On Friday, my 7yog decided to take an ink pen and draw a big * on her knee. That will be important later in the story.
So, my family is just getting around to celebrating Christmas together. I know, we're lame. However, we scheduled the trip, and took off Friday for St. Louis for a quick field trip, then planned to go on up to Iowa. Well, the oldest daughter finally succumbed to the flu we've all had while in St. Louis on said field trip, so we had to take her and Daddy home, then I left for Iowa with the other four kids. Didn't get the nap I had hoped to get while travelling, added two hours of drive time to the trip, and I know I won't get much sleep tonight, so I'm a bit stressed to start with.
Sure enough, I was awake until after 1, but was planning to sleep in a bit this morning. The kids stayed up late, and are all camping out on the floor in the dining room - they should sleep in!
Shortly before 6 am, 7yog wakes from a nightmare about a poisonous spider that bit her, and is upset (understandibly so!). 10yog is awakened, and tries to comfort her sister. 6yob is disturbed by the hulabaloo, also. 7yog thinks she feels a spider crawling in her pj pants, and begins to freak out. 10yog takes her to the bathroom, so they can remove the pants to check things out. When 7yog removes her pants, 10yog sees the * on her knee, screams about the 'spider', grabs a towel and smacks at it to get it off 7yog's knee. This further freaks out 7yog, and she totally wigs out.
Meanwhile, 6yob has become convinced a poisonous spider is in his shirt, and has bitten his shoulder. He rips off his shirt, throws it on the floor, and commences big hissy fit. 14yob tries his best to comfort him. This is when I am awakened to come help out. My mom and I begin to shake out the blankets and pillows, 6yob keeps screaming that he sees the spider (but we never do see any sign of a spider), 7yog and 10yog are still crying and upset, and I'm thinking to myself "How did I get here?"
I spend the next hour and a half trying to convince these blessings from the Lord that they do not have anything to worry about - there never was a spider, and we are all ok. 7yog eventually calms down, and beleives nothing is wrong. 6yob is still having trouble, 13 hours later. OY!
May you all get a chuckle out of my story!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Feeling Nostalgic.....
I don't know why, exactly, but I have been doing a lot of remembering. Perhaps it's a sign that I'm becoming a geezer, but I am enjoying the reminiscing.....
Watching my littlest ones interact reminds me so much of my older two when they were young! For both pairs, the oldest is a girl and the youngest a boy. When R and J were little, R made all the plans, told J what they were going to do, made J come to ask me questions (when she thought the answer might be no - she coached him on just what to say), and generally ran the show when they were together. Now, I see much the same dynamic with S and B!
I also spent some time recently with my sister, and we were talking about our growing up years - in one sense it seems like just yesterday I was in gradeschool wondering if I could complete the math worksheet in time, and yet, it almost feels like that was another lifetime alltogether! I think Facebook adds to that feeling - I'm seeing friends from high school post pictures of their kids - and they are carbon copies of their parents! Takes me right back to our time in high school....
I went to my high school's football game a few weeks ago - and was laughing at how easy it was to recognize so many of the students whose parents I knew as a teen.
I am so grateful to the Lord to see how my children are growing up (in spite of their mother's many many failures) and becoming ready to live life 'out there in the big world' on their own. I'm not sure I'm ready for it, even though I see that they are becoming ready. Lord, help me to have strength to let go when it's time, and to keep going when I feel like I have nothing to do!
Question: How are you preparing to 'release' your children? Or, if your children are already on their own, what would you advise me about how to prepare for that time in my own life?
Watching my littlest ones interact reminds me so much of my older two when they were young! For both pairs, the oldest is a girl and the youngest a boy. When R and J were little, R made all the plans, told J what they were going to do, made J come to ask me questions (when she thought the answer might be no - she coached him on just what to say), and generally ran the show when they were together. Now, I see much the same dynamic with S and B!
I also spent some time recently with my sister, and we were talking about our growing up years - in one sense it seems like just yesterday I was in gradeschool wondering if I could complete the math worksheet in time, and yet, it almost feels like that was another lifetime alltogether! I think Facebook adds to that feeling - I'm seeing friends from high school post pictures of their kids - and they are carbon copies of their parents! Takes me right back to our time in high school....
I went to my high school's football game a few weeks ago - and was laughing at how easy it was to recognize so many of the students whose parents I knew as a teen.
I am so grateful to the Lord to see how my children are growing up (in spite of their mother's many many failures) and becoming ready to live life 'out there in the big world' on their own. I'm not sure I'm ready for it, even though I see that they are becoming ready. Lord, help me to have strength to let go when it's time, and to keep going when I feel like I have nothing to do!
Question: How are you preparing to 'release' your children? Or, if your children are already on their own, what would you advise me about how to prepare for that time in my own life?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Pruning isn't easy
The Lord has been working on me. It's not that fun to go through the process, but the promise of being more like Christ, and closer to Him, keeps me in His arms.
I have had many episodes of late of feeling confused, overwhelmed, unable to control my emotions, and generally feeling out of control. I am a person who often struggles to see my life in it's entirety. If things are going well, I think life is good, and I'm good - I like life! If I am struggling in any area at all - I am a failure. Not "I messed that up." But "I am a failure." I have felt this so often lately that I at times, I can't see my way out.
I don't know what all is going on - exhaustion, hormones, spiritual warfare, depression - probably some of each. In the process, I have been driven to my knees, and to my Savior's loving arms. He is so faithful! He has put people, articles, comments on facebook, and His Word to show me His love and watchcare over me.
In the process, He has allowed me to continue to encourage others on their walk. How can that be? I am confused, overwhelmed, and beaten down - yet He sees fit to still use me to encourage another mother who is fighting battles of her own.
I love the Lord. I love my family. I am overwhelmed by His goodness. I will be ok. He is faithful!
May I encourage you to check out one article that the Lord has used to show me the way this week? You will find it here. I pray it blesses you as much as it has blessed me. There are five parts to the article. I have only read parts 1 and 2. So far, that's enough for me, for now.
I have had many episodes of late of feeling confused, overwhelmed, unable to control my emotions, and generally feeling out of control. I am a person who often struggles to see my life in it's entirety. If things are going well, I think life is good, and I'm good - I like life! If I am struggling in any area at all - I am a failure. Not "I messed that up." But "I am a failure." I have felt this so often lately that I at times, I can't see my way out.
I don't know what all is going on - exhaustion, hormones, spiritual warfare, depression - probably some of each. In the process, I have been driven to my knees, and to my Savior's loving arms. He is so faithful! He has put people, articles, comments on facebook, and His Word to show me His love and watchcare over me.
In the process, He has allowed me to continue to encourage others on their walk. How can that be? I am confused, overwhelmed, and beaten down - yet He sees fit to still use me to encourage another mother who is fighting battles of her own.
I love the Lord. I love my family. I am overwhelmed by His goodness. I will be ok. He is faithful!
May I encourage you to check out one article that the Lord has used to show me the way this week? You will find it here. I pray it blesses you as much as it has blessed me. There are five parts to the article. I have only read parts 1 and 2. So far, that's enough for me, for now.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thriving on One Income and Quiet Times in Loud Households
My friend, Kimberly Eddy, is preparing for a move, soon, and she has some books she needs to sell - quick! So, she's making a ridiculously great offer on each book.
Here's what she has to say about her book, Thriving on One Income:
To see this book, visit Joyful Momma
The other book, Quiet Times in Loud Households, is available for FREE! You only need to pay shipping and handling! Now THAT'S a deal you can't pass up. You'd better hurry on over to Joyful Momma to get your copy fast. Here's what this book covers:
Here's what she has to say about her book, Thriving on One Income:
Nearly 12 Years Ago, I had a problem on my hands. Our whole family did. Our income went down about 60% around the same time our youngest child was entering the world (without health insurance).
Sixty Percent!!
We had done things "right". We bought less house than what we could afford or were pre-approved for. We'd been working towards being out of debt. We'd tried to be frugal. However, here we were facing a huge pay cut, and trying to figure out how to survive from it.
I wrote this book based on things God taught me at this time. This book was not written from the perspective of a financial guru but from the perspective of a mom faced with trying to make ends meet while facing a pay cut and a growing family. I've taken some grief for this book from people who've never faced this sort of situation, but I've also gotten a lot of praise for it from others who have been through the pain of a large pay cut and hard choices, while desiring to stay home with their children.
To see this book, visit Joyful Momma
The other book, Quiet Times in Loud Households, is available for FREE! You only need to pay shipping and handling! Now THAT'S a deal you can't pass up. You'd better hurry on over to Joyful Momma to get your copy fast. Here's what this book covers:
- How to have a Quiet Time when you are a busy momma of many young ones
- How to pass your faith onto your children
- How to pray
- How to study the Bible
- Leading your children to Christ
- ...and more
Obviously, these offers are just too good to pass up. While you are at the website, be sure to look around a bit - you might find something else you need - even if it's just a great word of encouragement!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
How about waiting for THIS?
It was a lovely day out. I don't remember the time of year, but I remember that is was very nice outside - not too hot, not too chilly, it was sunny, and I was enjoying a day out. I had never felt very confident in my make-up choices and skills, so I had scheduled a makeover at the Clinique counter in Famous Barr. I was excited about seeing how my face might look if I actually knew what I was doing with my makeup, and this was a great day to be out.
My husband was working hard to take care of us. We had a house payment, a car payment, utilities, and we ate 3 times a day - we even put a little bit in savings each month. He was doing a great job, but, of course in your early years, it often takes some discipline to make sure the dollars coming in cover everything. We had actually been blessed to be introduced to Larry Burkett, and we had been following a budget that we put together with the help of his workbook. Just 3 years into our marriage, and we were working the budget! So, we were doing well, and as long as we followed the plan, everything would be just fine.
I knew that Clinique was not as inexpensive as the cosmetics I purchased at Wal-Mart, but I really didn't have any idea how much it was. But, I had saved a little aside for this trip to the Clinique counter (like about $25), and so, I knew it would be ok.
For the first time in my life, I had someone professional show me how to apply their perfect products to my face, and it was impressive! I had never looked so good in all my 25 years! (Why didn't we schedule a date for tonight?!) When she was all done telling me about all their great stuff, and making me look the best EVER, she then told me that everyone who got a makeover was expected to purchase 3 items. No problem! - I had $25 burning a hole in my pocket!
Should it have been a clue that I couldn't even touch the boxes before purchase? (They were encased in a glass display, with pretty lights shining on the pretty boxes) Or that I didn't see a price displayed ANYWHERE?! Of course, I was scared to actually ASK how much anything was! Still, I thought, "It can't be THAT much more than CoverGirl!" So, I rattled off the 4 items (wanted to make a good impression, you know!) I thought made the biggest impact on my face, and figured I'd be back after next payday to pick up a few more items.
The nice lady behind the counter placed my items into a pretty paper bag, rang it all up, and turned to inform me that I had just spent $75. Without missing a beat, I wrote the check, took my bag, and hi-tailed it for the car. Inside, I was choking - WHAT! How could four COSMETICS cost $75?!
Hubby worked across the parking lot from Famous Barr, and I went straight to his building. I walked into his office, bag in hand, weeping uncontrollably (so much for the pretty face!). He was convinced I must have had a terrible accident. "What's wrong?!" I was dumping the contents of the bag on his desk. "I'm trying to figure out what I can take back, but I don't know if I CAN take it back! I can't believe this was $75!" I was bawling by now.
Larry walked around his desk, took me in his arms and said, "Is that all?! I thought something was really wrong. You don't have to worry about this!"
Who wouldn't be happy being married to this man?
My husband was working hard to take care of us. We had a house payment, a car payment, utilities, and we ate 3 times a day - we even put a little bit in savings each month. He was doing a great job, but, of course in your early years, it often takes some discipline to make sure the dollars coming in cover everything. We had actually been blessed to be introduced to Larry Burkett, and we had been following a budget that we put together with the help of his workbook. Just 3 years into our marriage, and we were working the budget! So, we were doing well, and as long as we followed the plan, everything would be just fine.
I knew that Clinique was not as inexpensive as the cosmetics I purchased at Wal-Mart, but I really didn't have any idea how much it was. But, I had saved a little aside for this trip to the Clinique counter (like about $25), and so, I knew it would be ok.
For the first time in my life, I had someone professional show me how to apply their perfect products to my face, and it was impressive! I had never looked so good in all my 25 years! (Why didn't we schedule a date for tonight?!) When she was all done telling me about all their great stuff, and making me look the best EVER, she then told me that everyone who got a makeover was expected to purchase 3 items. No problem! - I had $25 burning a hole in my pocket!
Should it have been a clue that I couldn't even touch the boxes before purchase? (They were encased in a glass display, with pretty lights shining on the pretty boxes) Or that I didn't see a price displayed ANYWHERE?! Of course, I was scared to actually ASK how much anything was! Still, I thought, "It can't be THAT much more than CoverGirl!" So, I rattled off the 4 items (wanted to make a good impression, you know!) I thought made the biggest impact on my face, and figured I'd be back after next payday to pick up a few more items.
The nice lady behind the counter placed my items into a pretty paper bag, rang it all up, and turned to inform me that I had just spent $75. Without missing a beat, I wrote the check, took my bag, and hi-tailed it for the car. Inside, I was choking - WHAT! How could four COSMETICS cost $75?!
Hubby worked across the parking lot from Famous Barr, and I went straight to his building. I walked into his office, bag in hand, weeping uncontrollably (so much for the pretty face!). He was convinced I must have had a terrible accident. "What's wrong?!" I was dumping the contents of the bag on his desk. "I'm trying to figure out what I can take back, but I don't know if I CAN take it back! I can't believe this was $75!" I was bawling by now.
Larry walked around his desk, took me in his arms and said, "Is that all?! I thought something was really wrong. You don't have to worry about this!"
Who wouldn't be happy being married to this man?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Just wait until....!!!!
My husband and I were talking recently about how often we've heard this statement - "Well, things are good NOW. But just wait until _______________, then you'll (hate each other, see life isn't so easy, realize how weird you are)!"
When we were dating, and it was becoming obvious to those around us that we were pretty serious about each other, (Yes, we did the American dating method - yikes!) people started saying, "Yeah, you think you are in love now, just wait until you are engaged! Then you'll get cold feet!" After we got engaged, we were still very happy with each other. It seemed like that didn't make the people around us happy, so they tried this one - "You're happy now, but just wait! After you get married, you'll learn what REAL life is like, and you won't be so in love any more!"
We just didn't get it. It seemed like people were just waiting for us to become unhappy. Often, it was our Christian friends that said these things to us. It was as if there was some point in life that we were going to become very unhappy - because that's just life. That's what you do - you are happy for awhile, then you realize that happiness just isn't possible for life, so you had better get ready for reality to hit! We ignored the nay-sayers, and we enjoyed a wonderful wedding, honeymoon, and began our life together as man and wife.
Surprisingly (?), the forecast for our unhappiness proved to be false, and we went on enjoying each other, our life together, and we stayed just as in love as before we married!
Well, this didn't make everyone happy. Next, we heard, "You're happy? Well, just WAIT until you have kids! Then life gets REALLY hard!" I guess they all thought our life was too easy. We aren't any different than anyone else - we encountered difficulties, but they didn't make us unhappy with each other. 5 years later, our firstborn joined our happy family. Although mothering was a very difficult transition for me, I stayed happy with my husband, and we adjusted to parenthood together.
For the next several years, we heard "Just wait until you have teenagers! THAT is REALLY miserable!" I was nervous about heading into the teen years with our children, but I now have 3 years of having a teen under my belt, and now 2 teens in our home. It's still wonderful to be a mom, and I even say it's getting better with each passing day. Not that we don't have bad days, but our relationships are good.
It's been interesting that we haven't heard any "Just wait until........" statements in quite awhile. In fact, we occasionally have someone come to us and ask how we have stayed so happy! This doesn't happen all the time, but others are noticing something about us that is intriguing to them. It's fun to be on this side of life, and realize that life really is good.
My reason for sharing this story with you, is so that you may be encouraged that life, while not always easy, doesn't have to be a miserable existence! You can have joy while living your life. You can have peace, even when things around you aren't peaceful. Want to know how? Stay tuned, because I'm going to tell you next time! (And I promise it won't be 2 months before I'm back!)
When we were dating, and it was becoming obvious to those around us that we were pretty serious about each other, (Yes, we did the American dating method - yikes!) people started saying, "Yeah, you think you are in love now, just wait until you are engaged! Then you'll get cold feet!" After we got engaged, we were still very happy with each other. It seemed like that didn't make the people around us happy, so they tried this one - "You're happy now, but just wait! After you get married, you'll learn what REAL life is like, and you won't be so in love any more!"
We just didn't get it. It seemed like people were just waiting for us to become unhappy. Often, it was our Christian friends that said these things to us. It was as if there was some point in life that we were going to become very unhappy - because that's just life. That's what you do - you are happy for awhile, then you realize that happiness just isn't possible for life, so you had better get ready for reality to hit! We ignored the nay-sayers, and we enjoyed a wonderful wedding, honeymoon, and began our life together as man and wife.
Surprisingly (?), the forecast for our unhappiness proved to be false, and we went on enjoying each other, our life together, and we stayed just as in love as before we married!
Well, this didn't make everyone happy. Next, we heard, "You're happy? Well, just WAIT until you have kids! Then life gets REALLY hard!" I guess they all thought our life was too easy. We aren't any different than anyone else - we encountered difficulties, but they didn't make us unhappy with each other. 5 years later, our firstborn joined our happy family. Although mothering was a very difficult transition for me, I stayed happy with my husband, and we adjusted to parenthood together.
For the next several years, we heard "Just wait until you have teenagers! THAT is REALLY miserable!" I was nervous about heading into the teen years with our children, but I now have 3 years of having a teen under my belt, and now 2 teens in our home. It's still wonderful to be a mom, and I even say it's getting better with each passing day. Not that we don't have bad days, but our relationships are good.
It's been interesting that we haven't heard any "Just wait until........" statements in quite awhile. In fact, we occasionally have someone come to us and ask how we have stayed so happy! This doesn't happen all the time, but others are noticing something about us that is intriguing to them. It's fun to be on this side of life, and realize that life really is good.
My reason for sharing this story with you, is so that you may be encouraged that life, while not always easy, doesn't have to be a miserable existence! You can have joy while living your life. You can have peace, even when things around you aren't peaceful. Want to know how? Stay tuned, because I'm going to tell you next time! (And I promise it won't be 2 months before I'm back!)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy Birthday, Charlotte Mason!
Today is the 169th anniversary of the birth of one of my favorite home school heroes! Miss Mason has been used by the Lord to bless my family, and many thousands of other families who desire to give their children an excellent, broad, deep and meaty education. For a discussion of her life, and a link to a brief biography of her life, please visit The Charlotte Mason Girl.
Also - I hope you have a wonderful 2011!
Also - I hope you have a wonderful 2011!
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