Its Me!

Sunday morning the weather was horrible (again) so Jamey and I debated for a bit on who exactly was going to church. I had to go that morning as I was participating in the service, but with the rain pouring down and the wind blowing things around in the yard, we considered having him stay home with the kids.
There was a short break in the rain, so we decided quickly that we would all go.
The process of getting ready for church was put into warp speed.

While I was in the shower, I hear little feet in the bathroom.
"Who is in there?" I hear Stephen yell in my direction.
"Its Mommy." I tell him.
"Oh" he says.
"Who are you?" I ask him.
"It's Stephen." He replied. "The boy that lives in this house and has a big bed."

My thought at that moment was that Stephen knows he belongs here. This is his house and he likes us! Our family would not be complete without Ansley or Stephen. They are at home here with us. And although they don't know it to tell you: they are safe here. Safe to be silly, to run around after bathtime wrapped only in a towel, safe to tell us how they feel and what they think.

I am glad to be their mommmy. And I am glad we live here together. I would not have it any other way.

A great parenting moment...

So I have been really making an effort to help my kids in the being thankful department. So last night, as we all say by the fire watching a bowl game (ugh) we could hear the wind blowing. It was probably about 25 degrees outside.

"Wow", I said. "Jack Frost is really blowing out there. We are so lucky to have a warm house and warm pajamas!"
Stephen asked, "who is Jack Frost?"
"He brings the cold air" I replied.
"oh" said Stephen.

We did not discuss it beyond that.

About 30 minutes later, I was tucking him into bed. He looks up at me and his eyes are full of tears.
"What is wrong, baby?" I asked him.

We now have full on crying so it takes me a moment to decipher the words between the sobs and tears.

"I been good mama. I was good at Ms. Debbie's" he tells me.

"of course you were!" I say.

"So Jack Frost wont blow me to the cold air??" he asks with wide brown eyes.

Um, ok, so perhaps I didn't really teach that lesson so well. In my attempt to teach him to appreciate his warm house, I made him worry that some guy named Jack was going to come blow cold air on him while he slept.

Well, you can't win them all.

New Year

It is 9:48 in the morning on New Years Day and I am the only one awake. Even Macy is snoring on the floor next to me. The sun is apparently not showing itself today, so my family may sleep all day. I am not sure how I ended up with kids that like to sleep in, but I will take it. I like being the first one up in the mornings.

One of the best sounds in the morning is little feet running down the hallway. And I mean, running. They wake up, and they run full speed around the curved hallway. I am then greeted with a gigantic sleepyhead grin. Now on school days? Not so much. I don't think Ansley actually wakes up until we are almost to her school.

Jamey and I had a really nice dinner with friends last night. We were then tempted to go watch the moonpie rise over Mobile Bay, but we actually decided against that and came home earlier than we thought. And it was nice. I was in my bedroom that was actually clean for once (yes, all the clothes were hung up or folded in the drawers - surprise, surprise) at the stroke of midnight. After a new years kiss from the my sweet husband, I was snuggled in and fast asleep in clean sheets warm from the dryer. Happy New Year to me!

A few of my blessings

1. Getting the travel to Eastern Europe for the 1st time ever on a Mission Trip. It was a great trip and I learned so much and met so many really great people. And it made it even better that I was there with Jamey, Luke, Sara and my mom. My mom was SUCH a trooper. I hope to travel abroad with her again soon. The trip was made possible by a person who wished to remain anonymous, but whose gift to me and Jamey impacted far more people than he could ever realize.

2. Having really good neighbors. Neighbors that will let my dog in and out when I am out of town so I don't have to board her. Neighbors who will babysit and will come down for a chat and never once judge me on the condition of my house.

3. A fabulous husband. I came home from grocery shopping today to an empty house. I look out into the back yard and he has them engaged in a full on game on Teeball. What a great father. Makes me love him so much more each day which doesn't seem possible. He will do potty duty, children's church and patiently let the kids "help" him with a Wii or Playstation game. All kids should be this lucky...

4. Great family - a brother and sister in law that we are actually FRIENDS with - imagine that. In laws that love my kids. A sister in law who spoils my kids rotten.

5. My mom

6. a Job that is as secure as it can be in today's economy. We are by no means financially well off, but we can pay our bills and have a bit left for fun. And that is fine with me. I also have some of the best coworkers I could hope for...

2 days til Christmas. We are very excited and not quite ready. But Christmas will come no matter what is done and not done. :) And I say, bring it on.

Merry Christmas!

Uncle L and Stephen at the park over Thanksgiving


Ms. French (Jamey's grandma) made Ansley an apron with a matching apron for her baby doll. Ansley LOVES it.


I love the expression on Stephen's face as he runs...


Here are the kids blowing out birthday candles on their desserts. No birthday cakes this year! Neither of my kids likes cake. So brownies and cookies it was. Nice on my pocketbook too!



Ansley and her friends with Leighann at the birthday party. The COLD birthday party.

Christmas Through the Rain

Getting two kids out the door each morning in a reasonable amount of time is no easy task. I realize that many a mom and dad have done this long before I became a parent, but the job is nonetheless daunting even after both children got a good night’s sleep the night before and have awakened in a semi-good mood in the predawn hours of the morning. But add pouring rain to the mix, and time is the enemy. “Hurry, Hurry!” I tell the kids. “Eat, eat. We need to leave early with all this rain.”

The shoe search seems to take precious seconds longer this morning. I struggle to suppress a harsh tone as the thunder and lightning thrill my kids at the window. Rushing my kids to the car in the darkness of a full on thunderstorm, I do an inventory: backpack, lunchbox, extra clothes for the little one, phone charger. My kids are 100% dry, but my feet were not as lucky.

I sigh loudly and we are finally ready to go. And we are late.

And then, I am given a reminder:

“Look, Mama!” I hear my 5 (almost 6 year old she is quick to remind us all) from the backseat. “Aren’t you glad it is raining? We can see all the Christmas lights in the morning time today since it’s so dark out from the rain!”

We spend the car ride looking at all the Christmas lights between my house and the babysitter, pointing out our favorite displays that are shining through the sheets of rain.

The rain beat down on the car. The thunder rolled and the lightening crashed, but the spirit of my precious children was not shaken. They found joy in the morning drive to school.

What a lesson for me.

I certainly don’t have to list the many burdens we all face on a daily basis: illness, paying bills or buying groceries, layoffs, pressure and opinions from the people around us, loneliness, regret, fear. But seeing the light through the darkness means we have hope. We have hope that we are more than the problems that cause us to lose sleep at night. We have hope that we are more than illness that might have taken over our bodies or the overdrawn checking account giving us a stomachache. Having hope does not mean we live in denial. We know the problems are there and most people will face them scared or not. But when we can see, as a child, the light through the darkness, we can relax for a moment. We can breathe in the joy and it can help us get through the day, the hour, the moment.

I pray that you see the Christmas lights through the rain this season.

And I pray I will do the same.