Only a Day Away...

Doodlebug crawled into a full bathtub tonight in his pajamas. I had already bathed him, removed him, toweled him off, diapered and dressed him. I guess he thought he wasn't done playing.

Some other bug of mine* has had three pee accidents in two days.

This mess was waiting for me when I got out of the shower this morning:

I am so glad God designed parenthood to be a tag-team effort.

Sometimes it's easy to take our husbands for granted-- laugh at their different methods, belittle their effort to "help", and deem ourselves the most capable parent of the home.

I tell you what, take Hubby away and I feel pretty darn incapable. Sure, he does stuff differently (like leaving the house without brushing his daughter's hair), but at least when he's here someone can supervisor the monsters while I stand in a stream of hot water and wake up. I don't have to give bath, clean the kitchen up, and get everyone jammied before 8pm all by myself. Someone can clean up the kid who peed his pants while the other can start the laundry and locate and mop up the pee-puddle.

What a blessing to have a partner in this awesome misadventure of parenthood! I'm so glad my love will return tomorrow afternoon! (Rumor has it he's bringing presents too-- help with the kids and fun gifts??? What's not to love?)

*Name withheld to protect the guilty.

I Won Today

I won a blog giveaway today.

I won $100 cash to give away to someone else from Nancy Ray Photography. Isn't that awesome and christmas-y and fun??????

It would be if I wasn't such a wretched, sinful being.

You see, the original giveaway was for an iPad2 PLUS $100 cash to give away to someone in need. All you had to do to enter was leave a comment saying what you would do with the $100 if you won. Cool, huh?

Note: Honestly I would never pay for an iPad. I have an iPod touch (although the screen is busted) and an iPad just seems like a toy to me... a toy I could never justify paying that much money for. But to win one for free from a blog giveaway? Cool. I'm down. Hubby said that if I won (a long shot at best!) we could sell the iPad and put the money into our adoption fund. So I entered- hey everyone else online was doing it.

I mentioned here that Hubby was doing disaster relief work a couple weeks ago. He was helping to build shelters for families who have been displaced by a major earthquake in Van, Turkey. As he told me about how cold he was (wearing three layers of bottoms and four or more layers of tops... edit: Hubby just told me he was wearing SIX layers on top!), and sent me pictures like this...

...my heart was saddened. These kids don't have any coats on! (And it had started snowing while Hubby was there! It's cold y'all!) As a mama, my heart aches when I see children in need around the world. Children going without the things- like coats- that my children (AND ME!) take for granted every single day.

So on the iPad giveaway blog, that's what popped into my head! I would take the $100, buy as many kid-sized coats as I could, and I would cargo them to one of the men Hubby met while working in Van. It sounded like so much fun as I thought about it... Of course it would be a family affair to take the kids out, bargain for the coats to be cheaper (I love living overseas!), talk to the Bugs about how wealthy we are compared to the rest of the world, and how awesome it is to be able to give to others... yada yada yada.

(I don't mean yada yada yada like this isn't important. This is very important.)

The problem is that I have a wicked heart and tonight I glimpsed again just how wicked.

My friend called me to tell me I had won a giveaway on Nancy Ray's blog. NO WAY! I exclaimed and laughed as I pictured myself checking Facebook on my brand new iPad. Visions of the kids and me cuddled up watching Mickey Mouse episodes together on the shiny iPad screen danced in my head.

She went on to explain that it wasn't the iPad I had won, but a generous anon had given an extra $100 to be given away and I had been chosen to give that $100 away.

SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?


Inside, my mini-me sinner started stomping her feet. No iPad? Her lips pursued into a pouty grimace. No new toy for me?  Her sense of entitlement screamed-- only $100 to give away? But what about ME? What do I get?


I am ashamed to tell you about all this. It's hard to realize (yet again) that I am a sinner, and to be transparent with others is even harder. But I can't just let you read my comment on Nancy Ray's blog and think-- oh what a great little Christian girl! She's so happy to buy coats for those poor children and bless them this Christmas! Her first thought is probably simply for others as she spends her life working overseas.

Because that ain't how it went down y'all. But I'm happy to report that with the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to recognize my thoughts and attitude as sin, and ask God to forgive me. I was being selfish, petty, self-centered, entitled, jealous, and I was coveting a stupid iPad. And tomorrow morning, we will bundle our three little Bugs up in their coats, we will head over to the local bazaar and I will bargain my heart out to get as many coats as I possibly can with that $100. And we will talk to them about needs and wants and how important it is to care for the poor and the helpless and the widow and the orphan. And I'm pretty sure as we walk home with all our coats in hand to box up and send, I'll realize what a precious gift this experience has been to me.

So anonymous donor, whoever you are, thank you. Thank you of course, for making it possible for some kids in Van in the snow to have new warm coats.

But thank you from me too. If you hadn't given that money for the extra giveaway, I would not have had the chance to see my sinfulness in this way, and be forgiven. I maybe would not have seen so clearly this Christmas how selfish and petty my heart (still) is. And I wouldn't have had the opportunity to step outside of my self, my family, my Christmas, my life for a few minutes and experience the awesome joy of doing something generous for someone else. And I might not have had the chance to have those important conversations with my kids. So from the bottom of my heart, Thank You and Merry Christmas!

(I will hopefully have a chance to blog this week about buying the coats and mailing them off...)

Random Schmattering: Single Parent Edition

Caution: this post contains a lot of potty-talk. If poop and pee bother you, click away, quick!

• Hubby is out for the week, helping with some disaster relief projects in another city. I am so proud of my husband, and I love his genuine desire to serve others, but y'all-- this single parenting thing is not for the faint of heart! Seriously. I don't think there's enough coffee in the entire world for this job solo.
• On a related note: my children are sinners. Amen. (Of course, they get it from they mama...)
• Tonight (a mere five hours after purchasing a Congrats-you're-really-potty-trained present for Stinkbug) he pooped in his underwear. And not a nice, clean poop either. Blame the single parenting gig, or my gag reflexes, or just plain laziness, but I threw the poopy underwear into a grocery bag, tied it off, and threw it away. (I've also been known to do the same for Tupperware I find in the fridge and just can't stomach tackling.) Don't judge.
• Speaking of the potty... the other night I found Doodlebug playing in a toilet full of pee that his brother did not flush. I fished this toy out of the potty:

After I gagged and washed it thoroughly and then washed it again. I just had to laugh. Did you get it? "Piston"... and it was literally "pissed on". Hahahahahahahahaha. I need coffee.

• Also speaking of the potty, I found this in Doodlebug's diaper the other day:

I'm not really sure how that happened. And I choose to believe that it somehow just got in his diaper without traveling the entire length of his digestive tract... it might take the cake for the weirdest item I've ever found in a diaper. 

• I am tired and ready for my husband to come home. And I can't wait to go out by myself once he's home and drink a coffee (or seven) and just exist in silence alone for awhile... but really, I do love my kids. Sometimes I happen upon a moment of sibling endearment and I just stop and wonder at the gift that is these three precious little souls in my care...

Of course, ten minutes later they're snatching and snitching and hanging on my legs crying while I cook dinner, and then refusing to eat the dinner I make because it's "yucky"... But really, I do love them. Really. (And what would my blog be without their antics????)

Balloon Fail

This morning was Stinkbug's birthday party. Before party time, I was sucking down coffee, setting up the table with favors, and dressing the kids. With only 45 minutes to shower and put up some decorations, Hubby told me to get in the shower and let him decorate. How nice of him, right?

This is what I got:

Looks fine at first glance, huh? Look again:

Ummmmm, what the heck kinda balloons are those?

And why in the world would Hubby choose those balloons to decorate for our three year old son and his friends?

So, as nice as it is when your husband offers to do something to help you (especially if the "something" is out of his usual forte: ie decorating for a birthday party), give him a kiss and tell him you appreciate him, and then check his work before all the impressionable young birthday guests arrive.

Lesson learned here.

Something New/Some News

It is with a heart full of joy and anticipation that we announce...

We are expecting a new addition!

The Lord has been working in our hearts for awhile now, and we feel called to begin the process to adopt a little girl into our family. I can't wait to share this journey with you...

We don't know many definite details now about where/when/with whom... we've been in a season of praying, seeking godly counsel, researching options, and waiting on the Lord. Stay turned for news and updates as we journey to bring our daughter, Lovebug, home!

⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, 

God sent forth his Son, born of woman, 

born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those 

who were under the law, so that 

we might receive adoption as sons.

 ⁶ And because you are sons, 

God has sent the Spirit of his Son 

into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

 ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, 

but a son, and if a son, then an heir 

through God. (Galatians 4)

How to Wear Your Kids Out Before Naptime

I always knew there was a reason I was leaving the clean clothes in a mountain heap neat, orderly pile for days at a time without folding them. It comes in handy sometimes. Ahem.

Counting to 1,000

 

50. the magic of summer- heating lifting after dinner making way for beautiful evening at park51.  all three kids playing sweetly together52. soreness the day after exercise53. strawberries dipped in chocolate54. the privilege of praying for a friend55. frilly dress up clothes on a girl who thinks she's a princess56. sweet little ballerina girl in pink 57. precious boy waiting up for a goodnight kiss58. water59. feeling thinner and healthier60. waking up next to a smiling, snugly baby61. börek with potatoes and cheese for breakfast62. sunshiny days63. laughter echoing through the house64. a clean kitchen counter!65. dreams for the future66. strength to get out of bed in the morning67. Hubby playing with my hair68. kids with tousled bed-head (waking bright and early!)69. the weekend!70. lifting prayers together with brothers and sisters71. jokes between friends72. hearing "Mama"73. being adopted into God's family74. watching my parents talk to their grandchildren on Skype75. hungering for the Lord76. sweet texts from Hubby during the day77. thunder in the distance78. summer sandals79. legs to walk wherever I need to go80. a home full of beautiful things- comfy and cozy81. green grass squishing between little toes82. ice cream with sprinkles on top83. the coolness of the air right before a summer rainstorm

⁵ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁶ The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
⁷ God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.(Psalm 67)

My Baby Daddy

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!

{Lydia M. Child}

Whose Bad Habit?

This morning, I asked the kids to put their PJs in the PJ drawer. Simple enough, right? I proceeded to watch both of them run down the hallway, stop at their bedroom door and toss their PJs in.

I hollered at them that they needed to pick up their PJs and put them in the PJ drawer.

Then I walked into the kitchen shaking my head and said to Hubby, "What is with our kids and throwing their clothes in the middle of their room?"

He looked at me sort of incredulously. I think he was probably thinking of this:

That might just be my bedroom floor. And the clothes I tossed there last night when I was getting ready for bed. Oops.

I felt really dumb and silly. If my kids have the bad habit of tossing clothes on the floor, they learned it from me. What other bad habits have I unwittingly passed along to my offspring?

(It can be a really overwhelming/depressing thought.)

Today, I'm gonna start by putting my clothes in the closet when I'm done with them. And I'm going to try and remember that little eyes are always watching... always imitating.

{1000 gifts}

31. Daddy taking the big kids out for "special daddy time"

32. being alone with the baby (who hardly ever gets "alone time")

33. iced coffee in the middle of the morning

34. hot showers

35. the feeling of Q-tips cleaning my ears

36. anticipating a visit from dear friends

37. lifting voices in songs of praise as one body

38. sharing a meal with brothers and sisters

39. milk chocolate

40. getting mail/messages just because

41. picking out the perfect gift, and wrapping it up

42. sitting on the balcony drinking tea with my love talking about nothing and everything

43. being adopted into the biggest, most wonderful family by the Biggest, Most Wonderful Dad

44. "water from the wells of salvation"

³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴ And you will say in that day:

    "Give thanks to the LORD,
   call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
   proclaim that his name is exalted. ⁵ "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
   let this be made known in all the earth. {Isaiah 12}

6

Six years ago I woke before opening my eyes and I soaked in the realization that it was a big day. (The big day.) I savored the feelings of anticipation and excitement.

Six years ago my fiancé brought me three red roses, kidnapped me, got me breakfast to-go, and drove me to a special place where we enjoyed a few last moments together as a dating couple.

Six years ago I put on the dress, smiled for the pictures, married the man of my dreams, and cut the cake.

Today it's our anniversary. Today I am (still) so madly in love with him.

My 28th Birthday Wish List

I realize I'm not four, so it's probably not necessary to make a wish list for my birthday... But Ladybug has been walking around the house with a pad of paper and pencil every other day and asking me what I want for my birthday (and I would be touched that she knows it's almost my birthday except that she also asks what I want for Christmas) and then scribbling furiously on her paper.

I will turn 28 on Thursday, so as long as I'm still OK admitting my real age, I figured it's be OK to admit what I really want for my birthday.

• Comfy flats that aren't black or brown. Like these Privos, aren't they cute in gray or green? I like these from Kohl's too, in the mushroom gray color.


• Books. I really want Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, The Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, Tsh Oxenreider's Organized Simplicity, Gary Thomas' Sacred Marriage... and any other books that would come highly recommended about marriage, home-making, parenting, being a christian woman, or great (clean!) fiction!


• Springy and summer-y clothes. I feel like I get so bored with what I wear! I am loving the open front springy cardigans that have some flow to them-- like this --'cause I feel like those are very forgiving with my...ahem...mommy middle.


• A beautiful, artsy clock for our bedroom wall.


• Brightly colored, fun-smelling spring and summer candles.


• Some time alone for me. Maybe a coffee. Perhaps a bubble bath. Some time in a good book. Maybe out shopping solo. No real plan, just a few hours alone with myself would totally rock. (Says the pulled on, spit up on, peed on, tugged on, yelled at, pooped on, sat on, jumped on, talked to, demanded of mommy of three.)


• Cake.


• A happy husband at home all day, a sparkling clean house, and pleasant, obedient children.

Brain Dump & Link Love

• We're skipping life tomorrow. Taking a day off and going away. It's much-needed and much-anticipated and will be much-appreciated. These words from Charles Spurgeon and the springy weather have lured us away from our daily responsibilities tomorrow:

He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood-pigeons in the forest, the song of birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, needs not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy. A day's breathing of fresh air upon the hills, or a few hours, ramble in the beech woods’ umbrageous calm, would sweep the cobwebs out of the brain of scores of our toiling ministers who are now but half alive. A mouthful of sea air, or a stiff walk in the wind's face, would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best.

• The Bugs have a plastic play kitchen and they've been playing with it so much lately, so I decided that Hubby and I are going to make them a play kitchen! I'm also wanting to toss their plastic food/utensils bit by bit and replace them with felt and wood.

Inspirations:

Vintage Songbird

Bug Bites Play Food

Ohdeedoh

Melissa & Doug Play Food

Play Food on Etsy

• I recently read Adopted for Life by Russell Moore. Ah-mazing. My heart burns. Really, I can't do it justice, just get it and read it.


• A friend sent me this Laura Story song, Blessings, today. It's on repeat. What a great song for my season of life right now. Thank God for good friends and the good music they pass along!

Laura Story - "Blessings" Lyrics

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
But long that we'd have the faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home, is not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Random Schmattering

• I'm sick.  I'm tired of being sick.  As a family, we're starting week three of someone being sick.  Ugh.  Come quickly spring!


• My favorite part of being sick?  Guiltless TV.  This week I've watched all of Gilmore Girls season one and started season two yesterday.  The whole Luke and Lorelai thing is killing me (I never watched the show when it was on TV...) so last night I Googled "when do Luke and Lorelai get together".  I'm not sure I'll have the patience to wait until the end of season four!  Goodness!  Hubby said I spoiled it for myself, but I'd rather know than have this thing drag on and on and drive me crazy.  Can I get an amen?!


• Hubby brought me these huge, gorgeous Gerber daisys... daisies.  They are breathtaking.  I love that he brings me flowers just because I like flowers.  He's a keeper.


• Someone found my blog this week by Googling "my kid pooped out a lady bug" and that, folks, is one for the record books.


• Why does spell checker still think "google" is not a verb.  I use it as a verb almost everyday.  I think it is officially part of the vernacular and spell checker should accept it as such.  Hmph.


• Did you know a "google" is a one with a bunch of zeros after it?  I think it's a hundred zeros... hang on let me Google it... Yes, here it is from answers.com:

Googol has 100 zeros, and is usually written as 10^100.

• Man, I am glad the brains at Google decided to spell "Google" instead of "Googol".  Ack, can you even imagine?  What an ugly word!


• Did I mention I married a keeper?!

Postpartum Lesson

I had a baby three and a half months ago, so that puts me in the "postpartum" phase of life.  I've never struggled with postpartum depression, but boy oh boy am I struggling with postpartum hair loss these days.

I shed almost enough for another human every day.  Seriously, my bath tub drain looks like I lost a fight with a hair-pulling high school girl every morning.  I find hair on my pillow when I wake up, hair on the couch when I stand up, and I have to clean out my brush every day because... well, you get the picture.

Hubby and I have agreed it's amazing I still have hair on my head at all.

The other day as I was cleaning out the bathtub drain (again), and fuming about the hormonal imbalances that will certainly, eventually lead to total baldness, I remembered a funny little Scripture:

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:30)

I just had to smile.  You see, the Bible says there are a number to the hair atop my head, and the Lord holds that number in His infinite sea of wisdom.  He knows.  That may not even strike you as such a great thing for Him to know about you, but my friend, I'm losing hundreds, possibly thousands of hairs every week, and each time ONE HAIR falls out, it doesn't do so without the Lord knowing.

Sheila has 3,478,213,459,213 hairs. Now, she has 3,478,213,459,212 hairs. Oh, there goes another one--3,478,213,459,211 hairs. 3,478,213,459,210 hairs.

He knows every one of them.  That's how valuable I am to my Heavenly Father.  So as much as losing my hair chunks at a time stinks these days, I am so grateful for the God who knows me in such a deep, personal, detailed way.  A God who cares about my hair more than I even do.

Whimsy

I was inspired when I read Stephanie's whimsy post, and it looks like she may have started a whimsical trend.  And in these days of waiting and wondering, I'd like to be a little whimsical too...

• I'd like to jet off to a really romantic-sounding city like Paris or Madrid with my Hubby for a weekend.  Stay at a super luxurious bed and breakfast that we would never be able to afford, sit out at little sidewalk cafes wearing cute scarves and dangly accessories drinking coffees and teas with names I can't pronounce.  Frivously whimsical.


• I'd like to travel to a new place and pick up a child who doesn't know me from Eve, wrap her up in my arms, and then bring her home with me.  Smiling the entire time as I think about how her story was my story, as God adopted me into His loving family. Lovingly whimsical.


• I'd love to take all the people I love out to a fantastic dinner with the most delectable foods.  Laugh with them, listen to them, enjoy being with them, and then pick up the tab for everyone.  I have always wanted to say, 'Don't worry, I've got it!" at the end of a scrumptious meal with loved ones.  Generously whimsical.


• I'd like to walk into FAO Schwarz or someplace as magical and after playing with everything with my children. tell my kids they can pick out one thing to take home with them-- no matter the cost.  And then just sit back and enjoy the process of their excitement and decision-making.  Joyfully whimsical.


• I'd like to own some really crazy hip designer shoes or a bag that's super-duper chic that I can don every once in a while to make people who pass me on the street think Wow, what a trendy mom! Little will they know I really prefer my flip-flops and Target bags. Trendily whimsical.

whim·sy [hwim-zee]

1.capricious humor or disposition; extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression: a play with lots of whimsy.

2.an odd or fanciful notion.

3.anything odd or fanciful; a product of playful or capricious fancy: a whimsy from an otherwise thoughtful writer.

He loves me...

...he loves me!

5 years!

Today is my fifth wedding anniversary.  It feels like the first "big" mile marker on a long road together...



There's a little bit of road already behind us...

And boy, we've had a good time traveling it together...

We've crammed a lot into five short years...

Kinda makes me wonder what kind of adventures we have in store...

Really it doesn't matter, as long as I have him beside me...

He truly is an amazing husband...

And awesome dad...

And my lovable best friend.

Interview with Ladybug

What is something daddy always says to you?

Don’t touch.

What makes daddy happy?

I play with toys.

What makes daddy sad?

I swallowed a hair clip.

How does your daddy make you laugh?

Takes something away from me.

What did your daddy like to do when he was a child?

He snatched!

How old is your daddy?

Two.

How tall is your daddy?

Big.

What is his favorite thing to watch on TV?

Over the Hedge

What does your daddy do when you’re not around?

He rocks.

What is your daddy really good at?

Putting puzzles together.

What is your daddy not very good at?

Making tea.

What does your daddy do for his job?

I don’t know.

What is your daddy’s favorite food?

Domino’s

What makes you proud of your daddy?

Watches movies

What do you and your daddy do together?

Put puzzles on the pages.

How are you and your daddy the same?

We poop.

How are you and your daddy different?

I have Curious George pajamas.

How do you know your daddy loves you?

‘Cause I love him.

What does your daddy like most about your mommy?

Bringing her flowers.

Where is your daddy’s favorite place to go?

To the playground.  And to Target.

Good Idea!

I was asked to write a few goals for the next two months and one of my favorites from my planning and brainstorming was to have "dates" with each of my children. This is something I have wanted to do for awhile, but decided to start now and quit delaying!

I have found that I often have very good ideas and often well-meaning intentions, but can get stuck at those points in the parenting process... not so much good follow-through!

Saturday I had my first "date" with Bug. We went to McDonald's and ate ice cream. She had an absolute blast and it only cost $3.15. I can't believe I haven't carved out the time to do this before! From now on, Bug and Little Man each get a Mommy date once a month... I can't wait until they are older and they choose what our dates will consist of!

For now, I will have a date with each child once a month, and the other two weekends will be "big" dates with Hubs. Often we find it's hard to date each other with two li'l ones biting our ankles. By scheduling our time out we are making it a priority and keeping it that way!

What good ideas do you need to implement today?!