Inclement weather two-in-one activity

How disappointed we were with the weather today! Cold, gray, threatening to rain. Even yesterday was a bit cold for the park, although we went anyway. Today, that was not an option. Hubby did have to work, but not until late in the morning, so I had a long, lovely bath before my day really got started. He got the girls a fancy breakfast of crepes, which they top only with granulated sugar. Weirdos.

I had just over an hour til lunch, so I set the girls up with two of their favourite activities, which go rather nicely together. First, painting:

 I dole out a small amount of paint (keeping dark colours minimal for M; as you can see, she goes straight to mixing), and give them giant colouring pages or white paper, sponges and paintbrushes, smocks. This will keep them happy for up to half an hour, depending on how many papers they get.

While they are painting, I clear the countertop areas around the sink, and fill each sink with warm soapy water. When the girls finish, we pop all the sponges and paintbrushes (and plates, if I don't use paper ones) in the sink, along with some measuring cups and spoons. If I have enough presence of mind, I put a big towel on the floor under their chairs, and hang a dishtowel on the back of one chair. This will occupy them for quite a length of time, and takes care of the worst of the clean-up.

Whether it's super hot or cool and rainy this summer following Sesame's arrival, this is likely a combination of activities I'll use often. I could see it working best for times when I need to sit and nurse, and the girls need something to keep them from going stir-crazy. Poor kids, there probably won't be as many park outings as they'd like. We'll do what we can.

So simple, a child can do it!

I've been thinking about the kinds of life-changing events that are based on choices we make, and how different those events can look. Take a marriage, for instance; typically, you take several months (or weeks, or years, depending on the engagement) ironing out the details of the wedding day, choosing what you're going to wear, how you're going to celebrate, etc. After the wedding, there is so much to get used to: moving in and setting up a house or apartment, living with this new spouse, figuring out how to mesh what each of you considers normal, deciding who will take on what responsibilities, and so on. For a baby, planned or not, it's quite different. You get as prepared as you can, but unless you're having a C-section, you don't actually know the day your child will arrive. And afterwards, it's even more of an adjustment than marriage, because you are entirely responsible for a tiny helpless creature, and if you're the one who gave birth to it, your body is also recovering.

Our darling girl D made a life-changing decision last night. It's something we've been praying for ever since she was born. Unlike a wedding or a birth, there aren't any material gifts that come along with it, but the intangible reward is eternal. On her own, she asked how she could put her trust in Jesus. I talked with her about it, to make sure she understood what she was doing. She knows that she is a sinner, and that her wrong actions, words, attitudes, separate her from God who is so holy that he can't be around sin. She understands that God's people used to sacrifice animals to say sorry for their sins, but that Jesus was the perfect and final sacrifice, because he came and lived a perfect, sinless life and died a sacrificial death to pay the penalty for our sins. And now, anyone who believes that he died and rose again, can live to please God on earth, and go to heaven when they die. So it was that last night, she prayed and asked Jesus to be her Saviour.

Hubby and I are overjoyed that she has made this decision at such a young age. Appropriately, it was on Palm Sunday, when the crowds shouted Hosanna (save us now) to Jesus as he entered Jerusalem for the Passover. It was also a child dedication Sunday at church, when families present their children and the church pledges with them to bring them up in the knowledge of the Lord, praying that they will accept Christ as soon as they are able to understand. D's own dedication was almost exactly four years ago. Praise God for providing salvation for sinners, and for making it simple enough for a child to grasp!

D's dedication day, May 2010