Time with my favorite girls

We had kind of a rough week here...call it the Mid-summer day's nightmare. Not really a nightmare, that just sounded cool. Anyway, the girls were kind of in a all play no work mode, which was just frustrating to me. I was really feeling like a maid and a doormat.

Today was a new day. I encouraged them to get their chores done so we could spend some time together and a trip to Barnes and Noble was also on the auction block!
The girls really came through for me. They cleaned their rooms, did their household chores, got along so well, were very helpful to me, and not one sigh, eye roll, or door slam occurred!
We had a great lunch, talked and laughed all afternoon, went for a nature walk, had a special dinner, went to the dollar store and bought ice cream treats. We talked in the van on the way home, watched "Wipeout" together and laughed until we nearly cracked up. I listened to their beautiful voices singing from the music room/office/den and it just warmed my heart. At that moment, I felt the blessing of being their mother all over again.

I had made plans to go away tonight and spend some time with ladies and I really wanted to go. After the day I spent with my girls, I just couldn't let it end. I know each moment we share is merely a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. I may spend day after day with them, but when our time has that kind of quality, I just cherish it even more! They do too.

So, I missed out on some fun poolside chat, good snacks and great relaxation. It was another one of those days where I weigh things out carefully. Had my girls been stinkers all day, I would have gladly gone! And we all know they will be stinkers again, because that's what kids do!

Feeling torn is just part of motherhood. It's a part I've never mastered so far. If there is balance between being a mom and being me, I still don't have it down yet. I'm not one of those moms who won't get out and enjoy herself, it's just I pick and choose when I do it.

All I know is I just had a great day with my favorite girls. That I know for sure. Since I take things one day at a time, I'm just gonna go with it!

God Bless you and may you have days like this one too! (whether you're a mom or not!)

My "To- Don'ts" List

I am a list maker. I love to make lists of just about anything. To do lists, shopping lists, favorite things, etc... However, in my collection of lists, I didn't have a "To Don't" list. Well, I'm working on it as we sit here together. My mom gave me the idea when we were sitting together with our mentor, and mom mentioned she made a list of things she doesn't do anymore. I didn't ask her to elaborate, but it got me to thinking about mine. As you grow in Christ, there are things you are urged to work on or change by the Holy Spirit. These are things that just don't fit into your new self. I won't share my whole list, because I don't want anyone to see something on there that they do and think it's wrong or bad. In fact, only God cares what you do anyway, so it's really nobody's business!!
To get my point across, I will share a couple of my "To- Don'ts" from my list.

1. I don't clean my house from top to bottom every time company is coming.
2. I don't let someone's judgement of me tear me down anymore.
3. I don't stay angry as long.
4. I don't worry about things I can't change.

So, although a "To-Don't" list has it's purpose, I urge anyone reading this to instead construct a list of things they will DO.

Like this....
1. I will open the door and welcome the unexpected guest at my door, and I will smile at them!
2. I will forgive the person who is speaking ill of me and ask for God's favor on them!
3. I will give my emotions over to God and let him help me with my anger.
4. I will only do what I can do and I will do my best.

A more positive list for sure! That is key when making changes. See what you're already doing right and build on that. And one more thing, "Don't" sweat the small stuff!!

Many Degrees of Success

A CMU professor stood up in front of his class on the first day and introduced himself. "I am Mr. So and So. Yes, I have PhD after my name, but DO NOT call me Dr. I am MR. So and So." Then he went on with his first question of the day. "Does everyone know what B.S. stands for?" The class snickered. Of course they did. He writes B.S. on the whiteboard and writes the common saying beside it. Then he asks if they know what M.S. stands for. Not waiting for an answer, he wrote "More of the Same" next to its initials. The class chuckled again. Then he writes PhD on his white board. Looking slyly to the class who is anxiously awaiting a clever answer, he gives it to them. "Piled higher and Deeper. Now, call me Mr."

Hearing my husband tell this story, I was so taken by it. After all, I never finished my B.S. (Bachelor of Science, in this case). I became ill and could not finish college. A little twist of fate I couldn't control. My life took me in the direction of wife and mom. I used to think that little piece of paper in the cool binder would make me feel fulfilled or important. I certainly don't discount those who earned degrees in college. Kudos to you and your hard work. However, I no longer base my worth on whether or not I finished college. Others may, such as family or friends, but I don't get caught up in their wrong thinking anymore. I used to cringe when I'd hear, "I don't see you doing this very long. You'll go back to college someday." As if being a mother could never compare to being a college graduate! Believe me, I don't work for minimum wage as a mom! It's unfair to categorize someone or criticize them for their life decisions. You may be messing with something God is trying to show them. Just back off!!
Right now, my girls need me and I need to be there for them. It is a sacrifice to be home with them and a sacrifice to work. A college degree wouldn't change that. My job is irreplaceable and I've gained knowledge I couldn't have found in the workplace. If God decides to lead me elsewhere when the majority of my mothering is through, then I will gladly follow, but I already feel important doing what I do.

Steve's degree is in a box of keepsakes somewhere, and I never hear him brag about any of his accomplishments. As his wife, I know what he's made of and what he's done. That piece of paper doesn't come close to who he is!

Be happy with where God has you and what he has in store. Don't let anyone tell you that initials after your name will make you important. Being humble will always win in the eyes of God. That is what matters!!

A Glimpse of My Hubby's "To-Do" List

I found this list sitting on the counter one Saturday. Here are some of Steve's "jobs":

1. Clean gutter on shop
2. Empty dog poop bucket
3. rototill area east of garden
4. mow lawn
5. hang blinds upstairs
6. put garage sale stuff in attic
7. Praise God
8. Love my wife and children
9. put out soaker hose
10. move birdfeeder

I'm sure these are in no particular order, but I'm pretty fond of #7 and #8!

Something in the bag is moving!

Oh, here I go again with the scaredy cat stuff. I don't know what it is about me lately. I used to be so fearless and brave! I went out to the garage to fill the birdseed cans to take out to the feeders. When I went to reach into the bag, it moved! Not only moved, but fluttered furiously! Of course, I screamed loud enough for neighbor Bill to hear. Then I ran into the house and yelled for Natalie, my 10 year old hero. I screamed, "Nat, come quick! I need your help!!" She sprinted (which never happens) to the top of the stairs, white-faced and looking quite worried. I led her to the garage and stayed on the threshhold, telling her, "that bag is moving! Go see what's in there!!" She laughed at me and gave me that "look" that said, "Mom, you're ridiculous!". She would be right on that account. I then saw the guilty chipmunk sprint from the bag, run under my van and hightail it out the door. Not convinced still, I had Natalie check the bag anyway. She said, "Mom, I kicked it, I shook it, there's nothing in there!" All the while, still snickering at me. We then went for a short walk, where I was again startled by a butterfly. It gave her just a little more to laugh at me about. I sure made her day!

Things that go "bump" in the night?

I am a self-proclaimed ninja scaredy cat. This means that although I may be scared out of my mind, I always have a plan of attack ready. Plan A, Plan B, Plan Wake up Steve. I am an insomniac, and for you snoozers, this means I am often awake in the night for no good reason. The other night when the moon was so bright I could read by it, I was having one of my episodes of wide-awakeness. Of course, the first thing I did was look outside, fully expecting something scary to be there. A bear, a coyote, an axe-murdering maniac named Les. Every shadow was so menacing! Do you know how scary plastic bunnies look in the dead of the moonlight?
I have been known (in the past, of course) to hear something or someone tapping on the window while I'm sitting on the couch being an insomniac. I assume my ninja position, which is basically crawling like a ninny to the kitchen. I retrieve my hidden arsenal of weapons from the utensil drawer. Wooden spoons. Probably not registered weapons at all, but they'll do for now. I return to my post on the couch, turn on the TV, and wait for my attacker to come and get me. Of course, I could squash the tapping moth off the window with one swipe, but at this point, I am afraid to go outside.
Recently, I heard 3 big bangs coming from the area of the attached garage. This is it, I told myself. This HAS to be a person this time. The crazy maniac managed to get through the window, has knocked over my orange air freshener and tumbled into the recycling bin. He dusted himself off and headed right for the freezer to get my fudge pops. I pull out Plan A, because I haven't thought of B yet. This one is always the same. "Turn lights on and off suddenly to blind your attacker". I did just that, then ran to the den window to see which way my attacker would run. When that didn't produce my killer, I turned on the front porch light on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off until my finger was numb. This is when I picture our neighbor Bill, looking out to see why we got a lightning storm and he didn't. He's an insomniac too, I'm pretty sure. While all this mayhem in my mind is occurring, I can hear Steve snoring, oblivious to my plight. How can someone sleep through this? He's supposed to be protecting his home, our family, and my fudge pops!
One night I used my "Plan Wake up Steve" when I heard someone knocking on the front door. We have a doorbell, but knocking sounds scarier in the night, I guess. So, I went in there, sort of reluctantly, pushed him a little, and whispered, "Hey, someone's knocking on the front door. I think it's for you. " He knew somehow to just go, and not even ask questions. He trudged sleepily to the door wearing his underoos, but not his glasses. Like that's gonna do a lot of good, I say. But I follow behind, in ninja form, wielding a heavy book, some Joyce Meyer number about facing your fears probably. Well, the person surely got tired of waiting for us to answer, so by the time he opened the door, they were already gone. Well, with my pride in tact, I marched right back to bed and went to sleep. The next morning, Steve asked me about the knocking, and I said, "Well, I must have been sleepwalking, because that just sounds ridiculous!"
I love my wild imagination. It keeps my life interesting, and my family loves the impulsive entertainment it often produces. And although I am a scaredy cat and I have so many more of these stories, I know that I have a Protector who is so much bigger than my wooden spoon and much more awake than my hubby. But just for good measure, I will still keep a stock of wooden spoons ready for the next time I feel like being a ninja.

A "National Lampoon's" Style Vacation

Yes, I know...the 4th of July holiday has come and gone. Yet, I am still harboring such contempt over the memories of that fateful weekend. I know this is long, yet there are so many things I can teach through this experience! One of them is to never leave home without your own toilet, but we'll get to that later. To make a long story short, (and I will try) we arrived at the cottage a night earlier than my parents in hopes of getting the lawn mowed before they arrived. What we found out the next morning was that the power at our house had gone out hours after we left, and my dad was at our house running the generator for us. Not only that, he slept in his car while he made sure everything was running fine. My dad is pretty healthy, but he's no spring chicken. So, they were late getting up to their own cottage the next day. That is, after their emergency stop on the way. Apparently some of the siding slid out of their pickup into the road, and of course, they had to backtrack to find it. Was that enough? Nope. It gets better. So, the guys began siding the cottage, which was going well. It was pretty hot and sunny, and Steve and Dad were working right in the sun most of the day. We soon noticed that the toilet wasn't flushing as exuberantly as it should. In denial, we just kept on with our day, hoping it would somehow correct itself. Well, the situation soon called for immediate attention, that's all I will say. I had to go to my dad and sheepishly say, "Dad, I think you better take a look at the toilet." These are the times I am glad I'm a girl. Well, turns out, old Mr. Septic tank had a major clog somewhere and the only way to unstick it was to dig it! So, the siding tools retired for the day, and the shovels came out. Of course, it hadn't been dug up in about 15 years. Do you think they'd remember exactly where the drain tubes were? Nope. You just have to guess at it. Steve began digging, and just kept digging until the yard looked like a war zone. My dad just kept scratching his head in disbelief. Meanwhile, that sun raged on, and the bladders were still working full time too. Natalie, not realizing what was going on, came back to ask her dad ever so sweetly why he was digging up the yard. His reply, "I'm gettin' us some worms to go fishing tonight!" Her horrified look was accompanied by her innocent reply, "Well, why ya gotta dig up the whole yard just for that!!?" Meanwhile, mom and I were feeling guilty, so we decided to find us a job to to as well. We went down to the beach to rake up leaves and pull weeds. Easy. We do it every year. Mom pulled out a bunch of leaves from under the wooden beach step and out popped several mice, 2 adults, which used mom's shoe as a catapult, and 6 nearly blind babies, struggling to run. Natalie and Serena began screaming, not out of fear, but because they didn't want to hurt the mice! They lovingly picked up each baby mouse and placed it safely in the woods. My mom and I were grossed out, horrified, but laughing hysterically at our own reactions! So, then she makes the most ominous comment, "Well, at least with the mice here, we know there are no snakes!" Why she had to say that, I will never know. So our youngest, Serena, was playing in the water when I noticed some odd movements. At first thought, I assumed it was a turtle or a water bug of some kind, so I jokingly said, "Hey, you better get out of there, it could be a snake." Why I said that, I will never know. So, she started to run out of the water and on the way, startled a very large black snake, which wriggled and swam right beside her, past my mom, and back into the other side of the dock. When I realized it was a snake, I screamed, and like the good mom I am, I ran AWAY from my poor daughter! Fortunately for my guilty conscience, she ran the same way. So, that was the end of playing in the water for the rest of our 5 day vacation. I will never forget my mom, the tough Grandma-snake hunter, trying to kill it with a shovel from the dock. I think she gave it quite a scare and a lecture about scaring her grandbabies! Steve heard us carrying on, but didn't come down to see what was up. He knows by now how pointless it is to react to my every scream, since I am afraid of my own shadow. So, I marched up there and told him how the King Cobra came after our baby (she's 8), nearly killed us all, and he just stood there drinking his soda, with a smirk on his filthy, septic digging face. But then again, he had just stood in a hole with his hand in a septic tube, letting oogy water gush all over his shoes. Yes, he's my knight in shining armor after all! After all that excitement, we drove into town to watch the 4th of July parade in the nearby lake town. It was like deja vu, same people, same songs, same spot, same stingy kid who runs in front of mine to steal candy, same sunburned feet, you get the idea. Later that night we would go into town for the fireworks, and more crazy stuff would happen with a guy carrying a beverage in a brown sack. I just refuse to go there. Anyway, Steve lit off his annual fireworks display, some legal, some maybe not! This year, the girls and I had to come up with different ways to clap or cheer to show how much we loved each firework (a Rogers tradition) . Some of our antics were pretty silly and downright dumb, but we were all laughing and the stress of the day just flushed away! I am still sore from doing that cheerleader jump thing, and I'm pretty sure my parents wonder if I'm on something. Our trip ended on Monday morning with us packing in a rainstorm. All of the lawn stuff was still outside, soaking wet, and the flies had recently hatched. But, I'm just not gonna go there!! I am now a big proponent of the "stay-cation", and yes, traveling with your own toilet is not a bad idea.