The lawyers are coming!

It's not like I don't have anything better to do today. The lawyers are coming tomorrow to my house because I have to give a deposition. I have been in a panicked state about this for weeks. Actually, this was supposed to happen back in August, except that I was so close to having the baby that it was postponed.

I should probably be cleaning feverishly or something like that. I mean it might be nice if the powder room was reasonably clean, and maybe the living room, too. But I just can't seem to get motivated to do it right now.

So here I sit in front of the computer rambling to the whole world the three people who read my blog. It is a rainy, soggy day and a bit dismal. I called my Mom this morning and she prayed with me. I am trying to keep my focus where it should be, on Him. Seeing God in the everyday may be a basic discipline in the Christian life, but I don't think it is one that I have previously practiced very much. Reading Psalm 46 yesterday, I was reminded that He is my "ever-present help in trouble" and in control, even when I can't see the big picture. It is my prayer that He get the glory for this whole situation.

The lawyer for the plaintiff wanted to call me and discuss the deposition today. After finally getting the baby settled for a nap, putting the little guys in front of some cartoons, I called and we "discussed". Okay, so far, so good. I guess this won't be so bad.

I only had to give the boys "the eye" and motion for them to be good a few times while I was on the phone. Afterwards I put on some pretty music and made the boys lunch. Something about that mellow James Galway flute brings out the tender side of my boys. They couldn't stay on their chairs during lunch for all the hugs they wanted to give me. They are growing up so much, and I see that slowly, but surely they are learning to play together nicely.

All in all, it was a good morning. God is doing a work here. Sometimes I can't see it, but I can feel it. And I know I sense His presence.

Yet another member of the Hodge-Podge household (Part 5)

Maybe I should subtitle this post "You know you have a 3 year old in the house when..." Here's my thoughts. Love to hear yours!

You may have 3 year old in the house when:
1. You find crayon, pencil, and pen marks on every wall and other relatively flat surfaces.
2. Your kitchen scissors keep disappearing, but following the trail of paper scraps leads you right to them every time.
3. The baby's head is always wet from sticky kisses.
4. Now you know what your mother meant when she used to say,"This house looks like a bomb hit it!"
5. You detect a twinkle in your child's eye when you discover that your purse is missing right when you're supposed to leave to pick up the kids from school.
6. Keys are missing from purse and are not returned until bribery is employed.
7. A sleeve is the preferred napkin of choice for wiping the face.
8. At the first clap of thunder, loud rain, or windstorm, you feel your bed bounce as someone climbs in between you and hubby.
9. You confuse yourself by using reverse-reverse psychology to get them to help you, but you are really glad they still want to be with you.
10. You read Green Eggs and Ham, Richard Scarry's Busytown, or Curious George everyday for 2 months, but you don't mind because snuggling together on the couch is worth it!
11. You find your face squeezed by the hands of a little person who says,"I have to tell you sun-sing, I love you."
12. You actually feel a little melancholy that they are turning 4 in a few days because they are leaving their precious toddlerhood behind.
13. On the other hand you are glad to see them becoming their own little person. Now you now what your Dad meant when he used to say, "When God made you, He threw away the mold!"
That would definitely be true about our Corey.

I remember so well the events of Corey's birth, for he chose to make his entrance in a rather memorable way. I really had wanted to labor naturally, but despite a successful version to turn him from breech into a head-down position, the doctor said the procedure stressed him, his heart rate dropped, and in we went for a c-section. He had to be resuscitated at birth, and I think I worried for the first year of his life that he was going to be alright. Four years later, we can definitely say, he is more than alright, he is a busy, funny, smart, toughie, cute and lovable 4th child, who holds his own around here.

When I look at each of my children, I often wonder how I could do without any of them. Oh yes, I am such a prejudiced Mom. And so blessed. Happy 4th birthday Corey!

God with me!

I think we're kicking this sick bug in the tail. Almost everyone in our household has had some sort of virus, and on top of that Brianna (10) and Jeremy (9) had "strap" throat (as Jeremy calls it)! Hopefully all this is on the way out.

In the past week I have paraded my kids into the doctor's 5 times. (Okay one was a well-child visit.) And that coming from a non-doctor-type person. I think the world of the kids' doctor, but usually have managed to utilize the good 'ole home remedies to keep everyone in good shape. Spending an hour in the doctor's office with a 3yo and an infant in a car seat and whoever else happens to be along is not my idea of fun!

Just a few thoughts that have been rolling around in my head this week.

God is with me in this season of my life. Not a big "wow" of a thought, really. But for me, a very comforting thought. I've been dabbling in a book titled The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner for the better part of 6 months, maybe more. It's not a very thick book, but it has just taken me that long to really process what this book is all about. I laid down next to Corey(3) the other day for his nap, and he always hands me a book to read. "Here Mama, dis book for you cuz I love you." So after reading his customary 2 books to him, he closed his eyes, and I opened up my book to where I had left off weeks ago.

The words really jumped out at me for some reason.

"The omnipresent God whose name is Immanuel is not distant but nearer to us than we can imagine. God is not alien to the circumstances of our lives, but comes to us in them. Our challenge is to unmask the Divine in the natural and name the presence of God in our lives."

Immanuel, God with us. He is with me right now, right here, while I deal with sick, fussy kids. Snow. Cold weather. Family stress. Time pressures. Tiredness. God has been with me all along. I am the one who is often not aware of His presence. I praise Him for bringing to mind this thought that He is with me in my humanness. What a comfort and a blessing that has been to me this week.

Even More Hodge-Podge Household (Part 4)

I guess it's time for another installment in the thrilling saga of the Hodge-Podge household. I know you've all been waiting with baited breath.

Today the story begins with a messy house (and ends with the same, I might add). The people in this house have been sick since...hmmm, on and off since Christmas vacation I guess. Mostly on. There has been theme and variations on illness in the form of fever, ear infections, stomach flu (no details, I promise!), fever, nightmares, strep throat, rashes, exhaustion (mostly mine), and fever. Do I see a recurring theme here?

Well, after taking Corey (3) to preschool this morning, I noticed a growth in the corner of my sons' room. Oh my! To my surprise it was a huge mountain of laundry. Wow, I thought I just did their laundry.

Most of the rest of my house was in terrible disarray as well. Dishes, paper swords, crumbs, homemade playdough, backpacks, books, paper swords, clothes, beach towels from tents made over the table in the playroom 2 days ago, paper swords, tape, scissors, baby toys, sticky notes. All this and more littered the main floor.

And the baby was exercising her vocal cords. Something about needing to nurse again, she said. Now it was getting on to 10:00 and this morning was going nowhere fast!

Then my little superhero came to my rescue. Every family needs one of these guys. He swooped down into my kitchen and wiped off the kitchen table and swept the floor, then he began tidying up the living room, moved to the playroom and disassembled the tent, folded the beach towels, took down the tent in the basement as well, cleaned up Corey's room, stripped the bunk beds, took the sheets downstairs, and helped to fold laundry.

"Mama, am I your good helper?" You bet, bud! Thanks to my Travis, the house looked presentable once again, and I have just about dug out from under the mountain of laundry.

Our little "Slim-Jim", Travis is 6, and in Kindergarten. He is an emerging reader which he's very excited about. He's the middle man in our line-up of kids. He's Daddy's shadow and a real tough-guy. He likes soldiers, army stuff, swords, guns, tools, digging in the dirt, going camping, Steelers, and other totally boy stuff. Yet he is head over heels in love with Kaylee (4mo), and if there's any word to describe Travis, it's "sweet". My little man of Steel and Velvet. Thanks for all your help today, bud!

If I’m so busy, what am I doing blogging?

My friend Katherine over at Raising Five has a great saying that I love, “Live first, blog later.” As I have started my blog, I have tried to keep that little saying in mind. Blogging is fun, but not at the top of the priority list, as you might be able to tell by scarcity of my posts.

However, I am trying to remember that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” (Ah hem, girl!) Although this seems like an insane time in my life to start a blog, part of my reason for doing this is that I need an outlet. Lately I have been meeting myself coming and going. I was wishing today that I could clone myself, so that at least one of me could take a nap. But no, the world really only needs one of me….uh, my family could only survive one of me! I love all that I am doing, well…most everything. Skip the part of helping with math homework. And I love the ones I’m doing it for. But I am slowly learning what happens when I try to pour from an empty cup. So if I only get a half hour a week to do this, I am going press on towards being consistent with it, at least for as long as the Lord wants me to. I feel like I am growing because having a blog is forcing me to share a part of myself with others. I tend towards being a very private person. Keeping my failures, shortcomings and oops moments (as Carl would say, my “eeh aah”….think “donkey” moments) to myself is more comfortable. Revealing where I need help has not been my strong suit many times.

As I have read others blogs, I have really enjoyed and been blessed by the “realness” of their lives. They have opened up about their families, their kids, their tiredness, their messy house, their never-ending piles of laundry, their struggles, and their relationship with the Lord. I hope I can learn to let down my hair a bit and be as transparent as these sisters in Christ have been. I also hope that blogging will be a catalyst for growth in me as I endeavor to share honestly about what God is doing in my life.

A look back, a look ahead

Another year has gone by. This is said somewhat with a sigh of relief. 2007 was a year of stretching for me in many ways.

One, my belly stretched out more than ever before in my 5^th pregnancy. Waddling to the pool this past summer was not a pretty sight! Yes baby Kaylee (more about her in a later post) was born about a full pound larger than my other children. She is so sweet in all her chubbiness, soft skin, and fluffy hair. But I need to “unstretch” now. I lost the baby weight fairly quickly this time, so how did I end up putting on an few extra pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years? Yikes. Time to get back on the treadmill. (Situps are not happening right now!)

My marriage has been stretched in unexpected ways as well. This is where the rubber really meets the road. I am finding out that when you face challenges together as a couple and commit to honor your marriage vows, you really can grow in ways you wouldn’t imagine. Admittedly, that growth can be painful at times. We are still a work in progress, but it is by God’s grace that 2 imperfect people are still so in love and looking forward to 50+ more years together! I suspect that God has some great things ahead for us.

I have also been stretched in my relationship with the Lord. Several people have been instrumental in this area. My dear sister has encouraged me to look at my relationship with the Lord in a whole new way. It is slooowly becoming more of a “line upon line, precept upon precept” type of walk. Not something to be done in isolation, and not something that I can even actually do myself. It is truly more about what the Lord has already done for me and what He is now doing in me. My pastor was also extremely instrumental in helping me learn what it means to walk in grace.

I am truly filled with joy and gratitude to the Lord for the year (or two!) of stretching. My prayer for 2008 is that I will cherish His truth and live by His grace.

More Hodge-Podge Household (Part 3)

Christmas used to seem like such a magical time of year to me. My birthday is 5 days before Christmas, and somehow I thought that all the fuss was about me. Sort of!

When we were kids, we usually put the Christmas tree up on or around my birthday. And every year I would say to my sister,"I get to put the star on the tree this year because it's my birthday." After a few years of that she finally caught on and said,"It's your birthday every year!" Well, duh!

I actually loved having my birthday near Christmas. As if Santa Claus coming wasn't exciting enough, having the birthday recognition was pretty cool, too. People used to say they felt sorry for me, but don't worry, I made sure everyone remembered my birthday. "Only 10 more days til my birthday, only 9 more days til my birthday, etc."

A little over 9 years ago, I found out I was expecting a baby, you guessed it, at Christmastime. A bit of a birthday and Christmas present all rolled into one little baby blanket!

Jeremy is 9 now and is in 3rd grade. He enjoys cooking and wants to be a chef someday. I love his "take-charge" attitude in the kitchen. He is not afraid of messing up. (My kitchen, that is!) He also likes animals, especially sea life (octopuses, whales, sharks, dolphins) and is the proud owner of a cute little hamster named Rolley (...short for Roly-Poly, I think.)

Jeremy has been taking piano lessons for 3-1/2 years now and is really getting quite a style of his own. He especially enjoys playing jazz. He is good at computer games, figuring out how things work and how to fix things. Definitely a gadget-type kid! That's our Jeremy. I can't believe you're 9 dude!

And now he has to remind us in the middle of all the busyness of the season to please not forget his birthday. How could I?