Breaking through the Blog Block

So, I could say I've been meaning to write for a week now, but truth be told, I haven't. Many times I've thought, "wow, I should blog that." But, I haven't. Tonight I called home to my mom's and a familiar voice answered. I gave Ryan grief, because that is our pattern, only to realize it wasn't Ryan at all, but Dosh. He was supposed to do a quick run home this weekend for a friend's wedding and to see his best friend, also in the service, who is home because he recently lost his little brother in a tragic accident. I guess hearing Dosh's voice after so long broke the block a bit. It rememinded me how important it is that I remember all those little things that make me smile, all those little things I'm grateful for because it's the little things that add up to create a life of joy, of peace. Those big things, they hit you like a ton of bricks, but the little ones slip away too easily if we don't take the time to catalog them.

So tonight, I am grateful that my little brother and Jessy made it home safely with a couple extra days to spend at home. I pray that he know how to be there for his friends and that he know just how loved he is, even if we don't tell him enough.

I went to the visitation for the father of yet another church friend. The grandfather of one of our confirmation kids. Seems this club is getting bigger and it again reminds me to not let the little perfect moments slide. I'm grateful that God doesn't let us be alone in our grief, but I'd be ok if those of us in our church family (both new and old church!) just stopped losing our parents for a while!

I am grateful for the sound of tiny feet even at midnight, when they should be firmly planted in bed. For the way their sleepy little bodies feel when you pick them up and how their little neck smells when you nuzzle into it with one more hug as you send them back to bed.

I'm grateful for little baby boys who dance and clap with wild abandon to Jesus songs.

I'm grateful for daughters who bring me this, and get me that, take their brother out to play, get sippy cups full of this or that, and 89% the time don't complain or ask for anything in return. I've even seen her kiss boo boos this summer.

I'm grateful for the sound of my mom's voice tonight. The way it just sounded happy even though Dosh showed up while she was tearing apart the bathroom and his room wasn't ready, and the house wasn't clean. Those things in the grand scheme of things don't really matter, do they? (I'm trying to convince myself of this, because although I may go with it, I don't always feel good about it, or like I'm keeping up with the girls.)

I'm grateful that I did not panic when my babysitters for the morning did not get my cancellation message and showed up at 8 am to a very messy house and half naked people. I'm glad they felt comfortable enough to pop on in and hang out for a while anyway, even if I wasn't paying them. (Did you guys hear Finn scream when you left??)

I'm thankful for a church where Bible school is full of life and love. A place where we can giggle and love on each other's kids even on their not so good days. Where we know our kids will be loved on, and maybe cracked down on now and then when they need it. And, I'm glad it's over for the year!

I'm grateful for time with old friends. Time to lunch or just grab a drink and talk about nothing late at night.

I'm grateful for women who bless me with gifts of remembrance. Those same women who bless me many Thursday mornings and evenings.

I'm amazed and a little awed that God blessed me with a full circle moment this weekend. A little over four years ago Mike and I made our first journey to Illinois. We came for a job interview, open, but scared. Mike's parent's took us to a steak house in a warehouse by the river (yeah, it sounds bad, but it's really a decent place!) I remember that night sitting in an upstairs area waiting for a table. I looked over the balcony and watched the people below laughing and drinking while cooking their steaks on big open grills. I remember thinking very clearly, "these people really don't look that different from the people in Ohio. They look nice enough, they look like they're having fun. Maybe they'd take us in, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to live here." And they did. 4 years later we sat at a table overflowing with people, friends. People we didn't know 4 years ago. They aren't that different from those in Ohio, they are nice enough, and we are so blessed.

Best sound of the day "I want to hear another Jesus Song!" Dax on the way home from Vacation Bible School.

Worst sound "No! The Jesus song!! That's not it! No, that's not it either!" Yeah, he couldn't figure out which one off the new CD he was waiting for. A three year old doesn't deal well with Bible School ending after 8:30. He loves it...just no fun after it's over!

Best Combination (Good & Bad) Finn's loud high pitched wail coming from the recovery room after his surgery was over. He made it through with flying colors, but alas, the screech remains. He went to Bible School tonight and was happier than he's been all week! We weren't going to take him, but he was dancing and talking. He is saying words that sound a lot like "Where is it?" "What is it?" "There it is." and "I don't know." He talked more today than he has been and smiled the whole time! I love seeing that happy little guy back!

Praises...

Quick surgeries with kind nurses and cute little baby hospital gowns.

Great sitters that I am counting on a lot this week!

Beautiful weather!

Being able to take preschoolers to the park at 8 to blow off steam. I love their happy smiling faces!

Happy smiling faces! VBS seems to be full of them, from kids to grownups and people in between. Even in the chaos there is music and celebration!

An amazing 4 year old team of teachers, shepards, and youth helpers. (I'm not totally kissing up, but yes I know some of you might stop by here...)

A husband who gets two wisdom teeth pulled at 3 in the afternoon and chooses to go to Bible School to help. I simply assumed he and Finn would stay home, but no, they wanted to go. Totally free will. Gotta love a guy like that. He has not whined even once!

If I can't do it, I'll find someone who can!

Ok, so I haven't written much for a while. Seems I have lots I could write. Stories of whipped cream, yogurt, Ketchup, cranberry juice, sand, dog food, baby soap, desitin, and toothpaste. Any idea what all these have in common? (I'll tell you later!)

So since I haven't written and there are others out there that have done so in a way that is far better than what I could have written, I am giving you my recommendation for a great read! Angie has written another amazing piece. I know, I told you I wouldn't force you to go, and I won't. It's just a suggestion! I do know that a few of you have started reading her regularly and that makes me happy! So if you're looking for a devotion today or you just know there is something you need to read but haven't found it yet, here it is.

Someday I'm going to actually update my blog and add her link permanently. I'm not holding out for this week, it's VBS. My good friend, Amy, is in town for the week. I'm hoping to talk to her more than 5 minutes at VBS! Finn is having tubes put in his ears tomorrow morning at 8ish. Please be praying for the little guy! We have well child visits on Thursday for both boys. Special thank you to my extra daughter, Hayley, for agreeing to go with the me and the monkeys. Maybe I will be able to hear the doctor rather than chase kids down the hallway and try to come up for creative explanations for the stirrups hidden in the exam table. (thanks to Hayley's real mama for letting me borrow her!)

So, It ought to be a fun filled week. Maybe my boys will have less time to dump, eat, or smear upon their persons or their brothers any of the above mentioned items. I do have some pictures, and of course stories I've been meaning to share. You all wish you lived in my house, don't you? =)

God Bless all (3ish) of you who actually read this!! I'm grateful for you!

Praises...

Friends who are there when you start to fall apart.

Friends who will put let your kids join their day at the last minute.

Prayers.

A 3 year old who can charm a medical staff in about 20 minutes.

Great doctors who are blessed with amazing gifts in medicine and a special heart for kids.

Great news and people who want to hear it.

Kids who go with the flow.

A husband who is there when I need him.

Freshly mown grass and three healthy, beautiful children to play in it.

A God who is the same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow no matter what happens in our day.

The Future is so Bright....

I gotta wear shades... We are home. I was calm. Dax was very well behaved and cooperative. The building was big and beautiful. All three of us were a bit nervous. Dax admitted to feeling nervous before going in. Then there was the Stuart Little movie, lots of cool things to play with, a cool little urinal (requiring 5 trips to the potty in just over two hours), funny glasses, Monster's Inc., Sesame Street Characters, a disappearing Cow, crazy lights, lots of nice nurses & techs, a fun guy named Dr. Steve who was wearing a Sponge Bob tie, some horrible little eye drops, more play time, a few more lights, and finally some groovy sunglasses to take home.

And the diagnosis from Dr. Steve...

Dax is illegally cute and is a beautiful, healthy little boy. A little farsighted, which is normal in kids and has pupils that can be as much as a millimeter different in size. He told us to go back through past pictures and see if we could spot it earlier, that he thinks it's been there since birth. He told us that the pediatrician was very worried, rightfully so, different sized pupils can indicate some very bad stuff. He listed off a few syndromes, brain bleeding in which pupil size can be a sign of imminent death, tumors in the neck/top of spine area, and of course the brain tumor thing which had me in a tizzy. So when he smiled and said he didn't see signs of any of these and he doesn't want to see him for 3 years, I finally stopped holding my breath.

It's amazing to think how fast your life can change. I feel more blessed today than yesterday, but my blessing have not changed. Sometimes a jolt on the road makes you just that much more grateful for every moment of "normal" life we are blessed with!

Prayers for My Guy

At 10 this morning we will be taking Dax to the pediatric Opthamologist to have his eyes dilated. We've been noticing some strange things with his pupils and our pediatrician is sending us on to a specialist. I, of course, made the mistake of Googling "different sized pupils" and learned more bad than good. Mothers should be banned from Google when worried about their kids! It just makes it worse! So I'm asking for your prayers. Prayers that you'll keep my mind focused on the positive. Prayers that Dax will stay calm and will find the whole thing an adventure. Prayers that this will just be nothing, just a bleep on life's radar that helps us remember how much we truly have been blessed with.

Praises...

Hanging out with friends. Little ones, big ones, and all of them in between. We are grateful for all those crazy people God has sent us!



Hanging out at a friend's house with no power means fun play with fire...

Not having my children panic when the power went off and the storm started. This one is totally priceless!

Being able to make scary candle faces. Finding pure joy is the things life tosses at you. This was an amazing thing for Lily.

Being safe in the middle of a nasty Father's Day storm. The wind took down many many trees but nobody was hurt. Not being home when this tree crashed down on the roof. I can only imagine the panic that noise would have created!

The fact that this tree limb (as big around as Mike's thigh, laying across the roof from one side to the other) caused no damage.

Finding the playhouse had been tossed across the yard but other than a little dirt was good to go!

Finding the sandbox still standing, just a bit wet. And all the other outside toys were accounted for. One brother, one sister this close and actually getting along for a few seconds!

This baby smiling like a crazy man! (He probably has a rock tucked in that cheek!)

A great husband who I am blessed to have had in my world for so many years I barely remember when he wasn't there. My kids are blessed to have a Dad who is there, always close by to get that glass of water in the middle of the night or kiss a boo boo. We love you!

Praises...

Finding the library cards.

Lunching with good friends.

Library time with friends, kids, friend's kids, kid's friends, and clowns.

Youth doing kind things for others, letting God use them for his purpose.

Notes from my mom, that woman amazes me with her note writing and planning abilities! Notes from long ago returned to remind me that I had put it all in words and he knew.

Getting a night out alone with my husband! Life has thrown us curve balls over the last several months and we have not been alone together since our anniversary in January!

Stumbling into places where God hangs signs on the walls. A question I just asked yesterday was answered for me today in beautiful pictures when I least expected! I love when he works like that!

Walking on the riverfront on a beautiful almost summer night. The chatter of strangers, people playing guitar in the moonlight, the lights on the sailboats.

The incredible clouds! The pink sunsetting over the river. Being just with Mike. Grown up talk..oh how amazing!

Coming home to three beautiful, healthy sleeping kids.

A great sitter who let us not worry about rushing home! Sitter chat after returning home.

Praises...

Beautiful summer days with sun, shade, and the shadows of trees in the backyard.

Home, a place where there are messes, giggles, hugs, and warm bubble baths filled with little boys.

Finishing a fiction novel, the first one in a very very long time.

Seeing old familiar faces. Sometimes a year goes so quickly, it's almost as if time never passed.

Empathy. Feeling others pain. It may sound not so much like a praise, but God gave this to us, and I thank him for it.

Going to the grocery store for a few minutes alone!

Flashback grocery store songs. You know what I mean. You're standing there in the card isle, trying to walk quickly past the Father's Day cards to find something amusing to send a brother just to say hi, a little song on the in store radio station catches your ear and you can't help but sing along. Tonight, it was this one...


Or maybe this one...


Or even maybe this one...


Ok, so when I went to find the song list from the album I started getting confused. I have this CD somewhere in my house. I loved this one sometime in the mid '90s. It was one I would listen to while on the Internet late at night bouncing Lily in the bouncer seat with one foot, singing, and chatting (back when chat rooms were fun, mostly safe, and not filled with psychos). Can't say I wasn't a multitasker. So after looking at the list I wasn't sure which song it was after all, just knew it was one of my favorites on the CD so I figured I'd just share them all, cause I'm all about sharing and how can you go wrong with bands like Hootie and The Blowfish, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Bare Naked Ladies? I do so love how music takes you back so much so that you can see the movie of you then. You can almost feel the feeling and smell the smells. Speaking of which...

Traveling to Miss Traci's blog and being delighted by a new piece of music each time. She makes me laugh with her eclectic soundtrack. I have contemplated getting my own, but I'm a bit afraid I'd be overwhelmed by all the choices! But I must say my favorite is when I go over, like tonight, and hear this...




There is something about Jack Johnson that makes me feel. It takes me to my family. Not the one I live with now, but the one I grew up with. Jack was a guy Dosh introduced us to many moons ago and he was a guy we all could listen to. Seems even still his CD shows up on family car rides, long nights of game playing. Just hearing his voice relaxes me. Takes me back to hotels filled with too many family members and laughter. His music was about all that Dax wanted to hear as a baby, totally mellowed him out. So here is one more just because I wanna put one more up!




I am so grateful for music in my life I know I've said that before and I know it's not something I can really explain but the way it connects people and time God gave us an amazing gift in music.

Praises...

June mornings with no rain and comfortable temperatures.

The wind softly blowing through the trees while you pray.

Sitting in the middle of God's creation to worship.

Wonderful girls who swoop in and walk off with your toddler so you can hear the wind blowing softly through the trees!!

Lazy Sunday afternoons.

A husband who goes Krogering with a 3 year old in tow.

Quiet Sunday evenings with everyone in bed (or sleeping over at friend's houses.)