Faith

"Bob" is Mcayden's secruity blanket and he LOVES Bob. He sleeps with Bob, drags Bob around everywhere and plays with Bob.

The other day, Bob had been with us all morning, actively participating in play (as a bridge, a bed, a picnic, and a hideout). When it was time to take a nap, he vanished. We looked EVERYWHERE inside and outside; in the sandbox, in the showers, in the laundry. He had disappeared, but had to be around here somewhere.

The next day, we were driving in the car and Mcayden said something about Bob and I told him I thought he should say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us find him. He proceeded to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to find Bob and to help us know where to look.

When we got home, we looked again with no luck. We went to Mcayden's room and after reading a couple of books, Mcayden lay down for his nap and the thought "Look in his toy box" came to my mind. I opened up his toybox and there was Bob! I showed Mcayden and he exclaimed, "Heavenly Father found Bob!!" He was so happy. He said a prayer, " Heavenly Father, Thank You." Then as I was walking out of the room, I heard him say, "Thank you Jesus Christ."

Later in the week, he lost a puzzle piece to his new Cars puzzle. He immediately said a prayer and told me Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would find the puzzle piece. Sure enough, later that day, the piece was found and he again thanked Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I admire the faith he has, It has been a very sweet blessing for me as a mom.

Sleepy Feet

Mcayden is growing up so fast. At his last check-up, he was in the 90-95 percentile for height/weight. He definately got that from his daddy. Thankfully.
He wakes up at night, from time to time, with growing pains. He cries that his legs hurt. Have any of you had that happen with your kids? We feel so bad for him--you can tell he's in a lot of pain. We give him Children's Tylenol and snuggle with him until he's calm and comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

Horse Trunk

For my friends' daughters' birthday, I decoupaged a trunk for her--filled with horses and pictures of her. She loves horses, so along with the trunk, we're going to take her riding next month. A friend of mine is going to trailer a couple of her horses down so we can go riding. The kids will really be excited. Addison saw horses for the first time at another friends' property and just loved them! I can't wait to get some shots of the kids with the horses.

(Little) Lady in Red

This is a dress that once belonged to my sister, Debbie (who we named Addison after). It has a little red petticoat underneath and is really soft and flowy. My mom gave it to me on our last visit and I was happy to see it fit Addison so well. I love having a daughter and being able to pass things down to her!

Whippin' Up Breakfast

Mcayden loves helping in the kitchen. This morning he helped whip up some pancakes for breakfast. He has fun wearing his own little apron my mom got him. I think it's awesome that he is so interested in helping mix and bake. His favorite part, by far, is the taste-testing!

Play, Play, Play...

That is exactly what we plan to do this summer! We just bought this great play set for the kids and they were both so excited about it. I told Mcayden we had a surprise for him and Addison and when he saw it, he pointed (with his mouth wide open) and looked at me, like "that?!"
Later today, a couple of Mcayden's friends came over and when his friend, Caleb, first saw it, he yelled, "You have a park!"
It sure is going to beat packing the kids up to go to one of the nearby parks when the temp is up! We'll just have a park/pool party in our back yard.

Rave Review!

I was so happy when Ruth, of GA, asked if I would mind if she wrote a review about Scentsy and her experience with it and with me, as her Scentsy consultant. My response to her question was of course, "YES!" Yesterday she posted her review and I wanted to share. She talks about memory and scents. Check it out here.

I Was a Good Mom Until I Had Kids

For the last couple of days I have felt worn down and discouraged as I work on disciplining my 3yr-old and battling through tantrums. I ran out of the patience to use "positive discipline" and yelled too much.
Did any of you have parents who threatened you as a child saying, "I hope you have kids just like you!" and it happened? Yeah, me too. Mcayden is strong-willed and stubborn. Thanks a lot Mom.
My goodness, I love him to pieces, but sometimes I just feel unsure how to teach and guide him. And how to keep my cool when I just want to sell him to the Gypsies. Sometimes I feel like a "bad" mom.

Today is my 3rd Mother's Day and to my dismay both kids were whining and crying this morning as we tried to get out the door for church. I was like, "Hey kids, it's Mother's Day. Let's not make the whole day suck, okay?!" I didn't say it out loud, but I thought it.

Then, this afternoon, we sat together eating ice cream and laughing. It was my favorite part of the day. I soaked it in. It's minute to minute with kids, I swear.

Below is a part of a talk I gave, in church, on Mother's Day a couple of years ago. I kept thinking about it today and would like to share parts of it with you.

Many women have different feelings about Mother's Day. Some love it and look forward to it, while others may dread it. We all have our reasons for feeling how we do.

I grew up in a family of five girls and the older I get the more I see how much my mom sacrificed for us all. It's amazing how moms do that.

Victor Hugo wrote: "She broke the bread into two fragments and then gave them to her children who ate with eagerness.

"She hath kept none for herself", grumbled the sergeant.

"Because she is not hungry", said a soldier.

"No", said the sergeant. "Because she is a mother."

"For All the Mothers Who..." by Cindy Lange-Kubick

(with a couple of small changes by me)

This is for all the mothers who didn't win Mother of the Year in 2008. All the runner-ups and all the wannabes. The mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care.

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?" they could say, "Of course I did. I wouldn't have missed it for the world", and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up at night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf-laced-with-Oscar-Meyer-wieners and cherry Kool-Aid, saying "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who don't.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner and sew a button on a shirt all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter go down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again, "just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2-yr old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips--sometimes until they bleed--when their 14yr old dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purses.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all the mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls, "Mom?" in a crown, even though they know their own kids are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for mothers who children have gone astray, who can't find the words to teach them.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers, foster-mothers, step-mothers. Single mothers and married mothers.

This is for you all. So hang in there.

Happy Mother's Day.

And Thank you.

Why?

I have been thinking about how many things I need to update my blog with--pictures, news, silly things Mcayden has been saying. But, honestly, it probably won't happen. I'm sure you know how it goes..life gets busy, the laundry goes undone, the desk needs straightening and the kids need to eat. So, although I may not blog as often as I would like, I will do my best to keep you, dear family and friends, updated, when life isn't all but too busy.

Our Little Artist

Mcayden got his paints out this morning and painted this train. I was so impressed with all the details he put on the train (smoke stack, bumpers, hooks on the back to pull train cars, wheels and bar connecting wheels). Can you see it?
I was so proud--I had to share. :)