project 52:8 - dining with dignitaries

I have had the privilege of lunch dates with many princesses, trained Jedi, Superman & Batman (though not at the same time), an American Indian, & a rather infamous cowgirl that can tame any wild animal if given the chance.

Kinda makes a "power lunch" sound a little dull, huh?

And, so that you don't misjudge me...just because I get this chance to dine with various dignitaries we are by no means dignified.

Time for a Bath

This picture represents a lot of love times three...three of our kids have blankies.  And I always swore that I would pick their lovey item and that it would not be a blanket dragging in the dirt behind them.  But, that shows you what I know...the kids have to have their blankie for sleep, for comfort, for warmth.

Jack's blankie never envisioned it's life turning out this way...I think it had early retirement in mind always as it gave up & became tattered & torn early on.  It is, in fact, in a mid-life crisis, finding itself looking nothing like it used to but still holding on to it's glory days.  Lily & Ava's are in it for the long haul though, still looking almost as good as the first time I wrapped their tiny bodies in them.

Along with all that "love" comes a whole lot of smell, and the traumatic day comes along (involving prying out of hands & tears) every so often (I should say not often enough) that the blankies need a bath.

First it's a kiss and hug good-bye.  I'm not kidding.

Then watch and wait...and wait and watch...and bug me about "how much longer???"

Notice in this picture that Ava can't possibly see her blankie but knows she's supposed to be there looking like that because her siblings are!


Then a mid-cycle hug and kiss before throwing them in the dryer.

My favorite part is when they come running to smell that fresh-out-of-the-dryer smell on the blankies.  Jack used to tell me it "smelled warm".

Project 52:7-maturing

When we were DINKs (dual-income, no kids) time seemed unimportant, unnoticed.  We would go to work, enjoy the weekends, eventually a birthday would come along & you realized another year had passed.  Then, we have kids and suddenly you have a constant reminder of how fast time really passes-they grow, they change, they achieve when only yesterday they couldn't.  

Last week was another reminder of how Macy has matured...with her class Valentine's Day party preparations.  For the first year ever, she made her box-all by herself & at school.  No asking for help or for supplies...and it was a COOL box too.  Somehow she made a real mailbox that would stand up on its own.  She also addressed all her cards by herself, made her own list, never asked for help, just took off with them & completed them at night in her bed before going to sleep.  Then she took them to school, handed them out, & didn't forget anyone.  

We've only got 10 years left of her at home...barely more time left than what we've had her.  The thought of one of my birds leaving the nest...I don't want to go there today.

It Counts

A common topic of discussion with moms of little ones is where do I fit in quiet time with the Lord, or Bible time, or even prayer time.  I am most curious about this because I am NOT a morning person & have decided after 35 years of not being one (well, my mom might disagree-apparently I'm paying for my early morning toddler years), it's never going to happen.  So, when do I get my time with the Lord?

I mean, I say bedtime prayers with the kids & every morning in the car on our way to school I help the kids pray.  They take turns picking the prayer & then we have our prayer intentions.  It's actually a great time for the kids to pray because they can't get squirmy or distracted by toys.

So, back to my dilemma...I thought I would try AGAIN to get up early & have my quiet time, starting today.  And, wouldn't you know it...I had just opened my eyes & here come 2 kids, awake 30 minutes early.  So that's when it all hit me.

My time with God can include the kids.


In fact, it probably NEEDS to!  It doesn't have to be "quiet".  So, instead of getting all worked up and giving up on some time in the Bible, we all got out of bed (& made them for a change), got dressed, & had time to read from the Psalms before going to school.

I also realized (thank you Holy Spirit) that my prayers that I offer with the kids during bedtime or while I'm driving them to school "count"...for some reason I have always discounted that time as if it wasn't "real" prayer.  I don't know why-I always put my heart into that time, so why wouldn't it?

What a way to start the day...

Project 52:6-hold you

One of the most precious phrases our babies learn to say is "Hold you!", meaning they want to be held.  It took awhile to understand where it comes from, but it's from us saying to them "You want me to hold you?"  It always starts out as more of a "hole juew"...it's my favorite first sentence!

Sometimes my arms ache from all the "hold you's" of the day, especially when there's a sick baby, sometimes I feel that I was too busy & didn't get in enough "hold you's" for the day.  Sometimes it can be frustrating (preparing supper especially) when I'm the only one who can "hold you"...but I try & remind myself that these babies will only want me to "hold you" for a short time, & then supper preparations will be a lot easier...someday my arms will ache in a whole different way, missing the "hold you's".

I've been around the block a few times with this mothering babies business and it seems that life has become so busy that I forget to totally enjoy the little things the kids do, things that have become old hat at this point.  That's why I'm loving this project...it's making me stop, enjoy, & record simple kid things that I haven't taken time to notice.  Almost slowing down the clock a little...

The Snowy Day

We didn't lose a mitten...instead the kids had fun.


Lily-first snow she knows & has had the chance to actually play in.  I didn't let her out much last winter.


Ava-first snow to play in but she won't remember it.  She had so much fun she was acting out the phrase "kicking & screaming" when I drug her frozen little body back in the house.

Big kids-old hats at this snow business & LOVING that they had a day off from school.  We knew the night before but didn't tell them, hoping that they might sleep in a minute or so (I'm being literal here, every minute past 7:00 is precious I'm telling you) but like some sixth sense, they knew-EARLY-that there would be no snow.

 

Ava was like a little stuffed marshmallow...and when she would topple over she had a hard time getting up, it was hilarious.

Even I went out for a little while...I scooped the walkway with our newly purchased snow shovel & did some refereeing.  Did you know that a couple can be married 15 years, owning 4 houses in that timespan, & survive without a snow shovel?  That's the kind of snow we get around here...in the past when it has occasionally snowed a lot like this, we've used a regular shovel (or made our guests sink to their knees in snow!  It's all about the hospitality.).  That's hard work.  I won't get into the expense of purchasing a snow shovel at this point...being that they are just so super expensive and all.  Ha!

You know how it goes with kids and snow...mom spends 20 minutes rounding up clothes, 30 minutes dressing kids so their ears don't fall off, and then shooing them out the door for them to return in about 15 minutes either frozen or needing to go potty.

Such is the life...but I love it.

Weather inspired food...homemade bread and snow ice cream with chocolate chips.

The big kids felt it their civic duty to explain, several times, to Lily the perils of eating snow that looks like this or is yellow when it is outside...it's okay when mommy makes it like this but if you found it like this, just plain ole' snow outside, it would not be good to eat Lily!  Remember that!

Reading with Ava

She took her shirt off...except it was a onesie, so it ended up like a belt around her waist.  This was during the time I thought she was napping.  The kid has a serious aversion to clothes.

Introspection

The books I buy tend to reflect life for me at certain times...

These just came in from Amazon.  Apparently right now things are feeling a little unorganized, a little lacking in the God's time department...I also threw in my Nook, but it's full of totally fictional stories because I always need a good escape in my life-you know, for when things seem a little unorganized.  (Wait, maybe there's a connection...good Nook book=house goes to heck!)

Project 52:5-a cake walk

Well...maybe not in the sense of the phrase, but motherhood is all about celebrating.  Last week, it was my birthday...yesterday, a little friend's...up next will be Lily's.  Whether I'm celebrating my gift of life, the gift I gave my children, or those beautiful gifts of friends, I remember to give God thanks for without Him the day wouldn't have been possible.