My MOM

My mom, the lively one, who taught me to walk, talk,
sing, dance, play, love, enjoy life.

My mom, the beautiful one, who taught me about
manners, inner beauty and being a woman of grace.

My mom, the tender one, who cradled me as a babe,
held me when I was sick and hugged my tears away.

My mom, the patient one, who was consistent with
expectations, who taught me to drive, and loved me
through the adolescent years.

My mom, my personal cheerleader, rejoiced with me
over the smallest and greatest accomplishments.

My mom, the caring one, let me cry for no reason and held me when I was sad.
She held my hand as a child and as I gave birth
to her grandchildren.

My mom, the spunky one, still shows me how to have a good time, find a great sale and laugh out loud.

My mom, the giving one, shares her life with me everyday in some way:
a phone call, a visit, a card, a hug.

My mom, the teaching one, has shown me how to be a great mom.
She has shown me the true joys of motherhood.

My mom, the joyful one, can make any mundane task,
an exciting moment in time.

My mom, the godly one, has been my example of a life
well lived in Christ. Focused, virtuous, faithful is she.

My mom, the contented one, has taught me to be happy
with little and with much. True riches are in the tender
family moments we share.

My mom, my mentor, has guided me along this beautiful
journey we now share called motherhood.

Clean Hands

All of my adult life I've had an obsessive quirk that defines part of who I am. It is not necessarily a bad trait, unless carried to the extreme .... which I, on occasion, have done. Long before Purel showed up on every desk in the school system, I had an unremitting rule of clean hands in my classroom.

One might say that I have a slight obsession. I am still looking for the verse in the bible that says
"cleanliness is next to godliness." I know it is in there somewhere! I just can't seem to put my (clean) finger on it.

All three rows of my SUV have bottles of hand washing liquid. My kids are very accustomed to my obsession, um, I mean requests. Everyday after school, they jump in the car and grab a squirt.
They make me so proud. What a dedicated mom!
Okay, let's be real: their hands are clean, but please don't look in the bottom of their bookbags as I am sure you will find some living organisims that the CDC has not approved.

Back to the clean hands issue. One phrase I have asked a thousand and three times is "have you washed your hands" as they come out of the bathroom. So I thought I would save us all a little time and energy and did this:


How could I turn it down ... it is in chocolate brown and works perfectly in our downstairs bathroom! It is a very direct, subliminal message for all who enter:

Subtle, doncha think?
Now my kids come out of the bathroom and say "smell my hands, Mommy!" I don't even have to say a word.

I am thinking of starting a support group if you are interested:
The MGFA (mothers for a germ free america)
Want to join?

What kind of 'support group' would describe you?

It's about a Relationship

This morning I was reading from Psalm 119 and these word jumped out at me:

I rejoice in following your statutes 

as one rejoices in great riches.

I delight in your decrees.

I will not neglect your word.

Open my eyes that I may see 

wonderful things in your law.

Isn't that refreshing?!  I think this is the perfect example of the difference between a Christian walk of faith and other religions.  It is about the relationship I have with my Creator. 

What benefits these decrees have!  They keep us holy, protected, safe.  It is not simply a list of decrees that He puts forth just to wield power over us.  He acts in love.  

He is the definition of love.  My Father loves me enough to give me specific laws (i.e. ten commandments) to help me grow in my relationship with Him.  

I give my own children rules of the house, guidelines for behavior and expectations of daily living.  This is exactly what my heavenly father does.  I don't make rules just for the sake of rules for my children (whew... that would wear me out!)  Neither does he.  He loves me as His own.  

There is such beauty in surrender.  Don't fall prey to the lies Satan whispers to you. 

Christianity is not a religion.  It is a relationship.  A beautiful relationship built on His love and sacrifice, and my trust and obedience.

Live it today!

Peace, well sort of.

Peace. What does it look like to you? I had an afternoon of rest yesterday, but it wasn't so peaceful. Have you ever had a time like that? Sometimes, even when it is quiet, peace is a long way away. Even though I had a time of rest, the door chime kept ringing, the phone rang, the kids came in and out, the t.v. noise was in the background. Sure, I am thankful for my time of rest, but sometimes my soul yearns for real peace.

Peace ebbs and flows with the daily changes of life. An afternoon with my children can bring such sweet peace on some days. Other days, it's just plain tiresome. I am so thankful the Prince of Peace never changes. He offers me peace, true soul-deep peace.

I recently read a funny but oh-so-true saying: If you need to find your children, just sit down to relax and they will find you. Actually, as I am typing this, I think I could modify that statement by saying if you can't find your children, just start typing on the computer and they will find you with all kinds of needs. Excuse me... I'll be back.

Okay, what was I saying? Oh yes, PEACE. Hmm.. I don't think I am in the frame of mind to post about that today. We will revisit that topic at another time when I don't have a four year old hanging on my back asking for the 100th time when daddy will be home from work. How do I tell him it is still 6 hours away? I need some peace!

To finish off this day, I must comment on my picture above. The flowers are from my snowball bush, which is loaded with glorious blooms right now. It is so full that last night's rain made the weight of the blooms so heavy they were touching the ground this morning. The glass objects to the right are my 'find' of the weekend. I discovered this ADORABLE little outdoor antique place. These are from old telephone poles. Does anyone know what they are called? Anyways, I loved them and they were so inexpensive. Doncha just love little treasures like that?!

Perfect

Did you know that a police officer lives in our home?  No, my husband has not changed careers.  I have a 7 year old fashion police that resides with me. She very confidently keeps all of us in fashion order.  This is not a new choice of  vocation for her.  Since she has been old enough to point to her clothing choices in the closet, she has been hard at work.  I believe she will have tenure at "What Not to Wear" within her first year on paid staff.  

At the age of 3, Miss Fashionista was very opinionated about her clothing.  I quickly learned to give her 2 choices in the morning.  I mean, after all, the combinations were endless, when faced with her entire closet!  After we passed that hurdle, a new rule of how many outfits could be worn during the course of one day had to be made.  If given the opportunity, she would come down with a new ensemble every hour.  Dress-ups and costumes were our saving grace!

Everytime (and I do mean every single time!) we told the girls we were going somewhere or planning something, her first question was "what will I wear?"  What we were actually going to do or who we would get to see was trivial information.  

I've always wanted to instill a healthy self confidence in my children.  Not a prideful attitude, but confidence in who they are (by God's design, of course).  For my dear Fashionista, this was not a problem.  I vividly remember her standing in front of our full length mirror one Sunday morning when she was 4.  She had on her Sunday best and her hair had just been fixed.  She twirled once, tilted her head to the side, took a deep breath and smiled.  Just one word escaped her lips before she pranced down the hall.  It was a word that I KNOW I have never said looking into the mirror.  

Perfect.

I laughed to myself the rest of the morning.  That one word crossed my mind a dozen times as I sat in church, trying to concentrate on great spiritual truths.

Perfect.

She had not said it for others to hear.  She didn't say it in a prideful way.  She probably didn't even know that she had uttered it.  It was just a moment of contentment in what she saw in the reflection of the mirror.

How often do I feel contentment when I look in the mirror?  Am I so consumed with the affects of gravity and a few extra pounds that I can't find contentment in what I see staring back at me?  Oh that I could look in the mirror and for a moment be able to get past the typical "oh well, that'll have to do" mentality.  

After all, I am a princess of the King, and one day, I will be .... well,

Gloriously Perfect.

Silly Me

Tonight was an ordinary night.  One child down for the night, two to go.  

Down the hall, the girls were brushing their teeth as they prepared for bed.   Suddenly, we heard a blood curdling scream.  And tears.  Had it been from the mouth of our other two offspring, we would have dropped everything and run.  However, this unleash of emotion was our drama queen so I stayed where I was and waited for her to arrive.  Of course I was concerned, but not frantic at this point.  

With giant crocodile tears and a high pitched cry, she arrived with this:

"I-I-I droooppped my tooth down the drain!!!  Now the toooothh fairy won't be able to fiiind it! (Sob, breath, sob)"  Even though I heard her, it was so dog-gone cute I said, "What, Sweetheart?"

Same words, same emphasis, same sobs.

Well.  It seems the Tooth Fairy has given us yet another dilemma!

We calmed her down and told her to write a note explaining what happened to leave for the tooth fairy.  I'm thinking, okay, so we just leave the $ and call it a day.  Apparently Mr. Fixit didn't think the same.  By the time I made it to their bathroom, he had the entire sink trap (I had to ask what it is called) undone and was looking for said tooth.  No sign of it anywhere.  The good news, is that we cleaned out the trap and we won't have to use Drain-o for a long time.

In all the turmoil, we couldn't even find an available pen in her room to write the note.  I found an unsharpened pencil and told her to write an invisible note.  

Amazingly, she did.  A two page note.  

After prayers and goodnight kisses, I had one question:

Why was the the tooth near the sink?

I was brushing the tooth so it would be clean for her.  (what a silly question, mom)

Blessings of Friendship

Laughing at the humor of daily living.

Praying for specific needs and cares.

Listening to the good, the bad and the ugly.

Caring.  Really caring.

Knowing that she cares too.

Loving the person she is, inside and out.

Sharing deepest thoughts, hopes, and dreams.

Believing in who she is.

Speaking the truth in love.

Remembering the sweet memories.

Looking forward to making many more.

Enjoying life together.