Monday Morning is coming...

Oh Monday morning, this boy is going to love you...

However this boy, maybe not so much... 

 

 The picture above was taken last Tuesday morning when I thought I could get a good "first" day of school picture so that we at least showed improvement from weeks past...sigh...maybe not!  I can pray that the morning to come will be more like this one...

Mr. Finn started his second year of preschool on Wednesday!  Oh what joy I find in seeing at least two of my children headed to school with such joy on their faces!  It was even better when I picked him up and He just kept posing for more pictures!  I had to practically drag him off school grounds! 

 Thanking God for a great day at school?

Posing on the dinosaur.

Loving on his great teacher!

 

Too bad I don't have a picture of Mrs. Turney giving me a goodbye hug!  Finn was too busy running to find his friends to so much as wave, let alone give his mom a hug!  We are so excited to be back!  I wish all schools could be like this one, full of hugs, singing, dancing, playing, and being silly!  Learning the way children's brains are created to learn!  Oh Finny, enjoy it because as the big guy will tell you, the hours of sitting at tables is looming oh too close on the horizon, but for now my little guy, you and mom are going to soak up the joy in this place!

True words

Today the dam broke.

We started this morning with the usual...

"I'm not going! I hate school! It's boring and dumb."

These words I have become so familiar with. So familiar I've learned to block them out and put on a smile, boy that must be annoying to Dax. Hopefully it's as annoying as those words!

Today after he was dressed and then undressed he started to cry.

"I am sad, I am so scared, I really miss my family. Mommy, can you pleeeeeaaaase just stay with me at school." 

Bingo. Fear. Fear trumps anger every time. 

I hugged him, I loved on him, told him how I miss him too. Then we got dressed. We cut out a family picture and tucked it in his pocket so that his whole family was at school with him. Then we tracked down our old friend, Gigi. She's been a good and loyal friend for 6 years now. One paw may have had the fabric replaced with mismatched stock and she might be a little less soft and pretty than when she began, but she's always on standby for a good trip to a scary place. She stowed away in Dax's back pack today. She probably loved it, it's been a long time since she's been out. She spent the whole year in his back pack his first year of preschool. She did make the journey to Ohio when he went alone with Nana this summer and had a cameo appearance in the dentist's office last fall. Maybe my big first grader isn't so big after all, but that's ok.  Maybe being brave and tough is a little over rated.

Maybe one day those true words will turn into...

"I love school! I just can't wait to go!"  

A girl can dream, right? 

I know we have have a big big God and I'll never underestimate what he can do!

What do the other two do all day?

Why...they play, of course!  And they learn, and they giggle, and they spend a lot of the day in their jammies!  What a life!

 

Just don't tell Finn I posted this picture...

...maybe that's why Dax doesn't want to go to school!

I Have a Maker....

Three days ago we started school. This is Dax on day one...

              
This is Lily...

 
See a difference?

For two days we have been smiling and chatting up school as we dress our six year old and he yells, "I'm not going!"  School is "Boring, Lame, and Dumb!"  We haven't argued with him, we simply move forward repeating how school is important and full of  great adventures. We walk through the motions. We coerce, we buckle into the van, we drive, we coerce some more,all the while still telling him what a great day this can be. He stops at each threshold, crosses his arms and repeats "I'm not going!"

 
for the last two days I have kissed him, hugged him, and left him standing behind his chair in his classroom.

I come home praying for him and  for his sweet brand new teacher.  Then I call my mom and relive the morning wondering what I'm doing wrong.  She assures me I'm doing just the right thing for Dax and she prays for him (and I'm sure for me too).

I'm not used to this.  I've been blessed with 9 years of this...



Lily loves school.  Lily loves school shopping.  She is giddy at the thought of school supplies, schedules, locker decorating, and bells ringing.  We have come home early from vacation for the posting of the class lists!  This year Dax told me to run on up and see who his teacher was, he really had no urge to go, nor did he really care all that much.  He was just happy his teacher was pretty                                        

... is this a boy thing?

This morning Lily convinced Dax to put on his clothes before I was even out of the nursery.  She then helped him get breakfast and came to report that although he was dressed and fed, he was still certain he was not going.  I thanked her profusely, at least Mike wouldn't have to dress him by force this morning, and sent her on her merry way to school.

Juliet was awake and chipper earlier than usual this morning so we were having our singing and playing time a bit early.  The song that came out of my mouth was one from Bible School this year.  "I have a maker...he formed my heart..."  somehow I couldn't remember the words so I called Dax to come "help Juliet".  That is one of those things that this big brother can't refuse!  He came up and I told him how excited I was to see he was dressed.  He smiled at me and said "yeah, Lily made me, but I'm still not going to school".  Juliet giggled at him and he giggled right back, telling her, as he does every morning, just how beautiful she is.  I explained our problem with the song lyrics and he began to sing...

I have a maker

He formed my heart

Before even time began, my life was in His hands

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He knows each tear I cry 

and hears me when I call.

So, yes, I was a little teary when I joined in.  Juliet grinned from ear to ear.  So did Dax.  He then started singing...

    This is the Day you have made we will rejoice and be glad in it

This is the day...

I started laughing, I asked him who made the day in that song.  He looked at me like I was a little nuts and said "God".  I shared with him that God did form His heart, he knew before time began that he would be in the 1st grade in this class with these kids and he knew that it would be hard at first.  He looked at me with this deep smile and said "He did?'"  I brushed his cheek, "yes, and he sees your tears, and hears and your voice, he put you just where you are.  He made this day and it's going to be a good one!"  His eyes just glowed and with the softest little mutter of a voice he said "but I'm still not going to school".  I just smiled, because I could hear the guard being let down. 

We packed his lunch.  He put on his shoes.  He walked all by his lonesome out to the van, buckled in, and asked to hear church songs, which he sang all the way to school.  As we pulled around the circle drive one of his best buddies was walking up the walk with his mom.  Being this particular family, I have a feeling God placed them right there.  As he got out of the van, with a grin he looked back and said, "I'm only doing this today, well and tomorrow so I can choose dinner tomorrow night".  

Two days is better than none, little guy, and after this morning I've had a little reminder that I cannot do it alone, I am not in control and neither are you....

You have a maker, and He formed your heart, even before time began you were in His hands.

Three

This guy came into our world three years ago and things just haven't been the same since!

Finn is....

strong

funny

smart

handsome

a lover of girls of all ages

a great dancer

full of trouble

an amazing snuggler

a lover of books

incredibly athletic

blessed with his mother's (lack of) Grace
a talker of smack with a swagger
full of amusing expressions

a great kisser

a lover of baths

a fan of church

a lover of Jesus

a fan of smoothies

incredibly picky when it comes to food

almost a vegetarian

very photogenic

a charmer

a people person

a follower of his brother

a tormentor of his sister

helpful (when he hears me...)

destructive

a good writer

an amazing ball thrower

sweet

compassionate

a really horrible listener

a natural puzzle do-er

a great kicker (balls and siblings)

a fan of his dad

a incredible surprise to our family that has blessed us so much, I can't even imagine this world without those eyes and that smile!

Oh why not...

Let me just say, I was not planning on an American Idol post, but you know, I used to do them all the time.  So why not? 

I'll be brief. 

Although I love...



And I love...



When this guy just sits down and sings, I still can't help wanting to pack him up and take him on vacation (Don't worry Mike, I really won't...just a passing thought =)



As for the others, they can go home now, I'll just keep these three.

Maybe I'll post pictures or tell stories of my actual family tomorrow!

Blogging...

Do I pack it up?
Do I force myself to write everyday?
Do I admit defeat or try to find the spark that started the journey?
Am I at a loss for words? (Don't laugh!)
Do I have just too many?
Would I be better off to just spout random stuff or try to go back and catch up?

sigh...

I don't know. 

I've been thinking about this blog, sitting out here taunting me. 

I've been thinking about how many of my friends keep plowing along writing great little tidbits about their lives.

I've been thinking about those blogs I read once upon a time that seem to have fallen silent and how I wonder what is going on in the world of someone I've never even met.

Another friend started a blog today.  I smiled reading her first entry, all excited with the newness of it all.  I remember when I started, finally an outlet from my thoughts, for the crazy that goes on in this house each day.  Where did it go?   hhmmm...anyone know how to find that?  I'm taking suggestions! 

Maybe I'll just post pictures, I'm sure I could find something! 

Or share that my brother and sister in law who's story I shared here are having a little boy!

Or maybe I should mention that my little brother, Dosh and his sweet wife, Jessy whose wedding I talked about here are having a baby too!  A baby that they thought was a boy, but as of yesterday is officially a girl! I am just as thrilled about this sweet baby as I am about my soon to be little nephew and feel really bad that I didn't even blog the story of their baby!  They were sure that everyone in our family has had a hard time having a baby so certainly they would too, right?  Hmmm...I'd say that a honeymoon baby is just as wonderfully special as one you've longed for for years, just maybe doesn't get all the glitter and glamor!  Either way, I'm so excited to have two new little people in our family!

Maybe I should share my feelings as I pass the anniversary of my dad's death, and of the loss of one of my ectopic pregnancies, all those events that surround my own birthday and how I can't help but be an emotional headcase at those moments.

Or the fact that my husband turned another year older and I still can't imagine life without him!  I am so blessed that he chose me, and we are still here 20 birthdays later. 

Or maybe I should tell you that my Finny turned 3!  He is my baby, how can he be three?  I should tell you all the amazing details of who he is right now, and how I adore him even on the days when he dumps bottles of makeup on the floor, floods the bathroom, covers 12 towels with feces, and breaks his sister's violin.  Maybe I should throw in a few (or a lot) of adorable pictures of his steel grey eyes and dimple or pictures of his birthday party full of his friends.

Maybe I should hit Lily's 12th birthday.  How much she's growing and how it just hit me that there are only a couple years left where Mike and I will still have the big influence in her world.  Soon it will be what her friends say that is all that matters.  How I love this girl.  I see her growing in strength, faith, love, and I just want to remember her in big frilly hats climbing on my lap to read books like "Little Women" with me when she was two. 

Do I share with you my aching heart at the news that my beautiful niece, Kaylah, who is 8 was diagnosed with Leukemia just a week and a half ago. She is fighting like a champ already!  I am so proud of her momma who started writing her story here and should have been writing all along.  Do I tell you how sad I am again to be so far away from my family when they are fighting their way through these valleys.  Or how blessed I feel to know that I am the child of a Big God who holds all of us in the palm of His hand. 

Maybe pictures of youth events with girls who I love almost like my own or or field trips with preschoolers?

There are so many moments and so many stories, I just don't know how or where to start, or where to finish.

Still open for suggestions...maybe I should take requests...is anyone even still out there?

So, I went to Mommy School this weekend....

I had hoped to come back with fires blazing, my path more directed, I'm not sure that was the case.  What I came back with was a smile on my face, some interesting thoughts on the places the Lord puts me, knowledge that sometimes things I think might be uncomfortable just might fit like an old shoe, and a reiteration of something he's been telling me for a while now. "It's the task at hand, Marci.  It's the moments, the people, the day you're in.  You are in each one for a purpose, quit trying to skip ahead to find out where the story is going."

So here I am.  Saturday I was here with almost 5000 other great ladies.  I learned a lot.  I thought I'd share a small something that I thought was interesting...

Every Piece Counts.  Got 5 Minutes?  In 5 minutes you can...

...write a note to a friend.
...clean out a kitchen drawer.
...read a book to your child.
...ask your teenager's opinion.
...send your husband an email love letter.
...paint your nails.
...read an article or a blog to recharge your mommy batteries.

Every minute counts. 

So today I'm taking 5 minutes, starting now, to brush off my blog praise journal....

Living in a country where a huge group of women can gather to laugh, learn, and worship in freedom. 

Being valued enough as a wife and mother to be supported in my journey to figure out what other passions I might have.

Connecting with grown ups and with my own little people.

A husband who takes care of three little people and everything else so I can go.

Knowing when I get home everyone will be ok.

A mom who will pray for me all day and listen intently when I ramble on about my experiences.

A great great God who values me enough to call me his.

The three little people (and their daddy) who yell, whine, fuss, who make life chaotic and crazy.  Without them, I would not be on this blessed journey.

I'm sure this is not what my husband meant....

No, I'm sure this is not what Mike was after when he told me I really needed to start blogging again.  I do have plenty to blog...plenty!  But, alas, American Idol has begun, and it's been a long time since I've blogged about such trivial TV, but I must say although the talent is not really shining through for many so far this week, I could, in fact, pack this contestant in my suitcase and take him on vacation.  Shhh...just don't tell Mike!

(I appologize for the still screen, I guess tonight's performances have not hit Youtube yet.)


***Update***
YouTube has the whole thing now, but there is a lot of stuff before the singing starts, so I'm leaving the above song just so I can hear it when feel the urge...

Christmas, The Blog. Part 4, The Day After...

So I'm thinking Christmas should be wrapping up soon...but really it is my favorite time of the year. I love all the anticipation, the music, the lights, the smells, the love. We start it a month before; why not hold onto it for a month after? Who knows when we'll take the outside lights down. Do we really need to? What does it hurt to keep them up year round just knowing that with the flip of a switch the best season of the year returns? I'm thinking this year, we might just leave them up!

The day after Christmas this year was our day to gather with Mike's family at his grandparent’s somewhere in the hills of southeast Ohio. Lily did lots of the picture taking this year, as well as some rather...um....interesting videography from the drive. I thought it would be fun to highlight some of her work.

The highlight of this gathering is getting to see everyone, even if it is for just a short period of time. Mike's grandparents are amazing people. What I have always loved most about them is their humor and their love for each other. They for years have illustrated to me what a lifelong marriage looks like. Their laughter, love, and silly flirtations with each other have made me laugh and warmed my heart. I feel blessed to have been brought into their family. I wish we could see them more than once a year. When we were closer it was a bit more often, but still not often enough. It's amazing how over the years the numbers have grown, the house, however, has not and although it's a little tight, and a bit warm, there is still always laughter.

This year we attempted to put together a family photograph. The last time this was done the family consisted of Mike's grandparents, his parents, his aunt & uncle, Mike, his brother Jeff, and his two cousins. This time we added two granddaughter in laws and six great grandchildren. We had to do this inside do to the weather and health issues. Jeff brought his tripod and I brought my camera & flash. Between the two of us we figured out how to use my timer (something I never use!) and figured out the best angles and lighting available with everyone in a small space. And then we began to shoot....

We did it! We actually have one shot where 17 out of 18 people are looking at the camera with open eyes and fairly pleasant faces. I'm trying to figure out if I can cut and place my sweet little niece, Allie, in from another shot. It seems as if when I was behind the camera, she'd look at it, but when I'd run into the picture she'd turn her head to watch me. So we have cute picture of Allie without me in them....I'm not sure if that is such an issue, I like being behind the camera rather than in front anyway! =)

I'm excited that I was asked to do this, that the parties were all willing. Even if it is not perfect, it is real! What a wonderful gift for our children to have!