A fire in the backyard

There is just something about sitting around a fire, toasting marshmallows and just talking.  I love our new home and our back yard.  We have an amazing golf course behind our property.  Most golfer are done playing through around 7 p.m., so after that, it's like we have no neighbors at all behind us.  It almost feels like we live in the woods even though we are in the middle of the city.  This spring, I purchased a firepit.  I've always wanted one and now we have the perfect spot for one.

Even though it was a little chilly last night, I lit a fire.  The boys were playing with friends and soon we had several neighborhood children in our backyard roasting marshmallows and talking.  Simple polite conversation seems to be missing in these days of cell phones, facebook, blogs, video games and technology.  I sat with about 6 children ages  4 to 14 and we told stories, laughed and just had fun.  They asked questions about the peepers we could hear in the distance, the stars, thunderstorms, our cat bear, trucks and much more.  When they started to leave around 9 p.m., they all wanted to know if we could do this again.  I told them that we most definitely could!

In the hour and a half we were outside, not one child texted, played a video game, logged on to facebook or even took a call on a cell phone.

So this summer, put away the cell phones, log off of the computer and spend time with your kids.  Find out their what makes them tick.  Ask about what they like to do.  You may just make a memory that will last a lifetime and light a fire in their heart about the world.

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Okay...  Here's my big announcement.  (No, I'm not seeing anyone and I'm not getting married.)

The Lord laid on my heart about a year ago that I should write a book.  I feel strongly that is what I will be doing that.

I'm praying for direction about the focus of my book.  I have a TON of ideas and I need to be focusing on direction with this project.   I will keep you updated.  In the mean time, look for a fan page for this blog on Facebook.  I've been posting my blog updates as part of my personal FB page and will continue to do so for those of you that will admit to being friends on Facebook, however, I am also going to be starting a fan page as an outreach ministry for single moms.  It will be launching soon.  I also am praying about starting an online ministry for single parents.

I am asking for you to pray for me in this endeavor.  God has been sooooo good to me and shown me so much grace.  I just want Him to use me in the way He sees best in the lives of others.

Blessings and Grace to you,
Judi

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey...

There was BIG excitement outside of our house last night.  HUGE!  Danny could hardly contain himself.

The STREET SWEEPER went down our street.  Yes, you heard me right.  We had an actual street sweeper on our road.  At about 5 p.m., I called the boys in for dinner.  I looked up the street and saw Danny sitting on a neighbors lawn watching the street sweeper move down the street.  I went out to him and said, "Whatchya doin' buddy?"  He looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Watching this big truck coming down our street!"

So, I explained what the truck was and what it was doing.  The man in the truck stopped the truck and said, "Bring him over here."  We got to look into the truck and see the dual steering wheels.  The man also explained why the sweeper sprayed water on the ground first and how the brooms worked with the vacuums to suck up all of the dirt from winter left behind on the road.

Danny and I walked all the way down our street, following the street sweeper and watching it do it's job.  Danny asked questions and predicted what was going to happen next when the sweeper reached certain objects and obstacles.  Overall, it was a very educational experience.

Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, he said, "Mama, when I grow up, can I drive a street sweeper?"  I told him that he could if he did well in school and learned how to be very safe and careful.

He then said his prayers.  "Dear God, Thank you for this day.  Thank you for Mama, Joey and the street sweeper.  Please help the man who drives it not to hit any kids and if he does, help him not to suck them up inside the street sweeper.  In Jesus name, Amen."

So, driver of street sweeper 283, thank you for taking the time to teach my Danny about street sweeping and remember, be careful out there today. Try not to suck up any young children in your truck.

Pop Tarts and Praise Songs at 5:15 a.m.

Every day this week, I have had to wake the boys up at between 7:30 and 8 a.m --  except today.  Today Danny was wide awake at 5:15 a.m. and raring to go.  He got up, got himself dressed and bounded down the stairs declaring it was time to go out and play.  So I did what any normal mom would do.  I turned the TV on, gave him a Pop Tart as I knew the next request would be for me to make breakfast and told him not to get off of the couch until I came and got him.  Then, I went back to bed.  I love my kids, but 5:15 a.m. on a Saturday is a bit much to ask of any mother.  I have to be honest and real when I say that at this moment, I was not feeling the normal motherly love that a woman should have for a child.  As a matter of fact, I entertained the opposite thoughts.  "Why me?  Why do I have to have a child with a sleep disorder? Why do I have to be a single parent?  Why did you do this to me, God?"

It sounds ridiculous, I know.  I mean, I am amazingly blessed.  It's incredible what lack of sleep does to your attitude.

So, I went back to bed grumbling a silent protest in my heart and then I heard it.  Singing...

"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."  Hearing your child sing or laugh is one of the sweetest sounds a mother can hear.  Tears started to roll down my face.  How could I have had those feelings in my heart, even for a moment?  Shouldn't I be grateful 100% of the time for my kids, even when they get me up at 5:15 a.m.?  After all, I waited 10 long years for them to be in my life.  How could I be so grumpy with him when his heart is so sweet?  How could I put my own selfish need for sleep in front of Danny just wanting to spend time with me?   Then, I started to feel guilt.   What kind of mother am I?  What kind of mother puts her own need for sleep before the needs of her children?

I don't believe that God speaks audibly to people today, but I think he often places knowledge in your heart.  The next thought I had was, "You are a human mother.  Flawed and imperfect, but you have been made perfect in me.  You are the perfect mother for your kids even when you're being human."    Then the next thought I had was that Danny deserves someone better than me, more patient, more understanding and more loving.  Then I realized he has that person.  He was just singing about Him on the couch.

I learned a lot today about myself.  Guilt, bitterness, anger, envy and jealousy are all tools in the enemy's hand that try to pull us away from the good things in this world that God has for us.  Being content in our current situation is something I struggle with everyday, however, I need to realize that I am in God's plan and I know that He has only my best interest in mind. He is the perfect parent and wants me to follow His plan for my life, so I am going to try to take those negative feelings into captivity.  When I feel them, I am going to pray to get that contentment and joy back into my life.  Jesus truly loves me and that is ALL that I need.

Stress and stress relief

Today was certainly a stressful day at work.  Most days I LOVE my job and truly, today was no exception, however, we did have a few challenges today.  Without getting into the actual events   of the day, let me just say, there is never a dull moment when you are a teacher, especially when you are dealing with adolescent children.   I have to say that in the course of the day, I laugh many times, want to pull my hair out at other times, am surprised at the amount of new gray hair I get on a daily basis, sometimes want to cry, sometimes want to just give a child who needs it a hug, laugh some more, am challenged at how to "get through" to the reluctant learner, have to think on my feet, laugh again etc.  You get the picture.  Today was one of those days where I did all of the above and more.  We had a faculty meeting this afternoon and our principal brought up a major event that occurred in the morning and one of the teachers piped up and said facetiously, "that happened today?"  That was just the kind of day we had.  STRESSFUL!!!  And most likely, since the school year is starting to wind down, we will have many, many more stressful days over the next few weeks.

So, what do I do to relieve stress??  Here are some of my tried and true methods.

1.  Read the Bible and pray.  I really do get much wisdom, comfort and peace from reading the Word of God and spending time with my best friend, Jesus.

2.  Take a hot bath with a good book on my Kindle.  Now before you get shocked that I don't get shocked by having electronics in the tub, I put the Kindle in a ziploc bag and voila!  It's waterproof and best of all, the pages of a book don't get all soggy.

3.  I eat Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits.  My current weakness.

4.  I go for a walk to burn off the calories of eating the Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits.

5.  I drink a cup of Licorice Spice Tea!  Yummy!!

6.  I light a candle.

7.  I go to bed early.

8.  I write to process my thoughts and clear my head.

People often ask me how I can possibly be going to Grad School, single parenting to active boys, working full time and running a part time photography business without going insane. That's how I do it.  I have different things I do to deal with the stress.

On most nights I do only one or two of those things.

Tonight, I think I managed to hit them all...

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.

Mom School

I have gullible children.  Their gullibility can make parenting really, really fun.  I have an ongoing joke with them.  Any time I do something "Mom-ish" and they asked me how I learned that particular skill, I tell them that I learned it in Mom School.  Mom School is a place that all Moms are required to attend before they have kids to learn how to be a mom.  When they asked how I knew this or that, I sometimes that it was a class in Mom School.

So, today, I was making dinner on the grill and Danny tried to "help".  Despite my repeated admonitions not to touch the grill, he reached his hand in just as I was taking the meat of of the grill and touch the very front of the stove, not even on the burner.  He burned the tip of his index finger ever so slightly.  I immediately got an ice cube and wrapped it in a cloth to put on the finger, but it didn't work so I said, "Hey, I remember this from mom school.  We learned how to fix burns, hold on a sec."  I ran inside and got a package of frozen raspberries and wrapped in finger in it and then gave him a little ibuprofen for the pain.  I told him that they said that any package of frozen fruit with the ibuprofen should take away the pain in about 20 minutes.  Guess what, it worked!!

After dinner, I had to give the cat his antibiotics.  He fought and struggled, so I wrapped him in a towel with just his head showing so he couldn't squirm and force fed his medicine to him.  Guess where I learned that?  You got it!  Mom school.

At bed time, Danny fell asleep on the couch without doing his business.  Seeing he is no longer in a pull up at night, I felt it important to force him to do his duty before retiring permanently to La-la land.  Joey watched me carry his 70 lb. brother up the stairs, undress him, walk him to the bathroom, quietly talk him into going without waking him up and walk him back to bed.  Joey looked at me with big eyes and asked, "What class taught you how to do that?"  I told him that it was a class called 'Early Childhood Night Time Routine and Preparation' A.K.A,  MOM 101.  He then looked at me and said, "You're fooling again, right?  They didn't really make you go to mom school."  I just smiled at him.  I know I shouldn't lie to my child, but I know that he knows that this is just a little joke between the two of us.

How does a woman learn to be a mother?  Where did I learn these "Mom Skills"?  Growing up, I remember my best friend, Pam and I pretended we were moms.  She had her Betsy doll and I used a red-headed doll named Natalie.  We would pretend by the hours that we were moms.  We used benches in Pam's room and would make cribs for our babies.  We would diaper them, swaddle them feed and burp them.  We would sing and read to them and just practice being moms.  I don't really remember how we learned these skills except we observed the grown-ups being moms to their own children. I am so grateful for the beautiful example these women set for me.  My mom, my grandmothers, my aunts, my babysitter (Pam's mom) and several other women along the way taught me so many things that I currently use with my kids.  I am grateful for all that these woman showed me.  Without their love, patience and guidance, I don't know would do.  I probably would have been really, really clueless when it came to being a mom.

Since this is Teacher Appreciation week and Mother's day is fast approaching, I want to say thank you to all of the women in my life that were instructors to me in Mom school.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!