Category Archives: A day in the life

Life These Days

Last week was a rough one. After I wrote that post our furnace broke. I am not kidding. Thankfully it was (I think, we don’t have a bill yet) an easy fix. And we had heat again by that evening.

And the weekend didn’t get much better when Dominic came home about an hour after he left for the office with the stomach flu. Yuck for him. He was in bed all day and only started feeling better by Sunday afternoon.

As for now, we are all healthy and SO ready for Spring…which by the looks of it may be right around the corner. A girl can hope can’t she?!

I mentioned in my post last week that I am “fasting”, if you will, from spending money (on myself mostly) that isn’t classified as “necessary”. I felt convicted that I maybe had been a little too “loose” with my purchases as of late. So I got an accountability partner and told her that I wasn’t going to spend money on myself until after Easter.

Then a picture of this blouse came in my inbox.

And it is only $29 and in my favorite color and it’s called the PERFECT BLOUSE..and they only have a few mediums left (justify, rationalize)…ultimately I didn’t buy it. I sent a picture to my friend, said I was struggling but wouldn’t buy it. We talked about self-control and how it is times like these that help us to be more thoughtful about our purchases. It was hard for me but it is good.

A few hours later I got an email from Melanie at Unexpected.org that I had won a giveaway she had earlier this month!

This beauty from Trades of Hope came in the mail yesterday…like a little love letter from God.

Speaking of Melanie’s blog…if you haven’t ever read it – start with this post about her Overdramatic Family . It had me busting a gut, much needed laughter for my Thursday!

It has been 6 months since my PRK surgery. For the last month I have been on Restasis eye drops. My eyes haven’t gotten to where they would like to see them, and I was showing symptoms of chronic dry eyes (which makes no sense because they NEVER feel dry)…but I figured it was worth a try. The pharm companies are charging a RACKET for these drops. $187 for 1 month and not covered by insurance. Can you even believe that?!

But they seem to be making a difference, so I am continuing for a month and will check things out again in 3 months. Currently I am 20/15 in my right eye and 20/20, with random blurriness at times, in my left. Overall I am really happy with my results…but to get 20/15 in both eyes would be ideal.

I had an opportunity to review a few pieces of ViBella jewelry and share a bit of my story over at their blog this week. Their company represents transformation and I loved sharing a bit of my transformation journey with them!

I have a big list of things that I need to get done this weekend, mostly projects that I have started and never completely finished. I did a toy room redo, which I will blog about once it is all done. I have 2 long shelves I need to paint and then once they are hung, I would be finished. I just need to paint the darn things.

In addition I started painting my sunroom and am almost done, but after my fall 2 weeks ago I didn’t ever get back to completing it. It WILL be done this weekend.

On my to-do list is also sleeping, because this week and last have left me exhausted.

And I guess that’s all I have for now. Nothing much of substance but at least a record for myself of all we have had going on recently! 🙂 Happy Weekend friends!

Goodbye Week, I am Done With You!

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Dear last 7 days,

I am breaking up with you.

There I said it. I have tried REALLLLLY hard the last several days to keep an upbeat and positive attitude, but you have made it difficult to say the least.

Last Saturday started out so good, a Missions Committee meeting where I got to share my passion about community, a successful trip to the grocery store and ready to start the day. We are repainting our sun room space, little by little, and I wanted to get it completed that day. I was headed in the right direction until I decided to step off of the bar top/counter I was standing on to reach near the ceiling and through the ladder instead of on to the ladder.

Yep, that’s right and this girl went a tumbling down, all.the.way.down.

There was paint on the floor and all over my clothes and my leg/ankle was hurting BAD. Gabriel came running right away asking if I was ok and all I could say to him was “don’t speak to me, just don’t speak.” I cleaned up the mess, assessed the damage to my leg, quickly finished painting that section of wall on 1 foot and then spent the rest of the night with my foot elevated and iced.

Thankfully nothing was broken, although I have one large/long bruise down my leg to remember the fall by.

On top of the fall, Elijah spent Saturday night and on and off on Sunday with weird stomach pains. No fever, no vomiting or other symptoms…just sharp pains in his gut that would last 20 minutes and then go away for several hours only to return later.

We stayed home from church to recover (which never starts my week right) and spent the day resting.

On Tuesday the High School called because Isaac was sick, same stomach pains but with some nausea to boot. In 4 years he has never gone home sick, so I knew he wasn’t feeling right. We thought it was the same thing that Elijah had…

Then on Wednesday morning he sent me a text at 4:30am asking me to call him when I was up. Because Karlena has not been sleeping well ALL.WEEK. I was up. (I am exhausted btw, exhausted and need sound sleep more than I can say)

Isaac had been unable to sleep all night, the pain had also radiated to his back and we were worried about the possibility of appendicitis, and his pain was bad enough that off to the ER we went.

After blood work and a fun drink of mylanta and lydacaine, they sent us home thinking it was likely a virus, but to watch and see. Being the awesome mom I am I forgot to fill his prescription for the anti-nausea pills they gave us, so Isaac got to suffer another sleepless night again. Good times.

When Isaac went to school yesterday, still not feeling great but unable to miss anymore in-class work that his schedule demands, I noticed he had a red spot on his cheek. I figured it was a pimple and didn’t think anything of it.

When I got home from work he came downstairs and I took one look at him and said “You need to go to the Dr. immediately!” It looked like he had been in a bad fight. His entire cheek was bright red and swollen and too close to his eye for my comfort.

So as I ran Gabriel to his band concert, Dominic was in a late meeting and Isaac had to go to Acute Care alone. Turns out he not only has a staph infection that came out of nowhere on his cheek, he has such a terrible ear infection in both ears that he can’t even hear out of one side.

So lucky Isaac, got a shot of some heavy duty antibiotics, and a prescription of horse pills to take for the next 10 days.

Friday, you couldn’t have come fast enough.

My only prayer is that as we come close to the close of this week, that we won’t carry any of the terribleness forward with us. Please God, no more.

Normally a trip to my favorite local shopping boutique would be warranted right about now, and would probably make me feel better about things (ahem)…but I have committed to no unnecessary spending (and even more specifically on myself) over this period of lent…so I must suffer through. 🙂

I wonder if I can find any chocolate around here…that may just help! 😉

Worn and weary and wishing for a new shirt, Kristin

2014 – A Review

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Our family just spent a week up in a “cabin”…which in this case is code for very large home on a lake with its own theatre room which was ridiculous…except for a few of the bathrooms that only provided cold showers, we were surrounded in luxury. It was nice to get away from the “normal” and spend time with my extended family.

My dad commented that most years we get about 4 hours together at Christmas, and this year we had several days. It was a treat and a blessing that God provided for us. Yes, God has really provided for us this year. It hasn’t come without hard work, long hours and sacrifices…but He has been good.

I have been thinking a lot about the past year and what I thought 2014 was going to bring. In some ways I can’t believe that it is over and in others 2015 can’t come fast enough.

One of the biggest and continued blessings of 2014 has been the community of women that God has surrounded me with. Women that support and encourage me. Women that pray over me and love without judgement. These women in my tribe are the greatest gift I could have ever received this year. While community wasn’t what I was seeking when I started this God-sized Dream journey 2 years ago, it has been better than I could have hoped or imagined.

At the beginning of 2014, with wobbly and knocking knees, I shared my hopes to be called to the platform and speak. It terrifies me even still because even thinking about it makes me want to throw up a little, but still it is a calling that I feel. And while 2014 brought only 2 opportunities, one for my husband and I together at church and another at a local MOPS group early in December, both were an honor to be a part of.

I think starting the year, sharing that dream, I thought that maybe there would be something “bigger”…but I was reminded recently when listening to my 40 Day Prayer Challenge devotional by Mark Batterson, that I don’t have to influence thousands….maybe God calls me to be an influence to 1 who then goes on to influence thousands. Each is important. And so while my dream to speak didn’t end up looking like I had hoped, it was a blessing to be given an opportunity to share my story at all.

Because our stories matter, don’t they?! Our hurts and our hopes, they need to be shared. I have said before that I started blogging because of one woman who was brave enough to share the difficult…and her testimony and faith were what got me through a very dark time in my own life.

If you feel called to share your story, do it! We may not get a book deal, or a viral post….but our words may touch the heart of another who is hurting and THAT my friends is what makes it worth it!

At the beginning of the year I also felt challenged to find balance for my home, work and family. I felt like God wanted that for me and so I made it my word for 2014. And can I just say that challenge was a FAIL. Like a BIG TIME FAIL.

I think I walked away from 2014 with less balance than I started! 😉 So if you feel the same don’t feel discouraged! I am reminded once again that this road we are on is one of progress, not perfection. It is easy to look back at our year and feel like we have missed the mark. But I don’t want to end this year focusing on all the things that I didn’t get done, or I didn’t do well. Because intermixed in those failures are so so many blessings. And that is what I want to remember!

There has been growth in ways I hadn’t expected. Approximately 3 months ago I started my first 40 Day Prayer Challenge. I wasn’t sure what I expected, and with my track record of starting but not finishing so many other things….I didn’t hold high expectations for me on this. But yesterday I finished my 2nd 40 day challenge!

I have journaled through the process and while some of the prayers are yet to be answered, I have seen God moving and I can’t wait to keep going. I even got a new Prayer Circle Journal from my dear friend Delonna and it will be the perfect way to start praying through 2015!

Yes God has been moving.

So I leave 2014 filled with gratitude. No it didn’t always work out like I had hoped or imagined, but each step was a learning experience, an opportunity to grow, and for all of those things I am thankful.

And 2015? I thought I had a word to start the new year and now I feel like God has given me a different word. Because of course, and a little thank you to Christine who spoke life and truth to me this morning that helped in that revelation! I will share more about that tomorrow though.

Until then, can I just end this by saying thank you. Thank you for walking with me here, For encouraging me, believing in me. For each uplifting comment, and those who shared my writing. I know that many of us haven’t met in real life, but I count you all friends. You make this journey worth it! Happy New Year friends!

Today I am joining my friends over at God-sized Dreams linking up our dreaming stories from 2014! And Kristin Hill Taylor’s Three Word Wednesday!

Some Goings On

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I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow! How did November whiz by so fast?! We are hosting this year again but it will be a much smaller group. I am just excited to spend time with both of our parents, and get geared up for Christmas decorating…my favorite!

Since I don’t have anything really profound to share with you right now I thought that I would just give you a peak into some goings on here recently.

Isaac gave blood at school yesterday for the first time. I didn’t even know it was happening, but he heard about it and being 18 and all, he went ahead and signed up. I seriously just love his heart. I am so proud of the man he is becoming. And I get a little twitchy when I think about the fact that in a few short months he will be moving out.

I did a bunch of my Thanksgiving prep in advance this year. I have worship team practice tonight so I won’t be at home to do it then, so the cranberries and applesauce are ready, the elements of the stuffing are ready to go and the turkey is all set to be put in the roaster early on Thursday morning. I will do the mashed potatoes before I leave tonight and will rewarm them in the crock pot. The other dishes will be made in the morning tomorrow. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is a bread product. Not sure what will happen there, I need to figure that out! 🙂

Speaking of stuffing, next week I will share the recipe that I am using. It is a recipe that I have changed and doctored for the past 2 years and it is AMAZING. I am more excited about the stuffing than anything else. This year I am making it in individual muffin tins to try that…I will let you know how it all turns out!

I was invited to speak at our local MOPS group next Tuesday. The speaker they had lined up went on unexpected bed rest and they needed someone short notice. Heather, who takes our family pictures, sent me a text 2 nights ago asking if I would come and share with them about hospitality and why as women we often feel we have to have it perfect to invite people into our spaces. Since that has been something that has been on my heart since Allume, I felt confident that I could come up with something. I have been praying that God would give me His message to share…I haven’t written anything down yet though. I better get on that!

I have most of my Christmas shopping done, even found a couple of deals early that I thought I would have to get tomorrow so that is nice. Although I am one of those crazies that loves being out on Black Friday…I try to be extra friendly to the people working and make it a fun experience. So I will probably go out just because! 🙂

It is snowing here today, and I am not happy about that. My parents were supposed to head to our house today…but that may be delayed. Snow before Thanksgiving should be banned. It has been a COLD November and I am nervous about how the remainder of the winter will be! Sometimes I think living in the south would be nice…but then I hear stories about leeches in bathrooms and roaches in microwaves, and am thankful that because of the cold we don’t deal with that here!

Most of all I am thankful this week. God has blessed our family in so many ways and while we don’t always live in full gratitude, our hearts seek to acknowledge the blessings on a daily basis. My prayer for you is that your Thanksgiving would be safe and happy and full of wonderful food and time with family!

Lessons Learned From Canning Tomatoes

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This was only half of the tomato crop that I got to deal with this past Saturday. About a week before that I had mentioned to Dominic that we really needed to get out and pick our tomatoes, so he did just that and then they sat on my kitchen counter mocking me for a week.

Did you know that tomatoes can mock?? They do, I have seen it first hand! 😉

I knew that if I didn’t do something with them on Saturday they would spoil. Initially I thought that I would make homemade spaghetti sauce and bought all of the ingredients at the store to do so, but when I got home our internet was down (and stayed down for 2 days!!) and searching for a recipe on my phone proved difficult. And as a side note….what I could read on my phone was conflicting regarding the safety of canning spaghetti sauce because of the acidity levels etc….can anyone confirm/deny that?? I would still like to do it if it is safe!

Anyways, back to my afternoon. I started at about 1pm, getting everything set up so I could blanche and peel the tomatoes first. It proved to be a BIG job. BIG. I spent almost 4 hours doing that alone.

4 hours people. 4 hours.

Typically this is something that Dominic and I would do together, one of us doing the blanching part and the other doing the peeling. But after the crazy-busy week we had and Dominic on the road for 2 days, he had to be in the office getting work done so that we could deal with the week ahead.

And so I went at it alone.

Meanwhile my kids were acting a little crazy, and I was getting increasingly more tired and more irritated at how long this was taking.

Once the tomatoes were all dealt with it was time to cook everything down.

This too takes time, and it wasn’t like I could just leave it and do other things. In this case a non-watched pot will boil over and scorch. So I was constantly there, watching and stiring.

Then comes the canning process itself. I do the hot jar, self seal method…because I don’t have a pressure cooker. So I make sure the tomatoes have boiled for a long time, then add them to the hot jars, as the jars cool they self seal!

Because I was working alone I could only do 2 jars at a time. I ended up with 36 quarts. Just the canning was time consuming!

By this point my kitchen was a mess. Half my sink loaded with the days dirty dishes, unable to be loaded into the dishwasher because I was using it for the jars. The kids were tired and crabby and a barking dog didn’t help my increasing stress level.

I.HAD.JUST.ABOUT.ENOUGH.

I could feel the grumble come on fast.

Why wasn’t he here helping me?

How could it be taking him so long at the office?

Why do I always get stuck doing these hard jobs?

And then I stopped in my tracks.

I KNEW what was happening. The enemy was on attack, and at my most tired, weakest moment I was giving in.

So what does one do in a moment like this?

I talked myself down off the ledge. Yep, I admit I was talking out loud to myself in the kitchen. Call me crazy, but saying truth out loud in that moment was exactly what I needed to be doing!

So I replaced the lies with the truth.

Dominic is working hard FOR US!

He would rather be here helping, he had even said that this morning, but he needed to get work done so that this coming week was half-way manageable.

The hard work was worth it and I would be grateful for all of it come this winter when I needed fresh tomatoes!

And at that moment my perspective changed.

Yes it was almost 10pm. Yes I had been standing and working for almost 9 hours straight. But this was MY CHOICE! I wanted to plant the tomatoes. I wanted to do the canning. Regardless of how my situation turned out on Saturday, this was my choice and I was going to choose to be grateful for it.

And then I heard it.

Pop!

If you haven’t ever done canning, you may not know the sound. But it was beautiful to me at that moment.

And I shouted “Praise Jesus”!

Elijah happened to wander back in just at that moment and asked me what was going on. So I told him that I was praising God for every lid that sealed. That I was grateful my hard work was paying off, and God deserved the glory.

Pop…Praise Jesus!

It went on for about an hour. The kitchen was all cleaned up at this point and I finally had a moment to rest. But with each Pop, I would Praise Jesus.

It is hard to be crabby when you are praising God! (<====Click to Tweet)

I don’t know what “job” you face this week. Maybe it is time at an office that is the last place you want to be. Maybe it is the throws of motherhood that has you worn and harried. Take some advice from someone who has learned these lessons the hard way…

Find the beauty in the small things and Praise Jesus. (<====Click to Tweet)

We All Need a Little Grace!

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The sound of something spilling all over the floor brought me running into the kitchen.

There was Elijah, my almost 5 year old, with a look of fear on his face. He had made a huge mess and spilled his juice all over the chair and the floor.

Maybe it is because I have been sick the past few days and unable to keep up with my everyday responsibilities let alone parent well….

Maybe it was the look on his face, I don’t know….but I didn’t respond the way that I normally would.

I didn’t get angry or yell at him. I have little patience for stupid mistakes. (I am serious…patience is NOT a virtue that I was blessed with and it becomes more and more clear as I struggle to parent a 3 yr old and almost 5 yr old well!)

Normally I would let something like this really upset me….I wouldn’t see it as an accident, but a careless mistake.

But this night was different.

This night I just grabbed a rag and started to clean up the mess and told Elijah it was just an accident (which it was)….

I told him that he needed to be more careful about where he left his cup on the table so it didn’t happen again – but I was calm and kind.

Grace.

We all need it don’t we?

I am not above stupid mistakes, heck I make them all the time! And I expect grace from others don’t I?!

Why am I not as willing to extend it then?

Just that afternoon I had left work for an extended time to take a nap because I was feeling so terrible. I need grace too, just like everyone else.

God really used this little incident to speak to my weary heart.

I don’t want my kids to always be afraid that I am going to get angry when they do something wrong.

I want them to learn how to give and receive grace. (<=== Click to Tweet)

I want them to know that their mistakes don’t define them, but God’s grace for their lives does.

As we enter the final days of Holy Week, I am more and more grateful for the amazing gift of grace that was shown to me.

God sacrificed His ONLY Son, to be a Savior of all mankind. Even when He knew we would be sinful, even when He knew we would curse Him, would fall away and turn from His love….He loved us THAT much that in spite of who He knew we would be, He still made a way so that we could spend eternity with Him.

Wow – that kind of grace is overwhelming isn’t it?!

Grace.

We all need it.

I am grateful that I had an opportunity to practice grace in a real way with my kids. I won’t always do it well…in fact now that I have written this post I will probably fail in a BIG way in the coming days. (I’m just saying….I am the chief of hypocrites)

But I hope that I can be more quick to remember to extend grace instead of react negatively.

Because we all need a little grace!

Joining the lovely Holley Gerth today in her weekly 2014 Encouragement Challenge.

Photo Credit: Share the Word

When It’s The Little Things….

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Dominic and I were at Walmart a few weeks ago and saw some Beta fish and he commented that he thought the kids might really like to have one. He said he wanted to bring them over to help pick a fish out so we didn’t do anything that night.

But life gets busy doesn’t it?!

Whether it is work or kids/school commitments, time at church….there are a lot of things that can fill out days around here.

We have been super busy with our business. It is a God-given blessing indeed, and we try not to take it lightly, but at times the weight of all that needs to be done can feel pretty heavy.

Last night it was time to leave the office and I could tell Dominic was so tired but felt like he needed to stay and work. I encouraged him to come home and have dinner and see the kids and then get back at it if he needed to.

He thought that maybe he should take the kids out and go look at a fish.

So while I was making dinner, Dominic took the 3 littles out to Walmart. They were so excited they could hardly stand it!

They came home with 4 fish, because of course they each needed one! 🙂

They set to task to prepare their new home environments.

They washed out old vases I had kept for a time such as this, cleaned up some old river rock we had saved from previous fish habitats and worked to get the water temperature just right and added the chlorine treatment so the water would be safe.

Then they had to wait.

Dominic explained that for the safety of the fish, it was best to wait an hour for the water temperature in the vases and the water temperature in the fish’s current “home” to align…that way when we transferred them over they would have the best chance at survival.

Waiting can be hard so we put in a movie to pass the time. It was Spongebob and it was terrible, but at one point I was sitting on the couch with 3 of my kids and they were all laughing.

It’s the little things, isn’t it?!

Seeing the smiles on their faces when they look at their new fish, hearing their laughter – even if it is at a terrible cartoon character….it was all worth it last night.

In the midst of so much “to-do”, we all needed something like a couple of new fish to remind us what is really important.

The small things can bring such joy can’t they?!

I often forget to look for the things that bring me joy, it isn’t that I am not grateful for our many blessings…but I don’t stop and “smell the roses” enough.

Last night we all did that and it was wonderful.

The kids named their fishes….Turk (short for turquoise) – Gabriel, Circle fish – Elijah and Around – Karlena. 🙂 We will see if these are still the names when the kids get up this morning!

And thankfully, at least today, all of the fish were alive when I got up!

I know life gets tough and sometimes it is hard to find the joy in our circumstances. But I encourage you today to take some time to do something small that helps you find that joy.

Whether it is taking a walk and watching the sunset, or curling up with a good book, or sitting on the couch under a pile of blankets watching a cartoon with the kids.

Take time to find that thing that brings you joy! You will be so blessed when you do.

I am celebrating that which brings us joy today with Holley Gerth and some other wonderful women that are seeking to bring light each Wednesday with Holley’s 2014 Encouragement Challenge. You can join in on the fun here!

What a Clogged Toilet Has to Do With a God-sized Dream

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This was my view last Friday night.

Everything a woman might hope for at the start of her weekend right?

Our daughter, who just turned 3, has been potty trained since this summer. It was early and wonderful to be out of diapers but it hasn’t always been perfect.

I still can’t say for sure what was (or might still be) stuck in the pipes of our plumbing, but I do know that my husband and son were both gone for the evening and I came upon the toilet that wouldn’t flush.

It wasn’t pretty, but it needed to be dealt with. So I went to find the toilet snake in the garage.

And yes, if you must know, we purchased one years ago and have had cause to use it multiple times. Our children seem to be called to putting various items and too much toilet paper into the toilet, thus clogging it.

So as I was desperately trying to unclog the mess, I was reflecting on the idea that sometimes we too find ourselves in the “muck”.

You know what I am talking about right?

Those times when things aren’t as “pretty” as we would have hoped, or we are stuck and it seems like God won’t or can’t use us.

And we wonder if this is all that our life will amount to? The unclogging of toilets, the cleaning up of messes, the breaking up of fights…..how do we dream in the thick of all that?

Holley Gerth reminds us that we need to just start saying Yes anyways.

Say yes when we feel scared about the next step.

Say yes when we feel too small.

Say yes when we feel like we are stuck in the muck.

Open your heart, Trust God, and say yes when He calls us.

Does that mean that by saying yes you won’t still be stuck at times? No!

But hopefully we can start to find joy even in the small things, because we know that they are important too.

Some days I am not called to write or to speak, I am just called to unclog toilets. And I am grateful that I can serve my family in doing that too! (<==== Click to Tweet)

When we say yes, with a grateful heart, to the icky things…imagine how it amazing it will be when we get to say yes to the wonderful?!

So say yes….what are you waiting for?

And just so you don’t think I am not given LOTS of opportunities for the “icky”….this happened as I was trying to unclog the toilet (which took over an hour)….

And NO, it isn’t chocolate – much to my dismay! 🙂

Laugh with me friends and start saying Yes! What a ride it has been for me as I have started to do so!

I am linking up with my sisters over at God-sized Dreams as we discover more about Gods plan for our lives and with Crystal Stine for her Behind the Scenes weekly link up sharing the stories behind the pictures we take – will you join us too?!

Making Muffins in the Morning

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Tonight I am driving to Sioux Falls to stay overnight so that I can catch my morning flight to Greenville, South Carolina! I can hardly believe that Allume is here. It was months ago that I bought my ticket and booked the flight….and now it is here.

I am terrified and excited all wrapped in one.

I have a list of things that I really wanted to get done before I left. My floors are in desperate need of mopping. DESPERATE. But it just isn’t going to get done…(my apologies to Dominic’s family who are coming for a visit while I am gone!!)

I worked late at the office last night to get a few things done there as well so I can leave and not stress about what I am coming back to.

This morning I wanted some quiet time and maybe one last round of my ab exercises. My feeble attempting at fitting well into my skinny jeans. 😉 But my Elijah had different plans when he was up and out of bed at 5:10 am.

I could have easily been frustrated. I offered him a few easy choices for breakfast – but he wasn’t interested. So then I suggested muffins. He was excited and of course wanted to help.

If you have baked with children you know that nothing is quick and easy with littles under foot. But I felt the Spirit prodding me to take the time. To set aside my agenda, my toned abs (ha!!) and my quiet time for quality time with my 3rd born.

So we got out the mix, I let him pour it in the bowl and add the milk, and he did the stirring. He loves to participate like that and I should let him help more often!

And so this morning we made muffins, chocolate chip ones. And they were yummy. I didn’t get in my devotional reading, I didn’t get in my workout but I made a memory with my son.

I think God wants that from us as wives and mothers. I know that quiet time is important and taking care of my body is important. But I believe that we can honor God when we serve our family well.

So today I encourage you to find a little way to love on your family. Even if it means sacrificing your to-do list. I promise you will be rewarded for it!!

A Mom’s Night Out

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In less than 2 weeks I will be heading out to Greenville, SC to attend Allume. I am a mess of excited and terrified right now but am just praying God’s blessing on this trip.

On Friday night we get to attend a PJ party hosted by the new upcoming movie Mom’s Night Out! We will get to see a sneak peak at the movie and then they are having an open mic time for people to share their blog posts about why we need a mom’s night out! This is what I wrote and if I have the courage, I will share that Friday! 🙂

The growing stain on the kitchen ceiling was the first indication that something was terribly wrong.

Then my 16 year old son came downstairs carrying a soaked towel with these orangey chunks all over it.

Apparently there was a “bit of a mess upstairs”.

“Bit of a mess” didn’t even begin to describe what we walked into.

Puddles of water all over the floor, and Goldfish crackers, well the remains of what was once Goldfish crackers. What we found instead were piles of wet, mushy orange blobs. Blobs that stained the carpet I might add.

The play table was covered with a layer of water and every cup-like toy that was in the room was full.

After some prodding we realize that while I was downstairs taking care of our 2 1/2 year old who had the stomach flu, another whole story, our 4 year old son found an empty milk jug in the recycling bin and proceeded to fill it in the next door bathroom and carry it over to the toy room to “play”.

And play he did! He left no space untouched. Several toys just needed to be thrown away. But what about that stain? What had caused that stain in our kitchen ceiling?

Sure there was water all over the floor and it was soaked in places, but not so badly that I thought it would seep through to the floor below.

No something else had happened – but what?

And then I saw it….

In our house we have several vents covers that aren’t attached to anything and are easily moved. When I saw the cover moved over slightly I asked him…

“Did you pour water down the vent?”

Eyes wide, and guilt washed all over his face, he just stared at me.

Busted!

But things were starting to make sense. He had poured water down into the air vent and it had run it’s course until it found a seam and then had leaked out into the space above our kitchen.

Like his own little toy water slide. I am sure in his mind it seemed like a wonderful idea!

And so the clean up process began, the spills were wiped, the goldfish clumps scooped up and eventually the stain in ceiling would be painted over.

And I’d love to tell you that this was an isolated incidence, but the reality is this is what happened on Sunday afternoon….If I had more time I would tell you the story about the Desitin jug and toothbrush painting, the time we had to buy a plumber’s toilet snake to retrieve not one but 5 toothbrushes out, or the underwear in the sump hole story – yes that’s a doozie!!

I am sure you all have your own stories because being a mom is HARD work!!

And THAT is why I need a mom’s night out!

I’d love to hear your stories – please share one in the comments below!! Let’s get a laugh together today!!