Oh the Bliss!

There is a general consensus among myself and my friends that we are feeling tired and busy, and tired of being busy. We've swam, we've vacayed, we've reunioned* with family. We've gotten sandy and sticky and dirty and burnt. We've stayed up late and refused to sleep in. We are tired. School starts too soon. If you're a homeschooling family, or a partial one like us, then there is curriculum to purchase, lesson plans to familiarize yourself with, workspaces to organize and make functional. We have uniforms to size, totes to order, binders to fill and even some pre start-of-school memorization to tackle. And meetings! GOOD NIGHT we have meetings.  6 meetings in 10 days. Teacher meetings, parent meetings, parent-teacher meetings. AYSO for Ben, American Heritage Girls for Addie, plus Tristan meets with his mom twice a week so that's even more meetings. Last week I had a day where I was a taxi driver. I drove to Newport Beach, Carson, San Clemente and al...

 I've been thinking about foster care and how the addition of a foster child has a pretty significant ripple effect. There are so many people involved in this little baby's life. And because we say yes, a lot of other people have to say yes too, whether they choose to or not. We ask our kids to say yes to another sibling. Our parents to another grandchild. Our family to another nephew or cousin. Our friends to more chaos. Our church to another sheep to tend. Our babysitter to another charge. All over the place we are putting this baby out there for others to take in as we have, all the while not knowing how long he'll be around or how attached to get. We tell you; love him like we love him, and it's a lot to ask. Thank you . Because he could be gone tomorrow, or in a month, or in a year. He could rip your heart out, and that hurts. He's family now, but we all know he's not really family, not really , and you might not know what to do with that. Thank ...

I had some email issues recently and it was ugly. I would receive emails in bulk, or not at all. I had no record of sent emails or deleted ones. It was a hot mess of technology and something had to be done. My sweetie-pie husband, who spends large sums of money on only three things: The spreading of the gospel, really high quality food, and Apple products, deemed it time to buy me a new laptop and I was hoping it would solve the email debacle. It didn't.  He tried to stop the madness and figured almost all of it out except for one annoying problem, every email from as far back as who knows when was now in my inbox. 7, 892 emails. Seven thousand eight hundred ninety two emails IN my inbox. And I couldn't just go through and delete them all at the same time because some were recent, some I had never seen before, some had pictures from when the big kids were little and the little kids were tiny (or nonexistent) and even though I'm sure they're saved s...

After Mark and I married he got LASIK to correct his vision and this many years later he still says it's some of the best money he's ever spent. So when we attended a benefit dinner for a ministry we support and saw one of the big ticket items was laser eye surgery preformed by one of the best LASIK surgeons in the country and all pre and post-op visits with one of the best optometrists in Orange County he jumped on the chance to spoil me with better-than-perfect vision as well. Here's how it went down: ~ Met with Dr. Nota at San Clemente Optometry . He did lots of easy tests to determine if LASIK was for me. (I had been told a few years ago that I wasn't a good candidate - basically because I had been pregnant or nursing a baby for, oh, six years... thus there was never a good time for me to have the procedure.) He asked what I was looking forward to most about having better vision, I told him I was really exited to be able to look across the park and see my kids ...

He thinks he's so cool. He is. He thinks he's too awesome for pictures. He's not. He thinks I don't see him. I do. This one, my oldest, is so, so, so incredibly loved. And I am so, so, so incredibly thankful for him.

My pal Karen (I link to her blog a lot because she has really thoughtful, intelligent, thorough posts on current themes in most women's lives, and I like that) recently wrote a great little piece on the book Fifty Shades of Grey. I was one of the ones "in hiding" (which I took no offense to because I'm in hiding regarding a lot of current events/fads etc.) because I didn't know what she was talking about at first. After reading her post I recalled a few friends maybe mentioning it here and there, or comics parodying the book, and me not knowing what they were talking about but smiling and nodding. This is not a book I want to smile and nod at. I like the challenges Karen put out there for us as believers to be ready with a biblical defense. So when ladies in my small group or in the line at Trader Joe's or on the soccer field (Ben's, not mine) start talking about the book I will have an opinion based on the Bible, not on what I think - which is always...

(Well that's a sad title.) I never posted the afterthoughts of saying goodbye to our little Nicolas... It's taken me this long to figure out what to share, what not to share, who to share it with etc., but sweetie-pie people, people who prayed so hard, and gave so much, and loved him even though they didn't know how long we'd have him, are asking about him. So I'll do my best to answer...  How did saying goodbye go?  How is he doing?  How are we doing? Will we do it again? When? I LOVE talking about him, and fostering, and adoption (though I don't know nearly enough of that aspect -yet) so if I don't cover it here PLEASE ask!! Also, I realize this post is longer than most of you are willing to read in one sitting, so I highlighted the answers if you want the Cliff Notes version - and not any of the juicy details, you instant gratification junkies you. Saying goodbye was easier than I thought it was going to be , and I totally give credit for ...

Can someone please give me an iPhone case? I can not tell you how much time I've wasted on Amazon trying to pick one out. I've been looking for MONTHS. If there were only two to choose from I'd be fine, but there are THOUSANDS. Click on one and five more "you might be interested in" pop up. Why, yes, I AM interested, thank you. Then, five MORE pop up. Then five more, then five more, then five MORE... Hours, people, I've wasted hours. I am super indecisive. It's the same reason I hate shopping. There are too many types of EVERYTHING! That's why I've had a personal shopper (Read: Mother-In-Law) pick out all of my clothes for the last 9.7 years. Mother-in-law! Who would've thought, right? But she does a pretty spot on job of picking out clothes for me from her "special stores" (read: garage sales) and I don't complain. I digress... Here are my requirements for iPhone case: ~ Nothing lame. Oh, you need more? ~ Noth...

I boiled a cat's head.  It was an accident, I swear, I didn't mean to! I thought it was a rabbit's head, which in my mind somehow makes it okay. But boiling a cat's head is NOT okay.  My son made me do it?  I mean, My son made me do it!  We were at our favorite park which has a little creek running through it and sometimes when I'm feeling kind of cool, I'll let the kids walk down near the creek. Every now and then, when I'm feeling really cool, I'll let my kids walk in the creek. But yesterday I must've been feeling like Ultimate Cool Mom because when Ben found a skeleton head of a "rabbit" it was MY idea to bring it home.  ---There goes my "my son made me do it" defense---  I had visions of playing the paleontologist I had once longed to be (that's not true) with my kids as we uncovered the truth about this poor little dead rodent. Then we uncovered that it wasn't a rodent. After three hours of boiling t...

First we had this Then we had this And today we have this... Addison got her thumb nearly ripped off in the slamming of a bathroom door (ahem, Troy may have played a part, cough cough). It was so nasty I didn't take a close of picture of it. And while Addison LOVES to show off her new little splint thing, protecting her numerous stitches and itty-bitty break, she does NOT like to talk about what happened. Her thumb looks like a robot thumb, thus her self-dubbed new name "Robo". Shout out to Mark who swooped in to save the day - again- when he rushed home and took Addison to the ER for me. I'm SO glad he was able to do that because from what I hear it was pretty gruesome in there. We spent the evening treating Addison like the princess she was born to be. I told Ben not to look so peppy. . . odds are he's next.

We were lucky enough to have Daddy take a half-day at work on Friday, so we headed to the La Habra Children's Museum. I used to go there when I was little and let me tell you, not too much has changed. :-) It was such a fun time with our little family. My favorite part may have been the meal we had prior to the museum. We stopped at what we thought was a little taco place but when we walked through the door it turned out to be a big sit down restaurant. We had already gotten all the kids out of the car so we felt committed. It was SO good! And the kids were lovely as well, which - I'm fairly confident -makes food taste even better. Would someone please teach this girl how to properly use markers already? Seriously, does she ever have supervision? Husbands are working hard these days. I hardly know of a wife who would disagree. Extra hours, weekend stuff, its some tough times trying to get everything done AND be a present husband and dad. How Mark has two and a half jobs and sti...

I have an idea who you might be, but I have no idea when Nicolas will go "home" with you, so I thought I'd write you a letter now to be sure I get everything down before I blink and he's gone. Here is my list of do's and don'ts for this precious gift, (you know he's a precious gift, right?) please follow this list in it's entirety. Don't let him take more than one bite of food at a time. Have him sign "more please" when he's finished chewing. When he's done eating, have him sign "All done", he can sign because he's super smart, did you know that? Practice what noises different animals make. Have him play Simon Says with you. Play different music and dance with him, he is a great dancer! Take him to the park every day if you can. He loves the swings, but don't let him stay in the swings the whole time you're there. Don't let him snack the whole time you're there either, make him run and climb and play...

Have you ever said to your kids, "I bet you'd take better care of your toys if you only had one."? I've said that countless times, but I shall say it no more! I was talking with my older boys last night and telling them how disappointed I was in everyone's attitudes yesterday, including my own, and explaining that how we had acted was not who God wants us to be. That scary, selfish, yelling mommy? Nope, not who God made me. But I was finding myself acting out of those characteristics more often than living out the qualities God has graciously given for me to live in because of the Holy Spirit living in me. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control... I was hardly showing any fruits of the Spirt in my parenting which is incredibly tragic. What's my deal? What is it that triggers the wrath of Monster Mom? Mess. Everywhere. Mess. TICKS. ME. OFF. Clearly I failed in teaching the concept of cleaning up after ones self ...

What is UP with wheat field pictures???? Good grief, they are everywhere. People get engaged, BAM! Let's lay in a wheat field and snap some shots. People get married, WHAM! What's more romantic than frolicking in some dry brush? Album cover needed for your break out solo career? Nothing says, "I play really good music" like a portrait taken in tall grass and shrubbery. (Throw in some feathers and you're sure to have a hit.) Oh I know, (last one I promise), let's put a couch in the middle of the wheat field and get the whole family to pose like this is totally normal because doesn't EVERY family spend their sweet time lounging around in a big ol' sea of golden grain? ***I'm sorry, so so sorry, if you and/or your family have taken such pictures, and/or been the photographer of such. I truly am not trying to make you feel lousy, and I still want you to send me your Christmas cards, I just am ready for the next great photo backdrop.*** I think the rea...

It's been almost three weeks since Nicolas came home to us. Home... I wonder if he feels like it's his home? I don't know, but what I do know is how gracious and merciful our God is. I know many, many people have been praying for him and for us. I know this because he has changed, our hearts have changed, in only ways that God can do. People adapt, get used to things, but God radically changes, and redesigns. Nico claps his hands now. And dances with us during our crazy dance parties. He sleeps almost the entire night without crying out more than a brief moment maybe once. He puts his shoes away where they belong. He comes to me when I call for him, and he clings to me when we are in new places. Those may not seem like a big deal because moms we know live to see their little ones clap their hands. We all flip out and call grandma when the baby points to it's nose on command for the first time. But when you're a baby growing up in an adult world then you don't h...

I wish I could show his picture. He's super cute, with big brown eyes and mismatching ears. He's huge - younger than Mia but the size of Troy. Addie calls him "Honey Bear" which is really rather fitting. Tonight I was holding him in church and as I sang the songs and heard our God's name worshiped I cried, could this be the first time Nico has heard the Lord's name adored and praised instead shouted and cursed? From the moment we got him I've been telling him how important he is, how much Jesus loves him, how needed he is, how precious he is, how safe he is. I'm kind of blown away by it all right now, but I knew I just had to get something down so I wouldn't forget these first feelings. Precious.

Mia got her cast removed yesterday and received a clean bill of (leg) health. (Head, chest, ears, nose... not so clean and healthy.) We went to Frapys to celebrate! It was directly across the street from the doctor's office, so how could we not go? I felt a twinge of guilt bringing my obviously sick brood into the public like that, but there was no one else in the place, due to the lovely rain, and I personally wiped down every surface we touched with germ fighting wipes, then encouraged the bored-out-of-his-mind worker to do the same. Then we went home and the girl took a looooooooooooooooooong HOT bath. Congrats Mia! May you stay cast-free for years to come. :)

I walked into my boys' room and found it a total mess. SO FRUSTRATING to find the pile of clothes that I just folded sprawled across the floor. I wanted to rant about how they obviously have too much stuff if they can't take care of their things. I held it in though (for the most part) because moments earlier I had walked into my own room and saw this : I think that's one of the hardest parts of parenting for me, seeing my own flaws in my kids. When they react the way I do, and not in a good way, I cringe. When they make mistakes and they are the same ones I've been making for years and I want to shake us all up and scream GET IT TOGETHER MAN!! But I don't because they're my flaws and my mistakes too. Recently I had bought into a lie the enemy was telling me that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try with my kids, they will still grow up with issues, and blame me, and secretly think I'm crazy. I love my parents. I think they did a lovely job raising...

(Is it wrong that I'm posting about Mia's birthday before I post about Addison's?) Mia, you turned TWO today. Turning two, in my book, means I get a free-pass on the whole birthday shebang. The first birthday I throw a party for everyone else's sake, and the third birthday (and every birthday after that) you will be well aware of so I have to do something big-ish. But turning two is -and I'm so sorry if this bursts your little two year old bubble- not that big of a deal. You won't remember it at all. So I didn't go crazy trying to make you feel crazy about today. BUT, I did take lots of pictures to document this day so you will have proof that while I didn't bake you a cake - or even have you blow out two candles (what kind of mother am I????) I did really, really care that it was a day that marked the end of quite possibly the cutest year of your life. You received your awesomest present first and you immediately fell in love. Then Troy got super sick a...

Sometimes I think I'm really hard on my kids, one in particular. Lately I've been trying to discern what is really important and what is really not that big of a deal as far as issues to take up with them. More and more I think about my own parents and how I think they were really good at knowing the difference between heart issues and surface issues. I got my belly button pierced and wore really really dark lipstick and gigantic hoop earrings. I'm sure they thought it was the most disgusting, stupidest thing to do, but they didn't make a fuss. Jason got tattoos and they didn't go on and on about it. Darren, wait Darren was perfect... Just kidding! I'm sure Darren did some stuff too they could've harped on for days but instead they realized there were greater things at stake in our lives than whether or not my lipstick was a light enough shade or my shoes were tied with a keyring. Some things they did care about; the words that came out of our mouths was a b...