Letter #1 to my Prayer Buddy

Note: this is the Prayer Buddy I'm praying FOR this Advent.

However, Prayer Buddy who's praying for me, you've got your work cut out for you... I apologize in advance. I really need some prayers at the moment.

Dear Prayer Buddy,

Just so you know, I'm ridiculously nervous about praying for you this Advent season. Is it silly to be nervous about praying for someone? Someone I've never met? Maybe that's what causes my nervousness-- I feel the awesome responsibility of focusing my prayers toward you, and fear that my feeble prayers will not be enough. And I desperately want my prayers to be enough for you. More than enough for you.

So, Prayer Buddy, I want you to know that, even though we don't know each other, you've already become intricately and intimately intertwined in my thoughts and prayers. I'm a thinker; when I pray, I typically just think my prayers, a silent conversation with God that threads itself throughout the day. You're now part of that communication-- it's like now we're on a three-way call with The Big Guy Upstairs. I want you to know that when you ask anything of the Lord now, I'm joining my own prayers to yours, pleading on your behalf. Praying for hope on your behalf.

And you know what? Knowing that there is someone praying for me now helps this-- it frees up my prayer life in an amazing way. I think of it like a spiritual babysitter-- I can get some major work done while someone else watches over my own concerns.

Please know that already I've been blessed to pray for you, because it has forced me to step outside of myself and make this season of waiting a season worthy of Whom I am awaiting.

All my prayers,
Lisa

Best. Comment. EVER.

Ok, I need to confess something. M and I watched about 10 minutes, give or take, of Skating with the Stars. We thought Castle was going to be on 9, like always... that's "our" show, along with Modern Family (but we can't watch that every week because sometimes C is still awake, or M is still driving home).

Anyway, I wanted to keep the skating show on for a few minutes so I could see who was skating.

And so I could practice my own (rudimentary) skating moves on the Oriental rug. I'm not ashamed. I totally did some of those leg-extension spins and some straight leg gliding. The rug is great because it has very low friction. This took me back to when I was watching the Olympics this year, and practicing my moves once the kids went to bed. But I digress...

Back to my story now.


I went to the Entertainment Weekly website to see how the celebrity (mostly of a non-celebrated-caliber of celebrity, actually) skaters did, and what the overall perception of the show was. I skimmed through the comments, and came across this gem:

I was looking forward to it, but had to turn it off after my family wouldn’t stop laughing at “all those ugly people”. My neighbours also got quite annoyed (probably because they are hideous) and started hurling abuse at us. Hey, it’s not our fault you all look like beavers. If you are reading this Julie Edwards I hope you feel ashamed because now my daughter knows 2 more swear words. And don’t worry hun we are leaving the apartments soon so we don’t have to deal with trash like you.

Seriously? Best. Comment. EVER.


P.S. I couldn't resist linking to past skating, rug, and Olympic posts. Who knew I wrote about that stuff enough to link it?


P.P.S. I should have given the credit for that above comment to "Sue." Thank you, Sue, for that wonderfully random gem of a rant about your neighbors. It was terrible, but I laughed anyway. I have to say I feel somewhat sorry for the "Julie Edwards" family now, wherever they may be.

Little things that make me smile

1. Noticing C carrying her bathroom step-stool into her brother's room:

Me, after watching Toy Story 3... again: Hey there, cowgirl... where ya goin'?

C, using the stool to turn on the light in H's room: I need to change a diaper.

Me, confused: Whose diaper? H is clean and you don't wear diapers.

C: She did a poopy. I need to change the stinky poopy.

Me, panicked that there is stray poop in my house: WHO has a poopy diaper?

C: My baby doll. She did a poopy and now I need to change her so she can go to sleep. Oh, I need wipes, too. You get me wipes, Mommy?

I sent Daddy in to deal with this.

2. Apparently this should be "Little Things That Make Me Smile, Poop-edition"...

C and H were playing with their Little People, and I took the opportunity to review the Nativity Story with them in preparation for the Christmas season. I LOVE our Little People nativity and may have to do a photo post later of the amusing scenes the kids have created with the religious Little People and their respective paraphernalia.

I noticed that Mary and Joseph were hanging out in "the big house," as opposed to their stable. I asked C about this.

C: Mary had to do a poopy and there isn't a potty in the stable, Mommy.

Made sense to me.

3.  Non-poop-related smiley-ness...

Sweet potatoes this week? SIX POUNDS for ONE DOLLAR. Oh, happy day!

Be on the lookout for recipes and cooking posts in the next few weeks, as well as gift ideas!

Puppies and kitties and... trains?

C put my husband's veterinarian ball cap on little H.

C: "Look, H, you're a doctor now! You take care of puppies and kitties! And tigers! And fish and turtles and birds!"

I smile to myself, so proud that my not-quite-3-year-old has a grasp of the role of veterinarians and all kinds of animals.

C, again: "Mommy, look at H! He's a veterin... veterin... he's a doctor! He takes care of puppies and kitties and trains!"

Huh? Trains? Ok, so we may have to review the animal kingdom after all.

I'm sad, and I'm tired

I usually only blog about the happy things (because seriously... there are enough horrible stories in the news alone to keep you up at night), but this is a different kind of post.

Just after Halloween, we had to put our German Shepherd to sleep. M got her his first year of vet school and lived alone with her for four years before we met. She then had to share him on weekends for the next year, until we married and I moved in to "their" house. I like to call her "The Girl He Loved Before He Loved Me." She was a rescue dog and definitely partly-insane, which I think helped prepare him for marrying me and then living with a hormonal girl for the past 4 1/2 years-- I've been pregnant or nursing all but 9 months of our married life!

Being an at-home mom means that the care of the kids, meals, house, and pets falls to me, while M works his tail off for our family. I love my job, and would have said that having just one dog around would make things easier (combined, both our dogs weighed over 150 pounds...) in terms of feeding, grooming, cleaning the house, etc, but I've discovered that having just one dog means that I feel there's a hole in my at-home life.

I miss feeding her, brushing her, washing her and having her shake 4 gallons of water on me. I miss chasing after her when she'd escape the gate to chase deer. I even miss cleaning up all of that hair. It's not so bad when I'm out of the house, but every time I go through my daily routine here, I notice the emptiness that her absence has created. I just miss her.

On a different but similar note, I'm tired. Worn down. It's been like this ever since our epic road trip in August (over 2 weeks of travel!). I feel like I can't keep up with life right now, and sleep just doesn't mean the same thing when you have two small ones who can't tell time. The tiredness isn't just being a mom of 2 kids, but something more that I can't figure out. I think it's time to get my hormones checked again.

And take a nap. Or exercise.

Is it terrible that while I have a feeling that the second option would make me feel better in the long run, the first one sounds sooooo much better now?

Please tell me to get my rear in gear and get back to my jogging. I felt better when I was doing that, but have lost the drive after dealing with everyone being sick within the last month, all at different times.

This has been a sad and pathetic post, but now that I've gotten it all off my chest, I will return to the happier posts of yore. I'd hate to wander down the path of whiny-ness, because it can be tough to find your way back.

An open letter to The Powers That Be

To whom it may concern:

Would you mind terribly if the person who decided that "Fall Back" was a good idea could call me? Or rather, could he or she please call my children?

They seem to have missed the memo that the time has changed.

It would be helpful if this Fall-Back person could explain that while waking up at 6 am (children, not me-- I'm always awake by then) was somewhat acceptable, waking up at 5 am (children AND adults here... I get up at FIVE-FIFTEEN, not FIVE O'CLOCK) is not acceptable. I need time to have half a cup of coffee before it's time to be "on" for the rest of the day.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Lisa

PS Could Mr./Ms. Fall-Back please call before tomorrow morning? Thanks again.

Homeschooling Discernment Series: Words of encouragement

It's been a while since I posted about homeschooling here (though I have some GREAT new ideas and thoughts thanks to visiting with a local homeschool family recently), but I wanted to post some encouraging words I received from one of my dearest friends. She and I worked together at a Girl Scout camp for a few years after high school and she was one of my bridesmaids-- and I was her Confirmation sponsor when she became Catholic!

She sent me an e-mail (confessing her lack of commenting-- for shame!) that gave me a lot of encouragement about thinking of homeschooling just one day and year at a time.

Okay, so I read your blog all the time and LOVE it, but am way to shy to comment it on it (I know, what kind of friend am I?).  So, I just had to give you my two cents from a working mom on homeschooling.  Hands down I think you should do it.  If for no other reason then because if you don't you will always wonder.  While you're working, you'll wish you were home with your kids (partly grass is greener syndrome).  Anytime something "bad" happened in school you will think to yourself "If only I homeschooled..."  and you will always wonder if you made the right decision. HOWEVER, if you homeschool and you love it and it's wonderful then great!  You made the right decision.  If you homeschool and it doesn't work out, no harm done, at least you know.  But take it from me, the thought will always be in the back of your mind and you'll always wonder "what if..."

Also, you are spot on.  The decision is not permanent.  I know a parent who homeschooled her kids until one son was in third grade and then enrolled him in public school when he was having trouble with his reading.  I also know another family (who has 8 kids) and the mom switches back and forth between homeschooling and public school and all of the kids are very well adjusted! They're all great kids!

So, not that you asked for it, but I just had to tell you I think you should go for it!

Thanks, friend! Such great advice and thoughts... I love you!