vacation without a baby...

Off to Kentucky we went last weekend with my Dad and stepmom; boy what fun did we have. We have been going for over 20 years and you just can't beat the weather, the foilage, the horse races, Shakertown, and just being in the spirit of autumn. We left Sydney with my in-laws and we didn't even know what hit us. It is a BABY that requires so much time and physical energy. It felt like the first real break from doing something every minute. We could just enjoy the energy, excitement, and spirit of 3 little boys. They loved the horses, loved the cheering, loved hot chocolate, m and m's, and all the animals at Shakertown. We made memories we will never forget. Andrew fell out of the bed twice in the middle of the night; he was sleeping with his new best friend, my sister Maragaret. He fell on the hardwood floors and the second time I put him back in, a minute later we were trying to go back to sleep and he say, "my head!"...

check out my nephew picking his nose :)
also note the sign above the boys head, "Brothers only"

Good mom, bad mom

I think each of this can relate from this devotional. It summarizes me daily. May it encourage you as it has me.

Good Mom, Bad Mom, Good Mom

Lysa TerKeurst



"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26 (NIV)



Devotion:

Good Mom?

Bad Mom?

Good Mom?

Bad Mom?

Do you ever feel as though you are the ping-pong ball in a heated match bouncing constantly between feeling like a good mom to a bad mom?



One minute I have a great discussion where my child finally gets it... GOOD MOM!

The next I get an e-mail from a teacher that lists the three parents who have yet to turn in that permission slip and I am on the list for all the world to see... BAD MOM!

I calmly handle the stresses of the morning routine... GOOD MOM!

But then during the afternoon homework session, my child's irresponsibility over a last minute project just about sends me over the edge. I find my neck muscles tensing and my voice rising... BAD MOM!

I make sure they pack something healthy for lunch... GOOD MOM!

The schedule falls apart in the late afternoon and I wind up feeding them sugar cereal for dinner... BAD MOM!

Sometimes I feel like that ping-pong ball mom bouncing from feeling good to bad. Yesterday morning I sat down at the kitchen table after getting everyone where they needed to be and cried. Sometimes having kids is the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life. Other days I feel like the task of parenting little people is driving me to the brink of craziness.

Just the other day I was processing some recent family things with my friend, Renee, over the phone. Suddenly a strange theme seemed to arise. I just started laughing. I told Renee that so many of my days seemed to tell the same kind of story... I was on the verge of a breakdown and then I spent time with Jesus and He made things better.

Renee quipped back to me, "Well, isn't that where most of us live every day?"

Not that we are on the edge of a breakdown, but we live in a place of utter dependence on God. I know as a mom, I live in constant need of His love, encouragement, wisdom, perspective, strength, patience, and grace.

Anything I do right as a mom is because of my constant dialogs with God.

Anything I do wrong as a mom is because of trying to do things in my own strength and slap wearing myself out.

That's where grace steps in. And I need lots of grace. God's grace steps in and says, “Lysa, you are doing better than you think. Stop bouncing from feeling good to bad to good to bad. In the good times, rejoice and thank me. In the not so good times, call out to me quickly."

And suddenly it occurred to me; with God I'm never a bad mom. I might be having a bad moment... or two... or seventeen. But a few bad moments do not define me as a bad mom.

God's grace is there to cover me. Teach me. And even in the middle of a bad moment, interrupt me, redirect me, and change me.

Forgiveness is there.

Love is there.

A second chance is there.



You are a good mom my friend even if, like me, you’ve had a few bad moments... you are the exact mom God knew your children needed. Let's live in that truth today.


Dear Lord, being a mom is a great privilege but one that can be so challenging at times. Teach me how to lean on You with every action and every reaction. And when I mess up, please help me to not define myself by my mommy failures. Help me to only be defined by Your love that assures me and Your grace that covers me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Milestones

Tonight after dinner, the kids were all being especially cute so in my tender spot, I decided I would have a "cookie" attack as Bobby calls it. He decided he would dim the lights and after we cleaned up dinner, I would serve each person a cookie and they could dip it milk and we could dip ours in coffee. They all got so excited and we all sat down at 8 pm to eat our snack before bed..... Silence then Andrew lets out some gas.

Background, my mother calls them "poodaloodles" these days for children.

Andrew looks up at all of us and says, " I poodaloodled" and points to his hiney! Needless to say the boys cracked up and Andy and I did as well for other reasons, knowing in our hearts that he gets another concept and communicates it in English. It was a good 60 second belly laughing experience for all.

We all know what was next... when you laugh at a child and get that great of reaction, you do it 10 more times.

One week in the life of me...(Since it is all about ME!)

These are stories that at the time I knew to laugh, but some I just couldn't. Now that the week has passed and I did indeed survive, I have to write them out.

To begin the weekend, we started before church with a flat tire...

We also began with me leaving on the laundry sink for two hours and flooding our laundry room and family room. After three dehumidifiers, fans, tearing up padding and floors, 1700 dollars later, we don't have mold and it is dry. It isn't put back together, but hey the dryer works! whew...

Tuesday, Thomas, Andrew, and a friend were playing and I went to put Sydney down for a nap and change her diaper, so let's say five minutes I was gone. It is amazing to see how Andrew does some things where he has no clue how wrong they just are. Thomas calls for me and says, "Mom, Andrew is opening some containers." I think, "that is a big word for Thomas to use" but hey, I will finish Sydney's diaper and see how many toys he has gotten out. I come downstairs and FLOUR was everywhere, every inch.... through my kitchen, family, room, den, in each of the three's hair, face. The next day I found it behind the sofa. All three of them are laughing and just throwing it everywhere. Thomas and his friend said, "It was Andrew." Classic. You can see from the picture after mommy told Andrew what a bad idea that was, he was very upset.

Next day, the kids are making a fort with 20 pillows and I hear a crash while on the phone. Glass was everywhere again, IN the carpet from my centerpeice that is a large lantern. One hour later, we start again.

Wednesday, my morning routine is pretty fast paced trying to get Bobby and Thomas to school and I had fed them all, changed diapers, helped dressed each of them, made lunches, gotten Bobby's papers together. I poured my tea at 9:05 knowing at 9:15 they had to leave and it was that AHHa moment for ME. I was just about to breathe and pick up the mug and Thomas grabbed his backpack and the mug went into a hundred peices and hot tea everywhere. Are you seeing the them of "EVERYWHERE"--that is how my life felt, just everywhere. I felt like my brain was in the trash, my hands were tied upstairs, my feet running; I needed a dustpan to just sweep all the parts to put them back together.

Thursday, Andrew's circumcision. Who know going to the hospital as a mom of young four is like going to the Ritz. Quiet, wait staff, books, clarity, focus, and it is all for a co-pay of $100. Most moms would be crying that their little one was going under general anesthesia; yes that was not fun, but once gone, I too was gone. I just sat there for an hour basking in the quiet. He did great.


We came home to an energy filled house with my neice and nephew and the rest of my gang. Andrew was wanting to ride his tricycle, ouch!!! During that time, I put Sydney down in the grass to help Thomas ride his bike and I come up to get her from my sister and Sydney smells like smoke. She opens her mouth and she is chewing on a cigarrette butt... wow.

Four hours later after not keeping Andrew still for a moment, we returned to the Emergency Room. Thankfully I didn't have to take Sydney too from her choking hazards! 8 pm I call in backup from a friend while Andy is at his JV football game away. I tried to think, who could I call to come be the stand in mom? I just couldn't think of anyone... I had to go. I was needing those toothpicks to hold my eyelids open. After many pokes and prods and screams we returned with the bleeding having stopped at midnight. He was a trooper.

To finish the week, I poured my tea once again before school and the kids were at school, I took a deep breath... silence... no, I had a friend. I glanced down and there went a mouse running from my fridge to the stove! I just froze.

Comical, funny, stressful, had my fill, angry, and just tired...

RELIEF came on Friday. I had the morning with the litle ones and television; then my mother in law came to help and I got a date with Thomas. Thomas got to tell me his favorite part of our family was when Andrew came home from Ethiopia. ugh, that just makes all of this so worth it. I then came home and Andy didn't have football and just got to enjoy. We went on a quiet date and just enjoyed the weather, the company, and the fact we survived the week. It is the small things in life that make it, isn't it?