God Sightings

"Wouldn't it be great," he suggested, "if we intentionally looked back on each day for God's hand in it? You know...God Sightings."

At the thought, I smiled as a memory immediately played through my mind. We were moving from our first house and had rented a mid-size moving truck because surely our junk would all fit in a mid-size, and opting for the smaller truck would be a monetary savings. But oh how I whined and complained and threw a hissy fit when Mark called me from the rental facility to tell me that our reservation was seemingly meaningless: they had not actually reserved a truck for us. Our schedule was thrown off as they tried to find a vehicle for us. In the end, the moving company gave us--for the price of the mid-size truck--the largest truck because that was the only truck available in their lot. And later as we packed that truck full of our belongings, we realized the mid-size truck would not have been adequate.

That was a God sighting and one I always remember with a smile. God does have a sense of humor, doesn't He?

A couple years have passed since my husband's suggestion that we be intentional in our looking for God in our days. Because He is in all of our days, in every moment. It's just that we don't open our eyes to see Him in everything. We take it for granted that He's there. Worse, sometimes we just forget He's there.

I've been reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts...and have been incredibly blessed and challenged by it. Counting the blessings, the gifts, seeing the beautiful even in the ugly. Taking note of the God Sightings.

I hear my children complain daily about schoolwork, meals, activities, inconveniences, toys they don't have. And I get annoyed at them. "Stop complaining and be thankful," I tell them. But when I stop to think about it, I realize: They learned that from me. I complain about the weather, the kids, the inconveniences of life, the things I don't have. How would our family be different if I had, from the beginning, practiced this giving thanks, replacing complaining with gratitude, counting my blessings?

I want to take on this challenge. I actually did a couple years ago, but before I even got to #12, the old life of grumbling and complaining took over, and I abandoned the life of gratitude. I want to give it another try; keeping at it for a longer period of time makes it habit. Can you imagine living a life where gratitude and counting blessings is habit?

Counting down up my blessings at A Thousand Blessings.

It's Not About Me

Psalm 127:3 - Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

"Mommy, will you please print a coloring page for me?" She hesitates as she makes her request. She knows. She can guess what my answer will be.

I sigh. "Not right now, Baby," I mumble, not looking up from whatever important task I am engaged in.

Predictable.

I glance up and see a look flash across her face. What is it? Resentment? Disappointment? Or maybe just a Why did I even bother to ask? look.

I don't want to be that mom anymore.

I don't want to be the mom who always says No or Wait or Not now or Later.

I don't want to be the mom who rationalizes that she is "here for them" just because she is physically present in the same room.

I've been thinking a lot lately. Pondering. And listening. Finally listening to the promptings. I've been bombarded by them as of late...various blogger friends who have voiced their decisions to slow down, to change their priorities; a Bible study at church encouraging us parents to remember what it's all about; words from One Thousand Gifts (Voskamp) reaching out, shaking me. Don't you hear? Haven't you figured it out yet?

It's not about you.

How do I want my children to remember me? That was our mom...she always loaded the dishwasher just right. She made sure there were no crumbs on the floor. She had a thousand Facebook friends. She really mastered the art of photography.

Or do I want them to know me as the mother who put my all into loving them, guiding them, teaching them. The mother who pointed them to the Father and who modeled a Godly life for them?

Don't I want to be remembered as the mother who knew it, who lived it?

It's not about me!

Just the Two of Us

She's not even four feet tall. And she maaay tip the scales at 40 pounds...if she's wearing heavy denim, sneakers, and a jacket. Yep, she's a tiny little thing, but this week I'm a little intimidated by her. Why? Because it's just me and her for 7 hours a day this week. The older 3 are at basketball camp this week from 9-4, soccer camp next week from 9-12, and Wacky Water Week at our church the last week of July from 9-1. Just me and her. Her and me.

Not that I don't love being with her. She's so cute and funny and sweet. It's just that I'm trying to remember how to be a mom to just one kid. It's been awhile. And even 10 and 1/2 years ago when Alex was the only, we really only had 5 months together solo before I started toting Michael around in my belly.

Prior to this morning, I had listed some special things we could do this week just the two of us: get ice cream, purchase a new coloring book, go to the mall, play with Playdoh. We dropped the kids off at the church. "Are we going to have ice cream now? And then get my new coloring book and go to the mall and play with Playdoh?" she asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"Well, let's space those special activities out a little over the week so we don't do them all at once, OK?"

She reluctantly agreed.

We opted to go to Target to share a Starbucks breakfast and make the coloring book purchase. As we were walking back to the car, new Minnie Mouse coloring book in hand, she asked, "Are we going to get Alex, Michael, and Jacob now?"

Maybe she's a little intimidated by the quiet week that lies ahead as well.

Point Made

Michael wants to be a Lego designer when he grows up, a career goal that has remained unchanged for at least the last three years. He has already mentally designed thematic Lego sets that center on Sonic the Hedgehog, much like the sets that offer your favorite Star Wars scene.

Any chance Michael gets, he tells me all about the designs for his Lego sets. Usually, he gets my undivided attention when he manages to snag the front passenger seat of the van from his older sister, like today when I left her at home alone for the first time (more about that later).

There have been other occasions when we have been sans big sister when he has talked my ear off. On May 3, I took Alex to American Heritage Girls. After we dropped her off, Michael moved up front and talked non-stop for the 20 minutes back home. The conversation ended abruptly when we got home, but the minute we got back into the car for the 20 minute ride back to the church to pick Alex up, he picked up right where he left off.

So today, over 3 weeks after this last intense conversation about all the workings of the Sonic the Hedgehog Lego set, I got into the car, Michael in the front seat. "Now where was I?" he asked. Somehow I knew exactly what he meant by that. And he dove right back into the important matter of Sonic Lego design.

I'm not a huge Lego fan (I know...go figure, since I just started an FLL team!), and I'm even less of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan. I've certainly never wanted to be one of those parents who tunes out their children, but I have to honestly admit that my mind tends to wander during these very-lengthy-he-doesn't-even-take-a-breath descriptions. I try to listen, honest I do. Today, though, I finally suggested, "Michael, why don't you draw pictures of these things you are describing for me because I'm not familiar with these characters so I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Here's where I hang my little homeschooling head in shame. Because he looked up and me and said, "That's how I am when you read all those books to us."

Touché. And ouch.

***********************

As I mentioned, we went out today, the 4 of us without Alex. She has been asking to stay home alone, but I just haven't been able to let go of all of my fears of what could happen to her. But today I did it. And only called her twice in the space of 30 minutes.

While we were gone, she made trail mix and set a place setting complete with a name card for each of her siblings. She poured Kool-Aid for each of them, and they all enjoyed a snack when we got home. In addition, she cleaned the kitchen and the dining room. I think I'll leave her at home alone more often.

This Week's To-Do List (a.k.a. Why I won't be blogging this week)

• school
• laundry
• orthodontist appointment
• make bread
• AHG for Alex
• grade papers & other stuff for Write4Homeschool students
• Bright Futures
• school
• skate day
• Write4Homeschool stuff
• clean the house (at least the downstairs)
• school
• make lunch for 4 grown-ups, 13 kids for an informal FLL meeting
• Write4Homeschool stuff
• reports I do for my brother-in-law
• pay bills
• laundry
• Renaissance Festival
• Write4Homeschool stuff
• provide room, board, and discipline for 6 children overnight Thursday night and half of Friday
• school
• Write4Homeschool stuff
• 3 hour informational meeting for FLL coaches
• parent meeting/luncheon at church
• clean the house?
• feed the kids?
• blog about a crab's funeral?
• blog about a certain little girl's imaginary friends?

The Stubbornest Boy

Once upon a time there were two brothers. Most of the time they got along famously. They played, they built, they schemed. But one night they didn't get along so well.

On this particular night, their mom was not feeling very well. She made dinner anyway, but after she put it on the table, she retired to her room for some Peace and Quiet. Since their mother was absent, the two brothers who usually got along famously figured there was no need for any manners, and they promptly began to call each other names.

When word got to the mom by way of the two brothers' little sister of the insults the two brothers who usually got along famously were hurling at each other, she called them into her room.

After a short lecture on The Importance of Speaking Highly of One Another, the mother instructed the two brothers to say something they loved about the other.

There was silence. So the mother, in all of her wisdom, rephrased the instruction making it very clear to the two brothers that they were to say one thing they liked about the other brother.

Still there was silence. The mother let the silence pass for a few moments before resuming her viewing of the nightly news. After a few moments, she stopped the news and once again prodded both brothers to consider stating one likable attibute of the other one. It was then the older brother, anxious to resume his play, stated that he liked the younger brother because sometimes he plays Legos with him.

"And what about you?" prompted the mother of the younger brother.

There was still silence. So the mom sent the older brother off to play, for he had been obedient and fulfilled the mother's request.

The younger brother remained silent.

The mom, weary and ill, sat back and resumed her observance of the day's events, occasionally stopping to ask the younger brother if he was ready yet.

He remained silent.

A couple of times, the mother called the older brother into her room and said to the younger brother, "Have you anything to say yet?"

The younger brother remained silent.

The mother even threw out a few threats, possibilities of missing out on the next day's bowling outing with the homeschool group, threats of that nature.

The boy remained silent.

At one point, feeling quite creative dangling at wit's end, the mother opened a Word document and typed in a fun font:

Dear [older brother],

I like you because

"There," she said to the younger brother. "All you have to do is type in one word, we'll print it out, and you can give it to your older brother." In all of her wisdom the mother knew that sometimes it is easier to offer written words rather than verbal ones.

The boy did not move. He just sat on her bed and remained silent.

The mother left to clean up the kitchen after The Dinner That Had Started This Whole Thing, instructing the younger brother to come get her in the kitchen if he was ready to tell the older brother what he liked about him.

She cleaned the kitchen and returned to her room.

Where the boy still sat silently.

By this time, one hour had passed.

So the mother watched Jeopardy, every so often asking the boy if he was ready to talk. The boy's older sister came in and promised him a lofty position in an imaginary game if he would just talk to his older brother.

The boy remained silent.

Finally, with visions of the boy spending the rest of his life in her bed with nary a word, the mother said, "You have two choices. You may tell your older brother with whom you usually get along famously one thing you like about him, or you can sleep alone in the playroom tonight."

The boy remained silent.

Until the mother announced, "OK, everyone, it's time to get your pajamas on and get ready for bed."

At which point the boy mumbled to his older brother, "I like you because you're funny."

What happened to my baby girl?

Just yesterday, she was this sweet, precious, perfect bundle in our arms
offering her first smiles,
delighting us with her first words,
taking her first steps.

Now she is a sweet, precious, perfect young lady
who offers her contagious smiles to everyone,
whose words are confident, kind, and wise.
And tonight her steps, clad in my size 9 knee-high, high heeled boots,
accompanied her daddy to the American Heritage Girls
Daddy/Daughter Dance.

Mexican Fiesta!

Doing the Macarena

Conga line

Volcanoes, Crushing Dreams: All in a Monday

As promised, we erupted our volcano today, and I remembered to photograph the event. Of course, since it was over so quickly, it was a little anti-climactic, but the kids all oohed and ahhed over it for a few minutes anyway.

Overall, even without taking the volcano into account, it was a productive day for a Monday. And I didn't start crushing any dreams until this evening.

Crushed Dream #1:

A couple weeks ago, we left church on a Wednesday night with Alex full of all kinds of enthusiasm. There is a dance/singing group full of girls her age that practices Wednesday nights and performs at various times on Sunday mornings. This past Sunday, however, we ventured out to a new church where some dear friends from our old church have been attending. We all loved it. In fact, Alex was the first to ask, "Can we come back here next week?"

I worried all day about bringing up the subject of Wednesday night because if we are not going to attend our new old church any longer (to clarify, our Old Church is the one we attended for 7 years before its closing; our New Old Church is the one we've attended since Christmas; our New Church is the one we went to yesterday. Got it?), it is silly for her to practice with this dance group and then not perform. (Besides that, I was just hoping and praying the girl carries a little more groove and rhythm than her mom and dad.) So I broached the subject tonight. I could tell she was disappointed.

However, there are other possibilities for fun on the horizon. Like a possibility of joining American Heritage Girls and Scouts (for the boys). I know. I'm crazy. I don't need to sign up for anything else. But that's just me. Like I said, it's a possibility. OK, so we'll probably be there by next week even though they meet on Monday nights which are crazy for me because of my crazy Tuesday, but sometimes I just have to take one for the team, right?

Crushed Dream #2

I knew it was coming...the question: When do we start soccer? And the truth came out: We never signed you up for soccer. Honestly, it comes down to this (and maybe this is selfish, I don't know): With 3 kids in soccer, that presents the possibility of 3 different nights of practice and 3 different hours of games on Saturday. That, in my humble (and possibly selfish) opinion is a recipe for Chaos and Stress. How do large families juggle sports and other extracurricular activities?

So I feel like a heel, yet a heel who has some preservation of sanity. On the bright side, we're getting closer to warmer weather which means volleyball. We've committed to spending a little extra time at the courts teaching the children to play. As I've mentioned before, we always said we wanted 4 kids so we'd have a volleyball team!

The Lazy Snack Plan

I'll admit I'm a lazy mom. Especially when it comes to the small stuff. Like snacks. Ten minutes after lunch has ended. Generally when I get the question, "What's for snack?" immediately following a meal, I answer with a, "Well, let's see...there is some cauliflower and broccoli. I'll be happy to cut some up for you."

For some reason, that suggestion always cures the snacking hunger.

This morning about 10 minutes after breakfast, Audrey wanted to know if there was anything to eat.

"You just ate," I reprimanded.

"But I'm still hungry," she countered, a little on the whiny side.

"I've got some carrots," I offered with little conviction.

Her eyes lit up. "O-tay!" she said.

"Ooooo-kaaaay," I said (to myself).

So my How-to-Get-Out-of-Making-Them-a-Snack Plan backfired. But I'm OK with that.

Little Mommy

We were working on our letters and phonics. There was a picture of a rainbow, a wagon, a goat. She was to circle the letter each picture begins with and then write the letter in the space to the right. She was doing the work--circling each correct answer, carefully forming the letter in the space. But her mind clearly was not on her work.

"Mommy." It was a statement but said in such a way as to obtain permission to digress from the work at hand.

"Yes?"

"When I'm away from my babies for just 10 minutes, Belle watches them. She puts on shows for them to watch."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"You know," I suggested hopefully, "you could tell Belle she could read stories to the babies. Because reading books is so much more fun than watching TV."

"Oh, yeah," she said thoughtfully, "they read books. And watch shows."

"What do they watch?" I asked.

"The babies watch Dora. Belle watches the news."

Happy Birthday, Alex!

I sure don't know where the time has gone, but as of 2:11 this morning, my beautiful daughter has been in our lives for a decade. And I don't remember life without her. Nor would I want to. Somewhere between diapers, sippy cups, and scraped knees, she has grown into a lovely, young lady, the kind of person whose company you really enjoy.

I've tried to get her to agree to stop growing up, but I guess it's just one of those things that happens no matter how you try to stop it. One minute she's a too-silly, adorable toddler clomping around in my way-too-big shoes, and the next she is in my closet borrowing those shoes. One minute I'm sharing light banter about Elmo's fish Dorothy, and the next I'm in a deep discussion about Life.

Yes, it is going to happen, this growing up thing. Since I can't stop it, all I can do is be here for her to celebrate the happy moments and pray her through the tough times.

Happy birthday, my sweet Alexandra! I love you so much!

Details of a Busy Day

One of my friends arrived one day at volleyball with a ziploc bag that appeared to have chocolate in it. Hmmm...bag o'chocolate. I had to inquire. Turns out she had started some Muddy Buddies but discovered she didn't have any powdered sugar in the house, so she just brought it along. Obviously, then, I had to make Muddy Buddies. The recipe, my friend told me, is on the box of Chex. Now I don't buy brand name Chex unless I have a coupon and they're on sale. I didn't, and they weren't, so I just copied the recipe on a scrap paper there in Aisle 3 when I purchased my generic box of Chex.

This morning started with Muddy Buddy preparation. Here's how:

Ingredients:
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter
1 t. vanilla (if you remember it; if not, tastes good anyway)
9 c. Chex
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1. Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in microwave.

2. Add vanilla (or not).

3. Mix together.

4. Place mixture in ziploc bag.

5. Add powdered sugar and shake until coated.

6. Spread out on baking sheet to dry.

And what better to go with Muddy Buddies than Buddy the Elf? Elf is our annual tradition. We all giggle through the whole thing no matter how many times we've seen it.

Before we sat down for Elf, however, we attended a First Lego League competition. Just as observers, not participants, although I know of a certain little boy for whom I need to one day purchase a Mind Storm. The boy was riveted on the robot courses. It's his kind of thing. I've thought about starting an FLL team (you can't just join one already in progress), but I just don't feel like starting something else and being in charge of something else. May have to take that step, though; he would meet that kind of challenge head on.

Anyway, after the Lego competition and Elf, there was a little downtime, and then Alex and I headed out for a girls' night. We attended a wonderful Christmas production at the far-away church of last week. It was well done, and we enjoyed ourselves.

Then, on the way home, the topic came up. She had some questions about her new aunt-to-be and what her husband situation is/has been since she has a teenage daughter. Her theory was that Aunt S. had to have had a husband at some point because you can't have a baby without a husband. I explained that her aunt-to-be's previous husband passed away. I explained that, unfortunately, people do still have babies even if they aren't married.

"Like Mary and Joseph?" she asked.

"Well, that's kind of a unique situation because God gave them their baby."

"So, what happens then? Girls take a pill or something and then they have a baby?"

Oh, how I wanted to just let her think that unwed mothers got that way by popping a pill. But I explained it all. The whole story of the birds and the bees.

When I was done explaining, she began her nervous, embarrassed chatter about nothing. And I turned the AC on. Because, well, it was getting a little warm in there.

The End.

You Capture - Real Life

Sometimes they fail to clean their rooms. Even if they say they have.

Sometimes I let the Lego Man build instead of doing other things he should be doing because I know how very much he enjoys building.

Sometimes I let the kids watch as much TV as they want to so I can enjoy a little peace and quiet.


Sometimes Many times the petty bickering of sibling rivalry can make a mama want to scream, but then something happens that makes that same mama's heart melt.

Sometimes I get upset over stupid, little things like spilled milk. They are always quick and gracious to forgive me for losing my cool.

Sometimes All the time I love them with all the love my little mommy heart can give.

For more photos of Real Life, visit I Should Be Folding Laundry. And for more "Sometimes in Real Life", head over to Bumpin' Along the Road Less Traveled.

You Capture - Peace

I steal into your rooms tonight, a small smile toying at my lips as I remember our earlier conversation today: In The Golden Goblet, Ranofer "stole" across the courtyard. I asked if that meant he was able to physically pick up the courtyard and take it somewhere. You all giggled.

This is a nightly ritual. When you were babies, I would stand over your crib, sometimes for several minutes, watching, marveling at who you were. Now I check your coverings...3 of you rarely have the covering you need, 1 of you wraps himself up like a mummy, and I fear suffocation in spite of the summer air conditioning.

Sometimes I still linger, memorizing your sweet, sleeping faces, thoughts of the day replaying in my mind. I revisit the fun moments of the day, the moments of smiles and hugs and meaningful interaction. Then my mind travels to those not-so-bright moments, moments where I grew impatient, moments when I absent-mindedly brushed you aside, losing a potentially precious moment forever.


These thoughts always give me pause. I long to have back some of these unsavory moments to re-work them. Knowing I can't, though, I allow dreams of tomorrow to flitter across the screen of my mind. And I pray, pray for wisdom in bringing up these precious children, pray for sweet and encouraging words to be my default tomorrow.


Your soft expressions bring a smile to my face, and I feel pride and an overwhelming sense of love for you. I turn and softly close the door so you are not awakened by the hall light or a playful feline. I turn toward the peaceful quietness of the evening, content to be right where I am at this very moment.

Life from the Shoe, Day 3

10:33 PM
Not sure why I'm so worn out. I only put in 980 steps. How pathetic is that? My daily goal is over 6000, and I usually do above that. Must have been that nap. Or maybe it's this pitiful little pedometer. I replaced my drowned pedometer with a cheap, imitation version. Maybe it's not working right. I had high hopes for my injured pedometer because it was trying with all its might to shine its little numbers through the streaks of water; however, tonight those numbers faded away to nothing. So 980 it is. I'm ashamed.

9:45 PM
Ahhh...the sound of...nothing.

5:21 PM
OK, I'll admit it, I'm ready to lace up my shoe and close it down for awhile. Ready to get back to just 4. Four used to seem like a lot. And to some 6 is nothing. It's all relative. I'm about to round up some leftovers for my 4. My guests are doing dinner with their daddy. Last night's taco dinner actually came together quite nicely. And right on time. Of course, that could be due to the fact that my daughter was hanging over me the whole time reporting on the time. I made the mistake of telling her I intended to serve dinner at 6:00 sharp. And she's inherited the obnoxious punctuality gene that runs in this family. I can call it obnoxious because, even though it's not in my gene pool, it runs strongly through my veins.

Well, I'm being called to iron some more. Yes, if I didn't hate my iron before, I really hate it now. However, I will admit that this bucket of 8 thousand 5 hundred fusion beads was the best 10 bucks I ever spent. Otherwise, I'm not sure what would have kept these children occupied for 3 days.

3:36 PM
I have not been a very faithful live blogger today. Probably on account of the nap I just stole. Thanks be to the Beverly Hills Chihuahuas. And the fact that my student conference was very short. I had blocked out an hour for it, but who was I kidding? I guess I've forgotten what high school students are like. This particular high school student, I'm sure, was only re-doing his paper--and thus conferencing with me--because his mom said he had to.

Anyway, about all of these children. The bribe reward worked. My upstairs is clean. Now if they can just all sit quietly in a chair and read a book for the rest of the day. Right. And I am an old lady living in a shoe.

11:44 AM
Ahhhh....exhaling. It's been non-stop since we got into the car at 8:30 and headed out to meet and pick up the girls. Wait, let me back up. It's been non-stop since I made a general announcement before we got into the car: "Everyone needs to make sure he or she has gone potty before we leave." Apparently, I made the announcement to the air because we hadn't gotten far when Michael made his own announcement. Luckily, he was the only one who had shoes on and who was not still in his PJs. I was able to leave the other kids in the Publix parking lot with my guest's daddy while I took Michael in to do his business.

Then it was a rush home to get some bread made so I would have something to feed everyone for lunch and in a timely manner so that lunch would be done in time for me to take the call I am expecting from a student who needs help with a paper. And at this very moment I hear the house falling apart around me, bit by bit. First there was the blood-curdling scream from none other than my youngest son...more of a pretend, attention-getting scream upon spying my eldest son dressed head to toe in his skeleton costume. Another attention-getting ploy. Seems as if there's a lot of boy-seeking-girls'-attention stuff going on around here.

Now there is just a general sense of some serious mayhem going on in the house. I'm saving the movie for my phone call with my student, and that moment can't come soon enough. In the meantime, I am about to offer a cold, creamy bribe reward for dessert for any children who will go upstairs and clean up the Chaos from the last 3 days. You know, because the mess drives me insane we may have a house showing this weekend, who knows?

Life from the Shoe, Day 2

9:23 PM
Down to just the five of us tonight. I'm happy my sweet little guests are not sad tonight! I will be picking them up in the morning to spend another day with them. They are sweet, little girls, and I've enjoyed having them here, but, people, I'm worn out! I also really enjoyed my evening with just the kids and me. Like I said, my little guests are sweethearts, but whenever I have guests--whether they're family or friends--when they leave, I realize how perfectly my four children fit into my family. I love my kids.

4:04 PM
I may make a midnight run to Target tonight. Or at least an 8:00 run. The girls are going to spend the night at their house tonight because they miss their daddy. They may or may not come play tomorrow depending on whether or not their daddy decides to take the day off of work tomorrow. Anyway, we had a little rescue--I saved both our little guests in the pool. The kids thought it was pretty funny that I was in the pool with my clothes on. Oh, and why the run to Target? Well, turns out my pedometer isn't waterproof. I'm not ready to give up my trek down the Appalachian Trail yet.

10:35 AM
I'm pretty sure our iron hasn't seen this much action in its entire, miserable life. The children are still in their PJs because they have been steadily cranking out their beaded animal creations for me to fuse with the iron. Good thing there are over 8000 plastic bead thingys in the bucket.

And somehow I got stuck making everyone a friendship bracelet. I'll tell you a secret, though--I really don't mind. I am, in fact, rather enjoying it. I haven't made one since Jr. High, and in those days, it seems that's all we did...for a short time anyway. I remember we'd even sneak them into the classroom, pin them to our parachute pants and work on them until they would get confiscated for the day. I still have an old friendship bracelet from an old friend.

My two little guests are doing OK, though a little weepy at times, especially at those times in which they are speaking with their father on the telephone. (Note to self: Stop letting them talk to him.) But how is one to resist a little girl in blonde curls with puppy dog eyes of the bluest blues asking sweetly and politely, "Do you think I could please call my daddy?"

7:41 AM
No sign yet of anyone save my eldest son, but he's always up at the crack of dawn anyway. Plus, he was soundly snoozing last night at the very time I was trying to comfort Alex was successfully comforting two sad little girls. Hopefully today will be a fun one for everyone.

Life from the Shoe, Day 1

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.

OK, so I live in a house (anyone wanna buy it?), but I am old (at least I often feel that way), and I have a lot of children for the next two days. We added two sweet, beautiful little girls to our fold last night--brought them home from volleyball and will have them here for a couple of days while their Mama is on a missions trip.

So I thought I would do something a little different today and get some live updates recorded as the day unfolds. Unlike the old lady in the shoe, I think I do know what to do. I have a lot of activities planned anyway...

10:30 PM
I have to say, one thing they didn't train me to do in college is console homesick children. Mostly because in the high school classroom, you sure hope you don't have any homesick kids. Although sometimes you wish that was what was causing the crying...and that the tears weren't yours.

Anyway, Alex stepped up in a big way. I had two very homesick little girls this evening, and Alex calmed them down by telling them stories. I think I have to admit she's better with kids than I! My idea was to let them talk to their Daddy, which just proved to make it worse. At any rate, the two girls are now settled down with Alex in the office. Well, maybe not settled down completely yet, but getting there. So much for sleeping in separate rooms AND for getting adequate sleep tonight. I hope they're able to sleep in a bit.

My husband advised me to turn in myself, but since my bed is full of laundry--AGAIN--well...if you need me, I'll be folding laundry--AGAIN.

8:48 PM
Ah, the sound of loud, stomping footsteps above. The tribe is heading in the right direction, getting ready for bed. Ordinarily, my children are getting ready for bed an hour ago, but I decided to be lenient tonight, especially because an hour ago, one of our little guests asked, "Can we go outside now?" It's funny how different every family is. I am very protective of my time-after-the-children-bed-down because it's my only Me Time, and tonight I have a lot to do...laundry to fold, a class syllabus to create for Monday's meeting, a paper to review for a conference, and a house to clean up a little. I won't spend too much time cleaning because it will just get undone tomorrow. Right now it looks like a bead factory threw up on my dining room table. Not the kind of mess I enjoy cleaning up. Since the children made it, they shall clean it up. But I'll let them create a few more masterpieces first.

Dinner was an ordeal tonight. Not anyone's fault but my own. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm in awe of all of those women who, daily, put on a spread for their families. I suppose I'm in awe of my husband as well for doing just that; I guess I've grown accustomed to it (ie: take it for granted). When Mark travels, I normally just do something simple...translation: mac & cheese or cereal for dinner ("Kids, guess what? We get to have breakfast for dinner! How cool is that?!) But these kids eat much healthier (translation: their mom is not lazy), so I've been trying to get full meals cranked out for them. Tonight was lasagna and zucchini. Everything was delicious, but it was an hour late getting to the table. So I guess the skills are there; my timing's just way off.

I found out tonight I will have to do a couple more of these Complete Meals because the two girls will be spending one more night with us. Not complaining, just racking my brain for another meal to throw on the menu. And some more activities to plan because they tore right through the friendship bracelet kit. Perhaps I should have them compile a list of friends (many friends) for whom to make a bracelet.

Well, I've spared them an extra half hour. Lights out at 9:30, and all must retire to his/her own room. We aren't doing the go-upstairs-every-5-minutes-to-tell-them-to-be-quiet routine tonight. Although climbing stairs ups my step count on the pedometer, and since I didn't have time to work out today...

4:10 PM
Did the Play-Doh thing. Still picking pieces of it out of the carpet and scraping it off the tile. Then we went o Wal-Mart by request of 4 little girls who wanted to make friendship bracelets. Not that I'm spoiling them or anything, but I can't deny them something that has the word "friendship" in it. And, while I could have sorted through and untangled mounds of embroidery thread left over from finished and unfinished cross stitch projects, I'm all for convenience, so a kit it was.

After I was asked by the kind man in the pet department (on account of the fact that we had to go see the fish), "Are they ALL yours?", Alex said, "I KNEW someone would ask us that." Incidentally, the fish man said he was a little puzzled about how the two blonde ones fit in.

And now we are swimming. I use the term "we" loosely since, in fact, I have assumed my Lifeguard position from the patio table. Which sits in the shade under the patio fan. It also gives me a good vantage point for photographing our two visitors. I've already posted some pictures on Facebook. I like the make sure the parents know their children are still alive and kicking. Audrey is co-lifeguarding. Today she prefers coloring over swimming. She's also grumpy. Not a surprise since she didn't get enough sleep last night. Tonight she sleeps in her own bed.

12:33 PM
Lunch is almost ready. Hot dogs cookin', broccoli steamin'. Yeah, I said broccoli. No, I don't have a kid who will eat it, but these little angels I'm caring for eat anything, especially healthy things. Maybe they'll rub off on my kids!

11:49 AM
So the kids are watching a movie now. Yes, I'm using the big screen as a babysitter. You have a problem with that? It's just that I need to make lunch. And clean up. And do laundry. And clean up. Also, my houseplant decided to vomit sap all over the windowsill and carpet. Apparently it's been doing this for awhile and I hadn't noticed. Because I've been such a good housekeeper and all. So there is an inch of sticky to clean from the windowsill and scrub from the carpet. The plant has been banished to the Out-of-Doors.

10:41 AM
Finally got that shower in. And not for lack of trying before this late hour. Wasn't the 6 kids that kept me, however, it was the phone calls. I rarely get phone calls from anyone besides my husband. I'm not a big fan of the phone. Love email and Facebook but not the phone. Probably those years of telemarketing in college. Not the mention the fact that whenever I get on the phone 4 little people (in this case, 6 little people) either begin killing each other or suddenly have dire need of something. Anyway, business phone calls (listen to me sounding all professional-like): set up a phone conference to go over a paper with one of my Write4Homeschool students and set up a teacher planning meeting for my Writing Workshop at Bright Futures Academy.

Seems as though this meeting shall take place at the same time as I had planned to conduct my first day of school here at the Homefront Academy. But I'm nothing if I'm not flexible. OK, maybe I'm nothing. I'm working on it. And, after all, one of the great benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility it affords, right? So no sweat. We'll work with it. I'm excited about the meeting. I'm back down to teaching just the high schoolers, no middle schoolers, which makes me happy...smaller group, and I love high schoolers.

And back to my shoe...I think the interest in paper dolls has waned. I have yet to go into the kitchen to survey the damage, but I hear the Wii, so I'm fairly certain all of those poor flat dollies have been abandoned, lying in their beds of scraps.

9:24 AM
Breakfast - Check (fruit and homemade waffles).
Breakfast clean-up - Check.

Shower - Nope, not yet. Generally I try to get in and out of the shower before the husband leaves. You know, so I look more like a fairy princess than the Wicked Witch of the East, but this morning I'm afraid I was erring more on the side of the WWE than the fairy princess.

In a moment, I will be getting the next activity ready for them. My girls have been into paper dolls lately, and hopefully the other two girls will share the enthusiasm. When I told Audrey what I was getting ready to do, she said, "You have to print the clothes out from doll.com!" Actually, I print them out from Making Friends, but what a different childhood my children are living from mine where the World Wide Web could have only been the product of a nightmare about very large spiders.

7:30 AM
I was awakened at the unearthly hour of 7:15 by loud thumps from the room above mine. Someone using the theater chairs in the media room/office as a jungle gym. That someone being my eldest daughter who was the last to go to sleep last night. All 4 girls began in the same room, but then she began to complain that the "little ones" were keeping her awake. We moved her into the office where a mattress still remains from the kids' movie night the other night. So why in the world was she not sleeping at 7:15? Not that 7:15 is really that unheard of; it's just that it's been a lazy summer of sleeping in until 9:00 (me) while the children fend for themselves at breakfast. In other words, 7:15 is really just an unearthly hour to me.

Right now the "babies" are still sleeping, and the older 4 are playing "Risk". I don't think a one of them actually knows how to play "Risk", but at least they are being quiet. Nothing worse than grumpy babies, so let them sleep!

You Capture - Black & White

In My Arms

by Plumb

Your baby blues, so full of wonder

Your curly cues, your contagious smile
And as I watch you start to grow up

All I can do is hold you tight.

Story books full of fairy tales

Of kings and queens


And the bluest skies

My heart is torn just in knowing

You'll someday see the truth from lies

Knowing clouds will rage

And storms will race in

But you will be safe in my arms.

Rains will pour down

Waves will crash around


But you will be safe in my arms.

Castles, they might crumble

Dreams may not come true

But you are never all alone

Because I will always

Always love you.

Note: The ocean shot was pulled from the archives because, well...there aren't too many beaches in these parts.