Whatnot Wednesday: Anybody Still Out There????

Seriously, I don't know if I've got any readers left out there. Seems I took a little blogging vacation. I don't even know where to begin. After declaring that I refused to accept anymore sickness in March, I came down with a cold. I saw one of my girl's from dance at the grocery store with her family and her Mom told me, "She was so worried about you. She said you couldn't breathe. She thought you were dying."  I assured her I thought I was, but I'm still kickin'! So, here's what's been going on.

* We spent the night with my Mom last weekend and helped her with a garage sale on Sat. morning. Y'all, I thought we were going to have a fight over a 25 cent broken robot. I was accepting a woman's quarter when another lady snatched it from her and informed her she had already chosen the robot and placed him with her things. Thankfully, the one lady just handed it over. It could've gotten ugly. I became sentimental over the dresser mirror that was in my room growing up. That mirror witnessed a lot of concerts performed by moi. I'm talking "I Will Always Love You", some Toni Braxton. "It's just another sad love song". Oh my, I am amazed the glass never shattered..........

* That day we also got to meet our niece, Layla! Our sister, Leah, is here from Italy with her sweet 7 month old and this was our first time meeting her! I actually was never able to get a pic of all the kids together so this is from a get together.

* Monday officially began our spring break, so this is what we were up to....

I wish I could tell you we completely scrubbed the house down and finished all of our spring cleaning in one day. But, the truth is everything we did is already undone and I've decided I'll just attempt the cleaning when everybody goes back to school.  BTW, I gave my kids the option of going outside or helping me clean and they CHOSE cleaning. Where did these kids come from?

* Speaking of that, later that night we went to the park while we waited on supper to finish in the oven (I got ridiculously excited about being able to start supper before 7:00) and Eli couldn't leave until he ran a lap around the track. I had to ask Josh where he came from. We don't run unless somebody is chasing us. I decided it must be all of the Gatorade I drank when I was pregnant with him. 

* Even later that night I was working on this Texas Sheet Cake  and I realized I didn't have any powdered sugar. I went to Mr. Cheap Butts and they didn't have any either. I googled and read that I could put sugar in a blender and it would turn into powdered sugar. Brilliant. Did I tell you this cake calls for SIX cups of powdered sugar in the frosting????? I couldn't try it, but Josh just said, "It's really sweet." Ya think?  :)

* Tuesday I got to go shopping with the other women in Josh's life, his Mama, Mammy and his sister. And of course, Layla! :)  We went to Destin and they have an outdoor mall and the weather was perfect. Josh kept my kiddos and I have to tell you, walking in the sun, browsing through stores, enjoying good company. It was what the dr. ordered! After our last few months of quarantine and yucky weather, it was SO nice! I even found a shirt for Eli at Old Navy that was on sale for $.47. That is 47 cents, y'all. Josh told me that is one of the many things he loves about me. That I'm cheap. :)  I'm not sure what the other things are. Maybe that I put 6 cups of sugar in my frosting?

* I got home that day just in time to get ready and head back for a reunion with the church family that Josh grew up with. There were so many babies!! I just love holding people's babies and then giving them back. :) Josh and I were talking about how old our kids are compared to everybody else's and I was saying we started a decade earlier than everybody else. We had to laugh because we are two of the biggest procrastinators ever. Look at the one thing we did NOT procrastinate about. :) I took the sugar coma cake and Josh had made some jambalaya and y'all, it was good but I was pretty sure I had smoke coming out of my ears!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought I was going to start breathing fire. We took a bunch of pictures and that was an adventure.

Oh my goodness, this pic cracks me up. I especially love that it looks like Kate's headband is on Josh's head. :)

* Today we met my Mom at the beach and it was so nice. I love meeting her at the beach because I can totally lay around and do nothing and know that my kids are being photographed watched at all times. :) I couldn't believe the kids got in the water. I didn't find out for myself, but I know from past experience that March ocean temps are NOT warm. I don't do cold y'all. But the kids had the best time and talked Nana into wading in the water with them.  My goal for the day was to no longer look like a cast member of Twilight. That was accomplished. I now look like one of the little piggies. I am BURNT. Feel free to lecture me now, but believe me, I'm suffering enough!!!!!!!!

* Today marks 2 years since we walked into Highland View Baptist Church and Josh preached his first sermon here. I cannot believe it has been 2 years. I feel that I should devote a whole blog post to such a big moment, but I still can't wrap my head around it. It made me think about this picture that I took on our first Sunday. I still remember taking it. I remember how new and fresh everything felt, from our house to the church to the fresh start in our lives. My babies have really grown up in 2 years.....

So have me and Josh!!!

That's what's been goin' on around here. What's new in your world?

Adventures in Baby-Sitting

Well, I'm pretty much a blogger drop-out these days. I just felt the need to share my baby-sitting journal from when I was 11. I came across it this last week and got a great laugh out of it.

                               Such a foreshadowing of motherhood for me!!!!  (Well, except I got paid more then. :)

The Making of a Mama

Several nights ago we cozied up together as a family for a movie night. For our kids, watching a family movie together equals greatness. The problem we always have is that we usually spend a good 2 hours arguing over what we will watch. With 5 people you can bank on at least 3 of those people having differing opinions. Can you guess which 3?  :) Well, I happened to notice that Mary Poppins was on one of our movie channels and soon found out that NO ONE in my house, other than me, had ever seen it. Can you believe that??? I couldn't fathom that Josh has gone 30 years without chim chim cheree and that my children did not know supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Of course, I had to fix that immediately. I pulled the Mama card and overuled every other movie suggestion. My heart was full as Mary Poppins floated in with that umbrella and I could hardly keep from getting up to dance during certain parts. If I could be any movie character, I would be Mary Poppins. Because every day is a jolly holiday with Mary, right? :) But, as I watched her give the children their medicine and sing "Just a Spoon Full of Sugar" something dawned on me. Something I had never pondered. Maybe, perhaps, I have exceptionally high expectations for mothering. And maybe it is Mary Poppins fault.

I know, it's not really fair to blame her, but seriously, did you see how that nursery got cleaned up? The truth is that we talk all the time about how movies and books affect us in terms of creating unrealistic expectations for romantic relationships, but I don't think I had ever considered it when it comes to motherhood. The fact that unlike screen mothers, we don't have the opportunity to have take after take while we perfect our skills. We typically get one shot at situations leaving us with a single chance to scar our children for life or create a magical moment. Or, more realistically, to just live life and pray God teaches us all through it. We don't have writers scripting our words, hair and make-up to cover up the bags under our eyes or wardrobe people waiting with fresh clothes when ours end up covered in snot and a host of other fluids you'd rather not discuss.

I've had some rough moments in mothering lately. We've had our share of sickness over the last few months and while I am SO thankful none of it has been serious, it has still been trying. It's exhausting. It requires extra patience and attention and the ability to accept slobbery kisses from a 4 year old with a cold and pinkeye without worrying that your family will be the next TV movie called "Contagion: Part 2". Last night Kate started screaming that her ear hurt and she screamed non-stop for 2 hours. I held her, but I couldn't make her better. She's been on two medicines and has fought us every step of the way. That child is strong. I don't recommend birthing children who triple your strength by their 4th birthday. :)  Sometimes I've been able to convince her to take it and other times it has taken Josh and I both holding her down. I go between wanting to cry and wanting to scream and have done both. I even tried singing "A Spoon Full of Sugar" but she was not impressed. Today she has decided to be a big girl and take her medicine. I know I went through this with Sarah and Eli, but it's crazy how quick you forget. It's a fresh victory in mothering the 3rd time over. 

This morning as I worked on laundry load 412 since last Friday, I felt down. As I cleaned the bathroom and wiped the kitchen counters for the 95th time I felt discouraged. Sometimes it just feels so.......neverending? Pointless? I thought about my last few weeks and all the things I haven't kept up with or haven't accomplished. I found myself thinking, 'All I've done is hold babies. All I've done is laundry. All I've done is give medicine. All I've done is get on to kids. All I've done is fix snacks. All I've done is'.....well you get the picture.

And then it hit me. All I've done is be a Mama. It hasn't been perfect and I won't win any awards. It may not mean a thing in the world to most people. But, it matters to three little people who mean the world to me. I kept thinking how I have obviously prayed for patience too much in my life. I wanted to be mad and frustrated. But I kept thinking of Galatians 5:22 and how patience is a fruit of the Spirit. I remember one time being told that  that means we receive that fruit when we become believers. Meaning, I've already been gifted patience, I just have to grow it. Mine's gonna be big, y'all. :) 

I wish that the making of a Mama included well coiffed hair, carpet bags full of fun things and magic songs that  cleaned rooms and made taking medicine fun. For me, the making of this Mama has come from trying circumstances and desperate prayers that come from that place you reach when there isn't an ounce of pride left to get in the way. Mama muscles are in your heart and  begin to grow when a baby is placed in your arms for the first time and continue to strengthen with every growth spurt, life lesson, and even letting go. It's the making of a Mama. And sometimes it's a little easier taken with a spoon full of sugar, or my favorite, cheek sugars, so take 'em while you can get 'em, even if they are germy. :)

Friday Free For All

I'm getting ready for a movie date (on the couch) with my hubby, but he's running to get some refreshments from Mr. Cheap Butts, so I thought I would check in real quick lest you had decided that I had run away with the circus or moved to a leper colony. Both have crossed my mind, but I'm still here. :)

* We are still fighting off winter illnesses. I hope they are winter illnesses. I hope March equals NO MORE SICKNESS ever. I know, I have big dreams. I woke up last Monday with another stomach bug. Actually it was exactly like the one I had before so I've decided that apparently my immune system went on vacation without leaving notice. I was sicker with those two viruses than I was through 3 pregnancies if that tells you anything. And before you can even ask, NO, I am not! :) Today, Kate has pinkeye. Getting eye drops into a 4 year old's eyes (as of tonight it spread into the other eye as well....) is an Olympic sport of challenging proportions. I imagined a panel of judges watching Josh and I hold her down, coaxing and begging and pleading, and holding up signs with 2's and 3's. Maybe a 4 out of sympathy. 

* So a new man has come into my life. He's British. Let me tell y'all about this. Last week fliers went home with the kids about try-outs for the spring theater production I'm directing. Last time my phone number was not given out, only the organizations that I work with and it led to a lot of miscommunication. This time I said they could put my number on the flier and I figured nobody would really pay attention except the kids I had last time anyway.  Well, the very first day the flier went home, before my kids were even home from school, I got a call from a British guy telling me he was a professional actor who just moved to our area and wanted to meet other "thespians". I put that in quotes because I let Josh listen to the message he left and he started cracking up laughing and I knew that was the part he laughing at. Besides the fact that we don't typically use that term, I don't even pretend that I qualify as a "thespian". More like "the only person they could find in town who doesn't have a real job and could work weird hours with the children's theater." That's what it says in my job description. Okay, not really. Anyway, I decide, because I watch way too much Dateline ID that he is a serial killer who wants to murder me. In a public place. He mentioned meeting me in a public place. So, we have our first try-outs on Wednesday and he came! He turned out to actually be an incredibly nice guy who recently lost his wife and just wants to be a part of theater here. He also has the coolest accent and I could sit and listen to him all day. He tells the kids things like, "That audition was cracking." And it sounds so cool. It does not sound cool if I say it. Anyway, we had 30 kids (double the number from last time) try-out so I am thankful for the extra help. He will be able to teach the kids a lot.

* Tonight I washed my hair with baking soda and rinsed it with apple cider vinegar. I've been doing lots of reading about natural products as I have a lot of chemical sensitivities and I am really hoping I love this baking soda and apple cider vinegar thing. Because I will totally put the $20 I usually spend on shampoo/conditioner on new shoes. :)

Okay, this is the worst, most boring post ever. But my man is back with my trail mix and ready for a movie. I hope you all have a great weekend. Feel free to tell me what you are up to so there will be something interesting on this post.  :)

Knock, Knock

The thing about teaching Bible stories to kids is, you just don't ever know what your gonna get. Sometimes it's magical. Sometimes it's chaos. Sometimes it's hilarious. Usually it's all of the above. Case in point: my class tonight. I teach kindergarten through 2nd grade and lately Kate (who is 4) has joined our class as she thinks she is too grown up for the nursery.

Tonight, we talked about God choosing a boy, Abraham. We talked about the plans God had for him and how it included leaving his home and his family. During the telling of this story I may have said, "Bottoms in your chairs" and "keep your chairs on the floor" 47 times. I also may have used bribery. Kate may have also found it relevant to share with us that she knows what a "tormado" drill is for. It may have been slightly more chaotic than spiritual. Then, we talked about God being with us wherever we go and that led to a discussion about having Jesus in our hearts. I wanted to make it clear that not everyone has Jesus in their hearts, that we have to ask Jesus to come into our hearts. One of the boys asked, "I have a door in my heart?" As you can imagine, this can be a tricky thing to explain to children. I jumped on the door idea and told them about the verse in Revelation 3:20a, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in". 

That led to Eli saying, "Knock, knock!" Of course we all answered, "Who's there?"

 He said, "Jesus."

"Jesus who?"

"Jesus who lives in your heart!"

Great, beautiful moment. That led to- "Knock, knock."  

Class-"Who's there?"

"Apple."

Class-"Apple who?"

Mrs. Emily- "Okay, we've got to get back to our lesson."   Thinking-'Was any of the last 15 minutes part of the lesson????'

I went on to ask the kids what we had to get out of our hearts to make room for Jesus to move in. 

"Sin!" answered the preacher's son. :)

So we talked about how we all have done bad things. Eli felt the need to talk about when other people do bad things.  "One time this boy flipped us the bird. And Kate asked, 'Where did he get a bird from?"

And Kate rolled her eyes, flipped her hair and said, "I just didn't know where the heck that bird came from!"

And I decided we should pray and go eat.

Chaos-check

Magical-check

Hilarious-check

Anyone who thinks Bible study is boring obviously doesn't do it with kids!!!!!

  

Sweet as Sugar

I've gone four weeks without sugar, y'all. I won't lie, I've had some temptation. We've had 2 church dinners with a table full of the best looking desserts you've ever seen. Last weekend Josh and I spent a night and a day teaching a youth group in a cabin that boasted a bonfire outside and a kitchen  counter full of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers just begging me to make them a smore. But I didn't. And today, it's Valentine's Day. The national day of chocolate. It's all over my house. I'm staying strong. It helps that I have another kind of sweetness hanging around here.....

            (Daisy is hanging around because Kate had just popped a heart brownie in her mouth.)

Kate just told me, "Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you."  And YOU my sweet babies!!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is full of sweetness!

Who You Lookin' At?

The lights in dressing rooms are cruel, aren't they? You would think that stores would figure out ways to make you look better so you would feel more obligated to buy something other than an exercise DVD. I was a little (or a lot) disappointed this week as I tried on some clothes. Thanks to the stomach bug and a diet that makes me look forward to raisins as a sweet treat, I am now a number on the scale and a size in clothes I never dared dream I would see again. You would think I would be excited. I thought I would be too. But I wasn't. I don't look like I did the last time I was this number. I'm saggy. And cellulitey. Is that a word? I tried to make myself look at the overall picture instead of focusing on my problem area(s) and that helped some. I looked okay. But I didn't look like.....who was I trying to look like anyway? It was in that moment that I realized I wasn't as upset with how I looked as I was with who I don't look like. As in, I don't look like a supermodel. Newsflash, right?

The truth is, I have slowly come to accept that my body has birthed 3 children and as my sister would say, I fully abused the privilege of pregnancy. :)  I pushed calorie counts to places they should never go and gave the phrase  "sedentary lifestyle" new meaning.  I have the scars and stretch marks to prove it. It's not pretty. But they are very visual reminders of the struggle that took place as my body made room for new life. I recently came across the website "The Shape of A Mother" (Disclaimer: There are pictures of a graphic nature and I do not agree with or condone all thoughts and feelings shared on the website) and I have read stories of so many women struggling to come to grips with their new post-baby bodies. And despite the fact that there are pictures and proof that some women do seem to bounce back perfectly, the fact is that after having babies you are forever changed. If not physically, in every other way. But the statement I read over and over was, I would never trade my baby to have that body back.  Now, we might all like a tummy tuck, but not if it meant giving our babies back. :)

This post actually has nothing to do with babies or stretch marks. It has to do with the new life I mentioned. Not the lives our Mamas sacrificed their bodies to give us, but the new life our Savior sacrificed His for. You see, my discouraged moment in the dressing room wasn't the only discouraging moment for me this week. Or the last few weeks. I've had several. In fact, I've felt downright defeated. For as long as I can remember the enemy has enjoyed playing a game with me I like to call, "How many ways can I fail?" During this game I begin to think on everything in my life that I wish I hadn't done, or felt like was a failure, or current things in life that I feel like I stink at. Just like in the dressing room when I began comparing my body to that of a supermodel, I like to take all aspects of my life and slap them up next to someone or something that is way better than me. I feel like a loser. It's tons of fun. 

Well, just this very week I was drifting off into loserville and I was getting ready for a good cry and a walk down my hall of shame when something happened. My Savior stepped in. I promise it was like being bullied and having the strongest kid in the class step up for you. As I began to tick off the list in my head of things I've done wrong or ways that I've failed I began to have thoughts about other things I've accomplished or overcome. And I was instantly reminded that all of those things had one thing in common-Him. I am so far from perfect it's not even funny, but as I thought back on my life I was completely overwhelmed at where I've been and where I've come. And I can say that without an ounce of arrogance because I know Who has brought me here. It has not been without battles or the scars that come with them. Sometimes those scars seem as real and visible as the ones that cover my tummy. I can honestly say that in the same way I wouldn't trade my babies to be rid of my stretch marks, I wouldn't trade the lessons I've learned to be free of the other scars either.  But the truth is that He bore those scars for me long before I even entered the battle. He hasn't stopped fighting for me yet. 

Do you ever feel defeated? If you are a child of God, we've already been promised the victory. I've learned that success and failure are both very influenced by who we're looking at. I recently came across this verse and I felt like it summed it up perfectly. "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You."  Isaiah 26:3.

When our minds (and eyes) are focused on Him, we will find peace no matter what the situation. When we are steadfast. When we do not take our eyes off for even a second to focus on how we measure up with other people, to dwell on what could have been, or what might be. We can trust that He will keep fighting for us, and while we will never be the same, the new life He creates will be worth whatever struggle brings it.