On Rocks. And Sin. And Gunnar's Great Offense.

Yesterday was one of those days. One of those days when everything is going along like normal and then one thing happens and it changes its course.
Yesterday Gunnar committed his first major offense. His first action that significantly and adversely effects someone outside of our family circle.
After an encounter with some neighbor boys last week we were having a rock throwing issue. I have been like a broken piece of vinyl: "Gunnar, don't throw rocks...don't throw rocks, Gunnar...if you throw that it could break something, Gunnar". My words were going in his ears, grazing his brain, and getting lost somewhere near his hands.
While I was busy tending to a sister G barreled into the house in a state of hysteria that immediately made me think that when he finally came into view there would be blood or broken bones. But, when I finally calmed him, what I found was a broken heart.
On a dare, he said, he had thrown a rock. His "really good pitching arm" launched said rock "really, really, really, far" where it landed on the neighbors glass patio table and broke it into "a million gajillion pieced".
His words hit me like a ton of bricks.
He started to cry harder and I know it was because my eyes were straining in my head and my nostrils were starting to flare, and we were both expecting the same thing - anger. Tense words. Harsh punishment.
That is not what came.
There, in the middle of his hysterical words and wailing and snot and gnashing teeth and fear and confession, what comes is praise. Gratitude.
He could have run from his offense. He could have lied. He could easily have gotten away with it, but his conviction would not let him run from his sin.
I was so thankful.
Somewhere in the middle of teaching Jesus and commandments and being known by our fruit, something is working. Something is taking root.
I listened to the rest of his confession and how he was "so, so sorry" and how he asked our neighbor to forgive him and while I was listening I was searching myself trying to figure out why I wasn't 'mad' at Gunnar.
It didn't take long to realize that it's because I break tables all the time.
I hear the words of The One Who Knows Better Than Me saying "Chris, don't throw that rock...don't throw that rock, Chris".
I hear the words with my heart and I read the words with my eyes and they get lost somewhere near my flesh and I throw the rock. And I break the table.
I break it, but The One Who Knew This Would Happen does not shame me.
He eagerly accepts my apology, He rejoices in my repentance.
He delights in offering me grace and forgiveness.
How could I offer my boy anything less?

In the aftermath of the great offense there were many noteworthy thankfuls -
the husband who spent three hours cleaning up broken glass,
the friend who showered wise words on inexperienced parents,
the neighbor, oh are we ever thankful for the neighbor with an understanding heart,
and the time. The time that John took to teach Gunnar this hard life lesson in the gospel language:
Sin. Repentance. Forgiveness.

It was a rough day. There was chaos. There was wailing. There were tears from all sides. There was the reminder -- this parenting thing is hard.

Today dawned fresh and there was certainly forgiveness and hearts at ease. My boy, though, is walking around with a big rock in his pocket. It's poking him. It's uncomfortable. It's getting in his way.
I'm praying that it's reminding him of how his sin gets in the way of everything, and it pokes us, and it makes us uncomfortable.

And me - I'm left to ponder what proverbial rocks I'm carrying around in my own pocket.

(Admin note: when Gunnar went out to pick up all of the rocks in the backyard (taking away the temptation) Patton insisted on going out to help him 'because I love him so much'. It was SO cute.)

Wool Socks! (And Other Things I Love About Alaska!)

It's been awhile since I spouted off about how much I love Alaska, and well, that's because it's been Summer. Not that I feel differently about Alaska, I just hate Summer. Weird, I know, but still true. Last week we were still having clear 70* days, but this week there is no trace of that Summer weather. It seems like one night I went to bed with the sun still shining and I woke up to changing leaves, rain, and seeing darkness before my bedtime. I am thrilled!
On the drive from Colorado to Alaska last year John said to me, "I've heard that soldiers usually want to stay in Alaska, but their wives hate it". I remember that I purposely didn't respond. We had been trying to come to Alaska for several years and everything that I knew about myself made me think that I would love it, but I didn't want to find that I actually hated it and have him to be able to say "I told you so". I shouldn't have worried. I love Alaska. If it's possible, I think that I'm even more in love with Alaska this year than I was last year. So, in true Chris fashion, here's a short list of things I love about Alaska (I know you didn't think this post was going to close without a list!):

1. Wool Socks! This one must have been pretty obvious from the title, but wool socks are actually what inspired me to write about my Alaska-love. I pulled on my favorite pair this morning (it was about 40* and we have hardwood floors) and realized that there was a hole in the bottom. I love living somewhere that I get to wear comfy wool socks often enough to wear holes in them!
2. The Aurora Borealis. This is a no-brainer. Come see them for yourself!
3. Our life here. This may be one of the big reasons that I love Alaska more this year than last -- I love our house, my friends, our activities, and the comfortable routine that we have settled into. With that being said, I realize that we still move at the will of the Army and could be saying goodbye to that comfy routine sooner than I would like, but for now I'm just going to count it on my daily thankful list.
4. Pro-homeschoolers. This probably overlaps #3, but it's a big deal. Alaska is a pro-homeschool state. Even more, Alaska is a homeschool funding state. Thankful.
5. Un-busy-ness. I despise busy-ness, but it happens. Living in the Interior of Alaska makes it happen a lot less. There are not traffic jams that last for hours and miles (unless there's a moose in the road in the Winter or on the side of the road in the Summer and all of the tourists are stopped taking pictures, but hey, that's manageable), there is not a dress code for anything (not an exaggeration), there are no malls bigger than a hallway. There's cold and snow, there's hot coffee all day long, there's a warm house with my family in it, and a list of things to get done to grow that family. It's simple, and it's perfect for us.

Like most of my lists, this one could go on and on and on, but now that I'm pretty sure that I have you all intrigued by the idea of seeing a mall the size of a hallway (and maybe the Northern Lights), I'll stop so that you can stop reading this and book your tickets to come visit us!!

Our Week in Highlights

Ok, so I know that I've been talking a lot lately about the crazy things that my girl wears and I promise, after this post, that I will try to lay off the topic for awhile, but this one cannot be ignored. It was definitely one of the highlights of my week.

 Yesterday I put my normally dressed children in the car and drove three minutes to the commissary. When we got there this is what I took out of the car...

Okay, no big deal, we can deal with the random flower and swim goggles, but then I get her brother out of the car and I find him looking like this...

 

 

Why yes, that is his fishing vest. No, we had not been fishing nor were we going fishing. Believe it or not, there is no fishing pond in the commissary. Weird, I know.

My deepest apologies to everyone who encouraged us to homeschool, and to homeschool families everywhere, because Fire Team McBean is doing NOTHING to debunk the homeschool stereotype.

 

Moving on...the big kids could not decide what the highlight of their week was. They said it was a tie between the first Autumn story time at the library and doing this project for school...

 

It's paint in a bag. Just some washable fingerpaint in a ziploc bag secured to the kitchen table with some blue painting tape (Have I mentioned that I l.o.v.e Pinterest? I really, really do, but that's another post). They loved it. It kept them occupied for a long time and it was a fun new way (for Patton especially) to practice letter formation. Even Baby R got in on the action...

 

 

(Yes, she is pulling up the tape, and please don't mind the mess that I had not yet taken time to clean up or my 14th cup of coffee on the table next to. I promise it was cold by the time I put it on the table next to him.)

 

Other highlights this week include gorgeous weather with just a bit of Fall in the air, the return of school buses (I don't know why my kids love this, but they do), G completing all of his Summer review math work, and getting new postcards everytime we went to the mailbox (thanks Ms. Teri, Ms. Danielle, and Aunt Yvonne!). The kids love this project and I'm so thankful that so many of our friends have been willing to help us out!

John's highlight of the week was marking something off of his bucket list -- a four day trip to Minto Flats to moose hunt. Even though the hunting part of the trip was a bust it gave him plenty of time to plan our Labor Day weekend camping/caribou hunting trip to Atigun Pass, so he at least made good use of his time.

In addition to all of this, one of the biggest highlights of my week was being able to be with my sweet friend Destiny (and my equally awesome friends Meg and Lindsay!) at Labor and Delivery and getting to meet sweet little Lawson Rage Impson in the first minutes of his life. Nothing provides more profound proof of the existence our Creator than holding new life in your arms and I was so blessed to have been there!

So there you have it, some of the highest highlights from our week.

Oh, and I think that I have failed to mention for the last several weeks that Baby R can WALK, but she refuses to because she still thinks that she can get anywhere she needs to be like this...

 

 

 

As Promised

It did not take long for Princess P to figure out that she was no longer getting objections from me when it comes to her fashion choices, so as promised, here is her outfit for a trip to the commissary, complete with Mossy Oak Real Tree Bogs! Love her.



Oh, I Love Her!

I am in love with this girl! Everyday -- but this week especially I have been enthralled by her crooked lips, odd sense of humor, unique style, and genuine innocence. Where did she come from? She is nothing like me! Or John! Or anyone I know! I think that makes me love her even more! Her unique style often consists of mismatched shoes, winter hats in July, dresses over jeans, and tutus with EVERYTHING (think Frankenstein in 'Big Daddy')! For the last year or so I have tried to tone down her unconventional choices, but I was really convicted this week to give her a little more freedom and let her enjoy this carefree aspect of being a kid! So, I have resolved to let this sweet little girl wear whatever she'd like (within reason, obviously the child doesn't own immodest clothing!) to wherever she'd like (church and formal occasions excluded, most of the time). I know it may sound crazy and it may mean that I tote around a preschooler wearing more costume jewelry than Joan Rivers, or people may drive by me and wonder why my kid is wearing her alligator Halloween costume in August, but oh well.
With that being said, be prepared to be bombarded by cute pictures of her ensembles, like this winner from yesterday. She wore the tiara, tutu and John Deere boots to the library, but said that the boots weren't working so she traded them in for her ladybug rain boots,Tonka truck helmet, and skateboard. Today she wore two different shoes to dinner.

Isn't she just the sweetest?

A Bag of Beans and a Baby

My favorite thing about toddlers is how easily they can be entertained. That being so, yesterday when R and I found ourselves with some one-on-one time, we opened a bag of beans and went to town...

At first, she wasn't quite sure if she should touch them or not, but she got over it pretty quickly

And then, of course, decided that the best course of action was to eat them

Once we had gone through several rounds of "no-no Rogue" and she realized that 1) she could make a noisy mess and 2) I was going to cheer like a mad man every time she picked up even one bean and put it in a container, she came to the reasonable conclusion that beans are the coolest toy on the planet.

Until she noticed that I was taking her picture, and then my camera was the coolest toy on the planet.

So thankful for one-on-one time with this kid.

Memories

Last night we went to Creamers Field for family date night. We were checking out some cranes when I spotted this plaque:

It says "Dedicated to the loving memory of Callie Mae Thomas, Fairbanks resident from 1955-2006, Callie loved the birds and Creamers Field and ice cream, all in one day". I thought that it was such a cute plaque -- the perfect balance between serious and whimsical rememberance of someone passed from this life.
I think a lot about what The Fire Team will remember about me when I've passed from this life. I'm sure that no one else is so obsessive about this, and I concede that the obsession may spawn from my own losses, but I am constantly reminded of the fact that I have no control of my childrens memories. As much as I could that I could erase my short tempered moments, laundry piled up, and cereal for dinner days from their memory and replace it with road trips, belly laughs, and family dates, I can't. All I can do, I suppose, is pray that the good memories outshine the not-so-good memories, and be more mindful to make the memories that I want them to have. And, of course, take them out for ice cream and bird watching more often.

Here are a couple more pictures from our date...

Seriously...Alaska in the Summer...how'd we get lucky enough to live here?

P was really brave about getting up there, but not so sure about getting down. Such is life with this girl!