Our Life: April 2013

Friday, April 19, 2013

2 Bombings in as Many Days ...

It is hard to express how each of us feels when we experience an act of terrorism. I am thankful that my family has not been affected in any way by either of these bombings but as Americans we each suffer the consequences of such heinous acts. We all feel the helplessness of being left with no control over who hurts us, when and where!

There was a bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 3 people were killed and many many lost limbs and were seriously injured. Many of the injured and 1 of the dead were children. This was an act of terrorism where Boston is currently on lockdown as they work to find the 2nd suspect. The 1st suspect, being the older brother of suspect 2, was shot and killed in a police stand off while each of us slept safely in our beds!

The second bombing was purely accidental and not an act of terrorism at a fertilizer plant in Texas. 12 people were killed and that number could increase. The chemicals found in fertilizer plants are highly toxic and very flammable / explosive! The exact chemical found at this facility was used in making the bomb used in the Oklahoma City bombings many many years ago.

No we can't know when it is our time to go. But we definitely would like it not to be at the hands of someone else and not before we get to live our lives! See our children grow and have their own children! And please Leave our Kids Alone! ....

On a slightly brighter note. I found this cute picture that reminds me of my husband. He love penguins. What was cute is once he saw it he found me a nice shiny pebble and laid it at my feet :-)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Moms/Step Moms Rock

I am a mother and a step mother ... both jobs important, exhausting and time consuming of course. A wonderful poem was written that puts all those jobs in perspective.

Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way
one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be
taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping
the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see
me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of
hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock
to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is
the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?,
What's for dinner?'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes
that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared
into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's
going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a
friend from England . She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she
was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,
looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to
compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she
turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you
this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly
sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration
for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover
what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could
pattern my work:

1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record
of their names.

2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never
see finished.

3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

4) The passion of their building was fuelled by their faith that the
eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird
on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man,
'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that
will be covered by
the roof. No one will ever see it'

And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost
as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you
make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've
baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to
notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see
right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of
the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work
on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went
so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime
because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's
bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the
morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3
hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a
monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there
is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it
there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're
doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,
not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the
world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know.... I just did.

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect
you.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Baby Girl's First Sickness

Well baby girl got her first sickness yesterday. She suffered the horrible stomach bug going around but was very light for her and she did such a good job handling it. Now I am a complete sleepless wreck!

Look at how sweet and happy baby girl is even though she is sick :-)

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Baseball is in full swing ...

Our Cardinals won their first game! ... However, we lost our second game ... Dawson hit his first home run though and had 5 RBI for the night!!! Even though we lost we had some great plays!!