A few of you commented or asked me what happened when he tasted the onion - sorry to have left that out! He took two bites, and would have eaten more if I had let him! (Much like it sometimes takes us a while to realize we're biting off way more than the Lord wants us to be chewing...but that's another theme entirely. :))
On an unrelated note...I find it absolutely wonderful that my son not only hugged me this morning after waking up and as I said goodnight to him, but gently and repeatedly patted my shoulder as well. Brian and I are both the recipients of all sorts of expressions of love from Nathaniel lately, and we are loving every minute of it!
And now...GO BROWNS! I made a Brown & Orange themed dinner and dessert...and dessert (pumpkin chocolate chip cake) is still waiting. Mmmmm!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
An Onion? Really?
Nathaniel has a new fascination - produce. Last Sunday, while Brian was sitting with Nathaniel as he snacked in his chair, I chopped some veggies for our dinner. His interest was peaked when I pulled a green pepper from the fridge. He began to sign "please" and nicely ask for the pepper. I explained how the pepper was for dinner and Brian tried to redirect his attention to the snack on his tray. It didn't work. He continued to ask for the pepper until I decided that he could go ahead and taste it. I knew he liked green pepper cooked in various dishes but I certainly expected that after one taste of the uncooked pepper he would promptly return it to me (by throwing it on the floor, most likely). Well, after one taste of the pepper...he took another...and then another...and then another! He ate away at that green pepper like it was an apple (for your orignial Iron Chef fans) until we asked for it back so that I could salvage some for dinner!
The produce adventure didn't stop there. Next, he wanted a mushroom. A raw, whole mushroom. He started at the top and ate all the way to the stem. While the stem was, shall we say, disapproved of, the rest of the mushroom was a big success!
His taste buds were once again vocalizing their curiosity a few hours ago as I chopped an onion. Yes, he wanted a bite of the onion. I tried to discourage him by allowing him to smell the onion. Cruel, I know, but not as cruel as allowing your son to eat the raw onion! Well, it didn't work. He insisted that the onion was an apple ("app") and continued to passionately sign "please" and point and grunt...and I continued to tell him that it was for dinner and offered him a variety of other things that I knew he would enjoy and were good for him. It wasn't that I didn't want to allow my son to have any of the onion...it's that I knew it would be better later, after it had been cooked in our dinner. We both continued our respective efforts...until I decided to let him have his way. So, I picked him up and handed him his "apple," fully prepared for spitting and crying. I knew that I would wash his hands once he was finished and offer him his cup of milk. And I knew that I did, in fact, have a better snack waiting for him.
As I washed his hands, my mind was immediately drawn to the spiritual parrallel my son had just illustrated for me. How often have I insisted that God give me a taste of something I wanted, but that wasn't in His plans for me at the time? How many times have I grunted and fussed at his intructions that something was "not for lunch, but for dinner" or, not for now, but for later? How often have I talked back to God until He decided to let me make my own choice, knowing He would be prepared to take care of me afterwards.
Lord, help me to remember that You have the best things for me, at the best times for me. Help me to trust that what you are offering me is best, instead of peering onto the "kitchen counter" for what else there might be. Help me to remember that You are a perfect heavenly Father.
"Chose my instruction instead of silver..." Proverbs 8:10
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9-11
The produce adventure didn't stop there. Next, he wanted a mushroom. A raw, whole mushroom. He started at the top and ate all the way to the stem. While the stem was, shall we say, disapproved of, the rest of the mushroom was a big success!
His taste buds were once again vocalizing their curiosity a few hours ago as I chopped an onion. Yes, he wanted a bite of the onion. I tried to discourage him by allowing him to smell the onion. Cruel, I know, but not as cruel as allowing your son to eat the raw onion! Well, it didn't work. He insisted that the onion was an apple ("app") and continued to passionately sign "please" and point and grunt...and I continued to tell him that it was for dinner and offered him a variety of other things that I knew he would enjoy and were good for him. It wasn't that I didn't want to allow my son to have any of the onion...it's that I knew it would be better later, after it had been cooked in our dinner. We both continued our respective efforts...until I decided to let him have his way. So, I picked him up and handed him his "apple," fully prepared for spitting and crying. I knew that I would wash his hands once he was finished and offer him his cup of milk. And I knew that I did, in fact, have a better snack waiting for him.
As I washed his hands, my mind was immediately drawn to the spiritual parrallel my son had just illustrated for me. How often have I insisted that God give me a taste of something I wanted, but that wasn't in His plans for me at the time? How many times have I grunted and fussed at his intructions that something was "not for lunch, but for dinner" or, not for now, but for later? How often have I talked back to God until He decided to let me make my own choice, knowing He would be prepared to take care of me afterwards.
Lord, help me to remember that You have the best things for me, at the best times for me. Help me to trust that what you are offering me is best, instead of peering onto the "kitchen counter" for what else there might be. Help me to remember that You are a perfect heavenly Father.
"Chose my instruction instead of silver..." Proverbs 8:10
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9-11
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