I’ll never forget the emotion that overtakes you the moment that bundle of joy bursts forth into this world. As first time parents you suddenly have another person to take care of & guide into adulthood.

The road ahead seems so long from that moment, but as reality sets in it proves to be a mere blink of the eye.  You look back and see where you’ve been & what you’ve been through and can recount where the time went and how those hair changes and wrinkles came to be.

But you wouldn’t trade any of it, regardless how difficult certain aspects may have been.  We’re family, and thick or thin, we’re all in it together.

So as I wish my baby girl a happy seventh birthday, here’s to hoping that what the future holds is bright and that daddy does his very best to guide you along the way.

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

[Chorus:]
Never underestimate my Jesus.
You’re telling me that there’s no hope.
I’m telling you you’re wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong

I throw up my hands
“Oh, the impossibilities”
Frustrated and tired
Where do I go from here?
Now I’m searching for the confidence I’ve lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fear

[Chorus]

I think I can’t, I think I can’t
But I think You can, I think You can
I think I can’t, I think I can’t
But I think You can, I think You can
Gather my insufficiencies and
place them in Your hands, place them in Your hands, place them in Your hands

While there have been a few times the vomit and “dirties” have grabbed a hold of my stomach a bit, there is one thing that these do not, and cannot, hold a candle to. That would be spoiled milk.

While it isn’t too uncommon for my children to leave their cups somewhere that I can’t find them for a little while, say a day at most, I recently ran across a cup full of milk that had been missing for well over a month. I had assumed we’d just left the cup somewhere since there were two missing and neither had shown up.

Not thinking much of it, especially since the cup was apparently designed to not allow any smells out, I decided to open it up to wash the cup. Words cannot describe the involuntary urge to spew that the wretched stench brought about. This ranks right up there with the smell of a paper mill (if you’ve had that lovely experience) and rotting meat. It is horrid.

So as a word of advice, if you’re ever in this situation, resit the urge to “save” the cup…throw it away and buy a new one. I know that if the still M.I.A. cup ever shows up, it is going directly into the trash can.  Please learn from my misadventure.  Trust me, you’ll thank me for it.

…either that, or they looked at him funny.

I had the television on this morning and a pirate toy commercial came on and as soon as they said “pirate” he said “Arrgh!” in his best pirate growl which struck me as funny. But I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised since I’m always going around talking about the podcast AND talking like a pirate to my kids. But that sure is funny and an excellent reminder of how much children pick up.

Seriously, parents might want to keep an eye on Hank Nuwer’s Hazing Blog to keep in touch with what their children may encounter and parent accordingly.