Cereal Isn't A Bad Word

I have a confession to make.

I don't make breakfast for my kids.

Nope.

I actually haven't since back in the day when I used to puree my own baby food for them.

But I do buy cereal. 

Yup, the "c" word designated for us "lazy mom's" who don't have the capacity to think about adding one more meal to the daily queue. I mean, it's hard enough knowing these humans want to eat dinner EVERY NIGHT. The nerve. And I still ration the cereal to one bowl a day (because large family probs).

But I don't even feel guilty about it.

I've talked before about how we don't go out to eat hardly at all (because large family probs), so I designate my cooking efforts toward dinners. Plus, I know my capacity and it does not include getting up before the kids do just to get them breakfast. I get up for other reasons, but not to whip up a breakfast casserole or anything.

What I HAVE done is equip them with the skills to make their own breakfast. It could include breakfast burritos, omelets or scrambled eggs. They also have other options like yogurt parfaits, oatmeal, toast or protein smoothies. All of which have been added as they have gotten into their older elementary aged years. But almost always their breakfast includes a bowl of cereal.

And all of these options can be made all.by.themselves.

We've got our three staple cereals to ensure the majority can be consumed by our dairy free and gluten free kids too: Rice Crispies, Honey Nut Cheerios and Frosted Flakes. Nothing super fun so I at least eliminate most of the junk found in boxed cereal. 

We keep it simple. 

Their bellies get full.

And I don't have to worry about meal planning, prepping and cleaning another meal up before the day even gets started.

So here is my permission to you. 

If you continually feel stressed over the breakfast-time rush and all that it entails, go buy a box of cereal, kiss your kids on the forehead and know that you are still a fantastic mama!

Within These Four Walls

the sump pump is in the far left corner, ha!

Some days I feel like I am just waiting for something to happen.
Waiting for some kind of event to make my day worth talking about when my husband comes home.
I'll feel like I need some kind of photo or story to share at the end of the day to prove my effectiveness, productivity and embarrassingly enough as it is to actually write, my own disciple-making worth.

Sometimes this feeling is a strong desire for some adventure.
Something, anything, outside of the ordinary rhythm of my life.

Sometimes, like today, I pray hard for an opportunity to share Him with someone.  To be able to have a gospel conversation with someone.  The desire runs so deep that it literally feels like it's about to explode out of my chest!

Often I'll get to the end of these kinds of days wondering if I failed to be all that God wanted me to be that day or if, in fact, I could be right where I'm supposed to be, even without a spectacular story to tell for that day.

Today I stopped and really thought about it,
because sometimes I'm a slow learner and even if I grasp my true identity and purpose in Christ one day it might escape me the next.  So I have to continually realign my focus on Him and fight the lie that I don't measure up.

Every.Single.Day.

I don't have any amazing stories to tell or drama happening in my life today.

Actually, I did have to scale the basement walls to get to the sump pump on the other side of the house to trigger it on since the 4 feet of standing water from the endless days of pouring rain wasn't going ANYWHERE on its own.  This could technically be considered an adventure (and the longest run-on sentence ever), but since I only ALMOST fell in it doesn't count, ha!  (a big shout out to my eldest daughter for pulling me up the steps)

I haven't even had the chance to have any gospel conversations outside of these four walls...but if I am being the mom I am called to be then I should be living out gospel conversations within these four walls every.single.day. Even on the days where life doesn't allow me to leave the house.

These conversations happen with my husband (because a marriage needs continuous gospel conversations to stay focused on the only one who can hold two drastically different sinners together),

with the kids whom God has given me (because parenting is a non-stop conversation toward the reconciliation, truth, patience and heart change that ONLY God can provide),

with my kid's friends that come over before school for a ride, and after school to play, or during school for playdates or babysitting,

with the mail lady who brings packages from Amazon to my door every day,

all the other ladies who walk in these doors who need to talk, vent, ask questions or advice or just walk a couple of laps around the property,

and then there are the texts, phone calls and emails that go back and forth all day long with people all over the world.

Our home has a continuous flow of traffic from all walks of life.
This is the life God has called me to.
And I want to obediently steward it well.
This is my adventure!

I am learning, ever so slowly, that He never wanted us to separate ministry and life. Ministry and family. Ministry and normal routines.  It all beautifully tangles together.  And we can either allow God to use our every day for His purposes or sit on the sidelines just waiting.

Sitting In The Dark

A few days ago a certain colony member (who will be left unnamed, ahem) decided that he no longer needed to adhere to the Colony parents rules about electrical sockets.  You know, the ones you begin teaching your children as soon as they become mobile.  Ya'll, sometimes I think our kids gain a year of life and somehow begin forgetting some of the basic rules of survival we began teaching them when they were first born.  Like, shirts and shoes in cold weather will keep them warm (shocking, I know!), eating a healthy meal will mean you won't be hungry 10 minutes after your meal (again, earth shattering stuff here), and wrestling in the living room and running around in circles with a multitude of children in the house will always, always result in tears (Josh may or may not still be learning this one too).

*sigh*

Anyway, it lead to what COULD have been a huge deal (like a burned down house!) but thankfully God had other plans.  However, we WERE left in the dark for a couple of days until I could make it out to the hardware store and replace the damaged cord and guide it to a different electrical socket (because "electrician" does NOT fit into this Colony Mom's job description).

This problem affected the lighting in our dining room, which is where we eat our meals, do school, sweeping and mopping, homework, crafting with friends, sweeping and mopping, dinner with friends, reading, writing, and oh, did I mention sweeping and mopping...we basically spend a huge majority of our day here at this table and in this room.  The other issue is that the dining room light also provides light into the adjoining rooms of the house to help brighten those dark areas.  So on cloudy, rainy days like today we were forced to relocate to a brighter area in the house, away from the darkness and shadows, and into the light that could illuminate Areyna's math problems and Jude's dotted lines for school.

The thing is, we hadn't really thought about the lighting in this particular room until it was gone.  When we first relocated our dining room table to this particular area we had to figure out how to lighten the room bright enough for us to see our food at dinner.  But I had a plan for lighting by the time we actually made this move, so we never really felt the effects of the lighting dilemma...until now.

The darkness of our home over the past couple of days just so happened to coincide with a darkness that came over myself.  Once again I found myself in a mental battle, fighting for light and truth.  Reciting Scripture and an attitude of prayer are the weapons I have prepared for times like this.

Me and a couple of my brother-in-laws are memorizing a large chunk of Scripture together.  The words in the chapter I am on have NOTHING to do with mental illness, depression or anxiety.  The words are not about His closeness, or standing strong.  They don't speak on how He does not slumber because he is watching over me or His beautiful plan for my life.

But they are words of Truth.  And these words of Truth shed light from the actual source of them, and then pour into the source that lives within me.  They are words of the Story that God is writing and He promises that its utterances will never return void.  And because I know how this chapter ties into the rest of the story, I also KNOW with all my heart that He DOES draw me close, He IS my keeper who does not slumber, and He DOES have a beautiful plan for my life.

The source of the light is always there, inside, I just can't always see or feel the result of it.

Depression and anxiety hardly ever give notice that it is coming.  All of a sudden the darkness just comes sweeping in like a wave, carrying its victims out to sea.

Don't be caught off guard until one day you are just sitting in the dark.

Live out the truth in the light so that when you ARE in the dark you know what to do.

Time To Enforce The Rules

Zee only pretended to cry after I made him pose with his pile for a quick photo.

I have a mom friend who takes $.05 from each child for every article of clothing she has to turn right side out for the washing machine.  Now THAT is a smart mama!  She had a frustration and she put a plan into place to eliminate the frustration.  That idea got me thinking...I have already simplified my laundry system so I don't necessarily have that frustration, but "what if" I had children (5 of them to be exact) who were having a difficult time remembering to put their clothes away.

Hypothetically, of course.

And "what if" this particular non-act put me in such a grumpy mood that things were said that probably shouldn't be said, at a level and tone of voice that probably shouldn't be allowed.

Like I said, completely hypothetical.

It would do our whole family some good if I followed my friend's example and put a plan in place to eliminate the lazy behavior and the frustration it brought.

So here is my not-so-hypothetical plan to get the kids to put their clothes away.

For each article of clothing (costumes, socks, shoes, jackets, pants, undies...) that I find on the floor I get $.05 for whomever it belongs to.

I shared the plan with the kids but initially still had lots of grace and leniency, which wasn't really helping anyone.

Until one day, I walked in the boys room and I could hardly see the floor!

Enough was enough.

Today the rule would be implemented.
Tears were going to flow but lessons were going to be learned.

I piled everything up in the middle of the room and left it there until the boys got back home from school.

After we settled down after school I called all three of the boys into their bedroom and had them sit next to each other facing me and the pile.

They had no idea what was about to happen.

I started holding up pieces from the pile, one at a time, and asked whose it belonged to.  This divided the massive pile up into one pile for each boy.  Cai looked nervous, Jude just looked interested in what was going on, and Zeke, well, most of the pile was his so he just kept laughing and laughing, kind of nervous but it was as if he had already resolved to accept whatever consequences were coming his way (which is HUGE for this particular boy, BTW).

We then made a mini math lesson out of it by counting each pile's pieces by 5's.

We only had to get up to 15 for Jude.  Cai had 35 and Zeke had a whopping 85, ha!

I then reminded them of our rule and that that day we were going to be taking away $.15 from Jude, $.35 from Cai and $.85 from Zeke.

Jude didn't skip a beat as we counted out his money.
You would have thought I made Cai hand over all his toys and told him that we weren't celebrating Christmas with him, ha!
Zeke just took it like a man, respectfully laughing through the lesson at his misfortune, owning up to the consequences he clearly knew he needed (again, SUCH a huge thing for him!).

Sometimes I find it hard to follow through on things like this, but I wasn't helping anybody by enabling them to continue on in their sloppiness.  And my attitude wasn't benefiting anyone either (just ask my kids).

But now, wouldn't you know I walk into a clean bedroom every morning after dropping the kids off at school.  And one quick reference to a sock in the driveway or a spiderman mask has them scurrying off to put it away before I can even finish my reminder!

This time, it's a WIN for everyone!

Here's to many more WINS, a lot less mom freak-outs and being able to glean wisdom from other wise moms that God has allowed me to be surrounded by.

Simplifying Life and Letting Go Of Perfection, One Load Of Laundry At A Time

This is just part of my project for today.

We have a lot of bodies to cover in this house.

Which means we have a lot of laundry that goes through our washing machine.

But if there is anything I have learned about being a mom, it is that I canNOT do everything.  I can't. And I'm learning to be just fine with that.  Really.  Truly.  Honestly.

One of the things that I have let go of is the laundry process.

I actually do pretty well keeping up with laundry (we try to keep  minimal amounts of clothing for each child so this helps cut down on the amount of laundry.  This tip is FREE.  You're welcome!)

I should also mention that I don't presort my laundry before washing...but don't tell my mom that part.  I know, I know, I'm breaking the #1 rule of laundering clothes.  But I just can't keep laundry going for so many people if I'm constantly trying to make full loads of different kinds or colors.

The part that always gets me is the folding and putting away.  We will have a growing mound of clean laundry piled up in our bedroom for days sometimes, before I get around to finishing the laundry process.

But I wanted to share a secret that has helped tremendously!

I stopped folding the laundry and putting it away.

Yup.  It's true.

Well, at least my kids clothes.

Now, instead of meticulously folding and putting clothes away (that are inevitably going to get all messed up in the next search for the favorite pants that were intentionally placed in the back of the drawer...ahem) I simply go through these next age-appropriate steps.

1. While Sorting the laundry - If I come across something that is Josh's or mine I immediately fold it.  BAM!  Done.  Then I have a girls pile, a boys pile and a Jude pile.  Towels and dish cloths are also folded right away.
2. The girls are old enough to turn their clothes right side out on their own.  So after their clothes are piled up together I go drop them off in their room and they put them away as they see fit, into their own drawers and closets.  I do still match their socks (because I'm a nice mommy;).
3. The older boys just transitioned over to this stage.  Previously I was turning their clothes right side out for them before placing them into their pile.  Then I go drop their pile off in their room for them to place in their drawers and closets as they see fit. I definitely match their socks as well (because poor boys have a hard enough time even getting said socks into the laundry in the first place).  I also put their undies and socks in their bins (since I'm an extra nice mommy to them, ha!)
4. Jude has just transitioned up a stage as well.  I used to turn his clothes right side out and then fold them.  I would make a stack of shirts, a stack of jammies and a stack of pants.  Then he could put them in his own bins.  NOW, though, I just turn his clothes right side out and pile them up for him to place in the appropriate bins as he sees fit.  He shares undies and socks with Cai so he doesn't have to worry about putting those away (because like I said, I am an extra nice mommy and I love my boys more, lol.  Just kidding, Rainy is reading this over my shoulder so I just needed to see her smile:).
5. Then all that's left is to put Josh's clothes away, my clothes away and the towels and dish cloths away. (and sometimes I'm not feeling like a nice mommy any more and ask a kid or two to do that step as well, hehe)

And because we all like a nice word diagram to help solidify a new process here you go:

Sort (into piles) --- Drop (in their rooms) --- Let Go (of your laundry control)

You might be surprised at the ones who actually decide to "fold" vs. "stuff".  Plus it frees up extra time in your day/life for other things (like playing Settlers of Catan or Dutch Blitz...because those are very important things to make time for).

We, as mama's, can get so uptight about things around the house.  Find some little steps you can do, like this, that can aid in letting go of some of those perfectionist tendencies.  It'll bring such freedom.  I promise!

***2018 UPDATE ~ Each of the kids are now at the stage where I simply sort their clean clothes, socks and all, into a pile (a boys pile and a girls pile) and they are in charge of all the rest! We don't do enough laundry, nor do the kids have enough clothes, to justify making full loads of just one person's clothing. So I do a couple of loads every other day or so and it keeps everybody going just fine.***

It's Finally Friday. It's Fall. And then we baked.

Pumpkin muffins are sitting on the counter. (Don't bother asking for this recipe.   They don't really taste like anything:(.

Banana bread is in the oven. (this is ALWAYS a hit!)

Dinner is prepped. (homemade pizza because I needed something I didn't have to put any thought into.)

Kids are with the sitter (aka Netflix).

And me?

Well, I am in my room with nothing but the sound of the rain outside and the smell of cinnamon and orange diffusing in the room and the ambiance of stringed Christmas lights behind me and candles glowing to my left.

It is the loveliest moment of my day.

In case you missed it, Wednesday was the FIRST DAY OF FALL!  My absolute favorite time of year!  So the fact that fall decorating was on our to-do list didn't come as a surprise to the kids.  (Can I just say that the Target $1 Spot has come a long way in seasonal decorating options!) That, and the fact that it is rainy and cold-ish, called for the baking that made the list today.

I don't know what it is.

I used to be so good at being alone when Josh would leave town.

But now I can hardly wait for him to walk in the door!

Maybe it is the Lord humbling me and reminding me that it isn't actually ME that gets me through at all.  But HIM!  EVERY. Time.

This Colony spent nearly 3 hours in the doctors office today for poor little Cai-bo.  He had been running a fever since last Saturday and we had tried everything under the sun to help with his symptoms.  It was only getting worse and he was beginning to have labored breathing and crying uncontrollably.  So off to the Dr. we went.  2 breathing treatments, negative Meningitis, Flu and strep tests later and we were back home and feeling a little better.  Breathing tends to be a bit important I suppose:).

Then there is Josh.  His back is out. Like, can hardly walk, out.  Shuffling is his mode of transportation and strong pain meds are the only thing that enabled him to get on his flight back home.  He'll be home late tonight and we are SO ready.  We are also so thankful for a Chiropractor that is willing to see him first thing on a Saturday morning!

But this is just how it is in ministry a lot of times.  Every single person in different ministry capacities can vouch for the crazy health and spiritual things that happen when God's Kingdom is growing and you happen to be privileged enough to be part of it.

All this to say, I am in my happy place right now.

For this little moment.

And I'm thankful.

VERY thankful.

Also, I'm glad that my sucky circumstances, known as the last two days, do not dictate God's love that he continues to lavish on me and the grace he continues to give to me as I parent these little people through my exhaustion (and accidental four-letter words that may have slipped out in front of said little people).

TGIF

In The Morning, When I Rise

The eggs the peppers the tomatoes the greens.  All from the Colony garden/chickens.
We haven't ventured into the cheese yet;)

It used to be that I would roll out of bed, wipe the sleep out of my eyes and quietly cozy up in my chair with my Bible, books, notebook and cup of hot coffee.  I would read until the natives got restless and/or time demanded for me to get up and get them ready for the day/school.

While none of this has changed over the years I have added a few other rituals to my pre-morning activities.

I finish my reading and giddily dive into my new responsibilities.
I roll up my jammy pants and hit the chores.  I walk around the yard and water all the plants and flowers, pruning the dead places as I go.  Then I head over to water the garden.  I have to check the tomato plants every morning to rid them of the caterpillars (that later become "treats" for the chickens).  I unwrap the cucumber vines from the peppers because SOMEONE planted them too close together.  Amateur.

Then I get to pick from the bounty within the little plastic perimeter containing my garden.

Next I move inside the chicken fence and unlock the coop to wake them up for the day.  There is always a cute little story to share with Areyna about how Bean jumped on my shoulder and wouldn't come off or how Serenity cocked her head to the right in the cutest way.  (these stories help her "happy heart" wake up in the morning)

Ah, the joys of farming.

I know it is comical, and we don't even have a "farm", but the fact that we have chickens that ACTUALLY make us eggs, and a garden that ACTUALLY produces something we can make into a an ACTUAL meal is absolutely blowing my mind this year!  And I have enjoyed every bit of taking care of these new found blessings to the Colony.

Just Picture Dirty Underwear

After posting my fun Pinteresty project this week I realized what it might look like.
What misconceptions may follow.
The appearances of a life you wish you had (Don't be jealous of the always-begging-for-food-six-year-old or the 3-year-old-who-thought-he-ruled-the-house, or the ever present six-year-old-girl-drama.  I KNOW you just want to dive into my shoes reading this, ha!).

Because I KNOW that appearances (especially on the internet, because the internet lacks context much of the time) can be a beast.

You typically see a clean home around here.  I am a perfectionist to a fault and am working very hard on loosening up the reigns in this area for the sake of the entire Colony.

And I do cook every night (not necessarily because I'm super mom, but would YOU want to be at a restaurant with this crazy Colony on an evening when you are getting away from YOUR crazy Colony to enjoy a quiet dinner?  I think not!  Don't you remember how they acted at the wedding?!)

Anyway, I realized that posting fun projects could make others feel inferior, or give a sense of not-good-enough, or make you envy my life because I had the time, money/resources to do said project, or simply compared to me you are a failure as a mom or wife.  And these thoughts all stemmed from one project that I began and actually completed, and then shared (with the intent on inspiring you to see that you can make something beautiful all by yourself, with much of what you already have around your home).

Those are just a few things that, hypothetically of course, have passed through my mind after seeing a friend unfold a beautiful creation (like reupholstered chairs) or completed an amazing feat (like a triathlon).  The feelings of inadequacy can rise so quickly that it can become very difficult to bring them back into submission.

SO...FOR THE RECORD...

I thought I'd share what the rest of my life was like while I admittedly got carried away into the land of happy pinteresting.

My house was left with much to be desired.  I didn't clean an inch of my house all week.

We had piles of toys stacked up in every room of the house that I neglected to find homes for each night because I was too tired to do clean-up time with the kids.

The stack of mail and bills grew overwhelmingly high on top of my desk.

The chicken coop cleanup was WAY overdue (as I'm sure Ed and Lois, our neighbors, could tell you as they sat on their porch, downwind).

The garden took a seat on the back burner and my cucumber plants even died out.  (that was a sad day:(

The laundry took 2 entire days to catch up on and the kids were left to rummage through clean laundry piles to find an outfit for the next day. We had dirty underwear piled up in the boys room for days!  Actually, this one isn't that unfamiliar, ha!

Jude memorized the entire first season of Daniel Tiger. *gasp*

And the cooking.  Well if it had more than 3 ingredients and took more than 15-20 minutes prep, it was not made this particular week!

I really could go on about the embarrassing state of the Colony household and food intake that week. And maybe the lack of parenting that occurred in my distracted state.  But honestly, it is all part of the fun, right?!  We let everything go to dive headfirst into something, hanging on for dear life until it is complete.  And then pick back up where we left off as we resume our normal schedules and routines (which may take a while depending on how long the project lasted).

All this to say, I don't know too many people who can do it all!
We don't have the capacity to do it all.
Because then we wouldn't have any reason to rely on God and his power and grace to get us through.
(and I'm not just talking about completing Pinterest projects here!)

So, next time you see someone with the "perfect" ANYthing on the internet, remember that you don't have the full context of their beautiful life and that they are in need of the Savior and his grace, just as much as you are.  (And it doesn't hurt to mentally picture their seemingly perfect lives with dirty underwear piled up in the corner just to help solidify this reality:)

When Daddy's Out

When I find myself alone in the evenings because Josh is at rehearsal, or the Tavern doing open mic nights to build relationships with other musicians outside of the church bubble...how HOT is that;), or at the library doing research, or in his "mind palace" working on another school deadline, or overseas doing ministry, or in another state doing ministry, or down the street doing ministry...

I miss him.

Yes.  I truly miss him.

Especially during witching hour the hours between 4-8.  Can I get an AMEN?!

BUT

There are just some things that I find myself only doing when I am flying solo.

For example, I've heard many women talk about how they don't sleep well when their husbands are gone...well, not to burst your bubble babe, but I happen to LOVE sleeping all sprawled out across every corner of the bed (I typically find myself laying shortways [is that even a word?!] across the bed when I wake up) with pillows surrounding and piled high on top of me.  It is absolutely blissful.  So blissful if fact, that I have a hard time allowing the kids to come "cuddle" with me in bed because I don't want to waste a single minute of sprawling time. #confession

I also tend to be way more productive in the kitchen.  I'll prepare fruits and veggies for the next several days.  I'll make obscene amounts of salsa and guacamole (and then consume the afore mentioned obscene amounts of salsa and guacamole).  I'll do dinner prep for the next day.  Pack lunches.

All while listening to techno club music.

I also seem to find things to organize when Josh is out.  It's like the closets and cabinets begin calling my name or something!

And I unashamedly tend to rearrange AT LEAST one thing in the house (which is probably one reason God didn't give me a child who was blind).

All while listening to soothing ambient electronic sounds.

I watch way more Netflix when I don't have another human sitting next to me to listen as I use up the rest of my daily words.

But on the other hand, I use way more anti-stress and anxiety oil blends than when I have a helping hand around (see I really do miss you;).

What do you tend to do when you are left to fend for yourself in the evenings?

The Colony Goes To A Wedding

THE COLONY GOES TO A WEDDING

***The following events are inspired by a (embarrassingly, yet humbling and comical) true story***

Once upon a time there was a Colony of seven who lived in a Colony house in a Colony town called Rolesville.

One day the Colony of seven was invited to a wedding.

Typically the Colony mom and dad would attend these kinds of events by themselves because the 5 little Colony children could get a little rambunctious (obnoxious).  But not this time.  The bride-to-be had reiterated her desire for the entire Colony to attend.

So after a morning of doing what Colony members do on beautiful Saturday mornings before weddings (fight over toys, being overly touchy with each other, and arguing over who gets to use the orange spoon) they happily (irritatingly) climbed in the carriage (car) to head to the event.

Upon their arrival, the escorts for the guests guided the Colony right to their designated table (because our family size NEVER makes people scramble to find a large enough table to fit all of us).

The kids quietly found their seats and settled in as they anxiously awaited the brides entrance.

It didn't take long (2.3 seconds) before the Colony kids simultaneously noticed the shiny little diamond/crystal table decorations which they all wanted to claim as their own.  After what seemed like forever to the Colony mom witnessing the events that were unfolding before her eyes, the crystals began taking over the Colony kid's personalities and turning them into greedy little me monsters who could only survive if THEY were the ones with the MOST shiny little diamond/crystal table decorations.  The effect of these shiny little objects became so severe that the Colony kids remained in their hypnotic grasp until the family left the premises at the end of the wedding.

Colony Mom and Dad got into a groove of shiny little diamond/crystal table decoration control pretty quickly, but somehow the attention shifted to the candles on the table next to the beautiful lantern with the door that opens and closes...with a little creak.  And wouldn't you know that this little lantern makes the perfect home for the shiny little diamond/crystal table decorations.

Finally, it was time for the processional.
The music began and the gazes moved toward the door where the beautiful people waltzed into place.

Which seemed to be the PERFECT time for Jude (the youngest Colony member) to pull out his Little Tykes plastic hammer to ("hammo da taboe") fix the table.  Thankfully, Colony Mom is trained for things like this and quickly confiscated the hammer and diverted his attention to the multiple other kitchen utensils and random household items Jude had managed to sneak into his little backpack.

Somehow the Colony made it farther into the ceremony without any major instances than Colony Mom and Colony Dad had ever anticipated.  In fact, they made it all the way to the vows.  You know, the part in the wedding where the bride and groom exchange sweet words of love and affirmation to each other.

When all of a sudden...
...Cai, the middle Colony son, blew his party horn (because somehow Colony mom missed the 4 party horns in his carry-on, during the security screening?!) with great gusto!

Colony Dad immediately jumped out of his seat and (furiously scrambled) calmly made his way to the other side of the table to take care of the "celebration" taking place by his son.

Not five minutes later, Zeke, the eldest Colony son, who was actually heavily enamored by the wedding activities on stage, somehow flipped over backwards out of his chair onto the floor.

But what could Colony Mom and Dad do?  They had already committed and were deep into the ceremony by now.  Besides there had been lots of talk about the snacks, food and CAKE that would take place after the ceremony.  And who can pass up those yummy treats?!

So, they dug in their heals, put on their happy faces (Colony mom and Colony dad had actually resigned themselves to laughing hysterically inside because, really, what else could they do?), and carried on.

And, as if one child flipping backwards in his seat weren't enough, the Colony decided that another one would be most appropriate.  So Cai took the responsibility upon himself, quickly exclaiming that he wasn't hurt (because that's certainly what we were worried about).

So they made it through the ceremony (with only a few more yells in frustration by Jude over toys that wouldn't cooperate) and gladly made their way through the hors d'oeuvrves line to grab a snack while they waited for the dinner to begin.  And wouldn't you know they piled their plates so high that they could hardly carry them.  Most of them waded through the crowd gracefully enough, except for Zeke, who had stacked multiple plates on top of each other and upon turning away from the table, ran into someone/something (we are never really sure what happens most of the time) and the stacked multiple plates came crashing down onto the floor, resulting in a little commotion (He doesn't like germs.  He loves food. He's highly emotional.  That's all you need to know).

It's a good thing Colony Dad is on staff at the wedding site and knows the location of all cleaning supplies because they definitely came in handy during the rest of the evening.

Colony Mom and Dad were getting a little antsy to get into the dinner area to sit this crew down because the Colony kids are so used to ruling the lobby area when daddy is working that they had a hard time staying contained in a small area.

Colony mom decided she just needed to sit down and take a breather.  But as soon as she got comfortable she noticed the Colony girls over by the lemonade fountain throwing back shots with the little cups designated for rice throwing (and they were going back for more cups).  And you KNOW as soon as the boys saw the little cups they wanted one and then it was on.  Could Colony mom reach the rice table before the boys?  She quickly jumped up, hurdled the trash can and saved the rice cups, but caused some major meltdowns by the Colony boys who wanted the little cups because "the girls have them!".

They were all beginning to feel a little defeated when the magical doors opened announcing that it was time for dinner.

All the rest of the events were poorly documented due to exhausted Colony parents and another foot race to the cake table with the highly desired Batman Grooms cake.  Colony mom BARELY made it to the table before the kids sliced themselves their own piece of wedding cake.

Dinner was almost over and Colony mom and Colony dad were anxiously awaiting the cutting of the cake so they could get these kids out of there ("Cut the freaking cake already!"-Colony Dad).

Soon after, the waitresses began passing out fancy little champagne glasses full of fancy sparkling cider for what Colony mom could only imagine was for a toast after the cake was cut (SPOILER-they didn't make it that far).  It wasn't long before the kids realized the bottoms of the (plastic) glasses came off and then the first spill happened.

Colony Dad runs off to the cleaning supply closet (again) and returned with a (HUGE) box of paper towels (you can never be TOO prepared).  And it's a good thing he did because we ended up cleaning 3 more spills.  But the moment was redeemed when Colony Cai notices the shiny knife come out to cut the cake and decided to announce to EVERYONE, "Guys, they're cutting the cake!!!!"

The cake.  The much awaited, mouth watering cake they have been looking forward to all day.
And then to see that one of them was a BATMAN cake?!
It is everything they had ever wanted!
(because it really IS all about the Colony kids)

There were 3 flavors to choose from and Zeke was NOT keen on his first choice.
While Colony Dad calmed him down and redirected him to the other choices, Colony Mom hears a muffled cry.  That very quickly turned into an angry wail.

Cai does NOT like his cake.
And refuses to try another flavor.
He wanted the Batman cake.
The Batman cake was NOT an option.
And is now demanding ice cream.

Um...there is NOT ice cream at this wedding.

Colony Mom and Colony Dad catch eyes and hastily agree that it was time to call it quits.  They swept their area clean, grab the (screaming and crying) Colony kids, smile and wave their goodbye's...nope, I don't think they even did that...and piled in the car.

They sighed a huge sigh of relief, laughed a big laugh, and drove home.
Crying kids and all.
And wouldn't you know, it was bedtime when they arrived home.

That evening Colony Mom and Colony Dad decided never to take the Colony to a wedding EVER again.

~The End~

P.S. The Colony parents were later told that their children made for great comic relief.

Yup, that's what they were going for all along.

We'll go with that, ha!

The Day The Butter ALMOST Won

Last week I went to Costco to get my monthly stock pile (Thank you, Heidi!  Our lives will never be the same:).

I was doing well working through my list, until I got to the butter.

I saw a great price on sticks of butter.
I placed the package in my cart, as one typically does with an item they want to purchase.
Then I walked away, as one typically does when they have made their final decision on a product.
Only to get two steps away from said, perfect purchase option before seeing the organic grass fed option.

I quickly grab the before-mentioned butter and place it back in its refrigerated place and replace it with the better butter, as one typically does when finding a better option.
Only to see the price difference, as one typically does when finding that better option.

I frown at the price but justify the purchase.
No farther than two steps past the butter section my conscious gets the better of me.

I race back to the butter and put the organic butter back and confidently get the regular butter and matter-of-factly return it back to its rightful place in my cart.

But wait, all the other "stuff" in this butter.
The other butter is BETTER.
More nutrients.
More real ingredients.
PURE.

I annoyingly take it back out of my cart and put it away.
Walk two steps to my right and get the organic back out.
No, I stare at it with the refrigerator door wide open.

By this time I have made quite the scene.

The manic woman dodging back and forth in the butter aisle may need some assistance!

I literally began to panic.
How in the world am I supposed to feed this Colony well, on the budget we have.
I KNOW what our bodies need.
I KNOW how some of these ingredients affects a couple of the high-strung Colony kids.
How in the world am I supposed to do this?!
Why does putting good, healthy food on the table have to be so difficult?

I am on the verge of tears (and I have already stripped myself of my scarf and jacket from the profuse panic-induced sweat that I am in) and called Josh.

"Baby, what am I supposed to do?  I have, HAD, regular butter in the cart, but then I saw the organic butter, but it's nearly $4 more for the same amount.  What the *&$% am I supposed to buy?!"

By this time I'm sure he is mentally going through the steps to get me admitted into the psyche ward upon my safe arrival back home, but instead he just told me that he trusted my judgement, believed that I had a good handle on what our family needs and that buying the regular butter would be just fine this month.

After hanging up with my super-sweet and sensitive husband (thanks for hanging in there with me when the butter got the best of me, baby), I stood between the two butters eyeing them and literally prayed for the peace of mind I needed to buy the right butter.

As ridiculous as that sounds, I don't believe God sat up in heaven and rolled his eyes at me.  He may have chuckled at the show I put on for the dozens of passersby that saw my little "melt" down (did you see what I did there, ha!), but he cares about our little stuff.

He also knows that I take my job as food supplier and financial budget keeper seriously.  He knows what our kids need and what our bodies can handle.  He knows this battle trying to eat healthy in America on a budget with a large family.

He knows it all.
And He smiles when we ask him to help us walk through it.

So, if you are confused or burdened, if you can't decide on which road to take or job to say yes to, or maybe you just need to be confident in the butter you choose for you family...

He is happy to walk that road with us.

The Generation That Instigated Social Anxiety

I believe there are truly people who are born with anxiety issues.
Believe me, I'm one of them!

That being said though, I also believe that this generation, with social media and self-serve options bombarding us at every corner, is feeding into the very thing that seems to be trending among young Americans today.  We are becoming anything BUT social, hiding behind our screens so we don't have to actually make a phone call and talk to a real voice on the other line or heaven forbid, go out in public and make eye contact with other people.

I talk about my anxiety triggers often because I believe that if I can at least target those consistent triggers (sometimes they are less conspicuous and completely unpredictable), then I will be able to stop the anxiety in its tracks or at least minimize its paralyzing effects.  After lots of thought, I realized that one of my main triggers is computer time or screen time.

I'm not saying YOU can't handle all the different social networking and options for messaging, but I know my limits and I am learning when I need to step away.

For example, if I'm reading a recipe off of the computer I am way more likely to snap at my kids in the kitchen than if I am reading it off one of those cute little recipe cards with the picture of the chubby chef in his fat white cooking hat taking a steaming hot loaf of fresh baked bread out of the oven *sigh*.  See, just talking about it gives me a smile and a slight skip in my step:)

Or if I'm writing a hand-written letter (have you ever gotten one of those?  Ah-MAZ-ing, right?!) I am way more prone to giggle along with my kids antics than if I'm trying to reply to an email or a Facebook message.

And then there are the constant texts that come streaming in on my phone throughout my day, demanding to be looked at, glanced at, read, replied to, and that's not even mentioning trying to find the perfectly appropriate Emoji that goes along with the banter back and forth.

And the "push notifications" that tell me every time a person "LIKES" something I post or comments about how cute my kids are or how awesome of a person I am, because I like to post the better parts of my day over the ugly-cry parts or the not-so-good mama moments.  Those aren't so picture perfect (although I do try to keep it real).

So this past week I let it be known to most of those around me that if they truly needed me they could call me, I wasn't going to be keeping up with texts.  Yes, pick up the phone and CALL me.  And I would, in turn, actually answer my phone (instead of panicking when it rings and quickly turning it upside down to deal with it later).  Long before last week Josh and I had made a decision to take the notification sounds off of all texts so we don't hear the constant sound when texts come through.  BEST decision of my life!  But I was still noticing myself checking my phone way too frequently to see if I had any texts (it's hard with your family is out of state and half-way across the world!).  And seeing as my kids were starting school and I was about to start a whole new life with just one child and changes scare me and give me anxiety (another trigger!) I decided that I didn't need to add the texts to my anxiety as well.  I decided to use my phone as a, well, PHONE.

I wasn't tied down.
It was so freeing.
I didn't feel as though I missed out on anything.
I felt like I had the control, not being controlled.

For me, I am seeing a downward spiral toward a society of people so addicted to avoiding real-life people that they are actually anxious around them (me included).  From the drive-through worker who we only have to say "thank you" to or request "more ketchup please", to the ATM machines so we don't have to interact with a real banker, to the self check-out at the grocery store.

Fight the machine, don't let it dictate your personality!

Pick up the phone and make those phone calls (I prefer to do it first thing in the morning when I am ready to conquer the day).
Be spontaneous and meet a friend for coffee and leave your phone in the car or in your pocket book.
Keep posting those pictures of your sweet babes, but make sure that you drop them by to play with mine (I'm still working on getting out of my house more often, ha!).

When I'm Touchy But She's Not

Josh and I have pretty much pin pointed Alethia's love language.

Oh sure, she loves receiving gifts just as much as any other kid in the world, and she loves to hear that she looks beautiful or that she is doing a great job, but this girl CRAVES physical touch.

I, on the other hand, am not a physical touch kind of girl.

I have a rather large personal bubble, er, um, I tend to be a rather touchy individual...there I said it!

I need my space.

So, often times our two worlds collide.

My first instinct is to give her a quick rub on her arm, kiss her forehead while I whisper "I love you", and send her on her way.

She never puts up a fight...on the outside anyway.

But I can't imagine what that has been doing to the inside.

We've noticed her moving in even more closer lately.

Sitting almost on top of us on the couch

or scooting her chair right up next to ours at the table

or laying up right next to us to cuddle, so close that I can feel her breathe on my face

or hanging on us, where she has almost knocked me off of my feet at times.

Maybe because she has started school and is getting even less of the touch she longs for.

Maybe it is because she is in such "touch deficit" that she is trying to even her levels back out.

Who knows.

But I've realized that the days where I intentionally fight the urge to quickly move her along

or make myself hold still and call her over to read a book in my lap

or allow her to hang on my back while I make Cai's LEGO Batman car again

she is much more content.

She carries herself with confidence.

She plays better with others.

She doesn't have such an attitude when I ask her to do something for me.

See, I told you, being a mama doesn't always come so naturally.

And most likely, you'll have to work at it too.

And then you'll have another kid, and have to figure out how to love them!

Don't allow your own safeguards to be an excuse not to open up to the kind of love your child needs.
It will be SO worth it!

That Moment When...

you realize your company is about to be here and you haven't even checked on the state of the guest bathroom, that doubles as the kids bathroom, which inevitably has been the brunt of poor aiming practices for a very long time without any supervision...

you stand in the kitchen and sigh because dinner actually came together right on time, without burning something, or forgetting that meat was browning on the stove (which I ALWAYS tend to do), only to turn around to the disaster right behind me called the living room...

the friends are to arrive at any moment and you still have laundry piled up on the chair in the living room, pinned on the line outside and almost reaching the ceiling from the pile on your bed in the back room...

your friends arrive and walk in the front door, careful not to step on any of the toys strewn all over the entry way...

you realize that, upon their arrival, you still have neighborhood kids jumping on the trampoline outside and a half-dozen more kids squealing happily as they chase each other around in superhero costumes and high heals...

the kids start melting down over silly little things because they are so tired from the day's summer activities...

you realize the friends could care less about the state of the house...and you don't give it a second thought anymore...

you realize that you wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world or change anything about this chaotic, messy, unorganized life I now live in...

Domestic Diva Strikes Again ~ how NOT to make your own yogurt

Another domestic whim came over me yesterday
(and we ALL know that a phrase like that can be a very dangerous one)

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out ways to cut our ever growing grocery budget
(one of these days I won't have a near heart attack at the check-out counter)
when I realized that a major monthly expense for us is yogurt.

I use yogurt every morning in my smoothie
I make our ranch with yogurt
Mixed with granola it is a great healthy snack
The kids love it with ANY meal
I cook with it

We easily spend $100/month in yogurt alone.

So being the money conscious guru that I am
I decided to take this into my own hands

Any clearheaded woman would simply say, let's cut down on the yogurt consumption.
(except for all the healthy gut benefits and scrumptuousness of it, and then there is the fact that it will most definitely need to be replaced by something else (the Colony has to eat SOMEthing!), and that something else is most likely more expensive and less health-friendly that yogurt...see what I have to work with people?!)

But oh no, not me.
I had to get all domestic up in here.

I did my research
(thank you google, Pinterest and Facebook)
and found a recipe that looked user friendly.

The process looked easy enough.

I had everything on hand
(if by everything you mean the wrong kind of mixing bowl, the wrong kind of towel thing and several different kinds of milk)

Step 1: heat milk in pyrex bowl
Well, I had 2 almost empty milk cartons and 1 new one. Company does that to you.  And my hatred for stuff made me NEED to consolidate. So I just finished off the 2% and then the 1% before adding the whole milk that the recipe asked for.  I also didn't have the right bowl, so I used a Tupperwear container and would transfer to an oven friendly dish later.

Step 2: let the milk cool
this step came to an end without a hitch because I actually had a food thermometer

step 3: whisk in the live cultures from yogurt
I do know how to whisk things so that helped

step 4: after preheating the over to 350 I'm supposed to cover the dish, and set it in the over for 1 minute before turning it off and letting it sit in there for LOTS of hours.
Which is fine, if you can find a bowl that can fit in the oven.  I, of course, could not, so I found a pyrex baking dish and laid a dishcloth over it, which immediately began to sag into my soon-to-be yogurt.  I told myself that it wasn't a big deal, shut the door to the oven and went about my day.

After small group last night I came home, so excited to bask in the domestic glory of homemade yogurt, at just a fraction of the cost.

Instead I opened my oven door to one of the biggest messes to date.

The kitchen towel had just spent the past 10 hours soaking up that milk concoction and drizzling it ALL.OVER.THE.OVEN.

Oh, and did I mention that I have NEVER cleaned my oven.
Nope, never.
I never really minded the smell of leftover sweet potatoes heated up from making Cai and Jude's baby food from over the years and all the other "stuff" in there.  It was clean on the outside, and it didn't mess up the essential oils being diffused throughout the house, so I was good in that department...

until now.

That smell.
That mess.

I froze.

And then I spotted it.

This oven had a button that said "CLEAN" on it.
It was a self cleaning oven.
I had a self cleaning oven!
(this could quite possibly be as dangerous as the living room slide, ie-ironing board, I pulled out a few weeks ago for the first time in a L-O-N-G time)

I did another quick little search to make sure I wouldn't burn down the house since I was tired from all my domesticating and I was going to bed.

I went in, hit the magic button and went to go brush my teeth.

It didn't take long for the oven to start doing it's thing...
if by "thing" you mean releasing these horrible (toxic I'm sure, because EVERYTHING is toxic that isn't "natural" and this certainly was NOT "natural") into the kitchen, which quickly began bleeding into the living room and continuing on into every crevice of the house!
I felt like I was in LOST, running from the smoke monster.

Ya'll it was HORRIBLE.

We opened up every window and door in the house while we finished gagging our way through our oral hygiene routine and getting ready for bed.

the doors we closed but the windows stayed open and the oil diffusers stayed on throughout the night.
(unfortunately I couldn't find my "screwed-up-the-yogurt-and-then-tried-to-clean-it-up-which-resulted-in-green-fumes-throughout-the-house" blend)

I had nightmarish flashbacks from the pumpkin seed incident in college all night long.

I would love to tell you that it's better this morning, but unfortunately it's not.
Nope.

So please give Josh a little grace if you smell see him this morning in the office, and by all means, come on over for some yogurt and granola later (I'll give you the real stuff, I promise).  I can't promise that you will leave without second-hand smoke inhalation, but at least we'll have a good laugh together.

Birthday Wishes

Yesterday was my birthday.

I know I'm supposed to say I'm 27 and pretend like I'm not actually getting older.
But I AM getting older. And, at least for now, it doesn't phase me.

I'm an unashamed 35 now!

I had the most simple, sweetest birthday ever.
My kids gifted me (and re-gifted to me) all day.
I received a mountain stack of pictures and cards, pencils and markers, some used tape, a necklace from the dress-up bin and my favorite, a sheet with 3 1/2 Cars stickers on it:)

Josh made me a crumb cake so we could celebrate with the kids.
It even had a plastic car from the toy bin cake topper.

Anyway, you can't do a birthday cake without candles.
And you can't have candles without blowing them out.
And you can't blow them out without making a wish.

I don't care how old you are, if you have a birthday treat, with a candle on top, you KNOW you still make a birthday wish too...right?!

But this year, all I could utter in my head was a quick "wish" to be the woman He wants me to be this year.  I even ended it with an "in your name I pray, amen" by pure coincidence.

My gift from Josh.
The significance runs deep so it was the PERFECT gift!

Then, we had our belated Staff Christmas party that night.  It was the perfect end to a fabulous day.

I got a Julie Schuler Key Lime Pie made just for me!

And on top was...another candle, and another room full of people waiting for me to blow it out.

Wishes weren't even appropriate as I stood among a room of some of my favorite people in the world.
The staff we serve with love us.
They are family.
They care about OUR family.
We are on mission together.
No strings attached.
No pressure to be someone we aren't.
And that is a dream come true.

My life is far from perfect, and I certainly have my share of days where I'd either wish for a "restart" or even to forget about altogether, but I am so thankful for where God has me.

This season.
This husband.
This Colony.
This church.
The friends I am surrounded with (even if they aren't physically close).

I'm in my dream and it's my life.

Friday Free-For-All ~ I Love A Good Swiffer Cleaning and Other Confessions

I remember when I got my first Swiffer.  I'm pretty sure my mom actually bought it for me and I'm not quite sure if my friend, Jenn, had one first or if I did, but we both ended up with one around the exact same time.  We had an instant love affair with our new cleaning companions.  I loved the smell, how light they were, the instant gratification of a mess so nicely cleaned up.  (yes I'm a nerd.)  One day while talking about our new swiffers (hey, we didn't have pets or kids yet, we had to talk about SOMEthing!), we both realized that we had this ridiculous habit of "allowing" things to fall on the floor and make a mess just so we could get our handy dandy little swiffer out and clean up the mess.

OK, so I couldn't find a picture of me and Jenn (I promise she's my best friend!), but this is our girls, and Cana.
Rainy's two best friends about to be in two totally different parts of the world.

It's not every day that you can find a friend that shares such a tight bond.

Now every time I pull out my trusty swiffer to wipe up a spill (that I may or may not have purposefully left on the floor) just to mop up on a sad day (cleaning is therapy. yes I'm a nerd), I think of my sweet friend.  This sweet friend of mine is moving to Haiti in a couple of weeks.  I'm almost positive she won't be able to take her swiffer with her.  It's gonna be a sad, sad day when she has to leave me it behind.  But rest assured Jenn, I will think of you every time I wipe up the sticky apple juice residue and leftover pasta sauce off of the kitchen floor.  (PS-if you have any swiffer juice left over would you mind bringing it on by?;)

Speaking of cleaning...

...does anyone else ever do "the smell test"?  You know, when you find a shirt on the floor and aren't quite sure if it is in need of a washing or not?  You give it the ol' smell test.  Or the baby butt because you keep getting a whiff of something raunchy, or the food in the refrigerator (expiration dates LIE, I tell ya!), the boys undies which have a tendency to get strewn all over the house (Don't ask.  Zeke has an undie fetish) or the jeans that you don't have any recollection of washing any time in the past month (or 3).  No?  Me either, ha!

And since we are into confessions today...

Sometimes when Josh gets home I cry.  Not because he's home, but because he's home.  Ummm...it's like, I've kept my big girl undies on all day, and it's been a ROUGH day, and then in walks my backup and the floodgates have been lifted.  Relief has arrived.  It's pure exhaustion and gratefulness all balled up into one massive ugly cry exhale.  I really DO love you coming home baby!  I love it to tears!

And so I'm off to cry some happy tears because this weary mama has her relief here ALL WEEKEND!!!!!

Bring on the family togetherness!

Happy Friday ya'll:)

Mom Of The Year Material

After today I'm pretty sure I lost any hopes for ever obtaining any future "mom-of-the-year" awards.

Unless, of course, you count the time I locked myself in my bedroom, laid on the floor and stared at the frozen image of Josh as we tried another failed attempt to FaceTime from Haiti to America, all while ignoring the knocking and calls to mommy through the crack under the door by two Colony members, as "mom-of-the-year" material.

Or maybe the dinner that consisted of scrambled eggs, toast and chocolate pancakes...and even that was a stretch to muster up.  (Good thing Zeke knows how, and LOVES, to make toast!  He had that one covered.)

Or maybe you could count my annoyance at the child who refused to pee in the drain on the outskirts of the pool, just so I didn't have to gather 5 kids...FIVE...F-I-V-E kids and herd them to the bathroom to pee. It wasn't even a poop emergency.  For goodness sakes, just pee in the drain and jump back in the pool to rinse off!  Oh no, he would rather yell, "No mom! I want to pee in the POTTY!!!"

Or my manipulation of the naptime timer that somehow managed to skip 15 minutes.

Or gosh, maybe the moment I yelled at the top of my voice at all five voices asking me different things as I begged them to just.be.quiet.for.a.second.because.mommy.is.beginning.to.freak.out.just.a.LITTLE.BIT.

Or the fact that I kept reciting my stupid memory verse that I posted the other day, but my stubborn brain refused to fix itself on only the pure and lovely things around me because, quite frankly, everything seemed to be invading my personal space and by golly, I just wanted to sit and fester in my grumpiness.

And then Zeke reminded me that he didn't freak out that morning on the way to school.  And when I asked him what the difference was he told me that he talked to God before he got out of bed.

It didn't help that Jude woke up at 6:30am and refused to go back to sleep.  He wasn't thirsty or hungry.   He didn't necessarily want to cuddle.  He just wouldn't go in his bed.  And that time is so very precious to me.  And I didn't get it.  I read the chapters for the day, but I couldn't mentally allow them to sink into the crevices of my being.  I had some prayer time, but it was constantly interrupted.  And wouldn't you know, naptime this afternoon, didn't go much better.  I found the isolation on the lawnmower my prayer closet today.  I begged Him to throw me a bone.  I needed some air.  I needed a second to breathe.

I'm so thankful God hears our prayers, even in the midst of our big-to-us-but-not-really-a-big-deal kind of days.  I'm so thankful for forgiveness on God's part, as well as my children. I'm thankful for the end of hard days that bring a fresh new start the next day.  I'm thankful for do-overs.  I'm thankful for the communication we allow in our family to be able to communicate freak-outs to each other.  I'm thankful for the fact that my kids can respectfully put me in my place when need be.  I'm thankful for their gentle reminders that God can change our ugly attitudes if only we will ask Him to.

So, I may not get the "mom-of-the-year" award, but I did get grace.  Free grace.  Undeserved grace.  Humbling grace.  And a restart with tomorrow.

Thank you Jesus!

The Lessons I Learn From My Kids' Lessons

Every week my kids come home with a "parent cue" card for discussion starters and activities to help reinforce the things they are learning in their classes at Journey.

This month they have been focusing on FRIENDSHIP.

Specifically this week is about serving.  And one way to serve is by encouraging.

So, like always, we asked their meal time question during our family breakfast time before school on Monday.

"Encouragement can be cheering on someone who is doing well, or cheering up someone who's going through a hard time.  Which one do you think is easier to do, and why?"

Simple enough.

When it was my turn I easily knew what comes most naturally for me.  It's easier for me to cheer someone up who is going through a hard time.

I wouldn't have normally even thought about it, until I was asked the "why" behind it.
The heart behind it.

I began using the example (real-life examples have an uncomfortable way of exposing heart issues in my own heart kids) of a little girl (who will go unnamed), who was dressed exceptionally cute (ie-matching colors and patterns) and was being praised for such a well-put-together outfit (which happens to not be a forte of hers).  Then another little girl (who will also go unnamed), begins pointing out all the things about herself that are going unnoticed.

Her "why" was jealousy.  She wanted everyone to see how pretty SHE was.  How lovely HER clothes were.

Then all of a sudden my own personal "why" was sitting there staring me in the face!

JEALOUSY!  PRIDE!

The times that it is hard for me to encourage others is when they are doing something well that I am personally good at.  Something that I may have given them the idea to do.  Something that I typically excel in.  Something that I have gone through.

I want the praise.  I want the pat on the back.  I want the recognition.  I want some credit.

But, according to the Bible, this is not the definition of a friend.

"A friend loves at all times.  He is there to help when trouble comes."

Proverbs 17:17

Yup, it looks like my kids definitely have some things to work on in this area;)

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?

Or am I trying to please man?

If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Galatians 1:10

Colony Conversations - Potato, Pototo

Josh: "What IS that thing?"

Me: "I think it's a Rutabaga."

Josh: "I'm pretty sure a Rutabaga is a car."

Me: "Noooo, that's a Bungalow"

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Me: "Cai-bo, the yellow marker fell on the floor. Will you put the top back on it."

Cai: "Or it will spill out?"

Me: "Um, yeah."

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Cai: "Can I have another borrow?"

Me: "A what?"

Cai: "a borrow"

Me: "what is a borrow"

Cai: " like what we had for breakfast"

Me: "OH, a cereal bar?"

Cai: "yeah"

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Cai: "DAAADDDDYYY! COME HERE!"

Josh: "Buddy, I can't come every time you draw a creepy eyeball. Draw lots of creepy things."

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Cai: "Mom, where is that blue thing?"

Me: "What blue thing?"

Cai: "That little, big blue thing"

Me: I got nothin'

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Me: "I hate how my desk gets cluttered so quickly!"

Josh: "Me too.  That's why I just clean mine off and stack it all up on your desk, ha!"