told that the baby was not going to make it through all of the treatments that were necessary to save her life. So it came down to her life or the baby's. There's that opportunity I had been waiting for.

As I stood by her hospital bed with her bruised hand in mine, and her bruised heart in God's, I wept. I prayed. I longed to take the pain that I know so well out of her body. I praise God for the opportunity, but I'm not sure that I am thankful yet. That will come perhaps with more time.

Like putting pants on a one year old

Benjamin has the great talent of taking what would be a two minute task and making it five times as long. When it is time for me to put on his pants, I make sure to take a deep breath before I begin, because I know now that it will not be as easy as it should be!

I begin by putting his right foot into the pair of pants. Immediately, this foot is removed, and the action is repeated at least five times amidst various comments from myself such as, "Benjamin, that's enough!" and, "Okay, seriously now, it's time to put the pants on", as if this makes any difference to him! When the right foot is finally on, we begin on the left foot. By the time the left foot is in the pants, the right foot has been shaken out and, in no time, the left foot follows.

Many times, at this point, I decide to do both feet at once. This is something that I believe comes from my own childhood as I have vague memories of my feet getting stuck at the knee of the pants. Benjamin reacts in the same way that I probably did thirty years ago. He screams and fake cries until the pants are either kicked or pulled off. He's really good at it!

Inevitably, I either distract him for five seconds during which I magically pull the pants on or I call his father. The latter is much less frustrating and allows me two minutes alone in the bathroom to pull myself together and possibly put my own pants on (one leg at a time now).

It was during this exercise today that I realized how much it is like life. Once you finally get one part where you want it, it is always time to work out another. After all is said and done, however, you can always look back and laugh. And when the pants are finally on and snapped into place, we start on the shirt...

Mish Mash

There are times when I am so happy just sitting with Samuel and watching Benjamin. But it is at those times when I think, "wait, I need to write this down or video tape it, or something. I don't want to ever forget it!" Benjamin is definitely a morning person. As I am going up the stairs to get him in the morning, I hear him say, "Hi! Hi!" And when I finally get there (there are a lot of stairs!), there is an unforgettable smile on his face.

There are also the funny moments. He has become quite taken with the phone. Now, he grabs anything resembling a phone, puts it up to his ear, and walks around the house talking. It is so funny, but again, I need to tape it! Often I think about it and I realize that someday, when I think about his toddler years, it is going to be a mish mash of all of the amazing things that he does.

He amazes me. Samuel and I often wonder where he gets his extroverted nature. Both Samuel and I are introverts, so we laugh when we go out and he says hi to every imaginable person (but especially women...).

Well, back to my happy, mish mash life!

The Best Mommy

Last week, we went out to camp for the World Services Rally. Since we had to leave the house at 7 AM, I wanted to make sure that we had everything ready the night before. Our uniforms were ironed and ready, the house was somewhat clean, Benjamin's clothes were laid out.



And, of course, I packed the diaper bag. I thought myself such an organized and responsible mommy as I packed extra clothes, extra wipes, extra food, extra formula, and every bottle we own into the diaper bag. I went to sleep relieved that I had thought of everything I would need for my little boy the next day!

The morning went off without a hitch, and soon we were at camp with 500 people. Suddenly, I realized that Benjamin needed a new diaper. I grabbed the well-stocked diaper bag and rushed to the bathroom. As I reached into the bag, I just shook my head as I realized that there was one thing I forgot...the diapers!

Now how, I ask you, could I forget the one thing that the bag is named for??!! There goes the "Best Mommy" award for this year, but perhaps we can give out a "Best Intentions" award, I'm first in line!