Confession

Dear Everett Cost Cutter,

I'm writing to tell you something that's been wearing on my heart for a bit. You have served me and my family well these last 5 years. You always have a smile and you always offer help with the cart and the kids. It's just...there's someone else. His name is Meyer, Fred Meyer. He just does more for me. At Fred's I can buy underwear, towels, and bread. I can buy fresh ground peanut butter and high-quality meat. I can get a cup of Starbucks coffee and stroll around the store in peace because Caley's in Playland for an hour (for free!). You just don't have Playland. You have good prices, but Fred's just has so much more, and I can feel myself being seduced by Mr. Meyer. He just seems to have the whole package.

I promise to visit, I'll keep in touch. Maybe Fred is just a phase, a fling. I'm sorry.

-Addie

7 Years

As of today, Bill and I have been an official couple for seven years. Seven years ago I was all of 19 years old, a freshman in college and totally unaware of what God had planned for my life. Saying yes to Bill's question, written in magnetic poetry, "Will you go out with me" was the best decision ever.

This past weekend was great. Saturday we went skiing at Snoqualmie with some friends, and my dear friend Karina watched the kids all day. I love skiing, and had forgotten how much fun it is. We haven't been skiiing in 3 years, since a time before kids and all this stuff called life and parenthood. The whole day was like a much-needed and hopefully deserved sabbath for us. We got caught in traffic on the way home and I didn't even really mind because it meant more time away from reality. We picked up the kids and Caley fell asleep on the drive home and went straight to bed. We cooked some pizza, watched TV, and then took a hot tub. It was a nearly perfect day.

Sunday was Easter. At church there were some baptisms and an awesome message. There were also "spontaneous" baptisms for people who just felt the Spirit calling them to it, and our friends Rachael and Anson got baptized. That was amazing too, just seeing Jesus work so wonderfully.

Seven years ago I had a rough plan of my life, and to be honest it didn't look like this. But the way it's worked out is so much better than I ever could have planned. Maybe I should just stop planning in general because God probably would do a better job anyway.

Jeremiah 29:11

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "

Go sit on the bucket!

Discipline with Caley these days is challenging. She's a good girl most of the time, but she has her share of time outs and reprimands. I guess it's just a process. We started making her sit on a bucket when she is in time out, to help her cement that she needs to stay in one place during time out. I hadn't thought of using a bucket, except that's what Bill's parents used when all the kids were growing up. A few years ago Bill's mom gave "the bucket" to Matt. She'd painted it with red letters-- "Go sit on the bucket!"

Tonight Caley's behavior was getting too crazy, she'd missed her nap, so she just went to bed early. She was in her bed, crying, and I was down stairs just contemplating the whole thing. I didn't want to just put her to bed. I didn't want to listen to her crying for me. I wanted to play with her and read her books and have her sing "Happy birthday to Sapphyre." But both Bill and I knew that in order for her to learn in the long run, we would have to have days like this. She had "made her bed" and now she'd have to sleep in it.

It made me think about God. We are God's children and sometimes he has to deal with us like we had to deal with Caley. That is, let us reap the consequences of our actions. It made me so sad to hear Caley crying, I just want to give her a hug but I knew it would only teach her it's okay to disobey Mommy and Daddy. I wonder how much more God wants to take us as his children when we do something wrong, but instead lets us deal with the natural consequences. When she'd calmed down and taken a little rest, we went into her room and gave her some milk like a normal nightime routine.

I'm sure it will just take time, maturity, patience, and grace for Caley's behavior to improve. God gives us children to sanctify us, and I can guarantee sanctification is a process.