Something Right

Most days I wonder if I'm making the right choices as a mom...saying the right things, doing the right things, am I building character into my kids, raising them up to be proud of the person they are. It's probably why I like the saying "I'd like to be the ideal mom, but I'm too busy raising my own kids." There's no set of instructions or set formula for raising kids...it's a complicated journey with lots of risk. And yet lately, I've received a few glimpses that perhaps we, as parents, are doing something right.

Like tonight, when Morgan prayed, "Thank you for giving me life, so that I can live with you!" Wow! At some level she's beginning to understand relationship with the creator!

And last month both girls won awards at school.
Sarah won a Caring Kid award. Her teacher wrote, "She is always honest and has a great attitude. "
Morgan won a Super Citizen award for self-discipline (her classmates nominated her).

It's nice to know that they make wise choices even when I'm not around. They are great kids and I'm so proud of them! And every night I thank God for letting me share life's journey with them!

Spring Break

Wow, it's hard to believe it's Friday of Spring Break already. My parents have been here for the past week and we made lots of good memories...playing cards, going to Silver Dollar City, eating out almost every day (yum!), going to Incredible Pizza, watching movies, going for walks. Sadly, all good things come to an end and they are heading home now!

Another part of Spring Break I've really enjoyed are lazy, relaxing mornings! I've been able to read my bible, read a novel (still hope to finish it this weekend) and write/journal. Below is an excerpt from my journal earlier his week:

The birds chirping. Morgan talking with Grandma. Dad chuckling about something. The microwave beeping. Water running. Dad and Mike talking about lawnmowers. The fan from the heater blowing. Cupboards closing. Sarah sharing, exaggerating "all". Drawers opening. Hot Cocoa being stirred. Silverware clanking.

Oh, the power of being still and listening. My life is full as I lay here in bed this morning and just listen to the sounds of the house waking up. I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for.

And this moment ends with Morgan crawling up in bed with me and reading these words....I never realized what a beautiful sound that was - my daughter reading my own written words -- until this moment.

Feelings

Tonight is one of those nights where I'm trying to be thankful for my feelings, 'cuz they mean that I get to live life deeply at so many levels. But in reality, I'm just wishing I could take a pill and stop feeling....how can I feel so disappointed, hurt, depleted, discouraged, angry and yet joy and gratefulness...all within matters of minutes? I really want to just sleep...but I just keep feeling!

Celebrating Mike!

For Mike's Birthday, I asked the girls these questions. It was fun to hear their answers. All I know is that we are blessed to have him in our lives!!!
S (Sarah); (M) Morgan; (C) My answers

What is something daddy always says to you?
S: He loves me. M: I love you. C: I love you.

How does your daddy make you laugh?
S: Saying silly things to us. M: Being silly. C: Makes our girls laugh.

What is his favorite thing to do?
S: Go to work. M: Make things. Like shelves. C: Go boating.

What does your daddy do when you’re not around?
S: Watch football. M: Kiss mommy. C: Love mommy.

If your daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
S: ‘cuz he’s a really good daddy M: Dancing. C: ‘cuz his girls become famous

What is daddy really good at?
S: Working at work. M: Kissing mommy. C: Fixing everything!

What is your daddy not very good at?
S: Doing splits. M: Sewing C: Dancing.

What is daddy’s favorite food?
S: Tuna fish M: Pizza C: Pizza

What does your daddy do for a job?
S: He finds papers buried in the ground and shows them to police.
M: He works at the highway patrol being a boss.
C: Forensic Scientist (Supervisor)

What do you and daddy do together?
S: Snuggle M: Laugh C: Live life.

How are you and daddy the same?
S: Same eyes M: Both brown eyes C: We have the same cute kids!

How are you and daddy different?
S: Daddy has shorter hair than me. M: Different color hair.
C: Not enough space to list!

How do you know daddy loves you?
S: He tells me. M: He says it. C: He gives me back rubs and holds my hand!

What does your daddy like most about your mom?
S: She’s pretty. M: She’s hot! C: Hmmm….

What does your mom like most about your daddy?
S: Kissing M: He’s cute. C: His faithfulness

What is Daddy’s favorite store?
S: Lowes M: Lowes C: Lowes

What does daddy like to watch on TV?
S: Football M: Football C: Football

Where would daddy like to eat out for dinner?
S: Panera M: Pizza hut C: Anywhere he can get a good steak.

What does Daddy do at 8:30 at night?
S: Go to bed M: Watch football (sometimes), otherwise he kisses mommy. C: Spend time with mommy.

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

I just finished reading this book by Barbara Brown Taylor. Lately, I've been drawn to reading other's memoirs. Below are some quotes/thoughts I enjoyed from her book about her journey in life.

I wanted to recover the kind of faith that has nothing to do with being sure of what I believe and everything to do with trusting God to catch me though I am not sure of anything.

God uses whatever is usable in life, both to speak and to act, and those who insist on fireworks in the sky, may miss the electricity that sparks the human heart.

On raising and releasing a baby bird "That's the whole point isn't it...to take care of him until he could take care of himself, but the intimacy that developed between the two of us made the releasing hard to do." Oh, how I get that as a mother!

I had been given my identity for so long, that I hardly knew how to start making one of my own.

Worship has become too tame and those who come have stopped bringing their own fire.

I saw my humanity was all I had left to work with. I saw in fact that it was all I had ever had to work with, though it had never seemed enough.

Caring for troubled people always took precedence over enjoying delightful people, and the line of troubled people never ended.

But behind that answer lay truths harder to confess.

What made you think that hurrying would help you find your way?

My quest to serve God in the church had exhausted my spiritual savings. My dedication to being good had cost me a fortune in being whole. My desire to do all things well had kept me from doing the one thing within my power to do, which was to discover what it meant to be truly human!

A breath

For some reason tonight I've been thinking about the value of one breath. How one breath separates so much...one breath is the difference between life and death. One breath is the moment between calm and anger. One breath separates silence from action. One breath can stand between the building or ending of a friendship. One breath can give you the courage to face a challenge. One breath can give you a moment of peace. One breath.

Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life. ~Giovanni Papini

Missed the Wedding

Well apparently I've missed Sarah's wedding, 'cuz she is getting ready for her honeymoon! Yep, I found her in Morgan's room after school today...Morgan had an entire salon set up and when I asked what they were doing, they replied...getting Sarah ready for her honeymoon! Guess she's going to Africa with Eric (I've never met an Eric!) to see zebras! She looked beautiful by the way! (So at dinner Mike was trying to get the girls to promise they'd buy the houses across the street when they were older...he said, "you'll always have free babysitting if you do that!".) Wow, seems like just last week she lost her first tooth! Time flies!

18th Valentine's Day

This is the 18th Valentine's day Mike and I have spent together, but only the 2nd time we've actually gone away just the two of us.

When we got there, they had "upgraded" our room to a condo...we had a living room, full kitchen and bedroom... and we thought we were just getting a regular hotel room! We felt very spoiled (the rate on the door said it was $409 a night!)... that's not even close to what we paid! It was SO nice. We loved staying at Branson Landing and walking everywhere for the weekend. We unplugged from tv, computers and the phone (except for when the girls and my parents called to wish me a happy birthday! and we watched Fireproof), it was nice! For me, it was intimate on an emotional level, lots of fun (lots of laughter) and extremely replenishing! It was a great birthday! Oh yah, and I can't neglect to mention that the only reason I was able to relax so much, was because I knew my girls were having a the best time with Darian...as a parent, how great it is to go away and not have to worry about your kids for even one moment! That is a gift! (They went to gymnastics, coldstone, krispy kremes, made purses, baked and decorated cakes, went to Chuck E Cheese, and I can't even remember what else!)

I LOVE Birthdays!

It is so much fun to celebrate birthdays! Here's a few pictures from Sarah's 6th birthday.

Darian, who is like the BIGGEST blessing to our family, made Sarah's birthday cake. (She is also watching the girls this weekend, so Mike and I can get away for a couple of nights...oh yah!)

Sarah had 2 friends come home from school with her today and they went swimming at the pool with us. And just now as I was typing this up, Sarah lost her very 1st tooth! How very exciting!

I love watching her smile all day!!! She adds so much joy, giggles and fun to our lives!

My daughter's joy

There's just something magical about experiencing your child's joy. Tonight Sarah got her ears pierced (for her 6th birthday) -- she has been smiling all evening and has been (and still is) so very excited! She chose the purple ones!

And then we decided to do something out of the ordinary and actually go out this evening...so we went to Chuck E. Cheese -- oh my goodness -- you should have heard the squeals and excitement...it almost makes me want to go to Chuck E. Cheese every Friday night! I just love spending time together as a family...they are a lot of fun to be with! Chances are they will not remember this evening 20 years from now, and I might not either, but life isn't always about remembering every event (although I secretly wish I could remember it all, bottle it up and pour it out whenever I want!), rather life is about enjoying the journey, enjoying the moment we're in right now...and thru those moments you build relationships that make life so, so sweet!