Finals!?!

What are you looking at?

Just imagine me saying "Finals!" like an expletive. I feel like I've been in the witness protection program for the last few weeks. My Midterms were in mid-July and I was at the library non-stop studying. When I finished I took a few days "off" to spend with my Mom and on Tuesday when I looked back at my calendar it hit me...my finals were in 2 1/2 weeks!

That's what I hate about the summer semester, everything is squashed together. Sure I had all of the dates written diligently in my planner, but the "end of the semester" just sounded so far away. So what have I been doing this week? You guessed it...I'm a fixture at the library. Instead of having just 2.5 exams to prep for I have 2.5 exams, a term paper and 5 little mini-papers for extra credit in my world civ class.

One of the things I had to do today was go to the MFAH (free on Thursdays) to get info for one of my mini-papers. Then we headed over to the Japanese Garden at Hermann Park (again for a paper.) Since the Garden doesn't have a brochure or anything to prove you were there I had to take a picture, and it turned out fairly well I think...except Sam isn't smiling.


Doesn't it seem that no matter how well you plan your semester out things always get rushed in the end? I've had oodles of Dr. appointments and that takes up way too much time, so does eating, exercising and showering. So we've skipped playdates, I've missed knitting with my friends, meeting new babies and there are packages for my sister-in-law, Mom, Grandma Joanna and brother all sitting around in pieces since I've been paring all of the extracurricular stuff out of my schedule so I can focus. David has been a prince, watching Sam virtually every night and on weekends so that I can bolt out the door when he gets home and head to school. This had better be worth it, I want A's.

Time For a Change!

Tonight Sam had a dirty diaper. The way I found out about the dirty diaper was by watching him reach under the crib and pull out the canvas box that his changing pads are in. Then I saw him pick out one pad, instead of all of them like usual, walk over and hand it to me. After that he climbed up on the bed and laid down, ready and waiting for me to get a clue and come over with a fresh diaper.

Why is it that we see our kids grow and change every day but ever so often there's a day where it really sinks in...they're growing up! All through the day today I kept noticing things, I had seen them before but never put them all together to form the thought, "I have a toddler!!!" I asked him if he wanted water, he shook his head no. I asked him next if he wanted milk, he nodded yes. When it was time for lunch he didn't seem hungry so I asked him if he was hungry, again shook his head no. I changed the scenario a few times and consistently got the no before I just gave up. When he did finally get hungry he just climbed into his high chair and made the sign for 'more'. Even with "if-then" statements he knows what it is he's responding to. When I put him down for the night I asked him to lay down if he wanted me to sing. He quickly laid down, looked up at me with the sweetest face and made the sign for 'more'.

His most frequent word now is "Dank ou" for thank you. He knows "Da Da" is David and if he urgently wants me I'm "Mam Mam Mam....". But we hear "Dank Ou" a kajillion times a day. If you hand him something, if you give him a plate or a spoon with food, change his diaper, hand him his milk, everything gets a "Dank Ou".

Before I go to bed I look at him sleeping, my 24-month clothes & size 7 shoe wearing little boy, not baby anymore, little boy.

Bon Voyage Gigi!

Well, a few weeks ago in a post I said that we were spending Independence Day weekend in the Valley with my Mom. While that was accurate, we didn't stay as long as we had planned because it turned out that we just went to pick up Gigi and bring her home with us!

Her A/C failed the Tuesday before, and the Valley is generally 10 degrees warmer than Houston. It makes me want a glass of ice water just thinking about it! So my Mom spent the 5th thru the 21st with us up here. It was really wonderful having her here, not just because I could spend my days and nights in the library prepping for midterms. (Which I aced...praise the Lord!) We also got to do some fun things like visit the Blue Bell Creamery, go to Galveston and tour the Moody Mansion, and finally have someone who shares my sentiments regarding the Menil Museum, which is a few blocks from our house.

That her A/C broke when it did was certainly a "God thing". It needs to be replaced completely which is both terribly expensive and time consuming. But, she had only just made plans to go and stay with her Sister in Belgium on the 21st, so she won't have to worry about it until she comes back. My Aunt Linda and Uncle Scott have lived in Europe for the last, I want to say 6 years. My Uncle is a Chaplain and Colonel in the Army and he was posted to Germany, then Italy and now Belgium. Each time they have stayed in a massive native home of some kind. A visit from my Mom was supposed to be my Aunt's birthday present 6 years ago, but the timing was always bad. My Aunt called her a few weeks ago to invite her to live with them for awhile and God finally said YES!

She'll be gone for 3 months, with a likely option for 3 more. While she's there she'll see my sister-in-law, be there when Johnny returns to Germany from his deployment to Iraq, and see and do things all over Western Europe. I love my Mom to pieces, she's my best friend and if anyone deserves a European vacation, it's her. Our family has been through a lot, but she's never had a "break". With my Dad there was always something, and after he died there was supporting herself to think of and countless other things she had to handle. The only real downside is that this means we won't see her for a long time, but God took care of that too with the unexpected long visit we had with her. He is so good.

We love you Gigi and can't wait to hear all about what you see and do over there! And a huge thanks to my Aunt and Uncle for letting God use them in a mighty way!

Sweet Smell of PineSol

From my emailed devotional this morning. All I can say is "Amen!"

Sweet Smell of PineSol

from Proverbs 31 Ministries Daily Devotions by Renee Swope


"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

I admit it. I'm the world's worst when it comes to preserving photos. I have boxes of photos stacked in various cubbyholes. I tried to organize the pictures once. I divided them and placed them in large envelopes. My next step was to put them in albums. They are still in the envelopes—stacked in a box.

Melissa, Ryan, and Leslie are now in their 20's and newly married. The chances of me ever getting these precious memories organized are slim to none, but I'm realizing something powerful. Memories aren't limited to pictures.

Remember when, Mom…? is a common phrase in my house now. We have become the hub, a privilege once reserved for my husband's parents. At holidays and special weekends, they drive up, unload luggage and pile into the guest rooms. We laugh and reminisce a lot around the table. Remember when we went on treasure hunts in the pasture? Remember when you jumped on the bed and popped Ryan up in the air so high it scared you? Remember that yellow Slip N' Slide?

I do remember. But I also remember a young mom who worried that her house wasn't spotless when an unexpected guest showed up. I remember the angst of trying to do everything and the fatigue when my day ended before my chores did.

But there were days that I threw caution to the wind and jumped on the bed, even though it might make others frown. I grabbed a shovel and gave the kids plastic buckets and we looked for old bottles and trinkets at the abandoned homestead nearby. We mixed Dawn dishwashing liquid and water and I laughed out loud as the kids flew like greased lightening across the yellow slippery slide. Some of those memories were captured in that pre-digital age, but most were not, but they are etched on the heart of my young adult children.

They reminisce about what we did together. They don't reminisce about the smell of PineSol. Whether my house was perfect or how it compared to others' isn't even on their radar. It makes me wonder why I worried about it. Is it good to have order and structure? Sure. But don't allow the pressure to be the perfect mom keep you from the beauty of simply playing with your children. The unmade bed will still be there, but I promise that a child will grow quickly and leave the nest.

Take a moment today and look past the clutter and the to-do list and play like a child again. It might not be a picture-perfect moment, but it will be a memory.