Just Another Day

I'm sure that many people - especially moms- feel the same as I do. Under-appreciated. No, more than that. It's not that people don't appreciate the things I do, I don't think they even notice what I do. Of course, they would notice if it wasn't done! Though I usually enjoy it, sometimes it's just tough being the glue of the family (including the little ones who seem to never want to leave my arms or my presence)! Sometimes people ask me, "Did you watch that show?" or "Did you see that commercial?" and they look at me perplexed when I say, No I don't watch TV. "Really?" Nope. They look at me again as if I'm lying, and I have to restrain myself because I want to strangle them.

So humor me for a few minutes. I need to recount my day. Just because I need to get this out before I crash for the night.

Let's see, after working a 10 hour shift in the ER, I laid down to sleep about 2:15am. I awoke at 7am to nurse Annie and then back to sleep until 9am. Upon rising, I immediately got dressed and walked into the kitchen. I saw that Daddy made pancakes for breakfast - yeah! So I began cleaning up the kitchen and unloading the dishwasher from yesterday. Sort the laundry from yesterday, throw another load of laundry in, make the bed, oh Annie is awake from her morning nap and Ben's diaper is about to touch the floor! Change and dress the 2 young ones, break up a fight between the older ones, now Annie needs fed again. Make an early lunch and get everyone headed toward the car for Aaron's soccer game - do we have water? soccer ball? chairs? diaper bag? hats? oh lather up on sunscreen! Off to the game! Outta the car and to the field, now Katie needs to go the bathroom (port-a-john) and Annie needs fed her pureed bananas. No, Ben, you can't have any more candy or juice boxes until you eat a chicken nugget and drink some water (that's healthy, right?). Thank goodness for grandparents who helped me wrestle these guys a little while Chad coached. Back in the car and headed for home.

It's after 1pm, I'm starving so I scarf down a PB&J with orange Crush. Yum! Kids in front of the TV to "rest" (so sad, I know) while I nurse Annie and check my email quickly. Put Ben down for a nap. Don't forget - the crib needs lowered because Annie is crawling everywhere now. Find the wrenches and head upstairs. Wrong wrenches. Okay, back upstairs with the right wrenches and lower the crib while Annie lays in the floor and cries. Now to bed with you, sweetie! By this time Chad is home from the first trip to Home Depot, and it's time to work on the patio outside. Aaron and Katie - no fussing, I'll be outside if you need me. More sunscreen. Now to shoot grade and screet sand. Oh such tedious work! Finally, one section is ready (it was close enough for me from the beginning) and we begin carrying and laying 16"x16" brick pavers. Scraped leg with sunscreen in it - ouch! No, Katie don't walk there! Chad goes back to Home Depot, I go inside to marinade the chicken for dinner and get Annie up - oh, and there's Ben, too! Take the exersaucer outside for Annie to sit in and cry (she, of course, really needs me to hold her) while I work a little more on the pavers. My mom shows up so I talk to her for few minutes while filthy Ben sticks his dirty fingers into the straw of her drink. Take pictures of the projects going on around the house (my dad is also there working on the first stages of a clubhouse, so Chad is splitting his time between the two projects). Back inside several times to check dinner and the single load of laundry that I can't seem to finish today. Set the table, wash hands. Feed Annie green beans which she doesn't want but, today, this is good because now I give her a vanilla wafer to slobber on while I eat my dinner. Aaaaah, Coca-Cola!

After dinner, clear the table, load the dishwasher, drive down and get the mail (only Chad saw me leave - I should drag this out longer than I do). I give Annie and Ben a bath while I glance through the first 10 pages or so of a new magazine and then send Katie and Aaron to the showers. Chad gets everyone's snack ready and we settle down on the couch to watch a movie together. Flop Annie on my lap, feed her, put her to bed. (Usually there would be more diaper changes in there somewhere, but based upon the diaper I removed from Ben before his bath, I don't think there were!) After the movie, too late for books. Just brush your teeth and go to bed. Kisses and tucking in. Now, to the dirty house. Wash the rest of the dishes from dinner. Wipe the countertops. Vacuum, mop (another group meeting here tomorrow evening and the house should at least smell like Pine-Sol). Finally that load of laundry gets done. Give the dog some water. Pick up the blankets and pillows scattered around. Lay out stuff that needs to go with us to church tomorrow. Lights off. Get a towel and head to the shower. Chad says, "You haven't had a shower yet?" Nope. "That's disgusting." Yep. He goes to bed, I go to the shower.

It's nice to be alone in the shower even if I did lather my body with shampoo instead of body wash. I mean, really, soap is soap and, at this point, who cares?!?!

Koinonia

I had a few extra special moments this week when I just felt so blessed by the friends God has given me! First, I spent Saturday with a friend from college. A girl that I have known for 13+ years now, whose kids call me Aunt, and whose husband is also a pastor. Then I went to dinner with a bunch of women on Tuesday, some of whom I know well and some I am getting to know better. As the hostess was pouring drinks, she said, "I poured you tea." My response was, "Thanks for knowing me well enough to know that I wanted tea!" I love that these women introduce me as their "pastor's wife" only for the purpose of making me squirm - they don't really watch me with judging eyes. Finally, we spent a few minutes at another family's house this evening praying with them as they prepare to take their 3 month old for neurosurgery tomorrow. With a quick phone call and 5 minutes, 2 other families had dropped what they were doing and met us there to pray.

5 years ago I felt "friend-less" in many ways and now I am surrounded by women and men who hold me up in so many ways - and I feel blessed to be able to do the same for them.

Koinonia. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Phillipians 2:1-2

No Easter Bunny

Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, several people asked my kids, "Did the Easter Bunny come to your house this morning?" My kids would just look at them, somewhat perplexed that a grown person would still believe in the Easter Bunny. We did get our kids a small gift for Easter, but they were fully aware that it was from us - not a large bunny hopping in our house! We have decided that if our kids are looking to us to learn Truth, we need to fill them with it. If we tell them that Santa is real and so is Jesus, how will they learn the difference? When they find out that Santa isn't real, will they also doubt the One in whom they've put their child-like faith?

I know that lots of people disagree with this thinking, but I am thrilled to say that my kids don't believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, but they do believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter morning!

Seder Dinner

Our home group enjoyed a traditional (yet modified) Seder dinner together a few days before Easter. It was the first time I had taken part in a Passover celebration such as this, and I think we all really enjoyed it. There are so many Christian symbols within the celebration. It was a good reminder of Jesus' last meal before his death and resurrection!

Though we have no Jewish or Hebrew ancestry, we
still welcome Shalom ("peace") to our home!

Jeff enjoying his Matzo bread sandwich

Preparing to take the cup together

The Lyles and the Kirbys

Seder plate

Snow in April????

Snow in April is crazy! At least it didn't stick to the ground or last more than a few minutes! But I still found it odd to see it snowing on the green grass that I just mowed a few days ago!

Easter eggs

We decorated our Easter eggs together last Wednesday and had a lot of fun doing it! I found a dye kit in a box upstairs that was bought last year on clearance and we pulled our paints out of the art drawer in the kitchen. After covering the kitchen table with newspaper and tying an apron on Ben, we got busy decorating our eggs in all sorts of designs. Enjoy the pics!