2 more months

Today is May 30. I realized when I woke up today that that means only 2 months left until Jenny and family move to Minnesota. Wow. That makes me so sad. When she first told me the news, I was quite devestated! They were 95% sure it was going to happen, and I absolutely lost it! I had been in Vallejo for a bridal shower and remember just sobbing my whole drive home. I kept thinking about what a loss it will be and how sad it will be for all the cousins, too.

Having both of my sisters just 2 hours away is an awesome blessing. I love that all 10 of those kids can get together and have the best time of their lives. They don't need any special activity planned, they just enjoy being all together. I love having both of my very best friends live so nearby. We don't get together as often as I'd like, but knowing that we can makes things so great.

I guess that's what makes this move so hard for me. I will miss drinking coffee with Jenny at her house when we come up for the night. I'll miss calling Zeke, Maggie and Josh "the boys". I will miss hearing Kourtney and Brooklyn come up with some silly play in a moment's notice (and of course ordering us, their audience, to sit and watch them perform.) There are so many things that make this so very hard, and I was beginning to wonder how I would get through this.

Thankfully, I was reminded of God's peace. I can stay in the place of despair and focus on all of the lonely, sad feelings about their move, or I can trust God. I guess that is the bottom line for me. God was so in this descision making process. I know Jenny and Joe prayed their hearts out before making this final. I was even informed of the possibility of the move and asked to pray. Granted, my prayers went a little something like this, "God, you CAN'T let them move!!" But, none the less, I know that God was in this!

So now, the peace of God can rule my heart and mind and keep me in Christ Jesus. I needed to be reminded of that. I can have peace in good times as well as in bad. I can be filled with sadness and still possess a wonderful sense of God's peace. That's when the peace of God transcends all understanding. Having peace isn't the same thing as being happy they are moving. Not by any means! But, I do have to accept that God is still good and that He is able to work ALL things together for good....even in Minnesota!

Mags

What a fun girl this Maggie is! She has always made me laugh. I just love the way her little mind works. My oldest sister often says that she wishes she could be a bit more like Maggie. This girl just tells it as it is and doesn't think twice about it.
I remember when she was about 2, I was snuggling her in the early morning out on the couch. She looked up at me with her beautiful green eyes and in her gravely voice said, "Mama, did you just drink coffee?"
I responded with, "Yes, why do you ask?"
She said simply, "Because I can smell it. I don't like the way your voice smells in the morning when you have coffee."
I never thought of my *voice* the same after that. And, I was careful not to breathe in her direction until after I brushed my teeth. :)
My friend Joanne used to tell me that I could start my own Family Circle-type comic strip just by documenting all the funny things Maggie said. Maybe from time to time I'll jot them down here. I've got at least 10 going through my mind even as I type this.
For now, I'll just share a recent one.
This week Maggie made me chuckle again. We were exactly right on time for the girls' piano lesson. I don't tend to be early any more to anything, so getting to their piano teacher's house exactly on time was pretty impressive.
As soon as we pulled up, Kourtney asked where their piano bag was. It was at home, on the table. Maggie forgot to grab it.
Normally, I would get pretty upset by this. However, I had risen early that morning, spent time in the Word, and was determined to live a Spirit filled life (or day anyway!) It took everything in me to just calmly drive home and let Maggie go get the piano bag. I think Kourtney and Maggie could sense that I was calmer than usual, so Maggie just started laughing, joking and chatting all the way back to their teacher's house.
Somehow that bothered me. I'm not sure if I wanted her to be miserable or what, but I said to her, "You know, Maggie, you're going to have to be the one to apologize and explain to Mandy what happened and why we were late. You'll be missing 15 minutes of your lesson time today, too."
Maggie just said, "Okay." and continued chatting as if nothing had happened.
I know it wasn't a huge deal or anything, but I wanted her to at least show a little remorse for forgetting the bag and making me have to drive all the way back home and then back to piano....I also was feeling bad, myself, for the girls being late and cutting into Mandy's time.
I said to Maggie, "Hey, Mags, I don't want you to feel bad or anything, but aren't you at least kind of sorry about this?"
She shrugged her shoulders and said plainly, "Well, yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let it ruin my day or anything."
Spoken like my Maggie....(and just like her Daddy.) Oh, I love that girl. Of course it wasn't going to ruin her day...and I'm glad.
Guess I've got some learning to do from her, too.

why ben & jerry, why?

In my freezer, at this very moment, is my new arch enemy. It is the deliciousness known as Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream This stuff is so good! Normally, I'm a mint and chip lover pretty exclusively. Thanks to my darling husband, I tasted the goodness that comes in this little pint and now find myself craving it way more often than I should. What kind of guy introduces his wife to something like this?
Half jokingly, I suggested to Jeff that perhaps they lace the stuff with crack cocaine. I can't get enough. Remember the old Lays potato chip slogan about not being able to just eat one? Yeah, try eating just ONE bite of this heavenly concoction. No way. No how.
So I am off to bed now. I will NOT open that freezer door. I will not peel the plastic seal off of the pint (this would be the 3rd this week) and will NOT attempt to just take one bite.
Please, somebody stop me!

time

What a whirlwind this life can be! I want to sit and drink in each moment with my little girls. I want to spend more time with my sisters and all their kids before Jenny moves to Minnesota in just a few short months. I want to be a better wife....the kind that at least cooks dinner more than once a week. I want so badly to do things better but feel like I just don't have time.

The girls (meaning the older 2, not the baby) have been swimming on a mini swim team for the past month. It is great exercise, they have a blast, but it takes time! It started out as just two days per week, for 30 minutes. Now Kourtney is supposed to be there a minimun of 3 days a week, for an hour each time. She got promoted to a more advanced group and is so thrilled with herself for meeting a personal goal. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great. I just feel a bit overwhelmed today.

Some moms I know can really do it all. I can't. I am telling myself not to compare...don't dare compare. Yet, I feel a little wimpy. Here's an example. We did a great morning of school yesterday, then went to the Carmel mission on a field trip with another homeschool family, then to the library and then to swimming. By the time I got home, I just wanted to go to bed. However, I had to make dinner, switch over some laundry and do other household chores. Poor baby Jacklyn didn't get a decent afternoon nap and I just had to wonder if it really is worth it all?! I see such value in the things we did, but.....isn't a baby's nap more important? :) Ug! Maybe I just need to be more flexible.

I really can't even get started on the whole Jenny moving thing....that one will make me cry. I also can't write about how much I want to soak up every second with my girls and how fast they are growing up. I'd love to....but I don't have time! :)

Seriously, I will blog more about these things soon. They are so on my mind. I really must sleep for now. It is nearing midnight for goodness sake and Jacklyn will be up soon.

Oh Gracie!

My doggie, my love....she was very naughty last night. Jeff had to stuff 60+ bags with miniature chocolate candy bars to pass out to neighbors this weekend as one of his CA duties. He left the stuffed bags on the table and I didn't like the way they looked there. We were leaving to go to the mall for a few hours, so I stuck the bags out in the garage. Oops. When we got home and let Gracie in from the garage, she had a very "I've been a bad dog" look on her face. When I went into the garage, I saw that she had eaten the contents, WRAPPERS AND ALL, of about 3-4 bags. Chocolate can kill dogs, that I know. I love my pooch so very much. I was a little mad at her but more mad at me. I couldn't fall asleep last night until after midnight, watching Gracie and making sure she was okay. Maggie, who wants to be a vet (or a fashion designer) when she grows up, decided to give Gracie a check up. From what Maggie and I can both observe, the pooch is in good shape. Oh, and the chocolates are put up high and in the house. Whew!