SNOW

I love snow. We don't get nearly enough here in Oklahoma. It snowed for a few hours today. So like any good Mom...I bundled my kids up and sent them outside. I'm not feeling that great today, but I too bundled up and helped make a snowman. Thats what memories are made of.

Things I learned between 4:00PM and 8:00 PM

In four hours I learned...


1) Cats do not like shaving cream, but toddlers like
putting shaving cream on cats.

2) Cats do not like baths.


3) A crying 15 month old will scream an entire octave higher when he sits down in a bath with a bad case of diaper rash.



4) When a child empties an entire bottle of "tearless" shampoo in the water, and then opens his eyes underwater...it still stings

5) Blue Sharpie Marker can be removed from a childs skin with a baby wipe (really it can)

6) A 4 year old who ate a huge dinner, can still be found "sneaking" a snack of yogurt and a banana IN HIS BED.

7) Some kids like to sleep in Cow Costumes.

8) Being a Mother is never dull.

Kids, Kids, Kids

This past week was filled with many little people. On Monday, I had the prividlege of watching my friend Keri's two kids, Anna and Bo. Anna is 3 and Bo is 1. My boys had so much fun with friends over. On Wednesday, my friend Jasmine and her husband were able to take a much needed trip to Arizona. We got to watch thier youngest three kids from Wednesday until Saturday. So yes, from Wednesday until Saturday I had 6 kids. JD 4, Caleb and Taylor 3, Gabby and Nate 1, and Isaah 6 months.

My house was crazy busy all week. It had it's crazy moments...but it was really a blessing to be able to have my friends kids in our home. It reminded me of my home, when I was a child. Growing up, our house was always the place where kids felt at home. I hope to continue that leagacy. I think we are off to a good start.

The Toilet Saga continues

It's been a comedy of errors... Monty has replaced the bowl on the guest bathroom toilet. He replaced all the "inner parts" of the toilet as well. He was finishing that up, tightened the last bolt...and the tank cracked. Back to Home Depot. This time he came home with a new tank. We opened up the box...the lid was/is cracked. Home depot is now closed. Monty is now in the process of replaceing the bowl of the toilet in our bathroom. I just hope that everything goes well, if not we will have no where to pee in the morning! Yikes!

Also...I want to rip the wall paper OFF of this bathroom...any suggestions on colors to paint it?

Who's in there?

There are toys in my toilets....somewhere. The plumber could not get them out with his auger thingy and was going to pull the toilets (yes BOTH toilets have toys) and charge us $200 to fish out the toys. I said...umm....I think Monty can do it. The nice plumber did not charge me...and now Monty has a crappy job to do when he comes home. (pun intended...)

I'll let you know which toy(s) are lurking around in the toilet. Is it army men? Is it a truck? We will know soon enough....

Jesus bring the rain

Once again, I have stolen a video from a friend. My dear friend Paige, posted this on her new blog...(I highly recommend following her story, she's amazing) She has allowed God to move in her, and has been a witness to the fact that it is possible to praise God in the midst of heartbreak. I am greatful and humbled to call her friend.

I have walked through some dark times. I have some dear friends who are at this very moment, sorting through lifes mess. May our hearts desire echo that of the words in this song.


- Mercy Me Lyrics



http://www.paigeallison.blogspot.com/ Check Out Paiges Blog....

I think God is trying to tell me something

I've been reading in I Kings the last couple of weeks or so. I just have been so amazed at how much I've forgotten over the years. I've spent so much time in the New Testament and Psalms, that I forget about the treasures that are there in the Old Testament.

Anyway, I was reading in I Kings 12. King Solomon had just died and his son Rehoboam had just taken the throne. The Northern Tribes of Israel had just approached the King and basically pledged their support to him if he would lighten up their load a bit. Rehoboam then called his fathers counselors around him and asked them what he should do. They said ... " If you will be a servant to these people today, will serve them, grant their words to them, then they will be their servants forever..." Verse 8 says this... " But he forsook the counsel of the elders had given him and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him..." Ultimately, this was a VERY BAD decision for old King Rehoboam.

This goes along with what I've been learning about aging. I think to often we, or at least I do, seek advice from my peers, when there is a huge, vast store of wisdom from women who have walked ahead of me. I love my friends, don't get me wrong. Their input is SO valuable to me. I know that God has lessons for me to learn that can only be gleaned from those who are farther along on this journey.

God has given me a very practical way to do that coming up at a women's retreat from my church. I had signed up with a friend of mine. We were planning on staying in a room with two older women from our church. I was excited about this. Yesterday, my friend called and told me that some other people had shifted her out of our room without asking her, and moved her into their room. In addition, another woman had taken her place in our room. So, this leaves me in a room with 3 women that are 65 or over. At first I was tempted to be disgruntled. I don't want to miss out on what all the "fun young" people are doing. Then I read the passage in I Kings this morning and realized I have a chance to be in a room with people who have "been there...done that." I can utilize this time and learn, learn, learn~! God is sovereign...I'm excited to see what he will do.

17th Century Nun

I found this letter, written by a 17th Century Nun. It fit so well with my previous post, I thought I'd include it...

Lord,

You know better than I know myself that I am getting older and will someday be old. Keep me from getting talkative, and from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from the craving to straighten out every body's affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know Lord, that I want a few friends in the end.

Keep my mind from the recital of endless details, give me wings to come to the point. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others pains. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains, they are increasing and my love of reciting them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Help me to endure with patience.

I dare not ask for an improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint, some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people and give me, Oh Lord, the grace to tell them so...

Aging

So, I was out having coffee the other morning. I sat there by myself (ahh..to have more moments like that...) and I was observing the people around me. There was a group of "old" men, sitting around solving the worlds problems. There was also another group of "older" women sitting around smiling and laughing. It got me thinking about aging. I pondered on the thought that there are typically two types of older women. There are those women who as they get older fall more in love with Jesus and seem to be a magnet for others. Then there are those who become bitter, snitty and seem to repel others.

I realize though, that bitter old women, did not just wake up that way when they reached 70. They probably exhibited some of those same traits as a "20 something". Bitterness does not age well. Yet, those older women who seem to grow in strength and dignity...those who radiate Christ..they were probably seeking Him and serving Him as a 20 something. Both sets of women probably faced trials and suffered loss. I believe that the first category of women learned to live in grace. I can imagine that the second category of women did not. I wholeheartedly desire to be in the first category.

Hope

This past year a family friend of ours lost his wife to cancer and his son in a hunting accident. The following is an amazing exerpt from his latest blog entry. His wife wrote this last year around this time. She had struggled for years with a very aggresive type of cancer. The words really spoke to me....I just had to share them with you.

“We were created for hope. Our bones were bred for hope. Our lungs can't breathe, our hearts won't beat and our spirits can't thrive without it. God placed us in a world over which we have little control. And as if to compensate for this helplessness, He placed in our souls the capacity to hope-to hope for better times, to dream of better places, to pray for better outcomes, to seek better ways through life. Hope is more than optimism. Optimism is what we generate. Hope is God given, a powerful,
spiritual and psychological means for transcending the circumstances.

Hebrews 6:19 tells us that Christian Hope is a "sure and steadfast anchor for the soul." But this hoping come only as a gift of grace and is powerfully linked to the promises of God. In fact, they are inseparable. Because you believe God's promises you can hope in the future. Without this future, there is nothing to hope in. There is only fear and fear that leads us to a very dark place.”

If you'd like to read more of thier story, check out thier webpage
http://www.carrieshealth.com/updates.html

WHACK!

So today would not place me in the "Mother of the Year" category by any stretch. It was in fact one of those days where every inch of my patience was stretched to the limits and snapped. The boys and I were out running errands. We stopped at the health food store to pick up a couple items. We went to the Bible book store where I purchased an "Inspirational" calendar to hang on my wall in the kitchen. Keeping track of the boys in a store is always a challenge. Full of "Don't touch that", "Stay with Mommy", "Put that down", " Don't put that in your mouth", " I don't know where the Bathroom is?!"....

After purchasing the devotional calendar, we left the bookstore. I fastened each wiggly child down his car seat. Clicked each button, tightened each strap. It's a process! I drive a Rodeo...so all three boys sit in a row, right next to each other.

The adventure starts here. As we pull out of the parking lot, JD and Caleb start fighting. I'm now in traffic. The fighting escalates. I can't pull over. My threats and demands to stop it... fall on deaf ears as they SCREAM at each other. So, I do what any loving christian mother would do. I roll up my newly purchased "Inspirational" calendar and whack both of my boys on their little noggins! They stopped screaming at each other and looked at me in disbelief. Only then did I realize that cars were honking at me. Evidently the light had turned green and I was still stationary. I sheepishly put down my wonderful spiritually uplifting calendar...and prayed that no one took down my license plates to call DHS.

Oh Lord....please help me!

1988 * 1998 * 2008

New Years 1988

1) I was 16 (going on 17...turned 17 in June)
2) I lived in Minnesota
3) I was a Junior in High School
4) I was single
5) LONG BIG HAIR (Spiral Perm and BIG BANGS)
6) Had never heard of Starbucks
7) Size 10
8) Drove my parents cars
9)Spent New Years with the Youth Group
10) Had a Dog named Frisky


New Years 1998

1) I was 26
2) Lived in Denver
3) Director of "Teen House" girls home for at risk Teen Girls
4) Single... (met Monty in September 98...)
5) Short hair
6) Loved Starbucks
7) Size 10-12
8) Drove a Red Geo Prizm
9) Spent New Years with my friends at a condo in Breckenridge
10) Had two cats named "Gabby and Madison"


New Years 2008

1) I'm 36
2) Live in Broken Arrow, OK
3) Stay at home Mom
4) Married
5) Long Hair
6) Still Love Starbucks
7) Size 14ish
8)Drive a blue Isuzu Rodeo
9) Spent New Years with My Husband and kids
10) Have 2 cats Dexter and Mo
11) Have three boys

2008=Surrender

It's 2008. A new year always brings me a strange mix of emotions. I'm excited...it's a new year...fresh with no mistakes in it. I'm hopeful...so many new experiences await. I'm a little intimidated....what struggles that I have now will I still be battling with next year? I'm determined...I want to live life to the fullest...to really enjoy my kids...my husband...my life.

Yet, experience tells me that I truly have no control. There is no guarantee that I will even be here at this time next year. I have no guarantee that my husband or children will be here this time next year. Jobs can change, life can take drastic turns. We cannot control or manipulate our circumstances to avoid pain. It is a part of our story.

As I look towards the year 2008, the word "surrender" seems to fit. I need to surrender to the Lord. Trust him. He gives and he takes away. I need to surrender both my dreams and my fears. In surrender there is rest. In surrender there is hope. In surrender there is strength. Father.....I surrender.....