It's What We Do...

Dear Little Lu,

It's hard to believe you're already 6 months and 3 weeks old.  Even crazier, is that for the past 6 months, we've only been separated a handful of times.  


Truthfully...I can't get enough of you.  I'm pretty sure you feel the same.  


Your smile is infectious.


I breathe in the smell of you, feel your chubby little cheeks against mine and seriously believe that this must be what Heaven smells like. I have those same thoughts when I enter Starbucks and the Aveda Salon...but we'll discuss that when you're older...


I look at your pictures hanging on the walls, and can hardly believe how fast you've grown.  It makes my heart ache a little because it seems no matter how much I savor every moment...the moments are still just moments.  Gone quickly.


Yesterday, as we waited to pick up your brothers from school, I sat and watched a mom walk with her young toddler daughter, hand in hand.  I pictured you...no longer a baby, but walking along holding my hand.  It made me smile.  I think it was God's way of reminding me to enjoy today, but to look forward with joy to what is ahead, rather than long for what will have passed.


But for now, I will treasure our almost-every-day dance together.  It usually happens in the afternoon, when your brothers are at school and the house is quiet...just you and me.  You fighting going down for a nap, me, swaying and rocking and shooshing you to sleep...to this song.




I wonder if you'll remember...I will.


Love you, Miss Lucy.  

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My Find...

It's Friday morning, and I am sitting here at the computer having NOT yet watched the newest episode from The Office that was on last night.  That pretty much never happens.

You know what I was doing last night?  Sitting on the couch with my husband working on Monthly Cash Flows, and Allocated Spending Plans, Calculating, Planning, Zero balancing the budget.  We did it.  And loved it.  Thank you Dave Ramsey.  

And, that being said, I just realized that I haven't shared with you my latest thrifty find.  

It's such a good one.

So, for the past several months I've been dreaming of this:

At the rate I'm saving for it, it will be mine in approximately 5 years. ;)

Last week when I was in the local thrift store, trying to find Halloween costumes, I came across this little green beauty on the shelf.

$7.50.  I drove straight to my grandma's house to show her.  She sweetly admired my find, and then asked me what I was going to use for the bowl.  I smiled, and then opened my mouth with my answer (proving that I am indeed, a mixer moron beginner.)  My bright idea was just using my pyrex bowl I already had at home!  (Why I thought that would work...I have no idea) Grandma's are the best.  Instead of making me feel like an idiot, she leads me inside and says, I used to have a mixer just like that, when it broke, I kept the bowls.  

Of course she did.

Sure enough, she walks over to the pantry and and pulls out the mixing bowl, marked Sunbeam on the bottom.  It's a match.  

It's old and has a story.  Now it has an even better story, just like the parsonage.

It was absolutely necessary that the first item of business for the avocado mixer be the famous pumpkin bars.  She runs great.  

It looks just as cute on my counter as the orange one would, and it will totally do for now!

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The Reading That Consumes Me

I'm behind.  I have all sorts of good stuff to share with you, but a couple really good books are sucking my time (along with a husband, 4 kids, a dog etc etc etc)


So, lets start backwards and begin with the books I'm reading simultaneously.


The Bait of Satan by John Bevere.  I'm moving through it at a snails pace because I really, really want it to settle deep into my soul and stick there.  The "bait" it's referring to is offense.  Turns out, being offended happens waaaay more often than I realized, and sticks around waaaay longer than I thought it did.  Not for me, of course.  *cough*    


Let me share a little gem that I read this morning.  He says, "hurt people become more and more self-seeking and self-contained.  In this climate the love of God waxes cold."  And then he gives a very cool analogy, which I'd like to put into my own words and thus butcher for you.


Here goes:  The Sea of Galilee has water flowing into it, and then flowing out of it.  It has all sorts of plants and fish living the dream.  The water of the Sea of Galilee flows into the Jordan River which feeds into the Dead Sea.  The Dead Sea takes in the water, but GET THIS, it does not give it out.  There are no living plants or fish.  The living water from the Sea of Galilee become dead when mixed with the stagnant waters of the Dead Sea.


He goes on to say, "an offended Christian is one who takes in life but because of fear (of being hurt again) cannot release life.  As a result, even the life that does come in becomes stagnant within the wall or prison of offense."


Being offended happens all the time really.  Why just this morning, I logged on to facebook only to find that someone referred to anyone who voted a particular way in the election (which would be me) as judgmental and a bigot.    My already elevated blood pressure skyrocketed.  How dare they, I thought to myself as I deleted their newsfeed from my reader.  


Soap Box Minute:  Why is it that my opinion that is contrary to theirs is considered "judgmental" yet they can call me a bigot and it is not judgmental?  Really?   Is my vote being judgmental?  Ab-so-lute-ly!  Is theirs?  Um, yeah.  Same thing.  AND, if they call me intolerant ONE MORE TIME, I may scream....because they have no idea how tolerant I am being.  


Stepping down now...anyways, see...totally offended.  Fortunately, the offense came from someone distant, so it doesn't hurt deeply.  The ranting releases it.  But when the offense comes from someone close...that's where it bites.  And festers if not dealt with.


Good book.  Go read it.  Unless you're the type who's never offended.  In which case, you need to find a book on denial.  ;)  Feisty today, no?  It's the season, I can't help myself, I'm a political junkie...


The other book is Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  It's all-consuming right now.  I never thought I'd say it, but I. Love. it.  God is bringing some much needed peace and direction through this books plan, and through other resources we never even imagined.  It's humbling, and hard, and wonderful all at the same time.  I can't stop talking about budgeting and such.  I'm quite annoying.


So there you have it.  Have you read either?  


Next time, I promise cute pictures and no ranting.  Or less ranting at least.  

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but it'snot

So...I've had some sick kiddos.  Fevers are lame.  Lucy and I spent Saturday morning visiting the Doctor and perusing the aisles at the local pharmacy....where I found this little gem:

Look at the picture!  Both momma and baby smiling as she sucks the snot out with her mouth.  I died laughing...silently of course.

So, none of the snot actually gets in your mouth, still... I'm not sure I could suck on it.  

I need to know...could you?

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Just Kidding...

My sister in law is one of the funniest people I know.  I adore her.  


Her most recent influence has been the "Just Kidding" skit originally from SNL.  Every time she does it, I laugh my butt off.  Now my boys do it, and it still cracks me up, even when it's annoying me I can't stop laughing at it.  


I should have recorded her.  Or them.  But for now, here's the skit from SNL so you know what I'm talking about.  


It's clean.  But I warn you, you're likely to add "just kidding" to everything you say.  


Just kidding, you probably wont.  Just kidding.

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Behind the Pictures...

 We took a little day trip.  

Looks picture perfect, doesn't it?  I smiled as I uploaded these to facebook last night, and thought to myself, man I love pictures.  

They capture what I want them to capture.  The fun, the smiles, just the right lighting to flatter (because of course I deleted the others.)  What I'm left with is what I want to remember.  Because truthfully, there's parts I'd like to forget.  Like...

The huge ordeal it was just to get everyone going that morning.  The whining about where we were going, and what we were doing, and how long it would take to get there...and of course they're hungry, because they're always hungry.  The game, between brothers in the back seat of the van, called Don't Flinch.  It's all fun and games till one really doesn't flinch and technically wins, the lucky winner ends up with a fist in his eye because the other brother thought he'd flinch. Tears.  Spilled pop at the restaurant, crawling under the booth, numerous trips to the bathroom.  Oh yeah, I forgot batteries for the camera.  Big long *sighs* where Ben and I look at each other and smile (weakly) and try to encourage each other that yes, yes indeed this is family fun.  Because, really...at the time, there were lots of moments where it didn't feel like a whole lot of fun.

Did I mention how glad I am that pictures are silent?  Because I am.

And the time always comes, like last night...where I sit back, and look at the pictures and smile (an extra big smile when I get to delete the unflattering ones and pretend I never really look like that *cough*) Because all of the craziness really is part of the fun.  Not so much at the time, but later.  Looking back.  But in the moment, I forget that.  In the moment, I'm very annoyed that my kids can't get along, and need to be reminded 1,000 times to just STOP PESTERING EACH OTHER, and can't be more grateful for how wonderful their dad and I are for braving the outing in the first place.  Am I right?!?  Oh, I'm right alright.

Right and ridiculous.  

I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point where I enjoy the craziness in the moment.  Maybe I will.  But I know one thing, I always smile looking back on it.  

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Life is Good

Sometimes...our weekends are full of such great stuff that Mondays I sit here at the computer tongue tied.  Words sometimes aren't enough to capture it all.  


Friday night we headed out for a family date night...all six of us.  Our first choice of restaurant turned out to have too long of a wait.  When there's 6 of you, there's no more squeezing into a booth, or a table technically meant for 4.  Instead, you wait until two tables open up...or you go somewhere less popular.  


Bring on less popular.  


We ended up here.  And yes, we took home a whole peanut butter pie.  It's my new favorite restaurant, because really, I'm an old soul...I belong at Village Inn...with the old people.


Saturday I painted more doors.  Red.  Hello front door:

Saturday night the boys played flag football "under the lights" it's a big deal.  I'm the big-loser mom who forgot her camera.

Sunday we had a fall/birthday party at my husband's family's farm.  

Eli celebrated with three other cousins.  

And then Grandpa Dave took us on a hayride.

Lucy loved it.

And then fell asleep.

And then woke up to let the little puppy lick her toes.

And a get-together is never complete without a little football...

Life is good.

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