"Mommy, is Jesus in the car?"

Among other amusing conversations heard around our chaotic life lately is, "Mommy, is Jesus in the car?" "Yes, Addie. Jesus is in the car." I know what you are thinking, and shame on you! I am the typical mommy driver--perfectly distracted but overly cautious. "Jesus" is her CD of Vacation Bible School music, which she is completely in love with. 

She goes to sleep singing those catchy little tunes to Happy every night. She insists on listening to them over and over and, yes, over again in the car. She does the hand motions and everything. If I don't sing and do the hand motions with her, I am scolded and ordered to play it again and "Do your hands like this, Mommy" and "Sing following Jesus!" 

In years past I am sure that I would inform you of how annoying the repetition can be and how I think the people who come up with those catchy little tunes that get stuck in your head forever and ever should be punished to listen to them forever and ever. But that would have been terrible of me. I am thankful that I absolutely do NOT feel that way now.

I love those bible verse songs. I love that my 3 year old can now recite John 3:16 thanks to those songs. I love that my 20 month old shouts "with all my heart" when the song says "I will love the Lord." I love that VBS (which is thought of by some as a glorified baby sitting service) has made such an incredible impact on my little girls. Of course, the crafts they make are adorable. I have enough adorable fridge art to last a lifetime! And the friendships they form are incredible. I know that the girls don't completely understand what all they are singing, but I pray that the Word of God they heard during that week will continue to sing so sweetly to them for many years to come. And when God chooses to call them, I pray that they will be ready to invite Him into their hearts! 

I know that seeds were planted in my little girls' hearts as well as others the week of VBS at our church. How amazing is it to think about the children who came to Bible School and have parents, grandparents, or older siblings that are unsaved. I pray that those children are carrying the message of Christ home to them through these catchy little songs and cute little crafts!

To anyone who has ever participated in, cooked for, taught at, or helped out in any way at a Vacation Bible School at any church, I thank you so much. Please don't ever think that what you did was too small to count or that you didn't make an impact. My children are proof that even the youngest hearts can be touched!!

If you haven't ever helped out at a VBS, I must tell you that you are missing out on some of the greatest fellowship possible. I had the greatest time helping out this year as I do every other year. When I actually bother interrupt my schedule enough to participate in church events other than Sunday School and Worship Service, I get to know people on a completely different level than possible in the usual Sunday services.

Don't get me wrong, I love the usual Sunday services. My entire week feels wrong when I miss on Sundays. It is just a part of my life. I desperately need that word from God every week. It speaks to me in a special way every time. I almost always feel as though the pastor is speaking directly to me! How amazing is it that the person sitting a few rows behind me feels that the pastor is speaking diretly to them but in a different way!! God works in such incredible ways!!!

I think that, for me at least, the reason it is difficult to fellowship with church goers on Sunday is that I am usually running from the car to the nursery to the toddler room to the bathroom to out front. And when service is over I am doing the same, only in reverse. I always find someone to make small talk with, but they are usually runnning in their usual Sunday routine also.

To show up at church for VBS and end up working in the class with someone you don't bump into on your usual Sunday routine is great. You have an entire week to spend getting to know that person! As a mom of two littles, truly getting to spend time with someone is RARE. When you show up in jeans and a t-shirt, dump your kids off on someone else and pick up new kids, feel a much more casual atmosphere, and are thrown into utter chaos with kids, food, crafts, music and noise everywhere....you don't really have the opportunity to worry with chit chat. You go straight to the nitty gritty of getting to know a person! VBS worker, meet your new best friend :0) It is an amazingly wonderful and exhausting experience. 

Hope you had a great VBS also and are still singing catchy little tunes, too!


 

   

"I wonder"...REALLY!

I wonder who I'll blame if something goes wrong....

REALLY! Did I say that?!

Know what I wonder now? Why did I even leave it open for the possibility that something could go wrong at my precious little girl's 3rd birthday party!

Well, other than being super busy with other things the week before the party, things were going pretty good. I had gotten almost everything done that I planned to do. Just a little last minute decorating on Friday night and food prep on Saturday morning and we would be ready to party.

Enter the problem. Addie woke up sick Friday morning. She threw up a couple times, but by late afternoon was feeling fine. It put me a little behind on accomplishing stuff throughout the day, but I managed to get everything finished up before it was too terribly late that night. All day and night I prayed that she wouldn't be sick on her birthday. I was so scared that she wouldn't be able to have the party. She had been so excited about it for so long. She just had to feel better. When I finally got into bed Friday night, I had a terrible headache. I didn't sleep very well because I just couldn't get comfortable.

Mr. Wonderful had to work Saturday morning and left early. I tossed and turned after he left and never did get back to sleep. My mother, Mrs. Incredible, came over early just like she promised and filled balloons with helium until her fingers were numb. She insisted that I go back to bed for a while and try to get some rest. (I told you she was Mrs. Incredible!) I really didn't want to, but I was so exhausted that I gave in and went to lay down. Mr. Wonderful ended up getting home early and was able to check off most of his last minute stuff. 

Most of what happened next was a bit of a blur. My head was throbbing so terribly by this time that I really couldn't think straight. One of Addie's friends came over around lunch time to play because he wasn't going to make it to the party. I still had some food to prepare, but after the girls went down for their nap, so did I. I set my alarm for 4:15. Party time was at 5. I knew it didn't give me much time, but by then I had been throwing up, so I didn't really care. After nap, I tried to get up and finish the food, but couldn't even sit up straight. Back to bed I went. My parents, the Incredibles, came over early (again) to help. 

My middle sister, Awesome, was the first party guest to arrive. (I think she may have even caught a glimpse of me slumping down the hall back to bed.) When she realized that I wouldn't be making it to the party, she jumped right in and helped welcome guests. My oldest sister, Amazing, came in and flashed pictures of everything. I promise you, when these pictures are developed I will have one of those flip books to watch it all happen play by play. 

I was so miserable that I couldn't even sleep. I lay there through most of the party listening to my family do everything they could do to make it the best party ever. I heard laughter, singing, cheer, and they were the most wonderful sounds in the world. When the party was over and the guests were gone, I pulled myself out of the bed and down the hall. My heart was absolutely overflowing at what I found.

The Incredibles had stayed and helped put up the food. Awesome had not only gone to the store to get some more medicine for me but stuck around to help clean up all the gifts and food. Amazing was washing dishes and sweeping floors. Mr. Wonderful was doing his best to figure out where in the world to put all my serving platters, had already loaded up the borrowed table and chairs on his truck, helped clean the kitchen, and was getting the girls ready for bed. My in-laws, the There-when-you-need-'ems, were waiting to help return the table and chairs and were helping get the girls ready for bed. I also know that other party guests did many things to help out, and for that I am so grateful.

They may be loud and sometimes even a little crazy, but I have been blessed with the greatest family possible. They could have easily told me to forget all my elaborate plans, especially since I would have never know the difference, and just done the party like they wanted to. But they didn't. I was awake and listening and never once heard a single complaint about the fact that I insist on doing things the difficult way. Everyone just pitched in and did whatever was needed. Several times they were even brave enough to stick their head in the bedroom door and ask for specific directions on how I wanted them to do things. They all knew it was a virus and that I would feel better the next day. They could have just stuck the leftovers in the fridge and gone home. But they didn't. They all went completely out of their way, in their own special way, to make my life easier. I am so humbled. I pray that each of them and their families will be blessed beyond imagination for being so kind and generous to me. 

I know, I am crazy for leaving it open for the possibility of something going wrong on Addie's birthday. But, praise God for my family, absolutely nothing went wrong.

Addie's 3rd birthday party was everything she wanted it to be.

She had a blast. She got way too many gifts. She got to be around all the people she loves. She wasn't sick...And there were balloons everywhere!

I wonder

The past several weeks have been even more chaotic than usual. I've had absolutely no time or energy to blog, and I've missed it! Almost all of my projects are still laying around unfinished and my to do list just keeps growing. Hopefully things will get back to normal and I will get to keep up with my blogging. Here is the past month in review to catch you up on all of our chaos.

They are already beginning to look wonky again, but a few weeks ago after really pruning our shrubs for the first time they looked great. In the past I had been trying to let them grow into little circles and just snipped a few leaves here and there. This time, I really let them have it. I decided that mini trees would look better and they do. But raising the leaves up off the ground showed off how badly our mulch had washed out, so Mr. Wonderful brought home two truck loads for me. The girls grabbed their little plastic wheel barrows and helped spread it out with me. What a difference it made, in the curb appeal and in my arms! Of course now it is more obvious how badly our house needs to be pressure washed. Maybe I'll tackle that this week.

For my birthday Mr. Wonderful took me to a local nursery and let me pick out the hydrangeas I've been begging for. He was so busy working that I decided to try out the post hole diggers myself. Five holes later he got home with potting soil and helped me plant them. They look really good. The best thing is that they are all different colors. I think it depends on the variety but also the soil and mine all changed colors after a few weeks. They are even prettier than before! There have been some kind of nasty pests munching on the leaves and I bought some stuff to get rid of them, we'll see if it works. 

Addie had what we believe was another fever seizure, and we ended up in the ER with her. I have never seen an almost 3 year old sit so still while having blood drawn. She never dropped a tear, never flinched, and never even said a word as they stuck her. Even the nurses were surprised by such a brave little one. Praise God! He had His hand on her and she was fine and has been feeling great since.

She will be 3 this weekend. I just can not even begin to say how special she is. She is such a caring and compassionate person. I learn so much from her every day. Of course she is a typical 3 year old who hates to share and thinks everything belongs to her and solves every dispute with a chilling shriek, but beyond that...She is so innocent and yet so understanding. She is sensitive but also strong. She is genuine and real. I want to be like her. She loves her little sister and tries hard to help her and teach her. She always wants to be a helper and will work by my side whether it is laundry, cooking, or dishes. When she sees me reach for my broom, she runs to her room to get her "sweeping Sam." She loves her daddy and can't wait for him to get home every day. Her sweet smile melts my heart.

She has been waiting for her birthday for months now. I'm not sure what made her think of it, but every time we have been shopping she wants to know if it is for her birthday. When she plays with her friends, she asks them if they are coming to her party. She wants balloons "everywhere" and has told everyone she sees about them. I hope that I don't disappoint her with the party I planned. I hope that it all goes perfectly. I pray that it does not rain and that it is not too hot to play outside. I pray that her party is everything she hoped it would be. She truly deserves it. I can not wait to celebrate 3 years of having her in my life. I praise God for such a blessing and am humbled that He has given me the honor of being her mother. 

We are still in the middle of our tree removal, but because of the heat, we decided to build the girls a playhouse. We looked at several online and came up with plans of our own. My dad, Mr. Incredible, came over and helped build the frame, put on siding, and the roof. I helped Mr. Wonderful put up the windows and attempted to put in a few screws, but the impact and I didn't get along too well. I picked up a paint brush instead. It is painted to match our house with yellow siding, black block, and black shutters that Mr. Wonderful made. It will eventually have a white porch like ours. So stinkin' cute is what it is!! It still needs paneling and flooring, but it is finished enough to play in. I found one of those big plastic kitchen sets with the fridge, microwave, and sink at the thrift store for $20 and put it in there. It had some Crayon scribbles in it but Mr Clean Magic Eraser took care of that. I also sanded down a $2 thrift store end table and painted it blue. I already had a set of four children's chairs that were free from our church years ago. They are sanded and painted pink and purple. Now all we need to do is clean up the construction zone in the back yard!

Over the past few years, our family has been tested in many ways. We are now going through a period of testing again, not just in our personal lives but with our extended family also. I won't go into detail because it isn't necessary, but I will say that our family dynamics have completely changed. It is sad to say this, but too often we don't truly appreciate all that a person does until they are unable to do it anymore.

This is off subject a little, but God has been working on my heart to become a more compassionate person over the years. I have almost lost the ability to get really angry at random people I come in contact with in the store or in traffic. And most of the time can't even come up with more than a little frustration ;) for my own friends and family when they do things that would normally annoy me. Instead, I find myself thinking things like, "You never know what they are going through at home or work" and "You never know why they said that, or reacted like that, or did that" and "If you show them love and react to them with love, that may be the only time they have seen it or will see it today or ever." Even when my initial reaction is all about me, it keeps coming back to them. Mr. Wonderful gave me the book, Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer for my birthday and it is all about loving people and thinking about them instead of yourself. (I told you God has been working on me!) It is a great book and I recommend it to everyone. I firmly believe that the basic principle of putting others before yourself has the power to change the world. 

Back to not appreciating others, my thoughts of "you never know what goes on behind closed doors in a person's life" have become all too real lately. The life of a caregiver is not an easy one. All that is required to handle the seemingly simple everyday stuff for someone other than yourself is overwhelming not only when thrown on you by surprise but also when you've seen it coming. The burden of carrying the responsibility of the well-being of another is great. I have watched my mother as a care-giver almost all my life. She cooks and cleans and sits and visits and shops and helps and does things you'd never even think you needed. She does it all without having to ask. Most people never even know about the things she does. My father, Mr. Incredible, is thoughtful, helpful, and generous in completely different ways than my mom, and they are too many to count. The combination of the two of them is amazing. 

Mr. Wonderful has been experiencing some health issues for a while and they just seem to keep getting worse. We had a rough couple of days and were blessed to receive help from friends and family. To be on the receiving end of a simple meal makes such a difference. Knowing that wonderful friends were bringing supper to my house allowed me to spend the day catching up on laundry and doing cleaning that had to be pushed aside before. The fact that they cooked for an army gave me freedom to play catch up the next day also! I didn't have to worry about going to the grocery store or what to cook or when the girls would nap or anything. I can not say thank you enough to everyone who has prayed for us, offered to keep the girls, called us, sent cards or e-mails, visited us, or sent food. To have a burden lifted, even for a moment, can prepare us to carry our next load. And in my personal experience, I didn't even realize how heavy the burden was until it was shared for a while. It is amazing what God's people can do when they allow themselves to be used by Him.

I still have lots of work to do before Saturday to prepare for Addie's b'day bash, but I can't wait to show pictures of how it turns out. It is my first completely homemade party (and I'm already planning Avie's). From the decorations to the invitations to the cake, Mr. Wonderful and I are doing it all! I'm super excited and a little stressed...I wonder who I'll blame if something goes wrong!!