Reflections on boredom

This week has been really hard with Bailey. I think coming off Beach Project and the whole summer in general where she was always with people and always had something fun to do or someone to play with has been an adjustment (I can relate). Especially the mornings are hard while Owen takes his nap. Playdoh, crayons and watercolors only get you so far and then she's bored again. Everytime she wants my attention and I am busy, or she can't do something she wants, she says that she doesn't feel good. I had (and still am a little) been struggling with her having to be bored, until I realized that our problem is alike and I do the same thing. When I am bored, I call someone to talk, or go run an errand I don't really need to run, or see if a friend wants to hang out (these are not necessarily bad things). I want something to fill me, and so does she. We both have the same void, and we both want to fill it by shoving something else but God in there so we'll feel better (it's just been hard because she wants that something to be me). As I was thinking about all this, I realized that not only do I have to let her be bored sometimes, but it is GOOD for her. How else will she understand that she has a hole in her heart that longs for something greater if I never let her feel it because I'm too busy keeping her entertained (and how can I talk to her about that feeling in a way she can understand when she is older if she is never allowed to feel it)? Anyway, these thoughts have helped me look at things differently, and even in talking to her about being bored sometimes.

Article by John Piper

I found this article that he wrote after the bridge fell in Minneapolis. Here's the link: (copy and paste) http://www.oneplace.com/Ministries/Desiring_God/Article.asp?article_id=1548

Owen's birthday party

Doesn't Owen look excited about his birthday cake? I don't think he smiled at it once unless we made him. The party was kind of crazy, we had almost 20 adults and 8 kids! It was controlled chaos, but it was fun. Owen's been walking for about a week now and doing better every day. Everywhere he goes he has a big smile on his face. I think he's glad to see the world from a different viewpoint. It's hard to tell, but Owen got his first big boy haircut last week while were back at Beach Project (you can tell when you look at the picture below).

Bailey and Owen (1 year!) pics