life as a christian ...
don't you love it when you feel like God gave you just the right words to say in a "i'm not so sure how to respond" kind of moment? that happened to me today.
oh, but not before i called a friend back to apologize for a comment i made when she and i were talking on the phone.
argh.
why can't i learn to shut this yapper of mine!!
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madelyn's big day is tomorrow! oh, not her birthday. her friend alli is having a birthday and the two of them have been bouncing off the walls about if for over 3 weeks now. you would think it was christmas!
they are leaving school early to go see joseph at sight & sound tomorrow evening then having a sleepover. i told madelyn if she felt uncomfortable at all she can come home. she just looked at me like "why would i come home? i have been losing sleep with excitement over this night for a month!!" i said, "oh you know, just in case you feel uncomfortable or want to snuggle with your mother who will be feeling off balance all night because one of her babies is out of the nest."
okay, no i didn't say all of that ... but i wanted to. i just said if she feels uncomfortable at all she can call us. she said she was going to be fine because "it's alli!!" she did say though she might feel a little nervous because the grandparents are going too and she doesn't know them as well. apparently allit's one grandfather is really funny though so we are thinking it might be him. we'll see. i am excited for her.
no really i am :)
...............................
elijah slept in madelyn's bed last night since there was a storm. madelyn said this morning he asked her if she was awake and then held her hand. he loves her so much. it's really sweet.
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poor dan has been super duper busy these last two weeks and i barely see him. when i do see him he is so so tired. poor guy. his birthday is monday and our kids have such a busy weekend i am trying to squeeze a time in for us to celebrate. it's not looking promising. at least he has march madness.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
bigger than God
when elijah tells me he loves me more he says he loves me "bigger than God." now that's a lot of love if you ask me.
so, the other night he was praying and he said, "i love you God, bigger than yourself. and i love mommy, papa, and madelyn bigger than you."
i think that made God smile :)
so, the other night he was praying and he said, "i love you God, bigger than yourself. and i love mommy, papa, and madelyn bigger than you."
i think that made God smile :)
towel head
i referenced the this story in the post below so here it is ...
when madelyn was in first grade she made a new friend, isabelle. isabelle was new to the school that year so we didn't know her parents very well. that was all about to change. her dad, chris, came over for dinner with isa one night. it was supposed to be the whole family, but that is another story in and of itself. we got to know chris well that day. he and isa spent hours at our house and we had dinner together, etc. it was a fun night. chris is very easy going, talkative, a good guy. isabelle is a doll, super silly and she and madelyn were a great fit.
serena is isabelle's mom. i had only met her briefly and after the mixup of her and the twins not being able to come to dinner the night chris did we vowed to have them over another time.
so, before i get into all of that, let me share with you my first impression of serena. she is very pretty. always looks nice. whenever i would see her would be after work so she always looked professional and well put together.
in other words, this stay at home mom who sometimes hadn't even showered by the time i went to pick up madelyn after school was intimidated by pretty working mom serena. there. i said it.
back to the story ... we plan on having them over for dinner, but isa was coming early to play for a bit and then the rest of the family would come over later for dinner. well, i had been getting dinner started, making a cake, prepping everything. the kitchen was a wreck. plus, i was hoping we could be outside since the weather was nice so i had been doing yard work. i thought i had enough time to shower before serena dropped isabelle off on her lunch break.
now, understand that i didn't know what serena did for a job so i thought that a lunch break meant an hour at the most so since she was dropping her off i figured she wouldn't have time to stay and chat. well, no sooner do i get out of the shower and the doorbell rings. it's them!
madelyn lets them in. i run into my room. throw on the dirty old clothes i had been wearing. throw the towel on my head so i can say hello and then serena can get back to work.
well, i don't know where madelyn took them so i called to madelyn only to find out they are in the basement. the basement!! the very last place i take my guests. it's where our tv is, but mostly it is wrecked with toys. the cats do their business down there so i never know if it is going to smell or what i will find on the rug down there. but, the kids had been watching a video so madelyn took them right down after letting them in.
so, i sheepishly make my way down the stairs with a towel on my head since i didn't want to hold serena up by combing through my hair and everything.
(sigh)
serena. all dressed up in her heels, makeup, business clothes, etc. and me. me in my dirty clothes and a towel on my head.
well, i am assuming serena needs to be on her way so i quickly apologize for the way i look, etc. she was very gracious. and then we chatted for oh a good 15 minutes or more. ack! yes. i still have the towel on my head.
serena and i became good friends that day. how can you not when you are completely humbled by the mess in your kitchen, your dirty clothes on your body, a towel on your head, and oh did i mention i had pulled a bit of my living room apart trying to clean the carpet.
oh yes. it was a memorable moment.
BUT, later that night when they all met up here for dinner i was SO much more relaxed than i normally would be with first time guests that i didn't know very well and even during dinner i mentioned how my and serena's relationship (what little there was of one) went to a whole new level that day. we all had a good laugh about it and serena is one of my bestest friends today.
i look back on that day and how embarrassed i was only to realize if i hadn't been real with her (for lack of a better way of putting it) that day i wonder how long it would have taken us to become real with each other. we have often laughed about it since then because after that day she always said how she never had to worry about the way her house looked when we came over. we didn't have to pretend that we have it all together and our houses are always clean. it's been such a fun and lasting friendship. we have been able to do so many last minute get togethers because we don't have to worry about what our houses look like. it's been great!
so, all that to say, we need to be real with each other. i am so much more relaxed these days about having people over. if the people have kids, the kids' rooms are going to be trashed by the time guests leave so why spend all that time cleaning their rooms just to have them trashed again? as long as my living areas are picked up and vacuumed which i have to do all the time anyway since i have walking furballs around here i am happy.
and that is my message for the day :P
when madelyn was in first grade she made a new friend, isabelle. isabelle was new to the school that year so we didn't know her parents very well. that was all about to change. her dad, chris, came over for dinner with isa one night. it was supposed to be the whole family, but that is another story in and of itself. we got to know chris well that day. he and isa spent hours at our house and we had dinner together, etc. it was a fun night. chris is very easy going, talkative, a good guy. isabelle is a doll, super silly and she and madelyn were a great fit.
serena is isabelle's mom. i had only met her briefly and after the mixup of her and the twins not being able to come to dinner the night chris did we vowed to have them over another time.
so, before i get into all of that, let me share with you my first impression of serena. she is very pretty. always looks nice. whenever i would see her would be after work so she always looked professional and well put together.
in other words, this stay at home mom who sometimes hadn't even showered by the time i went to pick up madelyn after school was intimidated by pretty working mom serena. there. i said it.
back to the story ... we plan on having them over for dinner, but isa was coming early to play for a bit and then the rest of the family would come over later for dinner. well, i had been getting dinner started, making a cake, prepping everything. the kitchen was a wreck. plus, i was hoping we could be outside since the weather was nice so i had been doing yard work. i thought i had enough time to shower before serena dropped isabelle off on her lunch break.
now, understand that i didn't know what serena did for a job so i thought that a lunch break meant an hour at the most so since she was dropping her off i figured she wouldn't have time to stay and chat. well, no sooner do i get out of the shower and the doorbell rings. it's them!
madelyn lets them in. i run into my room. throw on the dirty old clothes i had been wearing. throw the towel on my head so i can say hello and then serena can get back to work.
well, i don't know where madelyn took them so i called to madelyn only to find out they are in the basement. the basement!! the very last place i take my guests. it's where our tv is, but mostly it is wrecked with toys. the cats do their business down there so i never know if it is going to smell or what i will find on the rug down there. but, the kids had been watching a video so madelyn took them right down after letting them in.
so, i sheepishly make my way down the stairs with a towel on my head since i didn't want to hold serena up by combing through my hair and everything.
(sigh)
serena. all dressed up in her heels, makeup, business clothes, etc. and me. me in my dirty clothes and a towel on my head.
well, i am assuming serena needs to be on her way so i quickly apologize for the way i look, etc. she was very gracious. and then we chatted for oh a good 15 minutes or more. ack! yes. i still have the towel on my head.
serena and i became good friends that day. how can you not when you are completely humbled by the mess in your kitchen, your dirty clothes on your body, a towel on your head, and oh did i mention i had pulled a bit of my living room apart trying to clean the carpet.
oh yes. it was a memorable moment.
BUT, later that night when they all met up here for dinner i was SO much more relaxed than i normally would be with first time guests that i didn't know very well and even during dinner i mentioned how my and serena's relationship (what little there was of one) went to a whole new level that day. we all had a good laugh about it and serena is one of my bestest friends today.
i look back on that day and how embarrassed i was only to realize if i hadn't been real with her (for lack of a better way of putting it) that day i wonder how long it would have taken us to become real with each other. we have often laughed about it since then because after that day she always said how she never had to worry about the way her house looked when we came over. we didn't have to pretend that we have it all together and our houses are always clean. it's been such a fun and lasting friendship. we have been able to do so many last minute get togethers because we don't have to worry about what our houses look like. it's been great!
so, all that to say, we need to be real with each other. i am so much more relaxed these days about having people over. if the people have kids, the kids' rooms are going to be trashed by the time guests leave so why spend all that time cleaning their rooms just to have them trashed again? as long as my living areas are picked up and vacuumed which i have to do all the time anyway since i have walking furballs around here i am happy.
and that is my message for the day :P
randomness ... big time
i have had a lot of stuff going on in my brain lately. i don't feel like i can form one long coherent thought, but i feel like i need to get some of it out. so, here goes ...
+ elijah used to say "a million bazillion 61" when referring to something that was a lot until a friend in school told him it wasn't a real number. well, now he is a number snob. if someone says "a million bazillion" he is quick to tell us that isn't a real number. i reminded him of what he used to say and he just kind of blew it off by repeating "it's not a real number." so, i thought i needed to write it down so i didn't forget he said it because it was really cute when he did.
+ madelyn is going to another sleepover this weekend. seriously. this girl's social life is more exciting than mine. it's her friend's birthday so she was invited to go to sight & sound with her friend and then spend the night. she has been so excited for weeks. you would think it was her birthday! i haven't even been to sight & sound before!! i am excited for her. it is her best friend who is an only child and they are a really nice family. but man. i don't like sending her away over night. things just seem off balance at home. i am happy for her, but sad for me. would it be strange to follow them all afternoon and evening? oh. i thought so.
then i have elijah who is already sad at the thought of his sister being gone over night on friday. oh, but that's not all. saturday she is going to a friends house to play for that friend's birthday. she is literally going to be toast on saturday after no sleep and all that people time. she needs a break from people after a while.
man do i love that girl. she is getting nuttier and nuttier by the day and it does my heart good, just a reminder that she did indeed come from me. her nuttiness and green eyes - from me :) otherwise, she has a strong mind like her father which i am grateful for. i honestly am so blessed to have that little darling of a girl in my life. seriously.
+ money ... this was my thought the other day ... if i had a lot of money, what would i buy? here is my answer ... a fence for the dogs to run around in, get my teeth redone ($4500!!!?? ugh.), buy plane tix to go see all those family members and friends we never get to see because flying 4 people is expensive :( ... and that was pretty much the extent of my list. i don't think i am asking for too much. i will be getting my teeth redone soon i believe though because well, after 20 years we are already pushing it. but, it looks like we will be financing it. that stinks. we don't even have a car payment, but we will soon have a tooth payment. silly.
+ man oh man is God working in me. lent is always a time for God to work in me since i have practiced it for the last 3 years now, but this all started even before lent. wanna hear it? in a nutshell God has been showing me more and more my need for a savior. i am so imperfect and sinful and am now super humbled.
+ don't you love when you bond with people in a huge way unexpectedly. that happened recently. having struggled through bouts of horrible OCD thoughts it is always an intense moment when you meet someone who suffers as well. it's like this special bond you have, but can only talk about so much because you don't want to trigger any awfulness, but it's horrible too because you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but again we are all broken aren't we and need each other so you are grateful when you can share in that brokenness with others. it's certainly very very weird, but good in the same way. it kind of makes my heart ache.
BUT, this is what i am learning more and more in this thing called life and not just life, but life as a christian. it is ALL about Christ. and, it is all about relationships. you can't have true relationships if you pretend to have it all together. it will only be a matter of time before your brokenness will show through your pretendness (i know, not a word). then what are you going to do? so, you may as well be real from the get go.
okay, now i am stepping down from my high horse of brokenness ... ha ha.
(remind me to post the towel head story)
+ okay, i think that is all for now. i am going to go type up the towel head story. it's a fun one.
+ elijah used to say "a million bazillion 61" when referring to something that was a lot until a friend in school told him it wasn't a real number. well, now he is a number snob. if someone says "a million bazillion" he is quick to tell us that isn't a real number. i reminded him of what he used to say and he just kind of blew it off by repeating "it's not a real number." so, i thought i needed to write it down so i didn't forget he said it because it was really cute when he did.
+ madelyn is going to another sleepover this weekend. seriously. this girl's social life is more exciting than mine. it's her friend's birthday so she was invited to go to sight & sound with her friend and then spend the night. she has been so excited for weeks. you would think it was her birthday! i haven't even been to sight & sound before!! i am excited for her. it is her best friend who is an only child and they are a really nice family. but man. i don't like sending her away over night. things just seem off balance at home. i am happy for her, but sad for me. would it be strange to follow them all afternoon and evening? oh. i thought so.
then i have elijah who is already sad at the thought of his sister being gone over night on friday. oh, but that's not all. saturday she is going to a friends house to play for that friend's birthday. she is literally going to be toast on saturday after no sleep and all that people time. she needs a break from people after a while.
man do i love that girl. she is getting nuttier and nuttier by the day and it does my heart good, just a reminder that she did indeed come from me. her nuttiness and green eyes - from me :) otherwise, she has a strong mind like her father which i am grateful for. i honestly am so blessed to have that little darling of a girl in my life. seriously.
+ money ... this was my thought the other day ... if i had a lot of money, what would i buy? here is my answer ... a fence for the dogs to run around in, get my teeth redone ($4500!!!?? ugh.), buy plane tix to go see all those family members and friends we never get to see because flying 4 people is expensive :( ... and that was pretty much the extent of my list. i don't think i am asking for too much. i will be getting my teeth redone soon i believe though because well, after 20 years we are already pushing it. but, it looks like we will be financing it. that stinks. we don't even have a car payment, but we will soon have a tooth payment. silly.
+ man oh man is God working in me. lent is always a time for God to work in me since i have practiced it for the last 3 years now, but this all started even before lent. wanna hear it? in a nutshell God has been showing me more and more my need for a savior. i am so imperfect and sinful and am now super humbled.
+ don't you love when you bond with people in a huge way unexpectedly. that happened recently. having struggled through bouts of horrible OCD thoughts it is always an intense moment when you meet someone who suffers as well. it's like this special bond you have, but can only talk about so much because you don't want to trigger any awfulness, but it's horrible too because you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but again we are all broken aren't we and need each other so you are grateful when you can share in that brokenness with others. it's certainly very very weird, but good in the same way. it kind of makes my heart ache.
BUT, this is what i am learning more and more in this thing called life and not just life, but life as a christian. it is ALL about Christ. and, it is all about relationships. you can't have true relationships if you pretend to have it all together. it will only be a matter of time before your brokenness will show through your pretendness (i know, not a word). then what are you going to do? so, you may as well be real from the get go.
okay, now i am stepping down from my high horse of brokenness ... ha ha.
(remind me to post the towel head story)
+ okay, i think that is all for now. i am going to go type up the towel head story. it's a fun one.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
slumber parties
slumber parties are great, or are they?
i am so happy that madelyn is feeling more comfortable with sleeping away at someone else's house, or am i?
okay, enough with the annoying questions. madelyn is wrecked after her sleepover. she is my little introverted girl so she definitely needs her downtime, away from people, whether it's after school or after a long week. sleepovers however don't allow for any downtime for approximately 19 hours, and this is after a long week of school. that is too long for my little dumpling.
add onto that the fact that she gets zero sleep. she is wrecked. so, now she is quietly playing barbies in her room so she can regroup, recharge, whatever you want to call it.
i knew we didn't have plans for today so it was okay for her to sleepover. we do have plans for tomorrow though that involves ten kids being here. that should be interesting.
as far as me liking sleepovers, i'm still on the fence. i am glad madelyn is feeling more comfortable being at someone's house, but i don't like it for one. i miss her. our house seems off when one is missing. two, i just don't like it. i miss her. oh, did i mention that already?
okay, seriously, if i don't know the family well or have any reservations the sleepover just won't happen. i almost told her she couldn't sleepover last night because she is getting over strep, but i didn't. they had a lot of fun so it was all good. the problem is she won't nap. i told her she is going to have to lie down for a while, but i doubt she will fall asleep. she just doesn't do naps.
i do though. i actually just did :) ahhhhh, glorious naps. i'm not sure why madelyn is so down on them. i actually napped in her bed and it is still comfortable. so, i think she's missing out by not napping.
that won't keep me from trying to get her to from time to time.
UPDATE : To my shock and disbelief Madelyn did indeed fall asleep. She looked so snuggly and cute too under her little Hello Kitty blanket that Dan gave her when he went to Africa. It says I Love You on it. She still went to sleep at a decent time too. I was shocked, but so glad she did. We have a fun day planned today with friends from college.
i am so happy that madelyn is feeling more comfortable with sleeping away at someone else's house, or am i?
okay, enough with the annoying questions. madelyn is wrecked after her sleepover. she is my little introverted girl so she definitely needs her downtime, away from people, whether it's after school or after a long week. sleepovers however don't allow for any downtime for approximately 19 hours, and this is after a long week of school. that is too long for my little dumpling.
add onto that the fact that she gets zero sleep. she is wrecked. so, now she is quietly playing barbies in her room so she can regroup, recharge, whatever you want to call it.
i knew we didn't have plans for today so it was okay for her to sleepover. we do have plans for tomorrow though that involves ten kids being here. that should be interesting.
as far as me liking sleepovers, i'm still on the fence. i am glad madelyn is feeling more comfortable being at someone's house, but i don't like it for one. i miss her. our house seems off when one is missing. two, i just don't like it. i miss her. oh, did i mention that already?
okay, seriously, if i don't know the family well or have any reservations the sleepover just won't happen. i almost told her she couldn't sleepover last night because she is getting over strep, but i didn't. they had a lot of fun so it was all good. the problem is she won't nap. i told her she is going to have to lie down for a while, but i doubt she will fall asleep. she just doesn't do naps.
i do though. i actually just did :) ahhhhh, glorious naps. i'm not sure why madelyn is so down on them. i actually napped in her bed and it is still comfortable. so, i think she's missing out by not napping.
that won't keep me from trying to get her to from time to time.
UPDATE : To my shock and disbelief Madelyn did indeed fall asleep. She looked so snuggly and cute too under her little Hello Kitty blanket that Dan gave her when he went to Africa. It says I Love You on it. She still went to sleep at a decent time too. I was shocked, but so glad she did. We have a fun day planned today with friends from college.
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