Football Mom

My how things have changed. First season having a football player in my house and I've fallen hard into the roll of being "that mom". So, I started out the season not caring much about the game. I planned to be at all the games but didn't really care how things turned out. I just wanted my boy to have fun. My, my, my...how things changed. A certain team beat us in a football game about 4 weeks ago. Since then one of their players has trash talked every time he has seen me at school. At first it started out being kind of funny. Then, he got just downright rude. I told him that they played a really good game. Inside I was screaming. They should never have beaten us. We beat them in every scrimmage we have had against them. But I was being the adult and showing good sportsmanship. Well, 4 weeks later enough is enough. Last Saturday we were set to play them again in a playoff game. Naturally, his trash talking started back up. I told him again that they did great. He just kept on. I calmly told him that he should be a good sport about the win. He nodded his head no. I told him that he should be nice. His reply, "I'm not nice. Your team is going to be crying. They'll be sucking their thumbs as they walk off the field." That's when I did it. Yes sir I did. Standing out on car duty at school I looked him right in the face and said, "My son has one instruction on Saturday and that's to make you cry." Oh brother! He got to me. I caved, but that 22-0 win on Saturday felt GREAT. Needless to say he didn't have anything to say to me at school today.  I should be ashamed of myself.

Battleship or Luxury Liner?

Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.  If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 

Nearly 15 years later I look back and remember the butterflies I felt talking to the man I have fallen in love with more and more everyday.  I remember the many dates we spent walking and talking just getting to know each other.  I couldn't spend enough time with him.  There weren't enough hours in the day.  I wanted to be with him every second of every day.  Now 15 years later I love him dearly.  Some days I still feel those butterflies.  Some days I can't get enough time with him.  But honestly, other days I just coast along through life.  We see each other.  We talk.  But I don't long to spend moments with him.  I'm busy with this thing called life and sometimes I fit him in wherever I can.

Sounds like another relationship I have.  When I first fell in love with my Savior, when I first made Him Lord of my life I was sold out.  Sure I still have days like that here and there.  But for the most part I have spent far too long coasting through life.  My home and my walk with Him has been a luxury liner just coasting along and enjoying the day to day in the beautiful waters.  But that's not what I am called to be.  I am called to be a battleship following hard after Him.  I want to return to my first love. It's time that I start longing to spend each moment with Him again.  It's time that my every thought and decision reflect my relationship with Him.  It's time I spend my days walking with Him.  After all, that is my purpose here.

I have been challenged and it has never been more clear that it's time my family becomes a battleship for Christ and not a luxury liner.  It's time I become a follower of Christ and not a fan.  Thank you to the messenger that made that picture so clear for me.

Are you coasting along enjoying life on your luxury liner or are you a battleship following hard after Him?
Are you a fan of Christ or are you a follower?

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Open for Business

What started as a fun idea with a cousin has become a business.  My sweet oldest loves being creative.  She has decided to take her creativity and use it to her benefit.  She and a cousin who love to make fashion catalogs together got creative and made a "business" board during our mini-vacation together in June.

This is where it all started.

Oldest decided to take that idea and grow it.  She has asked for help making business cards.  She has herself all organized and ready to go.

She wasn't real happy with the idea of me photographing her notebook.  She says it's her sloppiest writing. :-)

I went through my scrapbook paper and gave her quite a bit to get started since I can't find the time to use it myself.  Then, a dear friend invited oldest over to "shop" through her stickers and die cuts.  It was like heaven to my little creative one.  It most definitely made her day.

Oldest hired her brother today.  He sorted all the new stickers and helped her put them in her notebook she purchased from the thrift store today.  She has worked out a "step program" with him.  If he does good work the next step is that she lets him watch a video about how to make homemade envelopes and he gets to make them.  After mastering envelope making he can possibly move up to making cards.  A raise comes with each step. 

Today, he got one penny for sorting the stickers.  He was very happy.  He also said, "It's okay if she's mean to me.  I work for her."  I'm not quite sure where that came from.  Interesting thought.
So, the card business is open and she has received her first order.  Right now the money earned is being saved to use at the Snack Shack at church camp as mom and dad aren't handing out money for that.  There's just one problem with the business.  It doesn't have a name.  She's come up with several ideas, but none of them seem to fit.  She says, "I'm waiting for the perfect name."  Any suggestions?

Happy Father's Day

The kids put much love and thought into their gifts for daddy.

Father's Day

Found my little man working on something for his daddy tonight. He said his daddy taught him what love is, so he wanted to write it down so dad would know he was listening. His daddy is a great example of what love is if you ask me.

This Is My Life

I never dreamed my life would be what it is. If you would have asked me 15 years ago about all the little things that make our family quirky I would have said, "No way!" But this is my life, and I LOVE it (most every day).

We are thrift store junkies. It's a thrill for us to find awesome deals on things we need and even some things we don't. Just this week my love bought a set of golf clubs for $20. They are a nice set that normally would cost a couple hundred dollars. He is so excited to not have to borrow clubs anymore when he wants to play. He's come a long way in 15 years. Walking into a resale shop 15 years ago for him was unheard of and if you did get him in he started itching all over. Oh the tricks our minds play.

We have a love that just came about in the last couple of years. We have 36 babies that we love. They come in the form of 34 hens and 2 roosters. I never dreamed I would have to say, "Take the chicken outside. Or quit kissing the chicken." And oh for my love who was a pure bred city boy...well things have changed. Goodbye Seattle. Hello Small Town Arkansas! I must also mention that the school mascot where he teaches is none other than...drumroll please...a Hillbilly.

That's just a few of the things neither of us would have ever thought would be happening in our lives. But this is our life and we love it. How is yours different than you expected?

Love Is Not Irritable: FAIL

The first day of summer has finally arrived.  Ahhhhhh... We are all home.  I'm ready to spend time with my favorite people.  So, the day started like this:  I woke up early and went for a walk/jog.  Then, I came home and studied my devotion for the day.  I'm working through a 6 week study on I Corinthians 13.  The verse I was studying in depth today...

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

5 or rude.  It does not insist on its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful.

And the question is...Is there anything that needs to change?

                                  What is the Lord leading me to do as a result of this passage?

Well of course I need to change the fact that I am irritable and honestly can be resentful at times.  That's it God.  That's what I'm going to change.  The Lord is leading me to speak kindly to my family.  Ok, let's do this!  I'm all in today.

-one child is on the wii

-one child is on the ipad

-breakfast dishes are still on the table

-chairs are not pushed in

-dirt has been walked throughout the kitchen

-the boy has talked or been drumming on things since her arose from his slumber

-an empty coffee cup rests on the floor beside the couch

-toys are covering the floor of the room I had perfect at bedtime last night

-laundry that I washed and folded is sorted and still laying all over the loveseat

-suitcase from kids weekend trip is still full in the bedroom floor

-dirty socks are on the living room floor

-shut the door has already been said 5 million times today so I'm exaggerating a little, but it certainly feel like 5 million

The list goes on, and on, and on...

I am IRRITATED!

And I'm a little resentful of the fact that I try so hard to keep things in order to make our lives a little more simple and NO ONE seems to care.  By 10 am I am quoting I Cor. 13:5 in my head and reminding myself what I told God this morning.  By noon I was nagging everyone in my house.  By 6 pm I had lost all sense of control so I sent myself to my bedroom for the rest of the night.  I went to bed angry while everyone else sat and watched a movie together.

We are now starting the second day of summer break.  I slept well last night.  I woke to laundry still piled on the loveseat.  There was no I'm sorry to greet me.  The boy hasn't stopped talking since he got out of bed.  Life continues today as if nothing ever happened.  So, here we go again Lord.  I'm working on it.  I really am.  Please, help me do better today.

Scripture Application

My dear oldest child--I love the way she thinks.

Her memory verse from Wednesday night church activities was: He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with quite a lot.  On the way to school this morning that great mind of hers was working.  She asked me, "Mom, do you think if daddy had a really nice, brand new car that he would take care of it and keep it clean?"  "I don't know," was my reply.  She giggled and said, "He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with quite a lot.  Nope, I don't think it would matter."  We enjoyed quite a laugh at daddy's expense.  Sorry, we love you in spite of your sloppiness. Daddy.

Name Confusion

We went out to dinner tonight.  Ahhhh...no cooking for mom. Yippee!  As we sat at our table talking my big girl started questioning my little diva about who she loved.  The answer was the typical daddy, mommy, sissy, bubba...  Then, oldest said in all seriousness, "I love John Boe."  We looked at her a little puzzled.  Then she said, "I love John Boe and Jane Boe."  That time I got it.  I began laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my cheeks.  My sweet love looked at me questioning.  I had to catch my breath.  He said, "I don't get it.  Who are these people?" 
John Doe and Jane Doe

We had ourselves quite a laugh.

Little League Parenting

Preseason baseball tournament started last night.  I love watching my boy play ball.  I have never enjoyed watching baseball.  But I LOVE watching my boy.  But I must be honest.  I was not looking forward to last nights game.   In fact, I was very tempted to stay home. Have a really turned into one of those little league parents. We've got some very nice boys on our team.  But athletic ability isn't quite there.  I know think I know why this happened.  I really think God is trying to teach me something.  I've already been struggling thinking about what the other boys at school would say when they "kill us" in baseball.  I've already been struggling with my attitude when they talk about how their team has four all star players or how good they are.  I know it's not about winning.  I know it's not about being the best ball player.  In fact, the sermon Sunday was about Passion and Purpose. " Is you purpose to raise your kid to be the best ball player in the league or is it to raise your kid to love and serve the Lord with everything in him?"  Ouch, that hurt.  It hit me right between the eyes.  So, as I struggle with my attitude throughout this season I know my purpose is to teach my child how to show love in every situation.  My purpose is to teach him about attitude.  My purpose is to teach him that when others say unkind things our reaction should be that which would be pleasing to our King.  It's not going to easy.  I must watch my every expression and word.  I know he is watching and will learn by witnessing my every move. 

My tough baseball player is full of love.

Jellybeans and Roses

Somehow the kids and I started talking about jellybeans on Easter after all the festivities (church, lunch, and Easter egg hunt).  I started telling them about how my Grandma Betty liked jellybeans.  So, we decided to pay a visit to her grave.  We took some jellybeans with us and some roses from our yard.  As we got close to the graveyard Laura said, "We have to wear our pants crooked for Grandma Betty."  Grandma always had the middle seam of her pants twisted in some way or another and it has been a great source of laughter for us.

So here stand my silly kiddos with jellybeans, roses, and twisted pants for their Great Grandma Betty.

We love you Grandma Betty and we miss you.  We hope you enjoyed the jellybeans and roses we left for you.

While we were there we decided that their Great Great Grandma Ruby needed some jellybeans, too.

So, we dug a small hole and buried jellybeans just for her.

and we arranged some on her headstone.

It's great to remember and share stories of those that have gone before us, those that are partially responsible for our exsistence and took a part in molding our family into what it is today.

Spring "Break"

So much to say. Been avoiding posting all week as I really want to share the good things happening. But here goes...Worst. Spring. Break. Ever.
-spent the first 3 days of break moving everything we own
-moved into temporary housing (2 weeks in gpa and gma's empty house) Didn't think it would bother me, but it has struck many emotions within me. I sure do miss my gma!
-attempted to make choc chip cookies while my love was working hard on moving the last few heavy things. Oven doesn't work. 25 minutes on 500 degrees and chips were just beginning to melt.
-F1 tornado went thru the neighborhood of the house we were scheduled to close on Thursday. Neighbors all had a single tree down. Not us. We're pretty "special" apparently. 5 trees down for us. But hey, we made the news.
-$500 going to stump removal now on a property we no longer own
-doing laundry at the temporary housing when toilet starts gurgling and nastiness comes up from the bath drain
Let's just say that if my kids weren't watching I would have curled up in a corner and cried. Now I'm sitting around looking at boxes. Can't find anything but will be moving again in a week and a half (Lord willing). So, I don't dare unpack anything.
I'm grumpy, moody, and frustrated. I'm working on a very short fuse.
But God loves me and walks with me in spite of it all. Thanks for not throwing in the towel on me God.

OCD

I am a creature of habit. I like to know what's going to happen. I like for things to be organized and settled. Clutter is not my friend! I do admire those that look past it and call it life. I want to relax enough to let things go. But I'm a bit OCDone who likes organization. Everything has a place and everything in it's place. In fact, I recently read a quote that was so true of who I am at times. "I have CDO. It's like OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order as they should be. Funny to read but often frustrating to live. Frustrating for my husband and kids as I nag and insist that things be put away properly. I need to let go. I need to let my kids live and enjoy. I've often read another quote, "Excuse the mess. We're busy making memories." How many memories have I allowed myself to miss out on because things weren't tidy? Grrr! It's embarrasing to think about and quite disappointing. So, I'm going to try to let loose a bit. Allow creativity in my children that is not limited to "clean" creativity. Let loose and live. Enjoy! Laugh! For the clutter will still be there tomorrow, but the ones I love might not.

Building Up or Tearing Down

My desire is to raise my children to love the Lord with all their hearts and to want to serve Him in everything they do...or at least I say that is my desire. But sometimes I let myself get in the way. I want my children to love others, to be respectful, to be a person others want to be around. But so often instead of teaching and guiding I find myself tearing down and ridiculing. Is it It is so often pride. What will others think of ME when they see my kids acting that way? What will others think of ME when they hear my children speak? But it's not about me. It's not about my pride. It really should be about showing my children what it is to walk with the Lord daily and how He respinds the many times others watch me, His child, behaving or speaking the way I do. See, it is my job duty to show my children what a true life lived daily for Christ really looks like. Man that's hard impossible to fake to those who love you most. I want to be sold out. I want my kids to remember me showing not telling about how God wants us to live our lives.

Accomplishments

I cooked dinner, did laundry, helped kids with homework, packed two boxes, and made a short post all since 4:15pm. It feels great. It's 8:45pm and now I'm off to bed. It's exhausting accomplishing things. :-)

Somethings Always Happening

FYI...This will not be a short post. One of these days you may find a short post on my blog but I can't start today. Sorry.

God has so brilliantly ochestrated every part of my life and the lives of those that live with me. Why? Why do I act shocked when God puts things in place as only He can. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but I'm not. I'm honored and maybe a bit embarrased that He ochestrates things for me and He speaks to me. It's not that I don't LOVE it but I am so unworthy.

Almost a year ago we decided to put our house on the market. Lots of different reasons for this decision but the biggest reason was to be closer so our kids could be involved in extra activities without it being a huge burden to our family. I know, why on earth would you decide to do this with the economy the way it is? Go ahead. I know that's what you're thinking. Well, what the heck. Let's just try it. We'll see what happens. So, our house has been on the market for several months but in the last 4 months God has brought us to a place of utter disgust. It was disgust with ourselves. It was disgust with our debt. We'd heard all the great reasons to become debt free. We knew it was what God desired for us but it wasn't until 4 months ago that we sat down in pure disgust and said, "Look, we've been talking about this for a long time now. Either commit to it or life a life chained by debt." It has taken work. It has taken self control. And it has taken a bit of sacrificing. But we're doing it. We are committed to seeing this to the end. We've been using the envelope system since November now. We haven't used a credit card and are hold to a budget. And really in the grand scheme aren't really doing without. Instead, we are gaining so much. Time at home together, more dinners sitting together at our table, a sense of freedom just to name a few.

In all this God brought us to a place where we wanted to move because the ability to payoff debt would be even greater and would move even faster. So, now that we're here, now that we have arrived at this place, God sold our house. Yep, even in this horrible economy. We're excited. We're moving forward. We'll be adjusting from the housing we're used to but He even worked that out. We're moving to a house we already love and we already own. It's our first "grown up house" as my sweet hubby calls it.

It's amazing to see how God has orchestrated every part of it. And I'm just skimming the surface. If you ever want to sit For a few hours I could share every amazing detail. In the mean time...I've got boxes to pack and some purging to do.

May God lead you to a place of courage to follow Him and His plan whatever it takes.

One more thing...God spoke to me thru his word this last week, the day before He sold our house. He said, "And I will send down showers, showers of blessings that come right when you need them." Thanks God! You never cease to amaze me.

Hume"isms"

Monday the family and I did a little shopping after work. Daddy took the little diva off to a part of the store with him while I took the others. I received a call on my cell. It was the man of the house insisting I come where he was immediately. When I got there the little diva was standing in a rather awkward position and immediately started crying when she saw me. An accident!!! Grrr!!! So, daddy took care of the floor and I took her to the car. "Why are you crying?" I asked. "Because I was afraid you would freak out," was her reply.

Today, in science lab the teacher was discussing endangered species. She told the class that buffalo are becoming endangered. Little man raised his hand and asked,"How will we eat buffalo wings if they're gone?"

Never a dull moment.

My Valentine

A day late. These are my thoughts from yesterday as I was too exhausted after party day to record them. I could have gone to bed at 6:00 last night had the others in my house have allowed it.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I love Valentine's Day. Not because of all the commercial issues. But I love the chance to reflect on those I love the most. We don't do big things for Valentine's Day. We don't usually exchange gifts. In fact, we don't send our kids Valentine's balloons or stuffed animals to school. However, we do have a special dinner together. So, this year we had our special dinner a day early because it was just easier that way. Our dinner consisted of heart shaped pizzas, koolaid in wine glasses, diet dr pepper cake, fine china, and candles all over the table. We had a great time. But my big thought for Valentine's Day came the following day while driving in town to school. I looked out and saw fields covered in snow. The snow was like a cleansing for the earth and made things beautiful. That's when it hit me. That's what my God does for me. And on Valentine's Day of all I reflected on the fact that I have the greatest valentine ever. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for me because He loves me that much.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Things That Make Me Happy All In One Day

Things that make me happy, and that's just today. Here goes:
•waking to a text at 5:45am that says no school due to inclement weather
•falling back to sleep until 7:00am
•waking to the little diva saying, "Mommy, there's snow outside. It's real. I promise. Can we go outside to play
•making donuts for my lovelies on a day spent together at home
•watching my kiddos sled down the back hill together and hearing them roar with laughter
•snuggling by the fire to warm up after playtime in the snow
•playing Life with my Big Girl even though I smoked her. Sorry sis. I'm a little competetive.
•baking and icing 4 1/2 dozen heart cookies for Valentine's parties tomorrow
•watching my kids play together for hours and mostly getting along the whole time
•making heart shaped personal pizzas for those I love most
•eating dinner by candlelight and listening to the kids excitement
•koolaid in wine glasses and pizza on china
•Diet Dr Pepper cake with chocolate glaze. Mmmmm! Delicious and low calorie, too.
•the cutest dog ever showing up at our house. Shhh! Don't tell anyone I like him. I'm pretending that I don't. That way no one can blame me when he is a nuisance. BTW...the kids have already named him Playdough and daddy already took a nap with him on the couch.
•kids sound asleep in bed. They look like angels when they're sleeping.
•quiet time in a hot bath in absolute silence
...and that's just today. I have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed me tremendously. Thank you Father.

Dating My Husband

So, I got a text on Wednesday afternoon. It said, "I have a sitter for Saturday if you want to go out to dinner and a movie." Seriously?!?! What kind of question is that? A night with my husband? Absolutely! So, Saturday afternoon came. We packed the kids up and sent them to Grandma and Grandpa's. As for us...we stayed home. That's right. Just the two of us at home all night in the quite of our home. A quite home around here is weird and somewhat awkward. Of course, we missed our kids. But it was a time of relaxation and refreshment. He made a nice dinner. I made dessert, and we enjoyed a movie together. We woke up this morning and went to church. Just so happens that the sermon was on submiting to your spouse and loving them. "Submit to one another out of reverance for Christ." Ephesians 5:21 Ok, allow me to brag for just a moment. The sermon was great. I took alot from it. But that man of mine...he makes it easy to submit and love him. He's the greatest man on earth. I know what you're thinking...nope mine is the best. Well, sorry ladies. I hate to break it to you, but he's a rare jewel. And he only gets better every year. I love that man! I hope God blesses your marriage and you are as happy in yours as I in mine. It's not always a walk in the park, but as long as it is a walk with God in the center there's nothing that can tear us apart.

Time Out

The little diva was telling me tonight all about what she's been learning at the sitter this week. In our discussion she told me that Jonah went to time out for 3 hours in the belly of a whale. To a little one 3 hours could very well feel like 3 days. So, she wasn't to far off. Then, I asked why Jonah went to time out in the whale. "Because he was runned from," she replied. I asked, "Should we run from God?" "No mommy. But one time we went on the boat with grandpa." So I asked, "Were we running from God?" Sigh, rolling of eyes, and look on her face like good grief mom don't you know anything. She says, "We were on a motor boat and we weren't going to Ninevah."

Birthday Boys

January 30th is one of my very favorite days of the year. I not only get to celebrate one special guy but two. My two favorite guys ever share the same birthday. Don't get me wrong. I love celebrating the birth of all my lovelies but something about celebrating my two favorite guys on the same day gets me a little emotional every year. Maybe, it's because there's two of them that I spend more time reflecting on what they mean to me. Maybe, it's remembering the 18 hours of horrible back labor I had with the little man. That was quite an accomplishment if I must say so myself. Anyway, words can't come close to expressing what these two guys mean to me. I have never loved anyone the way I love my dear hubby. He's a rare jewel that I try never to take for granted. Then there's that boy of mine. So full of life, spunk, energy, endless words,...exhausting for this mom but when those husky arms wrap around me or the almost too big little guy tries to fit on my lap or the random, "I love you mom" comes from his mouth this momma melts.

So, happy birthday to my two favorite guys in the whole wide world. Happy 35th my wonderful hubby and happy 8th my sweet little man. My life is truly blessed to have you both in it.

It's a love, hate relationship

If my husband can't keep me guessing (cause men are different than we women are) then my kids take over. One moment they're playing beautifully together. The next minute they can't stand to look at each other. Why?!! I can't figure out what changes from one moment to the next.

Well, anyway today was one of those days when they absolutely love each other. Thank you Lord! I needed it today. Oldest and little diva spent time this afternoon playing. Oldest dressed up the little diva make-up, hair, jewelry,... That's heaven for my diva. After dressup they decided to play house together. They played all day absolutely wonderfully together. I love it! It makes my heart glad to seem them love each other. Then, little man got home with dad. The fun continued. Oldest and little man were spies in training. They made up their own secret codes for the walkie talkies. They even had training sessions and scored one another. Love, love, love watching them play together and used their imaginations.

Today was one of those days. The ones at the end of the day when the kids are in bed you smile as you reflect on the day. And you hope and pray that maybe, just maybe you'll have another just like it tomorrow.

Happenings

Oldest and I started about a week ago doing a quick devotion together every night. It usually consists of a verse, a short paragraph to read and think about, and then a short writing about your thoughts. It's been great! I live spending time with the Lord but don't STOP long enough to really be with Him. That whole "be still" thing...yep, that's my struggle. This time every night has given us the chance to talk briefly about life, right and wrong, how we should live our lives and so on. So, we started because I knew it would be food for oldest. Turns out it's really good for me.


We celebrated little man's bday today. Yes, it's 8 days early. I know but winter weather is generally cold and miserable. The temp today was suppose to be 73. 73 in January?! Wow! Must enjoy and relish in the beauty. So, we planned a trip to Devil's Den to picnic, hike, go caving, ride bikes, and have fun with cousins. Well, the weather didn't turn out to be that nice. In fact, with the windchill it was just downright cold. So, we changed plans. We were going to give little man several options to make the day fun and special. Turns out he just wanted everyone to come to our house to eat lunch and play. We had a great, relaxing time. Wonder if he'll always be this easy to please.

Precious Boy

Little man is sick tonight with a stomach virus that's going around. In the midst of being miserable and losing his dinner he says, "I'm sorry for keeping you up all night mom." I'd give my life for that boy.

Drained

It's been a long week. It's been an emotionally draining week. A week ago yesterday someone I knew from high school was killed in a tragic car accident. She leaves behind a husband that loves her dearly, two kids (15 and 12)who need their mom, parents that are broken and aching. What a wonderful day for her. She's with our Savior and the pain and heartache this world brings is forever gone. But my heart aches. It aches for that husband. It aches for her children, and it aches for her parents. There has been lots of thinking this week reflecting on the things that really matter in life. Her life was a testimony of her love for Jesus. Could that be said of me if I were gone? Would others know that I was gone to be with the Father because my life was a reflection of Him? All those little things were put into perspective this week. It's time to be a reflection of Him and stop merely existing and living day to day but living like it's forever.

Funny Thinking

I looked over to see Oldest licking her itouch. Totally grossed out I asked what she was doing. Her reply, "I'm leaving my DNA so if it gets stolen it can be traced back to me and returned."
Blonde cousin heard of this from his mother. His reply, "Is there an app for that?"

Practiced quiz bowl questions with Oldest tonight as she is on the 4th grade quiz bowl team at school. Question: Spell the name of the building where representatives meet. Answer given:
o-c-t-a-g-o-n
Made for a great laugh. That would be Pentagon but the correct answer is capitol.

Sentimental Young Man

Today I was helping my little man clean and reorganize his room. We went through all toys and clothes and got rid of those that needed to go. While sorting toys the rescue hero box was getting quite full. Little man said, "I know I have too many rescue heroes, but I can't get rid of any of them. I love them and am saving them for when I have kids." I love that boy. He's a sweety. He's going to make a great daddy someday. Of course, I would expect nothing less with the fine example he's had to learn from.

Attitude?! I would say so.

This evening the little diva wanted to help me make biscuits. Of course, I couldn't say no. I love good help. As she helped she said with all the attitude within her, "Don't freak out Mom." What a mess she is but I love every minute of it.

Memories that come up in everyday life...

While getting kids settled into bed today Oldest said, "I miss Grandma Betty." I was thinking about how much I miss my grandma. Laura said,"After all she's the reason I'm a master at ski ball." Oh 'tis true. You could always find grandma at the ski ball machine during birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. And Little Man said, "Yeah, she's the reason I dream of Oreos." Oh, how my grandma lived her Oreos, cream horns from the bakery, Rocky Road candybars, pink marshmallowy coconut covered snowballs, and never turned down a trip to Braum's. As I think back "Wow! She was a sweet eater/lover. That must be where I get it. Yep, we'll go with that. I inherited it. I love you Grandma Betty and miss you. How I wish you could have met my Little Diva. You would love her. She's really missing out not knowing you personally, but you better believe she know you from the memories I share. Can't wait to see you again!

Thoughts for a New Year

What are my new year's resolutions? Let's see...wake up early every morning to spend time in God's word, lose that extra 20lbs, start a regular exercise routine, have more patience with my kids...and the list goes on and on and on. It's nearly the same every year. So, I've been doing some thinking this year about one thing I can really do to improve. The little diva asks on a regular basis to be held, to be rocked, to help with whatever I'm doing. Unfortunately, the answer I give the majority of the time is 'not right now' or 'in a minute' but honestly that one more minute leads to one more and one more and one more. Quite frankly there is ALWAYS something that needs to be done, picked up, fixed, or cleaned. Come to think of it those very same things "need" to be done all the time. So, it's going to be very difficult I know as I am a bit OCD. I'd rather call it organized and orderly (Everything has a place and everything in it's place.) But my need for organization has become my curse. My kids are growing too quickly. I'm missing too much. So deep breath in...deep breath out, I'm letting some things go. I will sit down and rock the diva, I will lay down for one song with my oldest at night, I will read from the big book of stories on the nightstand when little man asks. I will enjoy my children. I will stop and live instead of letting life pass me by. Already today I have succeeded and failed all in the same day. I read two books to my little diva, but I said not right now when she wanted to help with dinner. I said not tonight to my oldest and not right now to little man. Tomorrow I will not let these moments pass me by. And I'm starting TODAY.