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!!