On Armadillos...and Heaven - Conversations with a 5-year-old

Wow, I never knew so many topics could be covered so thoroughly in a 30 minute drive - until I had a child!

Leaving from the great-grandparents place tonight, we saw an armadillo (2, actually), so I spent the next little bit answering questions like, 'do armadillos have sharp teeth?' and, 'what would happen if you picked up an armadillo?', and, 'do hunters shoot armadillos and eat them?', among many others. At point, she told me she to learn about them and when she went to school she would ask her teacher to teach her about them - then she said, 'Mama, will you be my teacher?' So, after we arrived home, I had to look up armadillos on the internet for her - we had to see pictures, find out where they live, what they eat, etc. After I exhausted all the pertinent facts that Wikipedia had to offer, she informed me, 'let's go somewhere else and look for those things - I want to learn more!'

Then we moved on to heaven, and people dying and going there...'when I see someone that I love and have missed in Heaven, will there still be tears in my eyes?'; I told her that we don't cry anymore in Heaven, but she told me, 'but Mom, when I see someone I've missed, when I run to hug them, I might still have some tears on my face!'. So, then she wanted to know, 'what will God do to us if He sees us with tears?'

I'm sure she thought there might be punishment for doing something that wasn't allowed, after all, there are usually consequences for disobeying - but I got to tell my little girl about a loving God who, though He doesn't allow tears in His Heaven, when He sees tears in our eyes, does not punish us, but instead will reach down and gently wipe them away.

And I got tears in my eyes just thinking about it...I'm glad I have a God like that!

As a mother, there are so many things I can't explain - I don't know if armadillos have sharp teeth, or how Barbara Manatee (on VeggieTales) wears a dress and lipstick, or how a lie grows so big that it will swallow you up (VeggieTales, again), nor do I know why some people get sick and die, or why some people lose arms and legs, if it will be hard for hard to find Mommy and Daddy in Heaven, or why Bubby thinks red is green, why some people hurt kids, or why some kids don't have mommies and daddies (all questions I've been asked recently).

But I do know this: there is a God in Heaven who cares so much about me, that when I'm sad -it makes Him sad; when I hurt, He hurts with me; when I don't have answers to all the questions and the problems I face, He whispers, 'Just Trust Me'; and when I finally reach my permanent home - His home - because He cares so much, He will reach out to me, and with His great big God-hand - the very Hand that flung stars into galaxies, formed oceans and rivers, tree, plants and all those animals that I can't explain, the Hand that created man from just a handful of dust - with that Hand, He will wipe away every tear that has ever fallen from my eyes.

You know, maybe I don't need all the answers to all the questions...that's answer enough.

The First Popsicle of Spring

It's official: Spring has sprung!

The kids had their first popsicle of the season today.

I found a cheap popsicle mold at Walmart the other day, so I bought it. Ever since, Ju has been bugging me to make popsicles for them, so yesterday I gave in.

And today, after 3,582 'Are they ready yet?'s, and about the same number of 'Can we eat them now?'s, after church tonight I let them have them.

Bubby seemed to be spending and extraordinary amount of time looking at his, so I told him several times to lick it.

This is what I got:

"Wickin' it, Mom! I Wickin' it!"

Wow. I think she got her dad's mouth! ;)

I made them with chocolate ('scuse me, according to Jonathan that should be 'chwocwate') pudding so the mess was minimal....if you don't count what was all over their faces!

Now to find a popsicle mold that is smaller. Jonathan didn't make it through much more than half of his - it was just too big. Now, my other child - the one with the bottomless stomach - didn't have a bit of trouble with it.

The Official Taste-Test

Earlier today, I was making a chocolate cake for one of Brad's co-workers (after eating a couple of pieces of the one that I made for my ma-in-law for her birthday -who works at the same place Brad does- this lady requested a cake of her own, so in return for some pizza, I made her a cake!); of course, a good cook never wants to send her baked goods off into the world without a test first, so I submitted my chocolate frosting recipe to my official chocolate taste-tester.

He approved!

(yes, I do realize that there are toys under the edge of my cabinet...and the towel is crooked...and the floor needs swept...

Actually, I mopped the floor shortly after this picture was taken. The toys, alas, are probably still there.

And I do put clothes on my child occasionally. However, he IS 2 years old, and one of his newfound skills is removing clothing. All of it.)

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to remember to get a picture of the cake. But, with a little help, I'm sure you can picture it...

round, brown, looks kind of like, um, well...hmm, how do I describe this...Oh YEAH! It looked like a CHOCOLATE CAKE! :D

And, while the cake looked fairly yummy, I personally think the taste-tester is about the cutest I've ever seen!!!

So, What has Gillian been up to?

What have I been up to?
Oh, nothing much....

Just this:

See the first five from the left? Yup, that's what I was doing in February and March!

(Congratulations, Josh & Melissa! The wedding was beautiful - minus the bridesmade dresses, of course!)

And this:

(Just the jacket, not the dress)

And This:

Oh, yeah, and the jacket I'm wearing in the header picture. Plus, a few other things.
My sewing machine says it is tired of blue. My sewing maching says it is tired. Period.
My husband is tired of blue fuzz sticking to everything in the house. My children are tired of me sewing.

For some reason, they want to play outside.
I think I'll let them.
Bye-bye, sewing machine! ('til next week or so, at least...)


Sometime, remind me to tell you about our Easter Sunday visitor...the uninvited, unwelcome one.

Hope you all had a happy Easter (and Valentines' Day, and Christmas...)!!!! :-)

Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Little people and more:

First of all:


HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Hope you all had a great day, and are very thankful for all the wonderful things you have. :-)

Next,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULIANA!

My little girl just turned four!!!! We had a princess party for her last Friday, while her grandparents were here, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Thank you, Beth for making her cakes!

I'm running out of time, so, quickly, here's a couple of pictures of the little monkey - thought you might like to see what he looks like these days! :-) He'll be one year old in just a couple of weeks it's hard to believe! Still, he has no teeth, and isn't overly interested in walking as of yet, so it doesn't seem as if he's trying to grow up too fast on me. He likes to talk to us, chase balls around the house, and push around his tractors and cars while making motor noises!

"Hi, Mom! What's that thing you're holding? Can I have it?"

'Who, me? I'm not doing anything - just sitting here hoilding my train. What makes you think I'm up to something?'