Have your cake...

The other night I got to go out on the town with my sister. No kids, just the girls. We went to a friend's house for a party. I'm so not the type of person who "goes out" much...so it was really nice to get out of the house for awhile. Even though I do always feel a bit naked without a diaper bag and a couple of kids pulling on my legs. ;) My hubby, who is one heck of a guy, stayed home with the kids. He works hard for the money, but comes home and continues working to be a present and loving husband and father.

I'm so blessed to be married to a man who knows and appreciates what I do at home all day with the kids, and makes efforts to help me relax and have time to myself. More often than not he walks in the door from work and says "hey, babe, what do you need right now?" My answer a lot of times is "no one calling my name!" ;) So the other night when I got a night out, I came home to find this: cheesecake and coffee waiting for me. I love how thoughtful he is. Even though he had been home and probably stressed, he was still thinking of ways to show me love. No, he's not for rent. ;)

Of Sisters and Sharing Bathrooms

This weekend I've been able to hang out with some of the greatest girls ever. My sisters. I blogged recently about how siblings can drive their mother crazy. Mom, looking at these pretty faces, can I get an amen? ;) 
I'm sure she would be first in line to wring our necks at times.
Our house was tons of fun growing up, but occasionally could be deemed "cat fight central". What do you expect with five girls sharing a bathroom? I say five girls...but my brother definitely knew how to take up his fair share of bathroom time. He still does. ;) (Good luck to my soon to be sister in law.) But, as ridiculous as we have been in the past, and most likely will be in the future, these girls are some of my best friends. 


















 



 

We love to make each other laugh till we cry. I have four shoulders I know I can cry on at any time. As much as we try to keep each other straight...we're first in line to look out for each other, too. I'd say sharing a bathroom was a small price to pay for the blessing of having them in my life. Now which one of you borrowed my shirt and didn't give it back? ;)

51 days...

...till Spring that is. I'm trying really hard to be happy about more snow, for my kids sake. I'm determined to focus on the good things, like this is one less snow until Spring is here. The kids are pretty cute though when they get so excited about the snow, trying to peek out the windows at it. Cuteness always makes me happy.



Another positive thing I'm focusing on is that all this snow has to make Spring that much prettier. As muddy as my yard is, at least it's getting well watered I guess. I'm no green thumb, so I could be wrong, but makes sense in my mind. Flowers and green things make me happy. Oh, and the sun. I haven't seen that in awhile.



Another thing about snow that makes me happy, is it keeps the kids occupied for about 5 minutes. Five minutes of uninterrupted standing and staring out the window, right next to each other, without fighting. Do you know what I can DO with 5 minutes? I can go to the bathroom. I can get dressed, or I can eat something. Or if I'm really quick I can take a shower. So, yeah, I guess there is a few reasons to be happy about snow. But don't tell anybody. I have an image to keep up. ;)

Bird Nerd

Ok, I think I've officially become a nerd. I bought a bird feeder. (Not sure if that makes me a nerd or not, but it kinda feels like it somehow) But I did it for my kids...sort of. For some reason, they both freak out when they see birds, in a good way. The highlight of Tirzah's summer last year was the seagulls at the beach, and Merrick gets really mad if I don't hold him up so he can see the birds out our back window.

So Saturday we noticed a whole flock (I suppose?) of Blue Jays, Cardinals, and a few woodpeckers out our back door. They were really pretty, and I caught myself thinking "so this is why people watch birds". Anyway, we decided that these guys needed some food, in hopes they might stick around a bit. So the "bird foods" as Merrick calls it is up in the tree out back...we'll see if the birds will eat my cooking. My kids sure won't. ;)

Check out more shots at Trendy Treehouse and Sweet Shot

Because we're worth it.

I've been learning so much lately. So much I'm not really sure how to put it into words. It's still  in the "floating around in my head" stage, ya know? The stage where you're trying to live by it, but you're not used to this new habit yet. I'm trying to make new habits, but some old ones are hard to break in the process of those new, better-for-your-soul habits.One habit in particular I'm trying to break is the life-long habit of being way critical of myself...in every way, and learning to realize that loving God and the people around me is way more time-worthy than obsessing over things about myself I don't like and letting it ruin my attitude.

It's not an excuse to be lazy, but it's the realization that I don't have to be perfect. Perfection is not gonna happen, but I'll be the best I can be with God's help. I know I can't make changes on my own. Seriously, only God is going to help me break a cycle that I don't want to see my kids have to deal with, and particularly my daughter. We women are so critical of so much about ourselves. I want her to see the beauty God has given her, and to be comfortable in that. She's worth it. I'm learning that I am, too.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. / Matthew 13:44-45