the sheep that sheared itself in church

Anna and Abbie were in our church's Christmas play this past week. It was a very cute take on the Christmas story as told from the animal's perspective. Anna and Abbie were sheep dressed in white flannel zip - up outfits with matching hoods, black mits and black boots. They were very cute! Anna was the perfect little sheep - very shy and polite and right on cue. Abbie started the play out by running down the church aisle to her Uncle Steve, Mike's brother, to tell him he couldn't have her crown (long story) and then ran back up to the podium. Then 2/3's of the way through the play, she declared she was hot and began to strip off her costume as she came running down the aisle to me. Thank goodness Grandma had dressed her in shorts and a t-shirt underneath the costume!!!!!!!! Once sheared of her "wool", the little sheep skittered back up to the podium and proudly sang the final song with the group.

Curious Abbie

My inner perfectionist as of late has been stretched by one little pint sized dynamo who could be cut from the same cloth as Curious George (animated adventure on Public Television). I am beginning to believe that part of Abbie's purpose in life, while she is young, is to stretch those of us around her to experience a life with fewer boundaries. As Rick Warren would put it, "the day you resign as General Manager of the Universe, you're going to find that life doesn't fall apart. You can relax in faith, trusting that God is able to run things without your help." I have news for Mr. Warren...yes, the universe doesn't fall apart, but it sure does get a whole lot messier. My little dynamo has recently locked Anna and I in the basement (and has not been able to let us back out), has attempted to climb over the balcony banister at church ("Mommy, you would have caught me. It's OK"), has broken Mike's computer by banging on it(don't know yet how broken it is), fed the cats her Apple Jacks and milk within minutes of me collecting 4 of them for a 35 minute long ride to the vet (I will never eat Apple Jacks again), has picked Styrofoam packing apart tiny piece by piece to get to the Christmas ornament stored in the box (think "snowstorm" effect in the Rec room), has prayed at the lunch table that God would not let Daddy, Mommy, KK, Rodney and Anna die because she likes us (where does she come up with this stuff?) and at one time or another has taken every object she lays her hands on and after using it correctly, decides to experiment with it to see what else she can make it do (like the time she washed her hands after going potty at Grandmas, then decided to leave the water running with the sink plugged. We discovered the waterfall and flood a hour later [think water in the duct-work].) She is very quick and very curious so it seems I'm always a step behind the little tornado as she moves from room to room. My consolation is that in all this I am witnessing that she is very, very bright and that I am being shaken loose from my comfortable place of being "in control". My house stands in mute testimony to the fact that I have been stretched out of my comfort zone. Which leads me to the tiny little question nagging me lately - will Wyatt tip the scales to the inmates having total control of the prison?