Another day, another lesson to learn...

The Bechtolds had a great vacation.  It wasn't very long but it sure did pack a punch.  We swung by Plainview on our way home and left the kids at the grandparents before heading back to Las Cruces.  I miss them but we sure are enjoying the peace and quiet.  The test is to see if I can use this time productively instead of napping all day like I want to. Yawn...

During our vacation we were able to attend a Rockies game, something Zach has always wanted to do.  We had a lovely time and the kids did great.  Noah, once plied with sugar, really got into the game, cheering and waving his rally towel like a pro.  Zoe did good but got bored with the game and looked for other ways to entertain herself.  Zoe had a nice older woman sitting next to her that would smile time to time at the children's antics.  Before long Zoe was sitting there, talking like she is prone to do, asking a million and one questions of this poor, unsuspecting woman.  After a while of her just nodding her head to Zoe's queries she leaned over to Zach, and in heavily accented English, haltingly said,"I don't speak English."  Embarrassed Zach tried his best to put a halt in Zoe's barrage of questions.

Sweet girl, never has she met a stranger.  She has her moments of shyness, certainly, but all in all she is open to anyone.  I'm not so open.  It's difficult for me to speak to others and to do so without reserve.  More often than not when I try and force myself to get out of my box I end up regretting most of what I said.  It's safer for me and my mouth to be reserved when I'm around those who may not know me well.

There have been many times that I have been amazed at Zoe's openness and willingness to befriend anyone.  I recall a trip to Walmart that ended in Zoe standing hand-in-hand with a little Hispanic girl who loudly proclaimed her daddy was in prison.  Although slightly confused by what this "prison" thing was, it did not deter Zoe from inviting this girl over to her house someday. 

Those things that may keep me from reaching out to another is so insignificant to my five year old.  Those fears and worries that plague my thoughts aren't present in hers.  She sees people as just that, people. People like her.

I wish I were more like my kids.  Honestly, I can learn so much from them and I hope and pray that my own shortcomings do not rub off too much on them.

May you all take notice of the blessings surrounding you today.

Admittedly blurry pic showing the kids cheering along.

Small acts...

I enjoy Facebook, maybe even a little too much.  I could blame it on the fact that I am home with the kids all day, rarely seeing another adult, but I fear that would be merely an excuse.  Truth is I enjoy seeing what my friends and family are up to.  It helps me feel connected, which considering I rarely get to see any of my family and friends, is very important. 

A large number of my Facebook friends are parents.  I love seeing and hearing about the antics of their little ones and not so little ones.  I love seeing the photos from those who are parents to furry children.  Basically, I love hearing from everyone.

Some might call me nosy.  Perhaps I am, but honestly, I am interested in what's going on in the lives of those whom I care about.  There are those who like to pretend they are too evolved for Facebook.  There are those who will gladly post a million things but they "don't check their Facebook."  In other words, they have no interest in what other may have to say.

Why the Facebook rant? you may be asking.  Well, let me explain...to much, let me sum up (hehehe) - The other day someone that Zach knows posted a status.  Very basic, very standard.  He liked it, as he is prone to do.  This friend of Zach's (and I hope I don't embarrass them by stating this) then commented on his wall, expressing to him how happy that "like" made them. 

It can take so little to make someone's day, or to break someone's day.  One little acknowledgement from someone that yes, they are here, and yes, they care about what you have to say.  In a world where communication with others is mainly digital, it is so easy to reach out to others.  On the flip side, its also so easy to make another feel so very alone.

It's not healthy to focus on such little things, for sure, but truth is, sometimes we do.  Sometimes others do.  Right or wrong, regardless of how you feel about technology, Facebook, or the internet, little acts of digital kindness can go a long way.

In other news:

Zach is preaching for our friend Travis at church today, all three services.  He is nervous, but I have faith he will do wonderfully.  He preaches for Wesley but this being "our" church makes things harder for him.

Last night we got to eat some delicious custard with a group from Plainview on their way to San Diego for a mission trip.  It was wonderful to see their faces, kids and adults that were such big parts of our lives in Plainview.  Prayers for them this week.

Summer is almost over - yikes! I'm ready for a vacation!

I must now go and get ready to go hear my best friend!

Blessings to you on this day! What acts of kindness can you find to do today?

Gut check...

The other day I took the kids to the doctor for Noah's well-visit.  On the "well" side of the waiting area there was one other mom and her daughter who appeared to be around three years old.  My kids immediately went for the basket of books and each brought me one to read, so we took turns.  I noticed that little girl was interested in the story so I read a little louder, drawing an annoyed glance from her mother.  The girl then went and got a book and took it to her mother, who this entire time was busy on her phone.  The mother read one page and went back to doing whatever it was on her phone.  The little girl just sat there with the open book in her hands looking at her mother until the nurse called them back.  No lie, it kinda broke my heart.

I will be the first to acknowledge that I have used technology to escape the pressures of motherhood.  There are times I get a little annoyed at my kids for demanding something of me when, frankly, I just want to check facebook, read this article, check a score, etc.  Then I get a reality check and feel shame for placing all those things, which are so unimportant, before the needs of my family.  What are we teaching our kids?

I came across an article claiming that American kids are found to be the most spoiled kids in the world.  No shock there.  It's easy to see that kids today are completely overindulged and spoiled.  What shocked me, and perhaps it shouldn't of, was that in the comments to this article I guestimate that 9 out of 10 commenters, mainly mothers, admitted that they spoiled their children.  They also admitted that they will continue to spoil their kids.  One commenter passed judgment on another saying that anyone giving their three year old chores was cruel.  Another stated that the guilt she felt for working long hours led to her spoiling her child and buying her whatever she wanted.

Wow people! What values we are teaching our children!  Not only do we see what we are doing is wrong, we continue to do it!  There is always a way we can justify our behavoir.   That justification we do just inhibits us from bettering ourselves and being better examples for the kids.

There are many directions I could go with this but I'll stop there.  I think you get what I'm trying to say.  In short, give your kids what really matters, you.  When they grow up and (hopefully) leave your home, they will not be lamenting over the lack of gifts, toys, gadgets they received as a child.  Instead, they will realize how very blessed they were to have you as a parent.

Blessings to you and yours today....I'm going to go enjoy mine now...

Here is a link to the blog that took me to the above referenced article.

Lessons from toddlers...

Earlier today the kids and I were outside watering my plants.  As I was turning on the water faucet I got some water on my skirt and leg.  Knowing that we practically live on the surface of the sun out here, I was not too concerned about it.  I notice Noah had gone back inside the house and head towards the door to go in and see what he was doing.  He was already headed back outside and he had in his hand a towel, which he used to try and dry me off.  He went inside specifically to get something to help me out.  I was touched by his thoughtfulness.  At the tender age of two, he is already thinking of others.

What happens to us as we grow up that makes us so anethesized to the needs of others? There is a new show on television that my husband came across the other day.  I can't remember the name of it (help here Zach) but it is narrated by John Krasinski.  The premise of the show appears, after just catching a few episodes, to be about how the human brain acknowledges certain things.  For example they ran an experiment where they put a clown on an unicycle and had him literally ride circles around people who were on their cell phones.  These people never noticed the clown.  Later, the producers of the show went to the people and asked if they noticed the guy on the unicycle.  Their response was no, they didn't notice anything and they were certain they would have.  At this point the producers show them tape with evidence of the clown.  Those people were shocked to say the least.

Obviously we are so easily caught up in our own little worlds to the point of blinding us to the people around us.  How many people do we encounter on a daily basis that are in need of something and we never realize it?  And, if we are able to notice and recognize their needs, how willing are we to see that those needs are met?

Maybe I should start taking lessons from my toddler. 

Blessings to you all on this day.

Quite the role model if you look past the tantrums and nose picking.

Memories made...

Yesterday morning I had great plans for our day.  Funny thing about kids, they don't care about your plans. 

Zach got a bug in him that he needed to get a new pillow so we decided to head to the mall, grab lunch there, and then go rent a movie from Red Box.  We got to the mall and was picking out a pillow when Noah decided to throw a monster 2 year old tantrum.  Moments earlier he had been smiling and laughing, even prompting an older woman to walk by and tell us what a little gentleman he was and how she could just snatch him up.  He began screaming and before I knew it he was running down the aisle.  I leave Zach and Zoe to check out and begin the chase.  I literally chased that little monster around the entire store, all while he was screaming as loud as his little lungs could allow.  Finally I catch up to him and he goes boneless. After struggling for a few minutes I am able to wrangle him into my arms and he continues to fight me and scream.  I am beyond frustrated.  I go and grab Zoe from Zach, who is still in line to check-out, and announce we are headed to the car (much to the relief of every person in the store, I'm sure).  I see the woman who commented on wanting to take Noah with her and she wont meet my eye.  At this point she could of made me a very reasonable offer and I would of been tempted.

This guy...

We get in the car and once Zach gets there I tell him that I have reached my limits and it would be better to just go home and abandon all of our plans.  Noah continues to scream until we pull into our neighborhood, where he becomes quite pleasant once again.  Sigh...

We put the kids down for naps and crash out in front of the tv.  At this point I am wary of continuing on with the plans I had for a family movie night.  The patience I was forced to exercise in the mall has taken it's toll on me.  However, one look at my sweet daughter playing quietly changes my mind.  Plan on!

I have seen on Pinterest, in a couple of places actually, the idea to create a drive-in movie experience in your living room.  You can see one here and how far the idea can be taken.  We decided to keep it simple.

Zoe and I went to the garage and selected two big boxes, took them to the living room, and set about decorating them.  Zoe LOVED this and commented several times about how she was "just so happy."  Zach even got in the spirit and helped Zoe while I decorated Noah's box, as he was sleeping off the crankiness.

Zoe decorates her chick-mobile.

Zoe wanted her car to be a "girly" car and only pink and purple colors were allowed.  She drew windows on the inside of her box and clouds in the windows.  After the wheels were glued on she went and grabbed blankets and pillows and we made her "car" as comfy as possible.  When Noah woke up we all went to Walgreens for junk food and a movie.  Zoe decided the perfect movie snacks were popcorn, M&Ms, and Sprite.  I also grabbed a package of cookies to balance everything out.

All in all it was a great evening.  Noah loved sitting in his car as much as sister did.  They both enjoyed the movie and went to bed full of sugar.

Notice the M&M beard.

I'm glad that, even though my day didn't go as planned, I decided to continue on with this idea.  This past week I read an article (here) about a little baby with days to live.  As a memorial to this baby, his parents requested that parents everywhere serve banana splits for dinner to their kids.  In other words, give their kids a moment to remember, even if it's not healthy.  It's a way to enjoy the moment and not take any day for granted.  I must admit that was my inspiration for this evening of junk food, tv, and cardboard cars.

At the end of the day the tantrum at the store seemed trivial.  These moments at the end, the simple pleasures of a evening at home with my beautiful family, that's what will stick with us. 

May you all do something today worth remembering...

Reflections...

The Bechtold family had a great Father's Day.  Saturday was a late night and we had to get up early the next morning for church, so I was expecting many meltdowns.  I was proven wrong and the kids were great all day!  VBS was last week so on Sunday Zoe got up with the other children to sing in two of the services.  She did so well.  After church we took Zach out to lunch.  I was telling Zoe how proud I was that she is so willing to go up in front of the church and sing and dance.  Zach made the comment that that is something that I wouldn't have done when I was her age (which is true).  Zoe looked at me and said,"Don't worry mom, we'll practise and you'll get better." Thanks kid.

After I got a comment similar to Zach's from my mom when I was bragging to her about Zoe, it got me thinking.  When I was entering middle school I chose to follow my sister's footsteps and elect to be in band.  Like my sister I chose to play the flute.  Mom immediately enrolled my sister and me in private flute lessons.  Instead of the normal recital,s our instructor had us play before the service began at church.  I made it through only because we were able to "hide" a little in the alcove of the sanctuary while we played.

The church she had us play in was the church we sometimes attended.  Most Sundays that we went Mom would take us to Sunday School and then we would leave before worship.  When we did attend worship we would sit in the balcony away from the rest of the congregation.  I remember waking up many Sunday mornings hoping that Mom wouldn't want to go.  I hated going.

On the day of one of these recitals my Dad came to listen.  I remember this being one of the only times I had seen my Dad in church.  It was after this service that my Dad decided our family was going to be regular attenders.  NOOOOOOOO!  After my sister and I objected vehemently about having to attend this church, my parents made a choice to attend another, smaller church in town and we were promptly baptized and joined the church as a family.  We've come a long way since then.

As I was reflecting over this story I was struck with the idea of how different life would be if my dad hadn't come to listen to the flute performance.  It's obvious that God had been working in my Dad though I have no idea how.  It reminds me of that song "It only takes a spark, to get a fire going."

My Dad is one of the most amazing Christian men I have ever met.   I know that he has touched so many hearts, by his actions and his words.  He is a man that so many others can look up to and respect. 

My kids are very blessed to have this man as their "Riley."  No man has loved his grandkids more and it's so evident in every action and every moment he gives them.  Dad never hesitates to get down on the floor and put a puzzle together with them or to give them a boost into the tree outside.  Acts of love that they will carry with them their entire lives.

We are all blessed to have him in our lives and I know that he will continue to be one that my family and other will look to for guidance.

Thank God for flute lessons! 

Riley listens to Noah.

Zoe loves Riley cuddle time.

We don't judge

Several years ago I had the pleasure of getting to mentor a great group of teenage girls.  They were so much fun, they kept me young, and always had a style tip to share with me. ("Mikel, why are you wearing those 'mom' shoes?")  They taught me so much and I can only hope that I taught them a little something too.  A running gag that developed with this group was the saying, "We don't judge!"  This particular adage became a joke used between us. "You only like movies starring Mandy Moore? It's okay, we don't judge!" "You ate a pan of brownies for breakfast? It's okay, we don't judge!" Ah, I miss those girls...

This week has been another trial for me as once again I hurt my back and have been trying to take it easy.  Yesterday I tried to be productive and was adamant about leaving the house only to reinjure my back to the point I wasn't able to walk without incurring severe pain.  These days where I am frustrated and unable to do what I really want to do lead me to peruse the Internet.  I have come across all sorts of things this week.  Most of them quite disturbing.  There seems to be a lesson that a lot of people have yet to learn so let me drop a knowledge bomb on you.  Wait for it....

Christians can have fun.  There it is. Oh, and Christians can have a sense of humor.  We can enjoy life.  And we can live into the business of Christ without judging others.

 "God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Matthew 7:1-5

How often have you seen this sentiment: "that's the problem with Christians, they're all hypocrites!" or "I could never be a part of a church because everyone who goes is so judgemental."


It's a shame that our own witness is keeping other's from discovering the great joy of living in Christ.  It's a terrible shame that our own actions are doing more harm than good.  Why is it so hard for us to just love? We can never hope to bring others into a relationship with Christ without first bringing them into a relationship with ourselves.  And newsflash people, no one wants to be around someone who is a judgemental hypocrite.

That's my rant for the day.  I pray that we can all look into ourselves and become the vessel that God calls us to be.

Blessings my friends!