Truth With Dirt On His Face

I find myself wandering around this morning trying to figure out where to start on the "to-do" list that I seem to keep making longer rather than shorter.

What's up with that?

It seems that whenever I get started one of my boys needs something, broke something, needs something cleaned up, or put together...on and on and on. Many times, at the end of the day, I wonder what the heck I even accomplished. This is mostly because I really only accomplish 5 different things....but I did each of those 5 things FIVE ZILLION TIMES.

The refereeing alone...

Sometimes it feels like I'm treading water. Going nowhere, but at least keeping my head afloat. When I stop and really look at my boys, and how much they're growing...physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually I realize that life may often feel like I'm treading water, but I'm not. It's always moving forward. I can't slow it or stop it. But I can enjoy it.

This morning after my run (yay for Mondays I LOVE 2 mile short runs) I logged onto facebook and found a link from Michelle, a bloggy-turned-facebook-friend who happens to have the opposite of me. Three girls. I think we should consider arranged marriages. Go visit her and peek at my future daughters-in-law...she has the cutest girls ;)

Want to know what my life is like? Click here. It made me happy cry this morning...because this is my life...times three :)

It's a good (& messy) life!

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Because I'm Rebelious...

First, before I forget, you guys totally pulled through for me yesterday on the egg issue! YAY! I knew you would.

Today I put on my painting clothes because then maybe I'll get around to painting...ya know, since I'm dressed for it and all.

It's the thought that counts.

I spent the morning registering my kids for school. 2nd grader, 1st grader, 2-day preschooler, and Julie who is technically a Senior. My August calendar is full of last minute physicals, eye doctor appointments and volleyball camp. If you need me, I'll be in my minivan. Good thing I love my minivan.

I'm also bucking the public school system for the first time (as a mom.) My first and second grader have a "milk snack" mid afternoon everyday. This is separate from the milk they drink at lunch. It will cost me $70 per kid for the year. I'm guessing, if the school could see the GALLONS AND GALLONS of milk we already go through in our home each week they would whole-heartedly agree with me that it's perfectly ok for me to waive paying the $140 for the mid afternoon milk snack and let my children drink water out of the cute water bottles I promised to buy them :)

I took that additional $140 and added it to their lunch account. I call that genius. Seriously though...why not just water in the afternoon? I think it makes more sense. I'm just saying...

How about you? Anybody else bucking the system on anything? (I'm obviously needing some validation here ;)

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I Need Your Help...

Here's the deal. Julie is allergic to egg whites. I'm wondering if there's anybody else out there who is also allergic and has some tips for me.

Like...

• Is there a brand of egg-less ice cream that you can buy?
• Or any other egg-less stuff that you use instead of eggs?
• Can I buy "fake" eggs? Are egg beaters fake eggs?

See, I've just proved to you I have no clue. Good thing I'm a citizen of blogland where nice people help me out with my deep, thought provoking questions.

Let's have it, I need your input. If you have no input, how 'bout sharing with me stuff your allergic too...because that seems like good times, no?

*image courtesy of www.southernliving.com*

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I'm Like 90 Years Old...

My Life:

• Yesterday I had 3 additional boys in my home for 9 hours. That's SIX boys. I just heard you all gasp. The best was when I had to load them all into my little mini van to make a 40 minute round trip to take Odie to the vet and myself to the Chiropractor. Good times. All was going well until we stopped back into the vet to pick up Odie (from a routine procedure that I'll spare you the details of.) Turns out they needed to keep Odie for a little longer.
• In the afternoon, after the vet had looked at Odie and figured out a course of action for his little "problem" we headed back to the mini van and the 40 minute round trip to pick up our beloved wiener dog. The bill ended up being $28.00, which made me love the vet and Odie even more!
• The benefit to yesterday is that today my perspective is readjusted. Three boys?!? Easy peasy.
• Chiropractor: I generally reserve my visits to the Chiro for the special occasions when I find myself unable to move. My Chiro tells me this is how most people are. I wonder if most people also find the word Chiropractor too long? Just thinking out loud...anyways I do have a point...and it has to do with running. For the past month or so I've been having some groin pain on my left side after I hit about mile 5. I've been stretching, and icing, and heating, and drugging myself up with Advil. Last week I decided to head to the Chiro to see if they could magically fix me...like she did when I attempted this brilliant stunt. It turns out that my left hip was well above the right and thus causing me to run funny and put more strain on the left side. After the adjustment I ran 7 miles on Saturday with no pain. Yay! Yesterday's check up was just to make sure the adjustment stuck...and it did. I may even go back and visit the Chiro without consistent pain first, because she gave me some good information that I will spare from sharing with you because I would totally butcher it. Another post I guess.
• Wow...I'm now like a 90 year old woman who only talks about herself and her dogs old bodies falling apart. Glad you stopped by aren't you.
• TEN DAYS. 10 days till Julie is at our home. She actually flew into America last Sunday and is spending 2 weeks in Boston at a camp for exchange students, where I'm assuming they teach her all kinds of stuff about how wonderful we Americans are .
• My calendar for August is already full. Having a teenager in the home is totally gonna rock our little world with activity. The rest of July is sort of the calm before the storm...in a good way. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with my first baby. I planned and prepared, read everything I could get my hands on, talked to countless moms...but nothing, nothing could prepare me for what was in store once that baby arrived. We're excited, and even a little nervous...in a good way.
• I'm off to go mow the lawn. I think it will make up for the fact that we were supposed to run 6 miles this morning and decided we were just too tired (lazy) and ran about 2 and then walked so we could just chat...because obviously mowing is the equivalent of running 4 miles...

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Where I Talk About Myself in 3rd Person...

Funny little story: Ben and Sarah meet and date in high school. Ben is a Junior, Sarah is a Freshman. Two years go by, Ben graduates and goes four hours away to college. Bethel College (now University) in Minnesota. The cities. He plays football. He gets injured during a game. On the way to the hospital they pass a small church, he decides to check out that church the next Sunday.

Ben ends up loving this church. This church loves Ben. The pastor of little church graduated from Central Seminary, Plymouth MN.

Two more years go by, and although Ben loves Bethel...it is pricey and Sarah is graduating high school...here comes Iowa State University (Go Cyclones!)

Fast forward two more years. Ben graduates Iowa State, Ben and Sarah get married, move to MN and Ben starts seminary...Central Seminary.

Guess where we go to church? Yep. Same place. Sarah wasn't so sure she'd love it like Ben did...she wasn't so sure they'd ever find a church that fit them both. Sarah was wrong.

The End...sort of.

God used that church, the people and the youth to change us, mold us, and prepare us for the ministry here in tiny town. Going back to visit this past weekend was so sweet...I have no words for it.

Because I knew we'd only be in MN while Ben was in seminary, I did a really great job of not making many close friends (outside of our youth ministry.) I would not recommend this, by the way. Until one Sunday morning...Noah was about 6 months old and I had to take him out to the foyer because he was crabby. Standing out there was a visitor with a little boy just a few months older than Noah. They were sporting the same diaper bag as us. And if you're me, you take that

as a sign from God that you are to be friends with these people...because they have excellent taste, of course ;)

And we were, indeed, meant to be friends. Noah was almost 2 years old when we left MN. Eli was just 7 months...they only remember our life there from pictures and stories we tell them.

Here is a picture of the boys together about five years ago:

And Sunday, when we saw them again for the first time, it was as if no time had passed for those boys. They knew they had been friends when they were little. They knew they didn't really remember it...but it didn't matter to them. Once friends, always friends for these guys. It was absolutely precious.

We feel the same way. Jeff and Sarah are the kind of friends you can go years without seeing, and then pick right back up as if no time has passed. It is a priceless gift, and we are so thankful for friends like that!

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Let's Take it in Small Bites...

The Parsonage family took a little vacation. Finally. We headed North to Minnesota...the cities...as we like to call it. We called the cities home for the first 5 years of our marriage/seminary experience. They were some good times.

There are a few reasons why we don't "holiday" often. (That's what the Europeans call it instead of vacation and I am stealing it because it just sounds classy;)

1 - It costs a lot of $.

2 - I hate packing

3- We're traveling with this:

Well, minus the dog barking, we left the dog

with my parents...thank you parents ;)

We were able to stay with my aunt and her family. She is the best hostess ever. She even biked alongside me on my 7 mile run Saturday morning...you can't get that kind of dedication at any hotel...especially for free ;)

Our first stop was the reason for our trip...the wedding of one of the girls that was in our youth group. I once did a Bible Study with just the youth girls, called When God Writes Your Love Story. We spent much time discussing what made a good husband, and what it meant to let God write your love story. I remember threatening mentioning that each one had better invite me to their wedding someday so I could see the man that I had been praying for, for them. As we sat in the third row Saturday, and listened to the young man read his vows he'd written to her I couldn't help but cry. He is exactly the kind of man we'd prayed for for Nikole. Nikole took God's Word seriously, even when obeying it seemed painful...and God was faithful.

(he's washing her feet...I've never seen that at a wedding, but the picture of servant hood was perfect)

And our boys at the reception...wishing they were anywhere else *smile*

I think that might be all the vacation you can handle for one day... at least it is for me. I'm off to pick up Odie.

Happy Monday.

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Just Be Yourself...

Sometimes, it's easy for me to forget who I am supposed to be. Sometimes, I come up with my own version of me. Sometimes, I allow myself to perceive what others think I should be. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it...until the feeling of inadequacy is so strong I find myself looking in the mirror wondering where the heck I went?!?

This usually leads me to start praying for specific situations (people) in my life that I feel are causing me this trouble. Because surely my awesome God can change it.

It doesn't work like that.

My awesome God...He seeks to change me. And often times, He uses the most unconventional methods to get my attention.

This past Sunday my hubby had a sermon that God struck my heart with. Hard. Later that day I said to Ben, "I liked your dumb sermon." A huge smile spread across his face, because he knows me...he knew the dumb thrown in there meant I knew God was working on my heart and it was likely going to require change...those Pastors...they get a kick out of God changing people ;)

There's a song called The Middle, by Jimmy Eat World that I recently added to my iPod because it's a peppy little thing. God has hit my heart with the words this week.

Reminding me that I have forgotten who I am supposed to be. I forgot that all I need to be is who He wants, He makes it clear...and His expectations never change. If what He wants from me ends up not being enough for anyone else...that's OK, because it's enough for Him.

Just be yourself, it doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else... If it's good enough for Him, then that's it. Period.

I want His voice to rise so strongly above the rest of the noise in my life.

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