Confession 115: So "Proud"

My boys and I went to a bridal shower the other night where they were the only children there. Being church kids, they're okay with that. Overall, the boys were very well-behaved and impressed the kid-less hostess who, I think, was a bit concerned about their presence. So, here are my favorite "proud" parent moments from the event.

First, Stephen devoured his first margherita cupcake. He was not going to be deterred, and as the alcohol was in the batter, I figured it cooked it's way out.

Second, Garrett graciously helped the hostess re-fill the beer tub with bottles of Bud Light Lime.

And finally, my favorite, as the adults were in the living room while the couple opened gifts, my boys climbed up to sit on the bar stools opposite the kitchen counter. The hostess and my mother-in-law were behind the counter cleaning up when Garrett slapped his hands down on the counter/bar and declared, "What does a guy have to do to get a drink in this place?" (Thank you Shrek 3).

My head swam with different ways I could handle the situation until finally I gave a hysterical laugh and said, "That's the preacher's kid!!"

So "proud"!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 114: Don't Break The Dishes!

Lately, we've been having our boys do a bit more clean-up around the house. Okay, that's a total stretch. We've been having them put their dishes in the sink after meals and, occasionally pick up some toys. Stephen, our two year old, is the type of kid who takes life at a full run, smashing into whatever comes his way. We call him, affectionately, "The Hoss". He doesn't just put dishes into the sink, he chucks them in with full gusto. We've started adding an "oompaa!" after each toss.

Before we moved, we had a stainless steel sink, so the dishes had a fairly soft landing. In our new home, however, the sink is ceramic. Ceramic dishes, ceramic sink--you get the idea. In the past two days we have lost a plate and a small bowl, not a calamity, but between Stephen and the movers, we're running out of dishes!

This made me think that in our efforts to "help" sometimes, we can also end up smashing things instead. How often have you tried to do something to help someone else clean up a mess, only to make more of a mess instead? My husband, unfortunately, is always at the receiving end of this with me. His second most common phrase to me, after "I love you", is: "Well, this is another fine mess you've created for me." The most recent was the other day when I was out mowing the lawn. I mow with as much gusto as my son throws dishes, the result being that I ran over a water main cover and "broke" the lawn mower. Chris was so pleased when I asked him to look at the lawnmower for me, a.k.a., fix it!

I think, oftentimes, I do the same with God. I blunder my way through life with the best intentions only to end up asking God to "fix it!" after my good intentions have gone astray. Instead, it would be better if I took my time, carefully listening to God and following in his lead. I read this from Psalm 25 recently, and it has stuck with me: "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

May we live life with gusto this day and smash as little as possible!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 113: Two Year Olds and Other Assundry Things

God bless stay-at-home moms!! 14+ hours a day with my two boys is about to send me over the edge. My two year old is especially exhausting. He is my "Mama's Boy", which means that every time I attempt to do something productive, he wants to be on top of me. He's sitting on my arm now, as I type, with his leg thrown across the bottom of the keyboard. Meanwhile, my four year old never stops talking!! In the past few minutes it has taken me to write this paragraph, he has asked me no less than twenty questions about Toy Story 2, which is on right now. And, it's not even eight A.M.!!

Oh well, they're blessings, right? And, we have had some wonderful moments. We've made homeade play-doh, gone to an awesome swim park, visited my parents and grandma, gone for bike rides, and are going today to see "Baby O" who is home from the hospital and doing well. I have not held her yet and the boys have not seen her since she was in the NICU for a few days while her blood sugars got regulated, but we're going today and they are very excited.

I've been trying to get back into an exercise routine, which has had mixed results, mostly because I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn to exercise and I have little time to do it throughout the day. Actually, I probably have lots of time to do it during the day, but every time I begin an exercise DVD the two-year old pitches a huge fit and only wants to be held. I think he's afraid Mommy will lose her soft cushiness he's fond of snuggling with. :-) I was walking in the mornings, but I took a spectacular fall on some gravel and haven't been keen to go out again. It was classic, really. I was walking down the street and saw a "Road Closed"sign to my right where the street was being torn up and re-paved. I thought, "Is the street really closed, or was the sign there and then removed? I think I'll keep going anyway." WHAM--my face literally hit the pavement. I tried to stop, but couldn't catch myself. I hope it's not a sign of age, but just general grogginess from getting up too early!! Anyway, I scraped up my face, which is lovely. My husband jokingly refers to it as my scabies. I was going to put on some sort of Muslim headress, but given the size of the town we are in, I thought better of it.

My four-year old has been attending Bible School at the Christian Church in town. We missed it at our church, so I thought we could practice being ecumenical. It's been really nice, actually. I'm considering sending him to the Baptist church next week for their VBS--make sure he's well-rounded in faith! :-)

We've got two Sundays under our belt at church, and they've been wonderful. The people of this congregation are very open and loving, and truly excited that we are here. My husband has two churches, one a small country "family chapel". We took the boys there the first Sunday and they were terrible, I'm talking completely possessed by the spirit of mischief terrible with a capital T. Needless to say, they haven't yet gone back! If we could find a way to slip Toy Story or Shrek into the sermon, it might be okay, but I don't think this is that kind of crowd. :-)

As far as jobs go, I'm resigning myself to substitute teaching for a year--blech. However, it is a means to an end and I think I could work every day if I wanted. I am standing fast to my belief that God will work it all out. He tends to be pretty proficient about that sort of thing. I've been reading through the Psalms between Bible studies and have found some great prayers that have been helpful. I especially love Psalm 21.

Well, that's about it around our household. I finally have Internet access at home (yay!) so can keep up with all of my favorite Bloggers.

Melody, I've been thinking about all the ways you've reached out to your neighbors and am trying to work up to that. Thanks for the inspiration!

Angie, I'm so looking forward to the rest of the travel tales. They were wonderful! You guys need to put together a book with the blogs and pictures.

Teri, can't wait to catch up on your encouraging words and thoughts. You are such a treasure!!

Penny, looking forward to a good "catch-up". Will be e-mailing you soon!

FringeGirl, have so much missed your wit and perspective. You help me keep it together!!

There are so many more blogs I love to read that I want to catch-up on: Julie @ Julie's Journal, Rachael @ Girlfriends With a Purpose, Bethany @ Beyond This Moment and so many more I'm forgetting.

Thanks for all the prayers and words!!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 112: What A Day!!

Whew! It's been too long since I've had the chance to catch-up in the blogosphere. Life has been crazy and we have no internet at our new home yet. Here's the short of it: movers were terrible, new house and community are wonderful, first Sunday was awesome, still jobless, but very happy in our new appointment. So, here's the most important part...

At 9:30 yesterday morning I got a call from my sister which went something like this:

Libby: Umm... I think my water just broke.

Me: Oh yeah, right... ha, ha! You are kidding, right? (Baby's not due until end of July)

Libby: No, I'm completely serious. There's stuff gushing out all over the place. What should I do? Do I call my doctor's office?

Me: Um, no--go to the hospital!! Where's Mikey? Get him home!

Libby: Can I take a shower or something first? This is really gross. I think I just ruined my favorite pair of jeans.

Me: Seriously, you're about to have a baby and you're worried about your jeans?

Libby: Well, if I think about what's really about to happen it will freak me out! So, yes, I'm worried about my jeans!

After assuring my sister that we would take care of the house and mop the bathroom floor, we were off. When we got to my sister's (only about 50 minutes away now!) Chris tackled the kitchen while I went to work on the living room. After my parents showed up my mom and I tackled the bathrooms simultaneously and then moved onto Baby O's (Olivia) room while Chris and my dad took the boys to a nearby park. We spent an enjoyable afternoon in K.C. doing some shopping and letting the boys play. My sister called me around 12:30 to tell me that she and her husband were playing cribbage and watching t.v. Needless to say, they were increasing her pitosin!!

Around 6:15, as my mom and I were leaving the grocery store, I started to get a little ansty. Shouldn't we have heard something by now? As we were unloading half the store into their house, Chris pulled me aside and showed me a series of texts he had from my sister's husband saying that Olivia's heartrate wasn't corresponding to the contractions and they were getting ready for a C-section! Fortunately, we have some good friends in the area who, ironically enough, were supposed to be coming to see us this weekend. Instead, we dumped our boys with them and headed to the hospital where we sat, and sat, and sat!!

FINALLY, New Daddy came out and told us that Olivia had arrived at a whopping 4 lbs. 12 oz. After more sitting and waiting, about three hours actually, we were finally able to greet Baby O. It was five after eleven when Chris and I went into the delivery room. Let me tell you all, my new niece is one of the most beautiful creations God has ever placed on this earth!! She is PERFECT, regardless of what anyone might say about "Original Sin". She has her daddy's curly black hair with some of her mama's red on top. Her skin is smooth and pink, with long little fingers and toes sticking out from her hands and feet. She has those deep blue baby eyes that seem to hold within them the secrets of the heavens, and when she opened her mouth and let forth that sweet newborn cry, my heart melted. Truly, is there anything more beautiful in this world than a brand-new baby?

So, life is good, and I'm hoping to be back online at home soon. Right now I have a two-year old climbing all over me, so I'm going to have to say adieu.

Blessings and Peace,
Sara