Cinco De Mayo

Just look how Shelby has changed from September 16 when she celebrated Mexico's Independence day to today when she celebrated Cinco De Mayo!  Her dress was so big on her in September, I had to pin it in the back.  I put it on her this morning, prepared to do the same thing, and it fit perfectly!   It makes me so sad to realize how fast my little ones are growing.  My time with them is so precious.  I hope I never forget that!   I forgot my camera this morning, but at least I got a picture with my phone.

September 2009

May 2010

Sorrow and Joy

Nana....It's funny how four little letters can spell a name that brings up so much emotion. If you have a grandmother that you were fortunate enough to be close to, then you know what I mean! My nana played a huge role in my life, most especially in my college years. I grew up living seven hours away from her, and while I adored her as a child, I didn't see her often enough to truly know her. It was when I went away to college and lived in the same city as her that our bond really grew. At that time, my grandfather (depaw) had Alzheimers, but he was still living with my nana. I was the only family that lived in town so I spent just about every weekend at my nanas house. Eventually, I moved some of my stuff into her house so that I wouldn't even have to pack a bag to come! The weekends were when I tried to help her grocery shop and run errands since my Depaw required constant watching. I can't say that I was doing this entirely out of selflessness. The homesickness I felt when I left for college was profound, and being with my nana made it better. How grateful I am for those memories! Each and every weekend we planted in her garden, grocery shopped and spent so much time talking. I listened to her talk for hours telling me stories of her childhood and family members I never even knew existed. Obviously, my first two years of college weren't full of wild parties, but what an impression they made on my life! It was during those weekends that I learned how to plant a garden, pick out a good brisket, cook almost anything, and even make jelly. She helped me with my school projects, and my lesson plans for teaching. Later, when I was married, she sat with me as I grieved for the baby I never got to meet, and she sat with me, smiled, and told me it would get better when Abby cried for two months straight. She could diagnose an illness better than any doctor I ever met, and she usually had a home remedy (that worked) to go along with it. She had a way of reading into people's emotions and knowing what they were feeling without them ever saying a word.

Those are just my special memories of her, and I am grateful that I have them to hang on to forever! She touched each member of my family in similar ways. They all loved her and have their own memories of times with her.

The reason I write this is because she passsed away at the end of last week at the age of 90. I know that eventaully my girls few memories of her will be foggy so I write this as much for me as for them to someday read.  She had a massive stroke (from which she never woke) while playing dominos with her friends. Nana was able to live on her own at home for all of her 90 years.  She left a kitchen full of her favorite dishes which is just the way I think she would have wanted it because she touched people through her cooking.  Her pastor even said that he believed one of her spiritual gifts was cooking.  She rarely complained about her health even went she wasn't doing well, but she did have a temper when she got upset.  I like to think of it as spunk (maybe that's where Shelby gets it :) ). 

So we grieve for her, not because of her death, but because we will miss her.  I know where she is, and I know that I will see her again one day in heaven! A good family friend reminded me that it is a blessing that we can cry because we miss her, instead of crying because we never took the time to know her.  

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I shall give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

Now to the joy... Macey accept Christ as her Savior the morning of my Nana's funeral.  It had been a long time coming.  Macey had been asking a lot of questions for several weeks, even months, and I knew that she was ready.   We talked with her for a while and made sure she really understood.  The desire of my heart is for all my girls to make that choice, but I know it is theirs to make.  How I wish I could do it for them!  Macey told me before Nana died that she was ready, but it wasn't until the morning of the funeral that she asked Bret and I to sit with her and help her pray.   Of course I balled my eyes out!  Just typing it again brings tears to my eyes.

Motherhood

I don't know about you, but sometimes being a mom is hard!  I have days where I am so overwhelmed and exhausted I don't know how I am ever going to get my children raised.  On the other hand, I have days where my children so bless me that I wonder why I don't have three more.  When I had Abby, I had this picture of how a perfect mom and family should be.  Boy did that not work out!  The problem was my fantasies didn't include hours of crying, sleepless nights, a husband finishing law school and piles of dirty laundry.  I wish back then someone had told me that no can be a perfect mom all the time.  Life gets in the way and sometimes it's messy.  It took me years to realize that I wasn't the only one who thought I wasn't doing a good enough job.  So if you have had  a couple weeks like mine (complete with stomach bug and out of town husband), hang in there!  We are all overwhelmed and exhausted at times, and in the midst of all the crying, screaming, piles of laundry, meals to prepare, toys to be picked up and beds to be made we can ALL use a little encouragement!
One of my dear friends from college sent me this today.  It's a devotion from the book "The Power of a Positive Mom" by Karol Ladd, and it happened to be about just what I had on my mind all week. Enjoy

What expectations do you have for yourself as a Mother?? Well mannered children? A spotless house? Dinner on the table by 6:00pm(and I don't mean in a paper sack) No doubt, you, like me, have a picture in your mind of what a "supermom" looks like. Is this vision realistic? Or just a glorified picture of what you think you ought to look like?? Being a positive Mom doesn't mean you have to be a perfect Mom. A positive mom realizes that neither circumstances nor people are ever perfect. A positive mom also realizes that her husband and children have weaknesses as well as strengths. And most importantly, she humbly acknowledges that she has a fair amount of flaws herself.  Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." God created you. And there is only one YOU! HE uses our abilities and disabilities to help build a loving and well balanced home. Often we are tempted to compare ourselves to other women...we must STOP! It is a lie from Satan that there is such a thing as a "perfect" mom...or a "perfect family". It's a lie! Don't be discouraged by your weaknesses; determine instead to build on your strengths. Rejoice that God is at work in your life. He created you. He is developing you. And He is not finished with you yet! Philippians 1:6..."I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The Tooth Fairy doesn't work on Sundays!

This Easter, Abby came into the kitchen and announced to me that she no longer believed in the Easter bunny.  I knew the day was coming so I waited to hear her say that she knew santa, the tooth fairy ect weren't real either.  While she did try and get me to come clean about the bunny, she didn't seem worried about the rest.  I am not going to lie to her if she comes out and asks me so I just kept switching the conversation which made her laugh.  Eventually she gave up.  I think she knows, but a part of her still wants to pretend it's all real.  There are times when I like pretending too so who can blame her! 

This brings me to the title of my blog, the tooth fairy.  Plain and simple, Bret and I suck at being the tooth fairy!  We have forgotten more than once, or we realize late that night that neither of us has cash so the girls get coins instead.  I don't know about everyone else, but in this house the going rate for a tooth is five bucks.  That's a lot of coins, especially when your talking dimes and nickles!  I have even resorted to dropping cash on the floor after the girls are awake and pretending that the tooth fairy dropped it. My poor girls buy it everytime. One time, Macey lost a tooth and I found a written note in her tooth fairy pocket that asked for bills and no coins please.  Oh how I wish I had saved that letter!  Macey lost another tooth last night (she is about to have more holes than teeth). As she was getting tucked in at bedtime, she asked Bret if the tooth fairy worked on Wednesdays (yes, our kids feel the need to ask these questions).  Abby, without even looking up from the book she had been quietly reading, says very seriously, "She doesn't work on Sunday's."  I am assuming somewhere in there, we told Abby this (another one of those nights we forgot).  Bret and I found this so funny because she busts us on the Easter bunny and then very seriously discusses the tooth fairy's schedule.  I love my girls! 

In case you were wondering, we didn't do any better on our tooth fairy duties last night.  Neither one of us had any cash, and I found Bret counting out dimes for Macey.  I just couldn't do that to her again.  So I did the only logical thing, I took five dollars out of her piggy bank and put it in her tooth fairy pillow.  Don't worry, I paid her back, and she never knew!

It's not the best iPhone picture, but you can see that she has no teeth on top, and two holes on bottom.  I'm not sure how she eats!

Happy Easter

We had a really good Easter Sunday this year.  We went to church, and then had lunch with my family and Bret's mom.  That afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt at my parents house.  It was a great family day! 

Shelby's Easter Party

Shelby had her Easter party at school this week, and she had so much fun!  Since this is her first year in preschool, everything is so exciting for her.  She has spent a lot of her life watching her sisters do things, and I am having a great time watching her experience things for herself. 

It was also Ms.  Charlene's birthday.

Shelby loves her teacher!

These next two pictures are proof that they are still our babies.  :)  Shelby: So Sage, want to play a game?  Sage:  Ok. What do you want to play.  Then both girls spontaneously do the same thing.

Peek-A-Boo!

Praying before snack time.

The part of the party that the kids enjoyed the most, was when the cascarones were brought out.  For those of you who don't know, cascarones are confetti filled eggs that you break over each others heads.  Shelby is in a biligual school, and cascarones are a Mexican tradition.  Having one broken over your head is said to bring good luck.  Shelby had no idea what they were, and the first kid who broke one on her head almost got a fist. (I'm exaggerating a little, but her face was priceless!)  It took her a few minutes, but she finally got the hang of it.  Boy did those kids have fun!  There was confetti everywhere. 

What the heck!  Did someone just hit me?

Look at those kids throwing eggs.  That's funny.

You mean I can throw these on someone?

This is fun!  

Now these are my girls

I love this picture of the girls for one reason, it shows their personalities so well!  First, you have Shelby up in front and yawning because she is sick and tired of taking pictures and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about that!  Second, you have Macey over to the side, still posing, oblivious of the fact that her sisters are not ready for the picture.  Macey loves having her picture taken.  Last, we have Abby, my litte rule follower, who likes everything to be done just the "right" way.  That look she is giving Shelby, the one that says I can't believe you are messing this up for me, is such a typical Abby look.  Every time I look at this picture I smile.  I just love my three, strong-willed, spunky girls.