Surprisingly, these first two are from my husband. He totally cracks me up – I thought first to put these on facebook, but then thought they’d be better here, since it’s been awhile.
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We’d been driving for several minutes where Paul and I had been quietly talking to each other with the constant interruption of “Mommy! Daddy!”
“Children!” Paul began, in a very professorial tone, “I’m trying to talk to your mother. I chose her to be my wife. I loved her and wanted to be with her and talk to her. I did not choose you. I love you very much, but you were thrust upon me. You are here no matter what. But your mother I chose. I did not have to be with her, but I wanted to and so I married her because I wanted to talk to her.”
He went on and on restating himself until finally concluding, “So please, sit there and be quiet for just a few minutes so mother and I can talk.”
It was mostly quiet with a few giggles before Sophia piped up, “Daddy?”
****
The little girls were finishing getting ready for bed, I was on the couch relaxing, and Hope and Paul were talking.
He handed her a book to read to him. She didn’t want that one.
“Here, this is Anne of Green Gables; do you know what that is?” Paul asked.
Hopey shook her head.
“It’s a book that a whole lot of people like,” he began, “And do you know how many of all those people are women?”
Hope shook her head again.
“All of them.”
****
A few mornings ago, we were all in the kitchen and Gracie kept opening her mouth and making an “Ah!” noise trying to get our attention.
“Gracie, what are you trying to show us?” I asked.
With huge eyes and excited voice she replied, “Two of my taste buds are stuck together and they won’t come off!”
****
My children are very interested in what meats come from what animals. We’ve been eating roast beef sandwiches for lunch lately and they’ve started this funny joke among themselves. One of the little girls will say, “Mommy, what animal is this from?”
“A cow.”
“Ohhhh!” They get excited and pick up there meat to hold flat in their hand. “Would you like to pet my cow?”
I politely decline.
****
Mckayla said this a few months ago, but the girls loved it so much that it has become another one of their jokes.
She was being slow to finish her lunchmeat so I kindly reminded her that she needed to finish quickly if she wanted her cookie/treat/whatever-it-was-that-day.
“Okay.” She responded happily (love when that happens), “but I can’t eat too much or I’ll have to go to the hospital.”
****
Hope you enjoyed the latest installment of all the silly, random, and ridiculous things said around here.
I trust that at some point in my life being late to church on Sunday morning will be a thing of the past.
But with multiple small children and a husband who usually has responsibilities at church before the girls even get up, being late on a Sunday morning is a semi-regular part of my life. I will say for those who may be brand new mommies and are about to be completely discouraged, I have a way better chance of being on time now with four small kids and another on the way than I did when there was just one or two. Life really does get easier.
Because being late is now semi-regular instead of constant, I’ve started to see how much being late can influence your mindset going into corporate worship.
(This is not about how to NOT be late, it is about how I try to think WHEN I am late.)
For those who follow Christ, Sunday corporate worship is essential. It’s something we look forward to all week long. On a completely temporal level for moms with little kiddos, it can be a chance to drop them off in the nursery or Sunday school and fix your mind on eternal truths while briefly leaving behind the immediacy of diapers, feedings, discipline and endless questions.
Bottom line, we have every reason to want to be on time or even early for church.
But… sometimes we wake up late. Sometimes we’re completely unprepared from Saturday night. Sometimes a toddler chooses an inopportune time to decide he doesn’t like eggs. Sometimes fixing four heads of hair takes longer than you planned on. Sometimes you have to take a different route because of a bike race. It seems like every force in the universe is plotting to thwart your plans to be on time.
It happens.
#1 – Being late happens.
The most discouraging mornings for me are the ones where I had everything completely prepared, where I got up ridiculously early, where nothing catastrophic happened… and still I was late. How many times I have complained in my mind, What’s the point of trying so hard if I’m still going to be late?
No, you’re not a failure. No, it will not be this way forever no matter what. No, it was not a waste to try hard. Easy to write on a Monday night, but very hard to tell yourself on a Sunday morning.
Which brings me to the next thought.
#2 – Every truth that you’re going to church to celebrate and rehearse is changed NOT AT ALL by the fact that you’re late.
Just recently I’ve learned to think about this as I get the girls ready and drive to church on a morning where I know we’ll be late. The glory of Christ’s work on the cross, the grace of God in forgiving and adopting His enemies, the comfort of the Spirit teaching us every day, the hope of an eternity with Jesus as King of Kings – all of these are steadfast truths that will never change. To imagine that somehow my little being-late escapade has any impact in eternal matters is laughable. I have to make a concentrated effort to think on things that are true and good.
To beat myself up over such a thing is really just an odd symptom of self-centeredness. Believe me, on many occasions through the singing or teaching at church, the Holy Spirit has gently shown me where I was wrong, or careless, or uninterested, which caused the circumstances around being late. But I have to let Him do that. Punishing myself over being late just clouds my mind from the One who can truly search my heart. And sometimes honestly, God just gives you a peace that it was just the way it was that day and it’s okay. See #1. = )
#3 – Being late is not an excuse to sin against your children.
To ask my three-year-old who is accustomed to thirty minutes for breakfast to hurry and eat in seven is just not wise. Ashamedly, I have been through so many Sunday morning breakfast’s where I have constantly been saying, “Girls, be quiet. We have to eat. Stop talking, we have to eat. Eat faster. We only have two minutes left!” (to finish three-quarters of a plate) Not going to happen.
Lately, the Lord has been teaching me to truly own when something is my fault and not to place the blame or the burden of hurrying in this case on my girls. I need to give them plenty of time to eat. Either that or have a really good back-up eat-in-the-car plan. (which usually doesn’t work anyway) Complete aside: Did you know my kids won’t even Pop-Tarts fast on a Sunday morning? Oh, the strategies I have tried to save time. Seriously! They didn’t even eat the Pop-Tarts. Like I’m giving you sugar you’re normally not allowed to have, but nope.
But I digress. When one of them comes to me crying and stomping because she can’t get her arm through her sleeve (and is not really even trying because of a bad attitude) I still have to respond with kindness and wisdom. Patience doesn’t get temporarily marked off the list from 7-10 on Sunday morning.
One of the biggest reasons I want to have everything ready for Sunday morning is so my girls can remember it as a time of joy, of looking forward to going to church together. I don’t want it to be a time of snapping and nagging, of empty stomachs and rumpled clothes all in the name of keeping up appearances for this weekly event.
When the mornings come where I know we’ll be late, I have to choose to still be like Christ. To still let the gospel adorn my speech and actions inside this house where only the little people see. I hope that His kindness and love is what they will remember.
#4 – Understand that others probably understand.
I have a particular problem with my pride where being late is concerned. I’m a pastor’s wife and I should be able to get there on time, right? I love to be early. I want to see people and talk to them and not have to slip in like a loser five minutes after everything has started. I don’t want people to think that I don’t care. But when I apologize all over myself or refuse to be consoled by people who assure me it was like that for them at this time of life, I’m really just revealing how concerned with my image I am.
Life will move on. Another chance to be on time will come in just seven more days. More than likely I’m a harder judge of myself than those around me. Get over it and keep going.
****
One of the biggest benefits of controlling your mind when you’re tempted to bottom out because of being late is that it helps you to enter into the worship service sooner. This is what I mean: when I (89% of the time) am so upset over being late, I have to spend a lot of the Sunday school or worship hour getting over the usual mental clutter that comes with being late. Which means I am completely deaf to the truths being sung or taught. I’m oblivious to the help and comfort that is right around me. However, when I set my mind to rejoice anyways, or maybe to be late rather than getting upset at my kids… I can sit down in the service and begin soaking it in immediately.
This in the long run is much more beneficial than being punctual but frazzled or grumpy.
****
Now, if you think I’m trying to just make excuses for being late, I’m not. There are so many reasons to be early, and I promise I try every single week to be early. In fact, it was one of my New Year’s Goals and there’s actually been a lot of improvement. Yay!
I could write an equally long post about what I do to try to be early; things that have worked and have not worked -like the Pop-Tarts. But one, there’s already posts out there like that, and two, I think it’s important to think through how we respond even when things don’t go according to our desires or plans.
This may seem like a tiny topic, but I have found it to have a huge impact on my Sunday’s, my family, and my week.
Thanks for reading my thoughts; I’d love to hear yours!
If you remember from last year, Farm Day was one of our favorite things. See here and here for last year’s pictures. The girls have been waiting all year and it was an officially marked day off of school.
Because of how many pictures there are, I will try to keep my comments to a minimum. All the girls did great with all the animals; no scaredy-cats this year. = ) And Mommy didn’t have to push Mckayla in the stroller – yay!
I hope you enjoy!
It’s hard to tell, but these are the bunnies… always a favorite.
Yes, the bunnies sort of ran away from Mckayla. = )
Thanks for looking through all of these! I tried not to have too many of the backs of their heads. = ) I hope these are a blessing to all our dear family and friends who we don’t get to see often enough. We love you all!
About this time last week, I was down. Down on housekeeping, down on homeschooling… cooking, kids, you name it.
When I look around and find myself so dissatisfied with what I see, feeling helpless to turn any of it around, I’m often forgetting some extenuating circumstances.
In this particular case, my husband just graduating from seminary! A four-year long culmination for him. Not to mention more than a week of careful preparation on my part to insure that everything went smoothly that weekend so we could fully enjoy celebrating together.
So yes, there were rotten bananas on the counter that just hadn’t gotten made into banana bread. The laundry that had been so carefully taken care of before Friday had once again spiraled out of control. The two-year-old who had completely mastered potty training started having accidents out in public when I had no extra clothes and no idea what to do about the mess.
But accidents and dirty laundry and rotten bananas are not the point. The point is that I let these things convince me that I’m a complete wreck who will never get it right no matter how hard I try. Which is completely untrue. What is true is that I am a very average homemaker who most of the time keeps everything in line enough so that our family can run smoothly and enjoy each other, who some of the time can do above that, and who sometimes bottoms out and lives in a very messy house for a few days before bouncing back.
When you’re pregnant and there’s big a big abnormal life event, you might have to just rest for a few days. And no, your housework will not get done while you’re resting. And that’s okay.
Because somehow, in some way, I usually bounce back. It’s not normally from the big, all day, get-this-place-cleaned-up times I dream of; it’s usually in very small, indiscernible steps. Then one day I look around, and things have gotten better.
This applies to so many areas of my life. Just after having a baby is a big one. Or when baby has to start eating solid food. Sometimes it’s not just the physical settings of a messy house, testy kids, disorganized homeschooling, or never-ending schedules, sometimes it can be spiritual growth (or the lack thereof), strained relationships, or cloudy moods that evoke those feelings of hopelessness. It’s hard to convince yourself that those circumstances won’t last forever, but really those “lows” are most often just as temporary as the equal and opposite “highs.”
It might be the next week, the next month or the next year, but most of the time if you wait long enough, things will bounce back.
Maybe I’ll remember for next time. = )
****
Just wanted to say a quick hello to you, the readers! This may be the longest stretch of time I’ve gone without blogging! We did indeed have a lovely and touching graduation. God blessed and everything was smooth and wonderful. It’s hard to believe that sweet time of life has come to an end. We currently have three days of homeschooling left before we finish our first year. And then, it’s get ready for all things baby! Somehow that has given me the itch to rearrange everything in the house. = ) I am woefully behind on sharing pictures. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have some ready for this Saturday. Until then or whenever, thank you so much for reading and for your sweet support.
Before you close your eyes to sleep I have a promise still to keep As I hold you in my arms. I pray your little frame grows strong And that faith takes hold while you are young; This is my prayer for you.
Hold my hand; I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years, May you trust Him ‘til the end. May you trust Him in the end.
This world is not as it should be, But the Savior opens eyes to see All that’s beautiful and true. Oh may His light fill all you are And the jewel of wisdom crown your heart; This is my prayer for you.
Hold my hand; I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years, He is with us ‘til the end. He is faithful ‘til the end.
You’ll travel where my arms won’t reach As the road will rise to lead your feet On a journey of your own. May my mistakes not hinder you But His grace remain and guide you through; This is my prayer for you.
Take His hand And go where He calls you to. And whatever comes, seek Him With all your heart; This will be my prayer for you. mmmm Father, hear my ceaseless prayer; Oh keep them in your care.
Maybe it’s because it’s a little late or maybe it’s because I tend to be a chronic optimist, but I just re-read my 2014 goals set in January and thought I wasn’t doing too bad. Now if I read April’s specific list it looks like I failed completely. But I’m happy and thankful for the big picture progress that is going on.
Yes, there are things that are being completely missed or fallen behind on, but honestly, the things that really have come to matter in the last four months are being improved.
Hooray!
Overall, I’m so happy with this plan of setting goals and checking back in with them monthly.
That being said, and also seeing that I am a good week into this month already, I’m not going to go back and rehash what was good and bad from April. It would be rather redundant from what I have written the other months. (see here, here, and here)
I’m simply going to look forward to May. And guess what? That isn’t all that complicated either.
Two major things need to happen this month from what I can tell in my human understanding.
1. My husband needs to graduate from seminary. And I need to celebrate and relish this long-worked for time and tell him how much I love him and am proud of him and let it be the completely big deal that it is.
Add, to that the priorities I wrote about in January {rejoice; give thanks; love Paul with kindness and affection; love the girlies with time, teaching, and discipline; make meals; do laundry} and May is set.
Literally.
There’s no point in listing anything else out because I’m pretty sure everything I just mentioned will consume the month.
As I re-read my original list from January, one resolution stuck out to me.
To simplify; to focus on the responsibilities and joys that will not remain after this stage of life.
If ever there was a time to let this be true, May is the month.
Do I already have a lengthy mental list going for June? Oh yes!
A week before our trip to Louisville, I realized we were on target to finish school right when I wanted to! (two weeks before the end of May, right before Paul’s graduation)
Woohoo!
I thought about putting something on Facebook and then thought, No, as soon as I do that something will happen and we’ll get all thrown off.
I knew we were going to Louisville, but had meticulously planned our lessons and worksheets to do while we were there. Ha! I didn’t take into account a Monday of packing and driving, a Tuesday of driving, a Wednesday and Thursday of playing, and a Friday of driving. Good work, genius. We accomplished exactly one lesson.
So we lost a week. No big problem. The family time was totally worth it. And, I’d realized that most of the major concepts for the year have already been taught so it’s really not a big deal to make up some days here and there. Besides, my big goal was to finish by the end of May. We could not make up anything and still beat that goal by a week.
Second thing I didn’t count on: all of us getting sick. For a week. Most noticeably, Hopey.
I have to say that while I will take colds, fevers, and exhaustion every time over stomach bugs, we were all pretty pathetic that next week.
So just like that, we lost two weeks of school.
Thankfully, last week we had a wonderful, normal week of school. It’s amazing how much you remember you love something after you step away from it for awhile. (even unintentionally)
Now we have exactly four weeks of school left to finish in the four weeks of May.
I want to finish strong *obviously*. But I also feel like these last four weeks could be an opportunity to do some more fun things as we practice and review what has been learned this year.
Last week we did school at the park on Monday. The girls had to line up, answer a question or do some sort of something before going down the slide and coming back for another question. It was a blast!
I admit that I’m looking through the daily worksheets very carefully and sometimes crossing off exercises that I feel are unnecessary at this point. Also, we are going to concentrate heavily on neatness in writing these last four weeks. Hope has learned her cursive letters so well! But it’s easy to get lazy after writing so many times, so again, I’m going to lighten the load a little bit and encourage her to do every word and every sentence as neatly as possible.
We are halfway through our Louis Braille biography and plan to finish that as well. It’s so fun to take turns reading. We completely slaughter all the French names. = /
Hopefully we will be able to do our art projects more consistently and also do more baking or fun extra things.
Looking ahead, I’m making lists of what to order for next year. It’s strange to me that even at the end of this year, that really excites me. Sophia can not wait to start kindergarten. She asked if she could start the day after Hopey finishes. = ) I’m really excited about teaching them together.
So there you have the status of our formal education around here. We’re praying for wisdom and perseverance to finish this first year of homeschooling well.
Wish I could take credit for these cool flags being a part of homeschooling. However, it’s one of the things the girls figured out on their own while Mommy was napping in the afternoon. = ) Can you tell what countries they represent?
Are you finished? Finishing? Still have a ways to go? Do tell. = )
In light of today being the Kentucky Derby, I thought I’d try to get these pictures posted.
About a month ago Paul had the privilege of attending a conference in Louisville with some other members of the pastoral staff. The very next week, he had to return to Louisville to physically attend for two days a distance-learning class he was taking there to finish up seminary in time. He talked about the possibility of us going with him, and not wanting to be without him for two weeks in a row we jumped at the chance!
We had such a blast! It truly was a family vacation.
I don’t have pictures of everything, but I’ll share what I have and try to fill you in on the rest.
We really enjoy riding in the car together; mainly because Daddy is so fun!
Our first picture here is at a Dairy Queen. We actually just stopped to use the restroom, but by the time all of us girls were done, Daddy was waiting for us with ice cream. Yay!
Dairy Queen is always a good idea.
When we arrived at the seminary we discovered they had a hotel on campus with really good rates for students. Paul went in to look at the room first and came back warning me to think “dorm room.” But… it was absolutely gorgeous! Two separate rooms for us and the girls with a beautiful, big bathroom in between, what a treat! And the fact that we were on campus made the car situation super easy.
While Paul went to class that night, I took advantage of some girl time and ate at Panera Bread. It’s a very important lesson my girls needed to learn that when it’s cold outside you go to Panera and eat broccoli cheese soup. = )
Broccoli cheese soup at Panera. Only Mckayla was skeptical, but the bread won her over and Mommy didn’t mind finishing hers.
Actually before that, we found a park really close to the seminary and played there for awhile to get out some car trip energy. It was freezing and Mommy did not pack warm enough jackets. = /
****
The next day our big adventure began. I looked online for stuff to do with kids. Parks, bounce house places, and typical kids museums were all options, but I thought, they could do that stuff anywhere. Since we were in Louisville, I wanted to do something special to that city. And then I saw it… Churchill Downs.
Long story short, we decided to go for it. And I’m so glad we did! We missed the official tour, but the lady at the desk called a man over, “Hey Martin, take ’em out to the track real quick.”
What???
So we got a private tour and didn’t even have to pay the fee! I was astounded. The girls loved it. It was so amazing to be there and to think of all the history that’s taken place. Sophia even put her hands in the dirt of the track. Needless to say, we were super excited to watch the race today and have the girls see why it’s so famous.
Here are the pictures; I’ll just comment below them.
I was a little unsure about driving in an unfamiliar city, but this sign made me feel better. Yay for google maps!This is it! This is really it! I guess I’ll just pull in and park as close as I can.
Gates and simulation at the entrance of the Kentucky Derby Museum.“Backstage.” Walking past the jockey’s quarters, seeing the names of the winners along the roof, the stalls where the horses are saddled…amazing.This is the tunnel the horses pass through when entering the track. And our sweet guide was trying to help Mckayla be in the picture, but……she didn’t think very highly of that. Poor man, he felt so bad. I had to assure him that she was fine and should be sweet when being helped. It’s still hilarious to me that that face was caught in the picture.Wow. The 140th race.The finish line.
A better shot of the winner’s names. Secretariat is towards the right. Triple Crown winners have their names in gold with a crown beside it.More names.
Hope discovered a name that she thought was very funny. “Behave Yourself.” It’s so fun having a kid who reads. = )
After the generosity of the lady at the desk, I wanted to go in the gift shop to at least buy something. These hats were at the entrance and the girls had a blast trying them on. You can imagine. After looking around the shop we settled on a Churchill Downs coffee mug for Daddy and a “Derby Time” sippy cup for the new little baby. Since they were the ones that missed out.
Gracie could not get the hat to stay up and show her face.Another try. Nope, no face.Trying to pose. It really was a delicate thing letting the girls try on these *very expensive* hats, trying to get Gracie to show her face, and take pictures!I like Hopey’s pose here. And you can see Sophia’s choice of hat a little bit better. Still no face from Gracie.At the front entrance is a memorial to Barbaro who is actually buried there.My very favorite thing of the whole place was seeing this quote from Eric Liddell on the memorial. How exciting to see our Creator God being glorified even in the midst of an industry where it would appear He is most often forgotten. The testimony of a past missionary for Christ and his God-given talents used for Christ lives on.
****
Okay. Take a deep breath. That’s all of the Churchill Downs pictures, but there are more to come.
I researched online for best pizza place in Louisville and decided on this place which seemed to be a favorite of the locals.Oh my, Impellizzeri’s did not disappoint.The cheese bread, requested by Hope, was as big as Gracie and Mckayla!Chillin’ out with Dad watching Mickey Mouse after a long days adventure.
Paul was able to go to the Louisville Slugger bat museum on his first trip to Louisville, so being baseball lovers we were excited to go back with him.
The girls loved the big bat outside.
Getting ready to watch the opening show in the museum tour.Looking at bats that had been used by current famous players.Holding Derek Jeter’s bat.
Posing in the Looney Toons and Baseball room.Practicing their swings
Gracie’s expression in this picture is probably my favorite thing captured from the whole trip.
What a great idea to have a little room where kids could play, color, and swing at t-balls. And where Mommy’s could sit down! = )
After the bat museum we were off to the Creation Museum on the KY/OH border. Mckayla loved the dinosaurs! When we came up the stairs to the one dinosaur deck she looked around and said, “Whoa Mamacita!”
There was a petting zoo where we fed camels and where Sophia had a donkey bite her! Ouch! It didn’t break the skin and she didn’t cry, but it only confirmed Daddy’s dislike of animals and petting zoos and the like.
Probably our favorite thing in the whole place (besides the free stroller rental for Mckayla!) was the bug room. Or Dr. Crawley’s Insectorium, to be precise. Hope was in awe!
Sadly, this was the only picture I took in the whole place.
After the Creation Museum, we crossed into Ohio to drive through Cincinnati and see what we could see. What a lovely drive! Going through old downtowns is right up our alley.
For dinner we crossed back over the river and ate at a wonderful seafood restaurant right on the river. The sun set over the skyline of Cincinnati as we ate with our happy not-so-little family. In some ways I could kick myself for not taking a picture of that, but in other ways, it was almost too special for a picture. What a blessing to have a whole day to spend with just us, seeing and experiencing new things and just being together.
****
The next day we stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch on the way home. We always seem to go there at least once on a long trip. = )
Sophia wanted to take some pictures. = )There’s a little better. = )Loving the little rocking chairs.She did pretty good taking one of Daddy and Mommy.
Somehow I forgot to mention that after Impellizzeri’s Paul took us downtown and showed us where he hung out the week before. We got to see his hotel, the Yum! Center, Smashburger, and made a little visit to the Fudgery. Now that was some Yum!
****
This was a lot of pictures! Thanks for sticking with me. I actually feel like I should have taken more, but I’m working on it. = )
We will remember this trip for a long time.
And I leave you with what I thought was one of the cutest pictures from the trip.
Because sometimes all you need to be cool is shades and orange juice. = )
Just wanted to say that we are still alive and well in spite of all blogging appearances. Life is clicking along as Paul heads toward graduation and we come to the home stretch of our first homeschooling year.
A few weeks ago we took a family ride on the coughs-colds-fevers wagon, and though we all feel much better, Dad and Mom are still going to bed quite early trying to fully regain our energy. = )
I’ve missed posting, and hope to start again soon. Just one more good night’s sleep. = )
Until then, here’s just one of the pictures waiting to be shared. There’s a lot more coming!
small steps, big picture 