All’s Not Hair in Love and War

It took me 5 children to realize that I might need to say it out loud:  “You are not allowed to cut yours or anyone else’s hair”.

You must hear it from the start…

I have had hair woes my whole life. Too thin, too fine, too–not what I wanted it to be. I deal with it.

I married a man with thick, jet black hair, but several of our first girls inherited my hair. Life is still good.

Enter Mallie.

This child was born with a shock of full, fuzzy, black hair. It was comical…me, the fair-skinned blond lady holding this dark-skinned baby with…this HAIR.

I loved it from the start.  And it grew and was so thick and so long and so wavy and so…everything I had always wanted in hair.  And despite the torture of combing out tangles from this thick-maned three-year old, I loved it long (notice that was past tense).

Not braided, it had grown to her waist.

And then…

That tangle I couldn’t get out.  It came out of nowhere and so I had to do it–I cut it up almost to her chin.  I almost cried, but that would have been silly.

So we got used to her cute new haircut.

And then…

Enter Brooks–the 5-year-old that didn’t get the memo.

“She told me to”.  That was the best he could come up with.   (Didn’t Adam say that?)

So here’s the really good part…this happened on the same day I posted about teaching our children forgiveness. God does love a good, “let’s see what ya got?” doesn’t He?

Maybe I loved Mallie’s hair too much…

It’s even worse in the back.

I left it hacked up for 2 days before I could get the nerve to cut it.  And since we don’t have a sharp pair of scissors in the house, I grabbed the little red pair, the same pair Brooks used.

“I wanted hair like Avi.” I get sad every time I look at it.

A good reminder for all of us that:

Forgiveness is mandatory…no matter the mess we have to deal with.

Hair grows back.

There are consequences to our actions.

I need to remember to tell my other 5-year-olds about the hair thing.

We probably do things that leaves God shaking his head and saying, “What was she thinking?!” and He loves us anyway.

So what did I say besides “I’m so glad my son doesn’t show promise for Cosmetology”?

“Well, there’s only one thing left to do….blog about it.”

A Few Fun Pics…

In the middle of my giving the kids some basic bedtime instructions, Kyla makes this face and says, “Hush, Mommy.”  It was one of those stunning moments where the words escape you.  I don’t think she understood the weight of her disrespectful command, and so I had to balance my response, which was somewhere in between laughter and “She did NOT just say that!”.

My daughter did that, just for the record.

“A baby is sunshine and moonbeams and more brightening your world as never before.”
– Author Unknown

She was a bit disappointed by the DOW Jones’ report today.

Smiling Ellia…6 Days Old

“Life is good…guess what I’m dreaming about?”

What Children Need the Most….

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.

“Yes, Piglet?”

“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.””

Love in Shoe Leather

My Mallie, Jo-Jo, and Channie-Mae at the water park.

Photo courtesy of Bria Crawford

By far, one of the biggest blessings of any small hardship this pregnancy has caused, is the outpouring of our friends, and the love of Christ through their hands and feet.

We have had meals brought, neighbors and friends volunteering to come help with cleaning chores, (two of our sweet neighbors have sent their girls over several times or just called to see if we needed anything), offering to pick things up at the store, prayers, phone calls, and just sweet expressions of concern.

Tonight we met with a friend who really wanted to assist the birth, but since they must go out of town tomorrow, they graciously offered to take us out to dinner and talk over any questions and concerns we have.

Last week one of my  friends, Kathy, sensed my need for distraction and took me out to eat Chinese.  It was really wonderful.

My other friend, Robin, called and wanted to come get all the kids and take them to the local water park.  They had a blast and I got some rest.

Part of me feels guilty for such love being demonstrated to our family.  I feel undeserving and they just keep giving.

I want to remember it…I want to be those hands and feet when the time comes.  I want to remember the beautiful warmth of friendship that such gestures give, and “minister to the necessity of saints” like they have me.

It matters.  Love in shoe leather is a beautiful thing.

Our Pea-Pickin’ Enterprise

God is faithful in every way,

See it here in these peas we picked yesterday.

A friend called to tell us their crops overflowed,

So we got the free food from the seeds that they sowed.

Shellin’ peas on the porch with my children around

Most landed in place with a few on the ground.

We laughed and we talked and a few songs we sang,

Intermittently threw in a Veggie Tales refrain.

(Still don’t know what “I ‘Aint Got No Belly Button” has to do with peas *shrug*)

We talked about blessings that flow from above,

We talked about hands that work out of love.

Tonight we’ll have peas and it seems for a while,

And we’ll eat every time with our pea-pickin’ smiles.