Date Night

because we have lots of kids

we want to make sure that they have some

special time

individually with just "us"

they get to have a "Date Night with Mom and Dad"

it is a special night for us all

they look forward to it

they get excited for each other when it is their turn

we rotate among school aged children in our family

we go out once a month

we go out to eat and then mom and dad pick an activity to do

all a surprise to them until we get there

the kids at home cannot wait until we get back and they get to hear about what "we did"

it is an extra expense

we squeeze it into our budget

because we know it is important for our family

Mackenzie at the Go-Kart Track on her Date Night.

Rock Wall Climbing on Taylor's Date Night.

Caleb's Date Night at the Arcade.

Date Night at the pottery store with Shaye.

WHO?

who do you want to be when you grow up

we are asked at a young age

how is a child suppose to know

who you want to be

until you live in the world

and you are responsible for you

you are an adult now and still searching for you

you are something

you carry the most profound title there is

you are a mother

no other profession can attest to the ability of growing a human

inside of them

feeding, nurturing, loving

you are a temple

a dwelling place

you have partaken in life's most precious miracle

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up,

but I know that I am already something

woman, you are a mother

Thumb Sucking

we have only had one thumb sucker,
and I have to say it was the sweetest thing ever,
the ability for child to passify self,
was a welcome advantage as well,

she spoke with a slurr,
because of the thumb sucking and such,
when we asked, "what are you doing?"
she would innocently reply, "I'm 'f'ucking my 'p'humb"

(please excuse the language)

Why is it?

Why is it that the people we love the most,

get to experience the ugliest sides of us?

Maybe because they love us so much,

they won't turn their back on us,

they will see us through thick and thin,

they see us at our worst, and at our best...

and they love us anyway!

Party Mix, Chex Mix, or Whadda ya call it?

My daughter was 3 at the time. We were gathered for a family celebration. She was enjoying her self standing over the bowl of chex mix and munching away. Along came my older cousin who was single and had no children. He saw how much fun she was having chomping away. He tried to engage in conversation with her, a little hesitant, not sure how to invite himself over to have some chex mix. So he asks, "What is your favorite part?" She replies without even looking up, "The penises (meaning peanuts)". My cousin turned beat red and didn't know if he should walk away, crawl under the table, or respond. She thought nothing of it, and continued munching away.

Moral of the story, don't add peanuts to your chex mix!

Avoidance

Avoiding things that need to get done...
Avoiding those that are close to me...
Avoiding those that anger me...
Avoiding reality...
Avoiding the one's I love...
Avoiding God...
Avoiding myself...

Where has avoidance gotten me?
To a pretty lonely place. It hasn't changed anything.

Only I can change this.

God, give me the strength to direct my time, strength, and attention to these areas in my life.

Black Shoes

Shoes...we have a lot of shoes. Some new, some old, some used, some "hand me downed". We more than likely have a shoe in every size by now! This can be our greatest blessing or our biggest curse.

As we were getting ready to go to the Christmas program a few years back, in a hurried rush of course, our 4 yr old at the time could not find her black shoes. As I am trying to get the younger kids ready to go, I keep telling her to get her shoes on. I have prompted her at least 3 times at this point. She is standing right by the shoe pile and exclaims, "I can't find MY shoes, mom". A little frustrated by now, I look across the room and see a black pair of shoes sitting right in front of her, so I bluntly tell her, "OPEN YOUR EYES and LOOK FOR THEM, THEY ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!

I hear nothing back, with a sigh of relief I glance over hoping to see her slipping her foot into her shoe, instead I see her with her fingers pressed to her eyes, pulling her eyelids apart as wide as they can stretch, and she shouts back, "I'm looking and STILL DON'T SEE THEM"!

Oh, my literal child. What a riot!

The joke WAS on me, the black shoes I saw were her younger sisters, after all.