Thieves

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and

where thieves break in and steal..."

 Matthew 6:19

This is what my dad came home to yesterday after work.

Thankfully, my parents were not home when the thieves broke in.  And thankfully they didn't do much damage.

Apparently, they opened a few drawers in other rooms on their way to the master bedroom but didn't take anything out of them.  In the master they put the 4 night stand drawers on the bed and then dumped my mom's jewelry drawer on top.  They wrapped the comforter around it all (including the stuffed animals from the grandkids that were there for decoration) and headed out of the house.  They also took the laptop.

You can see the comforter missing, the night without drawers, and the jewelry drawer discarded.

The nightstand drawers had memorabilia: notes and piddly things the kids had given them but that were sentimental and invaluable to my parents.

In Mom's jewelry drawer were mostly pieces of costume jewelry but also her original wedding ring set from 48 years ago and her current diamond ring which she had taken off to help Dad do some outside work. 

 

Also, her dad's watch and her mom's watch and other jewelry were in that drawer.  They are both deceased. 

What they stole was hardly worth the effort to them.  But to us, those things are priceless and irreplaceable.  I feel sick over it. 

They have lived in this house for 35 years.  They are not materialistic just sentimental.  I'm praying desperately that we at least find the important jewelry at a pawn shop somewhere.

Home Study Today

Last night we met our Social Worker at Barnes and Noble with another couple, who is also adopting, for a little "Here's What You Can Expect" session.  Debra is super nice and put us at ease for our Home Study which is happening in about 3 hours!

Mom and Dad were here all day yesterday helping me with this and that.  They made lunch and dinner. Dad ran errands and fixed things.  Mom did everything!  It was a huge blessing.  I'm so excited about all we've gotten done the last couple of weeks.  Not only for the home study but also before starting back to school.

I have one more bathroom to clean, the downstairs to vacuum, and some laundry to put away.  That's it.  Oh and a few papers we need to have notarized at 4:30pm.

I made bean soup this morning and have had it cooking all day so I wouldn't have any work to do at dinner time. 

Dad came by again today and fixed lunch again for us and mom ran through and straightened the kids' beds up.  What would I do without them!?!

If you look up spoiled in the dictionary, you might find my picture next to it! :)

Hi Ho. Hi Ho.  It's off to bleach the bathroom floor I go!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day!

The whole day was so nice and relaxing.  It started out that way because we decided to go with Mom to church.  And since their second service doesn't start until 11:00 am, we slept in and still had plenty of time to get ready.  I even had my usual poached eggs on toast with orange juice in bed.

And I had time for some pics before leaving...

After church my dad and the kids and I walked home (remember our house backs up to the church's property) while Roddy ran to get Mom her favorite Chinese noodles. 

For lunch, we had sandwiches to keep things simple.  And while I had to fight the urge to get up and help out with whatever needed to be done, I did resist.  I think one day a year is okay to indulge myself with laziness.

My parents and sister and her family spent most of the afternoon with us just hanging out. 

The kids played.  Tammy and I talked homeschool stuff and sorted through hand-me-downs.  We sat on the back porch enjoying the beautiful weather and decided that next year the hubs are going to plan the day for us! Hee hee! Can't wait to see what they come up with.

Strawberry Jam-Preserves

Look at what my friend brought me...

When I saw her last Wednesday night, she told me she was going to pick strawberries the next day and asked if I wanted her to pick some up for me. I gave her $4 and this is what I got!! I estimated about 11 pounds all together.

What do you do with 11 pounds of strawberries? I froze a bunch. We ate a bunch. And Mom came over today to make a bunch of strawberry jam-preserves. (We couldn't decide what the difference is between jam and preserves so we're using both names.)

So yummy!!

Sewing Fun with Mom

What do you do when it's just too beautiful to stay inside and your mom is over to help you get some things done?

You do what any normal person would do, you take "things" out!

My mom retired a year and a half ago (YEA!!!) so she tries to come over one day a week ~ usually after her Tuesday morning Bible study ~ to help me do whatever I need to get done.

It is my favorite day of the week!!

She usually brings lunch, so I have one less thing to think about. Very nice! And I usually have a short list of things I want to get done. That list usually includes organizing something, cleaning out something, or sewing something...or all of the above.

On this particular day, we were having some gorgeously warmer weather. Neither of us could bear to be cooped up upstairs with our sewing project. So we moved everything outside.

I have this dress that I love and wanted to see if we could make another one similar to it. I had some pillow shams that I picked up at a garage sale a year ago that I was going to make into an apron. That is until I decided to use them to make my dress.

Iris helped us...The dress isn't finished yet. Hopefully we'll wrap it up this week and I'll reveal it in my Easter pictures (I'm going to put in on after church!).

O' Christmas Tree

I've mentioned before how I don't like to decorate the Christmas tree.  I'm a perfectionist and don't really have an artistic eye so when I decorate it, I end up picking at it until the day I take it down.  Last year, the kids decorated it and did a fantastic job.

This year, we were having a family Christmas party so I called in the expert ~ my mom! 

She did such a great job that I don't even want to take it down.  I'd like to throw a sack over it and store it for next year.

Mom's Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Mom's birthday.

She and my sister came over about 3pm and all the cousins got to play. The dads joined us after work.

Iris, Mamaw and Braelyn

Colt (4) calls my boys his brothers. Here he and Charlie (5) are working on the fruit pizza for dessert.

The girls dressed up Case (1 1/2).

It was such a great party the law had to be called in to bring order back to the neighborhood. My brother-in-law arresting everyone... Case (minus his drag getup)...even the birthday girl was cuffed.

Being Accountable

When you get angry with your children and yell at them, do you feel like the worst mom ever?

Do you feel like you don't know why God gave you children because you don't deserve them?

I do. I also wonder why I want more because I don't deserve the ones I have.

I threw a fit this morning with my oldest son. A fit is putting it mildly and really not accurate. I was angry and fed up and I was going to make sure he knew it.

Why was I angry? Because I'm selfish and want things done my way. Because my focus was not on training my son, it was on controlling him.

I sent Emma and Jay with my friend to VBS and the rest of us stayed home even though I was committed to helping out. I didn't want to go and put on a smile and pretend everything was hunky-dory. I also didn't want to go and complain about what had happened.

I don't know about you, but when I act so unkind to my children, I completely forget all the good things I've ever done. This morning even as I was thinking about how I would encourage another mom in the same situation, I talked myself out of being comforted because I just didn't feel deserving.

Then I thought about the people who think I have it altogether and what a hypocrite I am. I don't yell at my kids when other people are around. My self-control is amazing when I have others around. And I'm not saying I yell at my kids every day, all day. But I have yelled at them and used harsh tones and even doing that once is a sin and poor example to them.

What is my point? First, that I want to be real. I don't want to appear to have it all together. And second, that if you ever feel like the only one who messes up as a mom, you are not alone!

I always tell my kids if they mess up, confess it, ask forgiveness and figure out what you can learn from your mistake so you don't do it again.

So what am I going to do next time I feel anger creeping in? What I should do is run to Jesus! James 4:7 says I should submit myself to God and resist the devil so he will flee from me.

I have to check my focus. Ask myself what my motive is. Am I training in love or controlling in selfishness? Am I pleasing God or myself? Am I building up or tearing down?

James also tells us that anger does not produce the righteous life that God desires. If I don't correct, discipline or train my children in love but use anger, the only thing I'm accomplishing is passing on that anger to my children. And I sure don't want to do that.

I want to be accountable. Feel free to email or call me and ask me how I'm doing. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing in the selfishness department. Or in the controlling instead of training department. Or in pleasing God instead of myself.

I called my mom a little later and she encouraged me and reminded me in so many words that today was an exception rather than a rule. My mom's my cheerleader! Thanks for today, Mom. I love you!

Valentine's to The Grammies and Grampies

Last Thursday Mom came over to help us make Valentine's and Tissue Paper Flowers to take to the nursing home that we visited in December.

We didn't get enough done that day so she came over again Monday to help us finish up.

We made about 50 of each.

Yesterday we got to deliver them.

While we were making the Valentine's, the kids started getting confused between the people at the nursing home and the homeless people.

So to clarify I started saying we were going to visit the Grammies and Grampies.

My Mom

In honor of my mom I want to tell you a few of the many things I love about her:

1. I love her honesty. I asked her a question today and she gingerly and sweetly told me the brutal truth.

2. I love how she gets excited over things. She is my encourager and cheerleader.

3. I love her giving spirit. It makes her happy to surprise us with her thoughtful gifts - like the 2 wreaths I just hung on my front doors.

4. I love her unselfishness. She always thinks of others first. She's always ready and willing to run to my rescue when Roddy can't.

5. I love her sense of humor. She cracks me up without even trying.

6. I love how she loves my children. And though she may have a favorite, the others would never know it.

My mom is sweet and kind, generous and loving. Most importantly, she laid the foundation - through her example - for my unwavering commitment to and faith in Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Mom! I love you more than you know!