Dinnertime

Mealtime is very sacred to me.

As a mama, I have always tried to make it a priority to sit with my kids for breakfast and lunch and I have given myself a no-talking-on-the-phone rule for meals, giving myself the time and space to be intentional with my children.  As a result, I have come to treasure these times.  We eat and talk and laugh and tell stories.  Sometimes we are more quiet, and sometimes (more often than not) we are VERY loud.  I love eating with my children.

As much as I love these times, I love even more our family dinners.  After a day full of juggling activities, appointments, diaper changes, feedings, dishes, laundry, and discipline, my hubby comes home and we SIT. We sit together at the table and all else fades to the background.  The toys may surround us, the counters may be heaping with paperwork to be sorted, the kitchen may bear evidence of a busy mama making dinner with littles underfoot, but when we sit at dinner, we get to stop. and breathe. and enjoy our precious ones.

Tonight I grabbed Zach's phone to snap a picture to try to capture this dinner hour, this precious time we have together as a family.  Ella's hair, which started the day in neat pigtails, is completely out and disheveled after a hard day's play, Sophia is chewing on an Olympic "medal" the boys got from Sunday school, most of the food is strategically in the kitchen instead of on the table, and the boys were telling stories, laughing, and reporting about the day.  They took turns standing on their chairs to demonstrate their dance moves, and Ella protested eating her carrots.  Nothing about dinner was perfect...Ella was fussy at times, the boys had to be reminded to sit down and fill their tummies, and we are in such need of groceries that I was scraping the bottom of the refrigerator for ingredients to round out our meal.  But as I sat soaking it in, it was so very real.  It is the way we work.  We have messes and imperfect meals and imperfect children, but it is our family and our life and I...LOVE...IT.



p.s. I just pulled some banana muffins out of my oven that are filling my home with the most delicious of smells...If you are interested in the recipe, check it out here...http://www.catcancook.com/awesome-banana-muffin-recipe/.  I just did a Google search for something to do with my over-ripe bananas!  YUM!

Thankful Thursday

Sammy...
I am thankful for...
Daddy, Mommy, Micah, Mommy Hulk, Nana, Papa, Chuck, Nolan, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Micah...
I am thankful for...
my family, my friends, that we watched a movie, Sammy, Ella, Daddy, Mommy, and Sophia especially, that we get to go camping tomorrow, that it didn't rain today, that Sammy is pretending to be Mommy Hulk (a huge part of their pretend world lately...the Hulk Family), that Sophia is getting a good rest, that Chuck and Nolan are going tomorrow, and us, and I am thankful that my eyes are good...that's what the doctor says.

Me...
Even though my plans for the day changed drastically (we were supposed to leave today for a camping trip with my whole family and instead stayed home due to a run-in with the stomach flu), I was thankful for extra snuggle time with my kiddos on the couch, a husband who went out to get me chicken noodle soup and iced tea, and a family movie time complete with all 6 of us snuggling on the couch.  Sometimes we just have to make lemonade, right??  I am thankful that Sophia had absolutely no clue that I was any different than normal and continued to adore me in her sweet, baby fashion, gazing at me lovingly with her big, blue eyes and giving me big, toothless smiles as if I was still her favorite person in the world, even running on very low energy.  I am thankful that I am feeling lots better and that we can still join the family at the campground tomorrow.  And I am thankful that Zach happened to be off work today since we were supposed to be leaving, and therefore, graciously held down the fort for me.

Always, always so much to be thankful for.

What are you thankful for today?

Rushed to Relax

Have you ever found yourself yelling at your kids to hurry, hurry, hurry so you can leave to go have FUN?

I have been thinking lately on this concept of rushing so we can relax.

There are so many mornings when I am trying to get us to a park or playdate or activity, and, as a result, I end up impatient and frustrated with my non-quick-moving children who don't have a concept of time or rushing or punctuality.  I have listened to myself barking orders to, "Brush your teeth...Pick up the toys...Put your crocs on...Go potty!" as I bustle around stocking the diaper bag, filling water bottles, changing diapers, and throwing breakfast dishes in the sink.  Our mornings can sometimes be crazy, and I have been reflecting on this sober truth with much desire for change...

Why am I slacking in my patient parenting so that we can hurry and go have fun for a few extra minutes??  Why am I brushing off my children's creativity and playful desires so they can go be creative and play elsewhere??

Zach and I recently chuckled together over the fact that we are occasionally rushing out the door to church, sometimes with some frustration, so we can hurry and peacefully worship??  Ha!

I am realizing that I am looking to God in the events and tasks and schedules of our lives, counting gifts, praying, living intentionally...but what about the in-between times??  the transition times??  the get-things-done-and-moving times??

I want to see God in it all.

I want to invite God into every moment of my life - in the breakfast time with my children, during our errands, at the park with friends, and in all the in-between momentsl  I want to be teaching my children how to live with patience and a calm spirit, even when there are places to be and much to be done.  I want this to be an intentional time of parenting and teaching my children responsibility, but also, teaching them how to live with the Spirit at the center at all times...

Ann Voskamp writes in her article, "When You're Finding it Hard to be Patient," the following excerpt...

In every moment I want to escape, some hidden gift hides, if I will wait patiently and dare to live to fully into that moment.

Deep breathe. Love is patient.

I can smile here — because really — there are no emergencies.

Emergencies are wildfires, screeching sirens, and gaping wounds. In everyday life, we rarely experience emergencies.

As Simone Weil writes, “Waiting patiently…is the foundation of the spiritual life.”

Really, what catastrophe will befall if we’re late? Or dinner is on the table 15 minutes after six? Or we have to look another 10 minutes for junior’s shoe?

No emergencies. Now is good.

Now is not an emergency to rip through, but a moment to embrace with gratitude.

I want to live in the NOW..."Now is good."  

I want to soak up my children and the gift that is the moment even through the chores and the discipline and the getting out the door.  

I want to stop this pattern of rushing to relax and, instead, live intentionally and boldly, with thanksgiving, through it all.

Care to join me?

Click here for Ann Voskamp's full article...

http://www.incourage.me/2012/07/when-youre-finding-it-hard-to-be-patient.html

Summer Weekends

It was the kind of summer weekend where we packed lots in, got way less done than we had hoped, and stayed up way too late eating ice cream and playing outside.

Although I have this "need to get things done" way of thinking at times, I am trying to learn contentment with the leaving and letting things go...Summer days are not going to last forever, and the reality is, that laundry and dishes and paperwork and projects will last forever.  So I am learning the rhythm of getting things done but also being willing to push off the chores to enjoy the day or be with friends or watch a movie with my husband.  I want to be more concerned with making memories than having a clean house, and I want to be more focused on relationships than tasks.

Friday night we dropped off the kids at my parents, grabbed a quick dinner just the two of us, filled our cart with fresh produce at the grocery store without any children, and went to a party for some dear friends leaving for the mission field.

Saturday was full with a family birthday and sweet cousin playtime and a barbeque with our close friends.  Both events included hours of playtime outside, yummy food, and fun company.  We all loved Saturday.

Sunday brought a lovely morning at church, an afternoon of attempting to get things done but really, me unintentionally napping with Sophia, and Zach, wrestling with the boys.  We decided to walk to our local hot dog place for dinner, meeting a dear friend and her daughter there, and when we got home, instead of putting the kids straight to bed, we pulled out the bikes and scooters and had a romp in the yard and the street.  Micah rode his bike by himself for the first time...two stretches, one long, one short.  However brief it was, it was a victory, and I may or may not have bribed him with ice cream to try one more time.

It was a summer weekend to enjoy people we love...our children, our friends, and our family.

And I wouldn't have changed a thing.

We don't have pictures from the weekend (camera battery was dead...), but here is a very brief clip of Micah's short stretch on his bike...

Happy New Week!!

Thankful Thursday

Our summer days have been flying by, full of activities and memory-making.  But this morning, as we got ready for the day and for a trip to the eye doctor, I finally remembered Thankful Thursday with my children...here are their grateful lists for today, obviously influenced by each other...

Micah's Gifts
I am thankful...
that we went to Michigan
for Michigan
that we're going to camp
for Minnesota
that we're going to Branson, Missouri
that we had a safe drive home
for Sophia
for Ella
for today

Sammy's Gifts
I am thankful...
for Michigan
for Minnesota
that we're going camping soon
that we're going to vacation soon
for Daddy, for Mommy, for Micah
for Sophia and Ella

Ella's Gifts
I am thankful for...
Daddy
Mommy

And today, I am thankful...
for Sophia's sweet-smelling kisses and open-mouthed smiles
Micah giggling sweetly at the eye doctor's exam and so blessed with perfect vision
for Micah loving t-ball so much that he pounded his fists in the air with excitement and chatted about it the whole way home
for Ella's tiny, loud voice yelling, "YAY, MI-TAH!!!" on the side of the field
watching Micah and Ella exchange kisses through the fence

Sammy's endless stories of make believe
a spontaneous Chinese and movie night with my favorite husband
crickets chirping with the windows wide open
worship songs throughout my day
laundry baskets bursting with clean clothes begging to be folded...what a privilege to have so many things for each of us to wear
a home that is well loved and lived in, full counters and baskets evidence of a summer well enjoyed (Can you tell I'm stretching for this one??   Trying to be grateful and content with our disastrous house because of all our comings and goings of living it up this summer...)
Today I am choosing to be thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

Michigan Moments

After an eventful five hour drive to Grand Rapids, just my kiddos and me (eventful = car temporarily breaking down on the interstate, a toddler bathroom emergency, diaper explosion, toll issues, traffic, etc.), we arrived for a whirlwind visit with my best friend, who also happens to be my sister-in-law, and my nephews, who also happen to be my kids' best friends.  We all LOVED our time together.  Summer is most fun spent with others you love, and we loved our summer time with them!  Here are some highlights...

-watching the five "big" kids dig in the dirt and the gopher holes

-talking for hours with Kim and watching her getting to know my Sophia more

-running through and playing at the Meijer Gardens

-tea party at the Treehouse

-digging in the sand

-burying Micah

-Ella splashing (and sitting) in the water table

-cooling off on a HOT day

-park time!

-Ella fitting RIGHT inside the spinning seat

-Micah loving his time to play

-resting after a hard day's play!

-going out for ice cream! (and french fries for Sammy, who is allergic to dairy)

-my little diva at the playplace (doesn't everyone wear sunglasses indoors?)

-one last morning of playtime before our drive home!

Some moments weren't able to be captured on camera, like the sweet way my nephew Nolan smiles at everyone, delightfully saying "thank you" to anyone who does anything for him...five kids standing in the bathtub for cleaning hands and feet...meals around the table together...tea and chocolate treats when all six kids were finally asleep...and that sweet, friend time to talk and talk about life and about mothering and about friendship, wrestling together over the shooting in Colorado and why evil is a part of our world, sharing our victories and struggles in raising young ones, and safely and openly analyzing our parenting - what works and what doesn't, how we succeed and fail, and how we can keep striving to do our best to raise godly children.  I was in desperate need of "girlfriend time," to have those endless conversations about mothering and about life that remind me what I want to do with my life, what I want for my family, how I want to disciple my children, where my time and energy need to go, and mostly, how very blessed I am.  I was very much aware of how much I love my life and how thankful I am for friends who remind me of these things.

Do you have a friend on the road of mothering with you? or just the road of life??  Share with them how you are doing and feeling.  Let them in to your struggles and successes...I promise that you will be blessed.  I believe we were meant to do life together.

Thanks, "Auntie Pim," as Ella says, for letting us invade your home and for enjoying summer together for a few days. We LOVE you all and treasure your friendship and the gift it is to do life together!

Thankful Thursday

I must confess, when I realized just now that it was Thursday and I needed to write a Thankful Thursday post, I had a deep sigh.  It has been one of those days, so sitting and dwelling on my blessings is not something I am feeling naturally drawn to do in the moment...

I'm thinking that it's a good thing I have some accountability today to be thankful.

I just spent a half hour crying and processing out loud to my husband about my parenting and our children and my impatience and their imperfections.  Today was a day of discipline.  A day of nagging and frustration and discouragement about my humanity and theirs.

A day for grace.

And a day to strain a little harder than normal for the thankfulness...

So today, I am thankful for second (...and third and fourth...and twentieth) chances.
I am thankful for a spontaneous visit with my mom and my niece and nephew.
I am thankful for peanut butter cookies fresh from the oven (made by my amazing MIL).
I am thankful for a super-fun VBS program for Micah.
I am thankful for a cooler evening to sit and watch Micah's t-ball practice.
I am thankful for my husband unashamedly cheering loudly for Micah, even when no other parents were.
I am thankful for homemade pizza.
I am thankful for bedtime in which ALL 6 of us (which is 24 moving arms and legs) snuggled together on the bottom bunk in the kids' room for bedtime devotions.
I am thankful for sweet Ella time (she went to bed later than everyone tonight so had some special, one-on-one time with Mommy and Daddy...we talked and giggled and cleaned up toys together.  I absolutely adore her voice, her little sentences, her voiced observations of what everyone is doing and saying, her blue, blue eyes, and her little feet that quickly pitter-patter on our wood floors to and fro as she scurries about doing her thing...)
I am thankful for unexpected gifts.
I am thankful for the quiet after the kids are all sleeping soundly in their beds.
And I am thankful that tomorrow is a new day.

I so needed grace today, and I hope I can extend it more generously to my kids when they are in need of it, too.  So thankful that grace is a gift so freely given.  I want to live and breathe in grace...grace in the good times, grace in the bad, grace when I am living in the moment and soaking up the joy, and grace when I am clouded with impatience and unable to be the mama I want to be.

Lord, help me to add to my rhythm, grace.

What are you thankful for today??