It's About Giving

Without a doubt, Christmas is the best time of year.  If you ask my kids, they will tell you it is the best time of year because of the gifts.  Now, if Mark raised his eyebrows or if I crinkled my forehead, they may remember to dutifully say it's the best time of year because it is when we celebrate Jesus' birth.  But, I know they really love the gifts.  And that's okay.  Who doesn't enjoy getting gifts...a surprise under the tree...the anticipation for days and days of what Santa will bring.  I love that too.  I think you have to know how good it feels to get a much needed or wanted gift before you can fully understand the joy of giving a much needed and wanted gift. 

But, what I really love about this time of year is the giving.  And not just the giving of gifts, but the giving of time and resources as well.  I love how people go out of their way to decorate their yards...all to delight the children, and neighbors and anyone else that happens to drive down the street.  I love how people shop for just the right gift to make someone else happy.  I love how we are all out shopping, trying to find the gift that will make the recipient feel loved and special.  We give gifts of gratitude to teachers, postal workers, co-workers and neighbors.  What makes this time of year special, is that we all spend so much time thinking about how to make the holidays special for someone else.  What if we always spent that much time trying to make things special for other people?

It's about giving...and that is why we have such fond memories and special attachment to this time of year.

We're never more Christ-like than when we're giving. The very purpose of His entire life, was to ultimately, give it away.  He stored up nothing for himself in this life--no home, no riches, no children, nothing.  He gave it all up to fulfill his purpose and give us eternal life. 

When we give, we are reflecting the heart of God.  But, where we are happy to give out of our excess---what is left over after we have everything we want and need---God gives us his all, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..." (John 3:16).  We are happy to give if we feel like the recipient deserves it, God gave to us even when we don't deserve it:  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)  Fortunately for us, he didn't wait for us to get our lives together.  God gives good and perfect gifts all the time.  And as Christ followers, we should try to emulate him, at all times of the year.

Are you looking for a good litmus test of where you are in your walk with God?  How giving are you?  When we are where we should be with God, we give...without counting the cost.  When we fully understand who is backing us, and who has given us everything we have, we can't help but be cheerful...hilarious...givers.  We can give without fear, because we know that we can't out-give God.  We know that the more we give...of our money, our time, ourselves, the more God fills us back up.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

So, this Christmas, my hope for you is that you do find that perfect gift for those special people in your life.  I hope their eyes light up on Christmas morning; I hope your kids squeal with delight and fully enjoy the magic of Christmas.  And I hope that they understand that the magic of Christmas is giving.

But, I also hope that you remember, while your children are dreaming of sugarplums and video games, somewhere there is a mother crying out to God for someone to help her children before they starve.  While you are covering your house in enough lights to make Clark Griswold proud, there is a father somewhere hoping that he can figure out how he's going to afford to send his children to school and buy them clothes.  While we are fretting about the 3 or 4 holiday pounds we're going to gain, there is a child that can't sleep because they're hungry, really hungry.

And now, so that I don't completely ruin your holiday, I'm going to tell you what you can do about it.  Because, those prayers that they're praying??  We're the answer to them.  God has blessed US.  So, this Christmas, sit down with your family and take a little time to browse through the Compassion catalog.  Maybe buy a few less Christmas cookies and spend that money on something that can change the life of someone living in poverty.  There are enough options in this catalog that families with all different budgets can help.  Teach your children how good it feels to give.  #itsAboutGiving

Make this the Merriest Christmas yet!!

Anna Kate is One!

Can you believe that Anna turned one last week?  I cannot.  This year has gone by in a flash.  I took Anna to the doctor today.  She is still tiny.  She only gained 1 1/2 lbs. in the last 3 months!  She is 16 pounds, and 30 1/2 in.  That makes her 4th percentile for weight and 92nd percentile for height!  She wears 9-12 month clothing and size 3 diapers.  (Really, she could probably still wear size 2 diapers, the 3s are a little big...tiny baby). 

She is starting to talk up a storm (all 3 of my kids have been early talkers.  Maybe I talk too much?).  She says: mama, dada, bubba, Aya (Ella), and woof!  When she hands you something she says, "go."  I think she's trying to say, "Here you go."  She can point to your nose, your eyes and your mouth.  Her favorite games are patty cake and peek-a-boo.  She is a mama's girl...seriously.  Whenever anyone else approaches her, she grabs the back of my arm and holds on.  She does not want me out of her sight. The doctor assures me this is normal and that I will be able to go to the bathroom alone again sometime in the forseeable future.

She did the army crawl exclusively until she was 10 months old.  Then she started crawling up on all fours.  She is all over the place.  She is pulling up on the furniture and cruising.  She shows NO interest in walking on her own yet.  She hasn't even tried it.  She's my 3rd, so this is perfectly fine with me. 

She has 2 cute little bottom teeth.  She loves to hug Aidan and Ella.  She lays her head on their shoulders and says, "awww," while patting them on the back---sweetest thing, ever.  She has always been a very laid back baby, but in the last month, she's developed a tiny temper.  She growls at people.  It is hilarious to see such a tiny little thing growling.  If you tell her "no," she cries like you broke her little heart. 

She loves to dance, and therefore, loves any toy that plays music.  She is fascinated by dropping things into buckets.  She loves cashew chicken and cheesy chicken with rice, honey nut cheerios, and crackers.

She has 2 dimples and big blue eyes and is as sweet as she can be.  I can't believe a year went by that fast, but I also can't remember what we ever did without her.  We all love her dearly.  Ella says, "when she gets older, I'm going to tell her about how cute she was as a baby," and "she is so cute, I love her little head."  Aidan says, "she is the cutest baby ever, I just love her so much."  And her parents are just as smitten.  I foresee one very spoiled little girl.  :)

 

Happy birthday sweet girl.  We love you so much. 

Dear Santa,

This made me smile:


Dear Santa,
     I want a medium-sized big horse that's black, and a medium-sized big horse that's brown, and a small medium-sized small horse that's an old paint.  Santa, I hope you give good presents to my baby sister that she will love and make her smile.  Santa, I love you when you give awesome presents to everyone in the townville at Christmas.  Santa, tell the boss elf to make good presents for everyone in the world that God made.  I love you Santa and the awesome presents you bring on Christmas Eve.  And, dear Santa, I know if I love you, you will love me back.  I love Christmas.

                                                                                                                  Love,
                                                                                                                    Ella

A Few More Things I've Heard Lately:

Ella (to her friend Ellie):  I have to hide to do bad things.
Ellie:  What kind of bad things?
Ella:  Sometimes I stick my face between the couch cushions and spit.

Lovely.  Don't go digging around in my couch cushions.  You're welcome.

Aidan:  When I die, I hope they fly the flag at half-staff.  I want to be important. 

Aww

Me (to my nephew, Cooper):  Hey Cooper, it smells like Up Dog in here.
Cooper: Oh, I farted.
(Ideally, he would have said, "What's up dog?" and I would have said, "Nothing, what's up with you?)

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

We Bring These Gifts

The last 2 Christmases I have felt like I needed to do a better job helping my kids focus on Christ's birth.  We talk about it, but let's face it, for them, it's all about the presents.  I knew I needed to do a better job with holidays when I asked Aidan why we celebrated Easter and he said, "because that's when Jesus killed Adam and Eve."  sheesh. 
Anyway, I've had this idea to write a family devotional for Advent for the last 2 years.  I wanted it to be fun, but also meaningful.  I wanted it to have concrete ways that we could focus more on Jesus and on helping others.  So, this year, I finally wrote it.  I wrote a Bible study that not only teaches the Chrsitmas story, but also teaches families to be intentional about strengthening their relationship with Christ, to be intentional about loving on others and to be more appreciative of the amazing gift of God's son.  In the study, I have the kids think of one thing every day that they can do as a gift for Jesus.  I am excited to see what our family comes up with and how we are able to bless other families this Christmas season.
I wrote it with my kids in mind.  Then, I thought other families could really use this too.  So, I've been furiously working on it the last few weeks, and now it is finally ready.  I self-published it on Amazon tonight (only a digital version for now).  I would love it if you would check it out.  If you love it, please write a review so others can buy it and love it too.  Here's the link to Amazon:



 



The Bible study was written with families in mind, but I think it would be good for individuals and couples also.  If you're children are very small, you may have to modify a few of the activities for them.  I would love to hear your feedback.
Thank you so much!

Texas History

When I started thinking about home schooling Aidan, I had to start thinking about curriculum.  What I discovered is that you could easily spend a small fortune.  We don't have a small fortune.  So, I scoured the internet and book stores trying to put together the best curriculum I could that was also easy on my pocketbook.  Come August, I had everything figured out except History.  There is a lot of great curricula out there, but I really wanted to teach Aidan Texas history.  In public school he would be learning Texas history.  Plus, it was one of my favorite things to teach when I was teaching 4th grade.  We were low on funds, but since I had taught Texas History for years, and took a few college classes on Texas history, I thought, "Hey, I can make my own curriculum."  Well, that has turned out to be quite a bit of work!  It is fun, and Aidan says History is his favorite subject this year, so I think it has been worth it.  So, since I've put all this work in, I thought I would make it available to other home schooling families as well.  So far, I have written studies on the regions and symbols of Texas and on Native Texans.  I am in the process of writing one on Explorers and Missions. 

These studies can be self directed.  You gather all the books you can find on the subject at the Library, and the student uses the books and the links provided in the study to complete the exercises.  There are lots of crafts.  You can make a salt map of Texas and a lap book if you wish.  It is targeted at 4th graders, but could easily be adapted for other ages.  I wrote it with home school students in mind, but I would have loved to have something like this for my students to use when I was teaching public school as well.  They could do it in groups using books/textbooks or in the computer lab.

So, if you could use something like this, please check it out.  I have the first chapter...Texas Symbols and Regions all ready to go.  I am putting the finishing touches on Native Texans.  It will be ready in a day or two.  Explorers and Missions will follow soon, with other installments coming as Aidan and I get to them in our studies.
Check back for the future installments. I am adding a tab at the top of the blog for the curriculum.

 $3.99 

 

Please share this post with anyone (teachers/home schoolers/etc.) that you think might be interested.  Thank you.  :)

Adventures in the Alphabet

Ella and I have been working on learning to read.  We are making an alphabet book with a page for each letter.  Here are some of the interesting things she has drawn for each page:

Letter B:  a demon fish (for those of you without big brothers, this is half fish/half man with scary teeth)
Me:  "Ella, demon fish doesn't start with B."  (Things only parents get to say, right?)
Ella:  "Yes it does, buh, buh, demon fish.  Plus, I really like to draw scary fish."

Letter C: a bunny
Me:  "What is this?"
Ella: "A bunny."
Me: "Bunny doesn't start with C."
Ella: "Oh fine, it's a cat."

Letter D: a lion
Ella:  "Do you like my lion?"
Me:  "Yes, but lion doesn't start with D." (are you noticing a pattern here?)
Ella:  "Um, there's a DUCK jumping OVER the lion."
Of course there is, what was I thinking?

A Few of My Favorite Pins!

I love Pinterest.  I might love it a little too much.  I'm always pinning away, knowing full well, I'll probably never do most of the things I find on there--either because I don't have the money, I don't have the time, or I don't have the motivation.

But, I have tried a few things that I've pinned.  Some of them turned out great, and some, not so much. 

So, here are a few of my favorites.

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken:


This stuff is awesome.  Mark and I can't get enough...warning, it says it serves up to 6 but we could eat it all by ourselves in one meal.  I crave it, a lot.  It is so good.  I made it once in the crockpot (awesome) and once, I forgot to put it in the crockpot, so I made it in a skillet.  It was fast and easy.  It is SOOOO good.  Yum.

To Die For Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas:



I love these.  They have rice and beans and a delicious sauce.  Plus, it makes a ton.  So, I love to make them when I need to take a meal to someone, or when we're having our small group over for dinner.  Or, when I don't want to have to cook for the rest of the week.  :)  Very good...and easy.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice:


Yummy and easy.  I love this stuff.  I modified it a little.  I was out of onion, so I used half a package of Lipton onion soup mix. I used frozen corn instead of canned, and  I also added some frozen peas.  It was really good.  Anna ate 2 full servings!  Good stuff.

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake:

I thought this was so good.  Mark thought it was a little too much peanut butter.  But, I loved it.  I will say, if I did it again, I would probably make the peanut butter cake, and use chocolate frosting.  Because, peanut butter and chocolate together is a gift straight from heaven.






Chocolate Oreo Cream Cake:



Three words:  chocolate, oreos, cream cheese (4 words?). 

I love this cake, and it's pretty easy.  Yum.

Okay, so most of these are recipes.  But I've done a few crafts too. 

I made this nursing cover:

I got the idea/instructions from this pin:




And, I made this wreath for our door. 

 

I can't find the original pin for this one, but I know that's where I got the idea.

 

Can anyone else recommend any great pins, that they've actually tried?

 

 

 



I Am...

I am...

...teaching my 4 year old to read in 100 easy lessons,

...teaching my 10 month old to drink from a cup,

...teaching my 9 year old geography,

...and geometry.

I am...

...making breakfasts, lunches, and dinners,

...and snacks, lots and lots of snacks.

I am...

...cleaning,
and then cleaning again.

I am researching, reading and choosing curriculum.
I am writing curriculum.
I am doing a Bible study and writing a Bible study.

I am washing, drying, folding, and sometimes I even put away laundry.

I am blogging and scrubbing and vacuuming and nursing, and I even do windows.

I am facebooking, pinning and sometimes crafting.

I am refereeing, entertaining, enforcing and training.

I am snuggling, rocking, kissing boo-boos, singing songs, and telling jokes.

I am counseling, coaching, and encouraging.

I am wiping hands, and noses, and bottoms.

I am praying.

I am tired.

I am taking a nap.

The end.

A Few Things I've Heard Lately

Ella:  I don't like monkeys.  I like unicorns.  Monkeys are SOOO unnecessary.

Aidan:  Sometimes I can tell something is going to hurt before it happens, so I go ahead and scream.  Of course, a lot of times, I just make a fool of myself.

Aidan:  (after killing a moth)  The moth is dead!  The victory goes to the humans!!

Ella:  (to the sweet little boy following her around the park)  I know you want to be my friend, but I already have lots of friends, and I don't want anymore. 


Aidan:  (while bemoaning the fact that he is the oldest, and the little kids get ALL the attention)
 Ella, you've got just a couple more years of attention, and then you'll join the lonely club like me.
Ella:  I can't be in the lonely club, because I'm in the super awesome club.

Score 1 for the Humans!

Super Awesome Club President

The Princess of Taking Care of People

I love listening to my kids play by themselves.  I love how they narrate what they are playing.  Do your kids do this?  Or is it just because mine talk no matter what they are doing?

This is what Ella was saying today.  (To set the stage, she was wearing a crown, holding a wand and playing with animals).

I am the princess of taking care of people.  I have to take care of everything.  But, sometimes, I just want to be alone.  But these people won't leave me alone.  They only think about themselves!  I can't do everything. 

Which has me wondering...is Ella reading my mind???  Creepy.

Homeschool

Wow!  What a crazy, awesome week this has been.  We started homeschooling for the first time on Tuesday.  Aidan is in 4th grade, and I am doing preschool with Ella.  I don't know who learned more this week, me or the kids.  I learned so much about them...their learning styles, what they already know and about myself...my teaching style, my strengths, my weaknesses.  It has, at times, been great, amazing, scary, frustrating, and exhausting.  But, overall, I am really excited that we're doing this.  I've already figured out some things I'm going to keep doing, and some things that just don't work. 

I have had to constantly keep in mind my reasons for doing this.  Lots of people ask me, "so, why are you homeschooling?"  And, I never know what to say.  A lot of people home school because their kids are not flourishing in public school.  Aidan did great in school.  A lot of people home school because they worry about the influence of other kids at school.  This was certainly a concern of ours, but mostly those experiences have been great teachable moments about why we have the values we have, why we believe what we believe and what it means to be in the world, not of it.  I'm sure there are tons of other reasons too...but none of the typical responses matched up with what prompted me to make this decision.

I guess the short answer would be, God asked me to.  As third grade progressed, there were many times I felt God prompting me that it was time for Aidan to come home.  The long answer would be...
1. I want to reignite Aidan's natural curiosity about the world and excitement about learning.  School had turned this into drudgery.
2. I want to integrate our values and our faith into everything Aidan does...instead of having it compartmentalized into "school," "church," etc.
3.  I want to expose Aidan to a great variety of experiences so that he can discover what his gifts are, what his passions are and what God has for him to do.

So, this week, I had to check my "public school teacher" self at the door.  I had to work hard to find that perfect balance between high standards (Aidan seriously acted like I had 2 heads for demanding correct capitalization, punctuation and spelling!) and keeping it fun and engaging.  And all the while, I had to balance this with feeding the baby, working with the 4 year old, doing laundry/dishes/cleaning/meal prep, etc.  Wow!  It's a lot...but it's working, and it's amazing.

My greatest gift this week...hearing my kids encourage each other in their work, watching them make up games and play them during our "recesses," and spending lots of quality time together.  Don't get me wrong...they also had moments of fighting like cats and dogs, making unbelievable messes, etc.  But, let's not dwell on that.  :)

The kids even came up with a "school" mascot...we are the Jaguars.  We have a little stuffed jaguar that does school with us and will go on all of our adventures with us.  Speaking of adventures...I joked with a friend last week that I am like a teacher on speed...this is what we have coming up in the next 2 weeks:  making a paper mache model of the earth, making a salt map depicting the regions of Texas, visiting the Texas wild exhibit at the zoo, Baseball camp, Farm camp, writing letters to Major League Baseball teams (and hoping they send us some free goodies), a tour of Ranger Ballpark, and possibly a camping trip to Gonzales to see a reenactment of the battle that started the Texas Revolution. 

Just writing that makes me want to go to bed.  Pray for energy and stamina for me!

First Day of School :)

10 Reasons I Haven't Updated my Blog in 3 Months

Three months!  It's been 3 months since I wrote anything.  Yikes.
Here are my excuses reasons:

1.  My laptop was broken.  We had to send it off for what we thought was a repair covered by warranty.  It turned out we had to get a new motherboard.  There was "liquid damage."  I'm still a bit baffled by this.  I don't recall there ever being any liquid damage, and while I don't doubt for a moment my children's ability to damage something with liquid, I do seriously doubt their ability to clean it up well enough that I would never notice.  Hmmm...anyway, it broke in June and I just got it back a little over a week ago.

2.  Anna is mobile.  In June, Anna started creeping, crawling practicing for basic training?  It's not exactly a crawl, although sometimes she gets up on her knees.  There is a lot of pushing with her feet, pulling with her elbows, rolling and sometimes pushing her face across the floor...I'm not sure what you call it, but she manages to get where she wants to go.  And, where she wants to go, is never where she needs to be. 

3.  It's summer. 

4. I have 3 kids.  wow.  I really have 3 kids.  And they need me.  A LOT.  Like, constantly...who knew?

5.  Television.  Well, not just any thing on television, but just this one certain show...I'm ashamed to tell you which one it is, because it is HORRIBLE.  I mean, it's good...the writing is good, the story lines draw you in, the characters are interesting...but I'm a little embarrassed that I like it so much.  I won't tell you what it is, but I will tell you it rhymes with "Raking Fad."  Don't blame me if you get hooked.

6. Mark.  Mark is a night owl and a bad influence.  He makes me stay up late watching TV (see #5).  Then, the kids wake me up early.  I think they're trying to break me.

7. I am going to home school Aidan.  Wow.  I'm a little terrified and a little excited at the same time.  I've spent a lot of time this summer researching curriculum.  He is really smart, so I think we can do some really cool stuff, and I think he will get a great education.  But, it's been taking up a lot of my mental energy lately.  And, I'm terrified.

8.  I have 3 kids!  (one of which just came out of her room at 10:00 at night with a puzzle that she wants to put together...she gets this from her father, see #6)
 
9. I have a stupid cat.  I don't know what that has to do with my blogging, but it's true, and I needed to get that off my chest.  Are there support groups for this kind of thing?

10. My family likes to eat.  And not just once a day either.  They like 3 meals a day, plus snacks.  Every single day.  And the little one...the littlest one, that doesn't gain weight...she eats like 10 times a day.  If they would just stop eating...or at least cut back...I would have more free time for writing.

It's good to be writing again...that first post after a long hiatus is always the toughest...and now it's done.  It's not going to win a Nobel Peace Prize or anything, but it's done.  Hopefully, there will be more posts to follow soon.  :)

Amazing

I was reading a story in Luke during my quiet time last week.  It's the one about the centurion who wants Jesus to heal his servant.  He was a man of power.  The elders of the Jews told Jesus, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue."  But, the centurion wouldn't even let Jesus come into his house.  "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.  That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.  But say the word, and my servant will be healed."  A man of power and influence...yet, he knew.  He knew his place.  And then, there was this verse, which I haven't been able to get out of my mind this week:

"When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." (Luke 7:9...emphasis mine).

He was amazed at him.  Jesus was amazed.  The son of God, creator of the universe, savior of mankind was amazed.  I love that.  I wonder if he's ever amazed at me?  Does my faith ever amaze him? 

I hope so.  Because He amazes me every day.

This Morning.  Amazing.



For Those with Human Mothers

Maybe it's because my third baby was born 9 years after my first...almost a decade...but mothering Anna has had me thinking a lot about those first few months mothering Aidan.  Maybe it's because I've grown up so much since then, learned so much that I didn't know then...about myself, about God, about mothering.  Maybe it's because she reminds me of him.  I don't know why, but I find myself hoping...hoping that I loved on him enough, that I cherished those fleeting baby months enough.  Hoping that I was patient enough, that I kissed his cheeks enough, rocked him enough.  How I'd love to hold him as a baby just one more time.  I was single then and spent most of my days terrified, wondering how we were going to make it from one month to the next.  My faith was small then.  As usual, God was still faithful.  I just wish I'd realized it more.  Hindsight.  I worried a lot.  About bills, and diapers and groceries and who would teach him to be a man...a good man.  I hope I didn't rush him too much in my fear.  I hope I loved him well.  Why God chose to bless me with Aidan, when I was such a mess of fear and dysfunction, and insecurity I'll never know.  Maybe it's because I have something unique to offer Aidan on his journey.  Maybe it was for all the things Aidan would teach me...about forgiveness, about God's love, about grace. 

Mothering is hard.  But not for the reasons we all think of...the endless dishes, and laundry, the sleepless nights...it's hard work for sure, but it's also just hard.  There's no help, no way to know if you're getting it right.  You don't know if you've gotten it right until it's too late to change it if you didn't.  If you're reading this, then your mother is human, and if your mother is human, she made mistakes.  Just like I'll make mistakes...and have already.  And, as much as I'd like to take them back...to go back and do a few things differently...to react differently, to have more patience, to enjoy it more, I can't.  So much of this is just a shot in the dark.  What if I'm doing this all wrong?  What if they resent that we sacrificed so much for me to be home with them?  What if they can't forgive me for not letting them participate in most of the culture that surrounds us?  What if I haven't taught them enough responsibility or self-discipline?  What if they wish I had let them play more sports?  Or less?  Have I equipped them for the marriages they'll some day have?  Have I taught them how to use money?  How to love people?  It's hard and scary, and we only get one shot at it, and there are no do overs. 

When I said, “My foot is slipping, ”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:18-19

Thankfully, when the anxiety rises, that still, small voice breaks through.  I am not alone in this.  There is ONE who knows.  The one who created my children-the one who died for them-the one who in His wisdom, saw fit to give them to me--he speaks to me.  He helps me navigate all this.  And, if I'm listening, what he's telling me is to teach them grace.  To teach them how fallen we all are...even the "best" of us.  To teach them how desperate we are for a savior, and to teach them that this savior has come.  Not only for me...their very human, very inept mother...but for them...for all of us.  Above all else, I am to teach them this gospel story that we are all a part of...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  And while I was still human, and still a sinner, God called me to participate in the divine...to pass this gospel down to these 3 little souls that live in my home and call me mommy. 

It is my greatest calling.  And it shakes me to my very core to think I may not do it right.  So, I cling to Him.  I hold on for dear life.  I need Him...his grace, his forgiveness.  I am so desperate for Him.  I need thee every hour second.

Be encouraged moms!  God is with you.  HE gave you these children.  He called you to this great purpose.  And he will equip you.  And, if you are the child of a very human mother, maybe this year, for Mother's Day, you could show her a little grace.  Because so much grace has been extended to all  of us.  We have ALL been forgiven so much.  And God draws us to repentance with his kindness, his love and his grace.  So, if you know a mom that could use a little of that this weekend, maybe it's your own mother, extend it to her.  Spread a little heaven on earth for a mom this weekend.  We could all use it, for while this is a beautiful and rewarding calling, it's not always an easy one.

Things I've Heard Lately--the Aidan Edition

A couple of things Aidan has said lately that I want to remember, and you might find funny:

Aidan: You know what I like about God?
Mark: what?
Aidan:  He has all that power, but he's not greedy.


Aidan:  I wish I was an Eskimo.
Me:  Why?
Aidan:  Because when I got married, I wouldn't have to kiss my wife, I could just rub noses with her.

5 Months!

Well, I can't even catch my breath.  It feels like I just wrote a post about Anna being 4 months old, I turned around and now she's 5 months old.  She is really growing and changing now!

Her name, which we debated upon until several minutes after she was born, seems to fit her perfectly.

Anna:  Grace of God
Kate: Pure

She is the pure grace of God.  I love getting to know this sweet spirited little one.  She is a watcher...always quietly watching everything that goes on.  She loves her family.  She always has big smiles for Aidan and Mark when they get home.  She reached for Mark the other day as soon as he got home from work.  She is laughing more and more.  I even got her to squeal with my silly antics the other day.  She thinks Aidan is hilarious.  She was watching him dance from across the room the other day and started giggling at him.  When he walked over to her she lunged for him.  She is going to be her brother's girl. 

She is eating baby food now.  Her favorites so far are carrots and apples.  She can roll over...front to back and back to front.  She is trying so so hard to sit up.  She loves to snuggle.  She is still sleeping through the night (yay!!).  She usually takes 2 good naps every day.  She still loves her baby gym...she will lie there and play with it for well over an hour.  She scoots all over that thing.  She also loves her exersaucer.  She really is aware of toys and loves to play with them.

She is wearing 3-6 mos. clothes and has finally progressed to size 2 diapers. 

It looks like she has chosen a lovey...a giraffe, just like her sister.  We'll have to come up with a name for him.  But, when she gets sleepy, I can hand that giraffe to her and she pulls it close, rolls to her side and goes right to sleep...just like her brother and her sister with their loveys.  I always wonder what makes them fall in love with that one special stuffed animal.  All three of my kids did...and it was right around this age for all of them.

What a beautiful, wonderful, whirlwind 5 months it has been with our sweet Anna Kate.

Today

Today, I am thankful.

Today, I am thankful that Anna's extra long nap threw off our schedule, so that Ella and I ended up eating our lunch in the car, while parked at the grocery store.  She loved sitting in the front seat with me to share our lunch.  And she chattered away...and for once there was nothing to distract me so I chattered away with her.

I am thankful that I had the time this morning to take Aidan's hands in mine and pray with him before he went to school...that he would have a good day, and be a light in the darkness, and point others to Jesus.

I am thankful that every time Anna sees me from across the room, not only does she smile, but she kicks her feet and waves her arms, and if I start coming towards her, she starts laughing.  Pure joy.

I am thankful that Ella pretends my book light is a cell phone...

...and she used it to call God...

...and told Him she really likes his dancing.

I am thankful that Ella helped unload and put away the groceries today...without being asked.

I am thankful that Ella was a perfect angel in the grocery store...that was never the case just a year ago...hey, this parenting stuff really works...if you keep at it, and never give up.

I am thankful that while we were waiting in the LONG line at the grocery store, Ella said, "I am frustrated that we have to wait!  I'm going to tell God." 

I am thankful that after telling God she was frustrated, Ella sang, "I told God I'm frustrated and he said, 'be happy,' so now I'm Haaaaaaaaaaaapppppppppppppppy!!"

I am thankful that Ella loves to find new ways to make her baby sister laugh...and always makes me laugh in the process.

Mostly, I am thankful that I get to be here for all of this...and not somewhere else...hearing about all this from someone else.  I'm thankful that we're making this one income thing work...even though insurance is going up (again), and groceries are going up, and gas is going up and the paycheck is staying the same (again)...I'll leave all that up to God...I'll just call him, tell him it's frustrating, and then, I'll be happy...happy to be here, raising my kids and filling them with good things.  Today, I am very thankful.

Conversations with Ella

This morning:

Ella:  Mommy, I have to tell you something.
Me:  What?
Ella:  I know you really want to have a tea party, but I won't let you.
Me:  Why not.
Ella:  Because you just can't control yourself.

Have a great Monday!

The Day Has Come

I knew this day would come.  I just didn't know it would be this soon.  Only a couple of weeks ago, it still seemed so far away.  But, the day had to come...and today is the day it happened.  Today, Ella said, "because."  Ella said "because," and I almost cried.  If you've followed my blog for a while, you may remember me writing about Ella saying, "cause be" instead of "because."  It was the cutest thing ever.  We would ask her questions, just to hear her say, "cause be."  We even went as far as to forbid Aidan from correcting her, because we wanted her to keep saying it.  (Is that wrong?)  Aidan was sure she would go to her first job interview saying, "cause be."  It would be her ruin.  

But, today, the "cause be" era ended.  Ella was in trouble for hitting another little girl at Bible Study.  When I asked her why she did it, she said, "because...."  Ouch.  I died a little.  Surely it was a fluke, so later I asked her again, "so, why did you do that?"  Because.  Not Cause-be.  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.  I have asked her a few more questions just to test it, and every time...because.

I know it seems silly to mourn this little milestone, but it is just one symptom in a long list.  A long list of symptoms that all point to one thing...she is growing up.  My feisty, dramatic, emotional little bitty girl is becoming a strong, articulate, extremely intelligent big girl.  And while I absolutely adore the big girl she is becoming, I am sad that the little girl is slipping through my fingers.  I know I will miss her, cause-be she is a very special little girl.  So, today, I am a little sad, "cause-be" my baby girl is not much of a baby anymore.  :(

This House

This house sometimes feels too small.  I know this is relative...as my mom often reminds me, our ancestors had many more kids in much less space.  (But, our ancestors didn't have Toys R Us and grandparents that couldn't resist spoiling their grandchildren either.)  There is very little closet space.  The shelves in the pantry are so deep that a box of cereal could go missing for months.  Whoever designed the girls' room neglected to leave a wall large enough to put a bed against, but we've somehow managed to fit in 2 beds.  There is a large yard, but no sprinkler system.  Watering in the summer is a full time job, and one we don't always do that well.  So, the lawn needs some work.  There's just not a lot of extra space, and I get a little aggravated with it sometimes.  I often swear that it was designed by a young bachelor architect who had no concept of what a house with a family in it would need. 

But,

this house has welcomed all three of my babies home from the hospital.

it has stood through 11 Texas spring times and all the storms that come with them, many times while we were all huddled together in the tiny bathroom.

we have picked peaches together here.

we have put up bird feeders here, and we watch them through the kitchen window together.

just this week, we watched over 30 butterflies drinking nectar from our privet hedge.

we have a mama squirrel that visits our bird feeders every morning.

we have hosted family, and friends that feel like family here.

we have honey-suckle vines and irises that make me long for my grandmother every spring.

we have had countless Popsicles and bubbles and sidewalk chalk drawings on the back patio.

Aidan learned to ride his bike on the sidewalk out front.

we have chased down many an ice cream man here.

we have planted flowers together here, and enjoyed watching them bloom year after year.

we have planted tiny stick trees, that our now big enough to drink tea under.

we have watched lots of movies, and spilled lots of popcorn.

So, while we may be crowded, and a little disorganized, we have been very happy here.  We have made many memories here.  It might not be the best house, but it is an amazing and beautiful home.  We are so blessed.

Disconnect

As I've mentioned before, we canceled our TV service.  It took us a while to take the plunge, but now that we've done it, it's gone pretty well.  One thing we really worried about when making this decision was not having access to the news.  But, that has actually been one of the most pleasant surprises.  Not only do I NOT miss watching the news, I feel more relaxed and less stressed.  I did not fully realize the affect the news was having.  I often went to bed at night feeling completely disgusted with the world and sure that we were all going to hell in a hand basket.  I still get news...I just read it now, and that lacks all the drama and sensationalism of television news. 

This has me thinking about other types of media also.  I love media as much as anyone else.  I love Facebook and I love being able to play Words with Friends or Draw Something with friends I haven't seen in years.  But, I think it is really easy these days to have all of our "social" interactions to happen in our living room...alone.  I think it's important to make a point to get out there and have real interactions with real people.  When I watch TV, I get discouraged.  I feel like good is losing and evil is over taking.  But, when I get out in the world, I see there is still a lot of good.  Good just isn't making headlines, but it is making a difference.  Out in the "real" world, I see strangers that talk and coo at my baby.  I see people that will hold the door for me and let me go ahead of them in the grocery store line.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to ride the Forrest Park train.  When the ride was over, Mark was carrying the diaper bag and my purse, and a couple of drinks, I was carrying the sleeping baby, and we realized Ella was barefoot.  She had taken off her shoes and left them on the train.  Before I could even formulate a plan on dealing with this, a woman walked up grabbed her shoes and put them on for Ella.  It was nice, and it helped...a lot.

Mothers whose young children have fled the nest often approach me with words of encouragement...like today, at the Doctor's office, Aidan was struggling with the ice pack on his swollen, black eye; Ella was shaking uncontrollably because of her very high fever and whining something I couldn't understand.  Anna was screaming because it was long past her feeding time, all while I was trying to pay the doctor money that I don't really have.  Just when I was sure that everyone was cursing me under their breath, a woman approached me, took my hand in hers and said, "I just love the sounds of your children.  I know it's hard on you, but those are great sounds."  She was probably lying, but I know she was going out of her way to relieve a little of my stress.  And it helped; it put me back in the right frame of mind.  It was good.

My point is, there are still a lot of good, kind and understanding people in this world.  So, if you feel discouraged or cynical, as I did a few weeks ago, maybe it's time to disconnect for a little while...disconnect from all the media and 24 hour bad news and interact with some real people...people with flaws for sure, but people who mostly just want to be kind and helpful.

What We've Been Up To

I'm finding it difficult to make time for blogging lately.  Maybe it's the 3 kids...or the 2 cats...or the bird...or my ADD.  Anyway, here's what's been going on with us:

-We are officially gardeners.  We were at Home Depot one night and the kids kept talking about wanting to have a small garden.  They picked out a little pizza garden in a box thing and put it in the cart.  From there, it escalated to a pallet garden.  You fill a pallet with soil, plant a few things...easy, cheap, good size for kids...and Home Depot was going to give us the pallets for free.  Well, we sent Mark back by himself to get the pallets and what we ended up with instead were the materials for a 12X6 foot raised bed.  We have planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra and carrots so far.  I am going to get some peppers and black-eyed peas also.  This web site:  www.smartgardener.com has been an awesome resource.  It outlines exactly what to do, what plants go well together, etc.  It even emails you a weekly to do list in the garden.  I am so looking forward to fresh tomatoes...so stay away bugs and rabbits!!

-Anna is eating solids.  It seemed to sneak up on me.  With your first, you can't wait until they are ready to eat baby food.  With your third, it seems to come too fast.  She LOVES carrots and apples.  She was practically singing for apples today.  She is also rolling over now.  She is quite amused by this.  She is our little doll.

-We have canceled our TV service.  We still have Netflix.  Everything else we watch on Hulu or on the network's web site.  It has been going great...until Friday, when the Rangers' season started...we may never see Mark again...at least until the fall...he has been trying to find places to go to watch the games.  So, if you feel really sorry for him...invite him over to watch a game.  If you feel really sorry for me...ignore his calls and texts on game days. 

-Aidan came home tonight with a black eye/swollen nose.  His cub scout den built a water bottle launcher (look it up on YouTube, it's actually pretty cool).  There was a little mishap and Aidan got a water bottle in the face.  It looks painful.

-I am giving some serious thought to homeschooling Aidan next year.  (gasp!)  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Would you love to hear mine?  Good:  Aidan is very bright and highly interested in a lot of subjects that they don't have time to get to in school.  I want to foster this love of learning and challenge him more.  I want to find a great curriculum...with a high emphasis on math and science.  He would still have lots of social exposure, which is huge for me, since we run with lots of homeschooling families and are pretty involved in church/cub scouts.  BUT, I worry about how difficult this would be with a baby and a 4 year old at home.  I also worry about pulling him out of a school that he really likes, does reasonably well in, and changing everything up on him.  I would love to hear your thoughts, both for and against.  Be honest...I won't get offended. 

-I have memorized 34 scriptures since February 1 using a great website:  www.memverse.com  I love it.  I have had a hard time with memorization since having children.  But, this site has really worked for me.  You kind of have to explore the site a little to understand how it all works, but I love it. 

-I think that's all I have for tonight.  :)

Anna is 4 Months Old!

Well, as usual, time has flown by at a breathtaking pace, and my little Anna is 4 months old now!  She had her check up today, and received rave reviews from the doctor.  She is long...25 inches, 85% for height, and lean...12 lbs., 25% for weight.  Her head grew a whole inch since her last visit, which puts her in the 10th percentile for head size...she's my little bitty one...much smaller than my other two.  I thought Ella was small, but Anna is even smaller.  Of course, all babies seem small after you've had a baby giant (Aidan was 30 lbs. when he was a year old!). 

This month, she is still sleeping through the night.  She is trying her best to roll over, but hasn't quite gotten all the way over yet.  She is babbling up a storm, and has even thrown a few consonants around lately.  She thrilled Aidan by saying "bu-bu" the other night.  She also tries really hard to say "mamamamama." 

The child never cries.  Seriously.  She cries a little bit when she's hungry, but I don't even know that it is a real cry.  It sounds pretty half-hearted to me.  She is the most laid back baby.  All of my kids have been easy going as babies, but Anna gets the prize. 

Her hair is getting longer on top.  It looks like it will be light brown, or maybe blonde.  She has a big bald spot in the back.  She really wants to sit up, and does a pretty good job of it, with a little help.

She is wearing 3-6 mos. clothes, but in some things can still wear 0-3 months.  She wears size 1 diapers.

She loves to hold onto my hair while she's sleeping.  She laughs if you tickle her, or make funny noises or lift her high up in the air like she's flying (think super baby!).  She uses a pacifier, but what she really loves is sucking on her middle two fingers.  We try to stop this, because when she's older, we won't be able to take away her middle two fingers...this is frowned upon.

 She loves to play with her toys on the floor.  She will talk and bat at them for over an hour.

She is sweet and cute and adorable, and she likes me best.  (Don't tell Aidan and Ella...or Mark for that matter).  I can hardly believe she's four months old and ready to start eating cereal already.  I call her a dangerous baby, because she's so easy I've started thinking I could have another one.  Maybe.  But, then I remember how tired I am and how old mature we are, and I think, maybe not.  I guess time will tell.  :)

Oh, and, she's beautiful.

Right Now

Right now, both of my girls are asleep.  The back door is open and the birds are singing.  And I am just sitting here, writing this.  I should be making the bed or picking up toys or wiping down the bathroom sinks and potties...or washing/drying/folding/hanging/ironing laundry...or working on dinner/dessert for tonight or vacuuming or any one of the zillion other things that need to get done today.  But, both girls are asleep.  That means, no one is climbing/crawling/nursing on me.  No one is asking me questions...or needing me to get them anything...there are no cartoons on...it is quiet and peaceful, and I haven't had quiet or peaceful in far too many days.  I am sitting here looking at my peach trees, listening to the birds, and I don't want to move.  I know that at any moment, one of the girls could wake up...and then it will take me 3 times as long to do any one item on my list than it would if I got up and did it right now.  But, it's quiet, and I'm tired, and I need just a minute to sit here...at least for right now.  Maybe in a minute I'll get up and tackle my list, but for right now, I am staying right here.

 ...stand still and consider the wonders God works.

Job 37:14

A Fairy Wonderful Party

Last weekend, we celebrated Ella's 4th birthday.  Let me start by saying, that I cannot believe she is 4 already.  I don't know where the time went.  She amazes me everyday with what a big girl she is becoming.  This year, she had a fairy party.  At first, she wanted a dinosaur party, but after 9 years of doing boy parties, I was hoping for something a little more girly.  So, after promising her there would be dragons too...she agreed to the fairy party.  I thought it turned out really cute, and Ella loved it.  She has been telling everyone about it.

Check out some of the things I did for her party:

These are Ella's party guests.  You can't really tell in the picture, but I bought fairy wings and wands for all the girls, and light up swords for the boys.  I got the fairy wings from www.haloheaven.com.  They were about $1.10 each, and super cute.  (Ella's tutu is from that website too...it was only $4!)The wands were from the dollar spot at Target.  The swords were $1 each and from Michaels.  I also got some tubes of fairies and dragons from Michaels.  We hid those in the living room and the kids had to find them.  Those went in their favor bags.  We also did a pinata (the pictures didn't turn out).

My favorite part, was the food.  I covered the table with a pink table cloth.  Then I put white lights on top and covered that with green tulle.  Ella received 2 fairy houses for Christmas, so I used those on the table as well.

I loved how the cupcakes turned out.  I made these fairy sillouhettes using my mom's die cutting machine.  I used a star tip for the frosting.  Then I put edible purple glitter on top.  You can't see them in this picture, but I also found edible star glitter at Hobby Lobby and sprinkled a little of that on top also.  I was really happy with how they turned out.

The kids loved these fairy fruit wands.  I cut a cantaloupe in half to use as the base.  Then I put cantaloupe, grapes and strawberries on bamboo skewers and stuck them inside.  The kids liked these a lot, and they looked really pretty on the table.

For lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that I cut out with heart and star cookie cutters--another big hit with the kids!  We also had pretzels, carrots, cheese cubes, broccoli and pixie punch.  (the punch was a bottle of Welch's Mango punch mixed with about 3/4 of a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale...I threw some sliced strawberries in too...it was easy, fast and yummy).

I was so happy with how the table turned out.  :)

Ella got a pink cowgirl hat for her birthday.  She wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.  I love the cowgirl hat with the tutu and fairy wings.  She definitely has her own style.

Blowing out the candles! 

The birthday girl with some of her presents.  I had a cute purple shirt and purple leggings that would have looked adorable with this tutu, but she insisted on wearing her bird shirt and maroon pants, and I was too tired to argue.  I think she looks adorable anyway.  I can't believe my baby Ella is 4!

So, that's another successful birthday party under my belt.  By successful, I mean it was fun, cheap and loved by the birthday girl.  I could have gotten really crazy with this party...there are so many fun ideas (curse you Pinterest!).  But, this was just enough...Ella loved it, my budget loved it and we all had a lot of fun.  So, how will I top it next year??

The Ice Cream Alarm

So, a few months ago, I got this idea from a friend's post on facebook.  She and her husband put their kids to bed, and then sounded the ice cream alarm...everyone had to get up, get in the car and go get ice cream in their pajamas.  Tonight, seemed like a good night to try it.  It is spring break, the weather was pretty today, and let's face it...I wanted ice cream.  So, we got the kids bathed and in their pajamas.  I didn't want to go as far as actually putting them to bed, because that just sounded like a beating.  So, right before they were to go to bed, Mark got our weather radio and started sounding the alarm on it, and we ran through the house and told the kids to get in the car.  We were laughing and smiling, but the kids were a little freaked out.  They kept asking what was going on.  When we got in the car, I told them, "it's the ice cream alarm!  We're going to get ice cream." 
Here are just a few of the comments that followed...all of these took place on the way to get ice cream, or on the way back:

"What?!?!  You scared us half to death!!"  (Aidan)

"Mommy, don't do the ice cream alarm again.  It's not funny."  (Ella)

"Maybe yelling 'get out of the house! hurry!  get in the car!' was a little over the top."  (Mark)

"Don't worry about us, we're just sitting in the back seat, scarred, eating ice cream in our pajamas."  (Aidan)

"That wasn't funny."  (Ella)

"Ella, I have to tell you something.  Our parents have problems." (Aidan)

"Ice cream alarm.  Bad idea."  (Ella)

"I'm in my pajamas, but I didn't even go to bed.  I don't like the ice cream alarm." (Ella)

"Maybe next time we could just get ice cream."  (Aidan)

"The ice cream alarm is not funny."  (Ella)

So, maybe they were just a little traumatized by us running through the house sounding the weather alarm while yelling, "Hurry!  Get out of the house!"  (Okay, so that part was all me...I get a little carried away sometimes.)  At least they will have a good story for their therapist some day.  Sorry kids.

Still Here

I'm still here.  In case you were wondering...I was chugging along updating the blog on a very regular basis when the virus from #&!! struck our house...it won't go away...we've all had it now, some of us more than once.  Mark is its latest victim.  As I write this, it is 11:40 pm and he is out getting us a frosty.  The man knows how to be sick.  Ella has been hit the hardest.  She has been sick for most of the last 3 weeks.  She started antibiotics today, so hopefully, that will be the end of it.

We took Ella to the doctor today and I was reminded what a tough little kid she is.  The nurse did a strep test, and she didn't even flinch.  They said her tonsils were very red and swollen, and the inside of her nose looked terrible.  But, she has not complained one bit about it.  If it weren't for her fatigue we wouldn't have even known she wasn't feeling well.  I love that little girl.  She is fierce and fiesty, and sweet and loving, all at the same time.  She loves animals, she memorizes the names of everything and everyone (first, middle and last!), she's a scrappy little wrestler, and she would be on an all sugar diet if we let her.  I am so grateful she's my daughter, and I love her.

Anna turned 3 months old last week!  Wow!  That was quick.  She might be the happiest baby I've ever known.  The girl just does not get upset about much at all...she only cries if she is hungry.  Most of the time she sits around smiling.  Even if she's sitting alone, she sits and smiles...just because she is delighted that she can, I guess.  And when she spots one of us from across the room, she lights up.  We are having so much fun with her.  The kids adore her.  She is so peaceful and laid back.  This month, she has started sleeping through the night.  She has also started laughing out loud.  It is the greatest sound ever.  She laughs if you do funny voices, tickle her ribs or sway quickly back and forth with her (especially if you do this while using a funny voice...it's hilarious).  Right now, she is completely sacked out beside me on the couch...arms up in touchdown pose, and I love her.

Then there's Aidan...Aidan is a boy...all boy.  He tears holes in his jeans, laughs at potty humor, eats constantly, grows like a weed, hates homework, loves video games, just earned his bear badge in cub scouts, loves to go fast...except when he's getting ready for bed, or school, or doing homework.  He is sweet and funny.  His hair is too long, but he says all the girls like it that way (heaven help us), and when I lie down with him at bedtime, he tells me everything...everything that happened that day, good or bad, everything he's thinking, everything he's worried about, everything he thinks is funny, everything that 's in his sweet little head...and I love him.

And Mark...Mark buys me frostys late at night, takes off work to help me when I'm sick, and uses sweet little songs to be my ring tone on his phone...and I love him.

So, we're all still here...we're coughing, and feverish, and a little snotty and germy...but we're all still here...and I love us.  :)  I hope everyone else is enjoying better health than we are right now!

The Old Testament--New Ella Version

This was Ella's retelling of a few well-known Bible studies today on the way to the grocery store:

"Mommy, who's that guy that built a big boat?" 

"Noah?"

"Yeah, and who's that guy that told him to build the boat?"

"Umm...God?"

"Yeah, God told Noah to build a big boat with all the animals.  And then there was a really big storm.  And the storm made an ocean.  One day a man was swimming in the ocean.  What was his name?"

"I'm not sure who you're talking about."

"The one that got eaten by a fish."

"Jonah"

"Yeah, Jonah was swimming and a big fish ate him.  And God said, 'eat him for 3 minutes,' and the fish did.  After 3 minutes he spit him out just like God said."

I love her.

Happy Valentine's Day

I really hope you have a great Valentine's Day!

Check out last year's post:  Ten Things You May Not Know About Valentine's Day, if you have a few free moments today!

Old Pudding and Dirty Laundry

As I write this, I have a dirty pan from lunch, still sitting on the top of the stove.  I have a load of sheets that I put in the washer on Friday that are still there.  I will probably have to rewash them.  My bed is not made, and there is a breast pump on my night stand.  Ella's half eaten chocolate pudding is on the counter.  There are crumbs on the floor under the kitchen table, even though I moved the entire table and swept under, and then mopped it on my hands and knees just two days ago.  You can't really walk in Ella's room, and there are dirty clothes on Aidan's bed.  There are tooth paste splatters on the mirror in the kids' bathroom, and some dried toothpaste in the sink.  My pantry needs to be organized, the recycling needs to be taken out...our Christmas decorations are in boxes that are STILL sitting in our living room (hint, hint, Mark).  Our television has finger prints on the screen...as a matter of fact, the computer screen I am looking at right now, also has finger prints on it.  It's not that we don't clean it up, but it's a struggle to get it all done, and then keep it that way.  Especially with a newborn.  But that's not why I'm telling you this.

I'm telling you this, because I want everyone to know right up front, that my house gets this way sometimes.  Especially on the weekends, when we're busy...or during extremely busy and stressful weeks like the one we just had.  Most of you have never seen my house this way, because I go to great pains to make sure everything is cleaned up before anyone ever comes over...because until now, I would have never wanted you to think that my house gets this way sometimes. 

The problem is, there have been many times when I would have liked to invite someone over for coffee or lunch and I haven't...because the house was like it is right now, and I lacked either the time or the energy to make it look perfect.  There have been lots of Friday or Saturday nights when Mark has said, "Lets see if so and so wants to come over and play games or watch a movie."  And, I have said no...not because I didn't want to hang out with so and so, but because I was too tired to make the house presentable. 

But not anymore.  From now on, I am having people over...even if my house is a mess...so you might as well know now, so you won't be surprised (or disgusted) if you come over.  Sometimes my house is not perfect...not even close.  Because, this week we lost a dear friend.  And, I keep thinking how sad it is that he'll not walk through that door anymore...not for our life group, not for dinner, not for a party, not to watch a baseball game...and it makes me sad.  And I think about all the times we haven't invited people over because the house was a little messy...a few dirty dishes, a little dust...and it makes me even more sad.  I think if Dan and Linda rang my doorbell right now, I wouldn't care one bit about the dishes, or the laundry or the fingerprints.  That's not to say that I think keeping a neat house isn't important...I will still fight that battle.  I will still tackle the laundry every day, do the dishes and wipe down the bathroom sinks every day.  I will still make the kids clean their rooms and put away their toys.  But, if life gets busy...and a few messes get away from me...I'm still inviting my friends over...so please don't mind the mess....my door is always open.