discovery of the decade

there is a man on a bike

who rides past EBS every day

with a sketchy looking cooler

tied to the back with muddy cord.

And in that cooler

under piles of rags

are Dominican, individually wrapped

weird flavored (like "corn")

popsicles.

AND WE NEVER KNEW.

Life will never be the same.

BEST quotes from school

Mom:  "Lily, what did you do for game day today?"

Lily: "Well, we were gonna do jump rope."

Mom: "Ooo!  That sounds fun.  Was it fun?"

Lily: "Well, two big girls brought our teacher the jump rope, and we were gonna do it, but then two silly boys got in a fight, and they were hitting each other."

Mom: "Oh no!"

Lily:  "Yeah.  So, the teacher tied them up with the jump rope, and then we couldn't do jump rope.  So...  that was it."

Mom:  "Oh.  Oh my.  Well, that's not good!"

Lily:  "Nope.  I'm NEVER gonna hit anybody!"

Mom:  "Good lesson."




Mom:  "So, did you draw any pictures in school today?"

Lily:  "Oh yeah, I was drawing lots of pictures."

Mom:  "Oh good!  Did your teacher like them?"

Lily:  "Well, no.  She said not to, because she was teaching."

Mom:  "Ohhhh.  So, did you stop?"

Lily:  "Well, then I put my notebook on the bench beside me, and drew pictures so she couldn't see with the girl next to me."

Mom:  "Ummmm.  I think you're pretty well adjusting to being a student!"




Mom:  "Who did you play with on the playground today?"

Lily:  "Well....Azi.....and a bunch of other girls.  Not with the stinky boys."

Mom:  "Oh.  And what did you all do?"

Lily:  "Well, first we were playing on the bouncy thing, but all the girls kept trying to hold my hands, and I can't do that when everyone is holding my hands, and they were all saying, ti-blanc, ti-blanc (small foreigner) and then my teacher came to them and said, "Don't call her ti-blanc!  Call her ti-Lily!" And so then everyone called me ti-Lily, and I was laughing so hard, but I still didn't want to hold everybody's hands, cause I just wanna PLAY, mom."

Mom:  "Huh.  Well, did that make you feel upset?  When they were calling you ti-blanc?"

Lily:  "Oh no.  I was just laughing and laughing, and then Azi stepped on my finger.  That made me feel upset!"

Mom:  "Oh.  Well....  Good!"




Mom:  "So what is your favorite part of school?"

Lily:  "When we all get in the big line, and I hold onto the girls backpack in front of me, and someone holds onto my backpack and we all walk through the yard.  It's like a big train.  I am in the middle.  That's the best, except I would like to be in the front, and take the train all over the place."

Mom:  "You like to be the leader?"

Lily:  "NO.  I don't want to be the leader, I just want to be in the front and take the train everywhere."

Mom:  "Oh.  Good."



Mom, upon seeing her refuse to hold Alexandra's hand: "Hey Lily, when someone wants to hold your hand, sometimes it's nice to hold their hand, too."

Lily: "Yeah, but I don't want to hold people's hands if I don't know their names."

Mom:  "Oh, I see.  Well, that's Alexandra.  You can call her Alex."

Lily:  "Oh, OK."

Mom:  "So, do you want to hold Alex's hand?"

Lily:  "No, not really.  Why does everyone always want to hold hands!?"

Mom:  "I don't know.  That's kind of how it is in Haiti.  People want to be your friend, and want to hold hands."

Lily:  "Well, I want to be a no-hand friend.  Ok?"

They are so.

oh my girls.  

they are so vivacious.  so busy.  so stubborn.  so darn cute.

Snow White met me at the door coming home yesterday, but quickly declared that being a princess, just like wearing a school 'form, is too itchy.

Lily and Biga might be off in age, but Lily LOVES mothering her, and Biga...well, Biga is bigger :)  But doesn't mind being mothered!

Lily loves watching grandpa shave...then was seen running out of his bathroom with the can...

Noel had the girls in pigtails today and Sofie looked so much older!

While Sofie's been so sick (and up a dozen times a night) we drug a mattress next to our bed for Lily...which has become a playground.

Girlies just can't handle markers.  They love 'em.  But can't handle em.  

Azi is so ornery :)  Here, the girls were bucket jumping and had bubbles EVERYWHERE. But on these hot days?  perfect...

Day 2

As you can see, Lily was just  

 a LITTLE bit excited

about going to school today.

When a Mother Sins

-Staci Eastin

I was sitting with a group of moms, talking about motherhood and kids, when a younger mom spoke up from the corner of the room.

“But, what can you do? I mean, how can you be sure you’re pointing them on the right path? How can you know they’ll follow God?”

We all understood the cry of her heart. All mothers who follow Christ share this burden. The fact that our little ones are sinners — coupled with the reality that we cannot guarantee their salvation — often overwhelms us.

As mothers, we call the shots in so many things. We control mealtimes and TV watching. We can surround our kids with Bible stories and good teaching. It is our responsibility to do these things, to ensure that the seeds of the gospel are planted and watered. But in the end, it’s God who makes things grow. (I Corinthians 3:5-7)

We did our best to remind this young mother of this truth. But a year or so ago, as I was tearfully apologizing to one of my children for a mistake of mine that had brought him hardship, I realized that I really only believed half of this truth.

You see, while I readily acknowledged that only God could save my children, I had come to believe that I could somehow undo any good that God had done.

It was time to apply the whole of the gospel to my children’s lives. The promises of Romans 8:28 and Philippians 1:6 that I so readily run to when it came to the trials of my own life are relevant to my kids’ lives, too. As my children learn to follow God, he uses all things for their good and his glory. As he sets their feet on the path to his truth, he will see it through to the end.

I’m very happy to remind others of this, and I’m certainly glad to cling to it when my own trials come. I would even give it nodding ascent when trials came into my kids’ lives from other people. But what about when it was my mistakes and sin that caused the problem? Does this still apply?

The answer, of course, is yes. When the Bible promises that God can use all things to accomplish his purposes in my kids’ lives, the “all things” certainly includes their mother’s sin. And like the gospel, though it first brings sorrow, it ultimately brings peace and joy.

My children are sinners, and so is their mother. I’m so grateful that God’s grace and mercy are sufficient to overcome all of our sin.