The Bullet

November 16....today I am grateful for the bullet shell I found in my washing machine.  (Pause and let that statement just sink in for a moment)

As I was switching my fourth load of laundry from the washer to the dryer today, I noticed among the loose change, (I consider the washing machine my piggy bank), there was a bullet shell!  Yes that was very odd, but not as odd as the live lizard I found in my washing machine once.  The kids learned a lot of new words that day, but let's move on to the bullet shell.

I made a "you might be a redneck..." joke to my husband as I showed him the shell.  He looked at it and told me that it was the shell from the bullet that Joel used to kill his first deer.  Please don't do the math from when that deer was killed to today, the number of laundry-less days is embarrassing.  Joel is our six year old son and he killed his first deer, a buck, on his first hunting trip this month.  Last night my husband and I ate some venison steak that was tremendous, some steak from the deer that Joel shot.  The deer that my husband processed in our kitchen one night after I went to bed.  The rule in my home is deer have to be processed either when I am out of the house or after I go to bed.

I am thankful for that bullet shell, because at six years old my children have the opportunity to begin providing meat for our family.  My oldest son has provided meat for us as well from a deer.  My husband has filled our freezer after his hunting trips.  I am thankful that my sons, and daughter (if she chooses), have this amazing experience to hunt and kill deer for our family.  I am thankful that I married into a family where hunting season is just as important as major holidays.

Before I end this post about my thankfulness of a bullet shell, I must share a story that happened about three years ago.  This goes in line with the "you might be a redneck if..." We had bought our oldest son a BB Gun for Christmas a few years ago.  One evening my husband was home with the kids while I was out, and all went well.  However, the next morning he texted me and said "Oh yeah there might be some BBs in Reese's diaper." Sure enough later that week there were some BBs in her diaper.  So let's just go ahead and say it "You might be a redneck if you have ever found BBs in your child's diaper!"

I am still thankful!

The good news...I didn't fall off the face of the earth!  The odd news...for the first time in about six years I have not done a daily "thankful".

I am going to use this post to catch up!

In no particular order (drum roll please)

- I am thankful for my family of origin.

- I am thankful for my second family...the family I married into.

- I am thankful that my children aren't typical.  

- I am thankful for my job

- I am thankful that I have learned to be confident no matter what I weigh.

- I am thankful for specialists.

- I am thankful for my mini-van!

- I am thankful for the internet.

- I am thankful for coffee.

Now lets see if in the coming days I can continue to post daily thankfulness!!!!

Day Three...you thought I forgot did ye!

November 3 - 

Oh no, I didn't forget!

Day Three is about my friends!  I am so thankful for my friends.  I have a great number of friends and in those friends there are varying degrees of closeness.  I am thankful to the friends that I have lost, they have taught me who I don't want to be and who I don't want to be around.

While writing this post, I am thinking specifically about the diverse demographics of my friendships.  One of my very best friends in a widow in her mid-80s.  Another one is a mom a few years older than me, our friendship took a while to come to fruition, but we found a common denominator in both having special needs children, that commonality has formed into an amazing friendship.  Another best friend is a cancer-survivor in her middle years.  I have friends who are the ones I see once in a blue moon, yet we are able to pick up like we have never been apart.  Some of my favorite memories with my friends involve us having much more fun doing normal things than what is expected.  Things like laughing until tears run down our legs.  Getting lost and making a short trip into a mini-road-trip.  Crying on each other's shoulders.  We share the biggest excitements and the deepest sorrows.  I am thankful for these types of friendships.

I love seeing the spectrum of my friendships of acquaintances through family and friends who have become family.  There are times I get lonely, but then I think about this amazing group of people who call me friend and who I am privileged to call friend and remind myself how amazingly blessed I am.  Growing up it was difficult for me to make friends, but as an adult I find that much easier.  I have learned to hold my friends in the palm of my open hand and not to cling too tightly.  I have learned the fine art of boundaries.  And I have learned the immense joy in finding a friend who values your relationship as  much as you do.  It took me a little while to realize that not every friend would be my best friend but the different levels of friendship are valuable in their own uniqueness.

Today, think about your friends.  Send your friends a little "thank you" or "thinking about you" sometimes.  Foster and nurture your friendships.

To my friends....THANK YOU!!!

Welcome To Day Two!

November 2, what a great day!!

Today I will exude my gratefulness for my husband.  Jonathan and I met sixteen years ago and have been together almost as long.  We met the second week I lived in Mississippi and we became fast friends.  I was still in my wild phase and when one guy and I would part, he would be the one I would turn to.  He was a faithful friend, almost like what I imagined a big brother would be.  We both attended the same college and had breaks at the same hours during the day.  We began going to lunch together.  Lunch turned into love!

Jonathan has so many amazing attributes...for the sake of reading time and to keep the gag factor low, I will hit on just a few.

Jonathan is a hard worker.  He is one of the hardest working people I know.  When he commits to something, he commits full heartedly.  It is the same with his employment and ministry.  He jumps all in.  As a wife I am so proud of that and am so happy to have the security of a man who likes to work.

Jonathan doesn't stay stagnant.  In just a little while he will be completing his degree in ministry and I am excited to see where that will lead him and our family.  He consistently looks for opportunities to better himself.  When he receives true constructive criticism he acts on it to fix things within himself.

Jonathan is humble.  He has so many reasons he could be peacocking around.  He doesn't.  He is true to himself and stays humble.  I believe it is one of those things that if you've got it, you don't have to flaunt it because it is already there.

Jonathan is a compass for us.  He sees things that I don't see and pushes us to be the best family we can be.  He helps us go in the correct direction for us to fulfill our goals as a family unit and as five individuals within the unit.  He is a dad that has learned to really be a dad.  He has taken what his mentors have told him about being a dad and applied them to his life.  He has started a new legacy for us, one that is amazing.

In our years together Jonathan and I have been through some really difficult things that could have easily broke our marriage.  Daily we have a life that is difficult and he is a backbone for our family.  While I put up a strong persona, with him I can let it down and be safe.  He is a pillar that I can depend on.  I know that with him there is a stability.

I am so grateful that out of all the fish in the sea, he chose me to be his.  He is my best friend.  My lover.  My fighting partner.  He is my life partner.  My hand holder.  He is my dance partner.  My brainstorming buddy.  Jonathan is the half that makes me whole.  I am thankful for him.

Your First Day of Thirty

Every November I like to post one thing I am thankful for daily.  In the past I have used Facebook as the forum for my thankfulness, however this year I will be using my blog as my platform.  I am excited to share my thankfulness with you!

Today, November 1, I am thankful for.....

MAKEUP!

My passion for makeup started at a very young age, I remember going into my mom's makeup as a little girl and making myself (or my brothers) pretty.  Eyeliner, eye shadow, blush, and lips would make my heart race. When I was told that makeup was off limits for a time being, I would make beautiful faces on paper using makeup.  I was eleven years old when my mom gave me permission to do my makeup "one time only."  We had just moved from Texas to South Dakota and were living in adjoining hotel rooms.  My family was in one room and I went to the other room.  In the little hotel bathroom, I saw a transformation as I mimicked what I saw actresses on television and models in magazines did with their faces.  With no guidance, I was transformed from an eleven year old girl into a sixteen year old teenager with the line of the eyes, the brushing of mascara, and the painting of my lips.  I then knew the power of makeup.  And I then knew that a life long love affair with beauty had begun.  







When I was a junior in high school, I checked out a copy of Bobbi Brown's Book "Bobbi Brown Beauty", in it I learned all kinds of secrets of beauty, cosmetics, and techniques.  This became a book I would check out at many libraries for years to come.  







In my younger years I wanted to have a career with makeup, still there are days where the idea tickles my fancy.  There is something addicting about the aroma of fresh lipstick, the feel of new foundation, and the excitement of a new shadow color.  I am a QVC watching junkie, I have yet to order from it, but often times I am found just watching the cosmetic segments.  







About six years ago I was introduced to this wonderful shop, this amazing haven for all beauty lovers, in my mind's eye heaven must be like this shop.  ULTA.  I would get lost in Ulta for hours just browsing, testing, and loving the cosmetics.  It was known when I would need my fix and I would just drive and go into my haven.  My all things beautiful.  




My love of makeup has been passed down to my daughter.  At four years old she loves going into my closet and into my makeup bureau, yes I have a large four drawer bureau just for beauty supplies, and she finds her "lips".  She has yet to master the art of staying in the line of her God-given lip shape, but hey she doesn't color in the lines at school either.  She often comes out of my closet with mascara on her cheeks, lipstick on and around her lips, and eye shadow from her eyes to her hairline.  In my  mind all I see is Mimi Bobeck from the Drew Carey Show, but I tell her how beautiful she looks and to let mommy help her blend it a little bit more.  My daughter hates dresses, bows, and having her hair brushed....but oh, the girl loves makeup!





My current fetish changes as the seasons do.  My 120 nail polish collection doesn't seem to be expanding, but my mascara container is filling quickly.  My current favorite is "They're Real" by Benefit.  It is such a fun mascara!  






I love eye liner and am experimenting with different colored liner, I really love purple right now because it makes my green eyes pop!  I often reference the Pantone Color Wheel for the season I am and find a trend color I like and make it a staple in my cosmetic wardrobe.

I am thankful for makeup because it allows my creativity to flow into a tangible canvas.  It makes my heart race like the hoofs at the Kentucky Derby.  Makeup makes me salivate like Pavlov's dog each time it heard the bell ring.  When I think about makeup, my excitement bubbles over...like a cork in a bottle of champagne ready to pop. Makeup for me is a passion, as much as selfies are a passion for Kardashians!  

Stepping In

Last week something tremendously unexpected happened....I started a job outside the home!  When I say unexpected, I mean UNEXPECTED!!!

About six weeks ago I started thinking it would be fun to find a part time office job.  I love working in offices.  I didn't really tell anyone about it, it was just a thought.  A little less than two weeks ago, on the way to take our boys to football practice, I received a phone call out of the blue.  A phone call that led to a job offer that led to me accepting the job.  Do I like my job? I LOVE IT!

My friends asked me questions the first week I was back, I wanted to share them.  This is especially for any other stay at home moms who are considering going back to the workforce.

1.  What is it like going to the restroom by yourself?
- I made my co-workers come with me and stand outside the door, ask me what I was doing, stick their hands under the door, and wiggle the handle while I was using the restroom.  No, no, not really.  Although it was such an unique feeling, I am certain that my coworkers think I have a bowel and bladder issue...which it is just the fact that I haven't used the restroom without an audience in ten years!

2.  What do you talk about?
- The first day, there was hardly any chatter.  Five hours of the only sound being the sound of fingers on the keyboard.  Amazing.  I am pretty sure it was a taste of heaven.  Honestly, I often wonder if I am speaking correctly to the other adults.  I am pretty quiet because I am afraid I will randomly say "we don't do that", "your underwear are on inside out", "we keep our clothes on", "your hand smells like poop" or "stop eating your boogers!"  I am still in that socially awkward phase.

3.  What is the biggest change?
- Clothes and hygiene!  I now shower.....well lets not get all personal, lets just say my  hygiene habits have improved greatly.  I had to buy some new outfits before I started work (shucks), because t-shirts and yoga pants were my wardrobe basics.  

4.  How do you keep up with your housework?
- Something amazing has happened.  When I return home in the evenings, my home is the same as it was when I left!  Housework has become much easier, mainly because there is no one following me around the house undoing the cleaning I did.

Being a stay at home mom was a great season.  A season I thoroughly enjoyed.  I stayed home with the babies until they weren't babies anymore (but they will always be my babies).  I am blessed to not HAVE to work, but have the option to work and work in a place that is a good fit for me.  I appreciate my husband sacrificing so much the past eight years so I could be a stay at home mom, his support of me being at home.  I appreciate the fact that when I got the job offer he was the one telling me to go for it!  He sends me texts most mornings just reminding me I have what it takes.  He is my biggest fan.  


When the door for a job outside the home opened up, I didn't just stepped in, I ran full force!

I'm That Mom

I am going to admit it...I'm that mom.  

I am the mom whose child desperately doesn't want to go to school, yet sends him crying.  I am that mom, because I was that child.  

To the child in reference, he does have chronic migraine headaches, but he went the entire summer without one episode, so  I see a pattern of school equals headaches.  In his defense, he didn't look like he felt that well, but I know for a fact that he wasn't "sick" as in contagious, so off to school he went.  I received two calls from the school nurse, but at school he stayed.  Why am I that mom?  Because I was that child.

For a little while I had being "sick" down to an art.  When I was eight and nine years old I was able to be sent home frequently with "fever", because I figured out how to get my temperature up.  To my defense, there was abuse happening in the school, which made school a horrible experience for me.  For quite a while my mom would leave work and come pick me up.  But then, she became that mom.  The mom that basically told me to suck it up.  

Now, let me say, if my child has fever, a virus, is really ill, he or she will stay home from school.  But other than that, to school they go.  Today, I felt a bit guilty.  For one, it was raining so it was the first day I actually dropped my children off in the car rider line and didn't walk them to the drop off point.  So I basically pushed the child in reference out of the vehicle as he was crying, and I left his brother to help him get inside and to class.  Then when the nurse called the first time and assured me that he had no fever but a headache, I told her to just give him some ibuprofen and he can stay at school.  The second time the nurse called, I talked to my child and promised him a cupcake if he made it through the day.  After school, as my children were walking out the son with the headache tripped and fell.  Then when we got home, I made him do his homework...after the promised cupcake.  Then I made him go to football practice, but I didn't make him get on the field and practice.  I felt a bit guilty because this is our first year at a new school and I don't want to be the calloused mom who leaves their children at school not feeling well.  This is also our first year of football,  But at the same time, there is a matter of importance of education; and we believe that if you sign up, you show up!

I know I am not the only mom out there who has this same mindset.  If you are a mom who is like this, let me know!  Give me your thoughts!  

Do You Hear An Echo?

Hello!  Hello!  Hello! (Do you hear the echo from my sadly empty blog?)

We are one week from the first day of school.  My two oldest children are starting football on Saturday.  And I am looking for a way to recover from summer!

A little update from our home:

We are still madly in love with our new home and are even more in love with our small town!  Sadly, our home was broken into the first week of June and our computer was one of the things stolen.  Writing has been on hold due to the lack of a computer.  But, I am back and I am catching up on my writing!  I did not realize how much I missed writing until I sat down and let it flow.  This is much cheaper than therapy!

This summer was all about friends, water parks, splash pads, and having fun!   Our middle child learned to ride a two wheel bike without training wheels.  We had our first stitches experience this summer.  We also gave everyone down our road quite a show when I was washing a tractor in our driveway…yes you read that right.  There aint nothing like a country girl!

We are waiting on word if our youngest child was accepted into a local preschool program that I applied for quite a while ago.  If everything works out, each child will be in school this year.  If not, I will have another year of cuddling my youngest!   Our two oldest start in their brand new school this year, they had the opportunity of meeting some of the teachers and classmates this summer, so hopefully that will help their nerves.  I don’t know if it will help this mama’s nerves though!  They are also beginning a two week football camp on Saturday, followed by the season.  They haven’t played football in a league before so this will be another something new for them.  Yes, mama is excited but also feeling a little bit of pressure!

What I want to know from you, is what do you want to read about during the coming months?  My life is very interesting (insert sarcasm), but I am sure you’re ready to read something else!  Let me know!!

Rebecca

Yo Soccer Ma!

I am a soccer mom.  

I am the mom on the sidelines screaming.  Yelling.  Jumping.  Cheering.  I believe I pulled a muscle today during our last soccer game of the season.

The league we played with this year is a league that focuses on good sportsmanship and therefore doesn't keep score.  

But mama keeps score.

Here are some truths about being a soccer mom:

1.  Your child's goals always count. Even if it is in the wrong goal.

2.  Family involvement in crucial.  Sporting team colors.  Sporting your player's number.  

3.  Cuteness outranks skill in a sportsmanship focused league.  As long as your child is cute going down the field, that is what matters.

4.  Stretch.  I mentioned I pulled a muscle today.  I failed to stretch.  

5.  Have a good support system.  And, no I am not talking about peer support....get it.

6.  Always yell for your team players by name.  Even if it is the wrong name.  This year we had a Cole and a Joel.  Keegan and Kingston.  By the end of the season the players knew that I would call them the wrong name and that is just a fact of life.  If they had the ball and I was yelling, they knew they were the one on the receiving end of the yell.

Here's to all soccer moms!!!!  

Run!

Scream!

Jump!

Stretch!

Are We Eating Out?

This morning I made an executive decision!  I decided to get out of bed, shower, get dressed, put on shoes, and do my hair!

I felt good.  I felt put together.  I felt ready to take on the day.

Our three year old daughter looked at me and said "Are we eating out?!"

***Big Gulp*** It hit me...mommy needs to make this executive decision more often.

I may be the only stay at home mom that goes on this crazy cycle. The cycle of taking good care of myself, to just not caring, to taking good care of myself, to just not caring, etc.  Although, I am going to guess that I am not the only one that does this.

I recently read an article from Focus on the Family about taking care of yourself as a stay at home mom.

(http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting-roles/stay-at-home-moms-taking-care-of-yourself/stay-at-home-moms-taking-care-of-yourself)

According to the article, there are seven main areas to take care of yourself.  SEVEN!  I thought the same thing, I can't even be alone for SEVEN minutes, how in the world am I going to do seven things to care for myself?!

Upon reading the article, the seven are broken down to bite size morsels.  Remember, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.

The seven points are:

1. Take Care Of Yourself
2. Take Care Of Your Body
3. Take Care Of Your Mind
4. Learn To Say "No"
5. Prioritize
6. Ask For Help
7. Know Yourself

If I did each of these things for ten minutes a day (a little over an hour), then I can take care of myself daily!  An hour, I can find an hour each day to take care of myself.

How about my fellow stay at home moms, tell me how you take care of yourself!!!!

M-O-M

Today I had what I would say is the perfect Mother's Day!

Our original plans were to go to the water park after church, but as with some plans, they changed.

My family is one of the most important things to me.  In the matter of priority in my life it goes God then my family.  My husband and children complete me and they make my life so full of joy and adventure.  As with all moms, I need a break every now and then.  As with some moms, I don't remember the last time I had a break where I was able to just relax.  I am okay with that. Our oldest child is almost ten years old and our youngest is almost four years old.  If they each stay in our home until they are twenty, that is really only a few years of quality time with them. I can say without a doubt (no matter how tired I am by that time) that I spent much time with my children and made them a priority.  My calling is to be a wife and mom first, everything else can wait.

With that, all I wanted today was to hang out with my family.  I got that and a lot more!

I was given an bouquet of beautiful, bright fresh flowers by my husband and children. I love having fresh flowers in our kitchen.

At church I had the honor of sitting with one of my moms and my sister, niece, and nephew.  It was special to share Mother's Day with them. 

I made an excellent lunch (if I do say so myself), after we all got home and all ate, it was too late to go to the water park.  After much deliberation, I decided I just wanted to relax.

I have been going non-stop since Wednesday morning, and I just needed a break!  My husband took the children and they played outside from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm, while I slept.  Snoring.  Drooling. Dreaming.  Sleep.  I guess while we were discussing what to do the rest of the day, I fell asleep! This is the best gift I could have received.  I am not a big holiday person, we give each other gifts all year and honor each other daily, that is our lifestyle; when holidays come for me it is just another day.  This however, was an excellent gift.  The gift of rejuvenation.

A few minutes after I woke up there was a knock at our door.  Where we live, people aren't just "in the neighborhood" so I was a little shocked.  When my husband answered the door there stood my mom that I shared church with this morning, my sister, my brother, and my niece and nephew.  We had an excellent visit - complete with conversation, laughing, and exploring.

Today, was the perfect Mother's Day for me.  I hope each of my fellow moms had an amazing day as well!

The Power of the Special Needs Mom

I am a new writer for Mississippi Gulf Coast Parent network, and my first article went live today!  

You can read it at http://msgulfcoastparent.com/the-super-powers-of-a-special-needs-parent/

I enjoyed writing this article!  There is a secret strength that comes with a special needs mom, one that cannot be explained, only experienced.  I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts as much as I enjoyed writing them!

The Empty Armed Mommy

Let's talk about Mother's Day.  

This week and weekend will be all about the special qualities of moms.  The giving, holding, loving, patient mommies.  

Today, I want to take time  to talk to the mommies who are unable to hold their children in their arms.  

Each of my children are rainbow babies.  A rainbow baby is a baby born after a miscarriage, still birth, or death of a child.  I have three children whom I gave live birth to and five children whom I was never able to hold in my arms.  I am so grateful for my children that I get to spend hours with a day, yet a part of me still mourns the children who won't fill our home with laughter, memories, and I will never hear "mama" from their mouths.  

To my fellow mommies who have children in heaven playing with Jesus, I am going to hope that our children are playing together.  

You are a strong mommy, you lost a part of yourself when you lost your precious baby.  Allow yourself to grieve this week, allow your heart to be open.  Your little one may not be on the earth right now, but you are still their mommy.  You still have the love of a mother in your heart for your little one.  YOU ARE A MOMMY.  Don't let anyone ever tell you that because your child is not on earth that you are not a mommy, you are.  

Your heart may be breaking this week especially.  Write a letter to your little one and allow yourself to celebrate the life of your child, no matter if the child was eight weeks gestation or thirty five years old, allow yourself to celebrate the child.  Your child is what has made you a mommy.  

Take time to take care of yourself this week, this is what all of us mommies strive to do.  Something nice for ourselves.  Talk about your feelings with your husband or a close friend.  Journal.  Buy yourself some flowers.  Get a pedicure.  Paint a picture.  Make a happy memory.  Go for a walk.  Laugh.  Cry.  Do all those things that a mommy does.  

The grief of a mother losing a child is one that is never just gone.  The hopes.  The memories.  The reminders.  They are real.  They are true.  

This week celebrate you and all of those hopes, memories, and reminders.  

The Bald Spot

We moved into our house on Saturday!  And, we made our first memory in our new house on Saturday as well!  This memory involves our three year old daughter and a bald spot that is about the size of a half dollar.

I was unpacking in one area of our house.  My husband was talking with the satellite guy in another area of our house.  Our children were playing in various other places in our house.

I was in my groove, unpacking box after box.  Our oldest son came to me with what appeared to be a rat's tail or a dead snake in his hand.  We live in the country now, so I wasn't all too surprised.  I told him that was nasty and to put it outside or in the trash.  Then the shock hit, he said "Mom, this is Reese's hair!"  

My heart all but stopped.  I felt bile rising in my throat.  I followed my oldest and found our daughter in my closet.  I have an at home foot spa that has an accessory for different tool heads and rotates.  She was holding the accessory in her hair, her hair wound around the motor.  She wasn't crying, but I did!  

Our sons both have cut their own hair, and while it frustrated me, I could buzz the hair easily enough to blend it.  Our daughter now has a huge bald spot in the middle front of her hair!  I have learned creative ways to hide the spot of missing hair.  I have to remind myself to put extra sunblock on that one part of her head!  

I have said time and again that motherhood is not for the weak or faint of heart!  This week I have put into practice what Erma Bombeck said "If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it."

Teach On Teacher!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week!

Each day teachers should be appreciated!  As a former-homeschooling-mom and now a public school parent, I give each teacher a standing ovation and a huge round of applause!

Regardless of your opinion of public (or private) education, there is something to be said about a person who can take a room full of 20 plus children and educate them in a way they will understand.  School is not at all like it was when I was in elementary school, the requirements for what children should know have fast forwarded to earlier ages.  The freedom for teachers to take one-on-one time with a student or incorporate other projects into the day have been all but stripped away.  There are so many new standards for teachers and demands, that the fleeting thoughts I have about going back to college for an elementary education degree are immediately extinguished.  Well that, and the fact that I don't like other people's children....but that is another story for another day....just know if I ever offer to watch your children I really mean it - I don't generally volunteer to be around children besides my own.  Again...another story for another day. 

If your child comes home on a less than stellar behavior mark, ask your teacher about it if you disagree.  Don't immediately jump down the teacher's throat...actually don't jump down their throat at all.  Make sure you get both sides of the story, both your child's and the teachers.  If you don't agree with the behavior mark, then don't discipline at home, but don't bad mouth the teacher to your child.  If my children come home on a behavior mark we deem unacceptable, we discipline our children accordingly. If the story sounds outlandish that my child gives me, I always contact the teacher to find out their side of the story as well.  Then I deal with it accordingly.   This year, one of my children's teacher has met me in the car rider line to explain situations to me or has wrote a note home regarding a behavior note, and knows I will call her to find out what has happened.  Be the parent who the teacher is going to be respected by; show your children an example of respect.

Volunteer your time or talents.  I know that in this day, parents are not able to volunteer in the classroom like they were when I was young.  But, ask the teacher what you can do to help.  Our teachers are great about sending home notes of what is needed in the classroom and we are happy to send in items.  The stories we hear of teachers salaries are true and teachers pay for most of the things for their classroom out of pocket.  Not only are they teaching because of the love of teaching, but they are teaching because they need to make money as well.  During the holidays, ask your teachers what you can do to help.  I send double of what is asked for during the holidays so the teacher may not have to buy so much out of pocket.  The teacher may say they do not need any help, and that is okay, at least you asked and they know it is there if it is needed.

Encourage your teachers.  I like to send just little messages of "Thank you" or "I appreciate you" to the teachers throughout the year.  Even if it is in a simple correspondence, I make sure the teacher knows I appreciate all they do for my children.  As with any job, even for me as a stay at home mom, it is essential to know you are appreciated, a word of encouragement can go a long way, and you never know when a teacher will need to hear "you're doing a good job!"

Pray for your teachers.  Every morning we pray together as a family, and I make sure we pray for each of my children's teachers and assistant teachers.  Teachers spend at least thirty hours a week with your child.  I pray for the teachers health, sanity, that they have a passion for teaching, for their families, and for the school as a whole.  If someone is investing time in my children I expect them to be healthy physically and mentally!  I have three children, different ages, and two of them are in school most of the day.  By 6 pm I am exhausted, grumpy, and just want to go to bed.  That is only with three children, I can't imagine how teachers feel.  Not only do they teach all day, but they go home to to their own families and children.  They have to have a heart for teaching and they need our prayers.

Take time to tell the teachers in your life "thank you", they need to hear it and they deserve 
it!

Am I Six?

Today is our second child's sixth birthday!  He is a full of life, energetic, little ball of laughs.  There are many things he says and does that remind me of my grandpa, and that is so precious!  

For him, the age of six is the age of perfection.  Since I can remember, he has wanted to be six.  He has longed to be six.  Even at the beginning of the year he would start telling others he was six!  

This morning as we were talking, our conversation went like this:

Child: "Mom, am I six now?"

Me: "Yep, today's your birthday.  Your finally six!!"

Child: "Hmmmm......I don't feel like I am six."

Me:  "How is six supposed to feel?"

Child: "Different.  Like six"

Me:  "Trust me baby, you're six.  I remember clearly when you were born. You were the loudest and tiniest baby I have ever had; even the doctor and nurses said how loud you were!"

Child: "I don't think you know when I was born, I just don't feel six!"

                                                             


I don't quite know how he was expecting six to feel, but by the time he left for school I am sure I had him half way realizing that he is six.



Life lesson of the day from a six year old:  Life doesn't always feel or go the way you expected it would.  Just trust that it is going the way it is meant to!  Celebrate...even when you don't feel  six!!!

Movin' On Up

The day is finally arriving!

We are movin' on up!  After almost thirteen years of living in one city (that is a record for me), we are moving from the big city to a small town.  

We are currently a stones throw from family on all sides.  We live in an older home in an established neighborhood.  We are a short drive to any major retailer.  And we are moving!

The excitement in the house is electrifying!  This is the only house our youngest child has ever lived in and the only house our middle child remembers.  To our oldest child, a move is just a part of life in our family.  As I have packed up everything that I did not deem unnecessary, our youngest child has been underfoot and she has enjoyed "packing up for new house."


We are moving from a city with over 71,000 in population to a town just under 1,500 people.  My husband and I are very pendulum type people, we are one extreme or the other, never in the middle.  We either go big city or small town.  We are looking forward to the small town!

We are moving to a newer home, bigger home, land on our property as far as the eye can see.  We will not live in a neighborhood, and we are about a thirty minute drive from any major retailer.  Our children will be attending a new school.  Family while not as close as they are right now, will be accessible via a nice drive.  We will be in a different zip code, yep, we are all grown up!

I have a lot of memories in the house we are in now, some good, some bad.  I look forward to leaving the bad memories at the house we live in now and bringing the happy memories with us.

This will be a BIG life change for us, and with that I have been in a lot of prayer, because of course change brings you into a new season.

- We are entering into a season of rest.  We have been non-stop people for the past few years, now we are entering a season of rest to rejuvenate and enjoy a calmer pace.  Who knows how long this season will last.  We are not known as a family who rests easily!

- Our new home is sacred.  While still having our southern hospitality, we will be protecting the sacredness of our abode.  

This will be our "forever home" until we leave the state we currently reside in.  It feels good to lay roots in one state and know that for however long, this is ours!

The Horrible Awful No Good Very Bad Mom

Today I was a horrible awful no good very bad mom.

I was tired.

I was grumpy.

I had a headache.

I am in immense need of a-l-o-n-e time.

My patience is short, my to-do list is long, and my exhaustion is winning.

I am certain that if I had a performance appraisal of being a mom, today I would be less than satisfactory.

On the way to soccer practice tonight, I was silently berating myself.  I was taking deep breaths.  I was trying to give myself a pep talk.

My oldest child said in a quiet voice, "Mom, I drew a picture of you."

I imagined the picture would be that of a fire breathing chimera like creature.

I looked and the picture was of a very muscular woman holding up a huge fire breathing dragon.  Around the woman were the words "SUPER MOM".

The picture is beautiful.

It shows the grace and forgiveness of children.

It shows that even though today, in my eyes, I was a horrible awful no good very bad mom; in my children's eyes I was still super mom.

Today I was a worn out version of the usual fun-loving, patient, memory making, and caring mom that I generally am.

Tomorrow is another day.

Tonight, I will go to bed knowing that in my children's eyes, I am still Super Mom.

Survivor

Survivor.  What does that mean to you?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to survive means to remain alive, to continue to exist.


To me, survivor means:

- Strength

- Grace

- Dignity

- Beauty

- Heroic

- Living Life To The Fullest

- Laughing With No Fear Of The Future

- Choosing Joy

- Inspiring

- Fighter

- Faith

- Courage

- Legacy

- Mom

Today marks the two year anniversary that my mom became a cancer survivor!  She has been cancer free for two years!  I am proud of my mom and I have watched her from the time of her diagnosis on and have seen courage, strength, and dignity in her.  I have seen her choose to live.  I have seen her fight.  I am proud of my mom and am happy that I am able to write this post about her today!

I love you mom.  Thank you for fighting. 

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

The theme song from the television show "Cheers" is becoming a theme song of sorts for my life.  The song talks about going to a place where everyone knows your name.

This is the story of our life and the ER.  We made our monthly visit to the ER this week.  I am pretty sure they are going to designate a room just for our family soon.  We go to the ER so often, it feels like a family reunion when we walk in.  

This week's visit was humorous, after the fact.  After I picked up our two oldest children from school, I decided to treat myself for surviving another day and went to Starbucks.  As we were in the line waiting for my cup of heavenly goodness, my youngest starts saying "Uh oh!  My gum!  My gum! Up nose!"  I ask her if she stuck the gum up her nose.  Yes, she did and she proudly showed me which nostril it went up.  After I got my cup of my source of life, I pulled over and tried to get her to blow her nose.  To no avail, that little booger, errr I mean gum, was stuck up there.  I googled various things to do, which were all quite terrifying.  So, I ended up giving our pediatrician a phone call.  Once again, I am sure the receptionists recognize my voice as soon as they answer the phone.  I explained to the receptionist that my child lodged a wad of chewed up gum up her nose and I can't get it out.  I was advised to my child to the ER.  

I went to the ER with the gum nosed child and my two other children in tow.  We signed in and within two minutes were called back to triage.  As I explained what had happened, both the nurse and doctor looked at me humorously and said they haven't seen that before.  The doctor did an examination and I found out why my daughter couldn't blow the gum out of her nose.  It went through her nose and down her throat!!!!  Instead of me being worried she would have gum lodged in her brain, now every time she passes gas she blows a bubble!

Your Legacy

Legacy.  One word, so much power.  What kind of legacy do you want to leave for your children?  What do you want to be passed down from you to your great great grandchildren and beyond?

I think about this often.  The most important focus for me is that my husband and I leave a Godly legacy.  My husband and I were both raised in church and in homes where God was in the forefront.  My Grandpa and Grandma passed down a Godly legacy to my parents.  My parents passed down a Godly legacy to my siblings and I.  We are passing down Godly legacies to our children.  My husband's mom and step-father passed down a Godly legacy to my husband and his sister.  They are passing down Godly legacies as well.  

The decisions you make and how you raise your family are a domino effect to the following generations.  The dominoes can go one of two ways - good or bad.  I have watched my parents develop and grow their own legacy from what my grandparents planted in them.  I have watched and have had the privilege of seeing first hand God develop my parents into the people they are today.  My husband comes from divorce, while statistics show that children who come from divorced families are 60% more likely to divorce, my husband and I have took the stand and have chosen to stick it out.  We have chosen to leave a legacy for our children.  I do need to mention that I understand there are times when divorce happens and I do not judge anyone who divorces.  

Monday night we saw another domino in our legacy fall.  Our middle child asked Jesus into his heart!  We were eating dinner and he started asking questions, he decided he was ready to be saved.  Our oldest child was able to lead him in prayer to ask Jesus into his heart.  This is not something we forced, but through the way we live our lives we allow an environment of Godliness and openness.  

There are things my parents did with me that I have passed down to my children.  Some of them are:- On the way to school in the mornings we say who we are in Christ.  My parents did this with my siblings and I throughout our school years.  As a teenager I would roll my eyes and act like I hated it.  As an adult I am able to easily remember who I am in Christ.  Below is a link of verses of who you are in Christ:  Who am I in Christ?- My parents would pray with us every morning and every night.  My parents still pray with each other every morning and every night.  - Every day things would be used as a Godly lesson.  This was not a freaky thing, it was just the way it was.  For example, during junior high there was another student who was horribly mean to me.  I would go home and cry to my mom, begging her to take me out of school, asking to be home schooled.  My mom told me to start praying for the other student.  I did, and by the time we were seniors in high school we were best friends.  

Building your legacy comes down to making your home what you want your legacy to be.  The outside world will be what it is. Society will say what it does.  But, in your home you have the opportunity to build your legacy.  You have the opportunity to make a difference.  Make what you want your legacy to be a daily part of your life.  Make it important.  Don't let it be an after thought.

Below are five essentials to leaving a Godly legacy.  I found this on Family Life and it is written by Dennis and Barbara Rainey.

1. Fear the Lord and obey Him. Your legacy begins in your heart, in your relationship with God. Psalm 112:1-2 reads: "How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed."
On our first Christmas together, Barbara and I gave a gift to God first. These sheets of paper became title deeds to our lives—to our marriage, to our hopes of having children, to our family, to our relationships, to our rights to our lives, to whatever ministry God gave us—we gave everything to Him.

2. Recognize the world's needs and respond with compassion and action. In Matthew 9:36 we read: "And seeing the multitudes. He [Jesus] felt compassion for them." You and your mate need to leave a legacy by being committed to doing something about our world. Many Christians today are walking in the middle of the road; they're so focused on what other people think that they are unwilling to take any risks in order to make an impact for Christ. In light of this, Jamie Buckingham wrote, "The problem with Christians today is that no one wants to kill them anymore."
When you fly over rows of houses, do you wonder how many people in those homes know Jesus? This year thirty million people will die without hearing the name of Christ. Hundreds of millions will pray to idols. Someone needs to reach these people with the Good News.John F. Kennedy, in Profiles in Courage, described the need for courageous people: "Some men show courage throughout the whole of their lives. Others sail with the wind until the decisive moment when their conscience and events propel them into the center of the storm." If you want to leave a lasting legacy, you need to act with courage to reach out to those in need.

3. Pray as a couple that God will use you to accomplish His purposes. As recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prayed, "Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm."
What did Jabez ask God to do? Bless him. Give him new turf and enlarge his sphere of influence. Keep him from temptation. Stay with him. Pray this prayer with your mate, and at the end of the year, see how different your lives will be.

4. Help your mate be a better steward of his gifts and abilities. Help your spouse recognize how God has used his gifts and abilities in the past. Serving others? Teaching the Scripture? Advising a Christian Ministry?
Help him plug into the local church, which needs committed laymen and women who have strong, godly character and a vision for their communities.Help him recognize his convictions. Thomas Carlyle says, "Conviction is worthless until it can convert itself into daily conduct." Help your mate determine what he is willing to die for so he can ultimately determine what he can live for.

5. Ask God to give your children a sense of purpose, direction, and mission. The challenge here is to leave your children a heritage, not just an inheritance. As someone once said, "Our children are messengers we send to a time we will not see.""

You can do this!  Choose what legacy you want to leave your children and begin living it now!