I got one!

(In above pic, Phoebe is holding her egg-drop project. AS YOU CAN SEE SHE ALSO JUST LOST ANOTHER TOOTH! ISN'T SHE SO DANG CUTE!?! yes, her boiled egg survived the toss off of the roof... in case you were wondering!)

I have been seriously considering closing up my blog. I actually have pretty much already decided to, but first I have to save my pennies b/c I found a site that prints the blog out for you in a book! Which I am really excited about, but it will need to broken up into 2-3 books since I have had it for a couple of years now! :)

Anyway, I just don't usually think of things to blog about and if I do, I don't have time. Or I put it in abbreviated form on FB and that takes care of it. But today I was looking through the piles of papers brought home from school by my sweets, and came across a Synonym paper of Phoebe's. I thought you would enjoy it (though you'll have to understand some spelling, though that is what makes the last one so funny!)

My Synonym Book, by P.M.
DaD-DaDDy
freezing-cold
lite-brite
mom-mommy
yell-screm
alike-same
beautiful-prity
sad-unhappy
angry-maid
I love the last one because I think, at least I have, at times felt angry about being the maid, even though she meant 'mad'. Its one of those funny mis-spellings. Thankfully, I am rarely a 'mad maid' anymore, God has sweetly taught me to be so thankful for the people making the mess that I don't mind cleaning up the mess hardly at all! And I have heard that one day my house will be empty of people and then I will long for these messy days again. So there. In Jesus' name, Amen.*
My friend, Michelle, said that her daughter always ends her prayers with 'In Jesus' name, Amen.' and she accidentally ended a message she left on someone's phone that way. I love it!

Love you! In Jesus' name, Amen!

The girls have cut another apron string (feels like a heart string to me, sniff, sniff, why is it you want them to grow up but you cry when they do? mothering is such sweet sorrow... anyway) and they are walking to and from school. Jacob walks with them a few blocks until their directions change and here is another wonder to me, Jacob came home the other day and said, "Mom, you need to tell me when the girls aren't walking home after school because I wait for them." Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! I had picked up the girls that day and run to the grocery store and he had stood at the corner they meet at waiting for them! (*insert more motherly sniffling here*) They are all growing more responsible for each other and it is a sweet thing to watch. Ellie came home the first day that she and Phoebe walked home together and said it had felt good to her to make sure Phoebe got home all right. It made her feel more responsible. 

Well, Hallelujah!

Lord, I love these sweeties.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

(tugs at your heart, don't it)

T.M.I.

Just warning ya!
The other night, Nate and John were in the living room and I called John into the kitchen, requesting help opening cans. He came in, I was cooking at the stove, and he cozied up to me. Before he moved on to the task at hand, Nate came into the kitchen and said, "That doesn't look like opening cans, unless its a metaphor for something that I don't want to know about."
Yep, he went there. And as hard as I was laughing, at the same time astonished that he made a joke of that nature! To us, about us. Hm. And ha!
Oh, my. OH, MY!
Take care! (and... hope you get to ....open some cans. ;-)

Happy Birthday DadDad

Happy Birthday to our family patriarch! (ooooo!)

He is quite the man. 

Strong, gentle,

 wise,

 quick to smile,

 great laugh,

 always ready with a lap for a grandchild,

 adored by those that know him!

A man of character.

Such a great example. 

Always has a fun idea and smile and laugh for Jacob.

"He's a funny Grandpa" ~Phoebe

Sweet, and he always makes me laugh, and he loves us, and he's a fun grandpa. ~L.E.

Nice, fun, supportive, loving. ~Nathan

We love you, DadDad. 

Have a super birthday. 

We miss you so much!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Life Lessons and Love

http://www.incourage.me/2010/02/a-few-words-about-motherhood.html

Above post brought tears to my eyes, because of the truth I read there about me.
Motherhood has been so good for me. (Good for changing me!)
God is so good and has been so gracious to me.
I love my God and my children... and my journey. (and my mother in law, who said to me at one of the many times in my mothering when I cried over another failure, she said something to this effect, hm... so you're not perfect. In her ever-loving, gentle way, which cannot be expressed here, on-screen, in type, she was saying saying to me,

 "yes- you will make mistakes. It is ok. God's grace is enough for you as well. You have not ruined your children. Forgiven and covered in grace." 

Whoa. Wow.)

Prayers and blessings to you today!

i love these gorgeous children

and this man who made them with me! 

Happy HEART Day!

As Valentine's Day approaches, class lists come home from school, papers turn shades of red and pink. Hearts pop up in stores and ads, love becomes the topic of blog posts and devotionals, etc. My mind  flits around ideas of how to show those that I love, that I love them.

 I should make something yummy (and red?) for them on Sunday.

 Should John and I plan to go out (No, but it is Valentine's Day)? 

What in the world should I give him(Is he going to get me something? He should not but he probably will)?

I need to buy the kids Valentines to fill out tonight and send with them tomorrow for school parties. 

I blew it on sending Valentines to our precious family (I'm sorry, we SO LOVE YOU!). 

We have been giving the kids Valentines, me to the boys and John to the girls. It stems from a precious memory in my life, my Dad has, from way back, I don't when, how, or why it started, but he gives my sister and I a Valentine each year. Its a card, from him, that he signs himself and something from just him to us, chocolate, flowers, a book, one year he gave me beautiful metal hair combs, I have them in the little box he wrote on and gave them in. Even after we got married, he has continued to give us Valentines and they mean a lot to us. There is just something about a gift from your Dad.

 I have read that the love from a Father to a daughter can either 'make you or break you', its true. And then you flourish or persevere and overcome and heal. 

It is to be a picture of the love we receive from God our Father. It is a big responsibility.

......

I started out intending to make this our Valentine to our family.... I got side-tracked. :)

 

Here is what I would LIKE to send you. My sweet little cherubs and I sit down with piles of red and pink paper and scissors and glue and MAKE you some lovely, not perfect, just lovely, as in a precious, lovingly- crafted- together- by- a- child/person- that- loves- you- kind- of- lovely, Valentine. But...

...this is going to have to do this year. We do so love you, our dear family and friends! 

see! We do! :)

XOXO

"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels,
 but do not have LOVE,
 I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 
And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge;
 and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, 
but do not have LOVE, 
I am nothing. 
And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, 
but do not have LOVE, 
it benefits me not. 
LOVE is patient, 
LOVE is kind,
 is not jealous;
 LOVE does not brag 
and is not arrogant, 
does not act unbecomingly; 
it does not seek its own, 
is not provoked, 
does not take into account a wrong suffered, 
does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
 but rejoices with the truth; 
bears all things,
 believes all things, 
hopes all things, 
endures all things. 
LOVE never fails;" 
I Corinthians 13:1-8a

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Brenda and Steve McNamara...

married 40 years ago today. 

Congrats!
Love you so much!

A Birthday

Today is my husband's mom's birthday. She is my children's Gran. She is my mother-in-law, my MomMom, my friend. And many other precious names to many other people!

My heart aches as I begin to put words together in my mind for this post... how can I describe the beauty of this woman to you??

We love her so much and we are secure in her love for us. She leaves no doubt in our hearts of her abounding love for us. 

I cannot find mere words to do her justice...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lord, thank you for this woman. Thank You that You loved her first and so she loves... and loves, and loves. How beautiful she is, You well know, for You are as enraptured by her as we are, indeed even more so, I am sure. 

Thank You for her life, on this day, celebrating her birth. How many people You have touched through her, only You know. We are blessed. Blessed.  

B-l-e-s-s-e-d. 

Happy Birthday Dear Gran-MomMom!

XOXO