Spring Will Come....Eventually

Looking out the window, it is spitting snow as a type. This has been a weird Indiana winter! At Christmas time, I found this amaryllis bulb on clearance at Aldi, and decided it would be my reminder of spring. It has served its purpose very well, blooming just when I needed the reminder of spring to come!!

Stay tuned....100th post is next!!

The Hair Cut

Before...

After...

Devin (aka Michael Motorcycle) decided last week it was time for a hair cut. He had been letting it grow since his summer cut. We all loved his long hair, but it was starting to get knotty. And he hated having it brushed. So our little boy looks totally different, but as cute as ever!

Nurses Rock

A radio station and a few hospital networks in Indianapolis hosted this fun event in appreciation for nurses. Two girls from work and I were able to attend. (I look so tall compared to them, don't I?) At the event they had a trivia contest and my friend Nancy (on the left) won a laptop computer. She was able to take it home with her that night! And then yesterday she called and told me she won the grand prize (2 round trip airline tickets for the continental US). I could not believe her luck. She was very glad she went!

February is here!

I cannot believe it is already February. I love it when winter goes fast. This week we got almost a foot of snow. The kids got three snow days! I think we are all ready to go back to school. I know I'm ready for them to go back to school! Upward basketball is in full gear, and Noah has been enjoying that so far. It's amazing how much better he has gotten since last year. Here are some pictures of the snow angels. Devin loved the snow; Dalton did not!

Great Wolf Lodge

Last weekend we went to Great Wolf Lodge for a night. The boys absolutely love going there. It was so nice to get out of the house. The water park is so much fun, and there is something for everyone to do. We also got to go to IKEA on Saturday (I'll never do that again). It took us over an hour to make our way through the store! And one of the items I really wanted was out of stock. But I did get two very cool pieces for my laundry room.

Some of the best words I've ever read

Below is an expert from an article in the MOPS magazine, MomSense. Amazing, powerful words that this mom needed!

When I do the right things-when I meet every need, wipe every tear (and bottom), check off every box in my to-do-list, laugh at the chaos and count every moment a blessing, I enter the Good Mom Club, I’m beauty and grace, joy and peace, poise & calm. I’m the Mom of the Year.

But when I do the wrong things- when I lose my temper, and my keys, turn on the TV just for some peace & quiet, cry instead of laugh, or desperately want them to leave me alone- I enter the Bad Mom Club. I’m ugly and tired and irrational, frantic and short-tempered. I’m the evil stepmother who is incapable of love. The worst there’s ever been.

In these moments I wonder what God was thinking when he made me a mom. Seriously, what was he thinking? Didn’t he know my days would be filled with one train wreck after another?

The answer is yes!

God knew every sleep-deprived thought I’d ever have, every burst of anger I’d ever display, every chink in my armor, every dark corner of my unloving heart. He knew I’d be selfish and irrational, forgetful and unorganized, inadequate and completely incapable.

And yet he still chose me.
And he still chose you.

God still chooses neurotic, insecure women to be moms because he knows that parenthood provides one of the best pictures he could give us of his unconditional love. He chose parenthood so that one day we could look into the eyes of our children, clearly see all their failures and shortcomings, and without hesitation, from the very depths of our soul, say, “I love you no matter what.”

Suanne Camfield
MomSense
January/February 2009

What I've Learned in 2008

1. It's going to take me a long time to get to my 100th post!
2. Life with potty-trained twin boys is a little easier than life with twin boys in diapers.
3. I can go a whole month without eating ANY chocolate.
4. A seven year old can really "get it" on a mission trip to Mexico.
5. Dropping off our daughter at college was really weird. In a good way.
6. No matter how many distractions I pack, my little boys are not quit ready to sit through a Christmas Eve service and act like angels.
7. The girls I met my first week in college at Indiana University will always be my friends.
8. It's a bad idea to take your seven year old with you to work with honey bees.
9. I cherish wholeheartedly the 2 hours a week my boys are at preschool.
10. At least one holiday a year, our family will be sick.

There have been many more life lessons learned this year. These are just a few that stick out in my mind right now. We are looking forward to a great 2009 and whatever it brings our way! Happy New Year.