Identity

Isaiah 43:1b, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine.”

I have always wanted to be one of those girls who is defined by something. I want to be the girl who only eats organic food, the girl who runs, the girl who backpacks, the girl who only feeds her kids healthy food, the girl who is well-liked, the girl who is funny. Any or all of the above would do for me. Unfortunately, I am probably not good enough at any of the above to actually say any one defines me. I am not the girl who always eats organic food, because my favorite dessert is M&M’s—that’s right give me M&M’s any day over anything; I will take it. I do run, but not well and not every day. I love to backpack and be outside, but too often I am afraid of wild animals. I am the girl who frequently spots the random cougar running through town—I am a bit paranoid. I try to do all of the above, but none I do well.

I saw a sign the one day that was by McGruff the crime dog. He said, “You spend a lifetime building your identity, but it only takes a second for someone to steal it.” For some reason this hit me. I have spent my entire life building my identity. I want all of these “things” to define who I am. I have spent years trying to figure out who I am. And maybe somewhere along the way I decided I needed to make who I am. So, I started finding my interests and becoming this “ideal” person in my book. Yet, I have never been very successful at any of it. I have tried so hard to be that girl, the one everyone admires. But that can be stolen too. McGruff was right! One word can just rip it down, and suddenly I am no longer that girl. I realized this one night when after a weekend of praising me and the decisions I had made to better myself, my husband came down with a criticism of something I did. You see, lately the girl I want to be is the educated, reader, tea-drinker, who does not watch TV and only eats healthy things, the girl who does yoga and runs, the self-disciplined girl. What’s the problem? I watched TV and suddenly I was no longer that girl. My husband apparently admired that girl. But I changed, or gave in to be not so self-disciplined and suddenly that was no longer my identity. I had my identity stolen by just this simple question of whether I was really going to watch TV tonight—and was it going to be that much TV. I had determined I was. I was sick and tired and wanted to watch 3 hours of TV. But when my husband brought this up, I realized I was no longer this girl, the girl who he had grown to like, even if it had been a girl around for only about 2 weeks. My identity was stolen, my pride was hurt and once again, I was left wondering who I am.

Thankfully several years ago, God really showed me who I am. I am His. That is what defines me, that identity, cannot be stolen. No matter if I am organic-eating or M&M-eating, running or sitting and reading, making wise decisions of my time or not so wise, I am still His. My identity is that of a child of God. I am chosen, dearly loved and precious. I am His precious daughter. Thankfully this does not change. I cannot make some mistake that will take this away from me or make me less His. I just need to keep reminding myself!

Thanksgiving Recap

Well.... I took a few days off, to enjoy being home with my family. We kind of took the whole week off, off of school, off of schedule, just pretty much off. It seems that Thanksgiving in my house always ends up kind of up in the air. We have hosted the past two years, and two years in a row our main guests, (my wonderful sister and her family) have had some major thing strike. Last year her husband tore his Achilles tendon the Saturday before and was in surgery the Tuesday before. This year, Sunday morning her 6 year old came down with strep-throat and then Tuesday her three year old as well. So both years we waited until Thanksgiving day to actually find out if anyone was joining us for dinner. And both years they forged through, making the five hour trek to share Thanksgiving with us. And I am very thankful they did!

This year we also started a new tradition. We started the morning trottin' with the turkeys! That is what they call the run here in town, the "Turkey Trot" It was so much fun! My eight year old did amazing! My five year old did a pretty good job. Here are some pictures....

There was a good turn out, over 1500 racers! (we were at the very back)our cheering team! (grandpa and 2 year old)



he had the best seat in the house!

Running to the finish line!

Karis and I finishing closer to the end, we were ending our 2 miles at the same time the 10k winners were coming in!

Determination, eye on the prize (the finish line had cookies and donuts-all the motivation this girl needs!)

A final push to the finish line!

We had a great time and a really, really good Thanksgiving!

Hat Skit - Hearts at Home National Conference

I love this skit, it is exactly how I feel most days. I saw Karen Ehman two years ago at the Hearts at Home Conference. Funny thing is, I never imagined life would be quite like this. In fact, I kind of thought it would be much different. If someone had asked me 20 years ago what my life would look like when I was in my 30s, I would have said, ...I thought I would live in a big city. I would drink coffee on the train commuting to work while glancing at the financial section of the New York Times. I was never going to be married. I thought I would adopt a child from another country.I thought I might change the world in some extraordinary way.

Instead, I live a crazy, unpredictable life. Doing far more than I ever imagined I could. And the far more is a whole lot of ordinary things. And some days, I get really tired and discouraged that it is not some extraordinary world changing thing -- like cure cancer, find a way to feed all the starving children in Africa, or bring world peace (you know all the reasonable goals that every young person strives for). BUT, then most days, I realize that the extraordinary thing I get to do is take care of these little people and make them ready to take on this world.

Things I Love Thursday (Running)

Well, since I have only been really writing this blog regularly for the past three weeks and this is my third post on running, I think it suffices to say that I LOVE RUNNING! And, I have a goal to run the Chicago Marathon next Fall. So, I thought I would justify my love for running by listing things that make running good!

1. When I am about to scream because my house needs cleaning, my kids need feeding and things are not going my way BUT it is 7am (my usual time to run -- although somehow this has changed to 5:00am -- see #5) I get to go without having to justify, and somehow life is a lot clearer afterwards. (or maybe I just can't yell because I am out of breath)--either way it works!

2. Some nights I really need a piece of chocolate, glass or two of wine, chocolate chip cookie, etc. On days I run, I really do not feel guilty about one of these things, and even on days I don't run, I just run a little more/faster the next time.

3. I can say that I have actually accomplished something -- "I ran 6 miles, in 54 minutes. " One of the only things I actually COMPLETE in my life, other things like dishes always need doing, there is always laundry to do and toys to clean up -- they are never COMPLETE!

4. It is one of the only things I can do that I am completely alone doing, and it is OK.

5. I do not have to be completely alone, I have made some of my best friends running, and am always making new friends running. There is camaraderie in running, I may not ever have taken the time to get to know someone because our lives are different, busy, full, etc. BUT then we run together. And there is just something about running 8 miles in a snowstorm just for training sake that makes you feel like this person is your favorite person and you will be friends forever!

6. I get to run with my girls. This Fall my 8 year old and 5 year old have been training with me for the turkey trot Thanksgiving morning. So we will be starting our day running together, for that I am thankful!

I cannot imagine not being a runner, I hope that I will be one of those people at 89 still running and maybe even one of those old people you hear people talk about that passed them at mile 5.

This post is being linked to Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries

A Book Review

Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

I love to read, I am not a huge fan of book reviews, because so often it is just a personal thing. But I am going to give it a try. For example, I strongly disliked the books The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Both of these books have gotten rave reviews from many, but they just were not my cup of tea. So, this review is just my humble opinion. And, I went into this with high expectations. Some set by the 3 or 4 pages of reviews at the beginning of the book stating how this book changed lives. The other expectation was one set by myself. Somehow I thought this book might be just the perfect blend of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. Now this would be my dream book probably, historical fiction with a little bit of mystery (or whatever drew me to Twilight). Well, I was sadly disappointed. This book was a quick easy read, but it was not all I had hoped for. The two main characters were Toma and Lucine. And Toma was what seemed to be a "savior" character. Definitely in the ending he was that, but he was SO lacking. I am always taken by books that show the lure and danger of overindulgence. So often we look at evil as just that evil. The characters that murder, abuse, hurt. This book shows the danger of just living with pleasure and love in excess, at all costs. And that I appreciated. But I wanted more development. I did not see what real love looks like, the kind that is complete, the kind I think this book was trying to show. I wanted more. So, all in all, I would give this book 3 stars if I had a rating system like that. The idea was good, it fell short.

Top 10 Christmas Traditions... It's Beginning To Look a lot like Christmas!

Well, not here, but just north of here I heard they got a foot of snow! And, I cannot believe how many people are setting up Christmas trees early, before Thanksgiving. I say go for it! I love this time of year... the lights, the smells, the sights. I love it! There are a few traditions I will keep and a couple I would like to start (or restart)
1. Pajamas -- since I was a little girl we got pajamas on Christmas Eve -- to look cute in our pictures Christmas morning (although I dont think I ever looked really cute in any of those pics)
2. Put up Christmas Tree the weekend after Thanksgiving -- I actually have these really fond memories or going to cut down our own tree the first week of November as a kid, some friends of ours had a Christmas Tree farm and before they sent them out to the stores we got to come cut one, we then followed it with chili at a neighbors with friends from church also cutting down THEIR trees and singing Christmas carols. I thought we would have a real tree by now, for sure last year, but so far our little tree has hung in there. We missed putting it up last year until the week before because we kept thinking we would get a real tree, we never did, we put up the old standby and my two year old broke into tears when he saw the lights, I dont think he had seen anything so beautiful in his life!
3. Advent - so often I skip this part, I get so caught up in all the doing, I forget the need to prepare myself for this holiday so... we will be reading a part of the Christmas story each day and lighting our Advent candles
4. And for a craft/Advent Calendar -- Iwould like to make a Jesse Tree
5. Read this story as a family --I love reading with my family ay night, with hot chocolate or tea and everyone cuddled up together (well except for the two year old doing sprints down the hallway)
6. This one is going to be very hard for me -- but I want to make it a tradition that each child gets just one present from us, besides the pajamas listed in #1... My love language is gift giving, and I love to buy presents for my family, but I really feel like this is when I lose perspective!
7. Listen to this CD, (I did not know if they actually sold it anymore, but I found it on Amazon) it is a favorite of my husband's and mine, and it is really hard to get him to like my music
9. Drive around and look at Christmas lights
9. Make these amazing Chocolate Oreo Truffles, (I only let myself make them during the holidays )
10.Celebrate with family, we always spend Christmas Eve with my in-laws and this year we are heading to my sister's on Christmas Day
Well seven of the ten are tried and true traditions, three are new, we will see how they go, and hopefully soon it really will begin to look a lot like Christmas around here!

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda

Poop on Potty Training!!!!

Poop! I hate potty training. Don't get me wrong I am incredibly happy when it is over and I don't have to change the diapers of an almost three year old, BUT in the middle of it, I hate it! I hate the messes, the fear of 'where is my child at this moment, is he hiding or is he going to the bathroom some random place in my house!' This is my third attempt. My first two were very successful, they were quick, easy. My first, my husband did most of the work -- so that was perfect!!! Then my second just wanted to be like her sister, so she just did it!

My third, he hates it, this morning he screamed at me, "I DON'T LIKE YOU!! YOU ARE MEAN MOMMY!" Just for making him sit on the potty? And I am not above bribery, I bribe with candy, stickers, cute underwear, you name it we have it. He just does not want to do it. He actually believes he will get a real truck when he is potty trained. He pointed it out to me the other day at the bank drive thru -- and I thought maybe this was a sign that he is NOT potty training until he is 16. Our day then proceeded with more screaming (I would not put pants or anything on him til he went on the potty) Some kids like to be naked -- not him -- after about 15 minutes he sat on the potty, tried really hard, did not go, and got to put on underwear -- CARS underwear (cool underwear)! He made it about 2 hours, which to my fault, I should have made him try again, but I really did not want to hear my sweet boy call me mean again and say he didnt like me! AND I was in the middle of some cooking projects. So, when he disappeared, I started searching -- David, where are you? Why are you hiding? To which he responded "I am a Ninja!" (sitting in a pool of pee?) Which he proceeded to blame on me -- he adamantly insisted that HE DID NOT WET HIS PANTS -- I did it! Well, once again, "I DONT LIKE YOU MOMMY! YOU ARE MEAN!" came out of my sweet boys little mouth. He was not allowed to put on new underwear/ pull-up/pants until he went on the potty. And 15 minutes later he was on the potty POOPING!!!! Then very grown up like he put on his alien underwear and pants. He then sat at the table to eat lunch and when his sisters did not understand what underwear he was wearing he stood up, pulled his pants to his ankles, breathed out a sigh of annoyance, "See?" And it is only noon and we are no where near done potty training.

Things I Love Thursday (being a girl!)

Well, I am going to make fun of myself a minute here because I was tempted to once again write about reading/books that I love, but apparently I have already wrote that blog twice in the past two weeks ... which I believe means I am both incredibly in love with books AND tired. I honestly left my purse at the store and my phone in a field today. I am apparently one tired mama!

SO, I am going to diversify! and talk about something else I love -- Being a Girl!

I grew up in a house full of love, a good home for the most part, we had our faults, but my mom was always really big on making sure I knew she loved me for me. She did not emphasize anything girly. Education was important, not appearance. And I totally get that, BUT I honestly believe every little girl needs to hear she is beautiful. Every little girl wants to be a princess. I did not know that though until I became the mom of now three darling girls who are little mommies, princesses and absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself. And after the birth of my first little girl, I realized I love being a girl! I love watching movies that make me cry. I love putting on makeup and having my husband think I am beautiful. I love getting dressed up and I am working on even liking wearing heels (I think this is optional though) I like when my husband is the brave one and I dont have to be. I want my girls to know they are loved for who God made them, creative, smart, and funny. BUT I also want them to know that God made them girls, and part of being a girl is being a beautiful princess, and that is OK.

This post is linked up to Diaper Diaries, Things I Love Thursday

Wordless Wednesday -- Maybe winter wont be so bad!!!

Last year we built a snow hill in our backyard, my children had a blast! And, joy on my children's faces, is the most beautiful sight in the world!!!

This post is submitted to Wordless Wednesdays at A Beautiful Mess

Top 10 things I am Thankful for... In honor of... THANKSGIVING!!!

It seems to be the theme in my life these days -- do you ever feel like it could only be more obvious that this is something you should learn if someone actually wrote with permanent marker across your eyeballs! My five year old said to me the other night while I was missing my husband, "MOM, do you want to be on the street with me!?!? or have a house over our head and food on the table!" me, "ummm, a house and food?" Five year old, "GOOD ANSWER!" She is right, who am I to complain, my husband has a job, we have a house and we have food. Be thankful! Then my two year old struck me twice in one week. He greeted his eight year old sister with, "Sister, I am so thankful to see you this morning!" Then upon arriving home with groceries, he noticed, skinless, boneless chicken breasts and grabbed them saying, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU GOT CHICKEN! I LOVE CHICKEN!" As Thanksgiving approaches, I am thankful for little people in my life who are reminding me to be thankful for what I have!

So... I am thankful for....

1. my Savior, Jesus Christ

2. a husband! He loves me despite all my downfalls and thinks I am so funny he actually thought I should do stand up comedy at one point which is just funny in itself

3. four amazing, unique children that have taught me more than I ever thought I needed to learn

4. friends! New and old, we have moved a lot over the past 10 years, and sometimes it has taken a long time to make friends and feel settled, this move has thankfully been a lot quicker adjustment. And I have managed to stay friends with some of the girls I grew up with!

5. a house!!! I have to remind myself of this because it is easy to take it for granted, but just a year and a half ago my family was crammed into a small two bedroom apartment. After 9 years of marriage we purchased our first house and it is so nice to have a home!

6. health! I have been blessed with 4 healthy children.

7. food! I have been toying with the idea of having one day a week where my family just eats rice and beans all day. I think this is something that is hard to understand -- that food is something I should be thankful for that not everybody has it.

8. a job! My husband has a job. That is probably enough said in today's economy, but so far, I have been able to stay home with our children and that is just an extra bonus.

9. forgiveness and grace! I need it every day!

10. that I am 33! I have lived a really good life so far, full of adventure and love and have a lot more to go Lord willing!

this post is linked to Top Ten Tuesdys at Oh Amanda

Top Ten Books I Have Ever Read (well in the past 5 years)

Did I mention that I am a bit obsessed with reading? If not, I am, it becomes a problem at times because I "live" in books. For example, when I was reading the Twilight series and was out running, I would frequently be on the look out for vampires. I think books, particularly fiction has this amazing gift of actually changing me. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. Stories are a gift. I am currently reading four fiction books at the same time, one by myself, one with my children, one with my husband, and one just here and there. I actually got my husband to read with me, which is SO exciting, although he doesnt love my book choice, he lets me read while he sketches (he is an artist...professorpaint.blogspot.com). It is a bit of quality time for us. So... Here are my Top 10 Books I have read (in the past 5 years) -- I am sure I read others in High School/College, but I think I should read them again

1. Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers -- I think this series is THE MOST life changing series I have EVER read in my life! You should read these books!

2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory -- Only because it made me realize that history can be interesting.

3. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy -- I just really loved this book

4. The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah -- I think one of the only books that has ever made me cry!

5. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult -- One of the first fiction books I read that made me realize the power of fiction to make me think and give a viewpoint without being in your face

6. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak -- Wonderful, interesting, creative! I loved this book! I want to read it again, now that I am writing it on this list

7. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini -- I think anyone who reads this book would put it on their top 10

8. The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer -- again a book that I just really, really enjoyed reading

9. Still Alice by Lisa Genova -- a book that gave me perspective on something I did not know I wanted perspective on -- alzheimers

10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer -- this is kind of silly to me, but these books made reading fun, not life changing, not really intellectually stimulating, but fun!

There it is, my top 10 books! That was harder than I thought!

This post is submitted to Top Ten Tuesday's at Oh Amanda

Baptism

This is not a theological post on baptism; this is just a story about my daughter's baptism. First,though, I did not actually complete any of my tasks I set out to complete last week — namely,the making of her dress, sweater, and bonnet. I did complete a hat and started a sweater, had allthe pieces ironed and cut out for the dress, but then realized my sewing machine somehow wasmissing one of the major parts AND I just did not have time to complete any of the projects.
Apparently, there was a dress in the family, my sister-in-law over-nighted it to us, and it wasbeautiful! Despite my plans and attempt at doing everything, nothing went as planned, and I wasnot able to do much of anything! I find it a bit amusing (and humbling) when things happen thatway, and I feel like a total failure. But I am somehow ok with it anyway because life has to goon, and that is just what happened. Life went on.
It was a beautiful fall day. My baby is my fourth to be baptized, but, to be honest, with the firstthree, it was more of a faith/following-my-husband thing. This one was an exciting type thing. And she did great.
Our priest read during the baptism: Baby four is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then he said, Baby four is sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever. Amen. I wanted to scream, SHE IS MARKED AS HISOWN! FOREVER! It is sealed; it is done; take that, enemy! You are not allowed near this child!
It gave me goose bumps and joy, knowing that my child, this precious little girl, all my childrenare marked as His; they are claimed! What a joyful day!

If You Give a Mom a Coffee... (an updated version of an old post)

If you give a mom a coffee, she will probably ask for cream. And as she pours the cream, it might remind her of a funny story about a two year old, cream and a coffee of his own.
She will probably sit to share the story. And stories might be shared back and forth for quite some time.
She might realize she is really hungry because she forgot to eat dinner, and ask for a piece of cake. If she asks for a piece of cake, she will probably want a fork. If she asks for a fork, she might think about all the dishes waiting for her at home. If she thinks about home, she might think about her children running around instead of sleeping in bed. If she thinks about bed she might realize that she is absolutely exhausted. And as exhaustion threatens her need to be productive, she might ask for a refill on her coffee. And if she asks for a refill on coffee, you know what probably comes next! But, please always give a mom her coffee!

Things that Break my Heart (in a good way)

I had no idea that these wonderful people in my life could break my heart... in a good way because I love them more than I ever thought possible. I want to protect them from every hurt, every broken dream, every sadness. I hate having them sad, BUT I love that I get to be the one that is there when their hurts need kissing, their dreams need redreaming and they need to laugh. Recently my eight year old confided in me that she gets nervous in her gymnastics class because all the girls talk, but she doesn't know what to talk to them about and she feels weird. It broke my heart because who couldn't like this girl. She is AMAZING, I know, I know, I am her mom, BUT she is beautiful, she laughs easily, there is no one she doesn't like, she leads, but not too loudly, and her heart is huge. And I just want to protect her from all the hurt in the world. I want to go into that class and tell them, what a great girl she is. But instead we talked a little about what you can talk to people about and about maybe asking them questions. And I was so thankful that at eight she still felt like she could come to me and tell me that this is hard for her. Then a few days later her little brother, my darling two year old had her read him some good old fashioned Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. You could tell he resonated with Calvin, the mischief and adventure suit him well. He requested a cape and mask, and his daddy eagerly agreed to make one for him. He put the cape and mask on, and ran down the hallway, he then turned to run back as his WHOLE family cheered him on, and you could see this look in his eye, excitement and joy, and he leaped into the air, followed by a serious flop on his face, and then the tears. At first, I thought he injured himself, but then I realized physically he was fine, but his heart was broken. Through tears he explained that he honestly thought he would be in the air. He did not understand why he could not fly. His dream was crushed. He even proceeded to ask me to go to the store to buy some batteries to help him. My eyes burned as I saw my little man's dreams crushed. But so thankful that as a stay at home mom, I get to see these dreams, pick him up in his superhero costume, dust off the cape hug him, and tell him that he should keep dreaming. What a blessing it is to have little people in my life that break my heart because I love them that much, I feel everything they do, I am so thankful
This post is for the 30 minute blog challenge on Steady mom's blog

Crazy, Even for Me

So, my week started with this random thing. I had noticed in several places a women's name, she is part of a homeschool group I am in, her daughter was a student in one of my husband's classes, her name sometimes showed up in the emails from a running club I always intended to join but never did ( but still got emails from, just in case)...finally I got an email from a classical homeschool thing I was interested in, and her name was on the sending e-mail. So, I randomly sent her an email saying, we have all these connections. We became facebook friends and realized we have another random connection- she used to mentor teen moms with the same program I just started mentoring with. She is good friends with the leader of this branch, when I told the leader I had just met this woman, she said, "didn't I tell you when I first met you that you reminded me of someone? Well that is who you reminded me of." So we met this morning, this the crazy part--we met at 5 a.m. to run 6 miles in the pitch dark. I haven't run more than 4.5 since my baby was born 4 months ago. And I finished it, running the whole way (no walk breaks) I think it is really neat when something like this happens and you realize how small the world is, and I can't help but think there is a reason for it all, that in God's purpose, this woman and I were meant to meet, even if it is just to help me realize that I am not that crazy because there is someone out there a whole lot like me!

Supermom

A post from an earlier blog, I tried and tried again to write

When my first child was born she did not come out carrying a cape and tights for me to put on. She came out screaming and needy. I wish she had come out with the outfit, it may have seemed strange, but it would have clued this first time mom into the fact that the expectations of a mother are far from wimpy. They are the expectations of a superhero. Sometimes, I can hear in my head the announcer from one of those movies, “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it is a mom running full speed across the kitchen to catch the egg her daughter has gotten from the refrigerator to “help” make cookies.” Amazingly, with the grace of God, we as mothers are given superhero powers to care for these little people He has placed in our hands. Motherhood is amazing, beautiful, fun, and difficult. It is all the adjectives used to describe something great and worth a lot of effort. It is all I imagined it to be and more. What I could not imagine was the strength necessary to be a good mother.

A mother is given by God the superpower of making milk. A mother can provide her child with all she needs, all the food, vitamins and nourishment for her new little one. She is given the gift of supersonic hearing. A Mom can hear her child’s cry before he actually cries. Maybe it is the way he rolls in bed, the roll that clues her into the fact that her sweet child is not completely asleep or starting to stir. Sometimes it is the strength to get up to put the pacifier back in his mouth for the eighteenth time. And so often it takes just a touch, a hand on the cheek, a pat on the back and he drifts back into dream land. And have you seen a mother’s smile? It is magic. The smile in a mother’s eyes and on her lips that instantly sends her baby into fits of belly laughing. I have heard it in the grocery store, the mall or a church pew. It is the laugh that sends me into fits of laughter upon just hearing it. It is a strong woman, wise enough to know that laughter almost always wins out over tears.

The memory goes a little more with each child, a “holey memory.” A mother filters out the bad and holds onto the good. She has the strength to open her hands and let go of the things she does not want to hold on to, and to grasp ever so tightly those memories she will always desire. The gift of elocution is a mom having the ability to talk about poop and spit-up with utter fascination for hours. A mother is able to work while sleeping. Mothers can change diapers, make dinner, and direct children on just hours of sleep. A never- ending supply of sweet kisses abide in a mother’s grasp. She can heal a booboo with those kisses in an instant. She has the voice of an angel. This one I am particularly fond of since I do not have one, but my children love it when I whisper songs in their ears. When all these superhuman powers do not work, she relies on the regular human ones. Arms that carry thousands of loads of laundry, scrub floors, wash dishes and carry pounds of groceries, the same arms gently lift this child and walk, on legs that chase children and climb stairs for one last kiss. The mother carries her precious colicky child for hours with patience far greater than any she ever imagined. The mother carries her child and loves with the strength of a mother.

And what would this superhero wear? Besides cute shoes? There probably would not be an outfit my daughter could have come out with to prepare me for it all. Maybe it could have a charming red purse to put my kisses in. Whatever the outfit, it would probably not be pretty at all times, but definitely made with grace.

A little progress

So, I started Saturday, and actually got a hat crocheted and all the fabric bought, cut out, ironed and set, but sewing machine is missing parts-well one part, but it is an important one I think... so a trip to the store is in order. In the mean time, here is the hat...

Hopefully more will get done tonight!