Happy Birthday to Abby

Well there she is...

My Baby Girl.

Five years ago today I went into the hospital, a mere 15 months after Caleb was born, to give birth to our baby girl. I knew she was going to change our lives. My boys changed our lives too, don't get me wrong. Abby, however, would make things so much.... more...just more. Not only were there more diapers, more feedings, more crying, more sleepless nights, because, after all, I had a 15 month old and a three year old too.

Eventually those things turned into more passion, more laughing, and still more crying...(which came from the passion), more talking, (oh the talking!) and more love.

There is so much love...which also comes from the passion part.

She has changed our lives forever...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's been exactly a month...

...since I last blogged!

I can only say that it has been crazy around here. For example...

Sunday: Mother's Day

Monday: PTA Training all morning, then a bunch of errands for everyone else but me, baseball practice

Tuesday: Splash Day at PreSchool, Kindergarten program/PTA mtg where I was elected president...yep.

Wednesday: Kindergarten field trip, baseball game

Thursday: Last day of PreSchool, PreSchool program, shopping for stuff, baseball practice, photo shoot, praise team practice

Friday: Field Day, VBS shopping

Saturday: VBS Work all day

So that's just a small snapshot of the way our life is going right now. We are having a good time, just busy. School is over for Abby and just a couple of weeks left for Caleb and Jacob. Then it's summer time!

I am really looking forward to having no schedule for awhile! I am a creature of structure but I enjoy short bursts of NON-structure...and summer serves exactly that purpose.

God is really blessing my family right now and I am ready to bask in the blessing of God...and the sun...for that matter.

For now, this moment...no really this exact minute...I'm resting.

Waiting and waiting and more waiting.

I'm sure by now all both of my readers have fired me from blogging! It's been like a month, or something.

I have no good excuses. Just busy with many, many things and blogging is just not very high on the priority list.

Right now, though, things are slightly slower. Actually slower than I want things to be. I am waiting to see what God does next in my life. There's something kind of big just hanging out there in the wings and it's just not time yet. I know it's there. I know it's something God has led me to. I am just waiting and waiting and waiting for God to bring it to center stage.

There are many pieces to the puzzle that can't fit into the whole until THIS ONE PIECE is in place. So I am just waiting and waiting and waiting. Consequently other things/people are waiting and waiting and waiting.

There are some decisions that need to be made in a timely fashion and I just pray that I am making the right decisions in order for the puzzle to be pieced together nicely and not forced together just because it looks "close enough" to fitting.

The one thing I am struggling with most, is, ironically, not the "not knowing" it's the "waiting to know". I feel confident in God no matter which direction He nudges me...I just wish He would go ahead and nudge! I am also mostly confident in the direction that He ultimately WILL nudge me...I just wish He would go ahead and do it.

So to that end, I am waiting and waiting and waiting. God alone will let me know when it's time. In the meantime, I'll work on being ok with waiting.

Phone Photo Phun

These are some pics from my phone...hence the title..."Phone Photo Phun" Yes I know, I know, that's not how you spell "fun" but I was going for some alliteration...humor me ok people. Anyway. Here are some fun pics from my phone that I thought I would share with all both of my readers.

Caleb's "loose" tooth turned into a "lost" tooth.



Jacob "working" at an old western barn cleaning a branch to make into a table leg. He learned real quick like that he enjoyed his modern day pre-made furniture.



Jacob and his dinosaur diorama he made for a project and for his Dinosaur Rock music program. He did "most" of the work himself. I of course used the glue gun but he did the rest...except for the flying pteradactl...daddy flew him.



Caleb holding a baby mouse that the Kindergarten teachers had...don't worry...they are pets. In case you were thinking the brand new school they just opened was infested...rest assured...they are pet mice that the Kindergarten teacher raises to feed to the snake...you read it correctly...



Me and my Snuggie...yep...I am the proud owner of a leopard print Snuggie. I even took it to my class the day I was sick. ummmm...yesIdid...I said I was a PROUD owner.



Abby and her bestie friend Ginger and their make-up action. And yes...they look eerily like sisters.



Abby and her bestie friend Ginger. They were dressing up...but not as street walkers as you might first think...oh no...they are clearly Disney princesses!

The Story of My Life

Sorry about the quality of the pics...I took them with my phone...



My mom gave this to me some time ago. She said when she saw it she thought of me...

I don't really know why...

Except that I DO have sticky floors 100% of the time.
My oven is ALWAYS filthy, which is to say NEVER clean.

So if that makes me a good mother, bring it on! In fact if those two items are the measure by which all mothers are measured...then I FOR SURE have pretty much secured Mother of the Year for...like...the next...100 years! Sorry about your luck other moms, but I have clenched the title.

If it also means that I have happy children, then I will gladly pour maple syrup on my floor and in my carpet and I will rub grease on the inside of my oven and light it on fire.

Anything to have happy children. (My mother is FREAKING out at the thought of having to clean that up this weekend when she comes to visit.)

Don't worry Mom...It's just Abby's room that I need help with.






See?

MOTHER OF THE Y.E.A.R.

The Near Future-Cast

This time of year is chronically busy around our house. Each year the late Winter/early Spring time is C.R.A.Z.Y.

It's baseball time.
It's D-Now time.
It's Easter time.

This year is particularly crazy because I am in school and we are travelling a bit to teach at other D-Nows.

So the Future-cast for the next few weeks looks like this:

*This week Mon-Thurs and Sat - I have class

*Saturday I am supposed to have a team mom mtg so I somehow must split myself in half and be in two places at one time...any ideas?

*Paul has a crazy schedule this week with D-Now prep that consists of meetings on Wed and Fri nights, plus shopping for food and making plenty of copies...etc.

*This week also kicks off Baseball practice two nights a week...THANKFULLY...the boys are on the same team this year!

*This weekend is D-Now and that will be....yep...you guessed it! C.R.A.Z.Y....THANKFULLY...my parents are coming on Friday to watch the kids for D-Now so Paul and I can concentrate on D-Now and class.

*Next week is MARCH people! Is that a shocker to anyone else? We have to have some sort of birthday party for Caleb and I have class on Mon, Tues, and Wed.

*NEXT WEEK I FINISH MY CLASS ON WEDNESDAY!!!

*Then Paul teaches another D-now for the weekend.(not our church)

*After that I suppose we will take a break. Oh yeah! Spring Break!

*I take some wedding photos to start the break and then we get to go to visit my parents while Paul and I teach a D-Now over the weekend ending spring break and THEN we will rush back on Sunday for our Easter Celebration and concert.

*And THEN the NEXT week is EASTER! Which of course means that the youth will be going to the Pre-Easter retreat.

Now I am going to take a nap.
Thank you.
Amen.

I know...I know...It's been too long...

What can I say. I have failed as a blogger lately. But I have some really good reasons....I think.

I have been taking classes to get my teacher's certification and I take the test tomorrow. Ironically the test has very little to do with the practical application in the classroom, but the "powers that be" say I have to know all kinds of "educational gobble-de-gook" (and yes, that is a technical term)to pass the test.

So.

I.
Have.
Been.
Studying.

It has been quite brutal. I have been going to class 4 nights a week and my family is really taking it well. We have been eating dinner at 4:00 in the afternoon/evening just to be able to eat together. I spend time with my kiddos after they get out of school and then after I get out of school (at 9pm) I do my homework leaving me awake until the wee hours of the night/morning. I get up and do it all over again!

It has all been leading up to this point. Tomorrow morning. Nine.A.M.

It has been quite some time since I have taken a test like this...let's just say...about ten years. YIKES! I also have not studied quite like this in a few...ahem...10 years. So all of this is adding up to a couple of nerves.

To top it all off, I am having a wee bit of guilt. Caleb's birthday is today and I have been so concentrated on this test, balancing family time and church...and D all of the above, that I did not plan a birthday party for him. For some reason this always happens to Caleb. He is SO good about it too. He is laid back and so comfortable in himself that he just looks at me with those enormous brown eyes and says, "Don't worry Mommy, we can have my party in two weeks."

OMGoodness...Do you love him?

Paul says I am doing a good job of studying and balancing...I hope so. I don't want to regret any part of this. I don't want my kids to suffer in any way. I don't want to fail my test...(and waste my $120!)

Good News? The test is tomorrow.
Bad News? The test is tomorrow.

So after tomorrow things will be better. I hope. Either way the test will be over. I will either pass or fail. I have studied all I am going to study. I either know it or I don't.

He knows my every moment.
He knows the outcome of my test tomorrow.
He knows if I pass or fail.

He knows.

He. knows.