Tonight

(It has been awhile since I have blogged. Please refer to my disclaimer on the side.  ~ smile ~ )

Tonight...

Elliot is sleeping in his twin bed (we kind of skipped the entire crib thing) for the first time.

We read stories, snuggled and had a rather easy time about it. (His new Blaze and the Monster Machine sheets and pillow had nothing to do with it.) As I slipped away from him and watched him sleep, I couldn't help but think about how much I hate time right now. In two months he will be three. Three.

Brenna will be twelve. Ethan eleven. I know that I have been through this before (who am I kidding, I have hated time for many years now.) and I cannot see much changing any time soon.

It seems to me that time goes way too fast for the good things. Yet, the painful things or the difficult things we face - it cannot go fast enough. Why? Because everything has it's time. Because Elliot's story, Brenna's story, Ethan's story, my story...are all part of a bigger one. One that I will get to read in it's entirety one day, and I am in no rush for that.

 

I can't help but want time to go slow while my children grow...but I am so thankful for the years I have had with them and the years still to come. To everything there is a season...

I'm glad love, memories and moments are year round!

  
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-22

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

16 Moreover I saw under the sun:
In the place of judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
Iniquity was there.

17 I said in my heart,

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?[a] 22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

The Obligatory Thankfuls

Disclaimer: If this is the first time you are reading my blog or it's been awhile - grammar and I have never been friends.


I keep being reminded that it is NOT Christmas yet. It's Thanksgiving! Let the turkey have his turn before the guy in the red suit gets all of the attention.

Well I have news for all of you. I have never been much of a "Thanksgiving" fan. Why? Well, because I was taught to ALWAYS be thankful. Every. Single. Day. To me Thanksgiving is not the only day I should share why I am thankful and what I am thankful for.

To silence the critics:
I am thankful for my husband, for my children, for my family and even for Bensen (our crazy puppy). I am thankful for my home, and that I live in the USA and for the freedom that comes with that and for every single person who has fought to give me that and who will fight to keep it. I am thankful that my husband has a job and considers it a blessing that I get to be a stay-at-home mom. I am thankful that I have friends that "get me" and truly like me anyway. I am thankful for the little things: snow, rain, wind, a fire in the fireplace, stopping to pick up fast food, sitting on the carpeted floor, sponsoring a young man named Salomon who had no carpeted floor, reading to my children, kissing them good night, and even watching SpongeBob.

However, what I am most thankful for is the person who enables all of that for me. Guess what, I only get one time of year to celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (in the eyes of the world anyway). So forgive me if my celebration of Thanksgiving is not what it should be. I get too excited to celebrate Jesus. Believe me, thankful doesn't even begin to cover all He has done for me and all He has done for you.

I truly hope that you and your family do enjoy time together and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

With all going on in the world...I need this reminder, maybe you do to.
  
 Word of God Speak

Nostalgia Abounds

Last week I started on the task of clearing out the rest of our belongings stored in my parents' attic.

The boxes are now patiently ( I would like to say the same of my husband ) waiting for their turn to be opened, gone through, contents placed where they may go and the box tossed.

A few days ago I opened one that took me back, way back to the... 90's! A box filled with letters, cards, journals, pictures, yearbooks, scrapbooks, address books, etc.! I am talking from Junior High to High School and even letters from my pen pal in Australia before Junior High! There is a full shoebox of letters from my friend Leanna, alone. Another half shoebox full from another person. I had to chuckle when I found a black notebook, it's sole purpose - to communicate with my friends DURING class! Notes passed in the hallway between classes, pictures drawn, letters from weekend campers I met at Benners! I could go on and on!

I had to fight the urge to not sit and open every single letter and read it. I wanted to be taken back to that moment and relive it! No worries, I plan on it, when I find the time.

I can just imagine the conversations I will have with 90's Jen!

Another treasure, a folder filled with MOPS newsletters! It's comical how I am a MOPS mom again (Mother of a Preschooler!) and God's timing is never, ever, ever wrong. I did find myself flipping through those newsletters and enjoying them and missing that time with friends very much. It also reminded me again of how much I love to write ( Have you read my disclaimer...grammar, punctuation and I are not BFF's) and how difficult it is to find the time to do so.  This blog alone, has taken me 30 minutes and countless AFK, away from keyboard moments, to chase baby E. 

I feel a strong desire to start a newsletter again, only in blog form! If this is something you think you would like to read, or even guest blog on...let me know! I am hoping to get it up and running in the next couple weeks!!

Enjoy every moment, because soon you will be chuckling and imagining conversations with 2015's self.

Too "Laid Back"

A few years ago I was referred to by someone as the most "laid back person they have ever met." I took it as a compliment, I believe that is how it was intended and I'm afraid it has gone to my head.

Today, I enjoyed lunch and the company of my friend Julie, who also happens to be a pretty laid back gal. We talked about our children and chuckled as my third monkey sucked on her germy keychain.

For those that know me well, know that a trip to town is not complete without a Target run. Our local  Dots (approx. 4 stores down) is closing and having a sale, so I popped in there to check it out and then we decided to walk to Target (exercise, you know).

I wanted my load lightened a bit for shopping, so I left the diaper bag, and extra formula in the car. Elliot would be content with his glass (yes, that is a key to my little story) bottle, binky, and having a fresh diaper.  Laid back, experienced mom here.

It was nice to run into another friend and we chatted for a bit and I continued shopping. Every now and then he wanted a little sip of his bottle. I momentarily released it from my hand to his control to reach down for a box of tissues. Seconds. Crash. Shattered glass and milk throughout the entire aisle. Did I mention that this was the ONLY bottle I had with me? In case this exact scenario happens to you, here is what you do. First, you make sure baby is really secure. Second, you pick up all the big chunks of glass. Third, you make sure this happens to you in an aisle containing items that will be useful, such as Kleenex boxes that can be used to put around the spill to warn fellow shoppers. Finally, you seek assistance from Target friends, apologizing many times. I must say that they went above and beyond to help me by offering wet towels to wash my hands, telling me "you should not have picked up any of it" (I may have cut myself), "do not worry about it", "no big deal", "are you sure you are okay?!" , "I didn't know they even made glass bottles", etc.

A few minutes after we left the crash scene, Elliot decided to dirty his diaper. I just had to laugh.
We simply cruised to the baby aisle, bought a plastic bottle (ugh - yes, this coming from the same person who let her baby suck on a dirty keychain), diapers, wipes, and headed to the bathroom.

Our walk back to the car was very pleasant in the rain storm. Truly, it was. I love the rain and I love that if you look hard enough, even inconvenient things can teach you something. For instance: it's wonderful to have a "laid back" personality, but a prepared "laid back" approach is better... ALWAYS carry an extra bottle, diaper and wipes (even if it is stashed in your purse) and choose to get in extra exercise on a day that is a little more pleasant. Laugh off your mistakes, because it can always be worse.

A Fun Song


 

Remember to enjoy, cherish and parent!

I titled this post "Remember to enjoy, cherish and parent!" because I need the reminder every now and again.

No matter what your life looks like, no matter if you are a parent, single, etc. we need to remember to enjoy and cherish! Whether your day brings - good, bad, ugly, dirty house, fighting kids, laundry to the ceiling, your 13 year old dog running around your neighborhood in minus zero temperatures with 11 inches of snow on the ground and  you chasing her in your slippers, teething baby up at 1am, sadness, pain, low balance in your checking, sick child, the list goes on and on! Each of those things can help shape us into who we are becoming! For me, how I handle each thing given to me can shape one of the three sets of eyes watching me.

I share three pictures with you from yesterday.

Messy family room - took them less than an hour.

Innocent bystander

The play room with two out of five loads of laundry that (still) need folded and put away and two smiling faces that could not possibly be responsible for any of the mess they sit in.

 

We have rules in our house and on occasion those rules get bent. However, there is one rule that does not. The "There's nothing to do" rule. If those words come out of your mouth...Oh I so dislike those words. (Refer to picture three, if you start to feel pity, that my children could possibly have "nothing to do!") If I hear those words stated you get to do one of three things: something nice for someone in this house, draw a picture for Moises (a boy we sponsor through Compassion International)

or double chores! Plenty to do now, huh?!

I have learned a long time ago that it is not my responsibility to entertain my children (even when I only had one). I do enjoy playing with my children don't misunderstand, but it is not something I feel I must do everyday. When we do play we do a number of different things: play board games, Wii, make a snack and on occasion (like 96 plus hours together) I bring out some surprise

 activities to help keep things exciting!

 

Here are a few ideas you may want to try with your kids:

 

Scavenger Hunt

I write out about 21 clues on little sheets of paper. One clue leads to another. The kids go in a bedroom and wait while I hide everything. They get clue #1 when they come out. They have to use their brain to figure out where the clue leads. (May even throw a math problem in once in awhile!)

 

Lego Hunt

I hide minifigures throughout the house and set the timer. Whoever finds the most wins!

(We have also done this with My Little Pony's and of course Easter Eggs!)

 

Craft Bin Explosion

I get out the craft bin and no rules apply! They can create what they want!

 

Nothing really new under the sun, but fun for us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

96 Hours!

This is a winter like we have not seen in a long time. A winter I want every year (except, maybe the cold temperatures) lots of snow, snow, snow!

I'm not sure how many "snow days" or now "cold days" we have had that will need made up, but honestly I do not care. My kids are home with me, warm and safe and for that I am extremely thankful.

This week we have had two "cold days" (so far) coming off of a weekend. My children have been with each other non-stop, for 96 plus hours. I am thankful they have each other, but question if they feel that way on a regular basis.

Yesterday they did not. Yesterday there was punishment for the way they were screaming at the top of their lungs (we are not aloud to do that - no matter what!) at each other for something so unimportant that it sent this mom's blood to a boiling point very fast. A few minutes later, I hear them playing and laughing like it never happened. Why can't some adults remember to forgive and forget that quickly. You know what, they truly forgot! I brought it up later when Dad got home (if they get it major trouble, Dad must be informed) and wanted them to tell him what happened and they could not remember.

Oh how easy it would have been to let them fight it out (and occasionally I do, after all they must learn how to handle certain situations) but I could not take one more second of the "tone" my son had in his voice or the "I don't care" vibe I was getting from his sister. I have said these words of wisdom multiple times before and I know I will say them many more times in the years to come "It is easy to be a bad parent. It is hard to be a good one." (From the amazing Marie Benner.)

Check in a little later for some more "fun" from yesterday and some things I do with my kids to help the 96 hour together time a little more easy and something to look forward too!

The kindness of strangers....

I must confess, although I am a person who does feel truly blessed and I am enjoying sharing my "thankfulness", I am also doing this to get back into the habit of writing and blogging. I do appreciate you taking the time to click on my link and read what is on my heart.

I had to do one of my least favorite things today, grocery shop. Menu planned, grocery list ready, Elliot and I headed out on this beautiful fall day. Upon arriving at my first stop (Aldi) I was 'given' my buggy which made the beginning of this long task, a little brighter. When leaving with my overflowing cart (Elliot now on my arm in his car seat, because there was no more room) I lost two different items about 40 feet apart from each other. I realized this happened at the same time a lady walking by did. This sweet lady ran (literally) to retrieve both of my things for me, only to then offer to push my cart to my car! I politely said no, I think because I couldn't believe she offered!
I have to admit, that the two encounters that I had at Aldi ( one down, three more places to go!) changed my mood and attitude for the entire day. I was smiling and wanting to brighten someone else's day. Kindness is contagious and as much as I try to be that way every day, it is difficult and it does take  effort. Just imagine the kind of joy that could be spread around if everyone just tried a little harder.
I have often been accused of being to "trustworthy" about the world and those in it, but I am happy to say that today is proof that there are still nice people out there.

I am thankful for the kindness of strangers.

I am also thankful for my husband, who accidentally tossed our lost tooth away this evening, only to dig through the garbage to find it in time for the tooth fairy's arrival.