Noah's Mom Date

I need to confess, I am no where near a perfect mother. And by that, I mean that I am guilty of some pretty serious sin against my kids, but Noah in particular, and against God. I do not give him the grace and forgiveness that God has shown to me over and over again. I place on him unachievable expectations and respond with harsh words, angry tones and frustration when he does not accomplish what I expect. Thankfully, I realize that I can not love, even my own children, in the perfect way I should, by my own strength. I need help loving them, everyday.

^{Colosian 3: 12} Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Even in just asking God for help in my weakness, he is faithfully at my side, strengthening me to love my children.

And then recently, almost out of the blue, I am finding that I enjoy my time with Noah more.

He smiles more.
He is delighted in my investment of little moments with him.
He is comforted by my encouragement and praise.

I find joy, more often than frustration.
He has become my gift, as well as my child.
My children and the Lord have taught me.

Leading up to this transformation, in November, we had spent a day at OMSI(Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and on the way out, Noah took notice the giant posters advertising the IMAX movies playing at the time.

He said that he would really like to see MUMMIES, I think in part because he had recently heard Mummies in the Morning from the Magic Tree House series. I suggested that we take some time to study about Ancient Egypt before going and that it could be a special Mom Date when we went, just me and him. This was a very exciting proposition for Noah.

He patiently waited as we learned about Egypt and Mummies and practiced writing sarcophagus. He even had to patiently wait until after the big 2 week snow storm, and then until after Christmas, and after the relatives had gone home, and then to find a sitter during the day, which ended up being Dad who was off for MLK Day.

We got out for a late lunch at Noah's favorite place: Taco Bell, for his favorite food: quesedillas. He accompanied me to Winco for my fastest trip in and out of the grocery store ever(because I am never able to move that quickly with everyone in tow). I know that might seem like a strange thing to do on a date, but it was fun for us to do together, just he and I. That never happens.

Popcorn, Root Beer for Noah and a Latte for Mom.

The long hike up to the top of the IMAX theater (because Mom is prone to motion sickness). Now, I can hear someone saying "Dates should be fun, not educational!" If I may respond?
One of my greatest desires in the homeschooling of our children is to create a love for learning. So yea it's educational AND fun! hmph!

We saw a great dramatization of the greatest tomb discovery in history.
We saw the mummy of the Pharaoh, Ramses the Great. As the documentary pointed out, he is probably the only Biblical figure that we can know for certain what he looked like. There is also studies being conducted using DNA on the bones of the Ancient Egyptian mummies, that had not been done before. The hope is that this research might someday lead to advancement in the treatment and possible cure of diseases such as malaria. Wow!

Noah was impressed with the oversize screen and is now something of an expert on Mummies. I was impressed with God's work in my heart and am becoming an expert on Noah.