Heart Swelling Moments

Some days, we as moms get one of those heart swelling moments that make all of the weariness and frustration of life fade into the background. I got one this evening...

Jim called about 4:30 to tell me not to start supper because he wanted to take us out to the new Mexican restaurant in town. (I didn't argue).

We were all enjoying our chips and cheese dip when I heard Landen say, "I hope this day never ends." He said it quietly, almost under his breath. I almost missed it, but thankfully I caught the tail end. When I realized what he had said, I swear my heart swelled up to the size of Texas.

Isn't that the attitude we should strive for most days? No, this life isn't perfect. But each day is a gift from God and I think maybe His heart swells a bit when He hears us exclaim, "I hope this day never ends."

Snow Fun

We finally got some snow!


I love these smiles!


Snowball fight!


I love this shot of Landen right after he threw a snowball.


Watch out, Mom!


Lauren has always loved to eat snow.


Jim's version of playing in the snow.


Our back yard...will the lilacs bloom after this? I hope so!

Sleepover Buddies

Lauren was invited to spend the night with a friend last night, so this morning, Landen was asking me when he would get to have a sleepover of his own. We were discussing who he might invite to sleep over someday and I got so tickled over his responses regarding his various preschool buddies that I had to share them:

"Brendan could come over. He's my best friend. But he's younger than me so he probably can't come."

"Ethan is a good man, but he sometimes hits me." (my personal favorite)

"Seth could come over. Seth is four and I'm four. Yeah."

Elementary Humor

I remember thinking how cute it was when my youngest brother, Brady, used to tell us jokes back when he was a 1st or 2nd grader. Now I'm all grown up and my own 2nd grade daughter likes to tell jokes. Here are a few of my favorites:

What does a teddy bear say when it's full? I'M STUFFED!

Why did the raisin go to the doctor? BECAUSE HE WASN'T FEELING THAT GRAPE!

What do you tell a tomato that is slow? CATCH UP!

Does God Wear Green?

I realized after Landen was dressed this morning that it was St. Patrick’s Day…and he was none too happy about my asking him to change into a green shirt. I went downstairs to dig out a “new” (hand-me-down) short sleeved shirt, which helped me convince him that it was a good thing to wear green on this special day. I told him that most everyone wears green on St. Patrick’s Day to avoid being pinched, which is when he asked the question of the week: “Does God wear green?”

Okay, so maybe God doesn’t wear green, but I was tickled to learn that St. Patrick used the three leaf clover to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. As with most other holidays, the St. Paddy’s Day traditions have been secularized. But, armed with this knowledge, I will never look at a clover the same way again…and I hope you won’t, either!

An Interview w/ Lauren & Landen About Their Mom

An Interview With Lauren About Her Mom
Lauren is 7 ½ years old. These are direct quotes from our interview.

1. What is something your mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes your mom happy? Being good.
3. What makes your mom sad? If you don’t obey.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? By making funny faces.
5. What was your mom like as a child? I don’t know.
6. How old is your mom? 34 (she’s right)
7. How tall is your mom? 80 inches
8. What is your mom’s favorite thing to do? Watch me write in cursive.
9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Scrapbook
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? For loving her child. (Aaawww).
11. What is your mom really good at? Scrapbooking
12. What is your mom not very good at? Nothing!
13. What does your mom do for a job? Music
14. What is your mom’s favorite food? Cookies
15. What makes you proud of your mom? That she cares for me (complete with a hug).
16. If your mom was a cartoon character or a character in a movie, who would she be? A giraffe (my favorite zoo animal).
17. What do you and your mom do together? Cuddle & shop
18. How are you and your mom the same? Our hair
19. How are you and your mom different? She’s a grown up and I’m not.
20. What does mommy do to show you she loves you? Kisses me before I go to bed.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? She likes to kiss him.


An Interview With Landen About His Mom
Landen is 4 ½ years old. These are direct quotes from our interview.

1. What is something your mom always says to you? No.
2. What makes your mom happy? Huggin’ you and kissin’ you
3. What makes your mom sad? Not playing with you.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? By doing a funny face.
5. What was your mom like as a child? (silence)
6. How old is your mom? Big
7. How tall is your mom? Big
8. What is your mom’s favorite thing to do? Play with me.
9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Nothing. (It cracks me up that he thinks I do absolutely nothing when he's not around).
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don’t know.
11. What is your mom really good at? Making cookies.
12. What is your mom not very good at? “What are you not good at?”
13. What does your mom do for a job? Work
14. What is your mom’s favorite food? Pizza (we had just eaten pizza)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Getting dressed & picking up my toys (he got it switched around)
16. If your mom was a cartoon character or a character in a movie, who would she be? Mom
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play
18. How are you and your mom the same? We’re not the same.
19. How are you and your mom different? We have different hair.
20. What does mommy do to show you she loves you? Smiles
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? He kisses you on the lips.


What did I learn from this?

1. That L & L think my whole world revolves around them. (I wouldn't have it any other way!).
2. That I must make a lot of funny faces.
3. That my kids notice when Jim and I kiss in front of them, which isn't all that often...really!

Early Riser

I think the good Lord must have been reading my recent blog about missing my “cuddle time” with Landen. My evidence? Just this week, Landen decided that when he wakes up early in the mornings, he’d rather crawl into bed and cuddle with me than go in the living room and watch TV. In case that isn’t enough proof for you, keep in mind that this boy has gotten up earlier than the rest of us for years and we’ve always left the TV set to PBS or Disney so he could turn it on in the morning and allow the rest of us a few more moments of shut-eye. In other words, Landen hasn’t gotten in our bed in the mornings to cuddle with me since he was old enough to walk into the living room and turn on the TV.

Needless to say, it’s been a true blessing to start my day with a little “cuddle time.” We usually invite Lauren and Macy to the mix at some point, too. It's all good with the exception of Jim thinking our queen sized bed might not be big enough after all. :)

Just Remember

Earlier this week, I was feeling overwhelmed at work due to a long “to do” list and too many deadlines. I wasn’t quite myself on Wednesday because of it. My perceptive daughter picked up on my stress (and mood) and wrote me the following note, which brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart (and a bit of a chuckle, too):

Mom,
I love you. When you are grumpy, just remember I forgive you! When you get grumpy, you can praise God or read this. REMEMBER, I LOVE YOU! Mom, if you get freaked out, remember God is always with you. NEVER EVER FORGET that God and Jesus are always with you.
I LOVE YOU!
Lauren

I Can Spell Mississippi!

I had the biggest flashback yesterday! We got home from school and Lauren said, "Mom, I can spell Mississippi. M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. We learned it at school!"

She was so proud of herself, which is probably why it reminded me of another girl (who looked a lot like Lauren) learning how to spell the same word many years ago. Only we had a special trick. Remember? "M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-humpback-humpack-I."

I remember it like it were yesterday. I was so proud of myself and excited to demonstrate to my mom what I had learned at school that day. My, how time flies! I wonder how many more flashbacks I have coming in the years to come?