My Kids

Since I've only averaged one blog a week for the past month or more, I thought I would blog today...even though I have nothing profound or exciting to share.

So, I will of course, fall back on the usual "nothing-to-blog-about-so-I'll-blog-about-my-kids" entry. (exciting, I know!)

I'm so thankful for my children and the way they are changing and growing with each day. Kendyll is soaking in everything around her, from the different types of clouds in the sky to what the word "holy" means. Today she asked me what it means that "the heavens are your tabernacle"...from the Veggie Tales praise songs CD she got for Easter. That was a fun one to answer! She keeps us on our toes and really makes us think about what we believe about the concepts we have become so used to---like the word "holy" or Jesus' ascension into heaven. Explaining those things in four year old terms are great exercises for us!

Carlie is learning words like crazy (and trying her best to say them clearly...) Her favorite game in the car is to repeat every word Kendyll says to her. It's cute to listen to their conversations:

K: "Carlie, can you say school?"
C: "Tooooollll."
K: "Carlie, can you say car?"
C: "Taaaaahhhr".
K: "Carlie, can you say stop sign?"
C: "Top Tie"

You get the picture....it goes on and on until we reach our destination.

Carlie is into counting anything in her books (although she doesn't really count, she makes her voice sound like mine when I count to her.) and wants to walk into any store or restaurant that we go to. She wants to cross the parking lot holding ONLY Kendyll's hand...not mine. But, then, she of course wants to be carried the rest of the time. :)

Kendyll is the best big sister and is very good about including Carlie in her playtime. This, too, makes me smile, as I listen outside the door as they have private tea parties together, take care of their baby dolls, run and fall on pillows in the floor, or practice brushing their teeth together...a complete mess, by the way!

It is such an answered prayer to have two wonderful children who love each other. They remind me each day of how much there is to learn in 12 hours of "awake time". Although it is constant activity for those hours, it makes my nights that much better, knowing they played their hardest and discovered so many new things in a day's time.

One thing I have been trying to remind myself of lately (although I shouldn't have to, really) is that these children I've been given are not mine, but the Lord's. I often times question why God blessed us with such perfect, healthy children, when we don't deserve them. And, while I know that His desire is to bless His children with "every good and perfect gift", and that my children are just that--a gift, I also know that He gave me these two girls for His purpose and His own reasons. He gave them to me because He has a specific plan for Kendyll's life and a specific plan for Carlie's. He formed them and knew them before I did, and He sees them as His own children, just like I am His child. As their mother, I am just the vessel for His use along the way. That is such a humbling thought to me, and one I know I'm not worthy of.

All of these thoughts have come more often lately as we consider the addition of another baby into our family. It makes me nervous in some ways to begin the process of trying to get pregnant, and to begin, once again the whole gammet of emotions that comes with that, but it also excites me to know that, if it is God's will for us, we will have the opportunity to raise His child again. And, along the way, as we do this, the love and fulfillment I get from my two will be multiplied by a thousand when we get to watch three of them loving each other and learning and growing. (Of course, that also multiplies the craziness as well, but I guess that's okay!)

So, I guess, without really knowing where I was going when I started this entry, I am asking for the prayers of my friends and family who read this, as we begin this journey toward parenthood once again. I know there are many of you who are somewhere on the journey, whether you are trying to conceive a child, now pregnant with a child, working to adopt your child, or just thinking about the idea of adding a baby to your family soon...and I also lift up my prayers for you, that we all may be blessed with the child God has planned for us, and that we will get the opportunity to be His vessels as parents once again.