Mama Said There'll Be Days Like This

days where there is:

 the butting of heads

tears

hurt feelings

arguing

teasing

tattling

unkind words

selfishness  - in words and actions

at the end of the day this mama/referee feels worn out and discouraged

as i head to bed, turning off lights and closing up the house, relishing the quietness of the night i stop to look in on the sleeping children. 

i go to the first room and find empty beds

so i move onto the next room and find -

the girls in one bed

and landon on his bean bag chair having given up his bed for his sisters

the discouragement i felt turns to joy.

 even though it's been a rough day - they've worked through their hurts and forgiven each other

they want to have a "sleep over" as they call it {which now happens almost nightly}

they want to laugh, talk, tell stories, and delight in each other.  

through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly,  they love each other.

If ....

i do this long enough 

then maybe i will have BIG muscle like this

* oh yes he did truly write big in marker on his muscles... 

Finding Joy - Week 14

The joys:

* morgan and i attended vicki courtney you and your girl simulcast.  it was great to spend the day with my big girl. the simulcast was filled with amazing.   if you haven't read vicki's book five conversations you must have with your daughter you should get it and read it. so good. her new book five conversations you must have with your son comes out in june.

* we won a prize... one of the table center pieces 

* sonic diet dr pepper with cherry... my new fav

* snuggle time with my baby.  we usually take a nap together on sunday afternoons. she always wants to snuggle close and hold hands. love.

* mauryn's lunch... eww but she loved it and ate every last bite.

* creating jumps on the staircase

* painted piggy toes

* saying yes to an afternoon spent at the rec center pool. they played, splashed, laughed, and swam for 2 hours.

* landon's baseball coaches... four dads with a love for baseball, a love for coaching, and a love for kids. these dads work so well together to give the kids the best experience possible. 

* it hasn't rained for any of landon's baseball games... yet

* green grass that needs to be mowed... does that mean spring is here??

* a pick up game of baseball in the front yard

* friends who live close by and can just stop over and play

 * hanging around

 * laughter

 * a little girl determined to ride her "big girl bike". time please stop now.

 * sunshine

* morgan loving a good book as much as her mama

 * finishing my book club book

* letting my house get a little messy {maybe a lot messy} so i could finish my book and being sort of ok with it.. now the clean up begins and there will be joy in a put back together house

* fort building and letting it stay up for 3 whole days.... taking deep breaths and letting them enjoy

* this post by janelle made me laugh out loud.... so thankful for my 30 day shred accountability group

what were your joys this week?

Ten on Ten: April 2011

Ten on Ten: Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments.

6:30 am a date with jillian

7:30 am picking out clothes for church 

8:30 am breakfast and reading the target ad 

 9:30 am church

 10:30 am nursery duty at church

 11:30 am snuggling with sweet babies after sleep in the nursery 

12:30 pm dinner for college small group in the crock pot

 1:30 pm snuggling with my girl working on her awana memory verses

 2:30 pm sunday afternoon nap with my baby

3:30 pm cleaning and prepping for our college small group 

 not an exciting day but definitely a typical sunday in our family right now

Just Dance 2

have you played this game on the wii yet?

if you haven't you need to run to target and get it now {or borrow it from a friend}.

so much fun!

one of the things i love the most about this game is that our entire family can play.  if you can move and follow picture directions you can be part of the game.

even the sassiest little girls can play this game. 

twirling, bouncing, hip shaking, and jumping.

it is always a favorite to play with our college small group or when we have friends over.

it is sure to bring out lots of laughter, smiles

and a little bit of heavy breathing and sweat as you are jumping, stomping, arms flaying, and moving around the floor.

 there is only one problem with this game in our house.

you know who usually wins?

lance

you know how lance plays the game. like this:

he doesn't sweat

he doesn't breath hard

he sits on the floor and moves his arm

so maybe he gets a cramp in his arm

cheater. geesh!

i really need the wii to come out with a kinect so then lance would have to make a fool of himself break a sweat like the rest of us.  

have you played just dance or just dance 2? 

is it a favorite in your house?

Finding Joy - Week 13

The joys:

* my boy already for a nerf battle

 * an afternoon movie date with friends which turned into a play date for my girls

 * an afternoon of running errands with just morgan

* a friend texted me a picture of these water balloons thinking landon would love them.  i picked some up for his easter basket. i know he will love them {thanks rhonda!}

 * our friends the puckett's were in town over the weekend from seattle

* trying to get a group picture... the boys were so helpful. morgan couldn't hold a camera straight she was laughing so hard.

 * getting to spend an evening with these lovely ladies

 * this boy makes me smile. he has been talking about since birth and just cracks me up. he did lose favor with me for about a month when he kept calling me grandma but since we got that straightened out we've been buddies ever since. the boys gives great hugs!

 * eating worms for dessert... yummy!

 * i am hooked on words with friends - love that game.  do you play?  

* i introduced the game to one of our college kids brook, morgan, and we tried to get lance to play too. this picture cracks me up as they are all playing separate games. oh technology!

 * landon and his buddy eli made this sign for landon's bedroom door. love their spelling!

 * uploading pictures from my camera and finding these pics - mauryn taking a picture with her camera of morgan 

 and landon with pads on and his nerf gun

 * easter egg garland

 * landon's comfy spot for school... love this.  he actually has worked really well in his spot so i am all for it as long as he can work and he cleans it up when he is finished with school

 * we are on the final countdown for school. i sat down and figured out our stopping points in all our subject areas. 

* landon using inflection for the characters as he reads and giggling throughout the book

 * grass turning green

* birds chirpring

* landon's bird feeder that he got as a birthday gift and built with his dad.  

* his excitement of seeing birds feed off his feeder each day

 * the start of baseball season... how cute is he in that uniform

* it didn't rain or snow for the first game. it was cold and windy but finding joy in the fact that we stayed dry

 * i did not think morgan's passion for gymnastics could grow but everyday last week she came home bouncing with excitement over new skills learned at the gym.  she is very motivated and determined to move on to the next level.  seeing her joy makes me joyful

* going through the 30 day shred with these sweet ladies... they make me laugh every single day as we report our success and struggles as well as encourage and support each other. i am so thankful for each one of them.  


*if it wasn't for the internet, i wouldn't know them.  there is friendship to be found in blogosphere.  


*watching baby eagles hatch... my kids check in on the parents and their babies multiple times a day.  there is still one more egg to hatch. so we are waiting patiently.

what were your joys this week?

** most of my pics are coming from my phone but it is handy to capture all those little joys that i would normally miss.  even if the pictures aren't always great the joy and memories behind them are wonderful.