Snowstorm in August

Last night I was standing at the kitchen sink, feeling defeated as I looked out at the yard. It was after 8 o’clock, the kids were finally in bed, not all were asleep yet, but they were in bed and that was half the battle. I was doing dinner dishes from 2 hours earlier and thinking of all of the things I had wanted to get done throughout the day and hadn’t yet done, but also feeling the sense of exhaustion that somehow always finds me and diffuses my plans of anything productive after bedtime. I scanned the yard while telling myself to remember the details of what I saw today because someday I just might miss what I was looking at...

To say that the flowerbeds are overgrown with weeds is an extreme understatement; in fact the weeds are taller and thicker than every other plant. The grass is anything but ideal, it's patchy, with brownish dry sections and it seems that the green areas are at least fifty percent clover. It also is in need of mowing in a very bad and embarrassing way. And then there are the toys. Toys everywhere. Bikes, scooters and tricycles left wherever the driver decided to get off. Balls of varying sizes can be found under bushes and peaking through the towering grass along with the accompanying rackets and bats tossed randomly throughout the space. There is also evidence of the girls’ daily concoction; soup, stew or lemonade- wherever their imagination had taken them today it had obviously involved bowls, spoons, and cups that are now just deserted with the remnants of bark, leaves, flowers and such. And in case I needed a reminder that it was August in Redding there's the sprinkler toy sitting in the middle of the grassy section with the hose stretching out across the pathway, making tripping a high likelihood. And then there's the tiny plastic kiddie pool. There are leaves and pieces of bark floating in the small body of water that is somehow already starting to turn green- though I feel like I just cleaned it the other day. Next to the pool there are various masterpieces sketched onto the patio along with small fragments of the sidewalk chalk that landed wherever the artist had carelessly dropped them.

Why do they never clean up after themselves? Why did I even put the big plastic container out there if I never insisted that they put all of the toys back into it? Just another reminder of a brilliant idea I had for easing the constant battle of maintaining sanity in the midst of raising three small children, only to lack the follow through of actually making the idea a reality. I was once again reminded of a statement I once heard by a mother of teenagers (Bre) as she reminisced over the chore of cleaning her house with toddlers around, “it’s like shoveling snow when its still snowing.” Agreed. It almost seems futile to even attempt, but easy for her to say now I thought, it has stopped snowing in her world.

So as I stood there at the sink, lost in my own world of thoughts, I burned the image into my mind, knowing that someday the weather will change in my life as well. Soon I will be able to rely more upon assistant shovelers, and then in time the snow will inevitably stop. The thought was both simultaneously comforting and sobering. Because when the blizzard ends, I can guarantee that there will be times that I miss the disastrous sight I starred at last night. And so for today, I'm attempting to enjoy my snowstorm in August!

Okay, but just...

Rylin is what we call - The Negotiator. I don't think she is purposely trying to be argumentative, she just always has something to add and seems to always need to have the last word. This unfortunate trait seems to come out the most at bedtime. Sometimes you just can't help but laugh at the reasoning of a 3 year old...

Sunday night, in an attempt to make sure Kacia got to sleep at a decent hour for school the next day, and out of a desire for Rylin to feel special on Monday as well, Kevin told Rylin that if she went to sleep without getting out of her bed at all, they would get a donut together in the morning. Well, 3 nights later, still no donut. So last night, as I was tucking Rylin in, this was our conversation:

Me: "Is tonight the night you are going to earn your donut?"

R: "Yes!... Just don't look, okay."

Me: "Don't look where, down the hall?"

R: "Yeah, just don't look, k."

Me: "Rylin, you know that even when mommy and daddy don't see you disobey, who does?"

R: "God. I know. But just don't look for blue eyes okay."

Me: "Even if I don't see you get up, I'm going to ask you in the morning, and if you do get up you still won't get your donut, do you understand?"

R: "Yeah, I know. Just don't look for blue eyes, okay?"

At this point we sing a song and pray. She prays that she would obey and stay in bed and not wake us up. Then a hug and a kiss, a tuck of the blanket, "good night", I walk out of the door and I hear from down the hallway- "remember, don't look for blue eyes."

Oh, those blue eyes are trouble! They are too stinking cute, and way to easy to give in to at times! (Unfortunately, she did get up a few minutes later, Kevin had to discipline like promised, and tonight she will have the opportunity once again to just go to sleep without finding every excuse in the world to get up. When she will finally get her donut is anyone's guess!)

1st Grader Kacia

It's hard to believe summer is technically over (even though it's 106 today) and school is back. What might be even harder to believe is that our Kacia is a 1st grader! She has had a great first few days. She loves her teacher and the fact that there are a handful of familiar kindergarten friends in her class has assisted in the transition. The school schedule just might be the hardest for Rylin to adjust to. On Monday, by 10 o'clock, she had asked me 4 times if it was time to go and get Kacia! She attempted to play with Lincoln some of the similar things she does with Kacia, but poor Lincoln just couldn't catch on to Boggle Jr. I know in time, she'll get used to it again, but for right now, the girl talks my ear off all day long! :)

Sacramento Day Trip

Here's a few more pictures from our very full day in Sacramento.

Waiting to see Uncle Andrew

Nikki pinning on Officer Lockwood's badge

Congrats you two!

Our silly baseball fans all hyper on Jelly Belly's

A Look at the Last Ten...

Celebrating 10 years of marriage with the girls at the Rivercats game

Our 1st date, November 22, 1997 (8 years later this would become Rylin's birthday!)

The best day of my life- August 7, 1999

2000

Matt & Ali's wedding in Minnesota 2001

Fenway Park 2002 East Coast/baseball vacation

Sleep deprivation entered our lives in 2003

Celebrating 5 years in Maui 2004

Christmas at Disneyland and the beach 2005

Lake Tahoe getaway 2006

Disneyworld 2007

Rylin's b-day 2008

Kevin and I celebrated our 10th anniversary last Friday. It wasn't quite the trip to Bora Bora that we had wanted, but a family day in Sacramento is better than a day at home! Our brother-in-law Andrew graduated from the CHP academy so we were there with a big chunk of the family. At the end of the day we went to a Sacramento Rivercats (the A's AAA team) game with the girls and grandpa. We got to sit on the grass behind the outfield, so it was a really fun and relaxing way to experience a "real" game. The girls loved the 7th inning stretch (they'd been practicing the song for awhile) and Kacia's goal was to get on the big screen, so every time music came on, she was on her feet dancing. Sadly for her she has 2 parents with no rhythm, but she had fun and we enjoyed watching the girls be so silly together!

This past week I have felt so fortunate as I've reflected on my ten years of marriage! Growing up I never knew that being married could be so "easy" and peaceful. I don't really know what I expected when I got married at the wise old age of 20, but as Kevin and I have grown up together these last 10 years, I have realized over and over again what a smart choice I made in my husband :) (or rather what an incredible man God has gifted to me!) I really do feel that aside from salvation, Kevin is the greatest gift I have ever received. To think that I have a companion to go through everything with is truly an incredible blessing! Don't get me wrong, we do not have the perfect marriage, afterall our marriage is a union of 2 imperfect people, but I have learned that this union is worth investing in and is worth protecting. It is under Kevin's leadership that I have grown in my walk with the Lord, it is Kevin's arms that have held me when life has hurt, it is Kevin's voice that encourages me through difficult days, it is Kevin I get excited to share good news with, it is Kevin I rely upon to guide my family, it is Kevin that I would always pick first to spend time with. I am truly a blessed woman! In ten years of marriage, Kevin has never once raised his voice at me and has never left the toilet seat up! That's quite amazing if you ask me!

So what do you do?

So awhile back Kevin and I ran into a friend from college. As we were catching up, the normal question arose "So what do you do?" As Kevin was talking about Real Estate, he looks to me and says, "So do you get to stay home with the kids?" When I replied yes and discussed the kids' ages, he just looked at me and said, "Wow! I just stayed with my sister and her kids, and your job at this point is really just to keep them alive, right?!" As I laughed and agreed, I appreciated the fact that someone could see that this "job" does not just consist of sitting on the couch and watching Oprah. Okay, rarely during the day do I sit on the couch and I haven't watched Oprah in years (maybe a little food network :), but that benefits the fam). But after his comment I began to think about what a "stay at home mom" or "homemaker" actually consists of. So this is the list I have come up with thus far, although it is definitely not complete...

personal chef, hairdresser, clothing stylist, maid, paramedic (emergencies), nurse (longer term), devotion leader, activity cooridinator, school teacher, referee, dental assistant, Tooth Fairy, Easter bunny, Santa Claus, personal shopper, receptionist & appointment scheduler, craft coordinator, bottom wiper, bath giver, taxi driver, and personal assistant to the husband.

I think somedays it would be far easier to go to work, but then I wouldn't be allowed to share in this rewarding position and responsiblity of shaping my kids' hearts and character to the same extent. Being a "stay at home mom" is an incredible gift and I wouldn't trade it for any career with less hours and greater pay! I'm grateful that for now, God has allowed me to stay home so that I can do the things I may not love like dishes, laundry and grocery shopping while being able to do them with and for the ones I love the most!