Things I Will Laugh About One Day

So it's 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and I have actually found time to sit at the computer...

I am feeling inspired to write a blog. Don't know what about. Don't know where to start. I think I will just start to write about all of the wonderful experiences I have had recently and try to laugh about them, if I am at that point...


First of all, many people have asked, "What happened to Clay and why is he in a body cast?" Before I start, here's a picture:

















He looks WAY too happy for a 2 year-old in a body cast. But that's my son. He can put on that cheesy smile in the worst of circumstances. We should all learn from him.



So it happened in October. It started out like any other day, except that Anna stayed home from school. She and I were supposed to take a trip out of town that afternoon and she had been having seizures the day before, so I kept her home. As usual , Clay rushed through breakfast and darted for the back door. I wasn't finished feeding Anna, yet, so I let him go out by himself and watched him through the window.

BIG No-No! According to the nurse at the hospital who obviously does NOT have multiple children, you are NEVER supposed to let your children out of your sight. So forget peeing in private, Mommas! And if you have 5 kids, I hope you have a BIG bathroom!

Shortly after he went outside, I popped my head out the door just to make sure he was still playing on the ground. We have a large wooden playscape in the backyard and my son is quite the daredevil, so I really try to keep a close eye on him. He was fine. Back to feeding Anna.

I finished feeding Anna and took her to the living room. When I returned to the backyard, I found Clay lying flat on his back under the playscape. And Boy Wonder was not moving! I did what any mother would do- I freaked!

I called 911 because I had no idea what was broken. The boy who doesn't have a still bone in his body would not move an inch. We took a ride in the ambulance to the Children's Hospital and began the tedious process of elimination to find out what was wrong. And since my son is 2 and has no desire to talk in words, he couldn't tell them what hurt. He DID manage to say, "Ow, ow, ow!" to everything they touched, so it was safe to say he was hurt somewhere. Okay, I'm laughing now!

After MRI's, x-rays, and CAT scans, he had a dislocated shoulder and broken rib (apparently caught the swing on the way down from the monkey bars) and a spiral fracture to the right femur (big bone in the thigh). Praise God his neck and spine were fine!!

Later that evening, he was put under anesthesia to cast the leg and further examine the shoulder and rib. When the doctor came out, he had a puzzled look on his face as he told us that the shoulder was fine and he couldn't see a break in the rib any longer. See, God still ceases to amaze the medical profession!

Clay spent the night in the hospital and came home the next day. The cast is huge, I mean HUGE!! It must weigh 10 lbs. alone. I'm trying to look at the positive and focus on how buff my biceps are getting by lifting him in it every day.


(I would put a picture of my buff arms here if I had one)


Anyways, 1 1/2 weeks later was Halloween. What to do with a boy in a blue body cast? Hmm...




It's Superman Clay!!!

So, looking back and laughing about this, I'm wondering what this experience has taught me...

He's still in the body cast, but we have had many opportunities to laugh. As I am writing this, I can hear Clay in the other room, crying because he hit his head on something. Chances are he was being a daredevil again. Currently, he has figured out how to walk in the cast. He also belly crawls on the concrete to the extent of tearing holes in every one of his shirts. Last weekend, our friends from out of town got to witness my son climbing the very playscape that he fell from. And don't think for a minute that it has slowed him down a bit. The boy is clever!

So what I have learned is that, like my son Clay, we each choose how we will handle the difficulties that come our way. Despite his huge cast and broken bone, he has chosen to keep on going. He didn't let it slow him down. He just improvised how he would keep moving. We ALL get broken and bruised. Our casts may not be physically apparent, but we ALL wear them. How we will deal with them is up to us. We can just lie down and give up or we can get up and improvise.

God called every one of us to be warriors. He doesn't MAKE us get up and fight. That will always be our choice. But if we choose to fight, we have Him inside to help us keep going.

Peace Be With You

I woke up this morning like many Americans- anxious to know who was elected our next President. Regardless of who we may have voted for, we were all wondering what the fate of our nation would be.

I voted early, so I didn't have to stand in a long line to vote on Election Day. In fact, I got to wait at the Honda dealership for my van to be fixed. The story behind that is a whole other blog topic...

As the day went by, I found myself getting anxious and worried about this historical election. Everyone knew how monumental this one would be. Some people voted for the first time in their lives. We all voted with different issues of importance. Some are concerned about the economy. Some are concerned about energy. Some are concerned about pro-life vs. pro-choice and the sanctity of marriage. And the list goes on... Some people believe this is the "end times." Needless to say, there was a lot to think about.

As a Christian, I find that even though I know God is always in charge, I still can manage to get myself worked up about the problems around me, especially BIG stuff. However, yesterday, I experienced an amazing transformation in my thinking. It came from such a small, somewhat insignificant thing. Looking back at it, I just love God even more for the way He can reach me right where I am and touch my heart so deeply and personally. He has a way of knowing the perfect way to speak to us so we will have no question about it that it is Him.

It was right in the middle of my day. Clay had just woke up from his nap. He has been waking up very fussy due to the body cast (another future blog topic). As I soothed him and made him comfortable, the bus arrived with Anna and Sarah. I brought them inside and began unloading their backpacks like I do every day. Then, I noticed it. Something small and blue in the bottom of Anna's backpack. I didn't remember seeing it there that morning when I loaded her backpack, but there it was now. I pulled it out and just smiled.

Thank you, God! I needed that!

So you are wondering, what was it? Interestingly, it was a small blue frisbee that the girls had won in church a few Sundays ago. On the top, it was painted like the Earth. And written across the bottom were the words: "He's got the whole world in His hands."

I don't know how that frisbee got in that backpack. I think God, Himself, orchestrated the whole event to remind me of one of the very first lessons we learn in Sunday school as a child. It is even a song. He's got the whole world in His hands. Not just the United States in His hands. Not just the Holy Land in His hands. Not just one certain race of people or another in His hands. The WHOLE world! ALL people. ALL of the time. He's got the WHOLE world in His hands!!!!

So, today, whether you are celebrating or saddened by the results of this election. Peace be with you! It does not matter who is in the White House. It has never mattered! What matters is Who is seated on the throne. Our Heavenly Father will ALWAYS be in charge. Nothing happens that He didn't allow. And, He loves every single one of us the same. We are ALL his children. Some of us may not know Him, yet, but He still puts us where we are when we are there.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 NIV.

Friends, peace be with you! God loves you and He is ALWAYS good! He's got the Whole World in His Hands.

The Leaky Swim Diaper

I haven't written in quite a while. In fact, its been 2 months! In that time, I have been doing all the fun summer things that moms and kids like to do- and coming up with some great blog ideas in the process. So today, I dedicate another blog to my dear friend Carolyn. This is a story that HAS to be told:

If you are a mom of a child who is not yet potty-trained, then you are well aware of the importance of the swim diaper. These great little diapers are required at all public and community pools. Now whether they really hold everything inside of them is still the question. I can tell you from experience that they DO NOT hold in pee-pee, so don't allow your child to wear one in their carseat on the way to the pool. If Junior goes potty, you will get to go through the hassle of taking the cover off of the carseat to wash it (or just letting it dry out, which I don't recommend if your car will be subject to the Texas heat. One word- STINKY!). So the basic reason for the use of swim diapers is really just to keep the worse of two yucks, poo-poo, inside the diaper and out of the pool. Or, so we think.

Last week, a few friends and I decided to take the kids to the pool. Carolyn realized, after we got there, that she didn't have a swim diaper for her daughter so she borrowed one. You would think that everything went fine since all of the kids were wearing their swim diapers. Unfortunately for Carolyn, this was NOT the case.

Shortly after getting to the pool, the friend who lived in the neighborhood had to leave because her son wouldn't use the potty at the pool's restroom. He was having a constipation problem (and that's a WHOLE other story), and couldn't relax enough to go poo-poo because the restroom was so stinky. She told us we were welcome to stay even though she had to leave, so we stayed to swim.

A while later, my son decided he was done swimming and wanted to play in a puddle of stagnant water by the outdoor showers. After carrying him away from the puddle a dozen times, I decided that it was time for us to go. Besides that, the heat was unbearable. Texas has had record highs this summer and may go on record for the hottest summer ever. Even playing in the pool is too hot!

Well, Carolyn had planned to stay a little while longer. She didn't expect to leave so soon, but the swim diaper had other plans...

Her daughter had been playing beside the pool, but wasn't actually in the water. Carolyn suddenly noticed something disgusting leaking out the sides of the swim diaper. She brought her daughter over to the lounge chair to change the diaper, and lo and behold, opened up the yuckiest poo-poo ever! It went everywhere- the towel, the ground, and all over her daughter's legs. It was so bad that she gave up with the baby wipes and opted to stick her under the shower. After cleaning up the mess, she noticed something on the concrete near the pool. When she went to investigate, she found that the diaper had failed at the very thing it was designed to do: keep the poop INSIDE the diaper. There was not only poop on the concrete, but a small portion had fallen into the water!

She attempted to scoop it out of the water, but it quickly sank to the bottom of the pool. What now?

Being an honest Christian woman, Carolyn did the right thing and waited for the security guard of the pool to return to his seat so she could let him know about the poop in the water. Well, what should have been an easily-handled issue turned into a whole other fiasco.

The security guard informed us that Carolyn would have to pay for the pool to be cleaned- HOA policy. I was floored! No way! Not only does my friend who lives in the neighborhood pay a monthly HOA fee to cover pool maintenance, but approximately 1,000 other people pay a fee, too. Now I could understand making a parent pay for pool clean-up if they failed to put a swim diaper on their child, but this was not the case. What to do?

Well, phone calls were made to the HOA. Complaints regarding this policy have been noted. And now we wait. As for Carolyn, it was not the way she had planned for her day to go. But then again, isn't that the way things are sometimes? We plan for a certain outcome only to be surprised by a completely different result.

What did I learn from this? I learned that honesty is still the best policy. Carolyn and I could have easily left the pool without telling the security guard about the poop. We certainly wouldn't be dealing with the HOA policy problem, right now . But at the end of the day, would either of us be able to rest peacefully knowing that we had failed to report the problem? Also, we would have had to live with the guilt in knowing that other people were swimming in a poop-infested pool.

Yes, it seems that her honesty wasn't appreciated as it should have been. It would have been nice to get a response from the HOA that went something like this: "Thanks for letting us know. Thanks again for remembering to use a swim diaper. There was no way you could have known that it would leak, so don't worry about it. We will handle it." That wasn't the way it went, but the important thing is that she handled it honestly. For that, God will honor her. In the end, whether she ends up paying a fee or not, she can rest in peace knowing that she did the right thing. God is smiling because she did.

Summer Is Here!!

Hello blogger friends!!

Life can be so busy, sometimes. Actually, life is busy ALL of the time, it just gets overwhelming SOME of the time. May was a crazy month. The end of the school year seems to be the most hectic time for me. There are just so many end-of-the-year meetings, parties, etc. to attend that before I know it, a whole month has passed by and I'm sitting down to catch my breath, realizing that I haven't had a single moment of rest.

I take a deep breath, relax, and say, "Thank God for summer break!!"

I always make plans to do lots of fun activities with the kids over summer break. Plus, there are tons of summer camps that they want to attend. It can easily turn into another hectic season if I'm not careful.

I just got home from driving Sarah, my 5 year-old, to gymnastics camp. Clay went down for a nap and I found a window of opportunity to blog for the first time in over a month. Wow, time flies!

As I sit here trying to think of what to write about, I realize that the message I plan to share with you is a message for myself, too: a reminder to SLOW DOWN and enjoy the "small stuff" in life. It is so easy to get so wrapped up in the details of planning activities, attending events and being preoccupied with all that needs to be done that life seems to speed by until we stop one day and say, "What happened? Where did all of that time go?"

Just the other day, I was talking with a friend about how much I wanted to get a job this Fall. I have been a stay-at-home mom for 7 years. I guess I could call what I have the "7-year itch." My oldest child will be 14 in September and my youngest will turn 2 in September. I look at Morgan, my 13 year-old and can't believe she's almost grown. Then, I look at Clay, the baby, and realize how quickly he will grow up. My friend's oldest son just graduated high school. Her other son will graduate in a few years and her youngest child is the same age as Morgan. As we talked about how quickly the season of motherhood has gone by for her, she reminded me to cherish every moment of it because it will be gone so fast. It sounds so cliche', but there is more truth to it than we know.

If you are like me, still raising toddlers, you can relate to how it feels like the days are just a big blur of exhaustion, cleaning up after little ones and never getting a moment to yourself. In those moments, it can be challenging to "cherish" anything. I even find myself wishing that the time would go by faster. I get to the point of near-insanity, sometimes, because I just want to take a shower by myself! A friend of mine told a story, one time, about how she had to go to the restroom in the dark just to hide from her son so she could go potty alone. How do we cherish that?

A group of my friends went out to celebrate my friend Stephanie's 30th birthday, this week. After we sat down to eat, I realized that we kept talking about our kids. I made a rule that we couldn't talk about our kids for the rest of the night. Then, we took turns going around the table, talking about ourselves and asking each other questions. Within minutes, EVERY one of us had talked about our kids, again, at least once! We thought, "Where did our identities go? What did we talk about BEFORE having kids?"

Being a mommy becomes so much a part of who we are that we can't even separate ourselves from it. Those little babies come into our lives and impress upon our hearts in a way that no other person has ever been able to do. Then, when life is so crazy with making all kinds of plans, it's hard to stop and be thankful for how wonderful motherhood really is. But when I talk to the moms who just had a child graduate or just said "goodbye" to the baby of the family, it makes me more aware of how thankful I really am for every one of my 4 children. I enjoy making plans for them. I enjoy all of their little personalities and how different they are from one another. I enjoy cuddling with my son in the morning while I drink my coffee and we watch "Sesame Street." What I realize is that I am cherishing the small stuff!

Before we know it, we will be the seasoned moms who are telling the young moms to cherish every moment because it goes by so quickly. We don't always realize it in the moment, but our children have changed us for the better. Because of their presence in our lives, we have learned to put someone else's needs above our own. We have allowed someone else to take up a very special space in our hearts. Most importantly, we will never go back to who we once were because who we are now is better than we ever would have been without them.

Cherish every moment. Life really does go by fast! One day, you will miss this hectic season. It will only be a precious memory.

The Definition of "Friend"

Hi bloggers! Wow, I can't believe it's been 11 days since my last entry! Sometimes life can be soooo busy. But I'm back, ready to make you laugh today.

Today's blog is dedicated to my very good friend, Carolyn. We have shared so many hilarious experiences that I decided to tell you why she is such a good friend to me. To me, Carolyn is the person who defines what a true friend should be. She is the kind of person you always cherish and never forget. Here's a few reasons why:

1) The Night at Hooters (yes, that restaurant that everyone goes to "for the hot wings")

Carolyn and I went to a women's event at church. Even more hilarious is the fact that we were coming from church when we ended up at Hooters. After a fun evening at church, neither one of us were ready to go home, yet. If you stay at home with your kids all day, you can totally relate to that. Time away from home sometimes feels like escaping prison. Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate to be able to stay home with my kids. It's just that sometimes I get cabin fever. We all need a break every now and then.

So, as we were walking out to our cars after church, Carolyn turned me and said, "I don't want to go home yet. Let's go somewhere. Anywhere." I suggested Starbucks.

We pulled up to Starbucks just as they were closing. We stood there, staring in the window with sad little faces, almost begging the poor fellow at Starbucks to just let us in anyways. We probably looked like we were desperate for a cup a coffee when the truth was we were desperate for ANYTHING not involving Happy Meals, Chuck-E-Cheese or playscapes. However, the guy inside did not feel our pain.

"Sorry, but we're closed"

The next best thing was right next door. Open until at least midnight. Still serving hot food. Full of people having a great time. Inviting us to come over. There it was- Hooters.

We didn't even hesitate for a second. As we walked in, we were greeted by a lovely waitress in shorts that resembled underwear and a tight tank top with that famous logo right across the middle. There we were, two ladies from a church function, worn out from a day of child-rearing, not looking as fabulous as our waitress, but desperate to have an evening of fun with a friend, no matter where we had to go. We sat there at Hooters, eating fried pickles and drinking cokes until midnight. We talked and had a great time. Despite where we were, we were just two friends getting away for a little sanity. It was evening we will never forget. A good friend is there at all times.


2) The Junior High Dance

My oldest daughter, Morgan, was at her school dance on a Friday night. Carolyn and I had decided to hang out. Even though we didn't have any plans, we decided we would just play it by ear. When she arrived, it was getting close to time to pick Morgan up from her dance. We decided to go early and see how a junior high dance today compared to our adolescent days of girls standing on one side of the room and boys standing on the other, too nervous to dare ask someone of the opposite sex to dance. We were going to simply investigate, even though Morgan will tell you we came to spy on her.

Well, times have definitely changed! There was no one standing by a wall anywhere. In fact, this dance resembled my college days when we would spend a night out going from club to club on 6th Street in downtown Austin. These kids could dance! Not only that, but they had moves that would make a Baptist preacher damn them all to H-E-double hockey sticks in a heartbeat! We stood there, feeling old as dirt. I don't think we realized it, until that moment, but it had been longer than either one of us wanted to admit since we were that age. The one good thing that we both realized that night is that we weren't alone in this thing called aging. A good friend is someone you can grow old with.


3) Shaving My Sick, Hairy Cat

I saved this story for last because I think it represents true friendship more than anything. It was one of those things you do for someone and then halfway through doing it, you realize, "Why in the world am I doing this?" Here it goes:

My cat, Prissy, is a long-haired white cat who just turned 8 years old. When I got her as a kitten, I had no idea that she would be so hairy. In fact, she was from a pregnant stray that my aunt rescued from an alley near her job. When the kittens came, she let Morgan pick one to take home. Morgan picked Prissy, the cute little fuzzy female from the litter. She didn't look like she was from any special breed, such as Himalayan or Persian. Obviously, the daddy cat was from some line of cat royalty because Prissy grew up to be a beautiful long-haired diva cat with a name that fit her personality to a T.

As she's gotten older, her grooming habits have gone downhill a bit. In the Spring, she sheds so much that her fur gets matted up in knots and she coughs up hairballs constantly. Without being too gross, I will simply say that this year has been her worst. The mess has been worse than ever before. To relieve her pain, I have started shaving her each Spring.

Until this year, I have always shaved her myself. Because she hates the sound of the clippers, she freaks out and scratches me every time I attempt to remove the pounds of fur that has knotted up all over her body. I consider this task a form of self-torture, but it has to be done. After all, I love my cat.

About two weeks ago, Carolyn came over for a visit. I told her all about Prissy, the hairballs, the matted fur and how I had to shave her. I told her how much I disliked having to shave my cat because of the pain I have to go through while doing it. Carolyn, being the friend that she is, volunteered to help me. She asked for a pair of kitchen gloves and a sweatshirt to protect her hands and arms. After we got everything set up on the back porch, we began.

At first, Carolyn held Prissy down while I attempted to use the clippers to break through the 2-inch knots on her back. When it didn't work, Carolyn suggested switching positions, with me holding Prissy down and her using the scissors to cut off the big pieces first. There we sat, me holding my cat's head between my legs and her legs with my hands and Carolyn working the scissors through Prissy's hair like she was Edward Scissorhands. All the while, Prissy kept jerking her body and clawing at us with her back paws, desperately trying to free herself.

At one point, Carolyn was holding up Prissy's tail while she cut out chunks of dried poo-poo from the fur around her behind. Yes, I said poo-poo. If just hearing about it grosses you out, imagine my dear friend being the one doing it. Just then, we paused, realizing just how disgusting this was!

I said to Carolyn, "You're a true friend to be doing this. You know that?"

"You're right. I am," is all she said. And we continued grooming my cat until she was completely knot-free. That is true friendship!

So to Carolyn, I say thank you! Thank you for being the friend who shares the fun times. Thank you for being the friend whom memories are made with. And most importantly, thank you for being the friend through all of the poo-poo moments of life. A friend like you is one in a million!

Be a Warrior!!

Don't you hate it when you want to do something but can't find the time to do it? It happens to me all of the time. For instance, I haven't found time to type a blog everyday like I wanted. Either a child starts demanding my attention or I have a to-do list that's miles long. Frustrating!

I have so many things I want to write about and not nearly the amount of time I need to complete them. So, I'm left with a few moments each day to share something small with you, in hopes that you will be encouraged, inspired or just touched by the simple message.

Today, I have to write ANOTHER letter to our auto maintenance warranty company. They denied us AGAIN! (See "Contracts... Agh!" for the story about that). It is such a travesty that we must fight to get our own money back, money that is rightfully our's. But that's how it goes with a lot of things: fighting for something that already belongs to us.

I guess if I had to figure out something to learn from this whole experience and other experiences like it, it would be something like this: The things we have to fight for are usually more appreciated in the end. It's true. Things easily won are things easily taken for granted.

In our marriages, we fight to work through the challenges that all married couples face. With our children, we fight to go against what the world says is right and do what we know is right in our hearts. Sometimes with my teenager Morgan, I fight myself just to keep from locking her up in her room for the next 5 years. Life is full of battles to win or lose. I think the important thing is that it is better to fight and lose than to never fight at all. And the victories are oh so sweet!

I'm going to write another letter, now. Those warranty people need to get ready. This warrior chick is not giving up. I'll fight until I win and get my money back. Then, I'll go to Starbucks and the mall to celebrate.

Be a warrior! Never give up!

Spring Cleaning: Part 2

So many of you wanted to know how the garage sale went, so I wanted to give you an update.

I managed to go through every room of the house and clear out at least one box of things. I even cleared out my monster linen closet. It was, literally, one of those closets where things jump out at you. I could hear it growl at me every time I passed it. Scary!

I was up until almost midnight putting price tags on everything. Then, I had to get up at 6 a.m. to set up for the sale. No sleep-late Saturday for me!

It was worth it. I made $175 and my house is clean. Well, actually, my house is NEVER "clean." I should say that it is "cleaned out." Until the toys disappear, "clean" will not be possible. But I feel better. Just knowing that there is less clutter makes me feel more organized.

The next step is to do some spiritual "de-cluttering." I think I will approach it just I like I did with the house- one room at a time. We all need to take at look at ourselves from time to time and see if we need to "clean out" anything. Our hearts are like a house. We store up so much and then we realize that we are out of space. With a house, we can keep piling it in and just get cluttered. With our hearts, we can become cluttered and have no room left for the good things. The last thing I want is to have a heart full of yucky feeling and no room for the good. And it is funny how we will hold on to the yucky stuff first.

For example, I experienced an offense at church on Sunday. It happened after service while I was walking around talking to everyone. I am a social bug who loves to talk to everyone I know. It was something so small that someone said, but I let it get to me for the rest of the day. Yesterday, it was still bothering me when I woke up. I couldn't seem to let it go. Then, I realized that the person who offended me was probably not even thinking about it at all. In fact, they probably didn't even think about how much it would offend me when they said it in the first place. So, who was suffering from it? Not them! It was I who was letting it take up so much of the space in my heart. Clutter! Yucky clutter!

I really had to work at it to let it go. But by getting rid of that unnecessary clutter, I opened up space in my heart for something better, something positive. It was only hurting me to hold onto it. After I let it go, I had a wonderful day spending time with a good friend and filling my heart with good memories, along with a really funny story that will soon be a blog entry. Just wait, you will laugh your head off...

De-clutter your heart and fill it with good stuff. After all, even our hearts need a spring cleaning!

Spring Cleaning

This weekend is our neighborhood garage sale. We hold 1 twice a year and it's huge. There are so many people that come to it that they just park their cars and walk the streets from sale to sale. It's a great opportunity to get rid of things and make a little money at the same time. I decided to use the garage sale as an incentive to do some spring cleaning.

Today is Thursday. The sale is Saturday. I have 1 bag of stuff gathered so far. The rest of the house has yet to be cleaned out. As I sat down to write this morning, I felt so overwhelmed by the task in front of me. I have no idea how in the world I will find the time to go through each room of my house and pull things out, as well as put price tags on them, before Saturday. Right now, I'm looking at a mountain, figuratively speaking.

As I pondered the thought of this mountain, I realized how often we face big tasks before us with no idea how to start tackling them. Many times, I just give up and forget to do it altogether. If you're a perfectionist like me, you know how hard this can be on your self-esteem. When I give up, I usually feel like a total failure. However, I'm reminded that it is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all.

So often, we look at a mountain and never even take one step towards climbing it. When we do this, we will never know if we would have been able to climb it or not. At least by trying, we can say that we made the effort. In all actuality, any accomplishment is better than none at all.

If I only find time to clean out 4-5 of the 10 rooms in my house, it's better than not cleaning any of them. Sure, I would make more money at my sale if I have more things to sale, but any money is more than I had to start with.

We've all heard the saying "Don't make mountains out of molehills." It's true. If I look at each room as a small molehill, then I'm not really looking at a mountain at all.

It's true for the task or trial that you may be facing, too. Just like my house, full of rooms to be cleaned, your mountain is really a lot of small molehills. If you will tackle them one by one, you will be surprised by how much you can really accomplish.

So I leave you with this thought: Don't allow the tasks or trials in front of you stop you from trying. Start small. If you can only accomplish half of your goals, it's okay. The word to remember is 'accomplish.' You didn't fail to complete things. You accomplished many things. The rest will get done, just maybe not today.

Now it's time for me to start spring cleaning. I'll be sure to let you know how well it goes. I may surprise myself and accomplish more than I expect. The important thing is that I'm starting out with the right attitude.

Have a blessed day!

The Phone Button

Ever wonder if there is a tantrum button inside your kids that is remote-activated by the telephone? I call it "The Phone Button."

Let me explain...

I usually make any phone calls that I need to make first thing in the morning. That way, I get it out of the way and can mark it off my to-do list. However, it seems that there is this "button" inside my kids that is immediately activated by the phone. Every time I pick it up, they automatically start misbehaving.

Scenario: It's early in the morning. My older girls have left for school. My 2 younger children are fed and watching Sesame Street. I have read my daily devotional. The house is peaceful and quiet, other than the sound of Elmo singing something to the tune of "Jingle Bells" on the television. It is the perfect opportunity for me to make a phone call. I pick up the phone and dial.

"Hello," says the person on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, it's Melanie. How are you?"

"I'm great. What's up?"

"Not much. I was just calling to talk to you about something important," I say.

From the living room, World War III begins. Was it because I picked up the phone? Was it the sound of my voice talking to someone other than them? No, it was that hidden tantrum button inside each of their little bodies and it was just activated by the phone. What happened to the peaceful room I just walked out of? What happened to the cheerful sounds of Elmo? What is a mom to do?

I continue my conversation, with screaming kids in the background, killing each other over some toy that neither one of them ever plays with. Except now, it's the most popular toy in the house.

In comes the baby. He falls on the floor right next to me, screaming at a pitch that can cause a person to go deaf. I pick him up, still talking on the phone and unable to hear a single word that the person is saying, and I carry him back to the living room. As I walk back to kitchen, he follows me, screaming at an even higher pitch than the last one.

"Just a second," I say to the person on the other end, "I need to put the phone down and handle this."

"No problem. Take your time," says my understanding friend.

I put the phone down and beat my kids. Just kidding. Actually, I walk into the living room and very calmly tell them that they will both be in trouble if they don't stop screaming while I'm on the phone. Sometimes, I have to send one of them to their room. Then, after getting everyone under control, I return to the phone.

"Sorry about that," I say.

"You handled that well," says my supportive friend. And we continue our conversation.

I wish I could tell you that it ends there. I wish I could tell you that there is no more fighting from the living room. Unfortunately, the tantrum button does not deactivate until the phone is back on the receiver.

From the living room, the screaming and fighting begins almost immediately after I begin talking with my friend again. This time, I give up trying to carry on a conversation and I let the person go.

"I'm so sorry. I'll have to call you back when they are napping."

"That's fine. I'll be here," says my wonderful friend, "Bye."

"Goodbye."

Without fail, the screaming and fighting ceases the very minute I say goodbye. As I walk into the living room, they give me that satisfied look as if to say, "we got our way."

I wish that was the end of it. But now I have to punish them for their behavior and remind them of the rule to be quiet while I'm on the phone.

Will it work? I'm not sure. If I could only find that hidden button and remove it. Until then, please be patient with me if you are the person on the other end if the phone. After all, your kids might have the same button...

It's Raining, It's Pouring

I just absolutely LOVE the rain! I woke up this morning to the sounds of thunder and lightning. Shortly after that came the downpour. Thankfully, the girls had already gotten on their buses and were off to school before the rain started.

I don't know what I like so much about rainstorms. It's actually kind of surprising that I like them at all because the storms used to scare me as a child.

Anytime it would rain with lightning and thunder, I would wake up and want to go to my parents' bedroom. Now, most kids would just run to the bedroom and jump in the bed with their parents. Not me. First, I would carry my sister (whom I shared a room with) into Mom and Dad's room and put her on a blanket on the floor. Then, I would get my 2 brothers, one by one, and bring them into the room. Finally, after I had moved the whole family into one room, I would lay down on the blanket with my siblings and go back to sleep.

I'm not sure what I was so afraid of. It might have been the loud sound of the thunder or the way the whole room would light up from the lightning. Sometimes, the electricity would go out and I would get really scared because it would be so dark in the house. We slept with several nightlights spread throughout the house, so it was only pitch dark if the electricity was out. Whatever the reason, I felt safest if the whole family was together in one room.

Now that I'm a mom myself, I don't have my parents' room to run to when I get scared. I'm the parent that my kids run to when they're scared. Lucky for me, none of them wake up the whole family and move them to one room like I did. But what am I to do if I am the one who becomes afraid? From time to time, I allow fear to take hold of me and I wish that I had a parents' room to run to.

We all face different types of storms in our lives. Many times, the thunder and lightning can scare us. I'm sure we have all wished for a room to run to in those fearful moments. The thing is, fear can only hurt us if we allow it to hurt us. In reality, it can't really hurt us at all. It can make us physically sick or cause us to lose focus on what's really important, but fear itself is powerless. God's Word says that perfect love cast out all fear. And it's really as simple as that.

If we stay in the presence of God's love, there is no place for fear to come in. It's like being in my parents' bedroom. I felt completely safe in that room, so the fear was gone. In the bedroom of God's love there is no room for fear. It's where we can go to stay focused on Him and surrender all of the storms of life to His power. By doing so, those storms are powerless. Fear is powerless.

As I listen to the rain outside, I thank you God for your love that casts out my fears. I am thankful that You have shown me that fear cannot hurt me. I am thankful that you will carry me through the storms of life. The thunder will come. The lightning will come. The electricity might go out. But your bedroom will always be there when I need a place to run to.

Kindergarten Round-up

Today is "Kindergarten Round-up" for our school district, so I'm going to sign Sarah up for kindergarten, this morning. There's more to come...

Added Note to "Contracts...Agh!"

Just wanted to make a correction to my post, today. The contract issue was NOT with Honda. It was an independent company. Honda is great. We will most likely buy another Honda Odyssey when we are reading to trade in. Keep buying Honda's!!

Contracts... Agh!!!

Don't you just love signing contracts when you buy a car, house, large appliance, etc.? (Yes, I meant that sarcastically)

Seriously, we have to sign our life away just to get a cell phone these days. It can be very frustrating. Besides the time it takes to actually read the contract (Yes, I really read it), the very idea that there can be so many "terms and conditions" to agree upon is downright ridiculous.

So, I just have to use today's blog to vent a little. I prayed before I began writing and asked God to somehow use this frustrating experience that I am about to share to teach us something valuable. Let's see how it goes...

The Story
Scott and I bought a new Honda minivan in April 2003. We also bought an extended warranty to cover the vehicle maintenance up to 100,000 miles. According to the contract (I strongly dislike that word, right now), the cost of the warranty would be completely refunded to us if we did not use it within the term of the contract.

Everyone knows that Honda makes a great vehicle. The Honda Odyssey has been rated #1 in the minivan category for a long time. So, chances were in our favor that we would never need to use the extended warranty.

One month ago, we rolled 100,000 miles on our reliable minivan and realized that we were going to be able to get our refund, after all. How exciting! It's kind of like tax time when you find out your getting a refund instead of owing the I.R.S. I don't know about you, but I can come up with a list of things to buy before the check is even printed.

After meeting the mileage requirement of the contract, Scott filled out the paperwork and sent in for our refund. A few days ago, we got a letter back denying our refund. Without going into great detail about why the company was wrong in denying our refund, I will simply say that I have never spent (wasted) so much time reading and re-reading the fine print of a contract before. There are a million and one things I would rather read. But I have 4 kids, so I rarely read anything. However, I can now quote that wonderful contract.

After familiarizing myself with the contract, I wrote a letter of reply stating the incorrectness of the reason for our refund denial and am preparing to mail it today. It took 1 1/2 hours to read the contract, another hour to write the letter, and now I am spending my important blogging time to vent about it. All I can say is, "Agh!!!"

"Agh!" Okay, I feel better.

So here's the part when God shows up and tells us what we can learn from my contract experience.

Even though we may have to sign contracts for everything we purchase/ sign up for, there will never be a contract to sign in order to receive the free gift of God's love and salvation. Jesus already signed that contract for us, in His blood. Isn't that awesome? He loves us so much that He gave us the most important gift of all without having to sign the contract. And in the end, it's the only contract that will matter. So, is your name on it? If not, all you have to do is ask, no signature required.

Today I say, "Thank you God. Thank you for using every challenging circumstance in my life to remind me of how much you love me. Even though you may not rescue me from the struggles of this world, the gift of eternity will carry me through them."

Thank God It's...Monday?

Yes, I am so excited it is Monday. I couldn't wait to write today's blog entry. I was so blessed by everyone's comments and e-mails last week. It is so awesome to know that one person's life can touch someone else's, even if it is only in a small way. The truth is that it's the small things that really make a difference in the big scheme of things. So, thank you to everyone for reading!

The weather was beautiful this weekend. When it is nice outside, my family doesn't spend any time indoors. We just can't get enough of the beautiful sunshine. Scott always has an ongoing list of projects to complete, so he can keep himself pretty busy in the garage. Clay got a plastic tool set for Christmas, so he likes to help Daddy "fix" things.

It is so amazing how early in life a little boy shows preference to the typical boy toys. No one had to point him to the toys that are meant for boys or tell him, "no playing with baby dolls." From the time he was able to choose what he played with, he chose them on his own. Now, I wouldn't have a problem with him playing with his sisters' toys. In fact, he did carry a doll around for about 5 minutes one day. I'm just glad to know that my husband finally has a little buddy to hang out with and do all the things that boys do.

Speaking of hanging out with a buddy, I would like to share something I learned about my husband recently. Scott and I are taking a marriage class called "Dynamic Marriages." So far, it has been life-changing. We have discovered so much about each other that we never knew before. It's like we are dating again.

Each week, we have daily homework assignments. A few of the assignments must be completed together as a couple. The topics are different every week.

Last week's topics were 1. Communication and 2. Recreational Companionship. Up until doing this assignment, I thought that Scott and I had no common interests in the area of recreational activities. I mean, we both like to go out to dinner and to see a movie, but I never thought there were other things beyond that. For example, I love rollerblading and Scott would probably die trying to rollerblade. He likes to go hunting and I have no desire to sit in a deer blind for hours, waiting to shoot something. I like acting in plays and he would rather have an elective surgery than be in a play. He loves watching every single type of football game that airs on television from Friday to Monday nights. I can tolerate about 10 minutes of football and then I'm ready to go hang out with the ladies in the kitchen. As you can see, our tastes are quite different. That's why I was pleasantly surprised by our homework results.

The assignment was for each spouse to go through a very long list of recreational activities and rate each one from -3 to +3 based on how much you disliked or liked the activity. After that, we were to go through the list together and total each activity's score. Anything that scored a 6 was an activity that we would both enjoy. The list had everything for yachting to taxidermy. Yes, taxidermy was listed as recreational. Weird!

After getting together to complete the assignment, we discovered that we had a lot of common interests. We would both like to play tennis. We have tennis rackets that we have never used, so now it's time to use them. We both enjoy going on walks and I can't even understand why we weren't already doing that. Scott likes to play golf and I'm interested in learning to play golf, so I'm really excited to have him teach me. The list goes on...

Besides coming up with a list of activities we can do together, I discovered how important it is to Scott to do these things with me. Boys may grow up to be men, but they still just want someone to "play" with them. Having his wife as his #1 buddy is very exciting for him. Sure, he is thrilled to have a son who will work alongside him in the garage doing "boy stuff." But spending time with his wife is in a category of it's own. After all, I am his best friend.

So this week, my goal is spend more time doing recreational things with my husband (remember the weekly goal thing). No, I'm not going to drag him to the mall with me or expect him to sing karaoke somewhere. Instead, I'm going to focus on the things that we would both enjoy. After all, it's not about what we are doing that matters. It's about who we are doing it with (as long as it's legal). When I married Scott, he was the person I vowed to spend the rest of my life with. Now, with our new list of fun stuff to do, the rest of our lives will be very exciting.

This week's challenge: Go on a date with your spouse. If you're not married, go find a spouse (just kidding!). Spend time with those you love. After all, they are the people that God gave to you.

Rollerblading with a Pro

Happy Friday!

I have decided not to post a blog on the weekends, since we are so busy with kids' birthday parties, sporting events, and just getting outside as much as possible. Speaking of being outside, I thought I would share a funny story about my favorite outdoor sport: rollerblading.

I started rollerblading just after Anna was born in 2001. I loved going to the skating rink as a child, so I thought rollerblading would be fun. After learning the hard way that the brakes were on the back by falling flat on my face, I was good to go.

The first summer of rollerblading was focused on just learning how not to fall. I wore every piece of protective gear they make, so at least I looked like a professional.

The next few years, I got pretty good. I can skate forwards, backwards and can spin around in circles. And, I can go FAST! While this all sounds great, there is still one little dilemma- I can't use my brakes. I mean, I know they are in the back (remember, learned the hard way), but just can't use them to stop myself. So, I run off into the grass to stop.

The grass method of stopping was working for me... until a few weeks ago.

In the past, I have always invited friends to skate with me. My 13 year-old, Morgan, skates with me, too. However, she has a tendency to leave me behind.

The friends that have skated with me are usually on the same level as me. They have skated a few times or may have roller bladed in high school, but none are avid rollerbladers... except Jennifer.

Jennifer and I talked about getting together to Rollerblade for almost a year before we actually did it. So, a few weeks ago, I dusted off my skates for the first time this Spring and decided to "roll" on over to Jen's house. She was excited to join me. She said she hadn't skated in years, so she had no idea what condition her skates were in. I'm thinking," Okay, I'm going to have to take my time and be patient with her today." Little did I know, I was dealing with a pro.

Out come the skates: name-brand, high-dollar skates that the pros wear. She put on her gear and off we were. After skating just one block, I realized it was me that she was going to have to take her time and be patient with. I was eating her dust!

We started out on flat ground, so the braking problem was not an issue. I can coast to a stop when the ground is flat. After a while, we decided to take some of the walking trails through our neighborhood. The walking trails are a lot of fun because they are winding and hilly.

There we were, skating through the trees on the trails and having a blast. So far, I wasn't having any trouble keeping up with Jen or with stopping with my brakes. She showed me how to get into the right stance to use the back-brakes without falling on my behind. I practiced the technique a few times and it seemed to work for me, at least on level ground.

Just as we were nearing the end of the long trail, all of my newly learned braking skills went straight out the window. The trail was very curvy at that point, AND downhill! I panicked! I totally forgot everything Jen had showed me and started skating out of control. As I got going faster and faster, I realized I only had 2 options. My choices were to skate off into the grass, resorting to my old method of stopping, or continue skating out of control down the trail until I got to the street at the end and risk falling on the pavement. I opted to skate off into the grass.

Skating off into the grass usually would have worked for me, except that I was skating WAY too fast. The minute my skates hit the grass, my body was going faster than the grass would let my feet go. I tried to run with it, which is very hard to do in skates. After a few steps, my body flew through the air and landed face-down in the grass. OUCH! It felt like my shoulders had pushed up into my brain. I wanted to just lay there until someone could come rescue me.

Then, behind me I heard Jen calling, "Are you okay." She passed by me, in that perfect stance, using her brakes to slowly skate down the curvy path. She looked so professional. My pride got the best of me; so I stood up in a very cool manner and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about this grass stain on my shorts." Inside, I was thinking," How in the world am I going to get home in this much pain?" I guess this was one of those rare instances when pride can be a good thing. I couldn't dare tell my pro-skater friend that I couldn't skate home, so I swallowed my pain and skated home, anyway.

Jen and I haven't skated together since that day. I plan to invite her again this weekend. So Jen, if you are reading this, be prepared for my phone call. This time, I will master the braking technique that you showed me. After all, my pride depends on it.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Try something new... just be careful that you're not doing it with a pro.

A Special Request

My 6 year-old, Anna, was born with a rare chromosome disorder known as Monosomy 1P36. What that means is that she is missing a segment of genes on one of her #1 chromosomes. What it means for her, developmentally, is that she is very delayed. At age 6 1/2, she does not sit up unassisted, cannot walk or speak a single word. As far as her health goes, she is doing well. Many children with her disorder have trouble with seizures, severe reflux, lung problems and other serious health issues.

Anna has been very blessed by a pretty clean bill of health and a very happy disposition. She had issues with reflux, but they were resolved by a very successful surgical procedure. She has dealt with seizure disorder, but is currently seizure-free. This is probably one of the most important aspects of her health and well-being.

The children with Anna's disorder who struggle with seizures have a very difficult time. I have two close friends who I have met through our children. Both of their daughters suffered with seizures. One of the little girls, just 1 1/2 years younger than Anna, passed away last Spring.

At that time, Anna had relapsed from a 5-year period without seizures. It was difficult for me because Anna's seizures threatened her life, also. During an episode, she would stop breathing and turn completely blue. I knew that if this sort of episode happened during the night while I was sleeping, there was a chance I would lose her, too. During that time, I had to fight very hard to find peace. I know that God has been taking care of Anna since the day she entered this life. Yet, I found myself wanting to fight with God about what was best for her. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that it didn't matter what would happen because God was in charge and His plan for Anna's life was the right plan.

In August 2007, her seizures stopped. She was put on a medication that has very little side-effect. Since then, she has been her normal, happy, energetic and giggly self. I am thankful that she is once again seizure-free. Yet, at the same time, I sympathize with my friend whose daughter still struggles with uncontrollable seizures.

Yesterday, she informed me that her daughter's seizures are now lasting up to an hour at a time. They have exhausted every type of treatment, surgery and medicine known to help seizure disorders like this. Nothing has helped. The doctor has told them that they are left with 2 options: 1. take her to the E.R. each time to be put into a medicine-induced coma or 2. keep her home and watch her closely so she doesn't die during an episode. Neither choice sounds acceptable to me, so I ask for your prayers.

To those of you who know God's miraculous healing power, pray for Holly. I ask you to pray that God lay His hands upon her and heal her body of these seizures. Many of you prayed for Anna during her ordeal and have seen, firsthand, what God can do. I believe He can do the same for Holly.

If you are reading this and have never asked God for anything, its never too late to start. Whatever your needs are today, He knows. Whatever you have thought to ask for, He is waiting for you to ask. If you have ever felt like He wasn't listening, He was. He always listens. Today is the day to start trusting Him.

One Proud Mama

Ever have those days when everything goes right and you are kinda surprised by it? Well, yesterday was one of those days...

It started out the same as always. I got Anna and Morgan off to school, wrote my blog, read my devotional and, most importantly, drank my cup of coffee. I really enjoy my coffee!

I had to go to the grocery store, since I never made it on Monday. So, we got ready to go and made it to the store before lunchtime- which is a miracle in itself. I seem to have the hardest time getting ANYWHERE before lunchtime these days. Thank God I don't have to get to a job on time! I'd be fired. Getting to church by 8:30 Sunday morning is hard enough.

Okay, so back to the story...

We made it through the grocery store without too much fighting between Sarah and Clay, meaning they didn't beat each other up as they sat side by side in the red car cart. On a side note, the red car cart is this gigantic cart shaped like a car with steering wheels that hold 2 kids. While it does a great job of entertaining the little ones, maneuvering the monstrosity 'round corners and down aisles should be an olympic event in itself. Yet, I'd rather push that cart and keep them entertained than push a regular, boring cart. It's actually a pretty good workout.

While at the store, Sarah spotted the baby bananas. She insisted that we buy them for her favorite monkey, Curious George, a.k.a. Georgie. Georgie is Sarah's pal. He goes everywhere that we go. She sleeps with Georgie, plays outside with Georgie, and even puts him safely in a cubby at church each Sunday. If he gets lost, everyone in the house frantically searches for him until he's found. Needless to say, Sarah loves Georgie very much. Seeing how much it meant to her that I buy the baby bananas no bigger than my thumb, I bought a bundle just for Georgie. I even took a picture of him, sitting on the counter with his bananas. See picture below:

We had so much fun doing Georgie's "photo shoot." Seeing how much Sarah loves Georgie just touched my heart. My daughter loves him so much that she even wants to buy food for him and take his picture. She's one proud mama to that monkey, which makes me one proud mama, too.

After our photo shoot, the rest of the day went just as well. I actually got the chance to mop the floors and wash all of the laundry. I even went through their closets and packed up the clothes that didn't fit. It was a productive day.

After dinner, I had to take Sarah to gymnastics. She just moved up to higher class and last night was her first night in the new class. I have to brag a little and tell you that she did awesome! She not only kept up with the other girls, but even did better on some of the skills. Then, she did her cartwheel so well that her coach showed her how to do a one-handed cartwheel and told her to practice that for the rest of the time. I got tears in my eyes as I watched my 4 year-old do what she loves best. Yes, I may be a little emotional, but what can I say? I'm just one proud mama.

Days like yesterday is what it's all about. It wasn't some out-of-the-ordinary day or anything. Just a day that went well. A day to just appreciate what God has given me. A day to look at the simple things and be proud. A day to remember on those other days that don't go so well. After all, life is not perfect. Life is full of it's ups and downs. But if we will focus on the good times, it will be a little easier to get through the rest.

Sarah on the trampoline:

It is Okay to Cry

I tried to get to the grocery store all day, yesterday. When I left for the bank and store at lunchtime, my son threw a fit in the car. After trying to calm him down at the bank, I decided to give up and go home. I had plenty of chores waiting for me at home, anyways.

Shortly after arriving home, my aunt Sandra called. Even though she is my aunt, there is only a 5-year age difference between us; so we are more like sisters. She lives 3 1/2 hours away and has a houseful of boys who keep her very busy, so we don't get to talk much. It was perfect timing because I had just been thinking about her that morning and thought to myself that I would call her when I had time. It's funny how God arranges that!

We haven't had a good conversation in over a year, so we ended up chatting through our kids' entire naptime- 2 1/2 hours! We talked about everything 2 moms could talk about. It was so refreshing!

Towards the end of our conversation, Sandra shared with me the struggle she has with dealing with the loss of her second son, Jacob. Jacob would be 3 1/2 years old now, but died just before being born in June 2004. His umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck and tightened just days before his due date. There was a funeral. Sandra had some of his things framed to hang in memory of him. She also took pictures of him and created a special photo album. And then, about 6 months later, she and her husband decided to get pregnant again and Jaden was born the following summer. Baby Justin followed 2 years later.

Sandra expressed how difficult it is, even today, to think about Jacob. Each holiday is a reminder that he is not here. And while it seems like no one else remembers him, he is so much a part of her heart every day. She cried, but said she felt silly for crying about it. I encouraged her to cry as much as she needed. Even though I can't understand completely how it must feel to lose a child, I know how important it is to cry when you need to cry.

I pray that I never experience the loss of a child. It is a pain we never want to feel. If, however, you have experienced such loss, CRY! Cry as much as you need. It is releasing and lifting. God is holding every single tear that you shed in the palm of His hand. He gave us those tears for a reason. He knew that our lives on Earth would bring all kinds of painful experiences, so He gave us the gift of tears. When you feel like you are all alone and no one in this world can understand exactly what you are facing, He completely understands. He invites you to bring your whole heart to Him. Trust Him.

I look at the day before me. I don't know what it holds. I trust that God will give me what I need to get through this day. He always does! Sister, He has equipped you, too. Be brave, be strong, and cry if you need to.

A Day to Reflect

As I sat at my computer this morning, my 18 month-old son ran around the kitchen in his fuzzy blue pajamas, looking for something to climb on. My 4 year-old was busy watching "Curious George" on PBS and drinking her chocolate soymilk. This is the norm for my mornings.

Just as I got an idea for my first blog, I heard the kitchen chair behind me start scooting across the floor. I turned around to see my son standing on the chair at the cabinet, digging in a box of vanilla wafers. Vanilla wafers...hmm... not the best choice for breakfast, you say? I agree. However, this was not the first food I offered him for breakfast.

I started my Monday, as usual, with a new weekly goal. You see, this year I decided that I would set weekly goals that are more attainable, rather than stress myself out with some New Year's resolution that I would end up breaking by January 15- my usual day of defeat. So far, the weekly goal thing is going okay.

This week's goal: to eat a new healthy food. The food: Kefir (a liquid-type yogurt very high in good bacteria). My first response to kefir was to gag and spit it out. I hate milk products. I like cheese, but anything that resembles milk makes me sick. However, my son thought the kefir was delicious. I even added fish oil to it to give him DHA, which is good for his brain (I'm secretly hoping that he'll be the next Einstein). Poor kid has no idea!

So... after giving him the kefir, I also gave him a bowl of completely organic fruit salad left over from our Easter lunch on Sunday. For some reason, he loved eating it yesterday, but decided to throw it all over the floor today. Then, when I took the tray of food away from him, he threw his cup of kefir on the floor, too. What is a mother to do? Answer: feed him vanilla wafers so he won't go hungry and fail on day 1 of this week's weekly goal.

Bummer!

Even though I have failed at my goal for the week, I reflect on my life's successes. I realize that with every moment I felt like I had failed, there is another moment when I felt like a total success.

My son may have eaten vanilla wafers for breakfast today. My daughter may have watched too many hours of television while I sat at this computer. And I'm sure that if I thought about it, I failed at something while my 2 older daughters were getting ready for school this morning. However, I am raising 4 beautiful children who look past all of my faults and love me just because I'm Mommy.

As I sat with my family in church on Easter Sunday, I cherished the love I had for each of them, dressed in their Sunday best and sitting like perfect little angels. My husband held our 6 year-old on his lap and I held our 4 year-old as we watched a beautiful illustration of Christ's death and resurrection. I can't imagine anything more successful than raising a family.

So... today I focus on the successes of my life. And since I failed at my weekly goal to eat a healthy food, I eat a piece of chocolate candy from the Easter basket.