Lilah

Conversation with Lilah last night after she ran into the kitchen to tell on Seth for doing something silly.

Lilah with a whiney voice: Seth (did whatever... don't remember what...).
Me: Lilah, you don't need to tattle about every little thing. Don't be a tattletale.
Lilah screeches: Mommy! I am not a baby frog!

On a side note: Lilah has not had an accident since Sunday. She has stayed completely dry and has even done all of her poops in the potty completely by herself. yay! =)

Seth's Big Day

So, as some of you might know... Seth has had kind of a preoccupation with death for a while now. Not like crazy, just very curious about great grandparents who have passed away and wanting to know about heaven, etc. So we talk about heaven pretty regularly when he starts to ask questions. Today he was asking about heaven and Jesus' house and wanted me to tell him all about it. So I told him what the Bible says about heaven and then I realized that all this time, I've never really shared with Seth what the alternative to heaven is... hell. So I told him the story (in a very simplistic way) about Jesus and Satan and Adam and Eve and our need to for forgiveness for the naughty things we do (sin). And we talked about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and how everybody has a choice to make during their lifetime whether they will love and obey Jesus or not. Seth asked LOTS of questions throughout and I was shocked at his attention to the story and the details. I explained that when he was ready to ask Jesus to forgive his sins and ask Him to live in his heart and try to obey Him, that he could come to mommy and daddy and we would help him pray about it. He asked some more questions about the cross and sins and heaven and hell and then when the conversation was pretty much wrapped up, he bowed his head completely by himself and started praying "Jesus, I love You and want to obey You and live with You in Your house in heaven someday." I asked him a few more questions to make sure he understood what he was doing and then we prayed together for Seth's salvation. So we are very excited in the Vicena house today. We called daddy and Nina and Papa right away. I'll let Seth and Josh call grandma together tonight to share his story. Is his understanding of everything simplistic and minimal? For sure. But he has the basics and I believe today will lay the foundation for a strengthening and deepening of his decision as his understanding grows with time. I still remember the moment that I really understood salvation and what it meant for me. I was 4 years old and I thought about it for several weeks. I asked lots of questions and then came to a realization that I needed Jesus. I understaood that my sins were wrong and needed to be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Granted, my sins were hitting my brothers and telling mommy and daddy the occasional lie. But I remember feeling a true sense of conviction about the things I had done that I knew were wrong. I went to my parents and asked them to help me pray. They talked with me about it to make sure I really understood what I was doing. I specifically remember my prayer. "Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross and please forgive me for my sins. Please come live in my heart and help me to obey you. And thank you for boats." Obviosusly, my understanding of my faith was simplistic. But it grew as I grew. And to this day, I recognize that day when I was four years old as my moment of salvation. That was the moment I chose to follow Christ. So I know Seth's understanding of his own faith is minimal right now. But I am praying that this day has laid the groundwork for a life of relationship with and service to His heavenly Father. Seth's spiritual birthday: July 21, 2009.

Luke 15:7
"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

potty training

Now that we have finally gotten past the move and settled in, we are ready to start hitting the potty training hardcore with Lilah. So, today when we got up we put on big girl panties and that's it. No more diapers or pull-ups (except when sleeping). She's working very hard to keep Dora dry today. It's almost noon and so far no accidents! We'll see. =) I'm sure she'll have some accidents, but I don't care. I figure she'll do it a couple times and not like the way it feels and will eventually stop. I'm done with diapers! Well, except for Isaac. Wish us luck!

I wish I'd obeyed!

I was making dinner last and the kids were "helping me." We were having brinner (breakfast for dinner) and I was making pancakes. The kids like to pull a chair up to the counter and help mix the pancake batter. So we did that and then it was time to put the pancakes on the griddle. I warned the kids multiple times of the dangers of the hot griddle and not to touch it. So, I turned around to wash the fresh fruit to put on top of our wheat germ and oats pancakes, and Seth yelped. I turned back around to see him holding his finger with tears welling up in his eyes. He was trying so hard not to let it go because he didn't want me to know he had touched the griddle and burned himself because he knew I would make him leave leave the kitchen. I asked him if he touched the griddle and he said yes and then burst into tears. I put tea tree oil on his finger (it's blistered pretty badly today) and sent him off with his cold boo boo bunny to be with daddy in the other room. He cried and wimpered "I wish I'd obeyed!" I was reminded of a similar occasion in my own past when I was 4 and my mom was nursing my youngest brother. She had put her coffee in the microwave to warm up and the timer had dinged while she was still nursing. I ran to the kitchen to get her coffee out of the microwave (I was "helping"), all the while my mom was yelling at me not to touch the coffee. She just couldn't get the baby detached in time to stop me. I grabbed the hot coffee and started carrying it to her. Some of it spilled over and splashed on my hand and then I started dancing in pain, causing the rest of the coffee to spill over the edges of the mug onto my hands. I remember standing in the bathroom with my hand under cold water, crying, and and wimpering that "I wish I'd obeyed." I still have the burn scar on my thumb to this day.

Why the long stories about childhood burns? Because in each of these instances, the words following the disobedient act struck me. "I wish I'd obeyed." It's simple, childlike, and profound. How many times do we do things, even today, as adults, where the consequences strike us so painfully that the only thing we can think is "I wish I'd obeyed." Obeyed who you might ask? Well, for me, it is God. There are times when I hear the distinct leading and guidance of my heavenly Father and it is then up to me to choose to obey and follow that leading or to disregard it and do my own thing. Sometimes I choose to obey and when time has passed and I am able to see the big picture, I think to myself "Thank God I chose to obey!" And sometimes I make the wrong decision and experience consequences that cause me to wimper in my soul and cry, "I wish I'd obeyed." The thing is, as adults we can tell our children no to touch a hot griddle or to go get boiling hot coffee because we can see clearly what will happen. It's so obvious. And we tell our children the painful consequence that will be experienced if they disobey and it is utterly confusing as to why they will do the exact thing you told them not to do a mere 30 seconds later. It's so simple to just obey! And I think God must feel the same way. He has given us His words in the Bible and he speaks to us personally through his Holy Spirit when we seek Him. He guides us and directs us all the time. He must be absolutely baffled by the shear stupidity of our disobedience. I often hear myself saying to my children, "Why can't you just obey?!" And I think God must be saying the same thing to us sometimes. He has the big picture, we don't. He has the experience and knowledge to direct us away from something that is "hot" and towards things that are good for us. The scar on my thumb will be with me until my dying day. And unfortunately, the scars caused by disobedience can stick with us throughout our lives as well. Whether it be a broken marriage, a stressful home, financial devastation or debt, lost friendships, etc., the scars can run deep and the painful consequences to our sin can reduce us to crying out that "I wish I'd obeyed." Yet, in another shocking twist of stupidity, we often blame other people or even God for the negative consequences in our lives that are caused directly by our own actions. Really, it can be astounding how complicated we can make something so very simple. Just obey.

John 14:21 NIV
"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

So anyways, those are my thoughts for the day. I was thinking about it as I was checking out Seth's burn blister today. ouch! Thought I'd share. =)

sugar and spice and everything... nice????

So on Saturday we were at my parents' house and the kids were outside with Josh fishing on the lake. They LOVE to go fishing and play on the beach. Lilah picked up a rock and threw it at Seth's head. It hit him pretty hard and he has a good sized lump on his head. My brother, Daniel, said Lilah was laughing about the rock until she saw that he saw her and was on his way over to check on Seth. Then Lilah burst into tears and cried for 45 minutes. There is much speculation as to whether her tears were due to sincere remorse or fear of punishment. Fast forward to today... I was sitting with Seth on the stairs because he was upset that he had just bit his finger while eating a carrot. He was talking about injuries and said, "mom, this was like when I hurt my head with the rock at Nina and Papa's. Lilah threw that rock and I was just so busy fishing and didn't remember to duck. It was my fault. I should have ducked." Why is my BOY made of sugar and spice and everything nice... and my GIRL is made of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails, and anything else destructive and aggressive???? I'm just saying, I'd like to know.


On a side note: Josh just called at 4:30pm and is on his way home for the day. He didn't get home later than 5:30pm a single day last week. Maybe my stinky house is worth the move to D-town and urology. =)

Michigan

So we moved last Saturday to Detroit Michigan. It was exhausting and awful as moves always are. But, was made MUCH easier by glorious friends and family who came out to help us. My two dearest friends, Ruth and Beka, proved themselves once again to be some of the best friends in the whole world. They found childcare and came to Ohio, with husbands and moving vans/trailers in tow, to help us pack and clean the Hilliard house and then drove 4 hours with us to Detroit to help us unload/unpack on Sunday. They took vacation time, as did their husbands, to help us out for a full 2-3 days. We also had my mom and one of Josh's friends, Jameson, and then two close ORU friends in Michigan (Nathan and Liz) who came to help. We were truly blessed with all the help and could not have done it without everyone. We have spent the past week unpacking and cleaning. Josh started work on Monday morning and is getting acclimated to the new program. It's never fun starting out somewhere new, but I think he will like it once he gets the hang of the new system. The new house is a blessing in space because it is pretty big and that is what we need with three kiddos... but we do miss our house in Columbus, our clean, carpeted, good smelling house in Columbus. Our new place is in a lovely neighborhood. But it was built in 1961 and seems as though it was actually frozen in time. The house has not been the best maintained. It has the old original wood floors that used to be under carpet. So they are unfinished and dingy and stained and scratched. I have made a new rule that the kids have to wear rubber gripped house slippers now because their feet are just black from the floor dust and they keep slipping across the slippery wood. Also, I keep finding nails and staples in the floors from the old carpet that did not get removed and I'm afraid one is going to find it's way into one of the kids' foot. The house is musty and stinks and I do not know how to fix that besides a dehumidifier. But it really stinks. Josh was gracious enough to let me hire a housekeeper to clean the house before we moved in because it was just dirty and grimey and severely needed a deep clean. That helped, but there is still quite a bit more cleaning to do. I am tired. My OCD tendencies don't handle these kind of situations very well because I can't shut my brain off to everything that needs to be done. I am unable to relax until EVERYTHING is clean and unpacked and hung and decorated. Sometimes I wish I could just have a more chilled out personality when it comes to that kind of stuff. My plan was to take my time unpacking and moving because it's not like I have anything else to do in Michigan. I only have 1 friend and can't even find my way to the grocery store yet. But, alas, my drive for order will not allow it as I feel on the edge on insanity every time I look at Isaac's new bedroom door covered from top to bottom in bumper stickers from 1965. Anyways, enough complaining. We're thankful for this new adventure and will find our place here, I'm sure. This weekend we drove down to mom and dad's house for the Fourth because we missed all the fireworks in Detroit (they do them in June). We are enjoying the day with family because my dad's cousins will be coming in and my brother is making a last-minute surprise visit from VA. We're just missing David who is now in Hawaii (yes, I'm jealous) and Ben and Sarah who are quite busy moving into their own new place in NY and having another new baby. My newest niece was born yesterday and I'm just dying to meet her. Her name is still to be announced and hopefully I can make a trip into NY sometime in the next couple of months to hold her and cuddle her. That's all the updating for us right now.