Saturday, February 26, 2011

I love weekends!




This is the real reason my hubby wanted boys! So he would "have" to play video games with them. :-) Startin' them early! I love weekends with no agenda. That makes this momma happy!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Things not to say to a SAHM

So, I was reading this trashy magazine today (nothing else interesting around!) and read something that I thought was funny and true. The list was titled "top ten things not to say to a stay at home mom." Now, I'm not a complete stay at home mom, granted. But I feel like it. I work on Wednesdays and Thursdays - yep, working now. One of my patients canceled, so I have a little free time. :-) But, I get to stay at home with my sweet boys the other 5 days of the week. So I consider myself a "stay at home most of the time mom." I thought the list was so funny, I'd come up with my own. Here's my top things not to say to a stay at home mom. Feel free to leave your own in the comments! :-)
1. "Didn't you wear those same pants yesterday?"
2. "Wow - you look nice. I usually only see you in sweats and with no makeup."
3. "You did brush your teeth today, right?"
4. "Oh, you stay at home. What a strange way to use your college degree." (read - what a waste of money)
5. "Wow. With you being home all day, I'm surprised your house isn't spotless!"
6. "When your kiddos get big, do you think you'll get a real job?"
7. "What in the world do you do with your all that free time?"
8. "Boy, I wish my hubby was as successful as yours so I could stay home all day long."
9. "Why do you want to go shopping? All you ever wear is sweats."
10. "Who needs adult interaction when you have Barney and Mickey and the Backyardigans and Veggie Tales to listen to."

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My hubby rocks!

I have a couple of bloggy posts that are a tad overdue, but it's been a bit crazy around these parts. My hubby and I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing weekend sans kiddos last weekend. We had lots on our plates, but we were kid free, which just makes things easier sometimes. We missed those little guys, but admittedly, those weekends at Grammy and Pa's are wonderful for all of us. :-) So, how did we fill our time? Friday night, we went to this really cool thing at Southeast Christian Church called "Marriage Rocks." It is a wonderfully awesome time of fellowship, laughter and marriage strengthening. This time, Bebo Norman was the featured speaker/singer. Ya'll should definitely go with us next time - the next one is June 10. :-) Seriously, check your calendars and get a babysitter and come with us!!!

Saturday, we ran some errands and visited with family (billy's grandma is sick and in the hospital - you can pray for her!) and then Saturday night, we had the awesome privilege of speaking at an event called "Love Actually" at Shelbyville FBC. We were honored to share our story - one of love and redemption and faithfulness and joy and all that "happily ever after" stuff. We were even more honored to share the truth about God's grace and truth as it relates to purity in relationships. "Love Actually" was a program for high school students and their parents and the entire focus was on staying pure until marriage - all in God's plan and timing. At the end of the evening, parents were given the opportunity to present a purity ring to their children who will in turn give that ring to their spouse on their wedding day. Neat stuff. Really neat stuff.

To start our talk, we took off our sweaters to reveal these cool shirts! Fun times!


We also participated in a "not so newlywed" game and oh man, I'm sad to report that we lost. :-( Oh well...

We've volunteered in student ministry off and on throughout our entire relationship and we are currently teaching seniors in HS. We love those kids and pray God's blessings over them in every area of their lives. What a privilege to share in their lives even for a moment.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Parenting with Grace

I am continually learning lessons from my children. I hope they learn half as much from me as I learn from them. Seriously! This blog is full of the good, the bad, and the ugly, so I'm just warning that this one isn't full of good. For some reason, my lovely children have chosen the last two days to drive me nine kinds of crazy. I am serious. Now as a disclaimer, I must say that 95% of yesterday and today were perfect days with my children. But the other 5% - well that's where all the kinds of crazy comes in. Bedtime has been particularly challenging, for some reason. I am probably blowing their disobedience out of proportion (could be because I've had a head cold and cough for 6 stinkin weeks and can't sleep very well!!!!!), but it just seems like everything is a fight. We do the exact same thing every single night. Why have the past two nights been tough??? No clue. Let me just be real honest and say that last night, I sucked as a mom at nite nite time. Seriously, if I was grading myself, I would have given me an F. Tonight, I've been so much better. Last night I threw my own little temper tantrum and it.wasn't.pretty. I raised my voice. I stomped my feet. I spanked. Oh gosh, I feel guilty even typing that. I apologized to both my sweeties this morning. :( Anyway... tonight, even though they've challenged me, I am patiently sitting in their room listening to them breathe and thanking God for these sweet boys who stretch my faith every day.

So here's my lesson learned (or that I am trying to learn.....). Tonight I got to go for a run. 50 glorious minutes of alone time. I heart to run - for lots of reasons, but the alone time is one of the best. Some of my most passionate prayers happen when I'm running. One of the songs on my iPod is an old one - "your love is deep." Based on the scripture in Ephesians that talks about the depth and width of the love of Christ. God really spoke to me through that song. If I am to be a living picture of who Jesus is to my children, I have to do better. I have to love deeper, wider, higher and longer. God's love is deep - so should mine be. God's love is wide - so should mine be. God's love is high - so should mine be... you get the picture, right? Even when they challenge my authority and act like snotty-nosed little brats (sorry!), I am called to show patience and love and parent them with grace - not with threats and a temper tantrum that isn't productive for anyone.

Walking through parenthood sure is a scary job. It's a learning experiment, that's for certain. I do love them. With all my being. I just hope I can be the kind of mommy that Jesus would have me be. That's the desire of this tired momma's heart tonight. :-) What about ya'll - what's the desire of your heart?

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

oops, I did it again.

Oh my goodness. Never fails. I can be so prepared. I know exactly what is needed. I talk to myself and say "remember, get in and get out. Fast." No matter how much self talk I do to prepare myself, I always fail... today, I visited Target (one of my favorite places!) and literally needed two things: conversation heart candy - my assignment for Jacob's Valentine party at preschool and suckers to attach to his little friends' Valentines cards. Do you think for a second I walked out of T.A.R.G.E.T with just those two items? Of course not. I just had to peruse the $1 spot and (uh oh) the craft spot. I picked up some glue sticks, letter stickers, glitter glue and some other fun stuff for our Valentines Palooza party on Monday. Oh and some work out pants that were on clearance. Those darn little red clearance stickers get me every single time. Oh Target.... I love to hate you. :-)

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

You gotta check this out!


One of my hobbies the last year or so has become "blog stalking." I mean seriously - I love to read blogs. I love the ones my friends write and I even love the ones my friends' friends write. Yep, I read the blogs of complete strangers. Nosey much? Hmmm, I admit it. I am absolutely nosey! And I absolutely love it. I love hearing stories about motherhood and kids and trying to make sense out of parenting. I can use all the advise I can get, afterall! So, one example of a friend's friend that I've "met" in bloggy world is my friend Rachie's friend Megan Terry. Her blog (www.millionsofmiles.com) is amazing. I don't even know Megan, but I feel strongly connected to her. She is a mommy of three and is hilarious. i love her daily dose of reality - she tells it like it is. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I totally respect her for that! Her third critter is an adorable little boy named Miles whom she and her family adopted from the Congo in Africa. OH MY WORD... I could eat him. He is full of sweetness. When I see his pictures on her bloggy, I am immediately taken back to the beautiful children I encountered from Zimbabwe 7 years ago. Part of my heart will always be with the children of Africa, specifically Zimbabwe, since I was there, immersed in their lives and culture for a brief period. God has been laying that country and all of Africa on my heart for much of the last 8 years or so. So, through Megan's journey, I have re-lived a little of my passion. Go check out her blog. It is awesome!!!!

While you're there, make sure you enter to win a chance for one of two awesome vacations. Proceeds go to children of the Congo and Haiti. www.millionsofmiles.com


Enjoy!

Thursday, February 03, 2011

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