Give the Blessing

The message I heard this morning was based on these verses in Mark 10:

13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

What beautiful words discussing the disappointment and anger Jesus felt toward the disciples when he realized they were sending away children and then the physical touch he gave the children when they came to him. I imagine him hugging these little children and speaking to them in sweet, soft tones. He was blessing them.

Do we do enough "blessing?" Do we take every opportunity to bless each other? This was the question asked this morning. We should never miss a chance to hug, uplift, or encourage one another. This is what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ and part of a larger community of faith. I was blessed by the message this morning.

May you all be blessed this week and give the blessing to others.

My Random Thoughts for Friday

I spent an hour and a half at the pediatricians office this morning waiting for a doctor to look at Ryan's head for all of 5 seconds then proceed to tell me what I already knew and send me out the door with a $50 bill. Do any of you know what it is like to be cooped up in a very small exam room with a (almost) 2 year old for 1 hour? We exhausted all our drinks and snacks in, oh, the first 15 minutes. Then we played with our shoes and bellybuttons for the next 15 minutes. The exam room had 1 book of Bible stories that looked like it had been there since 1975. We did not touch that book. I finally dug superman and batman figures from the bottom of my bag that were covered in crumbs of unknown origin. This entertained for maybe 5 minutes. I finally stood in the hallway until a nice nurse noticed I wasn't moving and announced to her that I had been waiting for exactly 1 hour. She mumbled apologies and said she would find a doctor.

Now, I have a degree in English which landed me a fantastic job in publishing. I was used to handling all kinds of high-maintenance clients. Nowhere in my education or work background did I get preparation for handling a high-energy, dramatic, 2 year old with a mind of his own. I love the saying that parenthood does not come with an instruction manual, because at least once a day I look at Ryan and think "where did you come from and how am I supposed to handle this?"
How do you explain to a 2 year old that we cannot keep going in and out the automatic doors at Target all day long? That no, you cannot eat Kit-Kats for dinner? That you cannot pull your brothers hair constantly? That you cannot brush Greta with the dish brush? That you cannot wear your Crocs to bed with your pajamas? That you cannot shove 3 DVDs into the DVD player. That you cannot go outside barefoot in the morning? That you cannot wear the exact same pair of ball pajamas to bed every night? That you cannot talk on the phone constantly to everyone who calls? That you cannot scream at your brother for simply looking at you? I could go on and on, but I won't.

There are many other moments in my day when Ryan is so sweet it breaks my heart. He puts his little hands on my cheeks and looks me in the eye and says "sweet baby." He tells me he loves me every night when I put him to bed and he snuggles with me every morning when he wakes up. I adore his personality and would not want him any other way. He keeps me laughing and makes me a better mother.

Museum Morning

I took the boys to the museum this morning. Note to locals- free admission on Tuesdays.
They have a wonderful kids playroom full of really neat activities. The current exhibits left a bit to be desired, however. The last time we were there they had a wonderful exhibit of large ceramic sculptures in brilliant colors. Today there was a modern photography exhibit of atomic bomb explosions- hmmm...
Will wanted to know "where are the sculptures?" So, we just played and I got some cute pictures.

I love the striped walls and couches in the playroom

Will at the refrigerator art wall
Ryan at the drawing tables- yes that is his hair sticking out in the back. Will called it his "horns."

Ryan working on some interior design
Will at the light bright wall

My Bunnies

Happy Easter!

Spring Break Excursions

Ryan at the zoo- doesn't he look like a big boy?
Ryan riding his "el-fant" on the merry-go-round
Will was determined to ride the Cheetah- I rode the ostrich!

Steering the wheel at the aquarium

Our past two days have been busy but fun as we hit the zoo then the aquarium. I am pretty sure everyone in a 5 state radius had the same idea as we did about going to the aquarium today since it was raining. It was crowded, but the boys had fun anyway.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

I love St. Patricks Day. I love that a day is dedicated to the color green and a culture of people that are sturdy, stubborn, and known for their history of passion in everything from religion to poetry. I know the day has roots in Irish Catholicism and my family has always been protestant, but I am still proud to be a "Ryan." So today we wear our green and I will make shepherds pie for dinner and maybe one day I will make it across the big lake to see Ireland in all its cold, rainy glory.

We are ready to watch some UT basketball!

March Madness is a very important time of the year in our house. I didn't understand the magnitude of this event when we were first married, but now I have come to appreciate the excitement. It is especially exciting when Tennessee has a very good basketball team like they do this year. So, I actually look forward to it... kind of!

GO VOLS!

Paper, Plastic, or Cloth

The city of San Francisco has banned the use of plastic grocery bags. Other cities are considering doing the same. Whole Foods, a large upscale grocery chain, has pledged to stop using plastic bags in all their stores by Earth Day, April 22nd. This leaves the option of paper sacks or bringing your own reusable bags.
I love the idea of using your own reusable cloth bags and I think there is a real market for them. But, I would leave mine at home, forget to put them in the car and then end up with an entire cart full of groceries and no where to put them! Also, I reuse my plastic grocery bags. I line trash cans with them and use them to dispose of dirty diapers. So, I kind of feel like I am already doing my part in recycling these very "anti-green" plastic bags. You can read the entire article below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23596727/

I like my plastic grocery bags, thank you very much. What do you all think?

Easter Egg Hunt

Everyone had lots of fun Sunday at the lunch and egg hunt. It was pretty cold so the kids hunted eggs inside. They didn't care as long as the result was candy-filled eggs. I have many more pictures than this, but blogger is not wanting to let me upload my photos today.

Ready to hunt

Checking out their eggs- thanks to April for this cute photo

Will and his buddy Caleb

M&M Bird Nests

Our church is having an Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow and I am going to take these. They are so easy and oh so cute!

Rainy Day People

They finally wore me down so I let them go outside in the rain. Yes, in their pajamas. They thought it was just about the best thing ever!

Recent Read

I love John Grisham novels. This one does not disappoint. I want JW to read it so we can discuss it, but that might have to wait until after graduation.

The book centers around an environmental case about a big factory in rural Mississippi that has dumped toxic waste for years, making an entire community of people deathly ill. The verdict is appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The book is also about how big business purchases seats on state Supreme Courts and other dirty political tricks. It gives a detailed look inside big business and what an endless supply of money can buy in our country. It is frightening to think verdicts can be bought. The book did not end as I expected, but I won't give anything away.

I highly recommend this book. I am not a huge political person, but I was captivated by a look inside a world I didn't know existed. And it really made me wonder how much of this goes on in state judicial elections today.

Yes, I know this is a work of fiction, but Grisham spends a couple of pages in the back indicating that these happenings are not far off the mark.