Five Things

Five things to love when you can't move without pain.
1. Good friends
2. Kids who bring you things
3. Muthle relacther (Muscle relaxer)
4. Personal massage therapist (yes, my Daddo)
5. TV that pauses, (and times how long it takes you to go downstairs and come back up)

Five things to never do.
1. Never throw out your back (you may need it again someday)
2. Never pick up the four year old
3. Never pick up two four year olds in a row, as in "Up into the van with Marcus, now Lucas, back down out of the van Lucas, now Marcus." Repeat at three stores in a row.
4. Never be afraid to ask for help
5. Never forget to pray for healing.

The Eighteen Month Rule

Isn't winter a great time to clean out your cupboards, closets, basements, garages, and toy boxes? I have the 18 month rule. If it hasn’t been used in 18 months, it needs to go. That way, someone else can use it.

Also, if I find the cutest thing at a garage sale, I must ask, “Where am I going to put this?”

I’m not sure if it’s living in a smallish house that makes me this way or if it’s because my mom loves stuff. Her basement is like a museum. Need a pulpit? She’s got one. She also has a church pew, a barn lantern, an antique stove, antique kitchen cupboard (with a flour bin), cross country skis, a hospital bed, and…you get the idea. Of course, she does have plans for most of these items, and she does have room to store them. Plus, the pulpit has cupboards and it’s where we keep all the games. Wanna play Yahtzee, Dad? It's in the pulpit. Items must have PURPOSE or PLANS. If not, they need to go.

Still, we need to be careful of our junk taking over our reason. I do not need to be purchasing size 12 girls clothes for Sarah, plus I have no place to store them. Also, I may have perfectly good things that can be used by others. If I leave them in storage, am I being a good steward?

So, simplify. I look around and ask, do I need this, really? I either give it to people or give it to the mission thrift store. Isn’t it funny? I don’t want to have a garage sale because it makes me feel greedy, but I love to shop at them and find a bargain. (I got Mark and Luke’s mittens and gloves for 50 cents each last year at a sale, and they use them every day all winter long!)

I say all this to say. No more justification for that coat you wore in seventh grade. You wore it in your yearbook picture. Keep the picture and ditch the coat. And the ice-cream maker from your grandma? The one you have not used in 7 years, that’s gotta go. And the coat with the broken zipper, are you really going to fix it? Has it been 18 months? Take it to an alteration place or let it go.

Make it a family project. Talk about STEWARDSHIP and GENEROSITY. Look for examples of these in the Bible and in others. Get a large bag and fill it. Let your kids give toys away. Watch them think about and care for others. Pray about who will get these things. You will be blessed.

Happy Heart

We have all heard the term “Proud Papa” and felt that prideful feeling when our kid does something great, but isn’t pride our enemy, according to the Bible?
“Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” Prov. 16: 5

What do we do with parental pride? Well, it’s okay because it’s your kid? I don’t think so. Pride is a selfish, sinful disease that steals God’s glory and points directly to “I”. So, keep your parental pride in check.

When you see your kids make good choices, be glad, and be grateful, but don’t be prideful. Do people tell you “You’re a good parent. You are doing a good job.”? Don’t take the credit. Point out who is truly responsible. It is the Lord who enables us to be good parents, isn’t it?

The Bible does not say “a wise son makes a proud father.” It says, “a wise son makes a glad father.” Do you see the subtle difference? Be glad, be grateful, but avoid the trap of pride.

So, do we tell our kids, “I’m proud of you..” Should they be seeking our pride? My four-year-old recently asked me, “Mom, do I make your heart happy?” “Honey, when you make good choices, you make my heart happy and more importantly, you make God’s heart happy.”

Maybe it comes down to my own relationship with God. Do I want Him to be proud of me or do I want to make His heart happy?

A wonderful week of sledding and play

Last week, the kids and I made the 90 mile trek to a big, beautiful house in the woods owned by massage therapists. That’s right, my parents, the grandparents, welcomed us up for a wonderful week of sledding and play.

Except on Tuesday, it was 50 degrees and very wet. We all fell down on the ice. Tim didn’t want to leave the house, but kept talking to me on the walkie-talkie. I buried Sarah in a snow bank with the kick sled. Lucas had to go potty. Sarah’s socks were wet. But we were still up for a wonderful week of sledding and play.

Except the next day it rained. Then Sarah got very sick and started throwing up. We slept with the trash can between us. Tim made it outside to sled with Papa, but returned so Papa could get first-aid due to a face-plant and a bleeding chin. The next day Tim had a fever, and a headache, and another night with the trash can between us. But we were still up for a wonderful week of sledding and play.

Except on Thursday, the dog bit Lucas on the hand. The blind man was the only witness. A call to the doctor, much cleaning, Neosporin, and many band-aids later, Lucas was calm and watching a movie. Tim went out with Papa, but lost a glove. On Friday, the dog bit Lucas again, only without breaking the skin. Bad dog. But we were still up for that wonderful week of sledding and play.

Except on Saturday, our last day, Grandma woke up sick and slept with the trash-can most the morning. I went to the store for medicine, except the van didn’t start. The tow guy threw out his back getting the van down the hill. He took it to a place that was open until 6:00. Except they couldn’t get to it until Monday. Sarah sat down on the floor and announced she wanted to go home. But we were still stuck there at the end of our wonderful week of sledding and play.

Except my wonderful husband, the man I married, drove 90 miles up to rescue us and 90 miles home so we could all sleep in our own beds last night. Whew! Perhaps next winter we will be up for another wonderful week of sledding and play.

Praying Grandmas

Did you have grandmas who prayed? Did they pray with you and for you? Did you know they served Jesus?

This weekend, it was Mama's turn to be sick, which is tough on the whole household. So we cancelled our birthday party for Marcus and Lucas on Sunday. Since Ryan's parents were going to be in town anyway, they asked if they could drop off presents for the guys. I was feeling better and lying low on the couch when they arrived. The first thing my mother-in-law said was "How are you feeling? I was awake in the night praying for you." I thanked her and was grateful that my kids have a Nana who prays.

This week we are up at my mom's. While Sarah and Grandma did puzzles, grandma received a phone call from her sister. She needed prayer for an important test. My kids were able to hear their grandma praying.

What a wonderful blessing my kids have.

mama minion

Mama-minion

Well, we lost a gun. Well, we didn’t lose it; it actually died. Yes, conservative little me, let all my children play with guns. It’s a Tuesday night tradition. Since Dad has class, we get out the disc-shooters and shoot multi-colored foam discs EVERYWHERE. I am the un-jammer and loader, while the boys and Sarah have a great time. It’s actually one of Ryan’s favorite games, and when I saw them at Christmas, I purchased four of them for the boys, counting Ryan as the fourth boy.

Tonight, one gun died. It was not jammed, it just stopped. I replaced the batteries. Still, no happy hum…Lucas was beside himself with grief. Sarah comforted him and actually gave up her gun. Happiness restored, Lucas kept loading and shooting. Tim announced, from the high ground on the top bunk bed, that Sarah could be his “good minion”. (No evil minions allowed of course.) So she proceeded to gather ammo so King Tim could load faster. Marcus and Lucas also announced that they were “minions” as well. This was just too funny to mama, who decided to be mama-minion. So if you call on Tuesday nights, between 7 and 7:30, there will likely be no answer, as the minions (and king Tim) will be shooting foam discs EVERYWHERE.