JESUS is my hero

what is it about little boys and superheros?

while i was away last weekend my mom bought e.bomb spiderman pajamas. he slept in them that night, wore the top the following day and night and when i tried to get him dressed for a BBQ at his bestemor and bestefar's home he begged me not to take it off of him. we compromised and i layered a t-shirt over the top. while sound asleep after a long car ride home i stripped him of his spiderman shirt and placed it in the dirty clothes. well it turns out that i should have burried it in the dirty clothes because the next morning he brought it down for me to put on him. he did not care that it smelt like camp fire or that someone might see that he has been wearing the same thing for four days. i had a vision of this shirt melting to his skin.

as you may have alreay guessed, that didn't happen and the shirt has since been through the wash but it got me to thinking. why do children {and let's face it adults} fall head over heals for super heros? they save lives, risk their own, have x-ray vision, leap over buildings, fly through the sky, and answer cries for help. i know a hero that can do more than that and if you have known me for any length of time you probably know who i am talking about. JESUS is my hero and i pray that i pass that love onto our children. in this world there is so much to be saved from and a Hero that is all about loving those that are looking for help.

to hit or not to hit, that is the question.

this evening e.bomb was doing everything in his power to annoy his older brother. he threw his books, knocked over his legos, mimicked his every word while trying to tell a story... you get the picture. normally i try to let the kid's work their problems out and then step in when things get physical. however, this evening when e.bomb ran up to where oz was playing quietly, knocked his baseball card collection to the ground and took off running, all i could say was, "don't hit him too hard!" when ozzie took off after him. for a second i regretted my words, but what is a mom to do? the good news is that ozzie just wrestled his little brother to the ground like an alpha dog. he chose not to hit even though i had thoughtlessly given him permission. i guess we are doing something right.

chairs to you

my brother and his wife {who i am privileged to call my sister}

took off to live in NYC about a month ago. i am very lonely for them and don't look forward to our first holiday mitch and alex-less. i will miss them for many reasons, but in addition to being a wonderful brother and sister, they are the kind of aunt and uncle every child should have. young and hip, creative and artsy, energetic and outgoing. they play the wii, meet us at pumpkin patches and move across the country looking for adventure and perusing their dream.

a couple of weeks after their move my mom called and offered me a chair that alex and mitch had left behind. my first thought was, um probably not. they are both recent college grads with

temporary jobs that payed the bills. they had not invested in furniture or the things that most newlyweds indulge in since they knew they would be

moving. don't get me wrong, i am in no way a snob about hand-me-downs. in fact, my house is filled with them. with that said, when i turned down the chair my mom suggested that she brings it over so i can take a look at it. i agreed.

a few days later she dropped the chair off. the upholstery is outdated but i didn't notice. i loved it and had the perfect empty wall in our family room for it to sit against. that night, after draping a blanket over the arm and placing a pillow against the back of my new chair, i sat on my handed down, slipcovered couch and admired the veiw. it was the first time the family room had felt complete and put together and i felt peace.

i smiled and thought about how good God is. you may not think that He had anything to do with the chair or the fact that it brought me comfort, but i would disagree. i am thankful for blogs, email, facebook, cell phones, thoughtful moms and my chair. they all make mitch and alex seem like they are across the street instead of across the country.