~Friday~

It's Friday!!!

the sun is out…thank you, Lord.

enjoyed the snow but looking hard for spring.

planning our summer vacation.

finished LOTS of 5th grade math today.

looking forward to getting my boy from school.

most definitely NOT cooking supper tonight.

~stacey

~ItSnowed~

It.Snowed.

TwoDaysInARow.

and that's all there is to say about that.

~stacey

~BirthdayGirlAndRecentPictures~

BirthdayGirl

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

she is FIVE!! 

how is that possible?

i don't know

but I do know that every single year with her has been a gift

e is not any more special a child than the previous three

maybe it just comes with being the fourth

but she's just a joy

grown up when she needs to be

recently retired thumb sucker

she has the bladder the size of Texas which makes crazy days running errands not nearly as painful as they would otherwise be

a kid who, (yes, at my suggestion) was MORE than willing to trade out receiving gifts from her friends in exchange for having them bring diapers for "da babies" who need them

we had the best party ever celebrating her at "da gymnastics place"

i see her toddler self morphing into a child and I'm literally hanging on to every minute of every day

because I know that you blink your eyes and they are 13

 ~sweetest bunch of kids ever. on. the. face. of. the. earth.~

EverydayLivin'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~my little worker. doing her thing. every day.~

EMBRACE THE GRIND

My Dad cleaned out their attic. He brought back this prize. 

It was taped shut.

Bizarre to see the "treasures" a young girl values. 

Like the vintage Reebok box? 

~TheGreatestShowOnEarth~

(it really might be just that. whatever your entertainment budget is, this is a fun thing to plan for)

 ~Valentine's Day Love~

~FirstTimeAtTheFox~

Blurry is sometimes best.

two……just TWO weeks until the time changes. 

i.love.it.

we've made it through winter with flying colors, though, i think. 

still, though.

 i'm not sorry to see her go. 

warm spring breezes, flip-flops, and flowers are calling my name.

~stacey

~BathroomConverstionAgain~

This is a repost, but here I find myself, two years later, thinking about so many girls, whether

7

17

or 37

on a journey to know they (we) are loved. warts and all.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

~bathroom conversation~

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

~bathroom conversation~ (Two sisters in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. These are the moments I'm glad that from my den, I can hear everything that goes on upstairs.) "Reese, am I annoying or non annoying?"  (paste applied, water turns on then off again) "What?" "Am I annoying or non?!" (the frustration is growing in this 6 year old's voice.) "Avery. Why are you asking me this?" (one tooth brush tap, tap, taps, against the sink) "Well, 'cuz like, there's this boy at VBS who says I am. So I need to know. Am I annoying or non?" "Non."  Avery, you need to have thicker skin." "Why?" "Because, Avery. Boys are just boys and....thicker skin matters." (swishing brushes start and stop way too quickly for thoroughly cleaned teeth, but there was deep conversation to be had) "See, Avery, one time, there was this really pretty girl and she said a really mean thing to me. She said Auburn was the worst team ever and that I was a bad girl." "Was she very cute?" "Oh yes.  She was beautiful. So anyway, she was really mean and then I saw her again and thought, OH NO. HERE COMES THAT MEAN GIRL. But then she got nicer and wasn't mean anymore. See?!" My six year old is asking her big sister to tell her who she is.    ~Identities are being formed.~  I don't think I could have answered much better than my eight year old did.  ~So, well done, Reese.~ This home is a safe place to get the truth. ~Listen to the ones you care about and speak carefully. Words are powerful~   When in doubt, err on the side of love and forgiveness. Whether you jump in....... Or whether you're thrown in....... Once you're in, you're in. ~ Make the best of it.   Life isn't always fair.  Sometimes you misunderstand and sometimes you're misunderstood. A glad heart makes a cheerful face.... ~Proverbs 15:13a    Love never gives up.    Love cares more for others than for self.    Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.    Love doesn't strut,    Doesn't have a swelled head,    Doesn't force itself on others,    Isn't always "me first,"    Doesn't fly off the handle,    Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,    Doesn't revel when others grovel,    Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,    Puts up with anything,    Trusts God always,    Always looks for the best,    Never looks back,    But keeps going to the end.

~HonestConfessionsOfATiredSlightlyPatheticMama~

I just begged, BEGGED my five people to please just get out of here and go play basement soccer so I can clean the dinner mess of SIX people ALL by myself. (that's how desperate I am for alone time)

Before supper was really over….you know, when Brad and I were still talking to our 13 year old about the critical importance of initiative and hard work….(good times)

my 4 year old, who is less than 24 hours away from being 5, walked up to me, "smoking" a noodle. 

Yes, I just said, 'smoking a noodle'.

We had spaghetti for supper.

I hear her proudly puffing right beside me, and I glance over, horrified, to see her mimicking some dude  smoking a cigarette like it was her job.

My crazy mama eyes came out and I immediately looked at the four people who were obviously the guilty party and demanded to know,

"WHO in the heck has been walking around smoking a fake cigarette??!!!!"

For the love of Pete!!!! STOP IT!! That is NOT what we do!!!"

They were all scared…….

it was Brad who finally fessed up…..trying desperately to stifle his laugh. 

(he used to "smoke" sharpies as a kid during Bible time just to make his mom mad) 

he is bad.

I have laundry piled up as high as Mt. Everest.

I am two weeks behind on Downton Abbey.

I woke myself up at about 5:30 this morning yelling for help thanks to an awful nightmare that was so awful I won't even repeat it.

Brad was in the basement working out….

he didn't hear me.

good thing I wasn't having a real crisis. :-)

I signed up for a "storage solutions 52 tips spread out over a year to help organize every nook and cranny of your home" email. 

…..yeah…….I'm like 7 weeks behind. 

…..haven't stopped long enough to implement one single "tip".

here's a novel idea: give me a tip on how to ethically clone myself or how to get the motivation to give a rip after 8:00 at night. 

now THAT would be a great tip.

See, hypothetically, 8-10 p.m. would be my most productive hours but frankly, I just don't care about any of it after supper, after kids are in bed, and I finally sit down. A tornado could come through and I'm not sure I would even notice. 

the highlight of my day is a tie between two things:

1. the complete, shameless pride and joy that my little birthday girl has about tomorrow being her birthday. she's been singing her own version of Annie's "Tomorrow" but it goes more like, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Tomorrow is my birthday!" …it's priceless.

2.Brad being able to sew up a precious little spunky four year old on the kitchen counter. I LOVE knowing that we (he) is sparing someone HOURS at the ER. I love that he can sew a stitch in a split lip. (it's a bonus when the child is tough as nails and his parents are awesome)

It's funny to be so worn out but so full of sweet, fat contented joy.

Birthday girl is sleeping.

Big sisters have been busy decorating the birthday girl's chair for in the morning.

Jake just came in here and gave me some sweet mindless chatter.

Brad's just gone to bed.

Tired and happy, I am.

(that was in my very best Yoda voice)

~stacey