~Dance With Cinderella~

Monday, May 31, 2010

~Dance With Cinderella~ She spins and she sways to whatever song plays without a care in the world....                            This was our first year of ballet. The anticipation of recital day and the looks of pure bliss after their performance made the entire year of scrambling to find ballet shoes and sitting in the studio with three ancy kids an hour twice a week completely worth it. All I can think when I scroll through these pictures is Stephen Curtis Chapman's song, "Dance With Cinderella". I cried every time I heard that song for the longest time. What is it with girls and their love of all things pretty? During the rehearsal, my little four and six year old couldn't take their eyes off the big girls and their tulle covered leotards and silky toe shoes. As Avery stared wide-eyed at the ballerinas, under her breath she said, "Oh, they're so beautiful." There is something so precious and simple about this age and I'm enjoying every minute of it. They don't care if things are mismatched or over matched. They are the beholders....and whatever they happen to like is beautiful. Can that please not change?    ~Stacey

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~Some Mothers You Should Know~Part 2~

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Some Mothers You Should Know. Part 2~ It's nights like these, the ones where I'm so spent my body actually hurts that I think of my Mother.  It's been a couple weeks of countless events and activities centered around the kids. End of the school year awards, programs, parties and sporting events. Those things I couldn't stand to miss because they are opportunities to show my kids they are special to me. Jake's little face in the crowd of other students or Reese's  expression when she finds me in the sea of parents is priceless.  Several years ago, I had an epiphany. I was mother to three very young children. Nearly every breath and motion of my body was to meet some need of one or more of them. I was suddenly struck with a new appreciation for my Mom.I thanked her for all those times she took me outside just because I wanted to go. I had since learned, she most certainly would rather have lounged on the couch with a cup of coffee had it been up to her.When she would pick my sister and I up from elementary school, she would often bring Ritz Crackers with peanut butter on them as a snack for the ride home.Family vacations were centered around us. Mom used to say, "On this trip, we want everyone to have their "10". She took such interest in what each of us wanted to do most and she and Daddy made a point to incorporate those things in our time away.I remember we were all five playing a game of Pig. We usually played in order of youngest to oldest or the opposite, which meant I was always in the middle. During this particular game, she looked at me and said, "Why don't you go first this time." It sounds silly but the fact that that moment is permanently etched in my brain, tells you just how significant it was for this middle child. Mom is someone who doesn't know what it means to quit.  She's a competitor: A high school basketball star and a state champion tennis player.   She is no stranger to difficulty.  When talking about her childhood, the word happy doesn't come up much.   She gave her heart and soul, sometimes through blood, sweat, and tears, to us. Still does. Her dedication in teaching ALL of us for eight years astounds me. It astounds me because I know some days it took every single bit of strength she could muster just to get through that particular day.  I remember one time, and I share this only because I now KNOW exactly why this happened and have felt the exact same thing, we were having a really tough day on the home front for whatever reason.  Daddy had come home to help us work through things. She pulled a pencil out of her bun and flung it across the room as she desperately cried, "Buddy, I just can't do this!" Daddy, true to form, calmly responded, "It's going to be alright." And it was. Not only because he believed it would, but because she never left the trenches. She gave every bit of herself to us. Every day. Nearly every morning when I would get out of bed, the very first place I went was to find Mama. I knew right where to look. She was in her favorite room in the house. Our quiet living room that was separate from the loud part of the house. There she would be, Bible in her lap, a pencil behind her ear, and more often than not, the evidence of recent tears on her face. She has a rock solid foundation. She knows the truth and refuses to let go of it. Until a couple years ago every Christmas, she wore a floor length black and red plaid wool skirt. I will always associate Christmas with that kilt like skirt. I loved it. She's passed it on to Abby to continue the tradition because she says it's too tight now.  I bet it shrunk.   Mom and Dad met on a blind date. A Providential setup.    Words I associate with Mama: laughter singing long brown hair comfort good food tan skin maple candy a crooked tooth prayer warrior flowers ~she loves spring history ~she loves that too truth. I love you. ~Stacey

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~Dark Doors Suit Me~

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

~Dark Doors Suit Me~ I hesitate to post stuff about stuff. After all, it's only stuff.It doesn't make you happy.Unless you make a conscious decision, there's always more to get.Someone else always has more or less of it.Kids tend to mess it up.It can be taken from you in an instant.You can't take it with you when you go.It doesn't amount to a hill of beans really. I would rather look at this all day long:   Or this..... That being said, I think its not a bad thing to enjoy what you have. If you are honest with what you can afford and look for creative ways to enhance your living space, that's a good thing. Contentment is an issue I revisit frequently.  It's a decision. In fact, I should post a shot of my bathrooms. I think I will! Hold on...I'm going to grab my camera!......be right back....    I know your green with envy over my blingy wall paper, considering how shiny it is and all. I've heard it's coming back but I'm not buying it. The bathroom on the right is high on my list of things that have to go. asap.  In the mean time, I've learned that it's okay to have things far less than perfect. My kids couldn't care less if I'm happy with my wallpaper. Paint is pretty cheap, thus the painted doors. It completely changes the look of the entire room. 3 almost done, 7+ to go. I posted the girls rooms a while ago so it's Jake's turn. Thank goodness for Target bedding and curtains, Big Lot's curtain rod, a friend who can paint on canvas, and for old furniture that looks a lot better with a fresh coat of paint!    I could have a globe or map on every wall and it wouldn't bother me one bit. ~Stacey

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~Some Mothers You Should Know~Part 1

Monday, May 03, 2010

~Some Mothers You Should Know~ Part 1 We first met the nanny. If I'm being honest, when I realized I'd mistaken the nanny for the Mom, my first thought was, Nanny. Hmm. I would love to have a nanny. I wonder why they have a nanny. Maybe they just have a lot of money. Maybe the Mom has an amazing job that she just loves. I instantly liked Hannah. (Nanny) She was warm, talkative, cute as a button, and obviously a  sweetheart. In that first, five minute conversation, I learned that Heather (Mom) had lost her husband, the father of her four beautiful children, to cancer two years earlier. I left that first meeting curious and a little sick to my stomach. Here was someone living out what most would describe as one of their worst nightmares.A week or so later, I hear a knock on my door. I open it to what would be my first introduction to my new neighbor. There stood Heather, holding a plate of brownies, surrounded by four  pair of little, inquisitive eyes, anxiously peering into my house to see how many kids would surface. She had three boys, a blessed sight for my one son, who begs for brothers. We, on the other hand, were able to provide two eager little girls to play with her only daughter. Ages were perfect, values were amazingly similar, and temperaments were complimentary. Truly a gift from God. We chatted a bit and as she was leaving, she turned and said, "Do NOT send me a thank you note for the brownies. Whoever came up with that idea had too much time on their hands!" From that moment, I knew  we would be friends.  She is living proof of the grace of God.  She has a great sense of humor. She laughs a lot. I'm sure she cries a lot.  She has made a choice to live in spite of tremendous loss.   She is both Mommy and Daddy.  Her strength astounds me. The other day, they were all five going on a bike ride through the neighborhood. As she rode by, followed by her four, six, nine, and eleven year old, she just smiled at me and said, "This should be interesting."  That image is forever in my memory and it's such a picture of the way life was meant to be lived. Pushing forward, walking on, despite that fact that it's not all fun. Things may not happen like I want them to. At times, it's guaranteed to be hard, hot, sweaty, and scary. We are going to face things that are way outside our comfort zone. How will I respond to challenges and difficulties that could be debilitating?  Will I fold up and stick my head in the sand?  I hope I will be Heather.  Steadfast, resolute, and full of grace.    ~Stacey

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