Deep Breaths

Today was one of those days that lead me to make rash statements like Spring Break is going to kill me! and I really think I might just give away my kids...anyone want them?

It started out fine, and it isn't like the whole day was terrible. I did plenty of fun things, but by the time this afternoon rolled around, I was just grouchy.

The kids were wild all day, and had the hardest time listening and following directions -- especially Sassy, and I had just recently bragged about how wonderful she had been lately. However, for the past couple of days she has been wild.

Stride Rite didn't have the shoes that I wanted to get Bubba for Easter (talk about shopping at the last minute, I know...), but they did have a pair that worked in a 10.5W, and thankfully Bubba liked them (we can't be real picky in a size 10.5W...but try telling that to a two-year-old).

While we were in Stride Rite, the kids ran around like maniacs rather than sticking quietly beside me, and Sassy asked me every two minutes to get her some shoes, even though I just bought her two new pairs the other day.

The Farmer has been sick...and, thus, a big, fat baby.

My babysitter is sick...again, so I didn't get any work done today. In fact, I got to work and had to immediately turn around and come home because she came down with a fever after getting to my house.

The Farmer has not been home since Monday night, so we have begun our usual springtime separation -- which always makes me a little less patient with the children.

I couldn't find a babysitter to go out to eat with some good friends who are in town, and I'm not really sure when I will get to see them.

I haven't been to the grocery store in forever, and we have no food in this house. No milk. No Pop-Tarts. No peanut butter. Nothing.

Really, by the time bedtime rolled around, I was done.

And then, as I was reading The Jesus Storybook Bible to the kids before bed tonight, something changed. I read the story of God calling on Abraham to give Isaac as a sacrifice to Him. At the end of this story, I read:

And as they sat there on the mountaintop, watching the embers of the fire die in the cool night air, the stars above them sparkling in the velvet sky, God helped Abraham and Isaac understand something. God wanted his people to live, not die. God wanted to rescue his people, not punish them. But they must trust him.

"One day Someone will be born into your family," God promised them."And he will bring happiness to the whole world."

God was getting ready to give the world a wonderful present. It would be God's way to tell his people, "I love you."

Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked. He wouldn't struggle or run away.

Who was he? God's Son, his only Son -- the Son he loved.

The Lamb of God.

The words I read made me think about how all the little things that I was so irritated over are just stupid, little things. They are fleeting, unimportant. By focusing on them, I am not focusing on living the life God wants me to have.

Here we are in the middle of Holy Week, and we are celebrating the time when God's Son carried the hard wood of the cross on His back so that He could die to save me, and I am worried about myself and all these little things that are bothering me. We are celebrating God's big "I love you" to the world -- the life, death, and resurrection of His Son -- and I am wasting my time being irritated at the world.

That story made me take a deep breath and shift my focus to the Cross -- where it should have been all along.

And now my children are sleeping like sweet little angels. And The Farmer called to apologize for complaining the whole time he talked to me.

No, not everything is right in this world. I still don't have any food in the house. I still would like for my kids to be better behaved. But it will never all be right in this world, and that is okay because this world is not all there is. The battle is won, and we will remember that as long as we keep our eyes on the Cross.

Japanese Tulip Trees

(image)

I am so excited to be able to start planning for a real yard, and I can't wait to have one of these beautiful trees in it!

SPX

It is officially Spring Break 2010 (SPX -- an acronym I learned from a friend in Atlanta...) around here. Although we aren't going anywhere (Spring Break falls at the worst time for us farmers...), I am trying to take some time to do some fun stuff with the kiddos. The Farmer actually took this weekend off, and it was the first time he took off in about a month; we were glad to have him home! Any healthy, diet-type eating that I have done lately has totally gone out the window -- seriously, it is disgusting how badly I have eaten lately. I even had a hotdog today -- and I hate hotdogs!

Here is a sneak peek at what we have been up to...

Hunting eggs:

Dyeing eggs:

Catching a nap Watching basketball:

Visiting the zoo:

I hope your week is off to as good of a start as ours!

Let's Ponder This

This conversation occurred between The Farmer and me the other day:

The Farmer: Oh, before I forget, I saw a pair of your diamond earrings on your dresser. I moved them to the back of the bathroom counter so the kids wouldn't get into them.

Me: Thanks, but they are fake ones from Target, so it doesn't really matter if the kids get them.

The Farmer: Well, I didn't know, so I just moved them.

Me: Okay, but where did you think I had gotten huge, real diamond earrings if you didn't buy them for me?

The Farmer: I didn't know. I just assumed you went out and bought them for yourself.

Me: What?!?! You think I would go out and spend that much money on myself without talking to you first?

The Farmer: Yes. Yes, I do.

At first I was pretty irritated that The Farmer would think that I would go purchase something so large for myself without asking him. But then I started thinking...

If he already thought that I would buy myself real diamond earrings, why the heck am I wearing $15 Target ones?!?!?!

Hmmm....

Planting Time!

Another sign of spring...we are planting tomatoes!

It's amazing to think of all of the work that will go on from now until the beginning of July to get these things grown and into the grocery stores...it makes me tired just to think of it!

I hope you're enjoying this beautiful spring day!

Cousins

This afternoon I babysat for my sweet niece, Coco (obvs not her real name...). My kids loved playing with her, and they all loved posing for pictures. Seriously, when I pulled the camera out and started shooting, Coco started smiling like crazy -- she already loves to have her picture taken at 3-and-a-half months!

(Please excuse Bubba's Oreo mouth...)

Coco behaved perfectly for her Aunt Christie. She slept most of the time I had her, even while I transferred her from the swing to the infant car seat for carpool pickup. She woke up and drank a bottle while we were waiting for Miss Priss and her friend, Walker, to get out of school, and then she was totally fine with me putting her back in the car seat. She was really excited to get to the house so that she could watch her big cousins entertain her!

It was really nice to have another baby in the house for a bit...but it was also nice to be able to give her back to her mama! ;-)

A Little WW Update

I am still plugging away at Weight Watchers. I am also still not doing it perfectly; I stick to the plan pretty well during the week, but it all seems to fall apart on the weekends when I have no desire to cook. BUT, I have lost 4.8 pounds, so that is something...

I discovered a great trick to this weight-loss thing last week.

I gave up sweets.

I have a huge sweet tooth, and every day I would need to taste something chocolate. From M&Ms in my aunt's house (where I have to go to print checks for work) to the Hershey Nuggets in my own house, I always seemed to be eating something sweet and chocolate. I often wouldn't count those as points, which did me no good whatsoever.

Once I decided to give up sweets, I stuck with it really well -- and quickly dropped 1 pound -- until this past Friday when I tasted a brownie.

And I immediately got a headache.

So, in addition to helping me lose some weight, the no-sweets plan is also helping to keep my migraines at bay, praise the Lord!

Now I just have to stick with it...