One of Those Days

I was just reading through some of my past posts and realized that I never embellished upon my husband's new teeth, so here it is. I was away with all 3 girls and some other family members helping my grandparents clean out their house. It was the last day before everyone else was leaving to head home and the girls and I would be staying, because we could and there was so much more to do. My mother walked through the door announcing that there was something wrong with my car. I was not totally shocked because the afternoon earlier I had taken the girls to the playground to run out some energy and when I turned left to pull in to a parking spot, my car made the most horrible grinding crunching sound. My uncle gave it a whirl and it was decided that we needed to find a shop ASAP. As we were looking for the phone book, Sug called. He had just gotten a faceful of PVC pipe and had consequently knocked out his two front teeth. Thankfully, these were the same teeth he had knocked out by running face first into a tree as a kid, so the bloodshed and pain were minimal, but he wasn't sure if he should see a dentist or finish working. After advising him to call his boss and see if the dentist was available, I told him of our car trouble and we basically concluded that it was just 'one of those days'. I quickly dropped the car off and when I returned, I picked Bunny and her bouncy chair up off the floor and put them on the kitchen table (so none of the boxes of stuff would topple over and crush her). Instead, I bent down to pick something up and my elbow caught ahold of the edge of her chair flipping bouncy seat, baby and all onto the cement portion of my grandmother's kitchen floor. The baby had hit her forehead and her knees. I knew in my heart that she was alright, but the remainder of the day was spent in an emergency room waiting for my conclusions to be confirmed and being spoken down to by the attending physician. Those type days are the days that you can be sure that the angels are all over you. The car ended up with a broken axle that only cost $200, my husband ended up with a new set of teeth, and the baby was/is just fine. Praise God for His mercy, grace, and protection especially during 'one of those days' !!!

Sleep, The Grand Illusion

I can only imagine that every mother who has ever been, has been without sleep. In my estimation, I've probably had 20-25 nights of good long sleep in the past 5 years. Some days are easier to maneuver through than others. Most days, I hit a wall around 3. Thankfully, the kids are usually napping and all it takes is a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips and I'm back. Then there are days like today; the days that you actually cry because you're so tired, the days you change your plans because you know driving isn't a good idea, the days you try to force your children to watch hours upon hours of television so you can just sit and daydream about sleeping. No amount of chocolate or Diet Coke is going to be able to get this day back on track. So, now what? It's time to put it in autopilot. On days like today, the goal is to make it to nap time alive. I need to make sure everyone is fed while I peruse each room doing something that resembles straightening up just to keep moving. Unfortunately, these are the days that leave much room for error. Frustration, anger, and feelings of defeat and desperation fill days like today. I'm hoping that by getting it out here, in words, I will be able to divert Satan's glance and fall deeply into the well of God's grace. Pray for me!

Vehicularly Vexed

I am utterly confused about this whole Clunkers for Cash incentive that's currently being offered. I normally wouldn't give a second thought to some scheme I couldn't understand, but we could really use a new car. Birdie and I were talking about a family of friends when she announced that the fact that they only have 2 children and are probably done having children was "bad, just not good".
Perplexed, I asked "Why?".
She exclaimed quite matter of factly, "Because it's better to have 3 or 4 or 6 kids!"
I tried to explain that God has a plan for each family and all families look different, some don't even have any kids, and some have many more than 6. I finished my mini sermon with what I thought was an extremely though provoking question... "How many children do you think God wants us to have in our family?"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, she answered "3!"
Perplexed again, I asked "Why?"
I then had to cover my mouth to wipe away the smile that was fast spreading across it when her response was, "Because our car isn't big enough to fit anymore kids!" I believe that I have mentioned that Birdie is quite intelligent, and, of course, she's right.
Unfortunately, I love my car (not in a weird, don't touch it or eat in it kind of way, but I'm thankful for it). That car is the car that God gave me when I couldn't afford a car, never mind one THAT nice. That car is the one that Sug, my then fiancee bought for me and my safety. That's the car DJ and I used when we went to the beach and the movies the whole summer after her mother died. That's the car that moved us into our first little rental house. That's the car that drove us to the hospital when I was in labor with Birdie and drove our new little family home. That's the car that has taken us on all our family vacations, as well as all of our everyday errands. The broken moon roof is a reminder of a really rough storm about 4 years back. A tree branch fell on top of the car and cracked the moon roof while our new little family sat in the dark surrounded by candles listening to the wind howl (literally) through the ancient windowpanes around us. It was lovely. The crack in the windshield is a daily reminder of the day Bunny entered our world. Sug, broke the windshield when he pushed our new carpet into it by accident. Having Bunny at home ruined our carpet. Small price to pay for such an amazingly blessed experience.
There are some technical reasons I don't want to get rid of the car as well. First and foremost, I still owe quite a bit for it. Secondly, it has never cost all that much to fix whenever any issues have arisen. Thirdly, it fits all 3 car seats (snugly) and still has room for the stroller and a week's worth of groceries. Finally, it has all wheel drive which is beyond necessary for where we live. What's a girl to do? Well, when you have a husband like mine, you just tell him all of it (even if halfway through, he rolls his hands and eyes gesturing that he wants me to get to the point!). Well, after I poured out my heart and my concerns, he nonchalantly responded with "What about my truck, we can always trade it in and I can use your car, problem solved!"
"My hero!"

School Days

I can't believe that Birdie is going to kindergarten. We just went and picked up everything she will need for school. I have to admit, I'm a little bit sad that she will be using markers, scissors, and glue without me. She's probably even going to use the pencils and chalk without a thought of me even crossing her mind. I'm hoping that each time she opens that little tye-dyed recycled pencil case or maybe the cute little kitty folder, she'll think of her mama and the day we went to pick those things out. I have to admit that I had to hold back the tears with a little joke about how big her feet are getting when I picked up a size 9 thinking they were her size only to discover that she's actually a size 12. My four year old should be incapable of fitting into something in the double digits, shouldn't she?!?! I know she'll be turning 5 in less than a month, but until that fateful day arrives, she'll be 4 to me, not 4 1/2 or 4 3/4, but 4. Today at nap time as I'm reading a few pages from her American Girl book, I'm going to make sure that I hold her a little tighter for a little longer than I did yesterday. I'm sure that it won't slow time, but it may make me feel better to hold onto it purposefully.

Enjoying Eden

So, God gave Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden and everything in it. Every fruit and vegetable that we know of and then some! Can you imagine? God gave them free range to enjoy all that He had for them. He warned against eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but they were still allowed, even that. Yet, Adam and Eve chose to hang out near said tree. They probably even wondered about it long before that fiendish serpent even opened it's mouth to place the doubt in their minds. My point? It's time for me to get away from that dang tree. My tree looks a little different. My tree is covered with the fruits of youth, carefree ways, thinness, beauty, lust, falling into passionate lust at first sight, nights out dancing with the girls, cocktails, cigarettes, and even the occasional drug. Man, that tree may look hideously ugly to most, but it's the tree I partook from daily before I met Jesus. I know I'm not to long for or desire those things, but I've been thinking about that dang tree a bit more than usual lately. It may even be said that I've been hanging out a few trees back from it. I see what that tree does, I have a few friends who still eat from that tree, whether it be occasionally or regularly. I know that it is the tree of death; death of family, death of marriages, death of spirits, death of joy and hope. My prayer these days is that God will continue to open my eyes to the abundance of other trees in my garden. My prayer these days is that after tasting the mangoes, papayas, and starfruit of this garden for a period of time, that dang tree will wither up and die for lack of pruning. In fact, it would be even better that the only reason I think of it at all is because the fruit is already rotting on the branches and the faint smell of decay fills my nostrils if I turn my head in it's direction. Jesus freed me from that tree and it's long twisted thorny branches. The only way I could have ever gotten out was with His help. The fact that I even needed help to get out should be reason not to go near it ever again. Thank you, Lord for my Garden of Eden and walking with me through it. I pray that you will show me how to enjoy all the fruit you created for my pleasure and health in a way that is glorifying to you. Thank you for that rotten filthy tree in the center of the garden that sits as a reminder of where you saved me from. Thank you for allowing me to see how alluring it can be, even now, so that I can stop kicking myself for having EVER touched it. Thank you that that tree had always been surrounded by the rest of the beautiful garden, even if I couldn't see it. You know what they say about seeing the forest from the trees! Now I do, too.

Leaving a Legacy

Unfortunately, I did not make the pillowcase dress yet,so there are not any pictures to share. I did make one more blanket and will be overnighting it as soon as we can all get out of the house (Bunny is a late sleeper). We all went blueberry picking and made the most delicious blueberry jam EVER!!! We've got quite the mission today. As I looked at all the lovely jars of jam, I remembered that my aunt had told me that my grandfather had eaten a whole jar of my strawberry jam in 1 week, soooo off to Grandma's house we go. Not only will I bring them 4 smiling faces and a jar of blueberry jam, I will also be bringing a dictaphone. While cleaning out their house a couple of weeks ago, I came across a couple of books that my mother and I had bought years ago. One was called 'Grandmother Remembers', another was 'Grandfather Remembers', and the one I'm most excited about is called 'To Our Children's Children'. I have to admit since cleaning out their house and seeing pictures, cards, and hearing about the memories of their children, my heart has been longing for a time long past. I know that God is eternal and that Satan has been around since the beginning of Earth as we know it. I relish the opportunity to have a very small glimpse into the generational traits and sins that both God and Satan have been privy to for quite sometime. I am blessed to have one full set of grandparents, and I am grieved to have the absence of the other. Little does my father know, I will be expecting him to fill the gap. I pray that God will give me the opportunity and the clarity of mind to bless my great-grandchildren with the memories, trials and joys of my grandparents and parents. I pray that the Lord will bless this endeavor mightily, for the good of His kingdom and the joy of His people. I pray that my children will see the importance of this and will be blessed to hear of a time gone by, of people they have descended from and cherish it in their hearts knowing that someone in our past has been praying for their children, their children's children, and their children's children's children until the return of Christ on Earth.

Pictures

I just wanted to share pictures of the blankets we made for crafthope. The girls used fabric markers to decorate theirs and I tried my hand at blanket making. Today, we're off to pick some blueberries and when we return, I hope to be able to make another blanket and a pillowcase dress. Blankets need to be mailed by tomorrow for the July 25th deadline!

Pillowcase Dresses

I love how God works! I have been looking for a pattern for pillowcase dresses for quite sometime. Searching the web left me clueless as am am not a very experienced sewer. I basically gave up on the idea and moved on. This past weekend, my family and I went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in our town and I happened across the CUTEST pillowcase dresses, which reignited my enthusiasm. After searching the web again, I came up with something, but I still wasn't super impressed. This morning, I sat down for my usual breakfast at the computer and while reading one of my favorite blogs, came across a link to a site called craft hope. http://www.crafthope.com/ Craft hope reaches out to the virtual world to fill the lives of real people with hope through the gift of sewing and crafts. They are currently on their 3rd project, outfitting an orphanage in India with all their linen based needs. Are you kidding? I am so on board. After reading through the current mission and making a vow in my heart to start TODAY, God blessed me. A couple of projects before this one was making pillowcase dresses for an orphange in Brazil!!! ARE YOU KIDDING? It was complete with pattern, directions, a picture tutorial and all. Go God!!! Thank you, my King!!! They also have a pattern and tutorial for the cutest dolls...Christmas gifts, anyone??? I am so happy to be getting on board with such a great cause. Praise you, Lord for the way you work.

Timing

I fought waking up this morning. The real reason I got out of bed was the sounds of Birdie and Bean bringing "breakfast" (I use the term loosely as it was actually kettle corn and milk) into the playroom. We live in the middle of the country and even though this time of year we usually don't have problems, we generally have an issue with mice making our home theirs. As I was starting to make a legitimate breakfast for us all, I wiped the sleep from my eyes only to have my sights rest on the calendar. WHAT!!!! A dentist appointment for all 3 of us in 1 hour?!?!!? Needless to say, I kicked it into overdrive. Bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, lay out girls dresses (as that is all they want to wear these days and there is NO room for any arguing this morning), brush hair during breakfast, get baby dressed, get girls dressed, brush everyone's teeth, get myself dressed, nurse Bunny so we don't have a freak out at the dentist office as we will be there for an hour and a half, at least, and we're out the door. We had a lovely ride to the dentist's office singing and laughing. Bean is actually quite funny: Why did the butterfly fly across the street? Because she didn't want to walk! Hahahaha (Give her a break, she's only 2). As I pull into the parking lot, I notice that there are quite a few cars here already (unusual for our little family dentistry). We all get out and file into the small waiting room. Tabitha the kind, beautiful secretary takes one look at us and I know....I've seen that look a number of times on a number of faces. She then says in that voice I've also heard a number of times "Your appointment isn't until next Tuesday!?!?" As you may have noticed, this is not the first time and will most likely not be the last, that I show up someplace on the wrong day. It happened only a few months ago when I showed up at my midwife's office a day early, both the kids in tow and I was even showered! It happened again for my nephew's birthday party, we showed up on Sunday to drop off his present because we missed his party on Saturday. I wondered why nobody had called to see why we weren't there, only to find out that it was the next Saturday. It happened again for the same nephew when we actually did miss his birthday and did get a phone call! But the mother of all timing debacles occurred 4 years ago. I had just had Bird 3 months earlier and my friend was coming down to celebrate her 30th birthday. She had just moved an hour and a half away and wanted to spend the night with friends and I was included. This was to be my first time out by myself since having the baby and was soooo looking forward to it. I baked an amazing caramel apple cake and got dolled up like never before (I hadn't lost any baby weight and was trying to balance it with the same amount of extra weight in makeup). I happily left my husband and his brother to play video games, eat junk food and watch the baby as I headed out for the time of my life (since baby)! I walked into the restaurant/bar that my friend had chosen to celebrate, as she loves martinis, and began to search her and her party out carrying a HUGE cake on an even HUGER cake plate. Well, we all know where this is going... the party was the night before, she hadn't called because she knows what it's like to be a mom but she missed me terribly. I was devastated, I got home and cried for hours. Hormones, loss of a fun night, missing such an important event in the life of someone I care deeply about, whatever it was, it stunk! So, now, I've learned that God is the master lemonade maker and when I find myself in one of these timing predicaments, I just need to smile and look for God. As we were heading out of the dentist's office I looked down and saw an amazing orange slug! As I was showing the girls (and the dentist's next client), the slug's feelers and how he moved and left a little slug trail, I looked up and saw a snail! I then asked and showed the girls the differences between the slug and the snail. We then proceeded to find 2 more slugs and 1 more snail and we were able to talk about what made them similar and what made them different. I'm sure my mistake is in the process of being made into a God glorifying experience. I'm sure this little learning experience will be able to be used as a big learning experience in the future. What makes us different, what makes us the same?!?! I'm sure the opportunity will be presenting itself and now God has given me a little gift to stick in my pocket for later. God can make lemonade just by speaking it into existence, but most times He'd rather our help and acknowledgment as He slowly adds and blends the ingredients. How can you help God make lemonade today? What part of your lemon filled day or week could use a little God sighting/sweetening? How will this glass of lemonade that's being made now, be used to refresh someone else later?

Home Sweet...

I would love to be here posting about how fabulous and relaxing it is to finally be home. The girls and I just got home yesterday from what was supposed to be a week long stay, helping my grandmother (Gigi (GG)- to the kids) pack the things in their huge 4 bedroom house out of state so they could move here. The 1 week turned into 12 days and I was soooo looking forward to the peace of returning home. After a horrific car ride, we arrived home, Bunny needed to be fed, as did the girls, I needed to pee, the overflowing car needed to be unloaded, dinner needed to be defrosted and we needed to head to Target for a new bottle. (By the way, the Born Free bottles ROCK!!!) At least the house WAS clean until I unloaded the contents of the car onto our dining room table and beyond, where it still sits at this very moment because the phone won't stop ringing. It's taken me 2 hours just to get this much out!!!! The only sanity and relief that was to be my 'Home Sweet Home' was seeing my husband and his brand new teeth (a whole different story) with his mouth agape as I rushed out the door to my Bible study. I know that Jesus is in all things, even the insanity and chaos of my 12 day stint, but sometimes it's just so nice to sit quietly and listen, learn and pray with a group of likeminded equally challenged women. God Bless my Bible girls, Jesus, and my husband for making that small peice of time possible.

Introducing....

So, I figured it would be best to start this blog with a brief introduction to some of the key players in the story that is "my life". My life pretty much revolves around God, my family, and a small spattering of close friends. So, without any further ado, I bring you the cast...**Drumroll**

God~If you don't know Him, I'd be happy to introduce you, but I can only do that through His Son, Jesus. I'd like to think that we're pretty close, but there are a whole lotta days that I seem to forget He's here. (My fault, not His). We've known each other intimately for the past....almost 7 years, I guess. We've been through a lot in such a short period, it feels much longer.

Sug~My husband. His nickname is short for Sugar and he's been recognized by this name, not only by his loving wife, but also by most who know him. I suppose it may have been a little embarrassing or maybe even annoying the first 800 times he was referred to as such, but it's grown on him. The fact that his boss and the men in his new bible group call him Sug makes me laugh. Anyway, Sug's a year younger than me and never ceases to let me forget. He's working toward being a master plumber and pipefitter and works very hard to provide for us. Sug and I have been married for 5.5 years.

Bird, Birdie, Birddog~All are nicknames for my oldest daughter. She is currently 4 but will be 5 at the end of the summer. She's been planning her birthday party since Christmas. Needless to say, it changes everyday from princesses to animals to art to circus to Dora...she should be a party planner. Bird is "the big sister". She tends to have a heart for others (others meaning for those OTHER than her sister, Bean). She's an animal lover and could talk the bark off a tree. She's smart funny and definately a leader in the making, but right now...dare I say, she's just plain bossy.

Bean, Beaner, Beanbag~All are nicknames for my little middle daughter. She's 2.5 and a spitfire to say the least. She's the kid who uses the fishtank to fill up her teapot for her teaparties and tosses that fishwater back like she's doing shots at a fratparty. Life has been nothing short of interesting since Bean has joined us. She started walking at 8.5 months old and running 2 days later and hasn't stopped since. Beanbag LOVES music. She'll sing excerpts from ANNIE on command even in front of a crowd of people she doesn't know. It's fun because she IS 2 and doesn't speak completely clearly all the time and even though she'll be singing at the top of her lungs, it may take a few seconds before you can really recognize the song she's chosen. Bean is adventurous and makes us laugh often. She also has a tendency to make THE most annoying sound ever when she gets worked up, which tends to be more than I would like.

Bunny~Is the nickname for our youngest. She acquired this name by being born around Easter. She's almost 3 months old. At this point, she is the sweetest, most easy going of my three girls. She only cries when she's hungry or needs a diaper change. Mostly, she'll stare wide eyed at all the goings ons and flash the hugest smile when she notices you looking at her. For some reason, having Bunny has given me the desire to get a little greener in my living. She was my homebirth baby that I now cloth diaper, neither of which were the case with Bird or Bean. We co-sleep, breastfeeed until about 1.5 and more often than not use a sling, just like with Bird and Bean. Hey, it works for us.

Chloe~my arch nemesis. She's a 12 year old black lab who has hated me since I married my husband. We used to be pretty cool, but coming back pregnant from my honeymoon changed everything. My husband had her for 4 or 5 years before we started dating. Since he was a fisherman at the time and gone for days and sometimes weeks at a time, she was never trained with any consistancy and now we are usually at odds. She's beyond youthful for her age, even the vet who has known her since puphood just claimed that if he didn't know any better, he'd think he was examining a 3 year old dog....YEAH for me!

Lil Mo~ She's Birdie's new kitten. We've had cat's before, but she ROCKS. You can always find her playing with the girls or curled up sleeping with them at night. She lets them pull her tail and dress her up. She is a perfect fit for us as a family.

Me, Kimmiesunshine~ Last but not least, the writer of this here blog. From the prior introductions, it's pretty obvious that I am a Christian wife and mother of 3 girls. I was permanently laid off of my part-time bookkeeping job 1 week before Bunny was born, so I am now officially a SAHM. In my life before family, I was a nanny (which lead to my bookkeeping career), a massage therapist (trained and educated by a very reputable school, but only massaged for family, friends, and friends of friends as a hobby), and have for the past 7 years been trying to obtain certification as a birth doula, but I keep getting pregnant and having babies of my own. My motto is "My husband makes the money, and I save it". Let's just say that he does his job much better than I do mine in that regard. I like cooking and doing crafty type things. My focus is on my family and training us all up in the ways of the LORD, no easy task whatsoever. Since, I only recently became a Christian, you may notice that quite a bit of sass still flows freely, although, that may never change. I'm starting this blog to help me remember... my life in words.