The Birthday Store

First of all, I am linking this up with Works-for-Me-Wednesday. I know it's Thursday but yesterday was a blur and a sea of regret due to my lack of willpower when Double Stuffed Oreos are in the house.

Shame on me.

So pretend with me that today is Wednesday and I haven't eaten 12 (or more) DSO's yet.

Thankyouverymuch.

Secondly, this idea is a winner FOR ME. And that's why the idea generator is called "works-for-ME Wednesday". This idea may not fit into your lifestyle or interests.  I get that.  I know this won't work for everyone, but it sure is a great one for me.

April is a month PACKED FULL of family and friend birthday parties.  I love celebrating birthdays but shopping for all these gifts can get a little overwhelming on both time and budget.  My husband's family is fairly large and there are a lot of children to celebrate.  We all live in the same town and we know that our time is so precious.  We came up with a brilliant (at least we think it is) solution that takes the pressure off the amount of time spent going from store to store searching for THE perfect gift. 

When celebrating a family birthday (on my husband's side) we let the birthday child's mommy do ALL the gift shopping for her child.  It is perfect because she has all the good ideas and knows all the right sizes, etc.  Then the night of the party, we sneak off into a room and do our shopping from her "birthday store".  She has planned enough gifts to cover all the aunts, cousins and grandparents that might be attending.

The birthday mommy also provides gift bags and tissue paper.  We spend about twenty minutes during the party shopping and wrapping for the birthday child.

(Is this making any sense??)

So basically, here is what a family birthday party looks like.

We trickle in somewhere between on-time and 30 minutes late.

We eat yummy food.

We chat with our family and chase our wild kiddos.

Sometime after food, the birthday mom opens her store.

We sneak off to another room to shop.

Then we make our choices, and wrap.

The child is thrilled by all his/her gifts.

We eat cake.

We go home.

Here is the BEST part for me.  No money changes hands.  What?!?  Here's how it works.  All of us have the same number of kids and we all have the same budget for family birthday gifts.  I have 3 kids and plan enough $20 dollar gift ideas for my sister-in-laws.  They have 3 kids and do the same.   They know that I am going to spend $20 on little Suzy and I know they are going to spend $20 on one of my kids.  It is all a wash.

Raise your hand if you are totally confused?

Me, too.  I am sorry I can't help you.

I live in a state of confusion.

In summary, the birthday mom buys enough gifts to cover all those who want to shop at THE BIRTHDAY STORE.  It saves us time and it guarantees that the child gets the things on his/her wish list.  It always fits.  It is always the right color.  They are always happy.

And I am happy that I don't have to schlep a wild toddler from store to store.

And that, my friends, works for me.

In fact, it's better than a drive-thru.

If you want more great Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas, check out We Are That Family.

The (future) Mr. and Mrs. Miller

Because it's Tuesday.

And it's rainy.

And I like sarcasm.

And I could use a good laugh as I clean toilets and fold laundry.

YOU WRITE THE CAPTION.

Come on. This will be fun!

You know you want to.

Don't make me come through this screen!

Pretty please...
*****************************************


Introducing the (future) Wit and Caitlyn Miller.

He is obviously pretty proud of himself and she is obviously indifferent.

(Oh and yes, I believe in arranged marriages.)

Now, make me laugh.

(please.)

I'm takin' this with me if we move.

Well, I am doing what I said I would yesterday.  I have chained myself to the house and I am taking it back. It is going so SLLLOOOOWWWLLLLYYY. I have been in the laundry room most of the day and I wanted to show you my very favorite thing in this house.

I have a friend who is a muralist. When I was pregnant with Langley, I hired her to paint this growth chart in the laundry room.  This ain't your ordinary growth chart. It's a work of art and my absolute favorite thing.

Forgive the terrible pictures.  There seems to be a horrible glare from the dryer and I didn't have much room to work with.  All around the room were huge piles of laundry and junk.  I refuse to show you that. 

Which is funny because I have pretty much bared my soul here on this blog.  But I feel a need to keep the mess in my laundry room a deep dark secret.

Mess in my life open for sharing?  Yes.

Disorganized chaos in the laundry room?  No.

I have to draw the line somewhere, people.

Anyway, back to the growth chart.  Every birthday, and happy-half birthday, my kids get measured.  They look forward to it as much as I do on their special days.  I treasure the way their not-so-tiny bodies (*sigh*) stand against the wall stick straight and how they delight in how much they have grown in six months.

The verse above the growth chart says...

"The child continued to grow and become strong increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."  Luke 2:40

Rest assured, IF we ever move this wall is coming with me.

 
And if it can't, then we won't ever be able to move.

So there you have it. 

Some thoughts on some things about stuff.

I am feeling very overwhelmed tonight. Everywhere I go in my home, I see work. There are piles of paperwork, toys, dust, clutter, and laundry strewn about this house. I feel like every pile and every dirty surface is a curse. I desperately want my home to be a blessing not a curse.

The sad and frustrating part is that I am really tired. Exhaustion slaps me in the face at the end of every day. I am helpless to get all the work done.

itjustneverends.

My sweet man gave me the best gift of doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen tonight.  Most of the time I take that for granted.  But tonight, I was reminded what a treasure it is to be served.  I am the one who serves.  It is a neat blessing to be the one on the other end. 

Thankfully, I have a couple of light days this week that I hope to use to get the house back in shape.  First thing on the list...grocery store. 

Yuck.

Enough about the mundane, let's talk about other things.

1.  We are sitting down to watch "The Amazing Race".  Jet and Cord are our favorites.  Absolutely love love love them.  What is it about cowboys that make you trust them?  I wonder if they know my bff, Pioneer Woman?  That would make them even more lovable!

2.  Skip and I could never run the Amazing Race together.  We would K.I.L.L. each other.  We would be the couple that America would gossip about.  Highly stressful situations are no friend of mine.

3.  My biggest baby boy is almost 10.  I am trying to form a post about that and I get all lumpy in my stomach..  You know that ache-in-your-cheek feeling you get BEFORE the ugly cry?  Yep.  I have that.  I still have a few more weeks.  I hope I can push through the tears and tell you how much I love being his mom. 

4.  My 20-year HS reunion is just around the corner.  I am starting to get really nervous.  Not to see everyone, just nervous about my wardrobe.  That sounds more vain than I actually intend.  I just mean that I am not a summer person.  I don't have a summer body.  I have a hide-behind-three-layers-and-a cardigan body.  Plus, I sweat like a pig at a luau.  Which, of course,  is awesome.  I am excited to see everyone.  I just hope someone else is as sweaty as me.  And I will stand by them and we will be sweaty friends. For as long as we both shall live.

5.  My senior prom was also TWENTY years ago.  I wore a royal blue, knee-length, big puffy shouldered dress.  This was back in the day that you DYED your shoes to match your dress.  My hair was swept to one side with a royal blue comb, like a one-sided mullet.  This year, I will be going back to the HS prom as the mommy of the flower girl.  Langley was asked by one of our favorite HS seniors, Tag.  I am tempted to dig out my royal blue dress and party like it was 1991.  Instead, I will dress up my beautiful, blue-eyed tomboy in a pretty silk dress and take her to the most important dance of the year.  I CAN'T WAIT!  Between now and Saturday, I promise to dig out our prom pictures!  They will make you laugh.  I swear.

6.  This season, "American Idol?"  Yes, please.  It seems so refreshing this season.  Probably because Simon isn't there.  Whatever.  We are loving the changes.

7.  I HAVE GOT to start exercising.  Enough said about that.

8.  I started reading a book yesterday.  I KNOW, right?  Every single person in the house asked me why.  And guess what?  My hand started to cramp because it was so heavy.  I am a wimp.

9.  Last week's, "The Office", was just about the best thing I have ever seen on the TV.  Michael Scott, you are the man.  (Watch his tender moment here)  It won't be the same without him.

(I talk a lot about watching TV.  Maybe that's the reason my house looks and smells like a landfill??)

(Something to think about)

10.  It's 11:00 on a Sunday night and I can't keep my eyes open.  I need to sleep so I can wake up and do it all over again tomorrow.

And the next day. 

And the next day. 

And so on.

Until the end of time.

My little drummer boy.

One boy.

Two knives.

Three dishes.

Concert for his mommy.

Heroes of the hallway.

One of the greatest things our school participates in is the WATCH D.O.G.S (Dads of Great Students) program.  Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles, or other father figures take a day off work to spend at their child's school.  They follow a schedule of activities that they participate in throughout the day.  They provide help monitoring the hallways, loading busses, reading to students, playing on the playground, working with small groups of students. 

You name it, the WATCH D.O.G.S are there ready to help.

Today, Skip had the honor to spend the day with Langley at her school.  This is one of his favorite days of the whole year.  A chance to be an important part of our children's education is such a privilege for him.  He volunteers four times a year for this program-two times for both kids.  It is a sacrifice, but he loves it. 

(Actually loves it so much that he wishes it was his full-time job!)

He spent the day being a HERO to lots of squirrely first graders who love getting attention from a WATCH D.O.G.

But most importantly, he spent the day being her HERO.

And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.

And that was Wednesday.

Some days make you want to crawl back under the covers and sleep right through.

Today was one of those days. It started off fast and furious as we all had to get ready for school, work and volunteering. The days where all of us have to be clean and out the door early are very stressful. I am sure we aren't the only household that feels that way! I bet all of you can relate.

As we headed out the door, we noticed that our dog was vomiting...blood.  We had to leave RIGHT THAT VERY MINUTE and we couldn't really care for her the way she needed.  I was concerned about the blood and made a mental note to call the vet. ASAP. 

And by ASAP, I really mean 3 hours later.

Wednesday is my day to volunteer for both kids' teachers.  I love this morning because I can actually accomplish something important for someone else.  It is the best feeling to get a job done.  Anyway, I started my pile of work only to find all the copiers were either jammed or needed repair.  I was so frustrated.  I hate the thought of letting anyone down, especially teachers.  I know how hard they work and how much they depend on volunteers.  I fought my way through a couple of paper jams and ended up getting the work done.  Between the machines and my little "helper" who wouldn't sit in the stroller, it was an irritating morning.  In a last ditch effort to maintain my composure I handed him the phone to call grandma.  It was a lifesaver and gave me ten minutes to finish.

Next, we moved on to Wit's music class.  My great friend, Alana, teaches Kindermusik.  We spent an hour singing, dancing, swinging, tickling, exploring instruments and movement.  I love this time with Wit.  It was the bright spot in this crummy day.

Little did I know it was going to get a whole lot worse.

After class, I called the vet to ask about the blood Bristow was vomiting.  They were concerned but it didn't require an appointment.  Thank goodness!  The bad news was that I had to give her Pepto Bismol every hour.  The thought of shooting 3TSP pepto down my dog's throat with a turkey baster really didn't sound like a whole lot of fun.  My smart husband thought she would just drink it out of a bowl and I thought he was CRAZY.  Despite my effort to prove him wrong, she did the very thing he predicted and drank it right out of the bowl.

Smart alec.

Anyway, I was relieved that I didn't have to wrangle a seventy pound dog to the ground and pump HOT PINK LIQUID into her stomach only for her to vomit it out on my carpet.

You're jealous, aren't you?

It seemed like everything that could go wrong today  did.  Nothing I touched worked or cooperated.  I was left feeling tired and run down.  Wednesday nights we meet with our Home Church group.  I admit that I walked in with a major attitude.  I was wiped out and mad at the day.  So, I really was not mentally or emotionally prepared for what happened next.

"Isn't that just kick- you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic?"  (bonus points for naming that TV quote)  This day just spiraled into madness!

My baby got hurt.  He was running toward the dining room chairs and fell into one of the sharp edges.  It wasn't a big cut, but it was deep enough that we worried about scarring.  We consulted a family friend who is a doctor.   He suggested going to Urgent Care to get it glued.  Wit wanted his favorite friend to go with him, so Skip opted to take them while I stayed back with the other kids and our Home Church.

GUILT.  MAJOR MOM GUILT.

Anyway, they got to Urgent Care one minute after they locked up for the night.  The only other option was the ER.  There, they got him all cleaned up and glued together. 

One funny thing happened while they were at the hospital.  Our friend texted his wife and said that the doctor thinks that he and Skip are, well...a couple. It was a much needed laugh given my low emotional state.

Finally this day is at the end.  (And, thankfully, so is this post.)  We took our brave little patient to the Golden Arches for a car full of yummy medicine...aka 49 cents of pure awesome.  THE CONE.  There's a reason McD's owns the world.

Wit is so proud of his ice cream cone, his owie, and his new bear from the hospital.  That he promptly named, "Bob."

Long story short, I wish I could have stayed in bed and hid from this no-good-horrible day.

*sigh*

Here's to a better tomorrow without bloody dog vomit, broken machines, and trips to the ER.

What about Bob?

My nickname is Nellie. It always has been.  It just makes sense.

Janelle = Nellie.

What doesn't make any sense is Wit's nickname.  Bob.

Wit = Bob?  Not so much.

Even writing this makes me gigle and wonder how he became Bob.  A dear friend of ours started calling him Bob before his second birthday.  Our friend has a very very VERY LOUD EXCITED VOICE.  It's not uncommon to hear him yell BOB!! across the church on Sunday. 

When Wit sees our friend, he goes running into his arms.  Wit loves him with all his heart.  They run and play and fly and chase.  The way they play you would never guess there were 30+ years seperating them.  If they are together long, you can bet that the two of them will find a cookie or some treat to share.  It is such a neat thing that we have adult friends who love our kids enough to want to spend time with them.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A few months ago I started working with Wit on saying his full name...

Wit Michael Miller.

"Wit Micha Milwa" 

He would echo back and I would praise him.  One day, he got an onery look in his eyes when I asked him his name. 

"Wit, what's your name?"

"Bob Micha Milwa"

Today, if you ask him his name there is a 90% chance he will say, "BOB."

And then he will run away laughing.

Silly Bob.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Don't be lazy like me.  Paint all your toes before wearing flip flops.  Or at least don't take a picture of your feet for all the internet.  Luck of the Irish to you!

He's kind of a big deal.

If you read my story last week, you know that my dad passed away when I was in college after a long battle with cancer. It was a hard loss for our family and especially my mom. My brother and I had already moved onto our college campuses far away from home. My mom was alone.

She spent many years alone.

One night a friend asked her to a dinner party. I'm not sure if this party was an attempt to set her up on a date, but she ended up meeting a special man.  They dated for about a year before they got married.  I'm not gonna lie, this was a very hard thing for me to accept.  In fact, I was pretty much a brat to my mom during this time. 

But then it dawned on me that my mom was happy.  Really happy.  Happier than I had seen her in a long time.  She started caring about life again.  She was blossoming.  Slowly, I started to accept this new reality for her and for our family.

My step-dad is a really great guy.  I have enjoyed getting to know him and watching him with my kids has been such a sweet reward.  My kids were born after my mom remarried so he has been their "PA" since day one.  My mom has told me that my kids are the best thing that ever happened to him.  He loves them so much. 

That's a big deal to me. 

Well, he lives in a world that I'm still getting used to.  He is a professional angler (fancy words for he fishes for money).  He's kind of a big deal in the fishing world.  If you follow the sport, or have a TV you have probably seen him on a commercial or a fishing show.

 

The people in his world say funny things like...

Scrounger Shads
Flippin' Booza Bug
Spinner bait
Buzz bait
Rattling Jig
Finess Jig
Skirt Buzzer
Storm Wiggle Wart
Jerk bait
Hollow Belly swim bait

It's a very strange world.

One of my greatest joys is watching Stacey teach my kids about his world.  He wants to share his passion for hunting and fishing with my kids.  That's a great thing.  It's something that Skip can't teach them and we are grateful for his knowledge.  There is no one I would rather have teach my kids about the outdoor life than Stacey. 

He's the best of the best.

His world is becoming an important part of theirs.

He's kind of a big deal to my little people.

The post about nothing. Literally.

Who would have believed that last week I wrote my little heart out with my story and this week I have no words. No words at all. I have tried to sit down and write something, but it seems like all the good words were used up last week.

Whew.

Even typing that paragraph was exhausting.

Well, the good news is that you have a choice whether or not to continue reading this post.  The team here at Snot and Kisses (me) will not judge you AT ALL for clicking to the next blog, or even skimming these riveting highlights of our family's spring break week.

Spring Break started last Friday with a half day.  We had plans to go to the park with some really great friends.  We drove thru the "loop of doom" and got our excited children in the car, bought lunch at Wendy's and drove to the park.  Which apparently was not a novel idea because so did 300 other people.  All at the same time.  In search for a new park we ended up finding a hidden gem...the school playground.  That's right.  Don't get too jealous.  We packed up the kids and drove BACK to school to play on the abandoned playground.  It was awesome.  All the kids had a great time and said they had never had that much fun at school.  Ever.

Kids are funny.

Saturday, my family slept in and it was GLORIOUS.  It was our turn to clean the church.  Which by our, I really mean me.  It was MY turn to clean the church but we wanted to be together as a family.  So we packed up the car with the kids and the Craigslist dog and headed out for some family fun.  While I slaved away by myself  served God by cleaning our building (cue the organ), my family explored a creek and the woods behind our church.  It was picture perfect.  After the cleaning was done, we played frisbee and the dog chased a ball. Saturday night, my cousin was in town from Stillwater, OK with her family.  We went to my Granny's for dinner and loved hanging out with them. 

So far, so good.  Spring break won't break me.

Sunday we actually made it to church in spite of the dreaded time change.  I won't admit how late we were, but we get points for going.  Hey, that's what counts.  Later that night, I went to a birthday party for a wonderful friend.  We met at 6:00pm and didn't get home until 3:00am.  We started at Olive Garden and then moved on to IHOP.  Because we are in Jr. High, we spent the entire night solving the world's problems and installing new apps on our smartphones.  I laughed more that night than I have in a long time.  It was a much needed night with some lifelong friends.  I love those girls!

Monday was a great day at home.  I am proud to say that my kids actually got along for the entire day.  They worked together on a project and spent the time not wanting to kill each other.  AMAZING.  I kept having to pinch myself.  The night ended with a sleepover for my kids.  This is a huge treat for them.  We have really limited the sleepovers this past year.  So they were both really excited to have one planned.  I teamed up with a friend with the same age boy and girl.  She took the girls and I took the boys.  Other than feeding them, it was a breeze. 

Anyone?  Anyone?

Oh, well.  At least my mom will like this review.

*sigh*

Speaking of my mom, she offered to take all the kids home Tuesday afternoon and keep them overnight.  At first I said no.  I just couldn't imagine spring break without spending every minute with my babies.

HA!  I caught you still reading!

Of course I said YES to her offer and scheduled a date night with my favorite man.  We called up an amazing couple and headed to Chili's.  One thing led to another and we all ended up at Wal-Mart at 10:00pm.

LAUGHING OUR HEADS OFF. 

This is what four old people buy when they go to Wal-Mart on a date night.

-shampoo
-deodorant
-contact solution
-Pepto
-gum
-$5 stretchy pants
-some other really boring things that only old married people buy

(Did you know that you can buy wine in a container that looks like a juice box?  It's scary what you can find at Wal-Mart.)

Anyway, this leads me to Wednesday.  My kids have been gone all day and I have been ALONE in my house.  Happy Dance doesn't even begin to describe the feeling of being alone in your own home.  My time is running out though and the kids will be here any minute.  Drats.

Spring Break 2011. 

Pretty awesome so far.

(Writing this took all I had.  I need to go lie down.)

My story.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. It is a love song between me and my God. We all have a story. I hope you find the courage to share yours.

Why did I write this?
Part 1: The phone call
Part 2: The horror
Part 3: In the meantime
Part 4: The slippery slope
Part 5: Ashes to Beauty

My story. Part 5: Ashes to beauty.

This is the day that I have been so excited to write. I want to shout from the rooftop all the wonderful things God has done for me since I turned back to Him that fateful night.

What I love about God is that He didn't make me jump through hoops, or flog myself enough times to be worthy back into His presence. He scooped me up out of that pit and together we found a new place of healing and restoration. It was THAT simple. For the first time in my life, I felt God was with me and all around me.  I became convinced of my salvation, whereas before I thought I had to be perfect.  I thought of God as a disciplinarian keeping a record of all my wrongs.  With that came the fear of losing my salvation. 

Ahh, sweet Grace.

Now, I wish I could tell you that I immediately got my act together, joined a church and a women's bible study.  I would like to tell you that I have read the bible through twice and have all of proverbs memorized.  It would be so great if I could say that I wake up at 5:30 EVERY MORNING AND TWICE ON SUNDAYS just to have my devotional time.  I would also love to say that I never struggle or sin.  Ever.

Phooey.

I'm still a mess.  I've never read the entire Bible, I've tried and failed several times.  I have a total of three verses memorized and I don't wake up early to spend time with God.  I wish I had that discipline, but I don't.  I sin everyday.  A lot. 

I get angry. 

I get jealous. 

I covet. 

I gossip. 

I mess up all the time.

I'm a sinner and always will be.

Here's the bottom line for me with respect to my story.  I can be a mess WITHOUT God, or I can be a mess WITH God.  I tried going without God and my life turned hopeless really fast.  I would rather live a messy life with God then live a life without Him.  I still struggle with the mystery of God's will.  Why do bad things happen in this world when He could easily stop them?  I don't know the answer to that.  Bad stuff happens everyday to good, innocent people. 

That stinks.

But WITHOUT God, there is no hope that the bad things have a purpose.  I have come to terms with the fact that this world is evil and bad things are going to happen.  I have matured enough to be confident that I WILL NEVER WALK AWAY AGAIN.  Never. 

What satan meant for evil, God meant for good. 

(That's one of the three verses I have memorized)

(Patting myself on the back)

(Can't tell you where it is in the Bible though)

(Google it)

God scooped me up out of that pit and redeemed my ugly past.  Am I proud of who I am even with all that junk?  It took me a long time to say, "YES!"  I can't separate myself from my past.  It dwells inside me to remind me of where I've come from.  It reminds me that I desperately need the hope of Christ.  I can't erase the past and I don't want to anymore. 

It's who I am and where I've been.

God's fingerprints are all over me.  Erasing my past would be erasing His handiwork inside me.  We all have a story.  We all have a past.  Those memories are not meant to condemn us or shame us, they are meant to be a tool for someone else's journey.  Our struggles and our victories can be used on someone else's road to redemption.  God will use our junk for His glory!

Please let it be so.

Thank you so much for taking this journey into the past with me.  I have enjoyed writing this and felt God's protection all around me this week.  I haven't been sad.  I have been refreshed.  Enough time has passed since these events occurred that I can look at them with a mature perspective.  Even if I wasn't walking with the Lord for two years, His hand was still guiding me and protecting me.  He acted just like a parent does with a wayward child.  He let me struggle.  He let me feel pain.  He let me wallow in my bed.  He didn't force me to return.  He was there when I CHOSE to come back.  He forgave me, no questions asked.

Mostly, He never stopped loving me.

Sweet Jesus.

Isaiah 61:3... for those who grieve in Zion, the Lord will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.




Links:
Why did I write this?
Part 1: The phone call
Part 2: The horror
Part 3: In the meantime
Part 4: The slippery slope