A Handful, A Mouthful

Coralyn is growing up so fast! And as she does, she is able to do so much more. Lately, she has been doing 2 things quite a bit. First, she goes around trying to carry as much (well, more really) as her little hands and arms can hold. Second, she jabbers almost non-stop. Sometimes she says real words, but for the most part she is just talking away in her own language. Other times you can tell she is really trying to communicate something to you and really wants you to understand the words coming out of her mouth. Unfortunately, for now, it just sounds like jibberish. Any day now she is going to spit out a whole sentence that makes perfect sense, and I am going to be the one who is speechless.

I can only smile as I watch Coralyn try to carry 5 teddy bears, or all of the plastic play food she owns, or all the toy cars we have, or three sippy cups, or like today 2 very large jars of peanut butter that my brother-in-law gave me for my birthday. The peanut butter was sitting on the coffee table, as I hadn't had time to put it away yet. Well, obviously, that was not where the peanut butter belonged and my "OCD" daughter decided they needed to be put in their proper place immediately. She grabbed one of the three jars and lugged it into the kitchen and put it in the open fridge, where Lawrence was getting a drink. Coralyn then came back to the coffee table and decided to try to carry both of the remaining jars at the same time. This didn't work too well. But she didn't give up; she was determined to carry them both. After many unsuccessful attempts and several falls and the jars coming very close to crashing onto her poor little toes, we stopped trying to take pictures of our little helper and give her a hand with her load.

She dropped all the bears (and one bunny) because she just couldn't hold onto them all!

She is telling us, "Uh oh!" (one of her favorite things to say these days)

Coralyn attempting to pick up the jars of peanut butter, refusing Lawrence's help.

She was able to carry them both for a little bit. But not far.

If Coralyn wouldn't try to have her hands so full, she would be able to actually enjoy whatever she was carrying. As it is, she has so much stuff that she is lugging around that she can't really play with the toys. Or she trips and falls because she can't see where she is going or the weight of the items are just too much for her little body. Usually, I try to help lighten her load, but for the most part, she wants nothing to do with my help. Little Miss Independent wants to do everything on her own, even if what she wants to do is beyond her ability.

Right now, as I type about my precious little girl, she is bringing me every single toy that was on the living room floor. And of course, as she does, she is carrying on quite the conversation. :)

Okay, back to my thoughts. As I watch Coralyn load up her arms, I wonder how often I do the same thing. I try to have as much as I possibly can (house, car, furniture, clothes, friends, activities, etc.). These are all good things, just as are the toys Coralyn tries to carry. But like my little girl, I become so overloaded that I am unable to enjoy what I have or I am so busy trying to get more that I don't realize how silly I look or that I am missing out on something even better that God may have for me. But because my hands are full, I can't receive what He wants to give me. Or because I want to do things on my own, my way, I refuse His help and end up getting hurt or losing all that I was trying so hard to hold onto. I wonder if God thinks I am as cute as I think Coralyn is. I doubt it. I bet He gets frustrated with me. BUT, He still loves me. And He always will.

Well, I have more thoughts in my head, but they will have to wait for another day. My little explorer is trying to figure out what all the buttons on the computer do. We just might have to have a friendly little conversation, one where I do the talking and she does the listening.