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Parks and Old Women

In staying focused on the blessings of what life has to offer, a recap of my weekend.

Friday seemed really bad, things weren't going great and to top if off I was rear-ended and the lady who hit me just took off and left me there! Once I surveyed the damages, I realized there wasn't much, but still…why can't people just be nice? And then, I came home to these:

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You have to realize how special these are. They are from my older brother…letting me know he cares, all in His perfect timing.

(Please don't tell him that although Azaleas are one of my absolute favorite plants, I tend to kill them…I don't know why she swallowed the fly)

Saturday we had some time for this:

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Spin Time

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Monkey Time (including blisters)

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Hang Time

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Header Time

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Down Time
(What ARE they talking about?!)

And then there was Mother's Day. Lunch was accidentally left out on the counter all night instead of put in the refrigerator to thaw. We figured food poisoning on Mother's Day was probably not the way to go, so instead we headed out to lunch after church. This can sometimes be pretty difficult, especially when you have children with food allergies. We have to find food that has no gluten, nuts, dairy or eggs. We also have a rather large family, so that alone can be intimidating for a waiter. We had unexpected guests join us…turning us into a party of sixteen…and it was awesome day at Chevy's!!

My oldest son showed up with flowers for me. (He's such a great son!) That'd be my laugh of the day, so you get a long short story to go with it. It began a long, long, time ago…A few years ago my son was attending a dance and needed a corsage. The corsage looked like it was made for an older woman (ah, like a Mother's Day corsage!), not a teenager going to a dance. Needless to say, definite fixing had to be done in order for my son to be able to save face with his date. (I find it funny that an older lady Grandma is the one that did the fixing!)

Yesterday, my son brought me these:

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Please notice the flower below:

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This is the *old lady* flower that he complained about. In other words, my son gave me flowers for an older lady….to me, not an older lady.

Which brings us right back to Saturday. A friend stopped by and shared a little story with me. (Honest, I'll try and keep it short.) She said that another friend had asked her to stop by a baby shower since she now lives out of state. She wanted her to say a blessing, give a word of wisdom…you get the picture. She wondered why the friend didn't ask someone else…and then it hit her.

She said to me,

"I realized, we are now the older, wiser, women! Hope, when did we become the older, wiser women?"

I'm not sure, friend, I'm really not sure.

By the way, today is my mother's birthday. She's not old either. Honest, my dad will probably back me up on that one. Those aches and pains are not from age, they're from over-activity, yeah, that's the ticket!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLD WOMAN MOM!
WE LOVE YOU!

Oh, How We Pray!

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Being a mom is hard. Being a parent is hard. Being a caregiver is hard. There is joy, much joy, but pain often times comes with that joy. I'm reminded this morning of childbirth. The labor pains are intense. As the glorious time of arrival approaches, the pain becomes almost unbearable. And then something absolutely amazing happens. That precious child is placed into your arms and immediately, the pain is forgotten, instead replaced with tears of joy and happiness at the new little wonder in your arms.

For others, labor is the waiting for an adoption, or perhaps taking in a child that desperately needs a home.

We're not told that this pain is just beginning. There's the pain that comes along with a sick child. The pain that comes along with a troubled child. We hurt when our children hurt. For some, there is the pain of losing a child and for others, there is the pain of trying to help their child grow. 

And there is joy. There is the joy that comes with that first smile. The joy of their first word. The joy of their first steps. The joy of the first day of kindergarten and the joy when they graduate from high school. (I can't say joy with the first time they drive, because, well, that's just pure fear!) The joy of when your child becomes a parent themselves!

As young parents, we are on top of the world; feeling as though anything can be accomplished! And then one day, our child becomes sick, and we realize, just how helpless we really are. And we pray, oh how we pray!

As we gain a little more experience, we become stronger. We may not worry so much about a little fever or a funny rash, because we know that this too shall pass.

And then a more serious illness comes along. Or an accident happens. And the joy is replaced by the pain of not knowing. And we pray, oh, how we pray!

As these precious children grow, they will experience the hard knocks of what life has to bring them. And each time they do, we pray, oh, how we pray!

We're not warned of the countless nights and hours we will spend in prayer for this precious child. We're not warned of the growing pains of our own hearts as we continue to grow ourselves.

As parents, we'll realize that we're not as smart as we thought we were. We are not experienced as we'd like to think we are. We're really, not in control at all. Honestly, sometimes it feels as though life is completely out of control, but we pray, oh, how we pray!

And we desperately cling to our Father, trusting that He is in control. And we teach our children to pray, oh how we pray they will pray!

 

15 lbs of Potatoes, That’s What!

It's Steven's Soup Day today. That means…well, that means my kids wake me up early asking me when the soup will be ready. I started with five pounds, moved up to ten pounds, and this time moved up to 15 pounds of potatoes! It seems there is never enough Steven's Soup! I also switched to fresh chives and fresh dill..I personally can taste the difference! Yumm!

And I just love Barb! She's so funny…she brought me bowls! Lots of them! One can never have enough bowls for baking! I'm going to use one of them tomorrow when I make orange cupcakes!

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering what in the world I'm even talking about…you can read about Steven's Soup here and how we remember the sweet, sweet, boy, Joshua Stevens.

Worth It!

She has so much trouble in school. She spends hours trying to read and do her homework…or rather not do it. But we press on.

Most days are just miserable, I'll admit it. And after a week like I've had so far, one might start to wonder.

But then….something great happens….and it makes you think, ah…ok, we CAN do this together.

Why?

Because she came home today with this!

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She was paying attention AND finished all of her work…and knows the dance!

And it's not even six…and she's done her homework all by herself…and even volunteered to read. God is good and faithful…and ok, it really is worth it!

You Know You Have Good Friends…

When you can have ask them go in late to work (or spend yet another day off with me) and drive across town early in the morning to spend the next hour…or two, filling out paperwork, getting fingerprinted and signing their lives away, all in the name of helping a friend!

Indeed, I am blessed…eight times over…with friends such as these!  (And now I have legal babysitters, too!)

(And it's a good thing I'm feeling blessed, too…cause that van costs me eight hundred smackeroos!)