The God Boots

As you know, the weeks just before Christmas were a bit crazy with dancing and whatnot, but what you may not know is that the weather was even crazier. We have had the coldest, and wettest Fall in a sweet forever around here. In fact, it's felt more like Seattle than Texas lately!

Well, as you can imagine running a girl to dance class in cold, wet weather was not pleasant. Add to that the fact that her normal flip-flops were not working to go to class in, and her only boots are made of a very nice suede. So each day, it was a decision to freeze her toes off, or ruin her good boots...sigh. (It is important to wear shoes that are easy to get on and off, because they have to change into their various dance shoes when they get there.) I mentioned to the girl that it would be really nice if we could find her some waterproof boots that were also warm before she had to start her crazy Christmas schedule of 8 dance performances in 9 days! She agreed.

Unfortunately, we were low on cash, and with Christmas fast approaching, new boots didn't seem like a "necessary" expense. So I told the girl that we were just going to have to ask God for new boots. She looked at me and said, "Mom! You can't ask God for BOOTS!" I explained to her that God didn't just provide the basics for His children, but that He loves to bless us as well, and that anything that we need, we can ask Him to provide.

Fast forward to the very next day!

I was making a Sam's Club and she was still at home getting ready to go to yet another dance class. On my way into the store, I stopped to walk around a giant puddle of water, and noticed the corner of a bill sticking up out of the water. I picked it up and it was a $20 bill. I wasn't really sure that we could get what we were looking for with only $20, but I was convinced that this was God's provision for her new boots, and that He knew just how much they would cost.

I called her up and told her to be ready a few minutes early because we had a stop to make on the way to class. It occurred to me that we had not yet looked at Academy Sports for boots, and since there is one right near our house, I decided to try there. I picked her up, told her how I'd found the money and that we were going to see if it would be enough to get her some boots.

We walked to the shoe department and right on the end-cap was a display of weather-proof winter boots ON SALE FOR $17.99!!! They had her size, and they had her colors...pink and black. We bought the boots and with tax and everything, it was just under $20.

What an amazing testimony to my daughter, (and myself!) that God truly wants to bless us, not just with our "daily bread" but with our wants and desires as well. :)

Are you still running?

I know, I've been MIA again...but on the bright side, while I was gone I got another follower here on the blog. So perhaps the trick to having more followers, is to stop writing! :)

In truth, I was having Google trouble again and wasn't able to log on to the blog last week at all. I tried a few different things, and it finally let me on today, so I'm not sure what I did, but apparently something worked, and so I'm back!

Now, I know that I promised part two of the "Running" post, but it's almost time for the girl to be out of dance class, so I need to be quick. And you all know that when it comes to running, I am no where near quick.

Thank you-- thank you-- I'll be here all week.

But I did want to mention something that happened during this past weekend's football game between OU and UT.

I noticed it during the game and found it curious, but it wasn't until church the next morning when it really hit me... the significance of it.

Colt McCoy had just made a good run down to about the 4 yard line, when the ball was knocked loose from his hands as he was hitting the turf. There was a question as to whether the ball came loose before or after his knee was down, so the play was under review.

The review came back and ruled it a fumble, and OU got the ball. Here's the interesting part. I watched as Colt looked up to the sky and pointed up...just the way a lot of sports figures do when they do something good---a touchdown, a homerun, or really any good play. It's not uncommon to see this act of "giving God the glory" for sports accomplishments these days. But this wasn't an accomplishment, this was a failure...of sorts.

Anyway in church the next day, we sang a new song. (I've tried to find the lyrics to it online, but I have a feeling it may have been written by someone in our church because I found 3 different songs with the same title online, and not one of them was the correct song.) But the song in essence says, "I will praise/bless the Lord at all times: when I'm strong and when I'm weak; when I succeed and when I fail; when I'm happy and when I'm sad...etc."

When the song started playing, that picture of Colt pointing to God even in his time of failure came to my mind, and it occurred to me. He gets it. He really gets it. And now, I think maybe I get it too. Thanks Colt for the lesson, and the example.

Oh, and Hook Em Horns!! :)

It Really Shouldv'e Been Called "Squished Like Playdough"

Or maybe "Mangled Like Play Dough"

Or even this old favorite from my childhood "Folded, Spindled, and Mutilated Like Play dDough"

And the reason I say that is only because the title to my latest favorite book is called "Blue Like Play dough" and that title totally went over my head! Add to that the fact that while the cover of the book is, in fact, blue...the play dough on the cover is ORANGE! Personally, I think Tricia just likes messing with me....but really the color of the play dough doesn't matter one bit. Because this book isn't about the color of the play dough at all! It's all about the manipulation of the play dough. The shaping of the play dough. The molding of the play dough into a useful vessel to achieve a certain purpose. Can you guess what the play dough is? It's a mom! Actually, it's all of us moms, but this is the story of one mom in particular...my Twitter/Facebook friend, Tricia Goyer.

Tricia and I are both moms, (duh!) but we both became moms under completely different circumstances. I got married less than 3 months before my 27th birthday (I know, an old maid by some standards...and a young chick by others!), I was married for 3 years before I got pregnant with my first child, and I gave birth to that first baby 3 weeks after I turned 30 years old! Tricia, on the other hand, was an unwed teen mom who married a man who was not the father of her child when she was hardly more than a child herself.

Two completely different stories, yeah? And yet I told Tricia that after reading just the first 4 chapters of this book, I was laughing out loud at how "the same" we are. :) Now, I could go not only chapter by chapter, but probably page by page, and share with you the different things that God spoke to me through Tricia's story, but I won't. You're welcome!

I am going to restrict myself to just one thing that I took away from this book because it hit me as the most accurate description of motherhood I've ever heard. And yes, that includes "It's the hardest job you'll ever love" which has, up til now, held that distinction.

Being a mom is the equivalent of being in Junior High....all over again!

That is not a direct quote. Tricia puts it much more eloquently...'cause, you know, she's a writer! Here is the paragraph that made me want to stand up and shout "AMEN!"

"What my son also doesn't know is that the awkwardness of that eighth-grade Madonna wannabe didn't go away like my hairstyle did. The truth is, being a mom brought with it a level of intensity to match the intensity of those junior high days. From the moment the two pink lines on the pregnancy test told me I was expecting, my body and emotions have been in a constant, awkward state of change."

I know, right? All those feelings of wanting to be liked, and accepted, and successful at the politics of junior high are now transformed into wanting your kids to be liked, and accepted, and thereby stamping a seal of approval on yourself as a mother. Whoa, that's deep.

In this book, Tricia tells her story. It is the story of a girl who struggles with making the right choices and learns to let God make those choices for her. She just says "yes" when she hears His voice and His call. And she reveals how every time she does that, He takes care of all of those little details that she thought she had to concentrate on to receive that stamp of approval as a mom. It's the story of how God redeemed a life of poor choices, and turned it into a life of helping others make better ones....mine included.

Reading about how God has formed and shaped Tricia, like a lump of play dough, has encouraged me so much. I am encouraged not to worry so much about the appearance of being a good mom, and concentrate on just trying to be the mom, wife, daughter, and woman that God wants me to be. Because you know what? His is the only opinion that matters, and when that is the one that we care about, He will take care of all the others! When I look at Tricia Goyer, I don't see an unwed teen mother. I see God's glory. And that's what I want others to see when they look at me.

Next week the ladies in my church are getting together for dessert and a book exchange. I wasn't really sure which book I was going to bring, but I think after seeing how much better I feel as a mom/person after reading "Blue Like Play Dough", I think I'll be bringing a copy of it to pass on to another mom who needs a lift! I just don't think it will be my copy! I think I need to hang on to it for awhile! LOL...

Read an excerpt from the book: http://triciagoyer.com/cmsdocuments/Blue_Like_Play_Dough_Prologue_CH_1.pdf

A note from Tricia: Are you a mommy who feels squeezed by Motherhood? Could God be shaping something beautiful in you?

In my new spiritual memoir, Blue Like Play Dough I invite women to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary! To learn to see God's hand lovingly at work in every aspect of your life---from laundry-folding to the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon.

And now I’m inviting YOU to come bring your stretched self and attend a fun Facebook Launch Party for Blue Like Play Dough! I know you’re busy (and tired) so I’m bringing the festivities to you! So grab your comfiest chair and slip away from that long To-Do list and join me for a two hour Play Dough Party. I’ll be sharing some of my mothering experiences (the good and the bad), hosting a fun trivia contest, giving away Mommy Play Dough Packs, answering questions, and getting to know YOU!

I’d be honored to have you as my guest – and to prove it I’ll be giving away 2 ginormous Mommy Play !Dough Packs to two party attendees at random! The winners will be announced at the end of the party. Grab your friends and let’s party! oh, and don't forget your camera! Snap pictures during the party and upload them during the festivities. I'll be giving a prize away for the best photo!

So come join me on July 27th from 5-7 pm (PST)! Friend me on facebook and join the fun!

FACEBOOK Launch Party (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=206503170034)

Want to get to know Tricia better? Go and check out her website!

Author website: http://www.triciagoyer.com watch a video and read the endorsements

Want to purchase your own copy of the book?

Link to purchase the book: http://triciagoyer.com/store.html

Want to read what other bloggers have said about this book?

Blog tour schedule! http://www.litfusegroup.com/latest/what-is-new/87-blue-like-play-dough-blog-tour

No Court of Appeals for Automobiles...

This particular post has been a long time coming. I've been planning it in my head for quite some time, but have not had the time to sit and actually get it written...

Since today is Mother's Day, I've let all responsibilities go out the window, and I've spent the day doing whatever I have wanted to do: church this morning, take out from KFC for lunch, catching up on my DVR recordings, reading my email and cleaning out my inbox, and catching up with some of my favorite blogs! And now, I plan to take a break from reading blogs to actually WRITE SOMETHING on my OWN blog!

This story actually started several years ago...

When I met my husband, he spent his weekends racing his Honda CRX in local Autocross races. During one of these races, he spun out and did something to his clutch which made the car not very competitive for future races. Since he'd just met me, and we'd just started dating, the racing kind of went by the wayside as we were spending every free moment getting to know each other better, and the CRX went back to being just a regular car that took him to and from work, took me out on dates, and drove us away from the church after our wedding. :)

My husband held on to that car long after it stopped running. I think it was always in the back of his mind to get it running again and for us to be able to use it to go out on dates just for fun. Our 2nd born son had also claimed that he wanted to fix it up and let it be his car someday. But time and money didn't allow for any of these scenarios, so the car sat....

A few years ago, we got a notice that we could not have a "junk car" in our driveway, and we were given a date to appear in court to address the situation. Ben went to the court with pictures of the car to show that it wasn't a broken down "junk" car, and to explain that it wasn't registered because it wasn't being used. The judge agreed that it was not a junk car, and it didn't need to be registered if it wasn't being driven on the street, but apparently the law states that an unregistered vehicle cannot be visible from the street, so it needed to be put in the garage. She then gave him three days to make room in the garage and get the car moved into it. Her final ruling stated that the car needed to be moved by that date, or the car would be "towed and abated".

Now, right about the time that all this was going on, we discovered that we were quite unexpectedly expecting another baby! During those 3 days, I miscarried that baby, and consequently, moving the car out of the driveway became the least of our worries. The day, I had to have my D&C, a policeman came to the house with a tow truck driver to take the car away. He felt really bad about the situation, and gave me the information of where they were towing the car, so Ben could get it back when he got home from work.

Ben came home, went to the towing place, paid the fee, and they towed the car back to our house...where it was promptly put in the garage.

There it stayed until a couple of months ago when our growing collection of motorcycles forced it back out to the driveway. We had decided to go ahead and sell it despite it's sentimental value. So, we got a "For Sale" sign and put it out on the driveway. About a week or so later, a policeman came by to let us know that it would have to be moved, but we had 30 days to sell it, or move it back into the garage...

Two weeks later, another policeman came by to inquire as to where we got that car since his records showed that the car was supposed to have been destroyed....

Um, I'm sorry, WHAT????

Apparently, when the first policeman had filed his paperwork to start the 30 day process, that whole "towed and abated" thing popped up. Did you know that abated means crushed??? Yeah, neither did we. I asked the officer exactly what type of a crime a car could possibly commit to warrant the death penalty? He told me he didn't really understand it himself, but apparently when it was towed, it was supposed to be crushed and we weren't supposed to be able to get it back!

Are you kidding me???

Seriously. Mr. Policeman was very nice and tried to help us out since he couldn't figure out why it was to be destroyed either. (I'm thinking the judge didn't know what abated meant any more than we did, and was just trying to sound official!)

Through a series of phone calls and visits to the courthouse, we were eventually told that the current judge would have to rescind the original order for abatement, or they were going to have to take the car and crush it. After several MORE phone calls and visits to the courthouse, we were finally told that the current judge couldn't overrule the previous judge's decision.

Again, are you kidding me???

I made the point that even murderers had the right to appeal their convictions...it fell on deaf ears.

Deeply saddened, we stood by and watched as Mr. Policeman and his tow truck driver took away a piece of our past. While we had already resigned ourselves that we were going to have to part with it, this was not what we had in mind.

I personally think the whole thing was terribly unfair, and if my daughter is ever in the running for Miss America and is asked what she would most like to change in the world, I hope her answer will be that she will call for the rights of cars that have been unjustly sentenced to the death penalty to have the right to appeal to a higher, more understanding court! Because the cars can obviously not speak for themselves...and they need a voice in this unjust court system of ours!

And just for the record, we did look up the definition of the word abate:

a⋅bate

  a⋅bat⋅ed, a⋅bat⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: .

2.	a. to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance). b. to suspend or extinguish (an action). c. to annul (a writ).

3.	to deduct or subtract: to abate part of the cost.

4.	to omit: to abate all mention of names.

5.	to remove, as in stone carving, or hammer down, as in metalwork, (a portion of a surface) in order to produce a figure or pattern in low relief.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to diminish in intensity, violence, amount, etc.: The storm has abated. The pain in his shoulder finally abated.

7.	Law. to end; become null and void.

Still don't see how that means We are going to crush your car....hhmmmmph!!

Christmas is Over....I think

Here at the house of Kids and Cakes, we took our Christmas tree down just 9 days ago....

No need to adjust your bifocals or check your calendar. Yes, I meant February 22.

There were multiple reasons for leaving it up after Christmas: celebrating the "season" not just the "day", it went up late and the kids wanted to keep it for awhile, most of my storage boxes got water damaged somehow and I needed to find new storage boxes.... Those were all reasons why it was still up in January. But the reason it was still up in February was that we homeschool over here.

You see, when you homeschool, just about everything can be turned into a lesson of some sort. And so our Christmas tree became just that...a science experiment. You see, it was still drawing water, and looking quite lovely far into January. Oh, did I fail to mention that it was a real tree? It was. So, there it was looking good, and still pretty fresh a month after Christmas....and that my friends, shouts "Challenge!" to a homeschooler.

We decided to see just how long that tree would: a) continue to draw water, b) hold onto it's needles, c) keep it's branches strong and upright, and d) keep it's lovely dark green color. And the results are in!

a) up until about the 1st or 2nd week in February
b) never did lose any needles, until we started taking off the lights, and that pulled some off. They were very brittle by then, but they hung onto the tree unless you knocked them off somehow.
c) the branches started drooping around Valentines day, but only a few ornament slid off, it still held most of them up just fine.
d) about the same time it started to droop, the color started to fade.

So, what was the lesson learned in all of this? If you buy a real Christmas tree, buy a Frasier Fir and buy it from your local Sertoma Club, because that tree was AWESOME!

A Public Service Announcement on Putrescence....

For those of you who have not memorized the entire The Princess Bride movie (are there really any of you out there?)

putrescence

noun
1. in a state of progressive putrefaction
2. the quality of rotting and becoming putrid

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

Shall I start with the fact that last night my soon to be eleven year old son came to me and said, "Mom, the living room smells like throw up"? Yeah, he did. And yeah, it did. However, I thought it was the leftover Mac and Cheese from lunch that I had thrown in the trash. "Just take the trash out, and all will smell better by morning." Uh-huh....

Except morning came, and it was worse. A lot worse.

So, I lit my Febreze candles, gave them time to start working their magic (they really are magic!), and went in search of The Putrescence.

May I just take a moment here to give a small piece of advice? If you find a Thermos: Foogo--Leak-proof straw bottle leaking from the bottom, DON'T! OPEN! IT! It makes a spectacular fountain...yep, it so does. (The Putrescence is now all over the clothes I was wearing, and I see a second shower in my very near future!) Oh, and the Febreze candles, can only do so much when The Putrescence is actually all.over.you.

Now, in my defense...we have different cuppies for different drinks throughout the day. I thought that the cup in question was the water cup. (I can just hear my friend Randy now "What'd you do? You THOUGHT!" Randy is a very funny fellow...RIGHT!) In fact, the liquid leaking out of the bottom was perfectly clear...like water...only it wasn't.

Anyway, had I known that it was the milk cup, it would have been in the dishwasher, and not out on the table. From now on, ALL cups will go into the dishwasher at night. He really doesn't need to have a cup of water handy during the night anyway, right? Right!

**This is the end of this Public Service Announcement**

And to think, I was considering getting on here this morning and telling you all that I was having total writer's block and I'd be back when I had something to say!

Now honestly...how many of you are wishing I had stuck with that original plan?

Uh-huh, me too!

Now if you want to have a better experience in Blogland today, go here and watch the video. It is amazing, and will totally redeem your day after reading this post!

In which I set aside my "To Do List" and actually write a post!

I don't normally do women's Bible Studies at church. I'm too busy with the kids and the cakes and the dishes and the laundry... Seriously, we generally have one night a week that we don't have a practice or a game, or something we have to do. Adding one more thing just never seemed like a good idea to me...until...Miss Marcy stood up in church and announced that she was starting a Bible Study on "The Book of John for Women". Now I don't really know Marcy at all. She sings on the worship team with her husband and has a beautiful voice, but that's about all I know about her. That and the fact that she is funny. (One of my most favorite traits in people!) I have been to a couple of baby showers at the church that she attended and when she spoke, she cracked the place up. So, my interest was peaked. But when she told us that as she was setting out the sign-up sheets for the Bible Study, and one of the ladies signing up told her, "I don't normally go to these things", it was her response that sealed the deal for me. She said, "Neither do I!" That was it, I was in!

However, I was still concerned about our sports schedules and such, and I didn't want it to be offensive or disruptive to her if I wasn't able to attend every session, so I sent her an email explaining that there were some nights that I would not be able to be there due to my son's baseball games, and would that be too disruptive? She immediately replied letting me know that I was welcome to whichever sessions I could attend and that she would email all the material that I missed to me, so I would have a complete notebook. She's cool isn't she? This study was obviously not about her!

Well as it turned out, the study was a six-week course and we had baseball games scheduled for 4 of those dates. However, apparently God wanted me there as well, because two of those games were postponed due to rain, and the fourth was a late game, so I was able to attend before the game! The session I did miss was on "Patience vs. Frustration". I guess God didn't think I needed that one...or maybe He can just recognize a lost cause when He sees one...LOL!

Anyway, it was a FABULOUS study, full of wisdom and creative teaching tools that I wish I could share with you in detail, but that's not really my thing. What I really wanted to share with you was what I personally took away from the whole thing. There were lots of little things, of course, but the main thing came to me on the second to the last meeting of the series. The lesson was on "Trust vs. Doubt" and the activity was called "A centerpiece of faith and trust". Basically, Marcy had purchased a bunch of different types of cut-flowers. They were all laid out on the table and there was a vase filled with water in the middle of the table. One by one, we each knelt at the table, chose a flower, cut it off to the length we wanted, and placed it into the vase. As we placed our flowers into the vase, we each made one of the following statements taken from John 17 in order:

1. We glorify Your Son.
2. You have given us eternal life.
3. You are the only true God.
4. Your work is complete.
5. Jesus, You are exalted.
6. I belong to you.
7. Every good thing comes from You.
8. I believe Your Word.
9. I am Yours.
10. You are mine.
11. I am protected by You.
12. I am safe in Jesus.
13. I receive Your joy.
14. I receive Your words.
15. I am protected from the evil one.
16. I am not of this world.
17. Your Word is truth.
18. I am sent into the world.
19. I am set apart for You.
20. Others will see and believe.
21. My oneness with You will affect the world.
22. The body of Christ is one body.
23. God loves me.
24. I will see Your glory.
25. You sent Your Son.
26. Your love lives forever in me.

Now, let me tell you, by the time we had gone through each of those 26 statements, and pruned those flower stems, (part of the lesson, you see, is the pruning) and placed them in that vase, we had quite a beautiful arrangement! It was an example of how God sees all of us together as a beautiful bouquet, and even though we need some pruning now and then, we are still part of that bouquet. Cool huh?

But here's the really cool part...the statement that fell on my turn was "You are mine". I had often thought of myself as His, but had never considered Him to be mine. I guess this was something that God really wanted me to hear, because at the end of the evening, we were each given an envelope to open with a personal message for each of us. The messages weren't anagrams of our names, but each letter of our names was highlighted throughout the message. This was significant because one of the things we had studied was about God calling us by name. Anyway, the message for me included that "I am Yours" from God to me! I am still trying to wrap my mind around that, but it is so obviously something He wants me to know, that I am going to focus on it for awhile and see what He does with it.

I really wish I had taken my camera with me so I could have posted a picture of that bouquet to share with you all. It truly was glorious!

And now, although I must return to my "To Do List", I will leave you with this thought...You are His, and He is yours! Wrap your mind around that today and let me know where it leads you!

Thanks for stopping by.

My Perfect Household

*Updated: Sorry guys, I messed up when I entered the blog challenge, and I didn't link directly to this post. I just linked to my blog...DUH! So...I'm making this a "sticky post" and it will remain the top post until the challenge is over. So, if you are looking for new posts...you'll have to scroll down.

This article is my submission to the blog challenge sponsored by Art Bookbindery, "Empowering Writers to Self Publish."




This is a true statement...I promise.

Yesterday at about 12:30 or so in the afternoon. I was finishing up shining the kitchen sink. My mother had come and taken the girl to ballet class. Number one boy was busy shining everything he could find made out of stainless steel with the stainless steel polish; trash can, oven, dishwasher, toaster. Number 3 boy was in his room napping. And number 2 boy was sitting quietly on the couch reading his Bible because he had already finished the dusting.

I'm not kidding. It's true. Do you envy me? Do you think that I have a pretty great bunch of kids and a smooth-running life?

Let's rewind this picture...

It's 11:00. My mother is knocking at the door. I'm still running the vacuum over the middles of the carpet (no time to do the edges). The kids are daydreaming instead of picking up the toys, mail, books, etc. that are in the way of the vacuum. The girl is still looking for her shoes. The baby is screaming for attention. And the kitchen is a huge nightmare.

Rewind some more...

It's 10:30 and my mother is due in 30 minutes. The bathroom is still not finished being cleaned, there is JUNK all over the living room. Everything needs to be dusted and vacuumed. The kitchen sink, counters and table are filled with dirty dishes from the weekend's cake extravaganza, and the morning's breakfast. The kitchen floor is just a mite sticky in places with scattered cereal and a sippy cup or two strewn about. There are 3 trash bags in the kitchen waiting to be taken to the outside trash can. And there is a laundry basket or two with clothes waiting to be folded, as well as three with folded laundry waiting to be put away sitting on the living room floor. Oh, and let's not forget all the Easter baskets, candy, toys etc. piled on the couch waiting to find a home somewhere in this tiny, little, house.

Rewind one more time...

It's 10:00. The shrieking can be heard for miles! "COME ON GUYS!!!! I FORGOT!!! GRANDMA'S ON HER WAY OVER HERE AND THIS PLACE IS TRASHED!!!! B! CLEAN THE BATHROOM!! J! PICK UP IN THE HALLWAY!! M! GET DRESSED FOR BALLET!! D! PUT THAT DOWN!!! D!! GET OUT OF THERE!!! D!!! LEAVE THAT ALONE!!!

On second thought, let's fast forward back to 12:30. The dishes are finished. The floor has been swept and mopped. The living room has been dusted and vacuumed. The counters and table have been wiped clean. The sink has been shined. B has shined everything made of stainless steel in the house just because he wanted to make it look nice -- I didn't even ask him to. J has informed me that he was so interested in his Bible story, that he read ahead and is now 2 days ahead in his reading. The girl has just returned from ballet class with hugs and kisses for her mom. And the baby boy is still napping peacefully in his room.

You see, I could paint you two very different pictures of life in my house. Both would be accurate, but neither would tell the whole story. I thought a lot about this when I got a response to this year's Christmas letter from an old school friend. She said to me, "It sounds like you got everything you ever wanted." I thought for just one second about the house that's too small for 6 people, a school, and a bakery. I thought about car repairs needed. I considered medical bills that needed to be paid. I thought of things we'd like to buy but can't afford. Then I thought again...

This time I thought about four healthy, beautiful, children who think I'm the greatest mom ever. I thought about a husband who acknowledges (quite readily I might add) that I am not perfect while proclaiming that I am perfect for him. I thought of a house that we can afford to pay the mortgage on. I thought of the van I drive that my husband traded work to get for me so it didn't take any money out of our pockets. (The van with leather seats, front and rear AC, and a 13 inch TV with VCR installed in the ceiling.) I thought of the school books and software programs littering my kitchen where I teach my children rather than sending them off to strangers every day. I thought of the cake pans, icing tips, decorator bags, and thousands of accessories I have that allow me to be creative and make beautiful cakes and cookies for my friends while earning a little extra money on the side.

I thought of all these things and I realized that my old friend was right. All I had ever wanted to be was a wife, a mother, and a teacher with the chance to use my creative talents to make beautiful things. I have achieved all I ever wanted in life. So, let's not linger on the 10:00am to 12:30pm times in our lives. Let's instead, follow the advice of Philippians 4:8 and think only on those things that are noble and pure and true...

I do have a great bunch of kids. And I do have a great life.

GOD IS GOOD!

This is where I must eat my words...sort of...

So, a few days ago, my forever friend C, sent me this photo (hers included the head, but for her privacy, I cut it off) of her SON who had been terribly abused by his sisters, as you can see, and used as a dress up doll. I responded to said picture by announcing that I was going to come and take the poor baby to come and live at my house where the boys out-number the girls, 4-2 and he wouldn't be subjected to such torture.

Then, a few days ago at my Mother-in-Law's birthday dinner, my little David came down the stairs, proud as can be, looking like THIS! Now, in my defense, David put the hat on himself so there was no torture involved. AND a pink hat with heart shaped leopard print is not nearly as bad as a gold lam`e skirt with plastic jewels! But still...it just goes to prove the old saying, that if you criticize the actions of someone else's kids, yours will turn on you around and do the exact same thing!

Bloggity Book Club--"Get Out of That Pit"

I know I'm late in posting this, but honestly, I haven't quite finished the book yet. For the three people who actually read this blog on a semi-regular basis, you know that the past two weeks have been cake and cookie crazy, so that explains part of the delay here. For those who know me in REAL life, you know that I have a problem with procrastination, motivation, perfectionism, etc., etc., etc...and that pretty much explains the rest!!

I have a confession to make here...when I first started reading this book, I wasn't seeing my own pit at all. I mean, life around here has been fairly good lately. But I DID find myself thinking of other people I know who live in REALLY, REALLY DEEP Pits of their own, and I kept wanting to send them an anonymous copy of the book. (Yes, I know...that was NOT the point of SISTA Beth's book! I'm working on it. I'm working on it...)

So, as I get farther and farther into the book, I start to feel like maybe I am in a pit after all, but it is more of a literal pit...a messy, disorganized, dirty, house...and not so much a spiritual pit like Beth is talking about. And as I am again reprimanding myself for not seeing the "spiritual" message I'm supposed to be grasping, I had what Flylady calls a "lightbulb moment". Perhaps my physical pit is the result of a spiritual pit...hmmm. I really should explore this further...

In the meantime, I continued to read my favorite blogs, and I found myself really wanting to be a little more like Barb over at A Chelsea Morning, and a lot less like me! Fortunately, I was still reading Sista Beth's book, so I was able to stop myself before becoming "co-dependant" on poor Barb to get me out of my physical pit!

I'm teasing, of course, but at the same time, I really do HATE a dirty house, and I really was feeling like even if this wasn't the kind of pit Beth was referring to, perhaps it did need to be addressed. So, I began to look at the reasons why it is so hard for me to keep my house the way I want it...and here's what I came up with:

1) I have four kids. Yes, it would be MUCH easier to keep clean if there were no kids here to mess it up, but honestly, my house was messy BEFORE the kids too, so although they are a contributing factor to the current mess, they are obviously NOT the real problem--besides, I REALLY LIKE THEM, and would have a hard time giving them up! Hee-hee! So, I had to keep digging.

2) I have too much on my plate. I homeschool 3 of the 4 kids and try my best to keep the 4th out of trouble in the meantime. A full day of school for me is about 8 hours. I say for "me" because each child only has 1-3 hours worth of work on any given day, but I have to work with each of them individually, so I spend about 8 hours each day doing school. I also have the cake business. There are a couple of reasons why I keep up the cake business even though I'm crunched for time; I ENJOY it (most of the time). It is a nice break from the daily grind and a chance for me to be creative. And the extra money helps to pay for the kids' sports, etc.

3) I have health issues. It seems like I have been tired most of my life. The first time I recognized that this might be a result of my kidney problems was after I had surgery to put a temporary stint into my kidney to make it function better. While the stint was REALLY uncomfortable, the rest of me felt SO MUCH BETTER! I seemed to have more energy, and everything just didn't seem as hard. For years I thought I was just really lazy, and I would beat myself up about it. It was actually comforting to find out that there was something physically wrong with me.

So, yes, I do have some legitimate reasons for not keeping the sparkling house I wish I did. However, as my Prince Charming has pointed out (more times than I care to mention), I seem to do the things I WANT to do just fine...ouch! And it is true. I can force myself to get up and decorate a cake even when I don't feel well, but it is darn near IMPOSSIBLE to force myself to clean the house when I'm not feeling well! Partly because part of the "not feeling well" includes nausea, and looking at dirty toilets, floors, etc. just makes it worse! But seriously, I REALLY HATE a dirty house, so why isn't that motivation enough to get up and do something about it?

Guess what I discovered...I really do have a spiritual pit! It is not laziness, or poor health, or kids I am battling here, it is Satan. Why does Satan care if I have a dirty house or not? Because of who I am! I am the type of person who wants to have people over so we can eat homemade bread, cake, and cookies, drink Diet Coke, and watch really good movies together! I also want my house to be the one where all the neighborhood kids come to hang out. ('Cause I want to know what my kids are doing and with whom. And I want some say in how they do it!) He also knows that I beat myself up over my failures in this area. All I have ever wanted to be was a wife and mother, and I feel that if my house is dirty, I'm not doing a good job at either, and I feel defeated and miserable.

Every day that I live in a dirty house, is a day that I don't walk in God's victory, and a day that I don't live the life I believe God has called me to live. And THAT, my Sistas, is why Satan cares if my house is clean or dirty!

I have gotten in and out of this pit many, many times. Sometimes, I get pushed in (by kids, schedules, etc.). Sometimes, I slip in unaware. And sometimes I jump in because I just choose to. I have jumped out by working my tail off to impress someone who was coming over. I have climbed out slowly with the help of the Flylady. And I have made the pit, not quite so slimy with sheer determination. But I always know that eventually I'll be back in it. Now, I can see that there is a way out...and I'm going to have to read the rest of the book to find out what that is!!!

I'm not really sure if a personal revelation is what we were supposed to right in our Book Club post, but this is what I got out of what I've read in the book so far. I'm planning to spend the rest of today doing laundry, watching NASCAR, and finishing the book. I may be back with a follow-up post once I finish it, but for now...that's my first Bloggity Book Club post, and I can't wait to see what we are going to read next! For more Bloggity Book Club posts, check in over at Little Bits of Life.

American Idol and "Foot in Mouth" Disease...all in one really LONG post!

Okay, so the guys were pretty good except for poor Sanjaya who just didn't have the pipes last night. It seemed like everyone was going BIG and he was going soft...really, really soft. The ladies tonight were really odd to me? Was it the band? So many of the ladies seemed to be off the beat...I mean REALLY off the beat. My first thought was that the monitor might be messing them up somehow, but then Miss Melinda Doolittle, and Lakisha Jones didn't seem to have any trouble at all. B suggested maybe it was the band, and not the singers who were off...possibly.

Anyway, my favorites so far are...Chris Sligh (so talented, and SO funny!), Blake Lewis (amazing talent), Brandon Rogers (he's the male counterpart to Melinda Doolittle--wouldn't it be fun to see them sing together???), Melinda Doolittle (obviously!), Lakisha Jones (my kids just call her "the mom"), Sabrina Sloan, (drop dead gorgeous, and such a smooth voice!), and Sundance Head (I know he's had some rough spots, but I'm still liking him from his very first tryout. He was just so funny, and he has a really good voice when he's singing the right song. I keep rooting for him to do really well each time he sings, to redeem himself after Hollywood Week.)

Okay, so that's my ever so humble opinion on the American Idol wannabees so far this season.

Now as for our day around here...Benji had a VERY interesting day...

Benji had the poor judgement last night to open his big mouth and insert not one, but two feet firmly inside. I was talking to another of the mom's at soccer practice, whom I just met last week, and she was discovering that not only do we have four kids, but that I homeschool three of them. She was commenting on how it must be a lot of work with the baby and all, and she said, "Wow, you must REALLY be "Wonder Woman" if you do all that." And before I could comment on how much my children help me out with the baby and housework and all, Benji pipes up and snorts...he actually snorted in disgust...and said, "She thinks YOU do everything, when WE really do everything. You just sit on the couch all day while we do all the work." No, I'm not kidding...he really said that! He really can be THAT stupid some times.

Now, before you jump to conclusions on either side of this issue, let me explain something...I DO spend a lot of time on the couch. Between my endometriosis, kidney disease, and osteopenia, (Yes, I know...my sister wants to sell my body to medical science!) I have quite a bit of back pain, and rather than pop Vicodin all day, I prefer to sit with my back on the warm heating pad. Therefore; I read my email, pay my bills online, manage my cake and cookie website, do school with the kids, eat my lunch, balance my checkbook, have my quiet time, do my Bloggity Book Club reading, write this blog, read all my favorite blogs, and watch American Idol and 24...on the heating pad...ON THE COUCH. I don't really lie there in a vegetative state ordering my slaves around! In between these activities, I get up and do the housework, bake the cakes and cookies, feed the family, do the laundry, etc. And quite often I am up until midnight doing the cakes and cookies because I don't like to take my time away from the kids to do them if I can help it.

So, needless to say, to hear those words out of my beloved firstborn son...cut deeply. Both because he doesn't appreciate all I do, and because I obviously haven't demonstrated to him how much I do for them because they are my first responsibility. So, here's what I did about it...I turned over the job to Benji for the day! He got to change diapers, unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher and then load the breakfast dishes in, sort the laundry and start a load in the washer, fix breakfast for the other 3 kids, make sure everyone had done their morning responsibilities, help the girl with her schoolwork, and get the other boy started on his, while making sure that the baby was staying out of the potty, and down from the shelves, tables, etc. Meanwhile, I watched tv, went outside and jumped on the trampoline, (Benji's favorite thing to do when he gets a break during school time.) and just watched the magic happen. Ya'll, he lasted an hour and a half before he broke down and cried. Real, sobbing tears..."I hate this job...I don't understand what Maddie is supposed to do on her lesson, Jon won't read what I'm telling him to, and Davey won't listen at all!" Point Made???

I then asked him if he would like to switch back...he said, "Sniff...yes...sniff, sniff". Hopefully, he understands now that I do a lot more than he realizes and that when I ask them to help out, it's not because I'm lazy...(at least, not ALWAYS because I'm lazy, LOL) but because I NEED some help to get everything done.

I have started a blog for Benji, because he has some stuff he wants to write, and he wants to have a place to show the pictures of motorcycles he has designed, AND it's a great way to make writing assignments a little bit more fun for him. Over the next few days, I'm going to have him write his side of this whole experience and post it. When he's got it up, I'll link to it, so ya'll can read..."the rest of the story".

Things I've Learned About God From My Kids

Okay, have any of you ever heard any of Michael Card's Lullaby CD's? They are my favorites! And I can't recall the song at this juncture, but there is a line in one of his songs that he sings to his baby boy that says, "...you'll show more of God than I'll ever teach you..." That line touched the deepest part of my heart the first time I heard it. And the longer I have kids, the more I realize that it is so very true. Case in point...

Today stunk! I have not felt well for days...and I'm not still talking about the CRUD. I am afraid I am having kidney trouble again. I've had headaches, trouble with my eyes, pain, and nausea...how I hate the nausea! Anyway, each day that has passed in which I have not gotten anything remotely productive accomplished, I have told myself "That's okay, SURELY I'll feel better tomorrow, and I'll catch up then." The problem is, I haven't felt better, and now I'm so far behind that the idea of catching up seems like quite a lofty goal. I mean, I know I'll eventually have a clean house again...I always do...eventually...and I will cook a full meal (with all four food groups) for my family...one of these days...it just seems to be getting farther and farther into the future! But I digress...the point of mentioning the whole "today stunk" business was to make it clear that I am not feeling too good about myself these days. I've kind of fallen behind on the whole mom thing and especially the whole wife thing. Which is pretty much what I'm supposed to take care of first, so I've been feeling pretty much like a failure at life.

Now, to the good part. Yes, there is a good part to this post! (I know you were fixin' to switch over to BooMama, or Big Mama, 'cause right about now you could really use a good laugh!) When I'm feeling like God must be completely disappointed in me, and sorry that He ever entrusted these beautiful children to me, He recalls to my memory some of the lessons that my children have taught me about Himself and His very nature...

#1) There are times (rare though they may be) that my kids drive me completely bananas. They fuss and bicker with each other, they question every! single! thing! I! say!, and they have to be threatened to extremes before they accomplish a single task I put before them.

#2) My kids can be selfish, self-centered, and completely unappreciative of all that has been given to them. (Again, on rare occasions only!)

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Now, keeping in mind the above noted behavior...I find myself every now and then (although it also is a very rare occurance) able to go out and do the grocery shopping, or everyday errand running without the kids. This is usually after they have been trying my patience all day, and I don't want to take them with me. Inevitably, however, I will find myself looking at things in the store that I know one of them would really like, and it doesn't matter how mad I was at them earlier in the day, or how disappointed I was in them, or how irritated they made me. I still want to buy it for them just because I know how much they will like it. I still want to give them good gifts whether I feel they deserve them or not just because they are my kids, and I love them, and enjoy bringing them joy. And it occurs to me at times like this that God feels the same way about me! It is so hard to accept, but I know it's true because I know that if I can feel that way about my kids, being the sinful mother that I am, how much more can my Heavenly Father love me, being the Perfect, and Holy Father that He is?

So, I said all that to say this...If you are feeling unloved, and unworthy today, you need to know that no matter how unworthy we may be, we are NEVER, EVER, EVER, unloved. And our Heavenly Father still desires to bless us with His good gifts.

So now I want to ask all of you, if you have any lessons that God has taught you through your children, would you share them? I'd love to know other ways that God has used our children to reveal Himself to us! Let's see if I can make this Mr. Linky thing work, and you can link back to this post with your lessons learned.




Thanks for stopping by!