Down for the count...

Our four year old took out the 14 year old today with one swift punch. He is now singing a first soprano.

Dear Future Grown Up Daughter...

Dear Grown Up Faith,
When you were little, you cried, fussed and whined all.the.time. If you didn't have anything to fuss about, you'd find a bump on your neck, a scratch on your thumb, something, anything to lament about. This morning in church, you really didn't like the dress and new tights. You were itching everywhere. And when you weren't itching, you were telling me you were thirsty. On the way to the bathroom, you were greeted by several people who love you. You did not have time for them. You didn't even acknowledge their comments about how pretty you looked today. In the bathroom, you fussed because I insisted on helping you lift up your dress because if it dipped in the toilet, the fussing that would follow would be even more painful than the fussing that happened while I lifted your dress. We had a reprieve as you sat at the tables and colored during family LifeShaping. But, then, while holding your candy cane, it broke. And everyone heard about it. Especially during Pastor Larry's prayer.

You were happy on the way home. This was wonderful. In the old days, like about 2 weeks ago, you would've fussed all the way home about something. When we got home, I made the mistake of mentioning that we were going to pack away the Vick's machine after nap. You are all better, no more cold! And..yes..you fussed about this as well.

My prayer for you dear daughter, that all of this attention that you give to details, will serve you well as an adult. Perhaps you will be a nurse, and be sensitive to people who complain, or maybe you'll be a teacher and that child that nobody else can handle, you will have special insight into. Or, maybe you will be a stay at home mom, and God will bless you with a child like yourself. I'll take her for you for a few hours and with great joy, I will hand her back. But most of all, I hope you know how much Jesus loves you. And that life will never be perfect because as Daddy says, "It's all broken." And if you feel like fussing as an adult I pray that you will take it to the cross. For right now, I'm doing that for you and for myself. That..and will someone hand me some advil, please.

Coffee...

So, I think that making coffee first thing in the morning for myself is just like when you put the oxygen mask on in an airplane. Taking care of coffee first allows me to take care of the ones around me much better. Coffee equals oxygen for coffeegirl.

A real man...

The Davester...

While David was waiting for the bus this morning, he was climbing up a hill, on his knees, and sliding down on his sled and wiping out. After the fourth time, I told him that maybe that wasn't such a good idea as his pants were getting wet. To this motherly concern he replied,

"I suppose I should have snowpants on. But, Mom, I'm a man. And a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

Okay then. I'm not getting in the way of his manhood.

What do I want to be known for?

I just finished reading the obituaries. I cried at a letter written from a grown son to his deceased mother. He told her how hard life was without her but he had a new friend who was helping him, Jesus Christ. I read about two people who died suddenly in their 50's. Another woman, 78, died peacefully in her sleep. Others, died peacefully or died courageously in their battle of cancer, alzheimer's, parkinsons. And I can't help wondering, what will my last breath look like? Will I die courageously? Will I die in my sleep? Will I die suddenly at fifty years old? I hope I just die in my sleep.

And then, there's the description. Preceeded in death by...a spouse, a parent, and God-forbid, a child. After that, there are two or three sentences about who they were. Loved to read, avid outdoorsman, special ed. teacher...and I wonder. What will my two sentences be? What will I be known for? What do I want to be known for? What really matters?

She quilted, she scrapbooked, she loved facebook, she loved to organize, she struggled to stay positive with her special needs daughters....so far, here's what I've got.

Preceeded in death by her daughter, Grace, her beloved father. God knows the rest of the story. It's up to me to fill in the blanks with the best I can, living out His calling in the middle of the daily routines. And hoping beyond hope that the littlest mundane activity adds up to kingdom value. That wiping away the tears that come so easily on our daughters cheeks, speaking calmly when I really want to scream, taking a breath to calm myself before I attempt to calm the anxious hearted...all matters.

I know it might seem a little bit odd reading the obituaries in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, but hey, that's where life is lived, where our last breaths will be breathed...in the middle of an ordinary day. And, if we know Jesus...that day, that moment won't be ordinary at all. It will be the beginning of the best homecoming party ever thrown. It's all pretty short in comparison. Now, back to the dailyness of laundry.

Some of the most patient things in life...

1. My husband..he loves me through the good, the bad and the ugly
2. Breakfast dishes (they are patiently sitting on my counter and it's almost 3 p.m.)
3. my ironing pile....it just sits quietly..never fusses
4. Skeeter, David's turle. Love Skeeter. You walk by his tank and he follows you..quietly.
5. Dust...it just keeps collecting friends without a word.

It's really all in how you look at it, really.

Theme song changed just a little....

Feel free to finish this for me......to the tune of Cheers....

Making my bed in the world today takes everything I've got...
Sure would like to stay and hide and think or maybe not...
Wouldn't it be nice to get away????

Sometimes you want to go where nobody knows your name....
And there's room service to claim....