*********

“I can’t sleep. I’m just so excited about Granddaddy and Nana!”

You might say this was a really big deal! Here is their visit, according to Granddaddy’s phone. Dad let me email myself all the pictures I wanted. Thanks, Dad!!  🙂

Alan took the boys wet suit shopping. Oh my goodness. Have you ever put on a wetsuit? Well, let me tell ya, it’s like putting on full body panty-hose–not an easy accomplishment for little boys! Caleb was having none of it, so we settled for a spring surfer suit.

He didn’t last in the water for as long as the rest of us, but it was thick enough to let him play for a little while. The boys keep calling it their “safety suit.” We finally had to explain that it isn’t exactly a safety suit, lest they develop some sort of false security in their suit. You never know what a little one might believe will make him invincible!!

Now this is Big Sur. Endless miles of land that look like this.

Believe it or not, Daniel was standing INSIDE of a redwood tree. yep.

The wetsuits in action–By the end of the day, Joshua was in up to his neck too. These suits really amazed me. The arms/legs are thinner than the body part. For the body part, you literally cannot even tell you’re getting wet. We can swim all year!

Daniel was sort of a beach sensation, looking so adorable in his little bitty wet suit.

“Mom, you’re so big. To be as deep as me, you need to go further out.”

“No, thanks, Joshua. I do not actually want to swim WITH the seals and the sea lions–kind of freaks me out a little bit.”

This whole area also has a large homelessness problem.

Granted, this is by FAR the most expensive place we’ve ever lived, and we lived in Washington, DC. What makes it so expensive? We’re not just talking real estate. These people hand taxes out like Halloween candy. Our renter’s insurance went up. Car insurance went up for both vehicles. Our gas–oh my goodness the gasoline–the whole state voted itself a tax increase on gasoline.

Oh! Milk seems to have gone down a little, though! That’s a big deal with four children.

For a second I thought, “Ha ha, they won’t get us with that gasoline tax. Alan rides his bike to work, and I’m working at home.”

….Then I realized that that’s exactly what they’re trying to accomplish. Ugh. I did not stick it to the man. Haaaa!

Ya’ll. Not even kidding–I got a mail-out from a local politician that went on and on and on about all the taxes he supports. He supports more sales tax, more property tax, etc. etc.

You can’t make this stuff up. Now anywhere else, they might support the tax hikes, but they’d keep that on the down-low–not brag about it.

So if there is any culture shock, it’s that which is hitting my wallet.

Oh, also they charge you a quarter for plastic bags. But let me tell you. Once you move here, you totally get why they’re so serious about protecting the environment and the ocean. I’d be pretty ticked at anyone that messed this up too. I have no problem at all with the re-use- your- bag movement.

Now wait a minute. Where was I going with all that? I had a point. I said all this to tell a humorous quote from my parents.

Mom mentioned all the beggars–really there are so many–and she said, “One of them had a sign that said,’Not even going to lie. Need money for beer.”

Dad cut in, “So I gave him a dollar!”

heeeeheehhehe Well, we do all appreciate a little honesty.

We had a great visit with my parents. They had never been to California before. Visiting places this new and different from the South is exciting.

We are adjusting well to our gorgeous new environment, even if we do have a little California culture shock.

The post The Truth About Moving to California & Culture Shock appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Of course, before he was the greatest granddaddy, he was the greatest dad, and he still is.

My dad did a lot of saving the day this year. He went to Virginia and picked up my van when every other plan had failed us. He helped my mom maintain order and take care of the children on my 2 week vacation with Alan out West. You don’t find too many folks that can take on a baby, a preschooler, and 2 ‘big’ boys for 2 whole weeks. Ya’ll did a great job. THANK YOU!!!!!

Dad and Alan got totally overlooked on Father’s Day, since we were traveling that day. This week is my dad’s birthday, and I just can’t overlook him this time!!!

There was this one day, while we were staying at my parents’ house, that Joshua walked outside, after having gotten in trouble for his attitude, and I saw that Dad was already out there. I told Mom, “Good. I hope Dad gives Joshua one of those lectures about life.” 🙂 I used to hate those!!!  But I’m so thankful you gave them to us, Dad!

I’m thankful for so many things that you did. I’m thankful you knew how to do that whole “tough love” thing. Of course, we learned early on that your bark was much worse than your bite (there was no bite). My dad just has this air of authority. You can’t fake that. When Dad enters the room, he’s in charge, and everyone knows it, but I can’t explain it at all. When he says ‘go,’ you go, and that’s all there is to it. Of course, I pushed and prodded and tested him anyway. I can’t imagine where Joshua gets it from…..

There are so many things I learned from my dad. My favorite? I love that you taught me to love boating, Dad. You let me ride on your ski boat to my heart’s content, and you never made me fish. I just liked to ride. Alan and I once took one of these “marriage surveys” to see what activities we both enjoy. We had a grand total of ONE activity in common: boating!

That’s me driving a pontoon boat, Spring Break, my senior year of high school.

….And you prepared me for my life as an Army wife. Saying ‘good-bye’ and “welcome home” were not foreign concepts to me. I made this sign for my dad when I was a child. He was coming home from the Panama Conflict.

Dad has always been fun too. This is me getting tickled, I’m sure. We used to have a running game of “last lick”, and I just can’t explain how much fun that was.

I’m amazed at how much we’ve all changed over the years, and we had the greatest joy when Dad accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior about six years ago.

I think it’s important to not wish your life away, and that’s been really hard not to do this particular summer!! Even though things have dragged out much, much longer than we had hoped, at least my children got to go spend time with the people that matter the most to us. I hope some Granddaddy wisdom and leadership rubbed off on them. I hope some Nana sweetness and affection got poured in there too–and perhaps some Nonna industriousness and stick-to-it-iveness and a little DaddyO calm and humor.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!  I love you so much, and I hope you get to come and visit very very very soon!!

The post My Dad appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

It has been a pleasure to see my little boys having a true “Alabama summer” this year.

They’ve always spent a couple of weeks per summer here, but this year, when it’s all said and done, they will have spent one week shy of two full months!!

The funny thing is that our version of an Alabama summer looks a whole lot different than what a “Yankee” may envision. Now I mean no ill-will towards our friends from other regions. I love my Yankee friends. However,  the fact remains that we have lived all over the country, and we have noticed a great multitude of misconceptions about “The South.”

One might be tempted to think that an “Alabama summer” means that my boys have been spending all day out in the country, doing things like “mudding”, fishing, playing bare–foot, swimming in a “crick”, catching fire-flies, and shooting rabbits.

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but we don’t actually have a farm or even live in the country.  

(It would be so cool if we did, though!!) Both sets of our grandparents live in very average American neighborhoods.  Alan is from a classic southern small town. My parents live in a small city.

-“Mudding” is more of a teenage activity, which I have never participated in. I believe it’s where you drive a pick-up truck down a muddy dirt road.

-Fishing would have been great, but it just didn’t happen this year–not yet, anyway.

-Playing bare-foot:  YES!!  We did do that–every single day, myself included.

-swimming in a ‘crick’–that’s what we call a creek– I did that a few times as a kid, but my children have yet to experience it. I’m sorry, boys. One day!! Instead, Mom took them to Water World, where a sudden summer storm came up, soooo we’re going to try again tomorrow!

-Catching fire flies:  We don’t really have those at my parents’ house. Alan’s parents’ house has tons, so maybe we will do that next week.

–Shooting rabbits:  Seriously? They are 1, 3, 7, and 8. They rarely even shoot water guns. However, I am okay with them giving hunting a try when they are older.

What makes our summer great is that the boys get to spend endless hours of quality time with their grandparents. 

Family time is so extremely important. They also get to have a break from the pressures of school and extracurricular activities. I get a break from the pressures too! Plus, we leave here with freshly renewed Southern accents. 😉

Basically, an Alabama summer isn’t much different than a summer anywhere else in the U.S., EXCEPT that it is insanely hot: wet, sticky, suffocatingly hot. If you want to enjoy the outdoors, water actually has to be involved.

So here’s what our Alabama summer REALLY looks like:

He tends to have a very serious expression for photos.

This is “Fun Land”, which I mentioned in my previous post: Glitter, Fun Land and Life in Limbo.  This is the brain child of Joshua and Caleb. They confiscated Granddaddy’s sprinkler, and all of our summer entertainment problems were solved. This has provided DAYS of fun.

He did the slip-and-slide a couple of times, but he needs one or two more years before he’s ready for Fun Land.

Yesterday, the boys collected toys, called it armor, weapons, and helmets, and had a great time running around the house as knights. The most hilarious part was listening to them. I hear this from another room:

Joshua: (whack)

Caleb: Nope! Try it again!

Joshua: (whack) (whack)

Caleb: Nope! I didn’t even feel anything. This helmet is amazing. Hit me again!!!

a few hours later….

Joshua: oooooowwwwwww!!!  ow ow ow ow!!!

Caleb: (whack)

Joshua: Owww!  Stop it! You hit too hard!

Caleb: But you said….

I walked in to find Joshua rubbing his arm, holding a flimsy paperback book.

Me: Joshua, a paperback book will never work for armor.

Joshua: It isn’t armor. It’s a shield!

Me: Well, that will never work. You need something hard and plastic.

Joshua: *still smarting* yeah…..

Dan, Joshua, and I went to eat at Joshua’s favorite restaurant: Olive Garden.

I took them to Adventureland.

We played arcade games, rode go carts, bumper boats, played golf, and ate hot dogs and Dippin’ Dots. At the end of the evening, as we sat in a booth, eating our Dippin’ Dots, Joshua brought tears to my eyes. He said, “Well, this was really fun, coming here, with you.  Thank you for bringing us here, Mom.”

*instant happy tears in my eyes*

Caleb chimed in, “Yeah, thank you for bringing us here.”

Daniel echoed, “Yeah. Tank you bringing here, Mommy.”

🙂 Pure happiness!

Last night was not too hot at all. It was probably 75 degrees–the perfect weather for putt-putt.

Wishing you all a very happy, bare-foot, summer!! We will miss you so much, Nana and Granddaddy!!!Psssssst!  Don’t forget to give me a vote for Top Military Blog 2014 at Voiceboks.com! Voting ends July 31st.

The post A Real Alabama Summer in Pictures appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Being a military wife is all about knowing how to wait.

I’m not the same person I was when Alan and I got married 12 years ago. Scratch that. I am exactly the same person, only I am a much more mature person. Well, yeah, I still freak out over stupid stuff and care too much about what I look like and how others view me. I have come so far though!

When we first got married, I was still in my last semester of college.  Back then, I was so extremely impatient that it just drove me wild to have to wait more than a couple of days to find out my end of term exam and overall grades. I can remember having almost-panic attacks when the scores weren’t posted as quickly as I thought they should be. Purely ridiculous.

Fast-forward 12 years of military life.

When it comes to waiting to find things out, that is just a way of life. Not knowing where I will live a month, a year, or 2 years from now? That’s nothing. We call that Tuesday or Friday, or any other day of the week.

“Hurry up and wait” is a constant theme of the military life.

When Alan went to Iraq the first time, it was 2003, and the War on Terrorism was only beginning. Everyday the message was “Maybe Alan’s unit will leave tomorrow, or maybe they won’t leave for a few more weeks yet.”

“Oh, and by the way, once Alan gets to Iraq, there will be no way to contact you, and we do not know when they will come home. I’m sure we’ll only be there a few months. The whole Gulf War in the 90s was over in a matter of months. This should be too.”

Of course, we believed them. 6 months at the most, absolutely.

Then came the fateful night when I went to choir practice, and the choir director casually mentioned that he’d heard on the news that our boys would not be back for a year. I just burst into tears. It had been on the news before the families were even notified!

There were families in Germany that had it even worse. There were soldiers who landed at their base in Germany, after 12 months of separation, only to be turned right back around and stay in Iraq for 15 total months. I can’t stand the thought of all the children that had gotten all excited to see their daddy or mommy, only to have that promise snatched away, and not see their parent at all. Some of those families even got to see their Soldier, only to have to say good-bye all over again days later. Even worse, some of those service members never made it back.

It was painful. There were so many tears.

This is the life that we have chosen. We are sacrificing a whole lot of comforts in order to protect our nation. Our nation is unique in that we have a 100% volunteer force. I’m proud to be a part of it.

And the disappointment?  Well, disappointment is just a part of life, we live in a fallen world, and we all have to learn to deal with it, better sooner than later.

After three long deployments, four births, and 8 military moves, waiting for information or just something I want very much absolutely does not scare me anymore. I’ve grabbed that bull by the horns, and it can’t touch me. That’s just the military life.

“Let it go…..let it go…..”

And you know what? I have come to love the military life. We have gotten to not only sight-see all over the country, but live there. We’ve been able to sort the stereotype fiction from the facts. We’ve walked across the border and bartered in Mexico, we’ve toured the White House, we’ve put our feet into both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, and the people we’ve met–oh the people we’ve met is really the best part of it all.

I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

After months of not knowing where in the world we will be living, and arriving here without a home, we now have one. It’s not available until August though. Oh well. The bright side is that this means more time to go down to Alabama and visit with my family–my wonderful family. As we speak, my mom and dad are taking care of all four of my boys, and have been doing so for 8 days. Wow! Sounds like I owe them, right? They insist that they just love getting to spend this much time with them. I love you, Mom and Dad!

That is a whole other aspect to the military life: military kids. I remember once hearing a parent at our old school express concern that the welcome committee should not differentiate between military kids and non-military kids because ‘we don’t want the others to feel left out.’ Seriously? Not differentiate? So you don’t think the kid who has changed schools every single year might need a little extra help with anxiety? You don’t think the kid whose daddy is under fire in the mountains of Afghanistan, while his mommy tries to be both mom and dad, could use just a little extra attention?

I think she really meant well, but let’s not overlook a whole community of needs, just to prevent leaving someone out. There are many unique lifestyles in this country, and the military family is certainly one that may need a little extra help from time to time.

I’m so proud of how my children have handled all of these deployments and moves. I think it has made them stronger, more compassionate people. But, oh, how I hope they will never have to see another war time deployment!!!

As we go through this move, I keep wondering if I’m doing enough to ease their anxieties during this long and drawn out cross country move.

Thankfully, we have two sets of wonderful parents who have eased my worries. I can sleep easy at night, knowing that my mom and dad are loving and caring for all four of our babies tonight. It is a wonderful feeling– so much better than the mom I heard about yesterday, who at her wit’s end from taking care of all her children while staying in a hotel room, finally signed for a house well below her pay grade, just to have a house to live in.

The waiting is going to pay off for all of us. We have signed for a house!

I regret that the boys are having to wait so long to see their new home, but that was just how it worked out this time. We are so fortunate that the military has a community here for us to live in, where we will be surrounded by other military families, much like ourselves.

Our new place is beautiful. I’m really sad about the lack of backyard, but I’m loving the balcony! But that’s the beauty of the military life: It’s really just for a couple of years, and then it’s on to the next adventure!

The post How I’ve Changed from 12 Years of Being Married to the Military appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I’m really glad I did because it was over two hours before Alan was done.

Do you know what I actually said a few weeks ago?  “Oh, it won’t be hard, prepping for the move, with just one baby here.”

I will give you all a minute to laugh at my stupidity. BAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

One baby is all it takes to thwart perfectly good plans. Back to my story: a rough morning was had by all.

Alan: -At the beginning of the inspection, Alan dropped a brand new set of blinds, which we had just bought last night after the maid service broke them–and wouldn’t admit that they broke them. The blinds shattered all over the floor.

–Several lights just randomly decided to not turn on this morning that had never done that before….and the packers…..who do not pack light bulbs, as a rule, actually did pack the light bulbs that go to those particular light fixtures. Bizarre, considering they left us mountains of light bulbs, batteries, candles, and cleaning products. (Not complaining–just pointing out the irony of the missing light bulbs.)

-At the end of the inspection, Alan went to crank the van, and nothing. That’s right. He had to use his truck to give himself a jump-start.

-While sitting and letting the van run, Alan suddenly felt pain in his left arm. A wasp had gotten into the van and stung him in two places.

All of this before the road trip even started, but I have to tell you, he handled it all so well.

**********

Meanwhile, while I was skipping the home inspection, at the park:

First, I tried walking. JD started to cry, so I took him to the park. John David was well entertained by the playground equipment for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, just as JD was getting restless, a sweet family arrived. I have talked to Kevin, Liz, and their kids several times at our neighborhood park before. They are a really cute family with a daughter that’s Daniel’s age, as well as a daughter that’s JD’s age, and one more on the way.

I don’t know what I would have done without them today. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’d been praying all morning for help with this stressful move, and God came through for us as always. There are few accidents!

The little girls kept John David entertained. Actually, they kept me entertained too! It was amazing to see their toddler walking all over the place. I just kept thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe that’s going to be JD soon–walking all over the place!”

As JD was getting super cranky after an hour or so, they even shared their snacks with him. Kevin even held JD for me for a bit, which was a welcome break!

I want to wish this precious family much luck! Liz, I wish I were still there to offer you babysitting during those foggy postpartum weeks. I hope everything goes well. I’m sure it will. You two are such wonderful parents.

After these friends left, I pushed JD in his stroller, back and forth, around the park, until he fell asleep. I was so fortunate. I figured I’d sit on a bench while he slept, and maybe let myself just feel sad for a few minutes…….but then I was reminded yet again what made that community so great. Friend after friend dropped by and talked to me at the park. There was never a spare second to sit and reminisce–which was great! Thanks for stopping by, ya’ll, just to say hello, you really brightened this tired momma’s day!!

*********

Once we finally hit the road, we were starving. I never even had breakfast. With Joshua safely in Alabama, we thought, “Hey! We can eat at Chick-fil-a!” Woohoo!!  And so we did. The JD/possible peanut allergy thing never crossed my mind. We’ve had so many things on our minds.

The next time we stopped, we discovered a little red rash on JD’s face. Just peachy. Chick Fil A uses peanut oil, and I had given him a french fry. We gave him some Benadryl and drove on. The bad news is that the Benadryl worked. I was suspicious before, but now I am just sure of it. We have another peanut kid on our hands.

It was a very successful road trip today. We made it to Knoxville. Then we decided to stop, to give JD a chance to play in the hotel room before bed. That has worked nicely so far.

********

The three oldest boys are doing great in Alabama. Alan’s parents have sent me a few pictures.

……and a couple of good quotes:

Alan’s parents: Who wants to say the blessing?

Dan: Me!!  Me!!!   Danks, God. Amen. 🙂

****

Nonna (after taking the three boys to a museum–with Janet and her grandkids):  I’m so tired I can’t see straight.

Oh, Nonna, how we know that feeling!!  Thank you so much for doing this!!!!!

****

One quote from our road trip today:

Alan: Yeah….you’ve got an Anna voice, trying to sing an Elsa song…..

Humph! Whatcha tryin’ to say, Alan?? 😉 Ha! That’s okay. Idina Menzel is one of a kind.

****

Tomorrow: We’re meeting Alan’s extended family for lunch in Alabama!  Plus, we get reunited with all of our children. Can’t wait!

The post Road Trip Day 1: First stop, Knoxville appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Alan and I with both sets of our parents, at our engagement party. 2002

Right at this very moment, the baby is asleep upstairs, and Alan took all of the other boys with him to the store.  I know what they’re doing.  They are picking out my Mother’s Day present.  Isn’t Mother’s Day sort of embarrassing–as a mom, I mean?  So much attention.  Why is attention embarrassing?  I don’t know, but it all makes me feel a little squirmy.  I’m so not good at mushy moments.

But good at them or not, mushy moments are important, extremely important.  I am dedicating this whole week on the blog to mushy moments.  It’s all going to be so embarrassing!!

So let’s get MUSHY!!!  Let’s talk about moms.  It truly is the job that never ends.

You know you’re in for a good, cry-it-out Disney movie, when they start it off by killing off the mom.  OH, the AGONY!!  Why must they do this?

They do that because it’s about the worst possible thing that could happen!  We love our moms because of how much they love us.  We need our moms, and we never, ever grow out of that, or get to a place where we no longer wish they were near. Who else can we call up and just tell what we’re cooking for dinner that night–as if it’s news.  Who else cares when your baby cuts a tooth or there’s something weird going on with your fingernails? Who else will rejoice just as loudly as you rejoice over every little victory in your life? And it really must be mentioned–who spent the first two years of your life wiping your bottom and worrying about the consistency of your poop??  You know it’s true.

Okay, I said who else, but I realize that dads are wonderful too.  We’ll talk about you guys in June. ; )

Right now I am back in a place, yet again, where I literally NEED my mom.  Sometimes we just call her up and tell her to book a plane ticket. With four small children, we need another mom around to kiss little boo-boos and put away laundry.  Laundry.  So unromantic, huh?  But I’m sorry, it needs to be said. Clean laundry is just as important as food in the fridge!

That’s my mom, cooking dinner for us.  She has come and served our crazy family after three different births–all except Daniel. For that one, we were temporarily living at Alan’s parents’ house. And as you can see, she does it with a smile.  Thanks, Mom!!! We could not take care of these four healthy little boys without you!

And it’s not just my mom!  I would be waaaaay remiss to stop there.  We have TWO amazing mommas.  Alan’s mom came and made JD her one job on the weekend that Alan’s grandparents visited.  She taught JD to drink milk from a bottle, and I will never forget it.

Mothers are amazing, aren’t they?  I can’t believe I get to be a momma too.  It’s such a blessing. Of course, you never truly appreciate your momma until you have children of your own.  Then you suddenly get it.  “Ohhhh!  This is why she cares so much!”  The love you have for your children is simply indescribable!

And one day there will come a time when it is our job to take care of our mothers.  No one can stay young forever.  I want you both to know that it will be nothing more than a privilege to look over you as you age. I only hope that we can give back to you even a portion of the wonderful love that you have given to us, our siblings, and our children.

Thank you so much for showing us how to love, loving us when we were at our worst, caring for me after 2 c-sections, praying for Alan through three l-o-n-g overseas deployments, and always being there when we need a break from our own children!!  Ya’ll are the PERFECT military parents and grandparents. Our children look forward to seeing you as though you are lined with candy and Legos. They love you so much, as do we, and we could not be more thankful.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

my mom, holding Caleb

Alan’s grandmother, holding Caleb

Alan’s mom, making Caleb and Joshua laugh

Alan’s grandmother, meeting Caleb

my mom…..yet more Caleb

my great-grandmother and….Caleb:  Apparently we took a lot of pictures that year.

Oh!  This one’s Daniel and my mom.

Alan’s mom and Daniel.  Now I feel really bad that Joshua’s pictures aren’t digital.  If anyone has any digital baby Joshua pictures to send me, that’d be GREAT!

If the baby has red hair, it’s gotta be Daniel.

teenage April and my mom. 1998

Aunt Janet with Donna and a whole bunch of grandkids and nephews and nieces

My kids are a bit spoiled by their grandparents, but that’s just part of the magic.

Nonna with cousin Wesley

Nana with John David

Look closely. That’s Wesley again, not JD.  This could get confusing!

and of course, me with my crew

me with John David

I’m in this picture too.  Can you find me?

We do love our mommas!  I hope that I will be as big a blessing to my children, even as they become parents with families of their own, as you two have been to us.

The post Motherhood: The Job That Never Ends. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

New York in the fall has nothing on DC in the spring!

Ah, Spring, that glorious time of year when I want to wear short sleeves, but I can’t find them.  My nose is stuffy, my eyes itch, and yet for some reason I feel wholly and ridiculously happy.  I want to hug the spring this year–every zyrtec requiring moment of it is pulling me out of the dark-ish zone I’ve been inhabiting for too long to admit!

This spring break started out seriously dull.  The kids were having a blast:  playing with their friends all day, no homework, no school.  “Everything is awesome.  Everything is great.”

Meanwhile, I was drowning in babies, diapers, bottles, breast milk pumping, dishes, cooking, laundry mountains, toys everywhere, and worst of all:  cleaning up under the high chair.  grrrrrrrrr-oss!!!  No matter how hard I work all day, I never put a dent in the work load, and I wasn’t taking the time to just have fun with the boys.

Enter Tuesday.  There’s something about knowing that your mom and dad are on their way to your house that just puts you in a better mood.  Phew!!!  Plus, I suddenly stumbled upon a revelation.

I was praying, something like, “Oh God, how will I ever do all of this? I am so tired.”

When suddenly He reminded me of my New Year’s Resolution:  Chill.

Oh yeah!

I’d forgotten about that.  My revelation:  if I keep making lists of 20 things to do each day, and not even including the morning chores and baby feedings on the to-do list, I will never get past ‘overwhelmed.’  I don’t want to live overwhelmed!

Why is it that I have to keep learning these same lessons over and over again?  Isn’t that the definition of a fool?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  the to do list should have the 6 most important things to do that day.  I am going back to that.  My list looked something like this for Wednesday:

1. Get everyone ready for the day. (an accomplishment in itself)

2. Dishes

3. Laundry:  Just do your best.  ; )

4. Feed everyone:  three meals, 2 snacks

5. Target trip

6. De-clutter for 1 hour.

Now this is a list I can handle!!  In addition to giving myself attainable goals, I also set myself up for success by taking my prescribed medication:  iron with vitamin C.  These aren’t intellectual breakthroughs, but when you’re going through a time in life that is just difficult, for one reason or another, clinging back on to these simple truths means a lot.

God has set my feet back on the rock.  This song is in my head!!!

The post Spring Break Just Got a Whole Lot Better! appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.