Turkeys

True to her character, Shelly made a love note for Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

Last night we had a spur of the moment craft inspiration and made little turkeys for our families.

Archer was a bit embarrassed that his turkey lost its beak right before our photo shoot, but the beak was restored afterwards.

 

E had a little help from Mom with his, he was so proud of his finished bird!

 

And last but not least...

Thanksgiving just would not be the same without the Pilgrim Bonnet from kindergarten!

 

 

I am so thankful for God's grace in our lives, for blessings beyond measure, too many to count or name. I'm thankful for these three beautiful children He's given to our family, and to our families that constantly support David and I in our mission to raise up these kids to be responsible, caring people that love the Lord. I'm so infinitely grateful for a husband who loves us so very much.

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I'm Glad I've Learned to Laugh

When it comes to days like this, its sure good to laugh and not get too stressed out about it. Because if I took this life too seriously, I just might be completely crazy by now...

I wrote this email to Denise yesterday morning, hoping to give her a little laughter too, here it is!

The kids have to leave the house at 8:45 to catch the bus to school. Today I woke up at 9:00. (This is right up there on my list of "Top BAD MOM Moments.") I went out to the living room and told them to get dressed. When they stopped to chat with me and take their time getting to their rooms to change, I told them they should probably focus on getting dressed because school had already started. I've never seen two kids get dressed, get their shoes and coats on and get out the door as fast as they did! Of course, the entire 4 minutes that it took them to get dressed, Archer was wailing because he hates being late. BUT, here's the funny part.

Elijah was walking funny and I realized he HAD to have a diaper change RIGHT NOW. Usually takes less than a minute but this one was BAD. He laid down on the floor in the bathroom and when I grabbed the ends of his pants legs to pull off his pants, I also grabbed a handful of POOP! Gross! It was a thick layer all the way from his diaper DOWN HIS LEG!! This was too much of a mess for floppy little wipes, I had to put him in the tub and clean him up. All the while Archer is wailing. My hand is covered in poop. And at some point Shelly starts wailing too because "I DIDN'T EAT BREAKFAST!!" Got the boy cleaned up and just barely dressed. Grabbed a package of Ritz crackers, jumped in the car and then had a moment with the kids.

"Listen, I know you're upset. But I can't let you go to school when you're hysterical. You have 2 minutes to calm down." Sped out of the driveway, raced to school, and dropped them off. Somehow, I think they were only 10 minutes late, after all of that. And I saw some moms talking outside and really wanted to catch up with them, but did I mention, my hair was sticking up all over the place? And I was still wearing my pajamas, the ones with the light blue cloud print... And E had no socks or shoes, not to mention neither of us had coats. Well, that was our morning!

Guess Who

Just Turned Two??

This little guy has certainly changed our family and brought us many many smiles and laughs through the last two years.

Have I ever mentioned that I truly believe he is the SMARTEST two year old on the PLANET?? Today he said "paper." Seriously, isn't he so smart? I love how he shouts "BUS!!!" every time a bus passes through our neighborhood, except he doesn't put an "s" on the end of the word, he puts a "t." He says "BUT" and Archer and Shelly really get a kick out of it. He can say plane, more, eat and most importantly MINE! He recites the Declaration of Independence (just kidding) and follows around the older kids. Ocasionally (a LOT) he bosses them around, steals their toys, throws things at their faces and screams for no aparant reason. But he's so cute that none of us can ever get annoyed for even a second (well... maybe just one second).

This morning I caught Archer teaching E his colors. "This is orange. Which one is the orange one? Good job!" Tonight Archer was being a bad influence and making noises with his hand in his armpit. This morning Shelly told E to be nice, in her best grown-up mom voice. And tonight she wrapped his birthday presents and made him a birthday card. She also helped him unwrap his presents, whether or not he wanted the help.

Those two kids have learned so much and grown so much by learning to get along with the littlest member of our family. These two parents have learned so much too. I have to admit, I thought two kids had gotten us well on our way of learning how to be parents. But the third one brings challenges and blessings and love all his own. And we're so very thankful for God's blessing on our family, and for Elijah Graham's place in our family.

Oh Blessings!

Tonight I experienced something truly amazing, and I was so blessed to experience it with family and friends by my side.

Tonight we went to the airport and waited for endless hours until finally, after fidgeting and telling the kids the rules and snack runs and restroom runs and trying to count heads to make sure everyone was still all there...

Finally...

The flags rounded the corner. The crowd rose to their feet. Cheers rose. Chanting, "U.S.A.!" filled the air.

The color guard neared and applause filled our ears. Mobs of people, so divided everywhere else in our lives, so different, strangers, we all lined the way with our flags and signs.

The flags passed and the first Hero appeared. And then another. Another. They kept coming.

For over an hour, we stood, we cheered, we shouted "Thank you!" and "God Bless You!" over and over. We reached out our hands to shake the hands of the men and women who fought for our freedom.

 

 

Each time one of these veterans came close enough to us we reached out. They saw the kids lining the path and slowed down to grasp each little hand. Occasionally they took mine. I looked into their eyes, I was so filled with thanks for their service, for what they had done for us, their country. They left their own families. They risked death. They saw friends dying around them. They pushed on. They came home, and now today I held these people's hands, and looked into their eyes, and cried as I thanked them.

After the veterans passed, we had the honor of also welcoming those currently serving. And when the parade slowed down and these men and women stood in front of me, I thanked them again, I told them how proud we are, how much we appreciate what they're doing, and I wondered what's ahead for them.

I don't know what's ahead for them, perhaps they'll travel to some unknown place and spend day after day in harm's way. Perhaps they'll end up sitting behind a desk somewhere. Maybe they'll love their assignment or maybe hate every day of it. But this I do know. Each of these people signed up for an adventure that I was never willing to consider. Each one of them was willing to put their own plans aside and serve our nation. And for that they deserve our thanks. I thank the Lord for them, those service men and women. And I prayed over and over tonight that each of those that passed us would know how much we appreciate what they're doing for us, and that they would find confidence in Jesus tonight to take them forward, wherever their paths may lead. What a great nation this is that we call home, and what great people we can thank for the privilege of living here.

Unexpected

Today I found something unexpected in the middle of October, a new little flower was blooming in our garden. Slowed down, glanced down, a bit of color...

Today when the kids got home from school we packed up snacks and a water bottle and I sent them back out the door.  They didn't expect me to tell them... Go play, go ride your bikes around the neighborhood and don't come back until the streetlights come on. Then we'll have movie night. It was refreshing change from the rest of this week. Full of homework and orders to do chores, go take a shower read a book go to bed. Tonight finally the weekend.

Strings

Have you heard of this? Tying strings of fellowship?

 

Last night Shelly and I were talking before bedtime and she started telling me about how she had missed me the night before. She had gone to Grandma Sue's for a sleepover with her cousins, they had a girls' night together and had lots of fun. But she missed us. She's always done this, found some sadness in the fun because she misses someone who wasn't able to be there with her. I love that she wants to be with us and misses us, but I don't want it overshadowing her fun, and so we talked about it.

Shelly, did you know that there's an invisible string that goes from your heart to my heart? I told her that when she goes away, the string starts to strech, but its strong. When she goes away for awhile, or a far distance, that string streches, but its strong, and we're still connected. She really liked this analogy, and we started pulling on the strings on the sweatshirt I was wearing. I leaned back, she held on and we watched those strings streeeecccchhhhh, but she held on tight.

We talked about how the string streches, but that's ok, because we always come back together again. And then I asked her, don't you want those strings between you and Grandma to get stronger? And what about your cousins? When you spend time together, you make those strings stronger... She was smiling thinking about all the strings between her and everyone she loves, she started listing people and I can imagine she was thinking about all that string between her and everyone else. Can't you picture the big web of strings between each of us, from me to my husband and kids, from them to each other and to me, from each of us to all of those in our lives that we love?

At some point, Archer came into the room and sat with us while we described all of those strings, and the analogy started to shift a little. We talked about things getting tangled up and messy between each other. What do you do when things get tangled? Knotted? Its an analogy that works so well. One that I need to remember more often. Take the time to tie new strings between myself and those I love. Spend time together doing fun things, talking, building that relationship. Take the time to untangle them when things get complicated. And protect them, don't ever, ever let anything come to cut the strings that connect us to each other.

Confidence

I've been thinking about this lately, self confidence. Of course I want my kids to be confident, be willing to go out into the world and talk to new friends, try new things, work hard and do their best. And be confident that they'll be ok, no matter how well (or not well) they do. But the whole thing is too tied up in something. Self.

Do you think our culture, our entire world, is too tied up in SELF? Perhaps? Probably. Definitely. Self. Take care of yourSELF. Look out for yourSELF. And of course, be confident in YOURSELF.

What about God? What about confidence in Christ, the one who saved us from ourselves?

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
~Philippians 4:12-13

I let myself down way too often to have much confidence in my very own self and my ability to do anything. Christ is really the one I should be relying upon. Through Him, I can do all things. Through Him, my children should be learning to do all things. And in Him, they should be living each and every day. When they're challenged, I want them to say, "The Lord brought me to this situation, He will bring me through it." Or "I got myself into this mess, but the Lord will lead me out." I know from my own experience that I get myself into too many messes that I can't necessarily solve on my own. And so I lean on Jesus. And I want them to know that too. Confidence in Him. Not in themselves.

 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
~Joshua 1:9

The Love Notes Continue...

These affirmations from one to the other, I hope they continue for a long long time.

 

Archer slipped this napkin into Shelly's lunch box this morning.

Their friendship is blossoming before my eyes. I love how they laugh together, make up games with each other and constantly stick together as they ride their bikes around the neighborhood or roam around the yard looking for their next adventure. Its truly a beautiful thing to see growing, right before my eyes.

Picture Perfect

I used to have this vague picture in my mind of what my home would look like when I grew up. Clean floors, for one. Walls without scrapes and dents and broken corners. Those things weren't in my picture. My picture looked something like the inside of a magazine.

White everything? Not in MY house, not now with kiddies around!

It's taken me awhile, but I've come around. I've grown up. Opened my eyes a little more to the pictures around me, in real life. Not in a magazine.

Before kids, we NEVER had anything on our fridge. Pictures belong in frames. Mail put away somewhere. Nothing stuck to the fridge with magnets.

Before kids, we didn't have gouges in our walls.

We didn't have love notes everywhere we turned.

We didn't have new drawings of hearts and stick people families every single day.

And now, we're daily presented with little love notes from our kids to us. I find them from one kid to another. Stuffed in corners of the furniture, stuck to any wall that will accept masking tape, attached to any surface within reach. Drawings big and small placed in front of me on my desk as I try to get a little more office work accomplished but am derailed by red-crayon-drawings of balloons and hearts.

My idea of a picture-perfect home has changed a bit. The fine art on the walls is no longer something I'd find in a store or a magazine. Its already here, in every room of our home, carefully and lovingly created. And without ever planning the design, our home has ended up picture perfect after all.

So Predictable, Soooo Good

Just now, a second ago, I had a moment where I was soooo glad that we are where we are right now, right in this moment. Predictable. Schedule. I know what to expect and what's coming next. I know some people would say that maybe this isn't a great place, maybe I need to stretch out and let things be unpredictable, get involved with something that requires more faith. But here it is - I need this right now, right this second. And today, God gave it to me, to us. Shelly had gymnastics this morning (right on schedule), Grandma Sue called us to discuss making salsa and we invited her over for dinner. It was unexpected, but not a big thing, not a bad surprise. It was nice to have her over. And tonight, after the kids went to bed within an hour of the "scheduled bed time," it felt perfect and I felt at peace. Tomorrow I'll argue with them over whether they REALLY have to take showers. The day after that we'll start the week again and we'll have all the predictable daily life trials of getting to school on time, doing homework, and everything else. But tonight, predictable, scheduled, expected, feels so good. SOOOO good. I can expect the kids to sleep through the night, I can expect them to feed themselves breakfast in the morning (or help each other get something to eat), and there's just a little less pressure to always be on-call, go go going. I'm so relieved to be where we are right now. And yes, some people would say that I'm leaning too much on my own schedule and not enough on faith, but I know the truth, and that's this - our little schedule is one of the tools God has given me to get through those other things, like the homework battles and the never ending work and all the other stresses that come our way each day. I lean on our schedule, on our predictability, and faithfully count on God to use that schedule, that predictability, to keep us moving forward. Thank you Lord, for redeeming the time, for showing us how to spend our time and giving us time to rest when we need it most.