Communion conversation

Pastor did communion with the kids in service today. I leaned over and made sure the boy realized that he wasn't going to partake. He did remarkably well. It has been a while since we did communion with him present.

After the crackers were passed out, I leaned over to remind him of the signifigance. He asked when they were passing out the cheese....

What you don't know, can't hurt you?

Nini just finished dinner and asked for pudding. No problem.

As she is eating she exclaims, "I am spoiled!"

And I say, "What makes you say that?"

"I get pudding, ice cream, sweet stuff at Grandma's....

and of course, all the stuff you don't know about?"

Hmm.....

Who out there is sneaking her treats?

The gift...

Picture if you will....

I am driving after picking Hubby up for lunch with Gigi and the boy. (That's another post - never take a 3 month old and a 4 yr old to any restaurant without a clown as a mascot and expect to get to actually eat...)

Anyway, Hubby gets excited and tells me, "I bought you a gift last night!"

My secondary love language is gifts, so I too get excited! I picture shiny things wrapped in small packages....I wonder "When did he have time to hit the mall?"

He exclaims, "I purchased you your own domain name!!!" "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah" I reply (with moderate enthusiasm). (Now you know why I call him the computer geek - but he is MY computer geek!!!)

Thanks, sweetie!

Milestones

Gigi rolled over and back....
Now she rolls over in bed and gets mad and can't go to sleep.

The boy has made a new set of friends at preschool, a new identity outside my sphere of influence. The apron strings have been loosened....

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr

I have always seen the first part of this prayer, but never the rest. When I feel like I am flying from one day/event/commitment to the next I often wonder if I am surrendering to His will. I sometimes feel like I am not slowing down enough or seeking Him enough to find His will.

All sound the same

All my posts are starting to sound the same....

Tired, over-committed, discouraged (pity party here) me.

I guess I forget to mention the good things. The grins, smiles, giggles, jokes and everything good in my life.

All a matter of perspective. Bible study Tuesday reminded me that anything worth anything is hard to some degree. Easy isn't worthwhile. Why would I want that?

Do I seek Him diligently and with my whole heart in EVERY circumstance (not just the BIG stuff)?

In Remembrance

A couple that I know was separated yesterday. He was "promoted" to Heaven. Noone expected it. They had been married over 50 years. It makes me want to cherish every moment with my hubby. They truly loved each other and served the church and Christ. I know that God is comforting her and using the church as a vessel to do that.

He was a man of character, a man who was always ready with a smile and a hug, and somewhat like a grandpa to myself and my kids.

I thank God for his life and how it touched our family. I praise God for his "promotion". I pray that I make a difference in others lives the way he did.

Things I love to hear....

I love you mommy!
Mommy, read to us!
Mommy, can you play a game with us?
I want to be a mommy just like you someday and have 10 kids! (Good luck with that, honey!!)

Things I never hear...

Thank you mommy for washing my laundry so I have clean clothes to wear to school.
Thank you for checking my homework and making sure I do it right so that I learn something.
Thank you for not letting me rot my brain with too much tv and video games.
I LOVE your cooking!
Wow! The house looks great! (I couldn't even say this one without laughing!!)

Things I hear WAY too frequently

"SOMEBODY'S poopy!"

"Oopsies!" usually followed by something like "Does silly putty come out of furniture?" or "Can I have another glass of red kool-aid?"

"He/She looked at me!! (whine added for emphasis)"

"So and so has one!!"

"Can we (insert your favorite)...
Watch tv/movie/cartoons?"
Play on the computer?"
Play a video game?"

"I can't concentrate ...can you make everyone be quiet?" (No easy task with 4 kids)

"Can I hold the baby?"

"Can I have a snack?" (meaning fruit snacks - which, face it, are not a snack....)

"Where's my (once again, insert your favorite)
shoes?"
gym shorts?"
soccer cleats, shinguards, socks, jersey?" (Just one or any combination of these....)
hairbrush?"
backpack/lunchbox/homework?"

"Eew! I'm not hungry!" (With dinner staring them in the face....and five minutes ago they were clamoring for a snack).

If I didn't have enough...

Well, I did it! I volunteered myself for two more things this week on top of my crazy life. I almost added a third today as well. I actually stopped myself today. One of the things I did committ to is a one time event and the other is a very short term project.

I am not sorry that I did it. Just a little nervous about doing justice to the situations. I want to do it to make things better for others in addition to myself.

Can you guess what my love language is? Yep...Acts of Service. And I assume everyone else is ministered to in the same way. (Not saying there isn't some selfishness involved, too. I also benefit from one of the projects...)

I was going to to a garage sale this Saturday, but a few things are getting in the way -

1) I sliced my foot open on a lego tonight and I am limping around pretty good. Kind of hard to organize a garage sale like that.
2) They are resurfacing our street tomorrow. Normally that wouldn't stop me. They did a couple of nearby streets today and I could smell it all thru the house and had a headache from the fumes. What will it be like tomorrow?
3) Weathermen have thrown rain possibilities into the forecast for Saturday.
4) Sleep. I am craving some and don't think I can give it up to stay up until 1 am Saturday trying to get organized.

Bless my sweet husband. He has by default been roped into one of these projects, and has not whined or groaned once (at least not in front of me). I guess he is remembering the phrase, "If Mama isn't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Thanks sweetie! I owe you one (more).

Crest is rolling in the dough...

from my children. Am I the only one who finds half a tube of toothpaste regularly on the bathroom vanity, floor, wall, door, and of course - carpet in the hallway?

P.S. - & Kudos

Hubby returned from store with flavored gourmet coffee and chocolate with caramel....

Does he know me? You bet. Love ya, hon...

My day

6:45 - Wake up, brush teeth & feed baby.
7:00 - Wake up rest of kids (actually just one who really whined. Other two are already up asking for breakfast.
7:10 - Iron school clothes (Should have done it last night, I know).
7:20 - Make lunches
7:35 - Throw roast in crock pot for dinner. Peel potatoes to throw in with baby carrots.
7:45 - Ask Nini about her missing lunch box.
7:47 - Ask Nini about missing lunch box, a little LOUDER.
7:50 - Ask about homework sign off sheets and gym clothes (once again should have been done last night.
7:55 - Throw on clothes, brush hair, look for keys, cell phone, checkbook, etc.
7:57 - Yell at husband for taking my cell phone, oops - not mine after all!
8:00 - Load up baby & kids in van & leave for school.
8:13 - Arrive at school. Wait for fundraising orders from parents.
8:30 - Have heart-to-heart with pastor. Cry.
8:45 - Wait for orders.....
9:15 - Take inventory...
9:35 - Go to bank...
10:00 - Arrive home and make phone call. Feed baby.
BREATHE!!!
11:30 - Eat breakfast.
12:15 - Pick up The Boy from preschool.
12:30 - Make Lunch for the boy and dinner for family at church.
1:30 - Feed Baby.
2:10 - Leave to deliver dinner.
2:20 - Get lost. Call husband for directions. Interrupt meeting. Hang up. Still lost. Break down and call family for directions (twice) and look stupid.
2:45 - Leave family's home.
3:10 - Eat lunch in car.
3:20 - Pick up girls from school.
3:45 - Arrive home. Supervise homework.
4:00 - Make phone call to clear up possible misunderstanding with a friend.
4:30 - Finish supervising homework.
5:00 - Get Sha Sha ready for soccer.
5:30 - Feed Baby.
6:00 - Feed the boy and NiNi.
6:15 - Eat dinner.
6:30 - Save Gigi from shaken baby syndrome by NiNi and the boy.
7:00 - Bathe the Boy.
7:15 - Put NiNi in shower. Play Memory with the boy. Lose at Memory (Legitimately, too! I could barely stay awake.)
7:45 - Read chapter book with kids while feeding baby.
8:30 - Kids to bed.
8:35 - Catch up on day with hubby.
8:50 - Put baby to bed. Send hubby to store.
9:00 - Type letter to school parents.
9:30 - Vent on Blog.....
9:50 - Give up and eat chocolate with a Dr. Pepper chaser....while reading my devotional.
10:00 - Fall asleep wishing to sleep for 10 hours..... (knowing it all starts over tomorrow....)


Add in a dozen diaper changes, and an emergency bathroom run for the boy in the van, pumping gas, and another phone call to encourage another friend and I'd say it was a little busy.....

Delayed Gratification

I have thought a lot about this topic this week thanks to a sermon. I'm not sure that was the whole point, but that part stuck out.

How did it affect me this week?

I didn't go out to lunch when I wanted to, and we ate at home most of the week, even when I was fighting the cold and felt lousy, I didn't call Pizza Hut! Yea for me!

I didn't go out and buy new clothes on credit, since mine are falling off of me! Once again, yea for me for losing the weight! (Although I am going to have to find $ to buy something soon, seriously, you don't want to see me walking around with my pants around my ankles....)

I resisted the after soccer ice cream cones...

I went garage saling, and didn't buy anything! (Actually, I did buy a wagon...)

Anyway, it has made me think about things more this week, and I think that's a good thing...

I didn't let it get in the way of a Starbuck's run, though.....

Devotional....

Earlier this week I was doing a devotional and read a line that made me chuckle and has stuck with me...I probably won't quote it correctly, but it was something along the lines of ...

"Cleaning house with young children is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing."

That is so true...

I keep venting about that same thing. I know it sounds elementary but one thing that I thought to myself was that if you don't shovel the snow during a bad snowstorm, you can become snowbound very easily. The job is easier when done in increments. I think that applies to the whole housecleaning thing too. A little laundry is easier to tackle than a mountain....

Slacker....

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a week....

But, I have dealt with a cold rippling thru the house.
I have had soccer start for 2 of the three munchkins.
I did accomplish making dinner most nights this week.
I did do a LOT of laundry....

and I am getting really good at making excuses...

Truth is, I had been contemplating about the idea of whether or not the blog is useful or if it just another means for me to complain and supplement the escalation of a bad attitude. While I do realize that it has, on occasion, been something of a tool for the escalation, I also know that it has been somewhat therapuetic.

So, I do think I'll continue. Maybe not on a daily basis, but, who knows?