a perfect Memorial Day

Today was absolutely perfect! Gorgeous sunshine, blue skies, (with a white puff here and there) and it was hot, hot, hot! just the way I like it!  We spent the day outside, with the kids, in the pool and playing corn hole.  I think we were all so starved for warm weather and sunshine we forgot about sunburns! By late afternoon, after dinner, one by one the sunburns began to come out, and bodies were dropping all over the living room; chairs, floor, sectional!  Branden made a run to the store for aloe for his wife; Bryan took benedryl and gave Emily tylenol; Colson, Jacqueline and Victoria all got a dose of Tylenol too! Everyone is kind of moaning and groaning! not that I think its funny, but it brings a smile to my face, in a weird sort of way, because I rarely burn so its hard to understand the pain of sunburn.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher and I'm pretty sure anyone, that lives in this house, will be using sunscreen (we will probably need to make a run to the store for it!).  Two out of 12 are pretty much "burn free" (me and Benjamin).  I'm not even tired, actually I feel better today than I have in a long time! something about sunshine invigorates me; it drives my husband crazy because the sun zaps him of energy! I guess what they say is true, "opposites attract!" 

a touching end to a pretty lousy day. . . .

Today was a rough day! there's no other way to say it! my children were cranky, irritating (to me and to each other) and frustrating.  I found myself gritting my teeth throughout the day trying to deal with ridiculous issues that would arise between them.  I don't particularly care for days like this; frankly I loathe them.  I tried to keep my cool, be calm, yet as the day progressed I became a bit more irritable myself!  By evening I knew I had to somehow reign them in, get beyond our crankiness, and bring "something" to the table for us to hang onto.  Den and Brennan had left for a church softball game, the kids were ready for bed and I brought them into the living room and had them sit down in front of me.  I shared about the day, the poor responses we chose to display and then I opened our devotional book.  I began to read the devotions for the day.  I just love the book I'm using, it's short and simple but spoken as if God, himself, was talking to us.  He said, simply, that each day He has prepared treasures for us to find; some are good and some are not.  The ones that are not reveal the areas that we need to work on, to refine, to reshape.  I shared with the kids that I mess-up "alot" as a mom, and that I wasn't happy with my own behavior throughout the day.  I want God to change me; to get my eyes off of me and onto Him and others.  We talked about what that would mean for a 4 year old, a 9 year old and a 13 year old (these kids came up with some pretty staggering stuff).  I was completely blown away by the things my sweet babies shared.  After we finished I asked Colson to pray.  As he was praying, I was brought to tears by the simplicity of his words, his heart and the way he opens up to God.  We've a long way to go, but tonight was a wonderful start.  When I tucked the kids, into bed, I asked God to help us remember the treasures He has for us as soon as we wake up and to look for them throughout our day.

If your looking for a great devo for your kids check out this book.  I think you will find it pretty amazing and your kids will completely agree.

a feeding frenzy. . . .

not so "classy"


My manboy's love to eat cereal and they all use the "above"  blue mixing cup (its an 8 cuper) to eat their cereal out of.  It doesn't matter if someone, previous to them, has used it, they will simply rinse and re-use.  This blue baby holds nearly a full box of Fruity Pebbles! that pretty much sums up how much cereal our family goes through in a weeks time, even more so when they are all home.  Saturday I stopped at a garage sale and couldn't pass up buying the red mixing pitcher set ($1.00).  Now my manboys have a set of 3 "cereal bowls" to choose from.  The things I do for them........I sure hope they appreciate their new eating troughs!

oh so "classy"

My four-year old LOVES American Idol, but the reason she loves it is because of Lauren Alaina! This morning while I was getting ready for church I hear her in the study (with her princess microphone) saying, "Hi Lauren Alaina, I'm Victoria and I'm on American Idol, its so nice to meet you." This girl watches the show (minus all the questionable content) faithfully and is anxious to see the finale, hoping her favorite, from "day 1," wins!

through the eyes of a child. . . .

Last night, after dinner, Victoria asked if we could rockie. I said to her, "let's go outside and swing on mommy's new swing!" She thought that was a fantastic idea so we went outside, blanket in hand (it was sunny but nippy) and got ourselves comfortable on the swing. She began to tell me about her morning at preschool and then she looked up and said, doesn't that cloud look like an umbrella? I agreed and she went on to describe what "she" thought the other clouds looked like. It was such a treasure to sit with her, snuggling and enjoying her company. I'm so blessed to live my dream of being a wife and mom and even more blessed to have moments like this to share with my children. A big thank you to my husband and manboys who purchased the swing for me for Mother's Day. I love you all!

Yesterday the kids and I went on a bike ride.  The afternoon was simply gorgeous; blue skies and sunshine! We loaded up Victoria in her bike trailer and off we went.  Our plan was to hit two different local parks with dinner in between.  We had such a good time; Tori really enjoyed playing at the play scape, even making a few little friends! Brennan and Colson had a game of hide-n-seek going on with a bunch of kids! It was fun watching them run and play (long overdue but we can't control the weather, can we?).   We loaded up again for the long trek home, taking a shortcut to save a wee bit of time.  In the end the shortcut ended up being a huge section of mid-calf mud! My awesome 17 year old was able to maneuver through the woods to get beyond it; once on the other side he was able to place piles of compost, our neighbors had been dumping there, onto the path.  It took some time but we were able to make it through the path with only getting the sides of our shoes muddy! I gotta say my kid is amazing, helpful, kind, thoughtful, caring and ingenious!!

Yesterday morning Den and I took the kids to pick up Colson's bike, we had it serviced.  On our way home a lady was tailgating us (which was driving my husband nuts), as we pulled up to a light and stopped, she pulled up beside us hoping to beat us through the light and get ahead of us.  I leaned over to Den and said, don't let her do it! when that light turns green beat her to the punch.  She was on the phone, of course, and we were watching the light, anxious for the color to change!  As soon as it went GREEN, Den hit the gas, squealed the tires and laid rubber on the road! I turned just in time to see the lady, jump and turn her face in horror and look at us! It was so hilarious.  I laughed so hard, I couldn't stop! Colson was laughing in the back seat and I even got some laughter out of Den!  Who knew you could burn rubber in a mini-van?  I've never, in my life, done that.  Believe me I've tried but its just never happened.  I was shocked that Den would even attempt it because he's like the gas police and conserves every drop he puts into our tank (can't blame him at these ridiculous prices, $4.17) and he said he even surprised himself which was even more hysterical!  Today, as I sit here typing this scenario, I find myself drawn to laughter.  It was the best start to my day I've had in a long time!

I gave myself a great ending to my day too! Den didn't go to church with us last night so it was just me and the kids.  It was a great prayer service for the people of the Tornado stricken south; and a great time of fellowship after.  Once I got the kids home and took off my shoes I realized, horror stricken, that I had worn two different shoes to church.  Honestly......how could I be so naive and do that? I don't even know because the two shoes I wore were completely different; one was a mary jane crock and the other was a ballet flat! Needless to say, I felt completely ridiculous and so "blondish"! 

I love to laugh and yesterday was just the best Laugh Day Ever! and to laugh with my family, even at my  expense, was even better.