Two is perfect...one for each hand!

I just returned from babysitting my nephews for the entire day...all I can say is "whew, I'm glad I'm home to my somewhat quiet house." My sister-in-law & her husband went away for a couple of days & I got the first stretch of kid-watching ...they are great boys(3 total-they are 2, 6, 11)but VERY different from having girls. Let me explain: I'm used to tea parties, dressing up as princesses, doing shows, and playing doggies...but today we played Star Wars, lions, cars, wrestling, tag, jump on Aunt Angie & other things that totally wore me out! Also, before my sister-in-law left I asked her if the youngest was peeing on the potty yet...then I said"Can he get up on the potty by himself okay?" She looked at me, laughed & said"uh, he stands up"...opps, I forgot that boys do that...hee hee! Anyway, I'm home, my girls are in bed & I'm going to do a very "girl" thing and scrapbook for awhile...oh, and I'm glad that I have just one kid for each hand...five kids today was stretching it for me!

A kiss on the lips

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." Proverbs 24:26

As I was reading this morning that Proverbs hit me. A kiss is so innocent & so sweet(especially from your child)...it brings such joy when I am kissed by my girls...& David's kisses are sweet too. Just last night we were shopping & Abby stuck to me like glue kissing me & saying"your the best mom, I love you"and then she'd give yet another sweet kiss. It brought me joy! Joy beyond what I could ever describe! So, now God is telling me that honesty brings on that same type of joy? Wow!
As I'm slowing reading "Boundaries" by Townsend & Cloud I am being constantly reminded of how little I am truly honest with people. I don't tell lies or anything, I'm just not honest...I don't truly speak the truth. When I'm asked "how are you?" I give them the "I'm great, my life is perfect, I can do everything & ANYthing that comes my way, so there is nothing in my life that is wrong" answer. Ohhhh....kkkk...whatever!
So, why can't I just be honest with people and say, "you know, my life is hard. I struggle daily. Can you pray for me?"
Is this so hard to do? Yes. But God says that I need to be honest. Honest about my limitations, honest about my boundaries(No, I can't do everything), honest when someone askes my opinion, honest to my sweet David, honest to my friends, to my mom...the list goes on & on. When I'm asked about how I feel, I need to tell people. Now, I don't want to be one of those people that spew stuff for no reason at all, those people that are constantly "complaining"...that is not what I speak of. Because God also calls us to have "joyful hearts even during a storm". I'm talking about raw, honest answers. "Yes, I'm hurt because...no, I can't do that for you...yes, I feel sad, lonely, afraid, angry..."God gave us feelings to express them. When we do express them in a loving matter people will respect us even more. They will see that we are true, honest people that they can rely on. And it will help you grow together with other believers. Cool consept.

This is my prayer today...
"Take control of what I say, oh Lord..." Psalm 141:3
May my honest answers be "like a kiss on the lips"

Pampering session number one

Yesterday was Emily's birthday. So this morning I took her to a salon for a little pampering. She is a new mom & I thought she'd enjoy a little time for herself...well, actually, I went with her...I needed some mommy time too(and some friend time).So we got our nails done(since we both bite them).Yes, Stumpy got filed, buffed & polished.(for those of you that don't know, I named one of my fingers "Stumpy" because it is my favorite to bite & it literally looks like a stump because it is so short-gross, I know). My goal is to stop my childhood habit!!!! The girl doing my nails suggested that I come in every week to have my nails done, so that I can take better care of them & to help break the habit-yeah, okay, like I have the time or the money for that...so, Em & I agreed that we need at least a once every couple months "pampering" and friend time(it might not be every week but it's better then never. )This was only my 2nd manicure in my 31 years of exsistence...
Anyway, we had a great time & then headed to a scrapbooking store & bought a couple of things on sale. It was a fun morning spending time with you Emmy! And even though your feet hurt you looked so adorable!!!!I love ya!Happy B-day yesterday!

Run Forest Run!!!!!

Okay...I hurt! All over. I guess it is a "good" hurt since I've been exercising more than ever in my WHOLE life! Emily had this wonderful(that was sarcastic)...idea that she would run a 6 mile run in November. I said"Go Em! I'll hold Addy as you cross the finish line." Then David, says"we should run it too, it will be fun to train for it."
What?
This is the man that eats pizza at 10pm !!!! Now he wants to train for a race...?
Hee hee...(I laugh)
"HAve fun..."(I laugh again, not because I don't think he can but because I knew what was coming next out of his mouth.)
"Come on, want to do it with me? We could both get into such great shape"
Hee hee...(I laugh again)
It's too bad I started reading "Boundaries" by Townsend & Cloud last week, if I started it a couple weeks before David asked me I could have said "no"...

Seriously, it has been an awesome 2 weeks so far, I finally ran 3 miles without stopping! (I watched Hitch as I ran, and the time flew)
If only I can somehow wire up a tv in front of my face, then the race wont be so bad...

Popcorn & Kisses

This morning, a lot like many mornings, my girls woke up & asked for popcorn. For those of you that know us well, making popcorn is not rare. You should see their faces as they watch patiently as the seeds begin to pop. Then screams & squeals belt out of them. The neighbors must think we're crazy because of all the fun at our house! It's such fun to do the little things that make them happy.
Later in the day as I was making burgers on the grill, little Isabelle came up to me & said," Look mama, a baby popcorn!"
I was a slight bit confused because I didnt see any popcorn & I didnt know what she was talking about. Then she showed me the inside of her nose....!!!Yep, that's right, another "nose" story to tell. When Abby was about Isa's age she stuck a cooked pea up her nose...the day I was in labor & a few hours before I had Isa...anyway, so there I was again with a toddler with something lodged in her nose. What's a mother to do? First I panicked, gently that is...I smiled & tried to hide from Isa that we might have a problem, then I remembered what the doc suggested when Abby had her nose issue. ...Plug the other side of her nostil & give her a big Kiss & blow!!!!So, I told David what happened & he came to the rescue! He knew just what to do since he was the kisser with Abby...Isa sat patiently on the kitchen counter as I explained that Daddy was going to give her a big kiss...she said, "ok mama" , David blew into her mouth & out poped the popcorn!
Whew......I hope this is the end of my nose stories...thanks David for being our Hero!!!!!