Pity Threw A Party...

Perspective.

Everything in life has to be evaluated with perspective.

This past weekend I attended a women's retreat. This was not your typical, high energy, fun, stuff your face, stay up until midnight playing games retreat.

This was also not, sing some songs, hear a speaker, get emotionally touched, go home type of a retreat.

This was all about experiencing God. Listening to God. At one point, they even had us bring our pillows and rest - soaking in God's love for us.

It really was a retreat - a rest. But it was emotionally draining as well. Sort of a "dutch uncle talk" with Jesus kind of draining.

Our speaker had been in a horrible car accident when she was 34. She was a mom to two young children at the time. The accident left her a quadriplegic.

When you think of all the things we moms do - especially with young children - the idea of being physically helpless is overwhelming.

She talked a little about her accident, but the words that she spoke about how we "plug" the connection we have to God's love, is what really touched me.

She described three things that hinder us from receiving God's love. I'm sure there are probably more, but these three were enough to start with!

1. Self-pity
2. Unbelief
3. Unforgiveness

No dancing around the issue there!

Self-pity is one that I definitely struggle with - big time. But she talked about perspective. One man that had been at the same rehab facility she was at came back to visit while she was there. He, too, had a major spinal cord injury, but with rehab, had been able to walk again and almost completely recover. When he talked with the current patients, they asked him how he was doing. I'm sure they were expecting some encouragement, some inspiration. Instead, he complained that he was unable to type as quickly as he had before the accident. Here he was talking to people that couldn't walk, couldn't use their arms and complaining about not typing quickly.

There are many things I complain about. I am a "glass half empty" person. I am the man complaining about typing too slow.

The solution?

Gratitude.

Recognizing the blessings.

Proclaiming God's goodness.

Thanking Him for the air I breathe - the children I hold - the husband I love.

Celebrating the sun - the moon - the food - the dirt - even the snow.

(waking this morning to sub zero temps makes this even more difficult!)

I'm sure many of you remember Oprah's famous gratitude journal. Five things every night before bed that I am grateful for. Silly, but so profound at the same time.

I want to be grown up thankful - not just thankful for the day, the house, my bed - like my kids pray.

I want to be child-like thankful - seeing the bugs, the rocks, the simple things we grown ups miss.

I think God's timing is perfect - no I KNOW God's timing is perfect.

Ann Voskamp has written a book, One Thousand Gifts - A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I have followed her blog for quite a while and felt quite a connection to her life (and not just the six kids part). I guess you would say more of an awe to how she lives her life. Simple, honest, grateful.

I am starting my own gratitude journal - to see the simple things in my life and to be grateful for every moment.

Tornado Thursday

A glimpse into my Thursdays...

Deliver 14 year old to Jazz band while it is still dark

Pick up 14 year old & deliver her to the high school

Deliver the 12 year old to the junior high

Deliver the 9 year old to his school

Deliver the 5 & 7 year old to their school

Home for a quick shower

Pick up the 14 year old and deliver her & friend to junior high

Pick up band book that I forgot and deliver it to the 12 year old

Mail package to new nephew (insert excited aunt giggle)

Pick up Starbucks so that the taxi driver doesn't fall asleep

Pick up 14 year old for eye appointment

Stop at home so 14 year old can pick up glasses

Deliver 14 year old back to school

Stop at home to feed 4 year old

Do a load of laundry

Calculate the distance between hotel and PF Changs for MOPS training in Denver
(anticipation works better than the Starbucks)

Pick up 5 & 7 year old from their school

Pick up 9 year old from his school

Meet 12 year old at home and give youngest five enough snack to hold them over until dinner

Supervise homework

Pick up 14 year old and friend from junior high and after school activities

Hand 14 year old mac & cheese boxes and escape with hubby!!!!

All That and the Bathroom Sink

So even though it is now Wednesday, I feel like the week is just finally beginning. Or maybe last week never ended. The craziness of the weekend has spilled over into the next week.

I have been attempting to get to bed earlier (as in before 11:30pm) so that I wake up refreshed before 7:15am when I MUST be out of bed! But here I sit, finally "catching up" at midnight. Why? Mainly because Carrie lovingly brought me a Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha. Oh, the gloriousness of it all. Caffeine and all. Thank you, Carrie, but make a note...no caffeine after 2pm! The caffeine combined with the Buckeyes that Carrie made and force-fed me have made for a tired body, but refusing to sleep mind.

So I will fill you in on the last several days.

The kids had a half day on Friday, and i knew that Saturday would be busy, so I had them do all of their Saturday chores on Friday afternoon. That's just the slave-driving mother that I am. That combined with the fact that Jill and her family were coming for dinner.

Our men were going to a high school football game that I would tell you about, but I really don't care and this is my blog, so I won't. But that left Jill and I at home with 10 children...all under the age of 12. Funny thing Jill figured out - our kids are in 6th,5th,4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st grade, Kindergarten, preschool, and then I have two extras. Isn't that kind of funny that we wouldn't overlap anywhere? But the kids all get along great, and we hardly even knew there were kids in the house for most of the night. Except of course for Meredith who was too excited that she was spending the night at Jill's house that she would ask every 20 minutes if it was time to go. Considering they didn't leave until 11:30pm, that was a lot of times to ask!

So, not wanting put a lot of effort into dinner, we did what every smart mom does and headed to Costco! We purchased four take & bake pizzas. But Costco, being the forward thinking place that they are doesn't just carry your basic pizza anymore. Oh no! This is what we had!

If you do not recognize that, it is a margarita pizza: fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and roma tomatoes (although, those ones aren't looking very roma like - it was still very delicious). Yummy is about as descriptive as I am feeling at midnight, but let me tell you it was VERY yummy!

Like I was saying, we cleaned before this glorious pizza, child and rook-playing filled night occurred. (By the way, Jill's husband, Kyle, and I were partners at Rook and creamed Jill and Mike! Just needed to make sure I mentioned that!)

My boys were sent to clean their room after lunch. This is what the room looked like after 3 hours.

Yes, you read that right...THREE HOURS. Because I as the mean mommy make my children clean until it is clean.
Really, I think there was a lot more playing being done than cleaning. However, the threat of no sleepovers got the rest of the room clean in 20 minutes. Amazing how those threat things work!

My cleaning job was the bathroom. My pink bathroom. Now I'm not going to show you the pink, because...well, just because years from now I do not want to remember it. I also do not want to remember these sinks, but I must show you so you can sympathize with me.

It looks pretty (mainly because it was clean - you didn't think I was going to show you the dirty one did you?), but don't let it deceive you. Do you see all those ridges. They collect dust, and toothpaste, and all manner of who knows what (and if you do, don't tell me!). And they are not easy to clean. And there are two of them. But now that I have complained, I'll be thankful that there are two, that they are not pink, and that at least one of them gets both hot and cold water. Oh, the joys of a 1950's house! Oh the character, the charm...

Having done all of that cleaning on Friday, I did manage to stay in my PJs until noon on Saturday. I don't think I can remember the last time I did that (not counting the two weeks I spent in bed sick!)

So Saturday was relaxing, and Sunday was a blur (always a blur!), and I think the week has begun. I don't really know what happened to Monday, except that I won my Fantasy Football game.

Which brings us up to Tuesday.

My children have all been stoically fighting of colds of all sorts. I think that comes with the finally dropping below 50 degree days. But Jeffrey has had this cough that just won't go away and is starting to sound worse not better.

And Morgan has put together three words. Sadly, they were, "Mommy ear ouchie" Not a good sign.

So I packed up three kids and headed to the pediatric walk-in clinic. After a pleasant 45 minute wait, the doctor announced that Morgan has a double ear infection and Jeffrey is borderline pneumonia. I left feeling like the worst mommy for letting their colds go for so long thinking they were "just a cold" or a "virus that just has to go its course". But I also left with drugs!

Thank you Lord for the knowledge to create "miracle liquid"! Can I get an AMEN?

So hopefully in a few days, my whiny, clingy, fussy children will have morphed back into cheerful, happy, playful kids!

On the way home from the doctor's office, the school called, Judson isn't feeling too good.

If you don't hear from me in a couple of days...send in the cavalry!