Mama Vivas - It's a Vivas Thing!

Oct 12 2009

Warm and Fuzzies

What is it about childhood things that take us back to the warm and fuzzies?

My niece has her green bunny. I gave this to her a couple of years ago and she won't go to sleep without it. She was devastated when a child pulled it's ears off and thrilled when I was able to sew them back on. So the other night, as we were saying our prayers and cuddling with green bunny, she asked me if I had a cuddly from when I was a child. I did. I still do. Mine was an old-fashioned stuffed monkey that my parents bought for me on my first birthday.

I've held onto this monkey for almost 40 years now, and he isn't going anywhere. To be honest, I don't really have any memories of him until I started getting older, but I know that he's always been there with me. He's tattered and worn, and not played with anymore, but he represents a time of warm fuzzies. Much like the green bunny for my niece.

And Simba the Lion for my oldest daughter. I remember walking through the store with her on her first birthday, and she saw him; and she fell in love and 14 years later, she still has her Simba.

For my oldest son, it was a stuffed Mickey.

For my middle son, it was a blankie…so tattered and worn it fell apart. The other day, I found the pillow that went with it and showed it to him. He smiled; you could tell it brought warm and fuzzies, and so he asked me to keep it for him. I have.

For the youngest son, it's a blankie…and a blue teddy.

And for my youngestdaughter, it's a Boo doll.

There are certain things in life that we never get rid of. We never forget. They represent a time that was special for us. A memory that we hold on to. A feeling that we can never let go.

May we all remember a warm and fuzzy today!

Oct 10 2009

When They Get It!

As parents, we strive hard to instill values in our children. We hope that they will someday get what we are trying to teach them. In today's society of instant gratification and *I*, it's not so easy. We are constantly battling the television, music, selfishness, etc. that is the norm. One of my favorite scriptures is:

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

When my children were younger, my family was more active in mission work. The larger our family became, the harder it became to have the *time* to serve others rather than ourselves. As a parent, we've had to be more creative, and teach our children, that it's not just about going out on a mission, but looking for opportunities to serve; in our home, in our neighborhood, in our church, on our streets. And I'll admit that our lives are so busy, and sometimes, other's won't ask me to help with this or that because of our current family situation; I've learned to say "no" when I need to. But, it is still important for us to have the chance to live outside of ourselves.

Sometimes I wonder if my kids notice; and then one of them does something like start a new ministry for our youth. And well, her heart is like mine; it's like a passion that burns inside of you and won't let go. It's my middle son noticing the homeless man on the street and asking for one of the bags that his sister had made up; and seeing this ministry in action. Or the same son running into the street to help another homeless person who has fallen out of his wheelchair into the street while others just stare or walk away. It's their willingness to stop and pray for someone in the middle of a restaurant because they looked like they needed someone to show them Christ.

Today was one of those days. For my youngest son, who is NOT a morning person and complains every single morning that school should not start before 10 am, it was a proud mama moment when he volunteered to run in a charity race along with his youngest sister and father to raise money for children with cancer. I honestly didn't think he'd make it. He did. He was up at 6 am and ready to go. When I asked him why he got up so well, he replied, "Because it was worth it to get up, Mom."

Last night, my niece brought in her loose change to give to those children because she wasn't able to participate in the run, but wanted to be included in the giving. So she gave all she had, much like the widow's mite.

Not long after the three left for their race, my oldest son called. He was at the park up the street. His fraternity was helping a charity event for children with food allergies and would I come? These busy young college students had gotten up at 6 am on a Saturday morning to help set up tables, chairs, tents, and bouncy houses for the families that were putting on the event. Then they stayed to help run the event, take pictures and then help with the tear down and clean up after. He had no idea when he volunteered that this was a group that could touch our family, too. You see, I have two children with severe food allergies, and this group had managed to raise over $35,000 to raise awareness for children with food allergies!

This evening, I can sit and write out my thoughts; no, my thanks. Thanks to my God, who continues to show me that my children do get it; that He is working in their lives.

I get it.

Oct 08 2009

Laughable Moment #22

Tonight was by far one of the funniest times I've had in a long while. The Talented One needed a *professional* outfit for one of the classes he is taking. We dropped Chicken Noodle Butt off at AWANAS and headed to the mall. Unfortunately, we didn't finish our shopping on time, so we headed over to pick him up and then back to the mall to purchase shoes for his outfit.

And boy was Chicken Noodle Butt wound up! He was just going nuts; had so much energy! He had his little red vest on and just cracked me up! As we headed downstairs, he giggled at being able to go on "those cool stairs, Aunt Hope!" I had to grab him to keep him from falling in his clumsiness!

Once we were in the shoe store, he went ballistic! The boy was dancing and boogying like there was no tomorrow! The sales clerks were cracking up as he shook his bootie to the music and had not a care in the world! We managed to have him dance his way out of the store and back up the escalators and decided to have a Cinnabon since we hadn't had dinner and we don't usually get them because two of my children have food allergies.

The boy wanted a big one, so we got him one.

And he managed to eat almost the whole thing! He was in cinnamon heaven! Frosting all over the face, hands; you name it! The Talented One headed off to the bathroom to clean him up (the little one barely missing the wall since he NEVER watches where he is walking!), while B-boo and I cleaned up the table and headed to the car. Just as we walked out the door, B-boo started hurrying me up as she demanded the keys, saying, "He's coming, Mom!"

I turned around to see him come out with his little cousin running…and then saw him swoop his cousin up like a sack of potatoes and RACE to the car. Those crazy teens wanted to fight over the front seat! I was laughing so hard I had to stop in the parking lot to keep from peeing my pants! The Talented One ran past me with Chicken Noodle Butt under his arms, laughing hysterically at the fun he was having!

Once we got into the car, I exclaimed to the teens that they were lucky the kid had been carried instead of running because he's so clumsy he'd have ended up in the ER…to which he replied,

"And I would have farted!" out of the blue.

Which threw us into another round of laughter.

Then he talked of going to Mars and wanted to know if it could fly. He was like this all the way home.

As we got him settled down and ready for bed, he had just one comment for his Uncle.

"Uncle Art, the Fart!"

I'm not sure he should go to AWANAS anymore!

Oct 07 2009

Listen and Obey

This morning was not at all what I expected it to be. To start off, I had a hard time waking up; not good when you have a gazillion kids to get to school and a van to the mechanic. But my hubby was so good and tried to give me rest. So, he took the kids to school, then took the van to the mechanic, got a ride home and then took the Smart One to school, too! All so that I could have a calm morning and not have to do anything else but get the youngest two on the bus. He tried.

But the youngest two were not listening very well today. Things like brushing teeth and combing hair, putting their dirty clothes away all became a frustration. And I wondered to myself, "What will it take to get them to listen to me? To see the importance of what I am asking, and that it is for their benefit?" Asking simple things of them should not be so hard.

As we were trying to get shoes and backpacks on, the Drama Queen opened the door to watch for the bus. We do this every morning. But this morning was different.

Because somehow, in the midst of me begging the little ones to get their shoes and backpacks on, our pups disappeared. They have never left the front yard and usually listen to me when I tell them to stay in the house. We never even saw them leave. But in a flurry of motion and fear, the Drama Queen screamed that the pups were gone! Joey heard her and came running back into the house. He knows where he belongs and where he is safe. Roxy, however, was nowhere to be found.

Crazy Lady in Purple Pajamas Runs Around the Neighborhood This Morning!

The Drama Queen, in a panic, took off down the street (on the sidewalk) after the pup. It is a VERY busy street in the mornings! I screamed at her, "STOP!" and then I turned around to the two who weren't listening so well and yelled at them to stop and not step out of the house. About this time, a lady yelled at me that our pup was on the corner…across the very busy street. And the pup wasn't listening.

I told the Drama Queen to stay put at the house and ran across the street after making sure it was safe to cross. As I called the dumb dog, she started to run toward me, then realized that she may be in trouble, and instead darted back across the street towards our house. For once, people were actually paying attention to the school zone that is in front of my house! They could see what was happening and stopped.

As the pup ran towards the house, a car was approaching near our home. The Drama Queen bolted down our driveway after her. I again yelled at her to "Stop!" She did. The pup was scared silly by this time and ran into the safety of the Drama Queen's arms, who promptly kenneled both dogs. Exhausted, the pups plopped down and fell asleep.

The bus showed up about that time, and the youngest two, still frozen at the door, woke up and put their shoes on and headed to the bus, with me escorting them. The Drama Queen burst into tears of apologies. As we sat down to talk about what had just happened, she burst out, "But mom, I stopped when you told me to!"

She did.

So did the the youngest two.

When it's big; when it's important, they listen. And Obey.

After we calmed down, I began to think about how this lesson was about me and what had happened this morning. Too often, we ignore the small things that are meant to help us. Do we read our Bible daily? Do we keep our fellowship with Him? Do we do the little things that He asks of us?

Or do we wait until we're in trouble and then start listening?

"But God, when it's important, I listen to you!"

Lord, help me to do the small things, so that when the big things come, I'll know how to follow you.

²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

1 John 5:2-3

Oct 05 2009

Blogs R Us

There are certain people who have asked when am I going to blog about them. I've told them that I'm trying to come up with something, but when I blog, it usually isn't planned. It just happens. Something has to inspire me. Take this past weekend, for instance.

Friday night, I volunteered to take a group of girls shopping for clothes. Some adults might think it's weird for adults to hang with the teens, but I happen to love it. I've been part of our youth ministry now for over four years! Anyway, we had our serious shopping time at the mall. Ok, I lied. It was anything but serious. I laughed and laughed. We laughed at how how clumsy certain girls are; at racing through parking lots. We laughed at dresses and pants and how they are supposed to be worn.

We laughed at boots.

We ended up at one store after the mall had closed and discovered fun clothes to try on. See, this is what I like about shopping with girls. They are willing to try on anything just to see what they'd look like. And when they're in groups, you can talk each other into almost anything! I remember going shopping with my mom and we'd try on all sorts of formal dresses, etc, because we could.

The pictures were so funny, I had to blog about it. If you know these girls, you know that they'd never wear anything like this in public…or even out of a dressing room, which makes it even funnier!

Oh my word how I laughed at this photo!

With these girls, it's not all about shopping although we did come away with some cute stuff! I can call them at the drop of a hat for hard work and they'll show up! They have helped me get my house in order for a party (yes, for them) on more than one occasion. And they help clean up after! They'll also babysit at the last minute for forgotten appointments and even peel potatoes with spiders in them!

This weekend was not only about shopping, but creating.