Sibling Rivalry- Brotherly Love

Welcoming new baby sister Elyse

I remember the moment very well.  It was less than an hour after Elyse was born and a 2.5 year old Kieran came into the hospital room.  He climbed up in the bed next to me and looked at his new baby sister.  He smiled at her and whispered, "I just love her."  It was the perfect moment, and I had dreams of these two always being the best of friends.  Well, fast forward 3.5 years.  Now we have an active 6 year old who loves playing with Legos and defending the neighborhood with his gang of boys.  On the other side of the spectrum we have an active 3 year old who plans to grow up to be a princess and a fairy, and, frankly, expects to be treated that way now!  She loves her brother and knows him so well that she know just which button to push to drive him absolutely CRAZY.  She wants to play with the boys, but comes in crying if they "shoot" her or attack her with a sword (seriously, what princess wants to be attacked?).  She pulls apart his Lego creations and jumps on top of him at random moments throughout the day.  He is rarely amused by her attention.  Sometimes they are at each others' throats all day.  I don't have any brothers so this sister-brother thing is new territory for me!

Elyse before she could get into his toys!

Every now and then, God sends me a reminder that my kids do love each other, and that He created them for each other.  Recently, we were in Whitney, TX visiting some new friends and (surprise, surprise) Elyse fell face first on a rocky, dirt road.  Of course, she got a small pebble lodged in her head.  Despite all our attempts, we could not get it out, and ended up taking her to a med center to have it removed.  Kris, our host, and Elyse headed to the doctor, and I stayed at the house with Kieran.  Soon after they left, I could tell that Kieran was upset.  He asked if we could go for a walk.  As we headed out of the house, he said, "Mommy, is Elyse going to be okay?  I don't know what life would be like without a sister.  She's the only sister I've got!  She isn't going to die, is she?"  I assured him that Elyse was going to be fine and we spent the next 20 minutes or so walking and praying for his sister. 

Thankfully, Elyse did survive the rock removal.  As expected, less than 24 hours later, they were fighting over sitting in my lap and trying to get on each other's last nerve, but I knew that deep down inside there was a lot of love between that little sister and her big brother. 

 Kieran and Elyse

Remember the Alamo...and other fun things in San Antonio!

To say that life is busy for the Toler family right now would be a huge understatement!  Date night has turn into late nights of grammar analysis and play dates have turned into "can your child come over and play with mine so that we can get some homework done?!"  The fact is, I don’t have time to sit down and write this blog, but as I turned the calendar over to May, I realized it had been a whole months since I’d written anything.  I decided that time goes by way too fast not to make a note of the memories that we’ve shared recently.  

 In between our 3^rd and 4^th session of classes, we had a 3 day break and decided to take off for a mini-family vacation.  The reality is that we will probably not be able to take off for a week to go to the beach or Disney anytime in the near future, but that is okay.  We had been wanting to visit San Antonio, which is about a 4 hour drive from Dallas and decided that it would be a doable trip for this amount of time.  I went on Travelocity and decided to be brave and try one of their “mystery deals” (kind of like name your own price on Priceline) where you don’t know the name of the hotel until after you make the reservations.  We ended up getting a 4 star hotel 3 blocks from the Alamo and the Riverwalk for less than $50 a night!  Woo hoo!  We had such a nice time cruising the Riverwalk, visiting the Alamo, exploring the Natural Bridge Caverns, and eating the biggest cinnamon roll ever!  Kieran said it was the best trip he has ever taken!  I’m so glad we took this time to relax and enjoy some good family time. 

We found a little piece of Oaxaca right across from our hotel.  Unfortunately, it was closed down :(! 

Yep!  That is one big cinnamon roll!

I'm not sure that knife is big enough.

Nothing like a nutritious breakfast to start the day! 

Little House on the Prairie

Still no basement in the Alamo.

This one needs a Texas sized nap!  She did fall asleep on his head.

Nothing says vacation like a hotel swimming pool.  It was a bit too cold for Elyse and mommy!

Dinner at the Magic Time Machine.  We had our own little house to eat in!

And our waitress was Daphne with her friend Scooby Doo!

We ended out trip at the Natural Bridge Caverns and saw the amazing caves and rock formations.

A Birthday Surprise!

I love birthdays but not necessarily my own!  I like making cakes for my kids and trying to find the perfect gift for my husband.  The more birthdays I have, the less of a big deal they need to be.  However, now that my kids are old enough to really appreciate birthdays, ALL birthdays are a big deal in this house!  There is nothing sweeter than the sound of your family waking you up to the tune of Happy Birthday with a plate of fresh, warm donuts.  This year, Kris and Kieran spent many hours (Kieran even gave up outside time with his friends) working on a birthday present for me.  I wanted to share it with you all.  I am so blessed.

Why I Love Being a Mom

New Mom to our precious boy!

I remember the moment like it was yesterday.  Kieran was 2 weeks old, and my mom convinced me that Kris and I needed a date night before she headed back to Florida.  We got in the car to grab a quick dinner, and I started to cry.  It really was uncontrollable.  Kris tried to comfort me and tell me that the baby was going to be okay.  I told Kris that I knew that and I trusted my mom 100%.  Then I looked at him and said, "You don't understand.  That little baby has been with me 24/7 for the past 9 months.  I feel empty without him inside me or in my arms."  I'm sure there were more than a few hormones bouncing around that night, but there is just something about being a mom.

Sweet baby girl brings our family to 4

Most nights neither one of my "babies" want to go to bed without me snuggling with them.  Even though our days around here are getting more and more hectic with classes, homeschool, karate, and ballet, I treasure those precious moments at night when my 6 and 3 year old snuggle up into my arms and take me back to those sleepless nights of rocking chairs and diapers.  I remember reading a quote after Elyse was born that said, "Being a mom is like having your heart walk around outside of you." That quote takes a whole new meaning when the pieces of your heart are walking, running around the neighborhood, and then heading off to school.  I know my kids aren't perfect and I'm not the perfect mom, but I am so thankful that God so perfectly put our family together. 

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

The Monster at the end of this Book

“What did that say? On the first page,  what did that say?  Did that say there will be a monster at the end of this book?  It did? Oh, I’m so scared of Monsters!" Do you remember that Little Golden Book with the lovable, furry, old Grover from Sesame Street?  If not, go to your library and check it out.  It was one of my most favorite books growing up, and both my kids still love it today.  There is just something about the combination of suspense, overreacting, and irony that makes it so funny. Grover goes on to beg and plead for us not to turn the pages of the books so we will not get closer to the Monster at the end. 

As I was looking at the calendar the other day, I started to feel like Grover.  What does that calendar say?  January 2012??  Wait, you turned another page!  Now, it says February 2012!  What?  Now is it March??  Okay, if you’ll stop turning pages then we won’t get any closer to the end of the calendar. Do you not know what happens later this summer in 2012?  We are packing up our family and moving to Mexico!  Don’t you know how much needs to be done before that happens?  So, STOP TURNING PAGES!!!  

Okay, so maybe it isn't that dramatic!  We are very excited about taking our next step to serve God.  Our hearts yearn to return to Mexico and begin working there.  However, the tasks that need to be completed between now and then often seem monstrous!  We have taxes to do, documents to “make official” according to international standards,  luggage to buy, airplane tickets to purchase, classes to finish, packing to do, and friends and family to visit.  Like the end of the Sesame Street book, when our time comes to step off that plane, we will realize that it wasn’t so scary after all, and, at the end of the day, thanks to your prayers and God’s unending Grace, all these details will get done.  We’ll look at all those items crossed off the to-do list and realize that it was our fears and stress that were the real monsters in this story.  Of course, we know that God can easily turn those monsters into lovable, furry, old Grovers any day! 

Is Your Hut Burning?

I'm not a fan of email forwards...no offense to those who are.  However, many years ago (in those early days of email), I printed out a forward I received because it really spoke to my need to trust God with everything.  While digging through boxes this morning to try to find yet another document which we need for our move, I found this small little print out.  Every now and then, God puts this little piece of paper in my path to remind me of His sovereignty.  Maybe it will speak to you as well.

Is Your Hut Burning?

The only survivor of a ship wreck was washed up on a small uninhabited island.  He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and everyday he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.  Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.  The worst had happened - everything was lost.  He was stunned with grief and anger.  "OH GOD, HELP ME!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.  It had come to rescue him.  "How did you know that I was here?" he asked the weary rescuers.  "We saw your smoke signals," they replied.  

It is easy to get discouraged when things are not going your way, but we shouldn't lose heart because God is at work in our lives even in the midst of pain and suffering.  Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground...it just may be God answering your prayers!


Proverbs 3:5  "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

Have You Been Hugged Today?

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Last night I ran in the Dollar Tree to get some lollipops for the kids' Valentine cards.  I felt like I was walking into Walmart on Black Friday!  There were people everywhere grabbing up anything pink or red in the store.  I even saw one guys with about 5 Valentine cards in his hand (I can only hope they were for sisters, friends, and a mother and not all his girlfriends)!!  Needless to say, I walked out with no lollipops.  Have no fear though.  I wondered next door to Party City and found what I needed 15 for $1!  As I looked around at all those people buying gifts for the ones they loved from the Dollar Tree (I'm not knocking the Dollar Tree, trust me), it made me think about the kind of "love" we have come to know in this day and age.  To me, it seems like love has become a "dollar store" kind of love.  It is very different than the perfect Love that comes from our Heavenly Father.  If we do know that kind of love, we should be overwhelmed with the desire to share it and to give people the chance to grasp the depth of His love for us.  If someone offered you the choice between a dollar plastic ring or a diamond one from Tiffany's, which would you choose? 

A couple of nights ago, I was putting Kieran to bed.  He was giving me one of his many bedtime hugs and he said, "Mommy, don't you just love when God hugs you?  I can feel when He hugs me.  Actually, He's hugging me right now."  Wow!  What a blessing to feel the arms of God wrapped around us.  Isn't it time to put aside the cheap, Dollar Tree love and reach for the One who can give us something so much better?

"How Deep the Father's Love For Us"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vmY2ztb5xc