Milestones

I am happy to report that Karis has started walking!! She stood up by herself at a friend's house on Sunday, and the last 2 days has taken steps all on her own. We have yet to exceed five in a row, but hey - it's a start. Her attempts obviously left her feeling pretty worn out. . .

In other news, Zekers' potty training has been postponed until a more opportune time (simply put, it was a disaster).

Rachel continues to expand her vocabulary, as demonstrated by a comment she dropped this morning at breakfast: "Mommy, I'm going to take off my jammies now. I assume I got milk all over them." Judging by her personal history, I assumed her statement was probably correct.

Rainy Days & Mondays

This post is neither humorous nor entertaining. It is not cute or funny. But today it is my reality.

Today my own weaknesses and shortcomings have repeatedly smacked me in the face. It's been one of those days that make you want to throw in the towel, to finally admit defeat - on so many levels.

This parenting thing isn't easy; in fact, it's the most difficult challenge I've ever faced. I feel spent, used up, exhausted. It's like when I'm making applesauce - I'm the dried out pulp that's left in the strainer after all the good stuff has been pounded out. I've become this mechanical thing that goes through it's programmed motions: keep them fed and watered, do the laundry, pick up toys, clean Zeke's poop out of the bathtub, take another crayon out of Kari's mouth, wipe the chalk drawings off the sides of the car, do the bedtime routine, try not to scream at the constant stream of whining/crying that never ever ends. Take a few precious moments to vent before falling into bed, gearing up for the whole cycle to start back up tomorrow.

At the present moment, I feel very certain that I cannot do this.

But tonight, just before we turn off the lights, we will go into their rooms to check on them. In their sleep they will look so peaceful, so vulnerable, so angelic, and as I lean down to kiss each soft cheek and hear a sleepy "I love you too, Mommy," I will fall in love with them all over again.

Days like these are hard, but necessary. They show me once again, how desperately I need my Savior. How in my weakness, He is strong. He took the punishment for every one of my sins, having never sinned Himself, so I can be close to Him and spend eternity with Him. And there lies my strength - not in myself (I'd be dead meat!) but in Him. The one who defeated death itself. Days like these force me to fling myself once again at the foot of His cross and beg Him for both grace and mercy.

Thank you, Jesus, for bad days.

A Change of Scenery

This past week, Danny had the opportunity to speak at a jr. & sr. high camp just north of Columbus. So last Sunday we packed up the kids, along with half our household possessions, and set off for Delaware, OH. We arrived back at 12:30 am on Saturday.

Highlights of the week included:

A camp trip to Wyandot Lake water park
The water was so cold that all Zekers could do was stand in it and shake, but the kids loved all the little rides, and Rachel got to go on stage and participate in a pirate show later in the day! The best, though, was the "treasure" she received at the end: a little stuffed Abraham Lincoln baby in a patriotic speedo.

Pony rides at the Columbus zoo
If you ignore the fact that the zoo was actually OUT OF MAPS (which are absolutely essential to scrapbooking about the event), and we didn't get to see the lions, tigers or giraffes due to a commercial being filmed that day; I guess it was an OK day. The kids loved the manitees, of course, and the petting farm was perfect - complete with pony rides. Rachel told us her pony's name was "Princess", while Zekers, who rode the very same pony, proudly declared his pony's name to be "Hay".

Catching up with lots of college friends
We ate lunch at the same Chick-Fil-A almost every day, but hey, it's the perfect place to eat with friends when 5 or 6 kids are involved! (a good play area = adult conversation)

The best camp food I've ever had
It was seriously good. One little jr. high boy blurted out during the week that it was his favorite thing about the camp. I think he was really embarrassed afterward.

Danny fixed the left rear window on our vehicle, so it is no longer garishly adorned with silver duct tape.
Enough said.


The Fullers
Ray & Karen and their 2 beautiful children gave us their basement for the week. It was like having our own apartment, with a kitchen, bedroom and HUGE play area. The kids had a blast running around in the yard/field, and Karen & I were the recipients of dozens of daisies plucked from the perimeter. They also stocked the fridge and cabinets with more food than we could have eaten in a month, and stuffed us so full of pie, ice cream and cake late at night that we're thinking about fasting for the rest of June, just to fit into our clothes. I was especially grateful for their company when Danny was gone speaking in the evenings. Karis enjoyed peeing all over the bathroom floor and climbing the steps up to the kitchen every chance she got. Oh, and she loved the stuffed Clifford that was bigger than she was!

Coming Home
At the end of a week with no set routine, it's nice to return to the somewhat predictable schedule of home, and to our nice little town. After seeing five Starbucks within a one-mile radius of the Polaris mall (2 were literally across the street from each other!), I almost changed my mind about wanting one here. But not quite.

Bad Dates

I can't tell you how glad I am to have been out of the dating scene for the past nine years. A Chicago song I recently heard playing in a department store transported me immediately to the 1990s, a decade full of dates that I can only describe as . . . really bad.

1. One of the first of these took place my jr. year in high school, when I visited a friend who was a freshman at Liberty University. We were going on a double date with two college guys (could it get any better than that?). The date went remarkably well, until I found out that both guys had asked my friend out for the same night, and I was the "consolation prize" for the loser.

2. My senior year of hs I was invited to Grace's homecoming. Good thing my escort & I weren't "a thing" at the time, since he spent the entire evening flirting with his best friend's date. (They're now married.)

3. Early in high school I spent the day at King's Island with a guy who told me as he took me home that my younger sister was much more beautiful than me. (I believe his exact words were, "She buries you.") Wow - if that doesn't melt a girl's heart . . .

4. Then there was the guy I met one summer during the college years, who seemed promising until he told me he'd pretty much asked my dad for my hand in marriage - after 2 dates. (I always thought you'd want to find out little details about a person, like their middle name, whether or not they want children, what their plans are for the future - BEFORE you ask to marry them. But maybe that's just me.)

5. I'll never forget going out with a guy in high school who actually asked me where my mother did her grocery shopping. (I sometimes wonder: was this due to an abyssmal lack of things to talk about, or did the answer actually matter to him??)

6. I still laugh when I think about the guy in hs who, trying to be funny in spite of his extreme nervousness, asked me with a straight face, "Is that your head or did your neck throw up?"

7. This is no joke. I dated a guy for quite a while in college who loved nothing more than taking me down to the lake at night and singing "When You Are a Soldier" (an old Steven Curtis Chapman song). It may have been a little more palatable if he'd been able to sing.

8. My freshman year in high school I was in a "relationship" with a senior that lasted all of one month. It ended the second he told me his big plan for the future was to become a Taco Bell manager and have me work for him.

9. But the one that takes the cake was a blind date the summer between my jr. & sr. years of college. The guy probably would have been a lot more fun if he hadn't spent the entire evening telling me all the different illegal activities he'd taken part in. He was pretty disappointed when my list wasn't nearly as long. (I guess my one speeding ticket didn't sound all that impressive.)

I sat down to write this with 2 or 3 bad dates in mind, and as I write, more keep popping up. You're probably wondering how I ever managed to actually get married. But I was lucky enough to meet Danny, who has as many, if not more, dating horror stories as I do! What can I say - we were meant for each other.

Top Ten Reasons We Love Graduation Parties

10. You get to feel better about your own awkward junior high pictures

9. Lots of scrapbooking ideas!

8. A wonderful excuse to pig out on . . . everything

7. Knowing the graduates have to be nice to you because you're bringing them money / gifts

6. Grade-school girls who love playing with younger children

5. No cooking for days at a time

4. Three words: men in gowns

3. CAKE

2. Inflatables, swing sets, and buckets of ice (things that keep our munchkins occupied for hours on end, and also help them sleep better at night.)

1. You just can't beat spending the afternoon and /or evening with good friends