Unexpected Things

(1)  I had the stomach flu over the weekend while my entire family was away.  Good because there were no kids to knock on my door every few minutes, but bad because there was no one to bring me 7up and crackers when I needed them.  I know, rookie mom move to not have crackers and 7up during flu season.  So I resorted to asking one of my friends to bring me some.  In my mind, she could quickly run to the store while her hubby watched and kids.  In reality, she was out of town, so her hubby packed up the kids, lugged them into the store, and dropped them off at my house.  Thank God for AMAZING friends!!

(2)  When I got comfortable running 3 miles and my friend asked me what I was going to do next.  Try to get faster or try to run farther?  My answer was neither.  I just wanted to enjoy spending that time with God.  Since then I have just been running my 3 miles a day, but unexpectedly I have gotten faster. 

(3)  Apparently long socks are back in.  They're the Nike ones that I used to wear for basketball when I was a kid.  When I go to the Y after school it is teeming with teenagers.  All of them, even the girls,  have on their workout shorts and tennis shoes with these long socks.   Maybe I should break mine out and join the cool kids:)

(4)  Leaves are dangerous!  One day I was jogging and I saw something scurry in front of me.  I nearly jumped out of my skin and almost twisted my ankle, only to realize that it was just a leaf.  I really hope no one was outside that day to see it.  If so, they got a really good laugh.  The very next day, I was out jogging and it was very windy.  As I'm tooling along a leaf smacks me in the face.  It really hurt.  Darn Kansas wind.

Communicating Respect

We are in between studies in Sunday school, so last Sunday our teacher brought her own lesson, well one from the internet anyway.  25 Ways to Communicate Respect to Your Husband and 25 Ways to Show Your Wife You Love Her.  We didn't have time to get through all of them in class, so Bubba and I went through them at home.  He chose five things I can work on and I chose five he can work on.  Here are mine:

1.  Choose Joy - He did elaborate that I usually do a good job at this, but there's a certain time of the month that I struggle.  I know exactly what he's talking about...'nough said.

2.  Honor His Wishes - The list said to give weight to what your husband thinks is important.  He shared with me that above all else, he would like supper ready when he gets home.  This may come easily to some of you, but I absolutely hate to cook.  Deciding what to make, getting the ingredients from the store, putting the meal together at home, and doing the dishes is pure torture to me.  But since that is what is important to him, I am making that a priority. 

3.  Be Thankful - Be appreciative for everything your husband does for you, big or small.  Always say thank you.  This should be easy, but I know that sometimes I let my pride get in the way of this.  He did say that I am not a complete failure at this though.  Just something I can do better.

4.  Respond Physically - This could mean sexually, but for him it was more about responding when he touches me in other ways.  Sort of like flirting.  I was pretty good at this before kids, but now I have three little ones touching me all day and Bubba is the one who seems to get cut off. 

5.  I just noticed that he only picked four.  I think they were big enough and hard enough, he knew he better not pick any more :)

I'll update you how I'm doing on this later.  I decided that he gave me a pretty big list so I might just start with one or two until I master those.  Whether we succeed or not, communication was opened up between the two of us.  We got to talk about our hopes and desires for our marriage.  We even talked about the many things that each of us is doing right.

Romance

Precious is a lover.  I have been fighting that since the day she was born.  When playing dress-up, she always wanted to be a bride or wife or princess with a prince charming.  In preschool she had her first crush or maybe boyfriend since he liked her too.  I tried to tell her boys are icky and she should run from the boys as fast as she can.  She seemed to take that literally because in first grade she would have the boys chase her around the playground because she liked to be chased.  I say "she would have" them chase her because she didn't have to force them.  They just wanted to.  Oh to have that kind of power :)  Anyway,  our school had their book fair the other day and she said, "Mom, I want a romance."  I was so taken aback that I didn't know what to say.  One, why does she know that word?  Two, can't she just read normal girl books like Clementine?  After talking to her for a little bit, I realized she actually meant that she wanted a fairytale.  You know, like, princess meets prince charming and they live happily ever after.  I struggle with fairy tales too because I don't want to set her up for disappointment when it comes to her future husband.  I have been trying to change her so much that I have failed to embrace her as God created her.  For whatever reason, God made her a lover.  He put that desire in her heart.  I need to stop trying to change that about her and encourage her to love.  I have always prayed that God would bring up a Christian man that completes her, but I think I better start praying for him to be able to live up to her expectations now because he's going to need all the help he can get. 

It's about to get all Pinteresty up in here.

I have this friend Jayme who makes me think I can do all these crafty things.  Which sounds good until I buy all the supplies and procrastinate until the night before to actually do the projects.  Jayme is room mom and inspired me to do some Pinterest projects for my kids' class this year.  Here is how they turned out:

Popcorn witch hands.

Mummy juice boxes.

Treat bags.

Here are the girls all dressed up and ready to have fun.

Rapunzel Precious.

Vampire Sissy.

I think the favorite part of her costume was her red lipstick.

Boys having fun with the gummy skeletons from the treat bags.

The most handsome football player I have ever seen (only because
I never got to see Bubba play football).

Sissy being silly with her friend.

 

Pumpkin Patch

We made it to the pumpkin patch this year and all the kids had a wonderful time.  Here are the pics:

BubbaJ on the teeter totter.



He needed a little help from Daddy so he could teeter totter with Precious.



Precious showing BubbaJ how to have fun on the teeter totter.



All three posing as marshmallows.  Sissy's wish came true.



Sisters and friends.



BubbaJ's favorite ride(anything with a steering wheel).



Precious trying out the sling shot.  She came really close to the target a couple of times.

Sissy's turn.



I even gave it a go.  Precious came closer than I did:)



Watch out!  Here come Precious and Sissy.  Actually, they're pedal
cars and Sissy rode on the back of mine.  Hard work!



King and queens of the mountain.  Or tire anyway.



We even conquered the corn maze.

Worry

I had a hard time with the teachers my kids got this year.  Last year when they sent home the form to request a teacher, we thought about it very hard, but decided that God had our kids' best interests in mind and that He would take care of it.  Now, it's one thing to do that and another to truly let God have control.  It sort of overtook me around the time school started.  I am always a bit emotional at that time anyways because I miss my kids so much. It's almost a time of mourning for me when they go back to school.  I mourn the time I had with them during the summer that will soon be spent in school.  This year was even harder because I was not comfortable with the teachers they got. 

After the first few weeks, I knew that God was right.  Big surprise, huh?  You mean God knew what he was doing?!  Why does that continue to shock me?  Precious' teacher was structured and strict, but at the same time caring and approachable.  Exactly what she needs.  Then, I was able to get to know her teacher even better because she went to our church's women's retreat.  That was really cool.  There is something super comforting about knowing you are sending your child to a Christian every day.

Precious struggled with her AR goal accuracy last 9 weeks.  It literally came down to one book to decide if she would make her goal or not.  Her teacher told me that she stood over her and prayed for her as she took the test.  I love that she is praying for my child during the day when I can't be there.  She'll never know how much that meant to me.

Last weekend, we went to see some friends and family out of town.  Well, some of our close friends know Precious' teacher from their church.  Cool.  Then my sister-in-law spoke up and said that Precious' teacher was her first grade teacher.  CRAZY!  Precious talked to her about it at school today and she said that my sister-in-law was her first class to teacher, ever!  God has a way of speaking to me.  It's His you-can't-deny-this-because-it's-just-to-crazy way of getting through to a stubborn woman.

Let this be a lesson to me.  God is sovereign and amazing and I could never create a plan for my kids that is better than the one He has chosen for them.

Heartbreaking

Yesterday was the first time that my heart completely broke for my daughter.  I've been sad for her before, but this was different.  When she got in the car after her student council meeting she told me she needed to talk to me in her room.  She raced downstairs as soon as we got home and said, "Come on Mom."  Then I listened to her tell a story through her tears that I'm sure I will hear many, many more times.  How her "friend" buddied up with another girl and purposefully left her out.  How it hurt her and she didn't know what to do.  I did the best I could to make her feel better.  I reminded her that she is so lucky to have a family that loves her no matter what, a God that is always with her, and lots of friends.  But even as I spoke those words, I knew they weren't enough.  I wanted to scoop her up and make it all go away, but I knew that I could never give her what she needs.  I'll never be enough.  Because that's how God intended it.  He is the only one that can fill that void.  That can make Precious realize that it doesn't matter what those girls think or how they act.  That she is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  That she is precious in His sight (Isaiah 43:4).  That she is made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:19).  My eyes still fill with tears as I think of the pain she felt and my heart breaks for all pain she will feel in her life, especially pain brought on by her friends.  Being a girl is hard.  I pray that she will turn to God to help her get through it.

Father,  Please guide my words as I deal with these issues alongside my kids.  Fill the gap between what I can do to help them and what only you can do.  Use every tear to draw them closer to you, making them a better Christian and friend to others.  Help them see when others are feeling that same pain and take action to help them feel better.  Lord, we know the evil one will try to use these things for his purpose.  Guard my kids' hearts from him.  Turn their thoughts to you so that you will fill them with love and compasion.  Remind them each day how precious they truly are.  Thank you for blessing my life with their presence.  In Jesus Name, Amen.