Blessings

There's some pretty yucky stuff going on with a family member.  We are in the middle of all of the mess - counseling, hugging, loving on this person.  When I am able to back away for just a bit, I am reminded just how blessed I am.  I have a wonderful husband and 6 kids who are healthy and happy.  (I must just say that I am not bragging here -  not saying my husband is always this perfect man -- he's broken and imperfect.  In fact, he told me this morning that he was sitting in church thinking about how flawed he was and how flawed I was, but yet we work together with Christ to fill in each other's gaps.  My kids are also not perfect -- they're whiny, argumentative, and irritating, but we're working on it!)  I am so thankful for friends -- deep, real, true friends.  Friends who cry with you when you don't know what else to do.  Friends who help out this family member even though they have never met them.  Friends who are praying for this situation.  I am also thankful for extended family -- for difficult circumstances forcing family to have to work together and be real with each other.

I spoke at a mom's group at our church on Friday, and as I was introduced the host gave a little bio including all of my "awesome mom" stats:  married 18 years, 6 kids, homeschools, funny, etc.  It was very humbling, but not an accurate or at least not a complete picture of who I am.  I didn't want these young moms to be intimidated by me.  I'm the farthest thing from "mom of the year".  I used a visual of a beautiful crystal glass filled with the dirt I swept off my kitchen floor.  We all put on our beautiful side and show off how shimmery and sparkly we are, but it's when you are willing to tip the glass on its side and reveal what's inside that people can really get to know you, dirt and all.  That's the real me -- the dirt on my floor.  You can know about me...the gum wrapper revealing what kind of gum I chew, the bandaid wrapper showing that someone had a cut, the corn silks showing what we ate for dinner, the parts of my front door wreath that got knocked to the ground by 2 kids playing chase.  That's the real me.  And, yes, I do package it in the beautiful glass -- we all do.  But if we are going to be true, we must be willing to look at and accept the "dirt".

WHY???

Why....
-  does she crush up the egg shells in the sink and rub the goo all over?
-  does she squirt half a tube of toothpaste all over the sink and rub it in?
-  does she eat the blue ice packs you put in coolers?
-  does she sing, "ooh, baby.  ooh, baby.  Oh, yeah!" in the grocery store?
-  does she only wear one shoe to the pool?
-  does she only make it half way to the pool on her bike and then want me to carry her and the bike (and the pool bag, towels and inner tube) the rest of the way?
-  does she think whoopie cushions are hilarious -- saying she's going to do a "booty sit"?
-  does she chew up apples and spit them out before swallowing?
-  does she insist Barbie also get sunscreen on before she goes to the pool?
-  does she see our favorite check out woman at Target and say, "Miss Maria!  I wuv her.  I wuv you, Miss Maria"?
-  is she so darn cute....particularly after a bath with those blonde curls hanging down in her face?

Sometimes it's so hard not to be irritated all day long.
And then she looks at me and smiles and says, "I wuv you, Momma" and instantly the frustration melts....at least until I discover the next mess.

Oooh -- it's been a while

Life just has a way of whizzing by.  Last time I checked, it was mid-summer....now we are clearly into our fall routine.  Football, school, chores, etc.

My oldest is two weeks into his FRESHMAN year of high school.  How can that be???  Didn't anyone tell him that I am not old enough to have a kid in high school??  He's getting along great, though.

Next oldest is in 7th grade.  She is so happy to be back at school because it means more face to face time with her friends.

The next two - 5th and 3rd grade are at home with me and the little girls (although they are not so little any more).  They are two and four now!  And......fully and completely potty trained.  Yeee Haw!  That is one thing I am not sad to leave behind.  I got sad when we took the crib down and when I moved the rocking chair out of the former nursery.  (I had nursed all 6 babies in that chair....it's hideous, but my tush sat in that thing for many, many hours)  But I will never miss changing a diaper.

My brother is living with us temporarily.  It makes for a whole different dynamic.  The kids get all hyper and excited when he walks in the door - each one talking faster and louder than the other so that they can be heard when they tell him all about their day.  His wife will be following him soon and then they will move into their house here.  It will be so fun to have cousins and aunts and uncles around.  We have never had that before.  I am sure it is culture shock for him - having moved here from rural Montana...you know, noise, traffic lights, paved roads, strip malls.  They are all foreign concepts to him!

One thing that I just have to share my excitement about -- three of my kids got baptized last week!  What a joy it was to see them decide to make a public statement of their faith.  My husband and I feel so blessed.

My final thought....Gwen's version of the "ABC's".... "next time don't you sing with me."

Boys!

I have one boy in particular who loves his mama.  He is always affectionate and ready for a hug or a kiss - both to give one and receive.  Today he went to our neighbor's garage sale and bought me a present.  I always cringe at those words:  "Look what I bought you at the garage sale!"  This was a carrot shaped piece of artwork with 6 small cheese or butter knives with carrot tops that stick into the large carrot.  Now I have to figure out what to do with it as it is neither practical or physically beautiful.  However, it is beautiful in one way....my youngest son picked it out just for me.  He spent his own $2.00 on me.  Not on candy or a toy or anything else except his mama.  And for that reason we will use it tonight at dinner when we eat our pizza and it will be proudly displayed on my kitchen counter.  It will sit next to the ShrinkyDink with the words, "I Love You" on it and the 3 inch tall Sculptey clay letters that spell out "I LOVE MOM" and the heart shaped rock and the red wooden heart wall hanging bought at the last garage sale.  And every time I walk in my kitchen I am reminded that I am loved very much!

I also picked up my daughter and middle son at camp today.  Can I just say, ten year old boys stink.  Especially ones who have been at camp during a week of 95+ degree heat.  I could hardly stand to love on him when I saw him.  But, of course, I did.  Then he got in the car and took off his shoes.  Shoes he'd worn all week with no socks.  Oh, heavens.  It was RIPE in there.  I can't put my finger on the exact smell, but if you mix body odor with bad breath and clothes that have been wet in a pond and never dried fully and nasty foot smell, then you have a pretty good idea of what we put up with for an hour and a half.  When I got home I unpacked his clothes and found 3 pair of clean underwear.  Now, this camp was only 5 days long.....do the math.  (2 pair of underwear worn over 5.5 days)  Perhaps this was adding to the stench.  Perhaps.

Now, I am waiting for cookies to come out of the oven.  For that is my love language.  Food.  I love to bake cookies for my kids and their friends.  I can smell the ooey, gooey warm cookie smell right now.  To me it shouts, "I love you!"  I am not always great with physical affection, so sometimes cookies are my hugs.  It just feels good to have all 6 kids back under one roof.  Crazy good, you know?

Messes and More

A long time ago we had a dog named Fred.  He was a good dog, but really disgusting in many ways - he ate the insides out of diapers and had to have 15 teeth pulled because they were so rotten and one time he pooped into a floor vent in our house.  Earlier this week, I had the unpleasant task of remembering Fred by cleaning up an accident that was very similar to the "poop in the vent" incident.  Gwen, who is completely pee trained is struggling in the potty department when going #2.  She pooped her pants in the middle of lunch - so I cleaned her off and left her without underwear thinking it was almost nap time anyway.  Not even 10 minutes later, I see her in the family room pooping again....and it's runny.  Puddling at her feet, running down her legs.  Oh.  My.  Word.  And so, as I was cleaning up her mess again, I was reminded of Fred!  Then, she announced that she needed to go more.  I put her on the potty, she did her thing and then proudly exclaimed, "Me did it!"  But I couldn't even be happy for her.  How 'bout the other two "misses"???

Other than cleaning up after Gwen, this has been a pretty quiet week.  Kyle and Ben went to their grandparent's to visit and Joel and Gretta are at camp.  They slowly start trickling in later today and by tomorrow afternoon, everyone will be home.  Sunday was an emotional day for me.  When we dropped Gretta off at camp, she was not feeling well.  Actually, she was trying to decide if she felt well enough to even stay.  I knew how badly she wanted to be there - with two school friends in her cabin, even.  The counselors were great and really encouraged her to stay - telling her that she could sleep at the nurse's station for the first night and that they just knew she would be feeling great by the next day.  After a long and tearful deliberation, she decided to stay.  It broke my heart to leave her when she was crying.  It reminded me of leaving my kids at the church nursery when they are crying.  It about rips my heart out!  And, no matter how big they get, I guess it will always be the same.  I heard an interesting saying:  A mother is only as happy as her saddest child.  So true!  The good news is that I haven't heard from camp.  They said they would call if she was not well within 24 hours.  So at this point, no news is good news.

Is It Wrong??

To begin, Kyle got home safe and sound from camp.  It was a wonderful experience and we can't say enough good things about HoneyRock Camp.  The kids were very excited to see him - both little girls running up and screaming his name.  Joel trying to act cool and also trying not to cry.  Very sweet to a mama's soul!

On a totally different note....

Is it wrong......
- to hear one little girl say to another, "Lay on me and lick me like a dog."????
- for one (unnamed child) to eat THREE full size corn dogs in one sitting???
- to order a large Diet Coke for me and 2 small ice creams for my little girls only to realize I'm 16 cents short....and then cancel the 2 ice creams so I can still get my Diet Coke????

Yes.  It's wrong.  All of it.  But, sadly, it's all true.

Big Brother

The kids are all desperately missing Kyle.  He's been gone for 2 1/2 weeks. Matt and I leave today to go get him.  We'll be back in 48 hours - 22 of which will be spent on the road.  Thankfully, we aren't taking any kids with us -- that's way too much car time in that short of a span.  Anyway, yesterday a friend was asking me if I was missing Kyle.  I told her that I was, but that it hadn't seemed like 2 1/2 weeks.  Ben, who was standing near by, said, "What??  It seems like it's been 20 weeks!"  This is the same kid who told my mom that they couldn't swim in her pond without Kyle because it just wasn't any fun without him.  I think that there will be six kids very happy to be reunited on Friday evening.  I'm just wondering how long it will last until the arguing starts?????