Grace has thought about God and all things relating to God since she was old enough to talk. The first memory I have of her challenging me in this area was right after she turned two years old. I think I was still pregnant with Lyla. I was putting her to bed and Eric wasn't home. She started asking me about the devil. She wanted to know where he lives, what he does, can he see us, can we see him, why not, is he going to get her, and on and on and on. Remember, she was barely two years old! Most child rearing books/experts will tell you to answer a young child's question with simple answers. They say not to elaborate, just answer what they ask for and that will satisfy them until they're older and can understand more. Well, not with Grace. I usually try to do this but it just leads to another question. That is what happened on that night 3 years ago. She was not satisfied with any answer that I could come up with. Everything led to another question. After a very, very long time of going back and forth with her I finally got the phone and called my dad. She needed someone else to tell her. He finally got her to accept our answers enough that she could go to bed. That was just a taste of what was to come with Grace!
She is still that way and even more so. Her favorite time to talk about deep subjects is at bedtime and in the car. I guess that is when she's still and has nothing else to do but talk and talk and talk and talk......
Well, the reason for this post is because I wanted to record one short conversation with Grace that occured about a week ago. We were in the car and only about 2 minutes from preschool. Here is what came from the backseat...
G: Who made God?
Me: No one, He's always been there.
G: No, but who made HIM?
Me: No one. God made everything and He has always been there.
G: But, how was He made?
Me: The Bible tells us that He has always been there. I know it's hard to understand. I don't really understand but we believe it b/c the Bible says it's true. That's called having faith.
G: Well, why doesn't He come down here?
Me: I don't know. I guess He doesn't want to or need to. (I know I'm lacking in my scholarly knowledge)
G: What does God look like?
Me: We don't know, the Bible doesn't tell us exactly.
G: You know what I think He looks like?
Me: No, what?
G: I've always thought of God as looking like Ariel's dad.
Me: Who????
G: Ariel! You know, from Little Mermaid?
Me: Ohhhhh, King Triton?
G: Yes. I think He has a sword thing with 3 points but it's not a sword to hurt people. It's just for power and it glows. I think that's what God looks like.
Me: That's a good image to think of.
Thankfully at that point we pulled into a parking spot at preschool! I wish I had written down all of the similar conversations she has had with me in the past. Her favorite subjects to ponder are heaven, dying and going to heaven, God, and the devil. She is constantly thinking! (and talking!)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Who Made God?
Haircut
Grace's friend, Addie, recently got her hair cut. It is a cute little bob that hits at about the jaw. Addie used to have long hair and cut a few inches off last fall. After that cut Grace wanted to cut hers too. I gave in and cut about 4 inches off of Grace. Her hair is still long but not nearly as long as it was. So, when we came in to preschool one morning and saw Addie sporting her new look I knew what I would be hearing shortly. So, just a couple days later Grace asked me if she could cut her hair "like Addie's". This was as we're about to walk out the door for another day of preschool. I told her that we could talk about it and that she needs to think about it for a while. Here is how the dialog went:
G: Can I cut my hair like Addie's?
Me: Well, maybe....we need to talk about this some more and you need to think about it for a while.
G: Why?
Me: Because it will take a LONG time for your hair to grow as long as it is now if you decide you don't like short hair.
G: How long will it take?
Me: A long time. Probably a few years.
G: Will I be 100?
Me: No, not that long, but you will probably be 7 or 8.
G: Will it grow before Jesus comes?
Me: (laughing) Well, I don't know. We don't know when Jesus will come, so, yes, it may not grow long before Jesus comes.
I just had to write that down so I would remember that conversation. It cracked me up.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Another Will Made of Iron
Grace is taking ballet on Mondays from 5:30-6:30pm. Lyla has to sit in the waiting area with me during this hour. She's done really great, mainly because there is a whole toy box for kids to play with and a snack bar! The first picture is of Lyla eating her apple from the snack bar last Monday. After she finished her apple and got tired of the toys she started trying to jump on the furniture in the waiting room though. There is even a sign telling parents not to let their children do this! I told her to stop and explained that it will mess up the furniture. I even pointed out the sign to her and read it to her. She tried it again. I stopped her again. When she tried it a third time I looked her in the eye and told her that we will not be able to stay if she decides to continue.
Me: "Do you want to stay and play with toys or wait in the van for Grace?"
Lyla: "Stay and play with toys"
Me: "Then you need to decide to stay off of the furniture. What do you want to do?"
Lyla: "Stay and play"
What did she do next? She looked right at me and jumped from one couch to the other! The 2nd picture is of her screaming in her carseat for the last 10 minutes of Grace's ballet class! So fun!
Daddy's Chain Gang
I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and Lyla came running in and went straight to her playroom. She went running back out seconds later with her safety goggles from her toy tool bench. Eric came to the door and said to get the camera and come outside. This is what I found. Eric was digging small trenches to lay railroad ties to go around the swing set in our new backyard and the girls had gotten into the action. Lyla, in her pajamas, got serious about it and decided she needed her goggles! They were serious about their work. It was pretty cute!
Easter Morning
My pictures from Easter morning are NOT good! I was so disappointed. The girls were decked out in their fancy dresses, hats and gloves but I could not get a good shot. We were running late for church, of course, so I didn't have time to change locations and the lighting on the piano bench was awful as you can tell. They were excited about their Easter baskets of goodies though. Unfortunately, the morning was quite stressful though. After running late and not being able to get a good picture of my beautiful girls, we had a complete meltdown at church in the middle of the aisle on the most crowded Sunday morning of the year!
I'm only writing this story so that I can remember the stressful times when my girls ask me when they have kids if I remember how hard having kids is. My mom always says she doesn't remember having the same problems with me and my sisters that I have with my girls. I think she's just forgotten. So, this story is so I don't forget.
After we finally got to church, and my blood pressure was already high, we found a pew in the rapidly filling auditorium. For some reason Grace did not like the seat we chose. I don't know if it was because it was in a different section than we usually sit, but she was not pleased. She has a will made of iron, so she decided to protest right then and there. She refused to enter the pew to sit. She just stood in the aisle and kept trying to argue us into moving. Well, within about 5 minutes the place was packed and we couldn't have moved even if we wanted to. She did not accept that though. When she realized we weren't moving, and church started to begin, she began crying! Of course, they usually pray pretty close to the beginning so it got really quiet and she was getting really loud. She finally came into our pew but she was not settling down. I finally had to take her and Lyla out. I was taking Lyla to the nursery to play and Grace out just to get her settled down. We went to the bathroom that was right beside the nursery. Grace's fit got louder while in the bathroom. (I will let myself forget the details of our time in the bathroom.) By the time I got Lyla to her nursery, the nursery workers were snickering at me. Luckily, I knew them and didn't feel too bad. They assured me they have been in my position many times with their own daughter. By the time I got back into church it was just about over and I left feeling like I needed to stay for 2nd service....by myself!
Easter at the Ezell's - a Harpeth Hills tradition
Every year at Harpeth Hills church of Christ the Ezell family hosts an Easter egg hunt at their beautiful home for all preschool families at church. The children LOVE it mainly because the Ezells basically have a full blown park in their yard. They have a pirate ship with a sand pit, a swing set, a 2-story fort, an adorable little girl's playhouse, plus a hammock and a couple little ponds as well. It is just amazing! Anyway, these are my pictures from that morning at the Ezell's home. I didn't get many pics of them playing b/c they were moving too fast from one thing to another! I think I captured a few good ones though. The girls are having a hard time giving the camera a natural smile when asked to though. ha ha For those that don't know G and L too well, their smiles in some of these pictures just don't do them justice. ha ha 
