...and we're back!

I'm doing better today. I still had to say, "Don't lick your sister" a few times to our toddler, but we had a much better day.

Money for Nothin'

Check out AirTran's new deal for Summer and Fall travel if you book by March 5th. In Europe they have Ryan Air which sells cheapo flights like this year round. One way flights at $39 and $59 is practically free these days!

WigPoo

I try to avoid poopy topics. I really do. I just came back from play group and found that I'm not the only one who had a poopy week last week though. I'm thankful that whatever sickness Z had last week it wasn't as bad as some of the stories I've been hearing about flu bugs. He only had a fever and runny nose, but it kept us home all week and by Saturday I wanted to cry. There were several days in a row I felt the only thing I did all day was change diapers. Which, by the way, Juju's grown out of her lovely Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers. I'm now trying to decide whether to sell them or not. We're not planning to have more, but if we did, I'd be sorry I sold them.

Anyways, back to my sob story. I'm busy all day filling land fills with used diapers which makes me sad on so many levels. This, in turn, makes me eat more. Well, maybe it's the breast-feeding, but I feel like I eat constantly. Speaking of which, I'm on a normal diet except for dairy. My belief is that dairy increases mucus whether or not one is "intolerant" or allergic to it. I also believe that our daughter has poorly developed nasal passages, which I hear is pretty common. So, until her morning congestion (4-8am) is better, I'm avoiding dairy. It felt desperate before when she couldn't eat during that time, but now she's big enough and has trained herself to stock up on milk before then and can go that time without a feeding. Thank you for your prayers regarding that matter. Our doctor consistently has maintained that she'll grow out of it, and I'm holding him to it!

I've been praying two prayers that I was always warned not to pray or I might get what I asked for. I'm praying for humility and patience. Yes, at the same time. Not smart. I actually avoided praying for these things my whole life until now. Yes, God does answer and yes, it sucks. However, I told Him that I trust that He can teach me these things without using a giant life crisis if He chooses and so far, He's chosen not to, so I'm thankful. So, my daily battle with Z that nearly brings me to tears and Juju waking up everytime I lay her down are somehow blessings that hopefully will lead me to be more patient. The patience lessons are pervasive and constant every day, the humility lessons seem to strike when I'm least expecting them and sting for a few days afterwards (see this post for one of them).

So, my poopy week is mostly my own doing, which I guess makes it WigPoo! [Which is super duper fun to say!]

WigSmells

Becca's Favorite Things

Haven't used this for long, so it still needs some trial and error in the Summer months, but so far I'm liking this crystal deodorant I found in my husband's drawer in the bathroom. I remember buying it for him years ago when we were on a health kick and wanted to avoid aluminum in antiperspirant. You wet the stone and apply, preferably after a shower. Let me know if I just think it works and I'm actually stinky, OK?

This will be short today, I need to make bags for birthday presents. I love to sew, but I've made almost 30 bags in the last 8 months (every one unique) and I'm ready for a break. I got into bag making to make myself a few reusable shopping bags, but got distracted making gifts and the celebrants keep coming! I still haven't made my shopping bags!

I have plans to sum up "The Trouble with Boys" book that Ben and I read together. So come back soon! Look how big my baby is in the recently added pictures at the end of the slide show! She's our little butterball!

The Dragon

In the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", by C.S. Lewis, the greedy, unpleasant, dragonish boy, Eustace, turns into an actual dragon. While he was a dragon "his tastes and his digestion were dragonish," and he half consumed the carcass of a dead dragon he found before he realized what he was even doing. He was lonely, shed big dragon tears, and several days after he'd turned into a dragon, Eustace met Aslan, the lion. Aslan led Eustace, the dragon, to a well that was large and much like a big bath. The lion told him he must undress first, and he realized it was his dragon skin that needed to be shed before he could bathe. So he scratched at his scales and they began coming off, he scratched a bit deeper and instead of just scales, his whole skin started peeling off "beautifully, like it does after an illness or as if I was a banana...it was the most lovely feeling." Then just as he was about to step into the water, he noticed his skin was still rough and scaley, so he scratched again and it came off too. He looked down again and he was still scaley as though he wore many dragon suits. When he finally realized that he couldn't scratch off all the dragon layers, the lion said to him,

"'You will have to let me undress you.' I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know - if you've ever picked the scab off a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is fun to see it coming away.
"I know exactly what you mean," said Edmund.
"Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off - just as I thought I'd done it myself the other three times, only they hadn't hurt - and there it was, lying on the grass, only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me - I didn't like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I'd no skin on - threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I'd turned into a boy again. You'd think me simply phony if I told you how I felt about my own arms. I know they've no muscle and are pretty mouldy compared with Caspian's, but I was so glad to see them.
"After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me.
"Dressed you? With his paws?"
"Well I don't exactly remember that bit, but he did somehow or other, in new clothes - the same I've got on now, as a matter of fact."

In one more important part, C.S. Lewis notes:

It would be nice, and fairly true, to say that "from that time forth Eustace was a different boy." To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.

It's hard to share one's spiritual story with the world, where to some talk of such things is commonplace, to others a foreign language. I'll happily share more of my lonely dragon days with any of you, just mention "zerbik" and I'll know you want to talk more. This illustration of a dragon, eating his own, surrendering to one much mightier than he and finding new life in his human skin is one that I feel I have much in common with.

When we eat too much junk food, the toxins overtake our cells and our bodies crave more junk. When I was a dragon I wanted what dragons wanted. But He chose me. Layers upon layers is what He found...rather what He knew and died for. I am daily surprised at how many scales continue to reveal themselves. Yes, daily. It's a good thing though and I'm beginning to want what is good for me and finally detest what brought me down and still sometimes does. Greed, selfishness, pride...such awful pride, lust and more layers I sadly don't even see yet have made up the colors of my dragon self.


What I'm excited about is what's underneath. I believe God has had a picture in mind of who I would be. My life purpose is now to become more and more congruent with that picture. I believe this makes God happy. I know His picture is good, truly good, which may be beyond my understanding. I know it matches up with what the Bible says is good and right.

I used to talk to one of our teenage girls that lived with us about living a "congruent" life. I explained that if God's picture of us was drawn on a transparency and put on an overhead projector, we'd want our lives to match up with that if our lives were drawn on another transparency and put on top of God's picture. That may sound convoluted, but this is really really big! Think about not just the things you do that you know you shouldn't, but the things in your heart that you want to do that you don't, even how well you listen to your conscience (perhaps the Holy Spirit) from moment to moment. God gives us what we need moment by moment to help us get congruent with that beautiful picture He's drawn.

The big 3-2

Z and the Dogs: Scene One

[Z enters scene growling like a doggie and takes the jeans out of Mommy's hands with his teeth]

Mommy: "Are you a doggie?"
Z: "Grrrr!"
Mommy: "Can I have the pants, doggie?" [Struggling with him, but not enough to hurt his teeth]
[Eventually Mommy wins]
Mommy: "Time to put your pants on, doggie." [She proceeds to help him put his pants on.]

It was at this moment Mommy realizes what a strange world her son is growing up in that he does not think it abnormal for dogs to wear pants. See this post and you'll understand why.

Z and the Doggies: Scene Two

[Daddy and Z leave the house and walk toward the car as Mommy stands in the door watching them leave.]

[Z points at the doggie poop in the snow]

Z: "Poop!"
Mommy: "Yes, that's poop, yuck!"
Z: "Yuck!"
Daddy: "How many poopies do you see?"
Z: "One, two...."


Today was my birthday, both of the above scenarios were part of it. Juju slept for 2.5 hours and I actually missed her by the end of it. She's here, helping me type this now. bv vcbrrdbfd I had 35 well-wishers on FaceBook, that really surprised me! Thanks to them and to you too...your visit here is present enough!! My sweetie surprised me tonight and got a babysitter and is taking me out! I'm SO excited! Must go freshen up...bye!