Haircut

My son has this beautiful, blond "surfer" hair. I swore up and down that if I ever had a son, he would not look like a sissy baby. I am so obsessed with his hair though that I can not cut it. It is just so pretty.

Finally today though it was so "tangly" that it had to be done. I had to get it shaped up because he was looking like a ragamuffin. I told the hairdresser though to keep it as long as possible.

I am justifying myself with the following thoughts, " Long hair on boys is in style," and " Jesus most likely had long hair."

I think that I have learned to avoid be confident of the things that I will and will not do in the future. I do know that I continue to surprise myself.

The picture is not of my son. Jack's hair is much longer.

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Aging

This weekend I spent 10 hours in a car to go up and back to visit my 94 year old grandmother in her nursing home. All of that time and I could really only visit for a little over an hour because my 2 year old was so wiggly and difficult. The whole point of the trip was for her to be able to see my youngest since she has not yet met him.

I was just so saddened. I wish that she wasn't so isolated and so far away. I hate the way that things have worked out for her. What a strong Christian woman she is, she deserves better than she has received in her life.

Why does aging have to be such a terrible process. It is really just a very long slow death. I am so grateful to the Lord though that it doesn't end with her death. She will be reunited with her loved ones and in a body that does not work against her.

This week my mind will be focused on ways that I can improve her life here on Earth. I don't know what to do yet, but I will think of something.

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Snowing in the House

Erma Bombeck once said that cleaning the house up after children is like shoveling the sidewalk of snow while it is still snowing. Isn't that the truth?

When determining the stressful nature of a job, one of the standards to measure by is how often the worker gets to see a completed job. For example, a painter who participates in repainting a wall color and then gets to admire the finished product feels less stress than the postal worker who constantly sorts letters without end.

With this standard mothers who are constantly cleaning up a house, doing the same jobs over and over without ever getting to experience a few minutes in a clean home deal with a lot of stress.

I think that it is important to recognize this in our lives and make sure that we have areas of our lives where we do get to view a completed work. Since I am going to assume that like me, your house is never completely clean, you will have to most likely find satisfaction in a job well done in a hobby for example.

Take up an art or craft. Participate in a sport where you start and finish a game. Recognize the need to sit back and say,"It is good."

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Transmit Only

My husband and I have an expression for people that can only talk and never listen, "transmit only." It is so frustrating to never be heard. We all are guilty, but we shouldn't be.

If the goal is to be heard, talking more and never listening will hurt much more than it will help. It is so sad that in today's culture we actually have to teach listening as a skill.

As a Christian we should naturally want to know the state of someone's heart and their feelings and concerns. In our very busy world though, we have to make an intentional effort to slow down and be quiet.

What if we took the time to hear what our neighbors and our loved ones were trying to tell us? What if we took the time to hear what our children were really trying to say?

What if we took the time to listen, really listen to God?

Would the world be a better place? Yes

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Houston Vacation

Houston is not the first place that you think of to vacation, but it makes the short list when all your family is located there. We packed up the two kids and traveled to see family one more time before the school year begins.

It rained the entire time, but at least it kept things cool. I can't decide if vacationing at the grandparents is more work or less. I guess it is just different work. Sleep schedules get messed up. The house is not baby proofed. The kids just want to harass the dogs. There is just more trouble that they can get into, but there are also more hands to deal with it.

One of my favorite things to do is go see a movie when I have dependable babysitters. We only allow family to watch the kids, so that it not often. I love that for 2 hours I can just lose myself in the story and the air conditioning. I don't care what the movie is, or even how good it is. I even enjoy the commercials since I get to watch them in peace.

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Road Trip Training

About 10 years ago when I was young and pregnant and foolish, I went on a road trip with my husband from Florida across the south to California and up the coast to the tip top of Washington. We were moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Whidbey Island, Washington because my husband was being stationed there by the Navy.

At the time we had a substitute child in the form of a very cute, yet very stubborn beagle. We took him along with us. By day 3, he would strain against us and try to run away so that he did not have to get back into the car. He felt he had a voice in the situation, that he was actually allowed to resist.

After day 5, he realized that he was not going to win. Admittedly it was a little sad. We broke him. I am sure that he was convinced that everyday for the rest of his life, he would have to be trapped in that car all day long. He meekly allowed me to set him in the car, laid his little head down and sighed.

I learned a good mothering principle. Sometimes you just have to break your kids in to unpleasant truths. I try to give my kids as many options as I can. We work really hard to give them a voice and allow them to be who God created them to be. On some things though, there can be no compromise.

For us, we travel a lot. We have had to break our kids the same way we broke the dog. There is no whining, no fussing, no crying. Just get in the car, read your book or go to sleep. Those are the only choices. I just refuse to be trapped in a car with poorly behaved children.

It is a good principle for even more important lessons though. There are just some things in life that we will not compromise on. We will be kind and loving people. We will speak and act respectfully. If you do not give in on these things an inch, they will not have the opportunity to take a mile.

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Relationships- What Everything is About

When stress gets the best of me or I feel like I am failing (which happens often), I take just a few minutes to sit quietly with God and remember what everything is about.



Why are we here? To sweep the kitchen floor? To make money? To impress others? To make decisions? To be healthy? It is really none of that.



The whole point of existence is relationships. The number one focus being our relationship with God. We exist to spend time in fellowship with God. If you are doing that, then you are already everything that you should be. God will put everything in place.



Beyond our relationship with God, we are designed for relationships with others. Our family is our first place to spread this love that was given from our relationship with God.



As I was writing this, my son grabbed my pant leg because Barney was singing his, "I love you" song and my son wanted me to join in along with Barney and him. That is what life is about. If everything else is a disaster today, I know that I danced around the room with my kids, kissing and hugging them. That is what everything is about.



I am blessed.











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