Things I Love About My Babies

1. How adorable they look in their fall clothes.

2. That Meg has taken to calling me her "little mamma". As in, "How's my little girl this morning?"
"Oh, I doin' good. How you doin', my lil'... my lil' mamma?"

3. That Matthew is the most adorable kiss-blower ever. He balls up his fist, crams it half-way into his mouth, and says, "BAH!" as he thrusts his hand toward you. ("Bah" is his version of "Mwwwah!") He's also a very generous kisser. If anyone kisses anyone else within his earshot, he's all, "Bah! Bah!" immediately. (He is kissing my orange-stockinged foot as I type this, actually.)

4. Matthew's newfound communication skills. He now nods yes, shakes his head no, and rapidly opens and closes his hands for "I want some of that food right there." He points to objects that he wants to know about and says, "Dah!" which we think is a primitive "What's that?". And he brings me books when he wants me to read to him, looking up at me with a little imploring face and nodding his head pleadingly.

5. That they looooove books! There are only a few things that would give me more joy than to see my children grow up loving to read.

6. Matthew's walk. He's turning the corner from walking occasionally to walking mostly, and it is just so cute to see the pride and excitement on his face every time he gets his toddle on!

7. The way that Matthew and Meg love each other (when they are not arguing over toys). Matthew's wriggly delight when I lift him to kiss Meg before her nap (at Meg's insistence); Meg's wriggly delight when it's time to go get Matthew from his crib after his nap; Matthew's tireless following of his sister all over the house; Meg's gentle stooping to kiss her brother's lips ("I luh you so much, Mat-yew.")--these are some of the dearest moments of my day, when I let myself stop to enjoy them.

8. How much they love their Daddy. They are both so excited to greet Dave when he walks through the door in the evenings! It does my heart good to see them rush up to hug and kiss him... and I know how much it blesses my husband!

9. Their laughter!

10. The fact that they drive me to God and to the cross of Christ. The truth is that, though I enjoy many things about being a mom, I am really not up to being a good mom. Really. In myself, I lack the wisdom, diligence, love, faithfulness, humility, gentleness, patience and strength that this job requires. That means that I often sin against my children and against God as I go about the task of mothering. But in His mercy and His might, the Lord is drawing me nearer to Himself, the One who possesses all of the wisdom, love, faithfulness and strength that I lack. And He is teaching me--to repent deeply before Him, to depend more on Him, to think greater thoughts of Him--in order that I might love and serve my children better. It is painful to glimpse the depths of my sin, to recognize my total inadequacy, to realize that I am incapable of changing myself. It is hard to be disciplined by the Lord. But for all of the difficulty, I love it. I love it because I have seen that, as I embrace God's discipline, He will give me more love--first for Him, and then for these precious babies of mine.