LilyGray

Lillian is definitely getting a cell phone!

2012-01-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

Lillian woke with a high fever in the night and was confused. Poor kiddo had a fitful night. I guess she has the flu. High fever and achey. Oh and almost silent. This is the part the rest of us are having the hardest time bearing. Her happy constant voice is the soundtrack of our house. Grayson can be silly, but doesn't talk quite as much as Lillian. She has spent the day sleeping or laying on the couch silently. I tried to talk to her as we rested, but didn't get much out of her. Peter called and I told him how very strange it was for her to be quiet. He agreed. I found myself thinking of her moving out one day and was very sad thinking of how quiet our lives will be without her one day. I suppose with cell phones she will call us a ton each day and I found myself profoundly glad for them.

Grayson clearly was sad to go to school without Lillian. He saved his fortune cookie from his hot lunch at school. It was clearly a special treat at hot lunch, but he wrapped his up and brought it as a present for Lillian. Oh, they each have such a sweet place in my heart. Just last night I was praying that they would always be good friends.

It is rainy and cold so we are snuggled up in our new playroom on our guest beds listening to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe radio show. Lillian was too sick to read or watch tv, but was more than pleased to listen to her favorite story. I hate for her to be sick, but slowing down is always nice.

Grayson really says a lot of good stuff...

2012-01-11T20:04:00.002-06:00

"Mom, if your grown up teeth fall out do you get gold teeth or what?" - Grayson

A word from the G-man...

2012-01-09T19:42:00.002-06:00

Grayson wore a bolo to school today that my grandfather (PapPa) gave him a few weeks ago. It made me smile. As I was helping him get ready for school he said....

Mom, PapPa is just so cool! I mean he fights in wars and everything!

A little Christmas crafting

2011-12-03T22:50:00.002-06:00

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. Our tree is up and all of our other decorations. I just love my new and improved house! I made this snowman for fun the other day. I hear we have snow in our weather tomorrow night. The kids are dying for snow!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:27:00.002-05:00

We had a fun night! We went to a party with friends! Sarah had chili and games. It was so fun! We came home and trick or treated for a few blocks. So fun!

Grayson scored a goal!!!

2011-10-23T14:22:00.004-05:00

Grayson has been working so hard at soccer this year and has made progress with Peter as his coach. The kids are really playing so wonderfully this year and the games are really fun. G has been wanting to score a goal. We told him we would go out for ice cream when he scored. Yesterday was the day! It was SO exciting! He started running toward the goal and kicked it in. A little later, he scored another goal. Are you kidding me? It was unbelievable. Needless to say his parents freaked out. Final score, 2 to 2.

It was great!

2011-10-23T14:15:00.004-05:00

I had an awesome half marathon this morning! I told Peter I felt like I was in a dream. I knocked 17 minutes off my previous time. I don't think I have ever been this proud of a physical accomplishment. All those early morning training runs paid off, today. Thanks to Lisa Smout my most excellent trainer/running buddy, she told me she could make me faster and she did. Previous time 2:31. Today 2:14 BOOYAH!

Rock and Roll Half Marathon

2011-10-22T20:10:00.002-05:00

Gonna do the Rock and Roll Half Marathon all through the South part of St. Louis city in the morning. I think it will be a scenic run. I'm looking forward to it and have hopes to beat my previous times. Several of my friends will also be running. Race day is always so fun. I love watching all these people do more than they think they can do. So, come out and cheer us on or give a wave if you in the area. I'll let you know how it goes.

Quote of the day!

2011-09-29T19:36:00.002-05:00

The message was left on my voicemail about 2:45. I got it about 4 while with a client.

"Melanie, this is the school. Lillian was apparently dared to eat a leaf in class by another student. It was poisonous. We are calling poison control. Please call us as soon as possible."

Really? Really! Good grief! Unfortunately it did not make her vomit or get the squirts. She was fine.

The sound track of my life...

2011-09-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

If you could listen to the soundtrack of my life, it would be the dog barking constantly. Me screaming "shut your pie hole" to the dog and Grayson saying potty words. All I can figure is that boys have a set amount of potty words to be said in a day and Grayson can not get them out at school. He says bootie more times that I can count not to mention all private parts and poop. Poop is an endless funny word for a 6 year old. I lead a silly life. The bonus is that we have tenants who I am quite sure hear a good bit of it or workers. The other day our carpenter was subjected to Grayson singing a song about his tallywacker. Peter taught him that word. Thank you Peter! I apologized as I could not make it stop. The carpenter said he found it amusing. I've started to think my life is a reality TV show with all of these people in our house. Sadly, they have been here so long we have forgotten to consider them. Thats the state of the union. Stop by if your bored.

Bedtime with G

2011-08-24T19:13:00.002-05:00

At the end of what I thought was a sweet and meaningful bedtime routine with Grayson, he said "Hey Mom, you want to making toot noises with me." Then he laughed his contagious laugh. I did, however, refrain from making toot noises.

Back to School

2011-08-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

The summer flew by and we had so much fun! We haven't wanted to be home much this summer with the construction so we played hard as a family. We logged a ton of hours at the pool, the lake, camping, boating, canoeing, paddle boating, biking... Did I mention the pool? We spent most of our days playing, swimming, sliding and perfecting our moves off the diving board. It was a sweet summer in many ways for our family. I LOVE being a mom in the summer. It is so much fun! So, I've been a little sad for the return of school and structure. The kids have mixed feelings about going back.

On the first day, I asked if anyone wanted to stay home with me and snuggle. I said they were getting too big going to 1st and 3rd grade. They declined and Grayson said, "Mom, you just have graders now!" So true. No babies which makes for very fun summers. Grayson declared 1st grade to be fun upon pick up the first day. Lillian is undecided about 3rd. She is excited about all the things she will be learning. She LOVED her teacher last year so it is hard to warm up to the new one. I trust that she will.

So, we are trying to find our way into our new routines and grab a quick trip to the pool when we can. Hope you enjoy these pictures from the first day!

Oh, the journey

2011-08-05T21:56:00.003-05:00

I am sure that all of you are looking to me to open up the reservation line so that you may come to my house to stay or for dinner, or book club or anything. This is not that blog. The house isn't finished. I don't know when it will be. Whenever I ask, they say two weeks. They have been saying two weeks for 6 weeks. Silly me- I thought this was about construction. It is NOT. It is about my heart and about God wanting ALL of me. Many of you know my story... there is plenty of joy and plenty of real suffering. In the last couple of years, God has really shown Himself to me. That is awesome! So I believe that He is the God of my fertility, my extended family, etc. I've learned to pray A LOT. It seems like that would be good. And it is, but I am realizing that God wants more. He wants to prove that He is the God of all of my life. He is the God of the night time. I have to pray myself to sleep because since the fire I am scared of what will happen when I close my eyes. I'm NOT in control of the night time. I thought I was for some time, but I'm not. I have to pray my kids to sleep because they are scared particularly Lillian. I've always felt in control of my house, but He is proving to be the God of my house, too. My house is not a peaceful place anymore. It has scars from fire and water and plaster dust and many, many men who come and work everyday for the last eight months. It is a place of chaos. I used to have my runs where I would go out and space out or free base in my mind. I no longer have that. That time must be used to pray for peace for me, my house, my family, etc.

The truth is that I have realized that I am angry and sad about these things lately. It is a BIG step to say I'm sad and not just angry. I want my peace back and my privacy and my comfort. My life is so out of my control that all I can do is pray and complain. I'm discovering that complaining gets me no where. I've tried. Believe me. Ask Peter. What's changing? In the past I would think that God doesn't love me because life isn't easy. The funny thing is I pray for little things like tile to come in on Tuesday and it does and floors to be finished on Saturday and they are. I know God hears my prayers and He answers them.

He wants ALL of me. He wants my runs, my house, my kid's bedtime, my interactions with you, my husband, the daytime, the nighttime, etc. ALL OF ME! I'm raging against that. His response is "Melanie, I will not stop until I am the God of all of you." Yikes! This reno will end sooner or later and I will return to some level of comfort, but He will have more of me. That is a good thing. I am in a season of Him taking more of me and that is a good and painful place to be. The funny thing is that all of these years into my journey I have been given a window into realizing this means He loves me MORE than I will know this side of heaven. So, there is joy in the journey. Not happiness or ease, but deep lasting joy that means my Saviour loves me deeply and that this life is about WAY more than what appears to be in front of me. I would like for you to pray that it will all end as in my house will be finished and it will be a place of peace. That is the prayer of my old self. The Melanie in process is beginning to know that you should pray that I will surrender to my Heavenly Father who has much more for me and mine. Pray for that.

This life is a marathon not a sprint. I've run far enough to tell you that the first three stink and that when you get to five it is glory. Then eight is a transition. I'm at eight. There are many miles to go, but the first eight are not pocket change. Pray for more of Jesus to be revealed. That is infinitely more important than a peaceful house and at the end of the day it is what I really want. You will need to remind me of that and I will remind you. Isn't it great that this life isn't all that there is?

View from deck!

2011-07-18T19:38:00.002-05:00

View from deck!
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

So as of today we have a deck. Still needs to be sanded and stained. I love it! LOVE IT! Click on the picture and get a tour as of today. Note: The deck roofing will be fixed part is covered and part is not. Floors start being sanded tomorrow in the addition. We are getting close.

Current Master bedroom with everything shoved in it.

2011-07-09T21:18:00.001-05:00

Current Master bedroom with everything shoved in it.
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Just keeping it real! My life is chaos. Here is a view of our current master bedroom where we throw everything. Contractor says we will be wrapping up in the next two weeks. I could not be more happy about that. It will be 8.5 months start to finish. Click on my bedroom to see some pictures as of today. Grayson says our house could be on hoarders.

Playing hard!

2011-06-23T08:06:00.002-05:00

We have embraced summer fully in this household! Since our house is under construction for the sixth month, we have taken the opportunity to be out of it as much as possible. We have been playing so hard that we fall into bed exhausted at night. We have been to the Lake two weekends with some new friends. Lillian learned to knee board and Grayson loved tubing behind the boat. We swam, caught turtles, ate cicadas (yikes) and fished. We have been to our favorite circus- Circus Flora. It is a St. Louis based circus and a favorite family event each summer. We visited my family in Louisiana for VBS at the church where I grew up. In Louisiana we did a lot of visiting with family and friends. We ate a lot of yummy food. We swam a ton because it was too hot to do anything else. We caught an alligator and ate him. We caught fish and tons of turtles. The kids have enjoyed a week of art camp and are currently going to an amazing swim camp. Lillian is exploding under the direction. I neglected to plan anything for July so we will be our favorite local pool. We have spent all of our spare time in June there playing with friends.

Our house seems to suddenly be transforming into a happy place again. There is still plenty of work to be done, but the addition is coming together again. It doesn't look like a fire ever occurred there. I am so very glad about that. The roof is almost complete as in it no longer leaks which it has done for most of the last few months causing a mad dash upstairs to move buckets every time it rains. The dry wall and insulation is in so this week they are painting the finish color. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I could not be more excited about a "finish" item happening. I am so very pleased with the color. It is a pale gray.

So we are having a sweet summer of lots of family time - reading, biking, traveling, swimming, laughing... I was greeted with fresh ground french pressed coffee by Lillian when I woke up this morning. I could totally get used to mid-sized kids. Hope you are having a happy summer too!

A word...

2011-05-26T16:09:00.002-05:00

"We hit the jackpot with these parents!"

~ Lillian Maynor

Field Day!

2011-05-25T21:56:00.009-05:00

Today was field day at the kid's school. The weather was awesome until the end of the day. The kids had a blast. Peter volunteered which was wonderful! The morning was spent doing races. Grayson was great. He always has a good time. He loved running with his friends. Lillian was scheduled to run the 800 which is a half mile. Are you kidding me? I didn't think she could even run that far. On the way to school, she said she wanted to win. I gave the "have a great time and do your best speech". I believe that speech, I run all the time and never come close to winning. Peter and I were so nervous for her. We told her to jog the first lap then run the second. She was second to last on the first lap then Peter told her to move to first on the second lap. She passed everyone then totally WON! Are you kidding me? The kid who doesn't play team sports won. She did and then Peter and I freaked out!!! It was awesome. I grabbed her and said, "You just kicked some butt!!!" She laughed, I don't talk like that to her. She wanted something and then she went and got it. It isn't about winning, but at the end of the day she said, "I felt like an athlete." Joy! She did something she didn't think she could do. Awesome! I didn't think she could either. It was fun to see her be more than she thought she could be!

Being more than she thought she could be has been Lillian's song this year. She entered second grade reading poorly and struggling and she ended on top in every way. Her first book report was on a 25 page book and her last was 150. She has counted the days to the end of school every year and on Monday she said she didn't want second grade to be over because it was so great. God has blessed her this year with a great teacher and she has blossomed. It has been great to see her have moments of respite from her struggles. We can't win everyday, but sometimes we do and today was her day and it was a delight. Lord, thanks for freeing Lillian from herself and her fears today. It was a delight to see her shine. Lillian's second grade will be forever a treasure in this mama's heart.

I have my eye on you!

2011-05-23T18:59:00.001-05:00

I have my eye on you!
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

We are gearing up for summer which means I need to take my vitamins to keep up with the G-man. He has two speeds 150% or asleep. Can't wait!

Sweet Quote from Lillian

2011-05-21T21:59:00.002-05:00

I was a part of something today that was beautiful yet broke my heart. When the kids and I got home, I cried. I was crying to Peter and the kids were watching.

Lillian: "Mom, don't worry about crying in front of us. Us kids do it all the time."

So, true. Perhaps the kids are on to something. Realizing it is not such a bad idea to cry in front of my kids sometimes. At the end of the most beautiful Saturday I can remember, I can't wait for my sweet Lord to come back.

Easter Kiddos!

2011-04-24T19:36:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter worship at Grace and Peace this morning. I love the Easter service there. This side of heaven there is no where else I would want to be on Easter Sunday. I know you all want to see some pictures of the kiddos :) They are looking awfully big. I love the last one... G is trying to give Lillian a kiss.

Loose tooth

2011-04-23T19:30:00.001-05:00

Loose tooth
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

G was so excited to have his first loose tooth.

Gone!

2011-04-23T19:24:00.001-05:00

Gone!
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Lillian pulled out G's first a tooth. I'm not sure who was more excited. He is growing up!

Grayson on his birthday present!

2011-04-23T19:23:00.001-05:00

Grayson on his birthday present!
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Somehow Grayson's birthday got lost in the shuffle. He got a new bigger bike which he LOVES. All he wanted to do for his birthday was ride bikes with his friends. Turns out not many 5 and 6 year olds ride their bike without training wheels. We went to a park and they rode and played and played. It was a great day!

This day finds us...

2011-04-16T08:41:00.002-05:00

drinking coffee in the living room and watching the Smurfs. This sounds like terribly "normal" Saturday morning activity which is just what the doctor ordered. We have had a dehumidifier and big fans blowing in our living room and entry way all week drying the place out. It is nice to reclaim our living room as our own even if it does not look as pretty as it once did.

It has been a long week. It has been filled with fear, anxiety, hope, mercy and much love from our community. People have been showering us with love and prayer. We have seriously needed that as our world has been turned upside down.

There is so much going on in my head and my heart as I begin to process this experience. I can't seem to put it into words for now. Perhaps that day will come. I am learning to cling moment by moment to my Saviour. My illusion of safety has been seriously rocked. This is a severe mercy of my Saviour to remind me yet again that He wants ALL of me. Clearly, He is not finished with the Maynors. Our story is not yet written.

The last of my random thoughts is that the children seem to be doing a little better. I asked that people pray for them at bedtime starting Tuesday night. It seemed to really help. We have all been scared to go to sleep since the fire. It is just hard to relax.

I asked my Pastor Aaron for some scriptures to combat my fears earlier this week and I will leave you with one of my favorites.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Our house

2011-04-09T07:56:00.002-05:00

I think many of you have heard and if you have not I am sorry to tell you in this way, however, I am at a loss for streamlining information. First off, we are all okay in body. Thursday night about midnight some Wash U students walking down the sidewalk saw smoke coming out of our addition and called 911. They then banged on the Huggin's door (our friends/tenants) and woke them up telling them to get out. Jeremy came up to our house through the kitchen door which thankfully was unlocked. He woke us up and said the house was on fire. He said we needed to get the kids and get out. He opened the front door for the firemen. I did not have my kids out of the bed before the firemen were in the house and running to the fire. I have never loved living in the city more. People walking around at midnight, firemen 3 minutes away, what is not to love? There ended up being 8 fire trucks, ambulances and some police. The entire block was shut down. Most of our neighbors seemed to be up and I walked out of my house to Jay a neighbor and cop who hugged me and told me what was going on. Neighbors thought to take me and the kids inside so we were not watching, neighbors prayed, gave us water, let us sleep at their house. I have always loved my block but they were just amazing. To those of you who don't live here, my urban family is doing a good job of taking care of us.

So on to the loss, the fire started in the addition. The fire marshal could not determine why and has ruled it an accident. The master bedroom up there and the roof are toast. They look awful. Umm, there is much smoke damage and broken windows. I suppose we will be moving toward finishing that, but don't even have the energy to think about it now. We had water damage in our living room, study, entrance. The worst is the in the living room. I don't think we know the total of that yet. Some things can't be touched until the insurance company makes their rulings. I can only smell and taste smoke, but the restoration man assures me there is not smoke damage in my current living space just water. I still feel like all fabrics need to be washed. It does stink in there. Jeremy and Rachel's place is okay except they had some water come thru the light in there living room and damage a rug. She says it smells okay down there. I am thankful they are okay.

How are we? Well stunned. Thankful to be alive. Very thankful! The firemen said it could have quickly been much worse. We are trying to live life as normally as possible for the kiddos and ourselves. We are staying at a friend's house for the weekend. Her family was going out of town. The clean, calm, space is just what we needed. We know we need to be out for a couple of days to let it air out. We are hoping to be back home Sunday night.

What do we need? Well, we don't really know. I just asked Peter. He said some food for a few days would probably help. We are hoping to clean and organize our space this afternoon as much as possible. We need prayer for peace and comfort most of all. If the spirit puts something on your heart, listen. You may know our needs more than we do ourselves. Calls, e-amils, notes of encouragement are wonderful, too.

Thanks for loving us. God is good and His sweet mercy for the warm weather and blooming flowers this weekend are not lost on me.

A quote from Grayson's check-up

2011-04-05T18:25:00.003-05:00

"Well, he looks good like a six year old. Your biggest problem is that twinkle in his eye."

~Dr. Holmes

The Blue bird of Paradise

2011-03-31T20:06:00.002-05:00

Lillian's class has been working on a bird project for weeks. Today they dressed as their birds and hosted a bird museum for the entire school. It was amazing! Lillian did a great job! I thought you might enjoy seeing her costume- designed by Lillian with some sewing assistance from me. You will also see her poster. She did a great job and her gifts totally shined in this project.

Some thoughts on the G-man

2011-03-30T21:04:00.003-05:00

About 5 minutes ago, Grayson looked just like this and now somehow he is 6 with zero body fat. Grayson was born two days after we found out that Brian had cancer. He was like a little ray of sunshine and hope in a world that was so sad. Grayson is still that. He is just a happy guy! He makes us laugh all of the time with his jokes, impressions and faces. He is 150% boy and busy, busy, busy. He is just full on life. He is either going strong or asleep. You will rarely catch him in between. He has undying love for granola bars and could likely survive on them. He loves to play legos and make creations with tape. He loves to ride his bike and he was thrilled that he got a new bigger bike that looks like a motorcycle this morning. Grayson is full of life and adventure and is quick to laugh. I love that God gave me box seats for Grayson's life. Happy Birthday G! May this year be ER free!

A Mystery!

2011-03-16T22:03:00.007-05:00

Today, we received a package to Lillian from Lillian. We opened it and found two chirping bird statues. Great- she is studying birds. So, I thought Peter ordered them. He did not. I did not. Lillian did not to her knowledge order them. I have checked with my family and no one knows about them. Weird! I called the company. They said that someone called and ordered them and created a new account. He gave me the last 4 digits of the credit card which matched none of our cards. Freaky! So, the company said to keep them if we like them. Crazy. So, if you know anything about this and gifted it to Lillian let me know. A gift from them bird gods I suppose...

Sweet Lillian

2011-03-13T10:59:00.001-05:00

Sweet Lillian
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Lillian would love to give you a tour of our new space. Click on the picture and see what is happening here today! We are getting a little closer. I can't wait!

Just realizing we did a great job naming Grayson!

2011-03-12T20:16:00.002-06:00

I picked Gray up from a birthday party this afternoon. We came home to find Lillian and Peter had left to run an errand or something. Grayson was disappointed and said he wanted to hide and surprise them. He hid in a box he has been playing with for days. Eventually he got bored and said he was going to hide somewhere else. I was sewing and just said, "Okay". I thought he went in Lillian's room. Twenty minutes or so went by and started to think that maybe he fell asleep in his new hiding spot. I got my camera and started looking so I could take a picture. I looked all over Lillian's room- closets, under her bed, etc. I looked all over G's room and all over mine including inside of the washer and dryer that are sitting in my room. I was calling his name. The longer I looked the more I started to feel panic. Where could he possibly be? I really thought he was in Lillian's room so I looked again then I moved the bed. NO GRAYSON... I thought I was going to start crying. I could not think of a good scenario. I looked under the bed again in all of the rooms then went back to Lillian's and looked under hers. I saw Grayson's eyes. He had hidden himself in a hole in the lining of the underside of Lillian's mattress and fallen asleep. He scared me to death. Gray-son is clearly the source of all of my gray hair. Peter walked in shortly there after and told Grayson it was a the best hiding spot he had ever seen. Second only to the laundry chute I suppose.

Technology

2011-03-09T23:10:00.002-06:00

Peter got us new cell phones. He bought me a new iphone. WOW! It is cooler than me. Lillian is helping me figure it out. I'll leave you with a quote from her last night.

"Mom, I just don't know if I want an iphone or a blackberry."

Are you kidding me? I was still praying to get my ears pierced at her age. I'm hoping to get her to agree to ear piercing at 10 rather than 12 and a cell phone at 18. I'm not feeling hopeful.

Never dull

2011-03-06T21:01:00.002-06:00

You know our lives are never really dull. As spring starts to peak around the corner, Grayson seems to have renewed energy. I am reminded that he is a crazy wild man who has been ER free for at least 6 months. I went to a baby shower this afternoon and Peter was with the kids. He was watching golf while the kids were playing. Lillian came up to him and said, "Umm, daddy we need you." Peter put her off for a few minutes to watch a putt. She got a little impatient, but not too upset. He finally said "Lillian, what's up?" "Well, Grayson is stuck in the laundry shoot. His ears are stuck." Peter jumps up and runs to the shoot. He sees the top of Grayson's head, his ears and one hand holding on. Peter said it was terrifying. He pulled him up and out by the one hand. He took Grayson to the front window and reminded him that we live on the second floor and that it is a long way to the basement. He also reminded him the the laundry shoot turns a few times. He told him he could have gotten REALLY stuck like call the fire department and have them saw a hole in the wall stuck. Grayson then began to cry. I'm glad it happened while I was away and that it took G until he was near 6 to give this a try as he is not too big to fit. Looks like we will be closing that up tomorrow. Really- I'm not sure that is on the child proofing list. I'll be asking my Aunt B when I go to Zachary for a visit next time if she knows we went down her laundry shoot a few times. I suppose they make them bigger now. Peter said he has always thought G new his limits. He is a boy after all... What do you expect?

It is drywall day!

2011-02-18T14:53:00.001-06:00

Drywall behind where bed will go
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

They are drywalling faster than I can update. I could go take more right now. These pictures are backwards starting at 7 a.m. It has been a busy messy day here. I'm SOOOOO excited! Click the picture to go to the flickr photostream.

Valentine's Quote

2011-02-14T20:09:00.002-06:00

Grayson to girl in his class: "Your card says 'Be Mine', but I don't want you to 'Be Mine'. I don't want you to be my girl friend."

Girl: "Umm, Okay"

Pictures like this...

2011-02-05T21:16:00.002-06:00

Make me want just one more. Those fat cheeks on both of them just kill me. I do love kids that they can dress themselves though and plenty of my friends are having babies, so I can just rock somebody else's for now.

Lego Foul!

2011-02-05T19:45:00.002-06:00

Apparently, I made a huge lego mommy foul this morning. Grayson got Lego city and something else for Christmas. He wanted to open them. I had been holding off due to all the construction chaos, but felt bad for him and relented. He opened all the bags and mixed them up. He played with them from 9 a.m. until bedtime. He had a great time. Peter came home about 3 p.m. And said, "What have you done? We can't open them all up at once. I was stunned. The kid played all day very happily. Why on earth would kids want to play with something that required so much following of directions. It seems terribly un-fun and doesn't seem to use much of the imagination. So, apparently you put them together and just leave them that way. I don't get it. Grayson was very happy to follow the directions and wants to display them or pretend play with the complete pieces. Lillian and I pitched in to locate the pieces needed to put together the bus. We didn't finish, but worked as a family for about an hour. It was good family bonding. At this rate, we may finish by next Christmas. So, I learned some stuff about legos and I also saw my boy have a great day playing with them both ways.

Blizzard of Death 2011

2011-01-31T19:53:00.003-06:00

The St. Louis news has us all thinking that if we see the weekend it will be a miracle. I grew up in hurricane country, so I tend to have a "it can't be that bad" kind of attitude. It seems unlikely that we can't survive a few days even if we didn't go to the store. I didn't watch the news, but rather listened to the scores of people discussing what was going to happen. So, this morning I woke up to a slightly sick little girl, 12 loads of laundry and a fairly empty fridge. Peter took G to school. Lillian and I loaded all the laundry up and washed it in two hours at the washateria. Love that place. My friend Andrea said she was coming to my place should the power really go out so I might want some food. We have a wood burning stove and a gas stove in the kitchen. I'm thinking we are the friends to have in this situation plus the 4 wheel drive truck. I know Andrea will bring a ton of food over, but I didn't want to be rude. Lillian and I headed to Target about noon after it started raining what appeared to be a slushy. Apparently, all of St. Louis went to Target yesterday to stock up. We had the place to ourselves. They had everything on my list and then some. We picked up some yummy food, cards and dominos. Nothing says Blizzard of Death like some games. We finished just in time to pick up G from school when it closed early. Peter has stacked a ton of wood in the house so we can keep the fire going. He has salted everything and fortified the addition. I'm feeling overly prepared and reading a book from the library I went to after school closed.

It does sound like we may get some intense weather, but I doubt we will die. I suspect it will be like many times growing up when the power would go out and we would play games, cook on the camp stove and help people out. It will be bonding and it will be a good memory and it will build community and it will remind us that we have a crazy awesome God who is stronger than any storm coming my way. We will keep you posted as long as we have power.

View down the stairs to current space!

2011-01-24T16:28:00.001-06:00

View down the stairs to current space!
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

If you click on this picture it should take you to flickr with a few pictures of the reno as of today. I also noted that I have not uploaded pictures in a LONG time. I'll be adding more.

Martin Luther King, Jr Day at the washatria.

2011-01-17T21:36:00.003-06:00

When I moved to St. Louis 13 years ago, I did not have a washer/dryer at my apartment. About a week or so after I moved, I needed to wash some clothes. I went to the grocery store for some quarters and asked where the local washateria was. The lady responded,"Excuse me?" I figured she didn't understand my southern accent so I said it louder and slower. "Can you tell me where the washateria is?" She replied, "What???" In frustration, I said, "I want to wash my clothes and pay for it. Where can I do that?" She smiled, "Oh, you want a laundry mat!" YES! And I was off to do the laundry. I have always loved that story.

Thirteen years later, I am back at the washateria do to the reno. Honestly, plenty of people have offered to let me come to their house to do laundry, but I can do ALL of our laundry for a week in two hours. You just can't beat that. I am secretly loving the efficacy of the laundry mat. Other than carrying all of the laundry to and from it is an amazing experience. You really can't do anything else, but be while you are at the laundry mat. I can't run around the house and do other chores. The kids love playing video games and getting things out of the vending machines. It is a great place to learn how to do laundry because you can watch EVERYONE doing his/her laundry. I love and need this assistance in the laundry department. All in all, it has been a great experience.

Today, it went to a new level. Due to the holiday, it was super busy. There where tons of people. There were ALL kinds of people from every walk of life. We were doing our laundry and hanging around. At 4 p.m. Oprah came on the T.V. Nice! Until now, I haven't seen people really watching the t.v. Oprah was showing all of her shows on racism for the last 25 years and putting in quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr along with her thoughts in between. I happened to be near the television at that point. People started to gather round and watch. At first it was one or two, then people started to grab chairs and stand around. The group swelled to at least 10. All of us were different and yet the same. The kids came and sat on the floor. We watched and listened then we talked. We literally processed the program and racism in our country and our lives. It was amazing! My kids were asking questions like - Why were people being so mean to other people? This is NOT their experience. It makes me so very happy that they don't get this. I was trying to answer their questions, but also all these other people that were different from me were answering their questions, too. I could not have caused that moment to happen. It was a gift. I'm thankful for it.

I grew up in South Louisiana and I would be the first person to tell you that there are LOTS of cool things there. I love where I grew up. It did not, however, provide a ton of diversity. I love people and one of the things I love about where I live now is that there are lots of different people. I love meeting and knowing people that are not just like me. One of the reasons we decided in the end to add on to our house instead of moving is that our block provides neighbors that are wonderful. They are different from us and push on us about things. We are not just different in race, but religion, life experiences, political views, etc. We all still love each other a lot. It pushes on you to be around people who aren't just like you, but it also broadens your view of life and the world. It also gives you a little window into the delightful imagination of our Lord.

I love that my day turned into this growing experience for me and my children. These are the things that you can not anticipate in life. They are 'the treasures in the darkness' to borrow from Sharon Betters. My renovation is not really darkness, but it is pushing on the comfort and ease of my life. It isn't really a trial yet it can be trying at times, but God loves to mix treasures with trials. Today was a treasure and while others may not get it, I know that my Lord gets my heart in ways that even I do not and He is passing my heart, but more importantly His heart for people and the gospel on to my children in ways that I would not expect. I love that about Him!

Sleep over

2011-01-13T18:48:00.003-06:00

Lillian is SUPER excited because she is having a friend sleep over for the first time tomorrow night. I suggested the quietest, sweetest girl I know for the first sleep over. Lillian could not be more excited and suggested that I create stations for them with different things to do. Her ideas were a necklace station, fun snack station, art, fondue, movie, girl time, just talk station, jenga, etc. Clearly, most of tomorrow will be spent in preparation for the big event. I hope it goes well. I'm excited. She seems so very big. She asked if she could have a slumber party for her 10th birthday. I told her I would pray about it. Yikes! Let's see how with do with just one.

I guess I should have mentioned this before now...

2011-01-04T19:40:00.002-06:00

I kept thinking I would write a big long post with the back story, but I just don't think that will happen. Drum roll please... WE ARE ADDING ON TO OUR HOUSE. You totally thought it was a baby didn't you. Umm-NO! We have been kicking the idea around for about a year and a half that we might like some more space. We looked at houses for about a year or so and just decided there wasn't one that we loved as much as our current place. We love the location and the neighbors and the feel of it. We would love a bigger back yard, but hey we live right by Forest Park. It is the biggest back yard around. This summer we met with an architect and he drew up plans. We had a saga of getting the plans passed by the city, but they have passed and about three weeks ago they took off our roof and started. So, what are we doing? A hole has be ripped out of the middle of our house in our hallway closet. We are adding stairs to the third floor. We are adding a laundry room, bathroom, finishing our attic as a master bedroom and will have a rooftop deck. I assume that when the plaster dust settles it will be AWESOME! We are really excited and nervous and busy making choices and answering questions. There is much happening around here. Pictures to come...

Becoming a Maynor

2011-01-02T22:53:00.002-06:00

Twelve years ago today, I became a Maynor. Best thing I've ever done. I'm sure that I did not know how great Peter would be for me all those years ago. I certainly did not know how many adventures Peter would lead me in although I learned the first day of my marriage when he took me to a 3rd world country for our honeymoon. That is a good story. Our story has had many ups and downs over the years. It is hard to believe that I could love him more than I did the day I married him, but wow it is so true. God's love for me has never been more clear than when He made Peter my husband.

Oh, Peter Maynor, I'm glad we are on this journey together. You never fail to make life interesting. I know I roll my eyes at you a lot, but I LOVE the way God made you. Hope we have many more years together.

Christmas concert

2010-12-20T18:33:00.003-06:00

The kids had their school Christmas concert last week. It was a delightful night of singing and worshiping. Here are some pics of the kids who look so very grown up. And one of all the Maynor cousins.

Lillian's Christmas gift

2010-12-19T22:07:00.003-06:00

When I asked Lillian what she wanted for Christmas this year, she said, "An experience!" So, I purchased tickets for the two of us to go to the Nutcracker. We didn't tell her until about an hour before we left. We had a great time. Our fancy dinner turned into Waffle House as everything was closed. We had a fun time anyway and could purchase her very own Nutcracker with the extra dinner cash. It was a night to remember!

My sister is a nurse!

2010-12-15T21:57:00.002-06:00

I am so excited that Melissa is a nurse! My sweet husband watched the kids for 4 days so I could fly to Louisiana and celebrate Melissa. It was oh so much fun and I got to stay with her all weekend. Here are some pics of us from the weekend. We got a little silly! We wanted to see how much we looked alike so I put on a wig. Way to go Melissa! I love you!

Taking the long view...

2010-12-06T21:54:00.002-06:00

I'm no different from anyone else and I am usually thinking about what is next in the hour, the day and maybe the week. It is easy for me to get bogged down in the dailiness of being a mama... the laundry, the dishes, the homework, bathes, etc. This morning I was doing the dailiness of keeping my family feed, clothed and our house somewhat clean. I was picking up things in Lillian's room and wiping off all of the surfaces of the room. I picked up countless bits of paper from crafts and attempted to get Sharpie, crayon, glitter, glue, etc off of EVERY surface. I sat down at her desk to organize it a bit and I looked around. I had this sweet moment of seeing the long view of my life and Lillian's. It just hit me that this sweet, creative/destructive little girl of mine would sooner than it seems be a woman Sharpie-ing her own house. My house would be "clean"- free from bits of papers and countless signs and things would not be written on. And I was very surprised that I felt really sad about that. Lillian is the color in my life and it will be a sad day when she no longer writes on EVERYTHING. I don't think as a mom we can hang on to the the long view constantly. We still need to clean up and do dinner and homework, but we can put Sharpies in our daughter's stocking. I'm so very glad that Lillian is my daughter. She is such a gift to me.

Christmas

2010-12-01T20:23:00.002-06:00

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We had a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated with my friend Lisa and her family. We got to try some new things and brought sweet potato casserole. It snowed a little right after lunch and the kids were all thrilled. It was a really fun day! The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went and cut down our Christmas tree. We have been going to this place on and off for the last 11 years. The first year we were married we went to this tree farm and a white dove landed on a tree right in front of us. We took at as a sign and made it ours. Cutting down our Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend remains one of my favorite traditions. We had great time this year and the children were really into the whole process. The house is really beautiful and decorated!

A quote from Lillian

2010-11-22T19:06:00.002-06:00

"I LOVE BOOKS! It's like... What's gonna happen?" Lillian Maynor

This makes me very happy. I knew this day would come. Next she will be staying up all night like me.

Sweet Potato Casserole

2010-11-22T08:05:00.002-06:00

A few of you have asked for my Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. It is oh so yummy! I got it out of The Cotton Country cookbook the first year we were married. I usually double the sweet potato mixture depending on the number of people.

3 cups sweet potatoes, about 4 good sized ones

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

TOPPING:

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Boil and mash potatoes. Mix in sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Put in 9 by 13 baking dish. Topping: Melt butter and mix in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 10 to 12.

Hope you have a great holiday! We have been invited to go over to my friend Lisa's for Thanksgiving and my assignment is Sweet Potato Casserole and the dishes. Pretty easy. I'm thinking about making a big pot of gumbo for the weekend and looking forward to cutting down our Christmas tree.

G on Best Friends

2010-11-18T20:53:00.002-06:00

"I have a google of best friends or maybe just 40."

Grayson Maynor

Fall Family

2010-11-15T13:26:00.002-06:00

My Aunt Barbara came for the weekend and we had such a great time. We were sad to see her leave. She took this great family picture in front of our church.

High-Low-High

2010-11-09T19:55:00.002-06:00

At dinner each night we tell our high, low and then another high for the day. It is a great way to get the big stuff that happened each day out for discussing. They are always interesting and often entertaining.

Tonight, Lillian's low was getting stuck in the chicken coop. Her high was being let out by the neighbor.

My high was hearing about Lillian getting stuck in the chicken coop. Apparently she fell into the house portion while trying to get an egg then crawled through the tiny opening to the run and yelled for help until the neighbor (Jeannie) heard her and let her out.

Grayson said if he ever gets stuck in the coop he will just yell, "Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie" because she is a genie after all.

Sweet Lillian

2010-11-05T23:06:00.002-05:00

My sweet Lillian has been sick for 5 days. She missed 4 and a half days of school. It has been so very sad. She is the light, the sound track and the color of our lives. It has been a quiet week. She seems to be perking up this evening for which we are really glad. As I picked her up from school mid way through today, she said on the ride home, "Mom, I really missed Grayson this week."

Break my heart! They have recess and lunch together at school. It has been sweet and sad to see how hard it was to separated all week. We are all glad Lillian seems to be on the mend.

A talk on God's delight in us

2010-10-25T13:26:00.003-05:00

I gave this talk to my Bible study a few weeks ago. I thought I would share it with you... It was for a lesson the women had done in our Gospel Transformation Bible study. Be sure to click the link and listen to the song.

Sinners in the hand of a loving God

Hillary called me a few weeks ago and asked me to talk on October 1st. She said she would be out of town. “Hillary, you know I don’t really like to speak publicly.” “Melanie, I know. Just see what the topic is and talk to Peter about it.” I drove home and looked up the title. Sinners in the hand of a loving God. My immediate thought was ‘oh no, this is my main spiritual struggle. I’m sure God wants me to say yes.’ Peter agreed. Like most husbands, Peter knows what I need to work on. Unlike most husbands he is a counselor, so he is almost always right. Let’s be honest, cute counselor husbands have their pros and cons. Peter and apparently Hillary get me in ways that I don’t get myself, so we are going to trust they are reflecting God to me and that I can in fact teach on the topic. If nothing else my sweet sisters, I get your struggle in this area. The goals for this lesson are 1. to understand that God’s wrath or anger is completely satisfied in Christ, 2. to believe that we are no longer under condemnation and judgement, and 3. to view the Christian life relationally and not legally.

In the first paragraph of our lesson it highlights the fact that the gospel often seems too good to be true. It goes on to say that a great struggle will be continuing to believe that we are God’s children and in a right relationship with him. I think for those outside of the faith that the fact that there is a God who created us, allowed us to sin and then sent His son to save us seems crazy. It seems so very hard to believe. But, we are there. We have already accepted this as a fact. We have staked our lives on it. Some of you may remember the time in your life where you made this about face in your thinking. Others of us, have grown up in the church eventually making this truth our own, but never really feeling the weight of the absurdity. We have known this truth since childhood. We did make that profession at some point in the past and that was the point of our justification, but we are still called to live by faith. We are still being sanctified. I want to suggest to you today that the fact that God delights in us even though we are sinful may be an even wilder thing to believe.

We looked at the story of the prodigal. We’ve all heard this story. We know that it is awesome that the Father runs to his son even though the son squandered everything he was given by his father. The follow-up to that is that the book asks would the father continue to respond in the same manner. I want to say “no”. He should set some boundaries. He shouldn’t just let the kid keep acting that way. But, the truth is that question is about me. It could say, does the father keep running to you, Melanie Maynor, every time you mess up?

We know the answer don’t we? The answer is YES! This is where the theology of our head and the theology of our heart have a conflict. The first time at conversion, we can believe it. The 4 million times after that are much harder to believe. The sense of guilt that we are functionally operating under has been paid for in Christ at the point of conversion. Ladies, this is a common struggle. God knew we would have it. Paul addresses it in Galatians 1:6-10. Listen to what he says, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received , let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Who are we trying to please? We have agreed that we are servants of Christ. In my case, I am often trying to please man and even myself. I am trying to please the gospel of performance that I have created for myself. I create these goals that I believe would please other people or myself. And when I can’t meet these self imposed goals, I don’t believe that God is pleased with me.

What does that look like? This past April I went to Nashville with none other than my trusty co-leader Lisa Smout for the Nashville half-marathon. Here are some portions of a blog I wrote shortly after that experience. We had been training for this run for months. I went into the Nashville half marathon wanting to 1. finish 2. not walk and 3. do it in under 2 and a half hours. If you haven't run thirteen miles lately, I'll just tell you it isn't pocket change. It is HARD to run that far. It is even harder if running isn't exactly what God made you to do. Running isn't really what God made me to do and I often struggle to figure out what the heck He did make me to do. What am I good at? This is a constant battle in my head and my heart. It is very hard for me to see my gifts and to feel God's delight.

I really wanted to feel God's delight in me this past weekend. It is something I was praying for and that I've been talking to some of the key players in my life about lately. It is hard to know exactly what that will look like. On a side note, I've been listening to this artist called Andrew Peterson a lot lately. We all love his music. His lyrics seem to cut right to my heart. He wrote this song titled something like 'Windows to God'. He is basically pointing to those moments in life when for a brief moment you see God. He sites moments where you see Him in the way the sun hits the clouds or when someone says something to you that is very meaningful. Someone else could be standing right next to you and not see God, but because you are looking He is right there. I'm convinced that when you are looking to see God's face you see it. He is always there, but we are rarely looking.

So, Saturday I started the run looking to see Him and feel His delight. I was running through the streets of Nashville and enjoying the people and the beauty. I was running fast and I knew it. Disclaimer-fast for me is a 10 and a half minute mile. I'm a 5'2" mom with junk in my trunk. What did you expect my time to be? So, I am running and I am thinking. I'm doing it. I'm running. I feel good. I feel proud of myself. Feeling proud of myself in the moment is well very rare for me. About mile 8 things started to break down. Think intestinal tract. A pit stop later I was back on my way feeling refreshed like I've got this. At mile 11, I was starting to be very tired. Most people train to 11 miles assuming you can do 13 if you can do 11. I'll just tell you that 2 more miles after running 11 is HARD. So, I had to walk some. Goal number 2 thrown out. I didn't know what my time was, but I knew I was close to my goal. As I keep going, my mindset started to change. I was thinking...Melanie, finishing this thing is huge. Just keep going. Just finish. And just like that I was all happy with my 1 and only goal to finish. Finishing started to feel really hard. And I was praying that God would help me. I felt like I would surely die.

And then I saw Him. I was dragging myself along feeling like I might throw up or faint. Surely my face said, "I am dying. HELP ME!" And I saw this cheerleader and she looked right into my eyes and said, "You are so close. You can do it! Keep going!" I think she was Jesus or an angel. She spoke directly to me and said just what I needed to hear. Was she really those things? Probably not, but God loves to tell us what we need to hear and sometimes He uses unlikely people to point us to Himself. I walked and finished in 2 hours and 31 minutes, but you know what. I finished. I finished! And I did so much more than I thought I could do. God is in the business of delighting in us and He delighted in me running 13.1 miles real slow and I felt really proud of myself and I felt His delight. That is so rare for me. I'd do it again tomorrow for that.

The blog entry ended there, but what happened next really blew my mind. So, I had set these goals out long before my husband agreed to watch the kids for three days and to spend the money for me to go to Nashville. Not to mention, all the time I had spent running in the months before. Peter knew my goals and he had agreed with them. In the time it took me to find Lisa (who by the way was WAY faster) and get to the car, I was already trying to reframe my “failure” for Peter. What I didn’t know is that he was tracking me on the computer and knew all of my stats before I even did. So, I get to the car and turn on my phone to call him. I was greeted with five messages from Peter. “OH MY GOSH MEL, You did it! You are awesome! I’m so proud of you!” I want to suggest to you that my husband was a lot like our heavenly father. Peter knows me well and he knows I didn’t accomplish my goals but still delighted in me. He was virtually running to me with arms wide open because he loves me and he is proud of me no matter my performance.

God wants our focus to be on Him and not ourselves. He sent His son to pay for our guilt. The experience of God’s wrath drives us to the cross and to the point of our salvation. It is then paid, but that feeling of guilt still haunts us making it hard to believe God’s delight. And this leads into the next point of the lesson. We are so stuck on our sinfulness and not really believing that it has been paid for so we totally miss God’s delight in us. I think until recently I had always thought that when Christ died for my sin that it covered mine and that God sees Christ and not me. It would be like Christ standing in front of me and God only seeing Christ. I think it may be a little more like Christ standing in front of my heart and God seeing Christ’s heart and still seeing me. Seeing me as different and distinct from Molly or Beth or Lisa. The scriptures tell us that He has given us all spiritual gifts and that we are all gifted in different ways. In Zephaniah 3:17 it says this, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” He has saved us! His son has paid for our sins once and for all. We don’t need to keep on feeling as if we are not saved and as if we need to earn it. Christ has earned it for us. We need to function as loved daughters of the king pleasing Him. We need to repent and remind ourselves that we are His and go about the work that He has created for each of us distinctly to do pleasing him.

This whole delight bit is the real kicker for me. I don’t really believe that God made me distinctly and that He delights in me. This is again where the theology of our heads and hearts often do not match. If we were discussing this I would agree, but I do not live out of this reality. In this my round three of Gospel Transformation I will tell you how I am starting to deal with this. I don’t live in a constant state of feeling God’s delight, but I have moments of it. Look for the moments so that you can remember them when your heart gets in the way of your head. The blog about the Nashville half was in many ways a journal entry to myself to help me remember feeling God’s delight for the moment and for the day. I often feel delight for my children or see other’s delight in them and I am able to translate it to my life.

And excellent example of this would be my 3K conference for my son Grayson. If you have not been to a parent/teacher conference, I’ll clue you in that is a weird experience. On the one hand you know your kid well and know his struggles. You know that they will surely be discussed. On the other hand, you know your kid is amazing in many very specific ways and you are hoping the teacher is clued in to those, too. Grayson goes to Central and had Janet Heinemann for 3K. Janet is a beautiful example of someone who loves children well. I went into the conference all nervous and sweaty pitted. I sat down and she said, “Let me tell you what I see about Grayson.” Deep breath! Here is what she said, “Grayson is really good at the playground. He excels at recess! He is amazing on the fire pole. He does the fire pole in a way that I have never seen. I love watching him!” Janet gets Grayson. To understand Grayson is to know that he awesome on the playground. God made Grayson really good on the playground and He delights in Grayson doing the fire pole in the way that he does. I suspect that being good physically will be a way that God has equipped Grayson for his kingdom purposes. And Janet like God told me some areas where Grayson struggled, but I was able to hear them because I knew her delight in him. God gets you and He gets me. He knows what we are each good at. He loves to watch us function in our gifts. In His grace, He gives us moments of respite from ourselves where we feel His full on delight in us. Look for those moments sisters. They may feel brief, but they are there. Write them down or tell them to others so you can remember them and look back on them when it is hard to believe that your Heavenly Father delights in you. I go back and read my own blog more than I care to mention because I can see God’s hand and remember His delight.

We are going to sin much in this life and even in this very day, but if our salvation is true then His delight in us is equally true. I love this musician Andrew Peterson. His lyrics really cut to my heart and a lot of the time music speaks to me when other things don’t. If I were to play my running mix to you, it would give you a great picture of the trouble of my mind and heart. It is a mix of full on bootie music and full on gospel. It is a metaphor for my life. When I remember the truth of the gospel, I run fast and enjoy the moment with some fun music. Then I get all in my head and don’t believe the gospel is true so I need to hear the gospel music again and then again I have a moment of resting in God’s delight.

I’m going to play this by Andrew Peterson, “A Fool With a Fancy Guitar” because I think he illustrates my points beautifully. SONG

The only thing I want you to remember is this... Like Andrew Peterson says “ If it is true that you gathered my sin in your hand and you cast it as far as the east is from the west. If it’s true that you put on the flesh of a man And you walked in my shoes through the shadow of death. If it’s true that you dwell in the halls of my heart,” Then it is true that you are a priest and a princess In the Kingdom of God. If our salvation is true then so is His delight in us.

Working myself out of a job!

2010-10-17T08:26:00.002-05:00

The entire point of the mommy gig is to work yourself out of a job. It is a long process, but each new skill learned is a step toward independence for both of you. Now, I love my kids and I love to hang out with them, laugh, snuggle, etc. I don't love doing 5,000 things for them. I was thrilled when they could dress themselves. I'm calling the latest step of independence. Grayson can tie his shoes. Are you kidding me? This is awesome! Lillian also kicked all car seats to the curb now that she is 8. All of these little things free up time and energy to do other fun things with the kids like ride bikes or cook or laugh or play a game. I love it!

Lily-Pie

2010-09-24T21:20:00.002-05:00

We have had a wonderful week of celebrating Lillian turning 8. She requested the only dish Peter makes for dinner, Caesar Salad and a cookie cake. Well, played my little girl. It was a fabulous meal with Susan, Todd and the cousins. We all had so much fun and Lillian somehow is magically bigger, today. She had a great day at school. They had a field trip and she received balloons from Aunt Mellie at school. What could be cooler when you are 8? She is truly a delight and has brought so much color into our world. She got lots of money for her birthday and dying to go shopping for clothes and boots for winter. Many pictures to come. I'll leave you with one from her birthday with friends last weekend.

Lillian

2010-09-20T21:11:00.001-05:00

This little girl is going to be 8 on Friday. Really? How did that happen? It is so very hard to believe. She has always been a doll and captured my heart long before I knew her name. Lillian is one of the very best things that every happened to me.

1st soccer game

2010-09-13T07:52:00.001-05:00

1st soccer game
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

I love this picture of Grayson. He is saying bring it on! I think soccer was a huge hit.

Soccer G

2010-09-13T07:51:00.001-05:00

Soccer G
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

G and J start Soccer

2010-09-13T07:50:00.001-05:00

G and J start Soccer
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Soccer Mom!

2010-09-11T13:42:00.002-05:00

I was ready in my school t-shirt and Soccer Mom pin for Grayson's first game. We were all very fired up! They had lots of fun and got totally schooled by the other team. I was totally unprepared for the debut of Grayson's new cartwheel skills on the soccer field. He seems to really like soccer, but if it doesn't work out there is always gymnastics.

God is faithful to the prayers of a mother.

2010-08-31T21:39:00.002-05:00

It appears to me and Peter that some sort of "click" has occurred in the last couple of days with Lillian. Suddenly she is reading and appears to like it. Reading has been a big struggle in her life and ours for the last few years. I have begged God to make it click. Sometimes His answers are not in my timing, but He answers none the less. I am optimistic that we have turned some corner that I don't understand. Her brain seems to have opened in a new way. I am so encouraged that she is suddenly loving reading and that my heavenly Father cares about the seemingly small things. In other amazing Lillian news, she jumped off the platform (15 foot high) at the pool tonight. This was another big thing she wanted to concur. It is fun to see Lillian exploding in news ways. What a privilege to sit back and watch her fly.

G's first soccer practice!

2010-08-30T23:59:00.002-05:00

Grayson had his first soccer practice this afternoon. He has a super cute coach. Coach Maynor I think they call him. Anyway, I'm not saying Grayson is going to be a soccer star or anything, but he did score a goal in his first practice. I can already tell I'm going to be screaming and totally over the top in about two weeks. Bring it Kindergarten soccer teams. We are ready!

PapPa post

2010-08-28T18:01:00.003-05:00

PapPa had a quadruple bypass yesterday. All reports are that he is recovering nicely. That said. It is a painful recovery. Keep up the prayers and I know MamMa wouldn't mind a few, too. I'm sure they both need good rest at night. Thanks for the prayers.

We could use some prayers!

2010-08-27T12:34:00.001-05:00

G and Pappa
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

My sweet Pappa is having open heart surgery even as I write. Let's be honest we all feel a little like we are having our chests cracked open, today. Please pray. It is hard to be waiting.

Back to school pictures!

2010-08-22T08:02:00.002-05:00

The beginning of a long goodbye...

2010-08-20T21:19:00.002-05:00

I have said it before and I will say it again...Parenting is not 18 years and then a big launch. It is a million little launches. It is a million goodbyes hopefully with the final goodbye being death of one or the other. I pray that I am an old women with my children and grandchildren gathered around finishing well some 60 years from now. But, I am well acquainted with death even at the young age of 34. I know that it is a real possibility always in the background. Because I am acquainted with it, I don't really fear it. So, for now I am going to focus on the thing in front of me and that is launching them both into full-time school.

My true fear going into kindergarten and 2nd grade with my kids this year is Will they be loved well? And if they are not loved well, Will God be faithful to them anyway? In my heart of hearts, I know He will be. It is still a fear. It is hard to watch them suffer. Grayson started kindergarten this week and he was "nervous". I felt on that first day that I really needed to convey a since of confidence to him. I didn't cry. I just said, "You've got this. You will be great!" I feel very confident in his ability to do kindergarten. My major concern is really him breaking his arm on the concrete playground, but hey-I'm good at the ER.

As a mom, I strongly feel that my job is to equip them for each stage in life. I felt really good to launch them to kindergarten and 2nd grade. I trust that each launch will be a little easier. The whole goal is to work yourself out of a job, right? My real focus will be to fill my time with the things God has called me to other than being a mom and to be ready to assist with homework, hunger and emotions at the end of each day. I'm thrilled to be at this stage of the mommy game. I LOVE how God has made each of my children and I'm excited to see how they grow, learn and change this year. I'm also excited to see how Peter and I grow separately and together as we embark on the long goodbye to the children and the continued togetherness that is our marriage.

They are growing up and it is a little sad and a lot wonderful! We are finding out who they were created to be. There is so much joy in the journey!

So, where do you get bon-bons?

2010-08-18T16:09:00.002-05:00

Somehow, we have managed to have the most wonderful summer ever as a family. The kids are both riding bikes and swimming beautifully. We don't nap and can buckle our own seat belts. We have reached a new level of all around independence and I have to say that I LOVE it. I mean babies are cute and all, but bike riders, swimmers and seat bucklers are beautiful. And this wonderful summer full of fun and laughter will end tomorrow morning about 8:20 with both kids in full-time school. That's right Grayson is going to kindergarten. I know, I thought I would have lost the baby weight by now, too. I always get a little choked up on the first day of school, but I'm just praying that the teacher is a good fit and that the kids are comfortable. We have met both of the kids' teachers this year and I feel really good about both of them.

Lillian is headed to 2nd grade. I really can not believe that. I mean she is totally just a kid now. She is about to be 8. Peter and I keep freaking out that she is about to be 8. She has made some kind of amazing transformation this summer. I really can't explain it other than to say that she has matured. For example, she is suddenly able to clean her room. I mean I don't know why that changed, but GREAT!

Grayson is finding himself a little nervous about kindergarten and said he hopes his teacher is nice. I explained that you have to be nice to be a kindergarten teacher. His teacher was super kind and sweet this afternoon and exactly what you think of when you think of young kindergarten teacher.

So, I need to find some stuff to do. I feel like the time will fill up with work and Bible study and exercise. Who knows maybe I'll clean the house for the first time in 8 years or loose the baby weight. For now, I'm sorry to tell this summer goodbye, but thrilled to see the kids moving on to exciting new adventures.

A quote to get the blogging going again...

2010-08-04T19:41:00.002-05:00

Grayson: Mama, I'm never getting married.

Me: Oh buddy, why not.

Grayson: Because I will NEVER kiss a girl.

Me: (smile :)

Sweet Lillian

2010-07-15T19:06:00.003-05:00

Lillian is suddenly so very grown up. I'm literally standing around with my mouth open looking at her. I mean this both physically and mentally. Today, she wanted Subway for lunch. I was going to order a six inch for both kids. Lillian said, "Oh mom, I can eat at least a six inch by myself." She did eat all of it and then some of my lunch. I have no idea where it goes. I have just noticed this really sweet maturity setting in. This summer has really been the very best time with my kids. We feel like we should be freaked out that our "baby" is going to kindergarten, but in reality we can't believe Lillian is going to be turning eight and going to 2nd grade. Where did the time go?

The follow up

2010-07-15T07:58:00.001-05:00

The follow up to hitting his head on the diving board was to go up the next time the board was open and do a back flip. He is back. It didn't slow him down one bit.

The diving board...

2010-07-12T19:37:00.003-05:00

The diving board has been a favorite spot for all Maynors this summer except me. I did, however, do my token one jump for the summer off the high dive. I will occasionally jump off the low dive. I don't know any tricks so I just look like a dorky thirty something mom walking off the end. Lame I know. I do love watching my gang do lots of jumping from the boards.

Peter can do some dives and flips and such. We have discovered he is not quite as bendy as he was a few years ago. I think yoga may be in order. Sweet Lillian is working on diving. She is trying to get her nerve up. Her loyalties at the pool are mostly with the water slides. This is the first summer she is tall enough and she will usually do them no less than 25 times in a pool outing. She does love to just jump off the diving board. She seems to have no fear of the high dive and can easily swim the distance to the side. She looks super adorable in her skirted swim suit when she floats down from the high dive. Grayson has the most dedication to the diving board. He will occasionally do the high dive, but the longer swim wears him out quickly. He LOVES to do tricks off the low dive and will spend most of his pool time working on his tricks. He can currently do a cannonball, pencil, front flip, back flip, front dive and he is hard at work on a gainer. He is truly awesome from the diving board. For the most part he doesn't make me nervous other than to say that all people doing tricks make me nervous when they could hit their head. I really don't want to watch someone hit his head on the diving board especially not my kid.

You know where this all leads don't you? The G-man hit first his hands then head on the diving board this afternoon while doing a back flip. He says he didn't jump far enough out. Accidents happen. I knew he was on the board, but looked away for whatever reason when he jumped. I immediately heard the lifeguard blow her whistle long which means she is jumping in for someone. I could see Grayson swimming and ran for him. He made it to the side and then cried that he hit his head. The worst part was that all the lifeguards not sitting in a stand run out to help when something happens and of course the whole pool watches. There were at least 10 lifeguards. Poor kid. They asked if I wanted an ambulance because of the head injury. WHAT? How much does that cost? I said I thought he was totally fine. One incident report and a few snuggles later he was back in the pool. Peter and Lillian were at the water slide when it happened and he said he heard the whistle and "sensed in his spirit" it was Grayson.

Grayson said tonight that it was the one thing I was worried about and it happened. I told him we got it out of the way, so now he could keep on flipping.

In other Grayson keeps our lives interesting news, we got the bill for the little quarter ER run. It did not prove to be a $3000 dollar quarter as I was predicting. I will say however we have paid less for some of our cars. Easy come easy go. I am certainly glad he was okay on both counts.

I have been thinking about how all of the these blogs out there have a how to component and wondering what I could teach people to do should I want to write a how to blog. How to meet your deductible is the front runner at this point with how to maneuver the emergency room as a close second.

Negotiations

2010-07-11T09:05:00.002-05:00

We had three birthday parties yesterday. There were goodies bags. Goodie bags=Candy! Candy=negotiations Negotiations =this quote.

Lillian: Grayson, I will give you anything for that ring pop!!!!

Grayson: Will you give me your room? Your whole room.

Lillian: Yes, you can have my room and everything in it.

Here's a quarter call someone who cares!

2010-07-02T21:02:00.002-05:00

We were meeting with an architect at our house, today. Peter and I were sitting at the dining room table with him. Grayson and Lillian were playing around the house. Grayson suddenly ran in the room, "I pooped a quarter! I pooped a quarter!" We told the architect, "Sorry we've got to see this." Anyway, we gave the guy a little background. We are all very glad that 5 days after swallowing a quarter that it has run it's course. As I looked at it, Grayson asked, "Mom, can you get it so I can spend it?" FLUSH!

Grayson got glasses!

2010-07-01T12:14:00.003-05:00

In three week old news, Grayson got glasses, too. Grayson didn't pass his free vision test at school so we did a little eye test. Apparently the kid sees double almost all the time. Anyway we are hoping this is going to really help. We think he looks super cute. Now, to keep them on him and to keep up with them.

G-Money

2010-06-28T22:15:00.002-05:00

Grayson is a kid with many nicknames. GrayGray, G, G-love, Graybee, but today G-money seems to be the most appropriate. Yesterday, Peter went to play softball and the kids and I were playing in the living room. Grayson and Lillian were playing with a quarter. I was watching. Grayson put the quarter between his lips and the dog jumped on him. In that moment, the quarter went down Grayson's throat and got stuck. He started gagging and crying. "Mama, it's stuck." He seemed to be able to breathe, but I knew it was bad to have it stuck. I called at least 10 guys at the softball field before one answered his phone. "Find Peter" What do I do? They all told me to call an ER doc in our church. I did and his wife picked up the phone. I told her what was up and she directed me to the ER. Lillian, Grayson and I headed out the door for Children's Hospital.

I have been to the ER 6 times with my kids not to mention countless times as a social worker. The ER is usually not quick. I walked in with a puking kid. They asked if he was sick. I said, "No, he swallowed a quarter." They were all over him and quickly told me to get my husband there. "This is not good." We were in a room within two minutes. As they were getting us to a room, they told me they were taking Lillian because she could not go where we were going. Alarm bells started to go off. Grayson and I were taken to a trauma room full of no less than 10 professionals. As I was standing at the end of the trauma bed looking at my kid get hooked up to a bunch of stuff, I realized this was very serious. The doctor quickly told me that they thought it was stuck somewhere and causing him distress. The ENT was on his way down STAT along with x-ray. "If it is anywhere but his stomach we are going straight to surgery. How long til your husband arrives?" I had this moment where I really wanted to panic, but quickly realized there was no time and that it would not be helpful. I looked around and asked some sweet young nurse to go be with Lillian who was all alone in a waiting room. My job was to keep Grayson calm so he didn't make things worse by freaking out. As we waited for the x-ray he stopped puking and perked up.

We did the x-ray and the doctor called me over to see where the quarter was on the computer monitor. It was in his stomach. They think it went down after we got to the trauma room. So, they said he would poop it out and we were moved to the happy ER room with cartoons and a popsicle to see if he could eat something without difficulty. That is when Peter got there. "Is everything okay?" I was like "Well, yeah, but we could have just filmed an episode of ER the tv show." So, within the space of an hour I went from facing my kid not breathing to him pooping a quarter. WHAT? It was one of the scariest moments of my life. And now, more than 24 hours later I just shed my first tears. Not because I am all that, although God made me Grayson's mom and that looks to be an intense job.

Peter and I were just processing it for the 4,oooth time. He missed a lot of the intensity. I found myself crying because I forgot to pray or I didn't have time. Lillian had called my aunt for me and asked her to pray and Peter was praying and perhaps others that knew. Tonight I am realizing that the Holy Spirit was probably intervening on my behalf for Grayson. It was 30 minutes of absolute terror that I would loose him and then it was all gone. God has intrusted Grayson to my care for a time. I really have no clue when that time will end. Could be tomorrow could be years. I hope he outlives me.

On the day after feeling I was close to saying goodbye, I am reminded he is not mine and no matter what I do I keep him or Lillian safe. After all, I was looking at him as he choked. I am also reminded it is not safe to love another. My heart will likely break a million times over for each kid. It looks to be two million for Grayson, but to guard my heart would be to not love at all. I find myself very glad to have two wonderful children tonight-my Lillian the artist and intellect and my G-money-the crazy, full on live, risk taker. His risks are risks, but he is full on life and that make me a little more full on life, too. And in reality he rarely gets hurt when he takes risks, God made him really good at that. I love that about him. Tomorrow, when I have recovered I will tell you about how he does flips off the diving board and jumps off of everything and how I LOVE that God made him that way and that I get to be his mama. It is a joy beyond anything I could have imagined. Tonight, I am glad we appear to all be going to sleep safe in our beds. God has been generous to give me one more day with these little treasures.

Checking out the Loop

2010-06-28T08:16:00.001-05:00

Checking out the Loop
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Grayson was invited to go to the circus with a friend so Lillian was looking for something special to do. Peter and I decided it would be fun to surprise her with a date to the Moonrise Hotel. They have a rooftop deck that services appetizers and beverages. Lillian was SO excited to go and looked so very grown-up for the adventure. She had her first Shirley Temple and voted on the best appetizer. We watched a storm roll in and decided we better get home because we had walked. As we were walking through the parking lot our written receipt with tip blew off the roof. We could not believe that it was ours, we happened to see it and happened to pick it up. Funny! We dropped it back off and RAN home making it just before the rain storm it. It was a really sweet date with our Lillian. Click the picture to see more.

Loving some hiking

2010-06-26T08:35:00.001-05:00

Loving some hiking
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

We spent last weekend in TN with two families that we just love. We became friends in seminary. It was a very sweet reunion and the kids became a second generation of friends. We spent our days hiking, biking and swimming at Fall Creek Falls. it was beautiful! We spent our nights eating, sharing our hearts and laughing. Really hard. Oh-it was just too quick of a trip. In hind sight, we could have taken more photos. This is a cute one of the kiddos. Click it and it will take you to more on flickr.

I promise to take some more of the kids. They are up to all sorts of fun things this summer.

A quote from yesterday...

2010-06-13T19:42:00.002-05:00

I walked into Peter's office and he looked up like he didn't know me then says, "Oh wow, you looked so cute I didn't recognize you."

When you are feeling jealous that I have a cute counselor husband, remember that he says stuff like that. And if you are starting to feel bad for me now, remember I think Peter Maynor is a trip and he cracks me up all the time with is one liners that are just a little off.

A quote

2010-06-02T20:51:00.003-05:00

Melanie: Grayson, stop yelling.

Grayson: I'm not yelling. I'm screaming.

I don't even know what to say about that. Wow!

Summer in the Lou?

2010-05-24T19:10:00.002-05:00

So, I'm trying to get organized for the summer. Shocking I know! What do you do for fun in the summer? Those of you that live in the Lou, what are the summer must do activities or free activities? I'm all over the pool, but other than that I need some tips. Also, drop off any brilliant mommy tips for fun or the day that are helpful. For anyone else, what is a favorite summer activity from your childhood? I loved snow cones and reading all day.

Art Gala

2010-05-20T19:31:00.003-05:00

Grayson's preschool class had an Art Gala, tonight. He has been calling it the "art gallop". Anyway, they have been studying Kandinsky, Mary Cassatt, Van Gogh, Giacometti, Michelangelo, Jacob Lawerence, Edgar Degas and Calder. They produced some amazing artwork. The teachers transformed their class room into a beautiful art gallery after school, today. Grayson was our docent and they also served delicious desserts. Grayson even served our drinks. It was so fun and we all dressed up for the event. I am very sad to see the end of this JK class. We have all loved Mrs. B and she has taught both of the kids so much.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Also, in other very exciting news. Lillian has glasses. She got them about three weeks ago. She looks amazing and so grown up. They are helping with school, too. No headaches since we got them. And the very best part in Lillian's mind is that they are purple!

Injured Reserve

2010-05-19T18:21:00.004-05:00

We have been so busy with the end of the school year and such that blogging has been tossed to the side. However, a week ago Monday Grayson had a big and blog worthy event. He is off on Mondays and we were cooking for my book club. He was sitting on the counter helping me. He set his hand down on blade of the food processor that I had just sitting on the counter. He got a serious slice. Ouch! He was upset and there was blood. I called my friend Rachel who lives downstairs for some mommy back up. Good thing. Grayson fainted as we were bandaging it up. Thankfully, Rachel was holding him. I waited for Peter to come home to decide if we should get stitches. We had our doctor take a look. He needed stitches for sure. The best part of this whole thing is that we found our place for stitches. We hit an urgent care near our house. We loved the doctor and it was MUCH cheaper and faster than the ER. So, two stitches and a hand splint to keep it safe later we were on our way. We made it home 45 minutes before book club. Grayson was super brave and the doctor said he grazed his tendon. It could have been so much worse. Clearly, God wants me to good at stitches this is my 4th round with the kiddos.

So, Grayson is on the injured reserve from t-ball for two weeks. Somehow, stitches made him faster and braver. They have not slowed him even one bit.

P.S. G got a serious summer cut. The other picture is G and his best friend Jack at their first t-ball game.

Quote of the day!

2010-05-08T18:22:00.001-05:00

Lillian: Mama, we are going to do the dishes tonight so you can just watch.

Mama: Umm, okay. Great!

Lillian: Can we put on our swimsuits because this is going to be wet?

What a crack up!

I saw Jesus and He was wearing a cheerleader uniform.

2010-04-28T23:24:00.002-05:00

How do you sum up a huge experience both physically and emotionally? It is difficult I'll say. I went into the Nashville half marathon wanting to 1. finish 2. not walk and 3. do it in under 2 and a half hours. If you haven't run thirteen miles lately, I'll just tell you it isn't pocket change. It is HARD to run that far. It is even harder if running isn't exactly what God made you to do. Running isn't really what God made me to do and I often struggle to figure out what the heck He did make me to do. What am I good at? This is a constant battle in my head and my heart. It is very hard for me to see my gifts and to feel God's delight.

Every mountain top is followed by a valley, this week has been no different. The run was a mountain top experience and this week I found myself back in my old patterns of feeling slow and bad at lots of things. The thoughts in my head are often very negative about myself. Today, was in many ways a bad mental health day. This afternoon I met my kids at school to hear none other than Andrew Peterson the artist that has been ministering to all of our hearts this year through his cds. It was great to chat with him and hear him sing. I was reminded of God's delight and that He made me the way He did on purpose.

At bedtime, Lillian was having a hard time. She was angry that she can't read better. She said she was jealous that her friends were better readers. She said she didn't like that God didn't make her a better reader. Oh boy, is this not my very own struggle. I said, "God has given us all gifts." We reviewed some of hers. Then she said, "Mama, what did God make you good at?" Is this not the very question I had been asking myself ALL day long? "Well Lillian, God made me really good at cooking dinner, and loving old people and running very slow." She smiled. And I realized God showed His face to me with my own voice. I love cooking dinner for my family and being a social worker to older people. And I love running very slow. My gifts are not always easy for me to see, but they are there and He is revealing them to me in the same way that He made me to run. Slowly but surely.

We did it!

2010-04-25T19:42:00.002-05:00

Lisa and I both finished the 1/2 marathon. More info to come... Here is a fun picture from the weekend. My favorite t-shirt quote from the weekend..."Slow is the new fast." Is that totally me or what?

I'm calling it...

2010-04-21T22:54:00.003-05:00

For a while now when people ask me if I am a runner, I always say "No, not really". Well, my trusty running buddy, Lisa, and I are going to take a little ride to Nashville this weekend and run the Nashville 1/2 marathon. It is the rock n' roll marathon and I am going to either rock it in my own slow way or roll myself to the finish. And I have decided that when you have two 1/2 marathons under your belt you are a real runner even if power walkers could possibly beat you. I'm excited and nervous and have been spending tons of time running and working and mommying. I promise to sit around and blog about t-ball and Lillian's bike riding and Peter's softball playing next week. Maybe I'll even post an Easter picture or two.

My goal for the run is to finish and to not walk. I have a secret time goal that I'll keep between me and Peter and Lisa, of course. Heck, I get a weekend away with one of my favorite girl friends I just have to run 13.1 miles to have it. I usually dedicate my runs to someone or certain miles to people. It helps me mentally when I want to quit. I have decided to run this one for my Lillian. First grade and reading have been hard for her, but she keeps getting up and going to school even when she hates it. So, Lillian this one is for you. You are my favorite little girl and I would do anything for you including run 13.1 miles. You have taught me a lot about persevering when things are hard this year. This is the least I can do for you.

Quote of the morning!

2010-04-12T10:36:00.001-05:00

Grayson: Jack, please just ask your mom if I can go to Disney World with you.

Twelve years

2010-04-08T22:28:00.003-05:00

In the morning, when I wake, it will mark 12 years since my mom died. That is a very long time. I have changed a lot over those years. I have grown a lot. God has been very tender in His mercies to me. I feel like I am getting God in ways over the last two years that I have just not before. That is a beautiful thing. This year has been a hard one for me. It has been marked with lots of losses. My kids are struggling in new ways with health and school. As a mom, I am in the business of suffering prevention and at the same time God is blowing up my view of suffering. Suffering, I would argue, is one of the chief ways that God reveals Himself to us. It is certainly the chief way that He has worked in my life. So, as a mom I have to watch my kids suffer with the hope that they will get the gospel a little deeper. That is so much easier said than done. I don't want them to suffer even when I know it is for their greater good. I am 7 plus years into the mommy journey and I am just starting to tap into that. My mom was 22 years into the journey when she knew she would leave us. She had to know, at least a little, of the suffering it would cause. She couldn't stop it, but I believe she died in total faith that God would do great work in our lives with the suffering. I am just starting to realize that gift from her.

You know I have been anticipating this day for a while this year. It didn't surprise me. I talked to my friend, Andrea, tonight and she asked what I was doing tomorrow. She remembered the day. God bless her for that. I said I didn't know. I said to Peter earlier this week that I felt guilty for not feeling so sad this week. I think this year has been another long goodbye. The house my parents built when I was 5 burned last summer and was bulldozed last week. It was in many ways the place I could feel and remember her most. I have been worried that I wouldn't be able to pull her up in my memory when it was gone. That I would forget. That doesn't make sense, I know. I live 10 hours away and I pull her up in my mind all that time. It was a loss and a goodbye. It was a place I could feel her and touch her. It was the last place she was before she met Jesus.

Ahh, she is such a part of me. She is one of the voices in my head cheering me on. She is the voice with the Spirit's calling me Home. The loss of the house is just a reminder that we are not Home. She is Home. She is singing and worshiping and waiting to great us. And this week, when I felt guilty about not being as sad, I thought of her. I had a little conversation with her about the kids and my life and the things that are competing for my emotional energy. I think if I could call her now, she would say, "I want you to focus on the living. The people in front of you that you should love." Her love tank is all filled up with Jesus. She doesn't need me to fill it up. If you take all the aches I have felt for her this year, well, you would know I have not forgotten her at all. She was my mom. She got me in ways that only those that know me the most intimately do. I don't need to prove my love by weeping all day on April 9th. I prove it all day everyday by doing the things she taught me and by carrying her around in my heart.

If I could talk to her right now, I would say, "God has been so good to me this year. He has revealed more of Himself to me and mine. I am trying to keep Him at the center." For so long, my mom was my center. I have struggled with the thought that my mom and dad's view of me has been my idol. I am beginning to taste that the Lord's view of me is more important. She got that 12 years ago. She would be very happy to know I'm starting to get it. I go to bed very glad that tomorrow makes me one day closer to meeting my Savior and to spending eternity worshiping Him with my mom. Twelve years later, I am just starting to realize the gift she gave me by showing me her love of the Saviour.

Peter-never a dull guy!

2010-04-05T21:43:00.002-05:00

If you know Peter at all, you know he keeps things hopping at our house. He never ceases to surprise me with his ideas or responses. He makes me belly laugh on a regular basis. Last night, he took it to a new level. We do a phone Sonship meeting every other week. We are required to do a Bible study and e-mail in our answers. Last night Peter finished then headed to bed. I said I would stay up and finish mine. I had napped and wasn't too sleepy. So, I was in a nice calm, happy place after doing my Bible study and walked through the dark house to our bedroom. I opened the hall door which sticks a little. This door is a way that Peter hopes to be alerted if we have an intruder in the night. He knew I was up and went to bed. I guess he forgot. When I opened the door and started down the dark hall, he jumped up out of a dead sleep in his undies and started yelling in this deep, scary voice... "WHO IS THAT ? WHO IS THAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHO IS THAT?" I said calmly, "It's me." His yelling got louder, so I started yelling back, "Peter, It's me. It's Melanie-Your wife." This startled him into sane Pater and he stopped yelling. I this point we were both scared to death. Scaring each other with equal intensity. I was laughing and crying and we were both shaking. Nothing like this has ever happened in 11 plus years of marriage. We could not go to sleep, but kept laughing uncontrollably. I told my dad about it this morning and he said, "At least he didn't deck you or have a gun." True. I wouldn't have wanted to be hit, but that would have been a trip. Cute counselor husband decks wife in the night. I'm sure I could have worked the angle for well, years. I'm not sure I feel safe at night knowing this is the technique. It is surprising for sure. I will say I was scared to get up to go to the bathroom for fear Peter would flip a lid again. I don't know how it didn't wake the kids. They thought it was hilarious this morning. Lillian said, "Our daddy is scared of his wife." Awesome!

Wrapping up a Good Friday

2010-04-02T22:29:00.003-05:00

Wow, Good Friday is such a powerful day. As Christians, it is the day that Christ died for us. Death is ended! On this good friday, we celebrated Grayson's birthday with his friends and it was fun and beautiful. What I want to focus on is that this morning Grayson met with Peter and our pastor and made a profession of faith. I mean what could be more wonderful than that? As a mom, this is the thing you are praying and hoping for long before even meeting your child. So, Grayson got to take communion for the 1st time at the Good Friday service, tonight. My heart is full of emotion over the fact that Christ died for me. He died for me. And He died for my Peter and my Lillian and my Grayson. And what does it really matter what Grayson did at his party? He knows the King. My sweet Grayson knows the King. And so we wait for the King to rise again in all of His glory. And after He is risen, I'll tell you how we rejoiced in Grayson being an image bearer of the King by celebrating him.

God is so good and I wish I could hold on to daily this question... What does it matter in light of eternity? I should ask that question more. So little that I worry my self with matters in light of eternity.

Lillian told Peter that she got some things at the Good Friday service that she had never understood before... She said, "Uncle Brian is asking Jesus every day. Is this the day that you come back?" Peter said, "And Jesus says at the end of the day. Today, wasn't the day." And Brian says, "Maybe tomorrow?" Jesus says, "Maybe tomorrow." Maybe it will be tomorrow. If it isn't tomorrow, we will wait and we will worship. Our pastor, Kurt, once said, "There is worship in the waiting." We know who wins the battle. Let us rejoice! He will rise and reign victorious and this life will be but a shadow. The reality of what Christ died for in my life has never been as clear as this year. I can not wait to rejoice on Sunday. It will be richer.

Happy Birthday Grayson!

2010-03-30T10:23:00.005-05:00

Five years ago when God gave us Grayson, we had no idea what a delight he would be. He is an amazing climber. He is super active. He is a devoted little brother. He is very go with the flow. He is goofy-see picture. He makes us laugh a ton. He is very sweet and tender hearted. He is a great listener with an amazing memory. Grayson has many wonderful qualities, but most importantly he is an image bearer of the Lord. He reminds me of the how the Father delights in me as I delight in Grayson and watch him delight in adventures and the Lord's creation. So-let the celebrations begin. I am so very thankful for the great gift the Lord gave us in Grayson.

Maybe He'll do Stand-up

2010-03-14T17:39:00.002-05:00

Fondue night was a hit.

2010-03-09T21:12:00.001-06:00

Fondue night was a hit.
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Peter and I have loved fondue for years. I recently read a recipe for fondue with children in mind. I was really excited to try it out with the family. The kids dressed up and set the table. The called it FUN-DO night. We had blast and everyone loved the fondue. We talked about where it came from and explained fondue to them. It made me so happy. I think I am going to start trying to introduce new things at least once a month for a fun Sunday night dinner.

Checking it out

2010-03-09T21:09:00.003-06:00

Checking it out
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

First dip into some cheese

2010-03-09T21:09:00.001-06:00

First dip into some cheese
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

A few words from G

2010-03-08T21:00:00.001-06:00

Melanie: Grayson, would you be willing to take the dog out?

Grayson: Yes, mom. I am willing, but I just can't do it.

Sport Boy!

2010-03-02T21:41:00.002-06:00

I told Grayson to go put on his pajamas and he came out like this. He said he was "Sport Boy". He wouldn't take off the shoes to go to sleep because he wanted Peter to see his outfit. Could he be any cuter? I think not.