Friday, April 13, 2007

The peaceful shower

For those of you with young children, I know you'll appreciate this. I never and I do mean never get to take an uninterrupted shower. With four children it just doesn't happen. Granted my oldest son never bothers me anymore but when he was younger he did his fair share. My children can tell the moment I step into the water and that is when they come running for one reason or another. My husband says "lock the door" but that won't work either. Because then you have three young children in tears crying and your dripping wet so you can't console them. So this morning as I stepped into the shower I waited...and I waited. And nothing, no kids coming in and out to check on me. Nobody needing to brush their teeth at that exact moment, no tattling on each other and most of all no crying. So I did what any unsuspecting mom would do. I enjoyed my uninterrupted time and got dressed. In record time I might add since I didn't have any interruptions. But I began to wonder what could possibly keep three children occupied for such a long time without needing mom's intervention. That's when the sinking feeling in my stomach began. So off I went in search of them.

My first clue was the trail of toilet paper my baby had drug through the house with her. Truly this is her favorite pastime so nothing new here, but this time it was wet. So I proceed to the other bathroom where I find that my 4 year old son and his 2 year old sister had been washing their cars. When I left them they were racing around the floor together so I guess they just got dirty and needed cleaning up. So they stopped up the sink and put the water on full blast. They did eventually turn the water off once it started to spill onto the counter. And in fairness they did try to clean it up as evidenced by the soggy box of Kleenex and roll of toilet paper everywhere. But it was an absolute mess, except for their cars , which were spotless. So this is where I am supposed to say kids will be kids and no I didn't get upset. But that's not really what happened so I won't even try. I will say that my house is back in order now and I desperately need to go and buy some more toilet paper and Kleenex. And next time I am having an uninterrupted shower I won't be so trusting of their good behaviour. It's a shame really, that the calming relaxing effect of my shower didn't last long enough for me to enjoy.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

A friend in need

Relationships are tricky. You want to have friends but sometimes you end up in the middle of something that you really just wish you weren't in. We live in a very close knit neighborhood. To close I guess. There are always friends outside for the kids to play with and the parents watching them. Which means you find out way to much information and that you never really get a moment's peace during your time outside. Right now I have a dear friend who is struggling with the choices made and how it affects her family. It seems like it has put a strain on everyone around here not just that particular family. I am trying to distance myself from all the gossip that is going on but it seems to be the only topic anyone wants to discuss. I spoke with my friend yesterday and she is in pain. She is having a hard time forgiving herself and doesn't really believe that she will get God's forgiveness. In the brief few minutes that I spoke with her I tried to tell her that our God was bigger and better than that and that He does forgive. Since I have never been good at quoting scripture all I could do was tell her that He will forgive all our sins as long as we have a truly repentant heart. She seemed so surprised to hear this since she truly felt the person who she hurt was supposed to forgive her first before she could ask for God's forgiveness. I promised her it wasn't that way, but I wish I could have had some scripture locked away in my brain to quote to her to prove it was so, but I wasn't. She did share with me that for the first time in ages they are starting to go to church together as a family in hopes of healing. Hopefully they will have an open heart and hear God's words of love and forgiveness. All I can do is pray for them and continue to be their friend. And while I know this is vital to them, I just wish there was more I could do. So if you think about it please remember them in your prayers. I want them to truly experience all the love and forgiveness that God has to offer and become whole again.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Sounds that make me smile

Sometimes there are certain sounds that make me smile. They aren't the ususal sounds you would expect like children laughing or birds singing. Don't get me wrong I like these sounds very much but there are other sounds that I really like. I really don't like the wind but I do love the sound of a wind chime and have several of them in the back yard and even the front. But that really isn't even the sound that I'm thinking of that brings a smile to my face. It's the sound of sports that I am talking about. For whatever reason anytime I hear them they just give me a smile and a great sense of satisfaction. Even though it's not me causing these sounds. So I thought I would just list my favorite sounds of sports.

1. The smack of a baseball hitting the glove.
2. The crack of the bat connecting with the ball in that perfect spot.
3. The swish the basketball makes when it makes a basket.
4. The sound a golf club makes as it is slices through the air.
5. The sound of ice skates on the ice.
6. The sound the hockey stick makes when it hits the puck.
7. The sound the pins make when the bowling ball knocks them down.
8. The sound of football pads and helmets crashing together.
9. And throughout all these sounds is of course the cheer of the crowd.

And it's a good thing I enjoy the sound of sports. With two boys and a husband who like to watch sports all the time. I am always having to listen to these sounds. So just imagine the pain I would be in if I didn't like them.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Three things

Well, it is really more than three. 4andcounting tagged me to do the 3 things meme.
And I hate to let someone down.

Three Things That Scare Me:
1. tornadoes
2. losing my husband in a freak accident of some kind
3. horror movies

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. husband
2. my brother
3. my children

Three Things I Love:
1. to read
2. watching my son play baseball
3. sitting by a swimming pool watching the kids play

Three Things I Hate:
1. the wind
2. people who drive super slow when I am late ( I know it's my fault not theirs)
3. being late

Three Things I Don’t Understand:
1. people who abuse children in any way
2. what it is my husband does at work...it is so over my head.
3. people who think they are better than everyone else

Three Things On My Desk:
1. bills to be paid
2. art from the kids
3. day planner which never gets used any more

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:
1. wearing my cleaning clothes while I am not cleaning.
2. typing
3. thinking of all that I should be doing

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. go to Italy
2. hold my grandchildren
3. go to Confession

Three Things I Can Do:
1. bake
2. read a map the old fashioned way
3. make my husband laugh

Three Things I Can’t Do:
1. play any musical instrument
2. read music
3. resist chocolate

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:
1. your parents and grandparents when they talk about the old days. When they are gone so are the stories.
2. U2
3. Compliments (listen to it, say thank you, and be happy--we women have a bad habit of discounting or disagreeing when someone gives us a compliment)

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:
1. selfish people
2. your doubts
3. gossip

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:
1. how to draw
2. how to be a better cook
3. how to fully trust in God

Three Favorite Foods:
1. enchiladas
2. chocolate
3. strawberries with sugar

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:
1. Sesame Street
2. The Electric Company
3. Mister Rogers

Three Things I Regret:
1. gossiping
2. not being there with my husband when his dad dies
3. grocery shopping while I am starving.

Three People I'm Tagging (no pressure, just if it seems like fun to do):
1. Nan
2. Greta
3. any one else who wants to join in.

How time flies

My baby turned one this weekend. It just seems like yesterday that I was holding her for the first time. She was so tiny and perfect and barely weighed anything at all it seemed. When I held her close she didn't take up my entire lap. Now fast forward a year and what do I see. I see my perfect little baby smiling and laughing at the drop of a hat. She has such a happy disposition and seldom cries. Now when she lies on my lap her legs hang over and she kicks them up and down for fun. When I set her down to play she is off like lightning crawling and exploring new ways to get into trouble. I can't tell you how many rolls of toilet paper she has unraveled and crawled through the house with. Every time I catch her in the act she just laughs with joy and looks so proud of herself. It's amazing how much a baby can change in that first year. It seems like life will stay this way forever, and then in a blink of an eye they seem to have grown up on us overnight. It just reminds me that life is short and precious and I really need to stop and enjoy all the little blessing my children provide me throughout the day. Time does seem to fly by when you least expect it and I know I will miss these days I have now, just as much as I already miss the days of her being my baby.