Memories

I was sorting through some old pictures and came across this cute cuddle shot of my two oldest from 5 years ago. The second is from a few weeks ago. They have grown and so has their love. Makes this momma's heart happy.

Wordless Wednesday - Perseverance

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

This is my eldest daughter, she has been working on her climbing skills for about a year now. This means she has literally been climbing the walls at home and anywhere else we go. At first, she was thrilled to be able to brace herself in the door frame a foot or two off the ground but as time progressed she wanted more and higher. She will now climb all the way up the door frame and hang from the trim above, upside down I might add. She is constantly up on something; the couch, the railing, the half-walls anything that can be climbed she will. Her skills at the playground have excelled as well. She has advanced from merely hanging on the monkey bars to going across by skipping bars and doing them backwards. That is if she is not climbing along the top of them. She has been working hard on her climbing skills and climbing this tree at Gram's house this week was a true measure that her perseverance has paid off.

What are your "trees" in life right now? What are you doing to ensure that when the time comes you will be able to climb them?

Jumping in Puddles

Yesterday was a rainy day and as usual I felt divided about it. The grey clouds are gloomy and make me feel like Eeyore when he has lost his tail. I am sluggish and completely lacking in motivation. Housework? Yeah right, not likely. I even avoided going home after preschool pickup so I wouldn't have to cook lunch and also so I wouldn't just crawl back in to bed. I feel like I have been rolled in the mud and am floating around to the tune of "I'm just a little black rain cloud". Much like the beloved Pooh I am seeking the sweet stuff of life, the honey but meanwhile I'm dripping gloom wherever I go.

On the flip side, as I dress my kids in their rain coats and boots, I recall the fun of playing in the rain, jumping in puddles, getting wet and not caring. There is something freeing about this simple activity and the pleasure derived from bouncing like Tigger or Roo. Almost like the rain blocks out the rest of the world and their judgement and even if only for a moment you truly can dance like no one is watching.

As the days get shorter and we head into winter, I know that my struggle with these Eeyore days has just begun. I have been here before and so have learned ways to get through but this time I will choose to dance in the rain and not hide from it. I will jump in the puddles of life and by doing so I hope to teach my kids to be fearless, to have the confidence to face any challenge, and to chase their dreams regardless of what the world tells them.

Shared on Thriving Thursdays

Mom's don't get sick days

Summer months bring about a different routine for our house. The kids do not have school and extra curricular activities are at a minimum. We did really well for the first few weeks about sticking to our new schedules and most days got through the plan with only minor variance.  Then we added travel, sigh. I love traveling and the opportunities it gives the kids but I do not love the interruption to the routine not only for the duration of the trip but for seemingly days afterwards.

One of our trips this year was followed by an even greater interruption to our routine, illness. We visited some cousins that had a little cold. Well, this "little cold" turned into a bronchial infection accompanied by fevers and a horribly persistent cough. My oldest was the first to get it. He was put on inhalers and ultimately antibiotics and his only job was to rest and get better (he had hockey school and power skating coming up the following week and needed a speedy recovery). We allowed him plenty of rest and although we did our best to quarantine him the germs still spread.

Next to fall victim to this "little cold" was myself and the baby. We had days of up and down fevers and then started the cough. Unlike my boys, I could not rest for trying. The kids were very understanding and did allow me to rest with them during the regularly scheduled afternoon quite time but someone still had to do the housework, laundry, meals...My husband was a great help and pitched in where he could but when our eldest daughter became ill just days after me it was all I could do to wake up in the morning and make sure everyone was fed something and were hopefully wearing clean clothes.

The hardest part of all this is that it happened last week, our first week back at school and trying to get into new routines so no matter how much I wished to take a break there was no way for me to call in a sick day. Mom's don't get sick days we get life-doesn't-stop-so-you-better-keep-it-together days.

I have started to feel much better despite the lingering cough and am calling for a do-over at starting up our fall routines as we begin a new week. I love that I am blessed to be staying home with my kids but sick days would be nice, oh and while we are at it, can we talk about overtime?

"I will give you rest"

I hope you all enjoyed your summer, I know I did. I do apologize as I was not intending to take such an extended break from writing but life threw me some other priorities and so I needed to focus my attention elsewhere for a time. I am excited to get back into sharing with you all and picking up some of the loose ends I left you with. This will include a feature about our big spring/summer project, my home management binder, and some more of my thoughts about routines.

I truly feel that I rested in The Lord this summer and am facing this busy season of balancing school, sports, and family commitments with a sense of renewed faith and rejuvenation. This does not mean that I don't have days where I am tired and weary. It does mean that I am remembering to lay my troubles at the cross and not attempting to carry my burdens on my own.

Today was a day I struggled through. There are a few things going on for our family right now that are a constant preoccupation to the day-to-day of living and I find that the stress dwelling on those thoughts provokes in me seeps into everything I do. It effects how I communicate with my husband, how I treat my children, and mostly it taints my self-perception. Today I need to remember those moments of rest I had this summer and draw strength from knowing I have a loving Father who is always near and willing to listen. It is to Him I need to turn with my troubles and then leave them in His capable hands.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28