Let them eat . . . fruit (or, adventures in bad parenting)

We are progressing on the house, and have a projected move in date of Monday!
How excited am I?
Very!!
While most of the time over there is spent working on unpacking boxes and finishing touches, etc., some time is spent in the back yard ("the back 40" we affectionately call it) picking apples and blackberries.
The boys love climbing the apple tree to see how high up they can get to pick the fruit.
And the blackberries are so ripe and ready to just be plucked.
Grandpa took about 20 apples from the house the other day, and has promised us a pie on Sunday.
Yum.
Daniel likes the apples.
The other day, he picked one up and carried it around for a long time, throwing it like a ball.
At some point he must have thought, "Hmmm, I bet I can eat this thing."
And that is just what he did.
Now, I know about choking hazards, and so I tried to get it away from him, but it was nothing doing! I watched him closely, and, really he ate it so nicely.
Look how cute he is, eating his apple.

And no choking.
Don't tell my mom! (Hi, Mom! =)
Can you say "skin fruit"?
While we are on the subject of bad parenting, let me do a little soul cleansing confessing here. Also, it will help you to know that not every moment of our lives are the "glossy magazine ad" moments you may think they are.
I lied in front of my kids today.
Bold face lied.
It wasn't even a good lie, and not even for a good reason (not that there EVER is a good reason to lie).
The situation was this: I dialed my mom's office this morning, to say hi and see what her plans for the day were. The problem was, somewhere between dialing and waiting for the receptionist to answer, I lost track of what I was doing.
That, and the phone slipped from my ear a bit (because I was doing something else at that point, other than just waiting for the "Good morning, law offices . . ." on the other end.
By the time I remembered that the phone was on my chest for a reason and I put the receiver back up to my ear, the receptionist, who I know quite well, was saying "Hello? Hello?"
Now, this was embarrassing to me, and I thought about just hanging up, but I did something far worse.
"Hello, Betty? (name changed to protect the innocent in this story) This is Joy . . . I'm so sorry. The baby grabbed the phone from my ear . . . you know how it is. Can I talk to my mother?"
Isaac, who was sitting on the floor, looked over at Daniel, who was across the room, playing with toys in the toy box.
Then he looked at me.
We both knew I lied.
I felt sick to my stomach, like I would throw up.
I don't even know why I did it exactly. I did not want to look foolish and so . . .
It was stupid and I haven't even done anything like that in . . . well, forever, it seems.
Anyway, I talked to mom, hung up and called the boys over to stand next to me.
I had to make things right.
"Boys, Mom just told a lie." I began, voice shaky.
They looked at me with a mix of compassion and curiosity.
"And I was wrong. What I just just did was a sin. And it was for a stupid reason! I just didn't want to look stupid in front of Betty. But I should not have done that. It was totally wrong."
I prayed then, and had them pray for me.
Not a shining parenting moment!
I projected into the future -- my boys, pathological liars, a skill they learned from dear old mom!
And then, I remembered . . . God's mercy and grace are sufficient, even when I fail and fall and don't deserve it.
It made me feel a little better.
Children know.
They know when they are seeing inconsistency.
And we -- human, fallible parents that we are -- are so prone to be inconsistent, to be poor examples at times, to act reprehensibly in front of our children (or when they are not around)!
All we can do is turn to Him in whom is no shadow of turning.
All we can do is repent (in front of our children, if that is who we have sinned in front of or against).
All we can do is cling to the mercy and grace of God, who is just and faithful to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And so, I cling.
I cling for all I am worth!