From the Mouth of my Babe

Whew...got my world rocked this morning!

I sat with my kids during breakfast and we read a kids' daily devotional.  Today's reading was all about worry and how it's a form of unbelief....unbelief that God is with us, cares about us personally, and is able to handle our problems.  The reading encouraged us to express our worries to the Lord so He can carry them for us.  It seemed logical to ask my kids what they worry about.

"friends"
"getting good grades"
"what people think of me"
"tornadoes"
"puking on the bus ride for my field trip today" (haha!)

But then Thomas shared his little heart, and I almost cried!

"Mom, I worry about losing you and Daddy.  I'm afraid you'll get sick and die.  I'm afraid someone will hurt or kill you.  I'm worried that maybe you and Daddy won't want to be married anymore and one of you will marry someone else - that happened to a lot of people in my class."

Oh....felt like a gut punch!  I had no idea that my rambunctious, loud, silly little baby boy was carrying such a heavy burden!

I reassured him to the best of my ability...but ultimately...he will lose us.  Hopefully not for a very very long time.....but we will die.  I can't really tell him that we'll be here for him forever if we won't!

What to do but encourage him to turn his eyes to Jesus?  Jesus will never leave him.  As we sat with waffles and juice before us....we prayed.  We prayed for safety, for Luke's and my marriage, families that have been broken, friendships, bus rides....all of it.  We imagined putting all of our worries in a big box, closing the lid, and handing it to Jesus to take care of for us.

Ultimately though, my prayer is not to avoid the inevitable of death and loss.....instead, I pray that my kids all know and trust the Lord so they can get through the hard stuff with peace....joy, even.  I pray that they know Him and how much He loves them.....that they grow to only care about what HE thinks of them.

I'm just their earthy parent - boy, I feel small this morning - I can't protect and guide them their entire lives.  I'll do my best, of course....but I'll screw up, miss things, give bad advice, and eventually have to leave them.

Feeling overwhelmingly thankful this morning for Jesus....who is ready and able to fill the God-shaped hole in my babies like only He can.

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It's My Birthiversary!

November is a big month for me -- it's my birthday month (it's my first 39th birthday this year!) ;-), and it's my anniversary month with Rodan+Fields.

This business changed EVERYTHING for me....not only our finances, but my friendships, my sense of purpose and wholeness, my family's dynamic, and my skin.  I'm a new person since this business, and I'm so thankful for this blessing in my life.

All that to say....I FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING! 



In other news, I'm feeling so blessed and loved.  All joking about aging aside, I love having my birthday.  And I really don't mind aging at all.....would I rather be here and now with my wonderful kiddos and a full, happy life?....or 5, 10, 15 years ago with my younger bod?  It's a no-brainer.

My birthday was filled with phone calls from loved ones, hugs and kisses and crayon drawings from my kiddos, and a general feeling of...

I'm alive
On purpose
I LOVE this!

Life is good, friends.  It's not perfect.  It's not tidy.  But, it is good, and I'm so happy to be here!

I'm not the only one with a recent birthday though.  Remember that tiny little bundle who kept me hopping when I started this blog?

He just turned FIVE!

I am head over heels in love with this little boy, and I take every possible opportunity to hold his little hand in mine and to kiss his soft cheeks.

He is the very definition of "little boy"....loud, rambunctious, messy, funny, exhausting....and I wouldn't have him any other way.

He has the craziest ability to stop, drop, and sleep wherever he is:

And he just generally spreads joy and smiles everywhere he goes!  I can't imagine life without my Tommy!

We had a fun little party for him.  Let's see if I can get some YouTube videos linked up here:



I love you, Thomas!  You're extraordinary and wonderful!!

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Can't Keep Up!

I have the happy problem of having so many fun and wonderful things going on in my life that I simply can not document them all.  I know, you feel terrible for me, don't you? ;-)

Let's seee....First and foremost, we have a very full house right now!  My husband's brother and his family moved in with us.  Yes....moved IN.  They're going to be here for about 6 months while they purchase a piece of land and build a house.  Thankfully, I love them to bits, our kids love each other, and we have a big house!  They've been here about a month now, and I'm loving it.

Sorry for so many blurry pictures.  I've definitely gone over to the dark side....it's just so much easier to shoot a quick photo with my phone than it is to lug my big camera around, then transfer everything!  Just another reason I really want that new phone....better camera resolution. Here are some snapshots of life at our house lately....notice the love busting through every picture :-)

Nick and Esther

Sammy with Stella

Thomas and Milo - good buddies

Thomas's 5th birthday (!!) was extra fun with family to celebrate with us

Cracking up!

And YESTERDAY....a new little addition....Meet Sadie Lynn:

So this is who's living at our house right now:
4 adults
7 kids ages: 10,9,6,5,5,3,one day

W.O.W. :-)

Let's see....what else?

My kids are all doing wonderful.  Ben has started the cello, which I'm loving.  Here's a video of him tinkering around even before lessons began:





Ben, Clara, and Sammy are all excellent students -- learning and growing and just happy busy little people.  I'm so proud of them all!

Thomas -- my baby -- turned FIVE!  Unreal!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our spunky little joyful man!  First, we had a celebration with his friends....homemade power ranger pinata, cupcakes, gifts, and games.

My Luke is such an amazing Daddy -- eternally patient and always
looking for fun things to do with the kids :-)

 

Movin' on up from the scoot bike to a big boy bike with pedals!

  

Then, on the actual day of his birthday (which is a school and work day for the rest of our family), Thomas and I had a sweet day of fun and snuggles.  We spent 3 hours building a Lego space shuttle in the morning (I love that he still has his chubby little baby boy fingers and cheeks):

Then we met Daddy at McDonald's for lunch....of course, as always, the box is the best part:

And then we went to the Boise Aquarium for an afternoon of petting sharks and "oohing" and "ahhing" over all the amazing creatures we saw:

This little boy of mine is such an incredible joy.  I sincerely don't think there's been a day since he's been on this earth that I haven't smiled and/or laughed out loud.  He's busy, joyful, affectionate, smart, and thoughtful.  Thomas.....I love you to bits, and I'm so very proud of you!!

A snapshot of my Thomas as a 5 year old:

See why I'm always smiling? :-)

Whew....this has been a marathon post....and I've barely caught up!  'Till another day...

If you'd like to be in touch with me on more of a regular basis, Facebook is where I'm at most days.  You can find my personal page here:  Daiquiri Facebook

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And ALSO...

As I drive my kids to school in the morning, we're typically pretty quiet (they take after their Mama, and are not morning people)....but I like to quietly sing a few verses of "Jesus Loves Me" as we make our way down the road.  I like the idea of that tune...those WORDS...ringing in their head all day long.

Thomas cracked me up this morning.  I was singing my typical little soft song, not even sure that he could hear me, when suddenly he said, "And ALSO, Jesus is God, Mama"

I could just hear is brain working...."Jesus loves me"....."Jesus is strong"...."and ALSO....."

Made my day!

Such a gift, these children. I learn more about God and how to go to Him as His child than from anywhere else.  Today I learned to think "and also...."

He loves me
He is strong
He is God
He is good
He is sovereign
He is abundant
He is gracious
He is Savior
He knows me
He has plans for me
He shelters me
He is great
He is King
And also....
     And also....
          And also....

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But You Can Call Me "Slacker"

As much as I'd like to be the blogger I once was, I'm just not.  I can't say that I'm all that sorry either.  Blogging used to be my way to "get out of the house" and communicate with the world.  Now....I more often actually get out of the house and communicate with the world in a face to face way.  I'm loving it. 

My husband said to me recently "You seem more whole than I've ever known you to be."

He's right.

What I do miss though, is the (mostly) permanent record I was keeping of my little family's life.  One of my favorite things is to look back through my old posts and photos.  It's amazing how time flies!  

I know myself well enough to know that I'm not going to get caught up any time soon -- my piles of old prints waiting to go in albums in the upstairs bedroom is evidence of my "slacker" tendencies.  But I don't want to completely let the memories be lost, so I'll do a quick overview instead...

*********************

My baby boy is FOUR!  Holy cow - I just can't believe it.  He's the most loving, stubborn, energetic, and destructive kiddo I've ever known, and I wouldn't change a thing about him!  He is a whirlwind of exploration, destruction, and hugs and kisses....I don't know half the time if I should be hollering at him or giggling at him.  So most days?  I do both simultaneously :-)  I love you, little boy.  I can already see the courageous and fun-loving man you'll grow to be, and I am so blessed to be your Mama.

As a side note....the day of his party was one of my hardest days.  I was STUCK in San Francisco after an R+F event, and I thought I was going to miss his party because I would be getting in late.  If you saw a haggard looking, over-tired, WAY emotional woman blubbering her way through the SF airport....it was likely me.  I felt like a horrible mom, and nearly quit R+F all together.  Thankfully, I didn't miss his party.  Or quit R+F.  

Samantha decided that she didn't want to play soccer this last season - so she was my buddy as we sat and watched her siblings play.  There is simply no one who is easier to spend time with than my sweet little Sammy:

Ben is turning TEN this coming week!  And Clara can wear my shoes even though she's only 8!  I'm so proud of my kind-hearted, smart, wonderful big kids!

Clara came home with this little tidbit of joy....made my day:

Samantha took the lead of her older brother and sister, and started saving her money for her own iPod.  She worked and saved for over a year, and finally had enough money to make her purchase after her recent birthday.  Holy cow, I am SO proud of her!

Yup, Samantha is SIX.  Why does six seem like it's about 3 decades older than five?  She wanted a "flower" party with a daisy cake -- it was so fun to make it with her :-)  We also found a pink poodle pinata, which was just perfect for my little girly-girl.  Sammy is going through an interesting phase lately in which she HATES to be called "cute".

"Well Sammy, 'cute' is supposed to be a compliment.", I told her.

"But I don't LIKE it", was her reply.

"Okay.  What should I say when you look especially nice then?"

"'Pretty' or 'beautiful'.  'Gorgeous' works too."

Well, okay!!

Samantha -- I love your sweet spunk!  I love how you dance and sing and pretend.  You are a gentle and loving spirit, and I just wouldn't be complete without you in my life and heart.  I'm proud of you, my gorgeous girl!

My work with R+F is going great.  I love the people, the "work", and the perks.  I LOVE having a hope for our financial future that is now a joy to imagine.  And to top it off, I earned a free iPad from R+F last month!  My little heart goes pitter-patter every time the UPS guy drives by the house -- can't wait to get it!

Finally -- change -- change is in the air.  The season has changed.  The kids are growing.  The business is growing.  People in our lives are movin' and shakin'.....some in fun ways, some in painful ways, but all good.  I've been in the mood for change too.  I'm going to tackle painting the living room soon, but don't have time for that project today.  Instead, I settled on a new, shorter 'do:

Have a great day, bloggy friends!  Check back in another month or so for another update ;-)  In the mean time, if you'd like to keep in touch with me on a more regular basis, you can find me on facebook here:  Daiquiri fb

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Catching Up Thru Photos

I love fall in Boise!

Evidence of a happy weekend:











My favorite time of day in my office:





Crazy sleepy boy!








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