Self Confidence

Alright ladies. This post is for you. I just went to party where you got your tummy wrapped. Why? Well, I told the host I thought I could make it, it sounded silly, and yes, sadly this is my "problem area." About ten women got wrapped and sat around talking about how fat they were and how time was stealing their good looks. A couple women even said that they wouldn't tell their 8-10 year old daughters what kind of party they were going to because they didn't want their little girls to think about weight and self-esteem issues yet.

Let me remind you, YOU were once a little girl. You were a little girl who used to twirl to music and thought you were beautiful and thought that that freckle on your big toe was the cutest thing ever. You believed your dad or mom when they said, "You're special. You're extraordinary. You're beautiful." You believed them even when you had a poodle perm, braces and the beginning of acne. And now look at you. You have birthed, nursed, and loved your very own children and you no longer can see your beauty.

Move closer to your computer screen. I'm going into mommy mode a minute. I am putting my hands up and holding your face in my hands and I am saying, "You are beautiful and special and SO worthy of love." And please, guard your ears and eyes from whomever or whatever that says you are not. Guard YOURSELF just like you guard your own children.

The Zoo Crew by Paige Guikema, age 9

My family is a zoo.

My Dad is the giraffe - tall, hungry and easy to find.

My mom is a lion who cares for her cubs, but unfearful.

My sister is the spunky wolverine - fierce, but silly.

My brother is the monkey - loud and always snacking.

And I'm the cheetah - wild and up for an adventure.

The Monkey Who Had Adventures by Zoey Guikema

Written by Zoey, age 7, second grader.

There wons (once) was a monkey named Phill.
He wonc (once) flingd (flung) poo. Then he got erested (arrested) for flinging poo.
He stad (stayed) in there for 100 years. He was hongry and tired.
Then he got out of galle. (jail) to see his grandson and he was happy.


The end.

Alright, Alright Already

Yep. Blogging has officially become a chore on my "to do not" list. Let''s just say that the Guikema family is happy to have the month of February in the books. What promised to be a month of fun, turned into a month of poop. Seriously. Literally. Grossly. I have never talked about this subject so much in my whole entire career as a mom. We've experienced diarrhea, constipation, enemas, laxatives, and that's all for the youngest and smallest member of our gang. The principal at my girls' school even had a "meeting" in his office with Zach to discuss why people need to poop. (This was a hilarious conversation and quite effective ... if you know what I mean!) After the dam broke, Zach went to his room to get on his pajamas and without any encouragement from me, he folded his hands together and said sweetly, "Thanks God for helping me to go poop." Now who could get mad at a kid like this? Oh wait. I have gotten mad at this kid many times over the past month. :)

We had to miss out on going to the Dominican Republic with eight other members from our church because Zach was hospitalized the same weekend we were to fly out. My go to line when asked how we are doing is, "we are profoundly disappointed." Ultimately, the health of our children will always be the most important thing to us as parents and we made the right decision but that doesn't make it any easier to understand.

We have appreciated everyone's love, encouragement and commiseration and I even found that the Sunday school lesson that I taught this week was perfectly designed and timed for the teacher. Who knew a second and third grade curriculum could teach this old lady a valuable lesson? The lesson was all about prayer and learning the ways that God answers our prayers with a yes, no, or wait. When God says no this lesson writes, "God's 'no' will not always make sense. Sometimes you'll think, "Why did God say 'no'? I can't understand it!" Sometimes you'll be able to look back and say, Oh! I see why God said no and sometimes you won't."

Faith isn't always about agreeing with God's answer to our prayer and I think He honors a relationship that is honest and includes some respectful rage. I'm pretty much done raging and am looking forward to this spring and a renewing of health, nature, and hopefully, faith.