Sunday, September 23, 2012

Double Digits


William turned 10 last week and I'm wondering where time has gone.  I vividly remember holding him for the first time.  I couldn't hold him right away, because he wasn't breathing when he was born.  The cord had been wrapped around his neck.  An emergency team was rushed into our room and started working on him.  Thankfully he started breathing and everything was fine.  I was finally able to hold him and felt immense happiness and nervousness at the same time.  I didn't know how I was ever going to take care of something so precious and wonderful.

Fast forward 10 years.  William is a fabulous kid!  He's kind and generous, crazy smart, and just like his father (which is a very good thing).  He loves to play basketball, read, hike, fish, and is getting ready to take hunters education.  I feel so very blessed to be his mom.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Motherhood

If you haven't been to the Power of Moms website recently, visit their site and read some of their fabulous articles.  I was excited to attend one of their retreats this past weekend.  Power of Moms is all about Deliberate Parenting.  It's basically professional development for the occupation of motherhood.  What I love so much about it is that it's principle based.  I've learned so much and I think I've become a better mother since I've attended retreats, read their articles, and met with some great friends in a Learning Circle.

At the Park City Retreat earlier this year I had the chance to hear Macy Robison perform music from her album Children Will Listen.  I was listening to the album today in the car and remembered one of my favorite moments from the Park City Retreat.  Macy's song In the Meantime spoke directly to my heart.  I definitely carry a lot of mom guilt with me and worry over all of my mistakes.  She sang the words, "And she wonders when she'll really find herself again, but she's becoming one on whom God can depend."  I had the impression that I am becoming one on whom God can depend.  I immediately thought of Jason's crazy travel schedule we dealt with for so long.  I realized that even though I felt at times that I would lose it, I didn't lose it.  I held our family together.  My kids were happy and didn't seem very bothered by Jason's travel and I had to give myself some credit for that.  I took care of my responsibilities to the very best of my abilities, without making excuses.  Now I don't want to give the impression that I think I'm perfect.  I don't.  I'm painfully aware of my weaknesses and faults and I know there is still so much I need to learn.  I was so thankful for that impression, because I felt love and acceptance of what I do as a mother from my Father in Heaven.

My second retreat this past weekend was just as amazing.  I had so many "ah-ha" moments to guide me as a mother of four amazing, busy, sometimes crazy kids!  My favorite quote of the day was "Raise the Praise, Minimize the Criticize."  I came away with many concrete ideas to implement into our family that I know will make our relationships stronger and our family happier.  I also loved hearing stories from other mothers and knowing I'm not alone in my day-to-day struggles and triumphs.  What an incredible group of women!

Motherhood is the most important job anyone can have.  It's exhausting and trying at times, but always fulfilling.  I'm grateful I discovered Power of Moms.  It's an amazing resource that really has blessed my life (and the life of my husband and kids)!


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Priceless!

Some of you know we lost a ton of pictures when our computer's backup crashed.  The backup had all of our pictures from our old computer on it and we lost all of them.  A few years ago I decided to send pictures to family members via email instead of posting them on a blog or facebook. Recently I found a bunch of those emails.  Words cannot express how happy I was to find some very adorable pictures of my kids!









You should see the other guy!

Owen woke up this morning with his first black eye (right now I'm crossing my fingers that it's also his last) .  Not sure how he got it, though.  We put him to bed last night at 8pm, heard him playing for a while until he fell asleep.  We didn't hear any crying or screaming, but he is a pretty tough kid.  We had to take several pictures of his shiner, because we take pictures of everything around here!  Jason titled the last picture "Owen's Mug Shot".






Sunday, September 9, 2012

Last minute summer trip

Who decides at the last minute to drive 1700 miles the week before school starts?  We do!  We visited with family in Cincinnati and Indianapolis.  It was a great trip.  Although the drive was long, the kids did amazingly well.  Owen was the one I was worried about.  I thought we'd hear constant screaming, but he didn't cry much at all. We had lots of treats, the kids brought toys and we listened to How to Train Your Dragon on Audible.

The kids loved seeing their grandparents.  They'd choose grandparents over a water park or Disneyland any day!  I asked them what they loved most about our trip and they said going to the nature center, the Cincinnati Zoo and the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  It's a trip we won't soon forget and was worth every minute of the 50+ hours of driving!

I've been scrapbooking pictures from our trip.  I finished these pages today:














Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Back to School!

Today was a great day!  Everyone got up early and the kids were (miraculously) ready for school on time.  We had a yummy pancake and fruit breakfast and then all walked to school together.  The kids had a fabulous day at school.  They love their teachers, were excited to see old friends, made new friends and came home to freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies!



Monday, September 3, 2012

Family and forgiveness

I had an interesting experience last week.  I was really nervous, angry, sad and even excited all at once.  We took a last minute trip to the midwest and I met my grandfather.  He and my grandmother divorced and later both remarried.  I grew up only knowing my step-grandfather.  I don't know or understand why, but my real grandfather had no contact with my family after I turned three.  None at all.  I lived in Indiana for years, living quite close to where he lives, and just met him last week.

We pulled up to the nursing home where he is temporarily staying after having hip surgery.  I said a silent prayer before we went in.  I prayed for help with my emotions.  I didn't know how I'd react, but I knew I needed all the help I could get.  My mom visited him recently, so she went right up and gave him a hug.  My mom introduced me, telling him that I'm his granddaughter.  I felt some resentment creep in when I realized he should already know who I am.  He reached out slightly, expecting a hug.  I stayed still.  I smiled and said hello, but had no desire at that moment to give him a hug.  We visited for a little while.  I introduced my little family and he seemed excited to meet everyone.  He seemed sincerely happy we were there.  He asked about the kids and where we live.  We talked about how he's feeling and when he will get to go home.  Finally it was time to go.  He stood (which didn't look too easy) to tell us bye and I stepped up to give him a hug.  He hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe and I could hear the static in his hearing aid.  He whispered to me that he loved me very much.  Then all my sweet kids stepped up and gave this frail man a hug.

Talk about an emotional roller-coaster!  I don't understand why he chose to have no contact with my family.  Thinking about all those lost years has always made me feel so incredibly sad.  Forgiveness is an amazing thing.  I've realized it can wipe away all that sadness and replace it with a sweet, unforgettable memory.



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