Blogging in sound bites

The busyness of life seems to leave little time for blogging lately. By the time the kids are in bed my creative juices have done been used up for the day. Blogging requires thought. It requires me to put more than two sentences together...dare I say even multiple paragraphs of cohesive contemplation. Facebook on the other hand requires minimal words and even less thought. Most of it seems to be whatever randomness happens to be rolling around in one's head at any given moment.

Having said that, here is a recap of the last month of my random life as seen through my Facebook status updates.

1/1/11 - Black eyed pea gumbo with chorizo sausage and a side of college football...a great way to kick off the new year.

1/2/11 - lesson planning for four kiddos...I don't think there's enough coffee in the house to cover that one.

1/3/11 - During break the kids are up at dawn eager to play Wii and relish no school assignments. First day back to school and there's still no sign of them. Should I enjoy the quiet, or make them get up and be responsible? Hmmm...

1/5/11 - Chex mix roasting in the oven...it smells so yummy. Granola is next on the list so Connor will stop bugging me about it!

1/7/11 - Just informed the kids that since the dishwasher is broken they will have to wash dishes BY HAND. Oh my goodness....they don't think they're going to survive. Of course mom pulls out her best "well when I was a kid" story.

1/8/11 - Getting ready for Greyson's first Upward basketball game of the year. He's sooo excited! GO GRIZZLIES!

1/11/11 - In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and in eternity. - Abraham Lincoln

1/12/11 - One of my kids sounds a lot like a seal...poor thing.

1/14/11 - Reason #2,374 why we love homeschooling - scones, hot cocoa and good books on a cold morning.

1/16/11 - I love my church!

1/18/11 - Mom to C & G - "Why do you think we bought you dressers for your clothes?". C & G in all seriousness - "I don't know Mom. It's so much easier to just throw them on the floor.". Sigh...looks like we've got some work to do.

1/20/11 - The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Proverbs 20:24

1/22/11 - Needed - recommendations for good beach reading. Ideas?

So there you have it. That's what you call blogging in sound bites. Maybe next time I'll find time to put some real thoughts together. In the meantime, you're all caught up on our lives! Aren't you glad?

Life of a mom

DEFINITION - Overwhelmed: to overcome completely in mind or feeling.

Dishes to wash

Laundry to attack

Floors to scrub

Beds to make

Piles of stuff to put away

Lessons to plan

Students to teach

Menus to organize

Groceries to buy

Meals to cook

Lost things to find

Children to mold

Discipline to give

Character to train

Sock puppets to make

Sporting practices & games to attend

Marriage to nurture

Friends to help

Leadership to give

Ministry to tend

Prayers to utter

The life of a mom is certainly enough to leave you feeling overwhelmed. How thankful I am to not be relying on my own strength, but on His. Otherwise I might just curl up in a ball and go to sleep!

My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weakness and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Seriously?

I had one of those parenting moments the other day. You know the ones that make you go "Seriously??? What were you thinking?". Whether not to drink from the milk jug, or how to show compassion and put others before themselves, there are times I look at my kids and wonder if they're getting anything we're trying to teach them.

Then there are the times they blow me away with their maturity - when I see them offering encouragement to a friend on the team who's off their game, or standing up for their siblings in the face of criticism. Those are the things I try to remember when I catch them hiding the casserole in their napkin, or playing on the roof. Those little glimpses give me hope. My prayer is that those glimpses become more of a constant as I watch them grow physically, emotionally and spiritually.

As I stood at my sudsy alter, I wondered if that's how the LORD views me. Does He ever look at me and ask, "Seriously??? What were you thinking?"? Thankfully He knows what I'm thinking; He doesn't even have to ask. He knows my motivation for saying and doing things. He knows me better than I know myself. I'm sure there are times He shakes His head at His little girl and wonders if I'll ever grow up.

I'm just thankful He doesn't give up on me...just like I won't give up on my kids...even when they drink straight out of the milk carton, or hide the casserole in their napkin.

Their growing up daily and hopefully, so am I.

Sink reflections

Our dishwasher's broken. I'm actually quite happy about it in a funny sort of way. It's just a builder grade unit and has never quite cleaned anything. Last time we had it serviced, the repair guy referred to it as a "dish rinser"...it gets off the big chunks, but not much else. If you've eaten at my house in the last three years, don't worry...I didn't give you a dirty plate.

Not sure yet when we'll get it fixed, but I've decided I'm not in too much of a hurry. I informed Connor and Greyson this morning that the dishes would need to be done by hand. The looks on their faces was priceless. I honestly don't think they knew dishes COULD be washed by anything other than a dishwasher, let alone by hand!

Because I had some extra time this morning, I started washing the first load myself. I discovered something about myself in the process - I enjoy washing dishes by hand! Crazy hu? As I sipped my coffee with sudsy hands, I realized that the whole process caused me to slow down. Dare I say it was even a bit relaxing? Don't get me wrong. I enjoy all the wonderful modern day helps we have that make home keeping easier, but these same helps also give us the feeling we can accomplish more or cram more into our day. Doing things the old-fashioned way gave me time to think; to reflect and pray over a sink full of suds.

As I dried my hands and stepped back to admire the counter full of clean dishes, I decided that a broken dishwasher's not such a bad thing after all.

My kids however will probably disagree.

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Monday we started back to school after a three week break. The undecorated tree and piles of boxes still sat in the corner, signaling the end of our leisurely holiday. The kids were dragging their feet, but I put on my best homeschool mom face and soldiered on. By 2:00 p.m. that homeschool mom face had been replaced with my "Forget this! Where's the closest public school??" face. This face has only been seen a handful of times in the last ten years of homeschooling, so you know it's serious.

To top it off, it seemed every homeschool friend I heard from that day was having the best day of their lives. Really? I have a feeling the good ones were the only ones talking about it. The rest, like me, were attempting to keep the house from falling down around their ears and just hang on til bedtime.

God is my Rock. My Fortress. My Deliverer. His amazing mercies pour over me each new day. They are my lifeline. So Monday's bad day doesn't have to turn into a bad week, or a bad month. It's just a day. Tuesday was a little better than Monday and today is better than Tuesday. At this rate, my Friday should be amazing!

And the tree isn't sitting in the corner anymore...that's a good thing.

Post it notes - a forgetful momma's best friend

So one of my not so new year's resolutions was to drink water. Notice I didn't say MORE water, but just drink water. I don't drink it...ever. I'd have to say I'm a camel. Well, maybe a camel with coffee. Please don't e-mail me telling me all the reasons I should be drinking water. I know them all, trust me, I know...and I still don't do it.

Resolution made January 1st at 9:00 a.m. January 1st at 11:00 p.m. I'm lying in bed and it occurs to me that I didn't drink any water. Not a drop. Never even thought about it after I wrote it down yesterday. Good grief. The old mind just ain't what it use to be. (Please don't tell my kids I just used the word ain't...I'll never hear the end of it.)

Since apparently relying on my brainpower to remember these resolutions is not going to cut it, my new best friend is the hot pink post it note. Maybe if I post DRINK WATER in about ten different spots around the house I'll actually remember to do it. Oh, maybe I'll get a different color post it note for each resolution. No, that would require me to remember what resolution went with what color, thereby using even more brainpower than I possess.

I think I'll just stick with one resolution. No use gettin' crazy.

Happy New Year!

January 1st is one of my favorite days of the year. I think it's because I'm a sucker for happy endings and new beginnings. 2010 was challenging in some respects (four and a half months of unemployment and a adjustment to a new job), but an incredibly blessed one as well (God's amazing provision through those lean months). I would certainly say it ended well and I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 365 days.

Recently I was reading back over the last few years worth of journal entries and realized I tend to make the same resolutions year after year. At first this discouraged me, but then I realized that's the journey of life. We continue to move forward along the path, each day faced with choices that affect our route. It's the choices I have to work to change if I hope to impact the outcome of the journey. The end goal or progress I'm working toward will not be attained this side of heaven. My heart desires to be a better helpmate to my sweetie, a better mom to my kids and a better friend to those the LORD has blessed me to know. I will continue this year to work toward those goals, hopefully allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide each step. I pray that when 2011 comes to an end, I'm a little further along that path than I am now.

Wishing you and your family a blessed, GOD filled 2011!