2133. warm blankets to curl up with when Mama gets a fever
2134. a kind husband that lets me rest and rest and rest
2135. mentally planning on feeling better by Christmas
2136. how no one else show signs of catching whatever I have (and praying it stays that way)
2137. going to a movie with my mom a few days ago and enjoying time and popcorn together
2138. almost all of our Jesse ornaments hanging on our Jesse tree
2139. a cake and frosting ready to make to celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas
2140. reminded again this year how sweetly God loves us to come down to be with us
2141. thinking of Mary holding and cuddling and nursing and kissing our sweet baby Savior - as any good mother would
2142. the Hope that we have because Love came down to be with us
Revelation 7:12, "“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Monday, December 23, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Oh time...
Time, you just keep ticking on by these days even though I so desperately want you to slow down. These pictures have popped up over and over today on my computer, and I am just a mess over them!!
He was so tiny!! (just 11 pounds at 9 months) Oh where has my tiny Peanut gone? I know, I know...I am happy that he has come SO FAR and that he is a growing, healthy boy. But, still. He's my baby. The baby.
It's very hard to remember details about when my First Baby was itty bitty at her first Christmas, and the memories from just last year are already a bit hazy. I am so thankful for the memories that I know we will make and enjoy and capture in pictures next week...but goodness, Time, you just go by so fast these days.
He was so tiny!! (just 11 pounds at 9 months) Oh where has my tiny Peanut gone? I know, I know...I am happy that he has come SO FAR and that he is a growing, healthy boy. But, still. He's my baby. The baby.
It's very hard to remember details about when my First Baby was itty bitty at her first Christmas, and the memories from just last year are already a bit hazy. I am so thankful for the memories that I know we will make and enjoy and capture in pictures next week...but goodness, Time, you just go by so fast these days.
Monday, December 16, 2013
2121. the way Peanut runs and grabs my legs when he gets scared
2122. how Birdie has really come in to her role as big sister and will play with Peanut while I cook supper or get a shower...without being asked. Thank you, Jesus!!
2123. unexpected hugs from Buddy-Ro
2124. gingerbread houses that are messy, colorful, and super fun
2125. "Mama's famous chicken, peas, and rice one-pan supper" that Birdie loves
2126. spending time with my favorite stylist, Hanna, who always makes me look more beautiful than I actually am
2127. getting to chat with her and confide in her - it's great when your stylist is also your friend :)
2128. hiding Christmas presents from the kiddos in plain sight that they don't notice
2129. how Peanut reacts every morning from our Elf on the Shelf - and always blames Daddy :)
2130. Peanut's reactions when we see Christmas lights outside
2132. celebrating Daddy for his 41st birthday, and loving him more each passing year
Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."
2122. how Birdie has really come in to her role as big sister and will play with Peanut while I cook supper or get a shower...without being asked. Thank you, Jesus!!
2123. unexpected hugs from Buddy-Ro
2124. gingerbread houses that are messy, colorful, and super fun
2125. "Mama's famous chicken, peas, and rice one-pan supper" that Birdie loves
2126. spending time with my favorite stylist, Hanna, who always makes me look more beautiful than I actually am
2127. getting to chat with her and confide in her - it's great when your stylist is also your friend :)
2128. hiding Christmas presents from the kiddos in plain sight that they don't notice
2129. how Peanut reacts every morning from our Elf on the Shelf - and always blames Daddy :)
2130. Peanut's reactions when we see Christmas lights outside
2132. celebrating Daddy for his 41st birthday, and loving him more each passing year
Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Ordinary is just right
There are days when I feel like it all goes wrong.
I don't get up early. I don't get my quiet time in before the day starts. Milk is spilled. Clothes are forgotten in the washer. Bath water wasn't emptied the night before. Strawberries mold in the fridge (even though we JUST got them). A library book gets a torn page. Reading lessons don't go smoothly. Math is frustrating. I don't get a shower. The dust keeps dusting the furniture. Legos are lost. Toothpaste is smeared all over the sink. Dirty clothes don't make it into their baskets. Clothes don't match. Shoes get too small too quickly.
But these days are still just normal ol' days. And they are short-lived and over in the blink of an eye.
The thing I love most about pictures is how they capture those moments that are gone in a blink. For me, they are the best reminder I have of how blessed I am. Of how even when days go wrong, the memories we are making together are going "right."
That's not to say that there aren't some days that I would not want to re-live. We've had a handful of those! But most days are just ordinary days, made up of ordinary moments. I find that it's the ordinary moments that melt my heart. Those moments that remind me how quickly time goes by and how much pressure I put on myself to make sure things are going right. You, too?
On my computer, I have about 150 pictures for a screen saver. They scroll through over and over throughout the day, and I find myself stopping many times just to watch and remember. Those ordinary moments, gone so quickly, are some of the sweetest memories I have. And they weren't staged, were rarely planned or expected.
That's how life works, I've come to understand. Our ordinary lives are the most beautiful things of all.
Sitting in an old wheelbarrow.
An ordinary afternoon of playing outside.
Tickled about something, just between the two of them.
The day the tiny one moved out of his incubator.
Her first "pose."
Laughing hysterically just a couple of hours before she cut her head open and had to have stitches smack dab in the middle of her forehead. (And we had to cut that shirt off of her, straight up the middle.)
Singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her stuffed bear.
Looking for fish.
Laughing at his first ocean waves.
Fishin'.
Taking a walk after supper.
A kiss from Cinderella.
Running at the beach.
Here, I found the kiddos sitting IN the sandbox playing. They looked up and smiled.
Buddy-Ro at 4 months blowing bubbles.
Peanut learning to tolerate "tummy time."
There's nothing extraordinary about any of these pictures. They are just beautiful moments captured from an ordinary and normal and sometimes messy life. Why do I put so much pressure on myself to do things "right" - when these pictures don't show anything wrong? Mamas, we are doing it right!! Go back through your own pictures (not someone else's on FB or Instagram). Go back through your memories and enjoy those ordinary moments that have made your heart so full. You are blessed, Mama. Don't forget it!!
I don't get up early. I don't get my quiet time in before the day starts. Milk is spilled. Clothes are forgotten in the washer. Bath water wasn't emptied the night before. Strawberries mold in the fridge (even though we JUST got them). A library book gets a torn page. Reading lessons don't go smoothly. Math is frustrating. I don't get a shower. The dust keeps dusting the furniture. Legos are lost. Toothpaste is smeared all over the sink. Dirty clothes don't make it into their baskets. Clothes don't match. Shoes get too small too quickly.
But these days are still just normal ol' days. And they are short-lived and over in the blink of an eye.
The thing I love most about pictures is how they capture those moments that are gone in a blink. For me, they are the best reminder I have of how blessed I am. Of how even when days go wrong, the memories we are making together are going "right."
That's not to say that there aren't some days that I would not want to re-live. We've had a handful of those! But most days are just ordinary days, made up of ordinary moments. I find that it's the ordinary moments that melt my heart. Those moments that remind me how quickly time goes by and how much pressure I put on myself to make sure things are going right. You, too?
On my computer, I have about 150 pictures for a screen saver. They scroll through over and over throughout the day, and I find myself stopping many times just to watch and remember. Those ordinary moments, gone so quickly, are some of the sweetest memories I have. And they weren't staged, were rarely planned or expected.
That's how life works, I've come to understand. Our ordinary lives are the most beautiful things of all.
Sitting in an old wheelbarrow.
An ordinary afternoon of playing outside.
Tickled about something, just between the two of them.
The day the tiny one moved out of his incubator.
Her first "pose."
Laughing hysterically just a couple of hours before she cut her head open and had to have stitches smack dab in the middle of her forehead. (And we had to cut that shirt off of her, straight up the middle.)
Singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her stuffed bear.
Looking for fish.
Laughing at his first ocean waves.
Fishin'.
Taking a walk after supper.
A kiss from Cinderella.
Running at the beach.
Here, I found the kiddos sitting IN the sandbox playing. They looked up and smiled.
Buddy-Ro at 4 months blowing bubbles.
Peanut learning to tolerate "tummy time."
There's nothing extraordinary about any of these pictures. They are just beautiful moments captured from an ordinary and normal and sometimes messy life. Why do I put so much pressure on myself to do things "right" - when these pictures don't show anything wrong? Mamas, we are doing it right!! Go back through your own pictures (not someone else's on FB or Instagram). Go back through your memories and enjoy those ordinary moments that have made your heart so full. You are blessed, Mama. Don't forget it!!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Multitudes on Monday
2106. sweet encouragement from friends who understand how it is to be a Mama
2107. new mercies every morning
2108. new days with lots of opportunities
2109. celebrating Scott's birthday (and his brother's)
2110. German chocolate cupcakes - that are both Scott's favorite and mine
2111. birthday surprises for Scott
2112. how excited Birdie was to go see Frozen again with her small group - she counted down the days like it was Christmas!
2113. Buddy-Ro becoming more in control of his emotions and his physical reactions
2114. continuing our Jesse Tree tradition and enjoying all of our handmade ornaments this year
2115. the Peanut saying "Mama" and following it up with a kiss
2116. watching The Sound of Music Live with Birdie-girl
2117. introducing the kiddos to truly good and wholesome books and movies
2118. Birdie-girl's excitement over {finally} learning multiplication - she has asked for a year, but this Mama wasn't ready for her to get too big too fast
2119. homeschooling Buddy-Ro so that I can go at his pace and back down when he reaches frustration and concentrate on what really gives him confidence
2120. Scott home on this Monday morning so I could stay in bed until 7:30 while he cooks pancakes :)
Psalm 30:12, "That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever."
2107. new mercies every morning
2108. new days with lots of opportunities
2109. celebrating Scott's birthday (and his brother's)
2110. German chocolate cupcakes - that are both Scott's favorite and mine
2111. birthday surprises for Scott
2112. how excited Birdie was to go see Frozen again with her small group - she counted down the days like it was Christmas!
2113. Buddy-Ro becoming more in control of his emotions and his physical reactions
2114. continuing our Jesse Tree tradition and enjoying all of our handmade ornaments this year
2115. the Peanut saying "Mama" and following it up with a kiss
2116. watching The Sound of Music Live with Birdie-girl
2117. introducing the kiddos to truly good and wholesome books and movies
2118. Birdie-girl's excitement over {finally} learning multiplication - she has asked for a year, but this Mama wasn't ready for her to get too big too fast
2119. homeschooling Buddy-Ro so that I can go at his pace and back down when he reaches frustration and concentrate on what really gives him confidence
2120. Scott home on this Monday morning so I could stay in bed until 7:30 while he cooks pancakes :)
Psalm 30:12, "That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever."
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
How do you manage?
I have heard said that the number one lie that mothers believe is that "She is the only one who struggles with ________________." Fill in the blank - impatience, keeping up with the cleaning, playing in the floor, meal planning, laundry, etc.
Since I know that it's a lie that I'm the only one who struggles with this, I want to ask - How do you manage the day to day frustrations of being a Mama? Like when you need 5 minutes to do something, but your kiddos just won't give them to you? Or when you need just a few minutes to catch your breath, but your kiddos just don't understand and keep you feeling breathless?
Today had been a relatively easy day. We had a laid back day of school that lasted all day with breaks in between every activity. We played, we watched a movie together since it's been raining, we baked cookie bars, we didn't rush through anything. And I was able to get my shower, quiet time, and coffee finished about 30 minutes before any of the kiddos woke up. The crock-pot took care of cooking supper. An easy day.
But then the witching hour of 7ish hits, and things go down hill. Scott had to go meet a couple to look at cabinet samples right after supper, and about that time exhaustion kicked in for me. The kiddos were playing and singing to the new Frozen soundtrack, Peanut was occupied, so I tried to sneak away for just 5 minutes to my room to accomplish something. I recently got a new laptop, and I wanted to set up my iTunes account and link it with our other computer. A simple task, really, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.
Peanut noticed that I was not in his line of sight and began calling out my name and crying and looking for me. Which makes the bigger kids notice that Mama is not in the room any more. They quickly find me. I told them that I needed a couple of minutes to do "just one thing," and to please go back to playing. It never happened. The big kids start wrestling on my bed and the tiny one just stands at my legs clinging to me and crying.
In that moment I just became so flustered. All I wanted was 5 minutes to do something, and I got about 1 minute to simply get started. My selfish side screams, "Just leave me alone!" My guilty mom side screams, "They will only be little once!" And somewhere in between those voices I just want to put a pillow over my head and make it all go away.
I don't know what the solution is. I guess if I was the perfect Mama, I would have simply stopped what I was doing and waited until the kiddos were all tucked safely in their beds before trying again. But you know what? I'm not perfect! And after getting up at 5:30 and being ON all.day.long all I want to do when my kids go to bed is go to bed myself.
So how do you manage this struggle with frustration/flustering? I know making kids have "quiet time" is popular right now...an hour in the day so that Mama can get some things done. But I don't know exactly how to manage that since my big kids share a room. If I split them up, one is still with me - and I'm still not getting anything done that I need/want to.
Days are long. They are full of good and bad and grumpy and laughter and silliness and correction. But my need to breathe often overtakes me, and that is when I find myself flustered and on the brink of breaking. I know I'm not alone in this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you manage, Mama?
Since I know that it's a lie that I'm the only one who struggles with this, I want to ask - How do you manage the day to day frustrations of being a Mama? Like when you need 5 minutes to do something, but your kiddos just won't give them to you? Or when you need just a few minutes to catch your breath, but your kiddos just don't understand and keep you feeling breathless?
Today had been a relatively easy day. We had a laid back day of school that lasted all day with breaks in between every activity. We played, we watched a movie together since it's been raining, we baked cookie bars, we didn't rush through anything. And I was able to get my shower, quiet time, and coffee finished about 30 minutes before any of the kiddos woke up. The crock-pot took care of cooking supper. An easy day.
But then the witching hour of 7ish hits, and things go down hill. Scott had to go meet a couple to look at cabinet samples right after supper, and about that time exhaustion kicked in for me. The kiddos were playing and singing to the new Frozen soundtrack, Peanut was occupied, so I tried to sneak away for just 5 minutes to my room to accomplish something. I recently got a new laptop, and I wanted to set up my iTunes account and link it with our other computer. A simple task, really, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.
Peanut noticed that I was not in his line of sight and began calling out my name and crying and looking for me. Which makes the bigger kids notice that Mama is not in the room any more. They quickly find me. I told them that I needed a couple of minutes to do "just one thing," and to please go back to playing. It never happened. The big kids start wrestling on my bed and the tiny one just stands at my legs clinging to me and crying.
In that moment I just became so flustered. All I wanted was 5 minutes to do something, and I got about 1 minute to simply get started. My selfish side screams, "Just leave me alone!" My guilty mom side screams, "They will only be little once!" And somewhere in between those voices I just want to put a pillow over my head and make it all go away.
I don't know what the solution is. I guess if I was the perfect Mama, I would have simply stopped what I was doing and waited until the kiddos were all tucked safely in their beds before trying again. But you know what? I'm not perfect! And after getting up at 5:30 and being ON all.day.long all I want to do when my kids go to bed is go to bed myself.
So how do you manage this struggle with frustration/flustering? I know making kids have "quiet time" is popular right now...an hour in the day so that Mama can get some things done. But I don't know exactly how to manage that since my big kids share a room. If I split them up, one is still with me - and I'm still not getting anything done that I need/want to.
Days are long. They are full of good and bad and grumpy and laughter and silliness and correction. But my need to breathe often overtakes me, and that is when I find myself flustered and on the brink of breaking. I know I'm not alone in this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you manage, Mama?
Monday, December 2, 2013
Multitudes on Monday
2092. a delicious Thanksgiving with my Mama and Scott's family
2093. how my Mama is always welcome at all of Scott's family gatherings
2094. very crooked stamps on our Christmas cards, placed by very eager fingers
2095. receiving a card from Christy the same day she received ours - love fun traditions :)
2096. all of our Christmas presents wrapped and under the tree
2097. starting off our Advent season with our family Jesse Tree
2098. surprising the kiddos with Lego Advent calendars to help count down to Christmas
2099. the arrival of "Buddy" the elf....who is already up to his naughty antics
2100. delicious coffee creamer to make my morning coffee a peaceful experience early in the morning
2101. cold nights under warm blankets
2102. cuddling with Peanut in our bed on nights that he can't sleep because he can't breathe
2103. Birdie-girl sneaking up early in the morning to try to catch Buddy in the act
2104. trying to enjoy the stress of Buddy's antics....before the kiddos wake up ;)
2105. the joy of the Christmas season and how it infuses into everything we do
Psalm 69:30, "I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."
2093. how my Mama is always welcome at all of Scott's family gatherings
2094. very crooked stamps on our Christmas cards, placed by very eager fingers
2095. receiving a card from Christy the same day she received ours - love fun traditions :)
2096. all of our Christmas presents wrapped and under the tree
2097. starting off our Advent season with our family Jesse Tree
2098. surprising the kiddos with Lego Advent calendars to help count down to Christmas
2099. the arrival of "Buddy" the elf....who is already up to his naughty antics
2100. delicious coffee creamer to make my morning coffee a peaceful experience early in the morning
2101. cold nights under warm blankets
2102. cuddling with Peanut in our bed on nights that he can't sleep because he can't breathe
2103. Birdie-girl sneaking up early in the morning to try to catch Buddy in the act
2104. trying to enjoy the stress of Buddy's antics....before the kiddos wake up ;)
2105. the joy of the Christmas season and how it infuses into everything we do
Psalm 69:30, "I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)