Spring has sprung ahead and left me behind.

Was I the only one in my household NOT ready for the killer 'spring ahead' action?!  Although my husband spoke big about how 'difficult' it was to lose that hour, I can guarantee you his getting up at the crack of dawn, showering, shaving, dressing and splitting was more than I could say for myself as I rolled off the side of the bed.  With covers wrapped hapharzardly around my waist and lying on the floor, I looked not unlike a smoking hot sex scene from a movie except for the three children running circles around me.  Yep, that gave it away and brought me to my senses - oh so slowly...

I've tried, I really have.  The last 89 hours (should be 90 hours) have been pulling at me to get in the game... so today I did.  Today I so called was 'sticking it to the man' and ran a handful of piddly errands that weren't individually life-changing but, in sum, changed my world.  I came home to feed the kids lunch and put them down for naps/quiet time while I myself sent off a few Paypal requests, made me some money, then laid down to refuel for 45 minutes.  I knew 'the man' had a lot more demands of me and I wasn't about to let him win.

I jumped out of bed, sat on the floor in the middle of the kids' playroom and began mercilessly throwing out CRAP and organizing the ONE-KNOTCH-ABOVE-CRAP items into their appropriate baskets.  I vacuumed and wiped down... I moved furniture around to give it a fresh I'm-jumping-into-Spring feel and then left with a smile.

****

Time (roughly a day) has passed and I am now sitting in my bed upstairs listening for any sign of Benjamin needing to go potty.  He is napping in his big boy bed, wearing big boy underwear, holding in his big boy potty until he arises... my hopes are high.

Today is Day 1 of 3 Day Potty Training - talk about getting in the game.  We have had several accidents - gone through roughly 20+ pairs of underwear, done 2 loads of laundry, watched a weeping child hold himself so hard I think he may now be infertile (he is scared of the toilet), only snapped at the bigger kids twice and have said 'Tell Mommy when you need to go potty" 146 times and the clock just struck one in the afternoon.  My patience has been abnormally great and being that the aforementioned scenario was about the worst imaginable (by me), my future's looking bright...

He did walk into the bathroom without screaming by nap time today, he stood on the stool all by himself, I pulled down his underwear and without a whimper or a whine he casually signed 'all done' before releasing anything into the toilet.  This was a win considering only an hour before it was comparable to a lions' den being brought even CLOSE to the bathroom... yep things are looking bright.

I'll keep you all updated -- the dragon stirs in less than an hour and we'll continue on in this feat of potty training our last child... on Sunday the in-laws come over for dinner and it will be a PARTY.

Jesus' submission to his Father.

John 12:44-50 says "Then Jesus cried out, 'When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.  When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.  As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him.  For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.  There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.  For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.  I know that his command leads to eternal life.  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

When we consider this passage in John as we read Ephesians 5:22-33, we would be thoughtless to think that the act of a husband would be anything but submission.  Submission to Christ.  There is no check-list applied to the passage of Ephesians 5:22-33; no suburbia bench mark of what a husband or wife is responsible for aside from strict obedience to Christ.  As Kyle so beautifully put it today, this passage in John quickly pulls the legs out from anyone's idea that the husband is to be domineering or controlling.  In fact, its the opposite - his sole responsibility is to Jesus Christ and obedience to Him just as Jesus was responsible to the Father in his life, death and resurrection so that He may present his bridegroom to himself 'as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless'.  Kyle's responsibility to me is to remain in Christ (read John 15:1-8), find what pleases the heart of Christ (Ephesians 5:8-10) and then encourage me to walk forward in obedience to Christ - whatever that may be.

In regards to the thought that the husband is to be only obedient to Christ, why then do we have a trend of women who seem to live their lives in such a way as to 'defend their honor' and their competence?  Isn't it interesting that the moment I speak to the passage demanding a humility in the husband, I've got a handful of wives surrounding me nodding their head in agreement as though they've been waiting for this moment to bring them their due honor and respect?  On the other hand, these same women who have lived their lives in such a way as to outwit, outlive, outsmart, outstand their husbands are the very women who don't get it - or so I presume.  They have missed out on the experience that God has so graciously given us...

That we may experience and begin to understand the relationship that Christ has to those he laid down his life for.  We are subject to Him and He died for us.  Why isn't that anything but beautiful and awe-inspiring?  Why is that something that we are threatened by?  Praise God for His grace and praise God that He reveals Himself to us. 

For the Jungle Room Parents:

Welcome Jungle Room Parents! Here are the images I shot of the kids this last week - please enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions.















































All images are ©Krista Schei

Moments of my week.

Benjamin burned his hand in the vent above a gas fireplace... we spent 5 days redressing the wound -- the 'cast' was large enough to joke that he had his hand reattached after a recent accident... he looked so top-heavy. So cute.



Katie's PreK class had a 'dry run' this week. Durham School Services offered the preschool a couple hours with a driver and rig to teach the safety tips of riding a bus and to give them a teaser - they drove out of the parking lot and around the neighborhood. They felt SO BIG.

*Please do not judge me that there are no pictures of my daughter -- it had everything to do with her being always in a crowd of children with only her head visible and nothing to do with the clashing colors of her outfit she chose that morning.  Ava Kalous (Katie's dear friend whose Mom is my dear friend) was willing and ready to smile for the camera though... so I took full advantage.

I cannot believe Katie will be in Kindergarten next year!  I STILL remember sitting in Mrs. Roger's classroom tracing the lower case 'r'... oh I adore my daughter and cannot wait for her to experience these next moments of her life.








Ahhh... THERE'S my Katiebug.

3 Day Potty Training. T-2 Days...

Lora Jensen has heard the cry... she has discovered what every child needs when it comes to reading their signals and learning to go potty like a big kid.

At 25 months, William was fully potty-trained. I had heard about this '3 Day Potty Training' Program and was so excited to get on board! Having just had a baby 4 weeks prior to potty-training William, I was not looking forward to the hard work it would take but WAS looking forward to no more diapers.

You're skeptical? Understandably so. But don't knock it til you try it. It works AS LONG AS YOU DO WHAT SHE SAYS. Yes, you feed your child ample amounts of high-fiber foods likely causing them to poop, you make them drink incredible amounts of liquids in order to increase the opportunity for them to 'read their body's signals' and thus have more accidents which lead to greater success when they do figure it out! You stay indoors for THREE WHOLE DAYS. No, you do not run to take someone to school. No, you do not run to the store. No, no, no, no. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do has to be laid to the wayside for THREE WHOLE DAYS. You even have to be in the same room as them for THREE WHOLE DAYS (except at nap and bedtime.) Its exhausting and time-consuming but just imagine the outcome! I cannot wait for Monday morning when Ben wakes up in his underwear, goes in to go potty as soon as he feels the need, and continues on with his day -- like a BIG BOY.

T-2 days... and counting.