Blur

The past 6 weeks have been a blur! (at least I think its been 6 weeks) The hubby was let go from an amazing job and company completely out of the blue. He thought he had a great lead and pursued that the 1st two weeks of being unemployed and was left high and dry...they led him on and then let him down. Applications have been submitted, website has been created, and resume updated and here we are...6 weeks later and still waiting.

In the meantime I've been working full-time for the past 6 weeks or so and will continue to do so for at least the next 5 weeks or until he finds a job. Working full-time AND being a Mommy is exhausting. There is no sense of "normal" to our mornings, our days, our weeks, and now our months. We've never been a real scheduled type of family but we definitely had some rhythm to our days...that's been gone for 6 weeks. I find myself overwhelmed with the disaster of our house, the piles of clothes and mail, and just STUFF that has landed EVERYWHERE!!!

I am toast. Hope's last day of preschool was today and she graduates on Friday. Next Sunday she gets baptized and all the days between now and then are planned/booked/full. I want to plan playdates and get togethers  before school starts in August and my weeks already seem way too full!  Life needs to get back to "normal" and SLOW DOWN already!!

I am ready for routine again. For predictability to my days and weeks...for habits to be re-found and re-started and sanity to return. In the mean-time, I feel a bit like I'm drowning in the day to day. I sure hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel really really soon!!! Praying a job for the hubby starts July 1st!

Sick

It's been 10 days now since my sweet girl came home sick from school. It's been 6 days since we started amoxicillin, 5 days since we started eye drops for pink eye, 4 days since I got to go back to work after a week off, 3 days since she fell asleep in the car twice in one day, 2 days since she actually ate dinner for the first time since she came home sick, and 1 day since she ate 3 meals in one day.

It has been a very very long 10 days.

I've had 2 people in the past 2 days tell me how frail she looks. . . that she looks like she lost weight. My poor sweet girl. As a Mom you can't help but worry and wonder if there's something more going on, something you can't see. But then I am reminded that the Creator of the whole entire universe created my girl and HE knows her best and has created her inmost being. HE is with her and HE is sustaining her. We've had 3 mornings now of a happy and cheerful girl and 2 of those days called for a long nap in the afternoon. Her little body is exhausted and tired and weak and is trying so hard to recover.

I know there are friends and so many people out there who have kids WAY sicker than mine and who can't make theirs well with a round of medicine or week off of school/work . . . makes my 10 days seem so small and insignificant. But they're not. In our house, in our family, these past 10 days have been worrisome and sad and this Mama has felt pretty helpless as there's nothing I could do but wait for her to feel better.

So today I celebrate a great morning and a cheerful girl and pray that the day continues to go in this direction!

Five Minute Friday: Mess

Mess.

This word probably describes my home 357 days of the year. The 8 days it doesn't, that's probably because it was a holiday or birthday and we had people over.

I will be the first to admit that keeping house is not one of my strong-points, gifts, passions, or cares even! Do I love living in a mess? Not really. Then why is my house a mess? My house is usually a mess because being with my kids or spending time as a family is more important to me than a clean house. There's numerous quotes out there that say something about "Pardon the mess, we're busy making memories". . . or something to that tune and it rings true for this family. The mess will be there tomorrow, but we don't get another shot at today, ever.

Albert Einstein described "insanity" as: "doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results". This is how I feel about trying to get the mess picked up. The toys are going to get strewn across the house as again, the dishes will pile up as so on as the counter is cleared, the clothes will need washing again at the end of the day. Am I saying I don't do anything? No. I just don't stress about the mess that is often times my house and even my life some days.

I'd rather sit and read with my little ones or take them on an adventure than worry about the mess. Yes, I do eventually get to the point where the disaster makes me a bit crazy so then we clean, put everything away, and enjoy the serenity of order and neatness . . . for the few days that it seems to last. Those that know me well have been in my disaster and they love me none the less and it is for those friends I am so grateful and thankful for . . . the ones who come and clear a spot of floor or couch and just hang out and be.

Five Minute Friday: Friend

Friend. My mind immediately goes to a few people who I treasure and value...a few people who epitomize the word "friend" in my life.

I am so thankful for those few people, those few girls, who know me so well and yet love me. They are those who get me...they get that I'm not a people-person, that I don't love crowds, that I could care less about what others think. The few that come to mind are people who I feel like I could spend all day every day with and never get sick of them. It wouldn't matter if we had tons to say or nothing to say at all, just being together would be enough. These friends are the ones who get the 1st text asking for prayer when something happens or the text that just says " I am so over this day". I think I could count these girls on 1 hand and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't need armies of people that I know, I just need a few girls who know me well.

The ironic thing is that none of these people are people who I see daily, weekly, or even monthly. Some of them I only get to see once a year....but it doesn't matter. They are my front row, they are the few I have chosen to be real with and to let in and I wouldn't trade them for anything! You know who you are and I hope you know how much I value you and treasure you with all my heart!

Be Still

Well, Hope is on day 5 of high fevers which means we are on day 5 of laying low. I had big plans for our week...work, Small Group, church, Hope's 2nd triathlon, Disneyland, etc. And instead of all those really fun things, we've stayed home. We've watched movies, we've exhausted our piles of books, we've just hung out...for 5 days. If you know me well, you know I'm not very good at being still or staying home. I like to be on the go, to have full & busy days. And yet...here we are. I've tried hard this week to encourage her to relax, to watch movies, to rest. It's been a long week! So, while I had these grandiose plans of a fun and busy week, God had other plans for us. So here I am...trying to be still, trying to enjoy the down time, trying to enjoy just BEING with my kids rather than going and doing. Ugh!

Five Minute Friday: Glue

There's a really cheesy song that I love by a band called Sugarland. It's called "Stuck Like Glue". It has a catchy melody and is easily stuck in your head after hearing it.

There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo
I'm stuck on you
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue

I guess what I love about this silly little song is it sums up how I feel about my sweet husband. There is no one else I'd rather be with, no one else I'd rather have by my side, no one else I'd rather be stuck to...like glue! I think I could spend all day every day with him and still not get sick of him. He is my better half, my common sense, my sounding board, the one my heart loves! Thanks to crazy work schedules we often go days without seeing each other but I find those days when we are together, I don't want to leave his side...I don't care what it is we do or need to get done, I'd rather do it together. He really is my better half and I am so thankful God chose him for me! 

New Bed!

Jaye and I both grew up wishing we had a loft bed...but no such luck for either of us. We've been talking about it for awhile and we decided that this year would be the year to get a loft bed for Hope. Hudson is getting bigger and is into EVERYTHING and we want Hope to have a space that is hers and that she can feel to create/dream in. So...today we built a really fun space for our sweet girl!

Prior to today, Hope had a cute picket fence bed that was given to me when I was in need of a bed. It's been such a cute bed and I love that she got to use it too!

Even Hudson tried to help today! He would climbed up top if we would've left him alone long enough!

We couldn't find a twin loft that was just right so we bought a full-size and then customized it by adding shelves up top and cutting 6" off the bottom. Love the way it turned out!

She loves her bed! She moved all her favorite books, toys and stuffed animals up there immediately!

Still not sure what else we'll add...definitely need to add curtains that will close it off so she can have a fort and need to find a smaller cozy chair to curl up in with a book! It will be a work in progress!