Okay, so, when I say I’m “fine” being single, I really am FINE being single, but every once in awhile, thoughts of being married, having a ceremony, dancing, or the honeymoon will flash through my mind, and most of the time, those thoughts are good. Let me share with you my thoughts from yesterday. Continue reading
kids
Happy Family Day
You know…I notice mostly that I’ve changed by the atmosphere of my home and the love I receive from my kids. Those two things right there speak louder than words and are worth more than gold. I wouldn’t even BE a mother without my kids, so yesterday, I gave them all gifts and said, “Happy Mother’s Day,” but FIRST, I walked out to my gift.
Since we’ve lived here (for three years), Kyle has left my gifts for me in the same spot, so when I come out of the bedroom, it’s the first thing I see, and wouldn’t you know it…every time, it surprises me. This year, he gave me a potted plant. He found out these flowers were called “Mums,” so he bought me my favorite color and called me “Mum.” I love it because they’re ALIVE, so I can plant them right outside my bedroom window. What a daily expression of love that will be!
Okay, I’m going to brag about Kyle for a moment. On Saturday, he coached Nathan’s flag football game. At the end of the game, he passed out flowers to the boys to give to their mothers: pink roses. How special is my boy! …so thoughtful! Okay, now I’ll brag about all of them.
Nathan made me a card with coupons for him to clean. In the card, he said he’ll be a husband someday and should get used to cleaning. How adorable is that! Carolyn made me breakfast for lunch: waffles and eggs, and she surprised me by watching one of my favorite movies with me: “Mama Mia.” I love that movie! Katie did the dishes, and we all just spent time together. Katie had to work, but when she was there, she was THERE, and I loved surprising them with gifts.
I bought the girls gift baskets with amazing homemade goodies created by Sierra Elise Richardson. I highly recommend buying products from her. They are absolutely amazing, and my girls LOVED them. The boys were given gift cards. It’s the first time I’ve given them things on Mother’s Day. Before, it’s been all-about-me, but this time, I wanted it all-about-us.
And then there’s Kaiden: how sweet he is! We all loved having him here. He’s been so peaceful. He’s still asleep…slept through the whole night. What a joy! If God sent me a husband and it was possible to have another baby, I would say, “Yes!” to both in a heartbeat. If not, I’m going to be a really good grandma.
In the midst of all this goodness, I even had the chance to work on flags AND take a nap. I value my kids but not more than I value God. It’s because I’ve placed Him above all else that everything keeps coming into alignment with heaven, and I love it!
The Heart Inside the Card
Inside of almost every card, a heart is revealed, especially if the cards are made just for you. On my birthday, my kids each gave me a birthday card, and I’d like to reveal to you the hearts that I found inside each one. Continue reading
Our Game Nights
When I post about me and the kids having “Game Nights,” you have no idea how much fun they are, and it would be hard to describe each night in words because it’s just something where you really do need to “be there.” I’ll do my best to take you there now.
We sit around a table, so everyone’s face if visible. So much laughter may be found in facial expressions, in body movements, in hand gestures. It’s hilarious, but then, you add voices to that, and the laughter is unstoppable! But it wasn’t always like that.
For years, we’ve been having game nights. It all started when I would open my home to friends from Rock Recovery. We used to hang out at Denny’s, Miniature Golf, etc, but I missed my kids, so I decided to take our hang outs to my home. I learned so much.
The kids and I started having our own game nights. With the kids, there used to be arguing, bad attitudes, etc. Even though we encountered “moods,” we never stopped having them. Right now, the kids are the happiest they have ever been. Before a game night ends, we talk about having our next one.
In this particular picture, we were playing Uno Dare. That’s where you either “draw two” or take the “dare”…hilarious. In this turn, Carolyn had to walk around the table with a card between her knees without letting it fall. It was so funny. She almost peed her pants. After she sat down, Kyle told her, “Oh, I added that part about it not being able to hit the ground. You could’ve let it fall.” Oh my gosh, we laughed so hard!
The other day, I picked up Katie from Sprouts and was headed to drop her off at the Thai place, where she holds a second job. She was telling me about a conversation she had with a coworker from Sprouts. She was telling him about our game nights and told the employee that it’s through those game nights where she has learned to love. Isn’t that amazing!!
God uses our “Game Night” to teach the kids (and me) lessons. He’s taught Katie how to love. Isn’t that beautiful!! My birthday is this month, and I’ve been thinking about just leaving my front door open for a day, and if anyone would like to come by and join us in a game, they could come by and say, “Hi!” I guess I will share my amazing kids for ONE day.
Paralyzing Love
Have you ever been paralyzed by fear? On Christmas Eve, I found myself paralyzed by love.
As most of you know, throughout the years, God has been restoring a beautiful bond between me and my kids. This year, there has been an acceleration. One very important holiday to my kids is Christmas, especially Christmas Eve.
When Katie, my twenty-two year old, heard me talking about taking Christmas to the people of the dump in Mexico, she said (in anger), “We’ll just have Christmas Eve without you!” I said, “Katie, I’ll be back in time for us to be together in the evening.” That seemed to diffuse the bomb, so it was VERY important for me to get back in time.
It’s not that we DO anything special. We’re just together, so I was needing to be back in the evening, the earlier the better. And this is the best part: we all go to sleep at the same time in the same room. We fall asleep giggling, talking, laughing, planning out our morning, etc. And we all wake up in the same way: talking, giggling, laughing…it’s the earliest my kids EVER wake up together. We walk out into the living room together. We’re just “together.”
So, I “thought” I trusted God and headed to Mexico. The plan was to leave the dump at 3:30 pm. Well, the plan changed. The Tecate border wouldn’t let our bus pass through. The Otay border wouldn’t let our bus pass through. Each time took hours because once we heard we couldn’t get through, we had to turn around and go through customs to enter back into America. The third border, San Ysidro, let us through. This was a great joy to everyone but me.
By this time, it was 2 pm. We would barely make it to the dump by 3 pm, so our 3:30 departure was out of the question. Now, it was a play-it-by-ear schedule. I had a decision to make: I would either cross the border on foot back into America, grab the trolley, and make it back to my kids, or I would board the bus and head to the dump. I was literally standing at the ramp. All of me wanted to turn around and be love for my kids, and all of me wanted to journey forward and be love to the lost. I wept. I was, without a doubt, paralyzed by love.
Janel grabbed hold of me and began to pray. She promised to get me back to the border. She wanted me to go forward to the dump. As she prayed, I wept. Just remembering it is bringing me to tears. I made a choice and stepped onto the bus.
God had a plan, and I was in it. I enjoyed serving Him at the dump and made it back in time for my kids. That night, we all went to bed at the same time in the same room and talked, giggled, laughed. Even Nathan said, “I wish we could talk all night.” It was so precious. I love these moments because they remind me that there isn’t any room for a man in my life. The coolest part is that we all woke up at the same time but were all lying there because we didn’t know if the others were awake. Then, Kyle spoke…then Katie…then Nathan…then me…and then Carolyn.
I love my God. I love my kids. I love my life. I love my story. I love that God is holding the pen and doesn’t have any reason to set it down. I am yielded to Him. At times, I experience loneliness, but I have my prayer warriors who lift me out of that.
Worship Flags and Infinity Scarfs 