Sometimes I struggle with being a mom. I have had to give up so much to take care of these four little children. I gave up my career as a teacher and coach. I gave up control of my body when I got pregnant…again and again and again. Most days I give up eating a peaceful meal at any of the three meal times. I have given up sleep, food (it gets nibbled right off my plate), money, peace of mind, time to myself, the hopes of ever having an hour to blow dry and straighten my hair without bloodshed, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes I feel like I have given up my very life for these kids! My whole entire life! Who I am, what I want, what I will be, all for these little ones growing in my home.
You know, believe it or not, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love giving these things up for them (most of the time). Actually, in giving all these things up for my family, I have found my truest self. There will be other jobs in the future, but the most important one, the one that created my defining moment of self, was motherhood. My highest calling in life is to be a godly wife and mother who will raise up godly men and women for this next generation. This is my one job that I know is of an eternal nature. My sole prayer, above all others, is that my kids will love the Lord, their God, with all their heart, soul and strength. Nothing else really matters if they can do that. Nothing I have given up even comes close.
Sunday David started a new series called “Prodigal God.” His talk was about the parable of the prodigal son and what it meant exactly to have been the father of that son. I have heard that story many times growing up, but I never fully realized that when the son asked for his inheritance, the father gave him his “life.” It is interesting that Jesus used that word. In light of scripture it fits perfectly, but because my translation did not translate the word “life,” I never got the full understanding of what the father gave. That father gave up his land, his livelihood, his reputation, his future, his honor, his LIFE, to allow his son to exercise his freewill. I imagine the father did it willingly.
I am so grateful God does the same thing for us. He gives us his LIFE: His only begotten son, so that we might have eternal life through Christ (John 3:16). He allows us to choose, to have freewill, with the hopes that we too will realize we have it far better with Him, than anywhere we can go on our own. Thank you Lord, for giving your Life, your Son, for us!
Just in time for summer, this favorite treat is quick, easy to make, and a crowd pleaser. My daughter has asked for this dessert to be her birthday cake for the past two years in a row. Don’t worry, no actual grasshoppers were harmed in the production of this recipe!
1 package Oreos
1 stick of butter, melted (use less if you want)
1 half gallon size mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
1 package whipped topping, Cool Whip
Crush all but 10 of the Oreos in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin. Empty into a bowl and mix with the melted butter. Spread into the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish and press down to form a chocolatey crust. Stir ice cream in a bowl until it is creamy and no longer lumpy. Then scrape ice cream into the 9X13 and smooth. Freeze for 2 - 3 hours then add the whipped topping layer. Refreeze again for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight. You may also want to garnish each slice with some sort of gummy candy or a Junior Mint or even some Oreo cookies. You can also sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings as well.
Tags: Cool Whip, Grasshopper Pie, Oreos
Strawberry season is upon us and one of my favorite spring appetizers is fruit salsa with cinnamon chips. I have included how to make your own cinnamon chips if you can’t find them at the grocery store.
I find them at Trader Joe’s around here and I used to find them at Meijer stores when we lived in Indiana. If I can buy them I usually do and save myself a little time and effort.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
- 1 medium navel orange, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 medium kiwifruit, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
- CINNAMON CHIPS:
- 10 flour tortillas (8 inches)
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
For chips, brush tortillas with butter; cut each into eight wedges. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 350° for 5-10 minutes or just until crisp. Serve with fruit salsa. Yield: 2-1/2 cups salsa (80 chips).
Tags: Fruit Salsa, Meijer, Trader Joe's
I don’t know about you, but May always seems like one of the busiest months of the year. As the school year winds down, I feel bombarded by last minute field trips, testing, forms to sign, graduations, weddings, everything seems to hit at once. Since it feels like I have hit the home stretch, I relax my calendar and organizational skills a bit. Invariably, I miss something. Some small detail, like $1.50 for ice cream day at preschool or a packed lunch for a field trip.
Last week for teacher appreciation week at preschool, we were supposed to bring in a flower for the teachers. I, of course, forgot, but was thrilled we were getting to preschool early. As soon as we walked in, I realized my mistake. So I turned around with three kids, got back in the van, buckled everyone up and headed to Harris Teeter to pick up something to give the teachers.
Harris Teeter’s floral section was still cleaned out from Mother’s Day, but before total panic set in, I did manage to find a few mini carnations that would work nicely. We got back in the van, buckled back into car seats and headed back to preschool to try it again. By this time we were about 10 minutes late, but my son was able to happily give his teachers some flowers.
I suppose it was not the most devastating thing that could happen, but these little forgetful moments make me feel like I am loosing my mind some days. How do you manage to juggle all the cares and many miscellaneous responsibilities as a Mom? What are your organizational secrets?
Tags: Harris Teeter, Mother's Day
About 4 weeks ago Dave and I went to a conference in Orlando without any kids. I allowed myself the luxury of taking a book that had been highly recommended by Allyson Hodges, our worship guy’s wife. She did warn me, as others did, that I needed to be prepared to be sucked into Twilight world for a while, until I finished the series. I was a little skeptical and thought I could just read the first one and quit for a while, no problem.
I devoured the first book in less than three days and because I was speaking at the conference, I put off getting the second book until the conference was over. I finished the second book in about 2 days and was off to the third. By the end of two weeks I had finished 4 large novels! (some over 600 pages!)
I had not indulged in reading this much in such a short amount of time since before I started having babies. Something about constantly being interrupted and having to reread the same paragraph 4 times in a row because someone is distracting you or snapping a child’s head off because they are bothering you AGAIN, made reading a pleasure I felt I should put off for a while. Now, I won’t say that I haven’t read any books in the past 10 years and I have probably read countless articles in magazines, but indulging so greedily into a book or series was pushed to the back burner.
When I first finished the series, life felt a little surreal. Somehow Stephanie Meyer, the author of the series, was able to create a world and characters that were really hard to resist. They actually felt like friends. I was obsessed, I wanted to know more! What were the characters doing now? I feel like a trekkie admitting this, but I even scanned her website and read the 276 pages of book 5 she has posted there. Plus I read all the deleted scenes she had on the website as well.
Now that I have been out of the Twilight world, or the Cullen world or the Bella and Edward world, for a couple of weeks, life is back to normal. Dave is delighted to have his wife back, even though I reminded him that he is the same kind of obsessed when he is working on a website or computer stuff in general. The siren’s call to devour all things Bella and Edward has quieted down some and I am fully entrenched in reality, for now. I am plotting my next escape into bookdom soon. I need to finish the Harry Potter series. Any other recommendations?
Tags: Allyson Hodges, Bella, Edward, Harry Potter, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight
My kids love Taylor Swift (Noah and Chloe especially) well, we all do, and Dave and I love Coldplay. I play both very often in my van as we go humming down the road. This YouTube video was so beautiful I just had to share it with you.
Tags: Coldplay, Love Story, Taylor Swift, Viva La Vida
Hello to all who follow this blog. I am getting ready to put up a new recipe (finally, I know!) and I could use a little help. What type of recipe would you prefer to see this month? Appetizer, entre, dessert, sides? Help me out and let me know what you would like to see by commenting in the comment box. Or better yet, post one of your favorite Spring recipes to share with us all.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!
Last week we went to Topsail Island, NC for Spring Break. Despite the cold weather and ever blowing winds, we had a really great time, until the ER visit.
Yep, you read that right! Wednesday, Gideon, Dave, Alex and Noah were laying on a bed watching Tom and Jerry, just relaxing, when Gideon fell off the bed and hit his head. He seemed OK, so Dave put him down for a nap. When I got back from my walk on the beach, Gideon woke up crying, “Boo boo, boo boo” and rubbing his head. We decided to take him to urgent care and while sitting in the waiting room, he vomited everywhere and all over poor David! While Dave ran back to the house to get a change of clothes for himself and Gideon, I really stressed the importance of getting see the doctor, because with the vomiting, I was worried about a concussion.
Once the Dr. had all the info, she refused to see us and said we needed to get to an ER quickly! The closest one was in Wilmington, about 45 minutes away. Dave and I took off and left the kids with Wil and Carol Evans (whom we were staying with). We got to the hospital and gratefully, it wasn’t too busy. We got back to a room within 30 minutes and soon Gideon was having his first CAT scan.
We went back to our ER room to await the results and within about 30 minutes we finally heard the good news, he was fine! No skull fracture, no brain bleeding, nothing! Thank goodness! He did, however, have an ear infection and is cutting the back right molar.
So all’s well that ends well, but we thought you all might enjoy seeing him in the CAT scanner! Not a bad ride for a $150 copay!
I know my kids are weird sometimes, but that is part of their charm, right? Chloe was folding a load of laundry this week and she and Gideon decided to have a little fashion show with some underwear.
Thank goodness they were clean! They made me crack up so much I had to get a picture. Maybe they will brighten your day with their silliness too!
Yo, Yo, Yo,Yo, we are the Panty Heads!
I’ll admit, I was a little worried about the egg hunt this year. With thunderstorms, winds anywhere from 20-30 miles per hour, and gusts up to 40 or 50mph, it was a little crazy! However, moving it one day was really great and seemed to work out just fine.
I am amazed at how many people came after the date change and how well things went. My kids loved the fact they could get as many eggs as they wanted! There were so many eggs, each kid could be a greedy as he or she wanted and there were still eggs to spare. Joe had a great team of ladies helping him with this event; Mandy Watson, Ashley Jimenez, Megan Charleton and yours truely. It could not have happened without all their hard work. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon of egg hunting joy and hanging out with our Kinetic friends and family.
Tags: Ashley Jimenez, Joe McGrew, Mandy Watson, Megan Charleton
Recent Comments