Goodbye Baby

So we have decided to start remodeling our kitchen.

We're two days into the process. 

I think I'm ready to quit.

Because perserverence isn't my strong suit.  That or thankfulness.   Or patience.  Okay, let's not go down this road.  Anyway.....

Yes, the joys of remodeling. Especially right before Christmas. When I'm baking  a lot.

Not to complain. Because this was totally my idea. See, when you have WHITE tile floors and WHITE tile bars and four Yahoos your kitchen tends to appear a little dirty. By that I mean that I need to mop Every.Single.Day. Need to, mind you. I don't actually do it.

Have I mentioned The Honey can do anything? 

See this guy wants nothing more than to please me.  So he gives me the liberty to make any decision I want about how the design of this whole thing will go and no matter what obstacles come with that he is determined to give me what I want. 

And I'm madly in love with this man.  Yes.  This man.  The one outside with boots and shorts and a tv.

And have I mentioned that this guy is el cheapo?   Which really drives me nuts at times because time is money, but in the long run I have to be thankful.  Not because I feel  thankful, but just because I'm suppose to be.  Because I still sometimes worry that if I'm not thankful something really horrible might happen to me like the dishwasher will go out or the van will quit  love to be obedient that way.

Oh! Did I mention my van quit?  Yep, the transmission went out. 

Pfft.

So all of us have been piled into my mom's truck.  Of which I am eternally grateful for but if I don't get all these Yahoos back into a minivan soon I might just drive myself straight into a Dairy Queen window and start screaming crazy demands like double reese cup Blizzards.

These are just a few minor glitches in my overall fairly tale life. 

Because I do have these incredible Yahoos.

And then there is this guy.

And we are excited about the newest addition to our family.




This girl. 

Her name is Cocoa.


You thought for a minute I was going to say I was pregnant, didn't you?  Come on, admit it.  You thought I was! 


Well so what  if I did?  Because I have to admit I have baby fever.  Several friends or family members or complete strangers walking through Walmart parking lot have new babies.  And they are so crazy cute. 

Have I ever mentioned how I hate endings? 

Goodbyes stink.  And I am just hating saying goodbye to pacifiers and burp rags and mylicon drops and first smiles and first words and first steps.

I know most of the world thinks I'm crazy for even thinking of another baby.  And I think I might be in that group at times too.  The group that thinks I'm crazy.  Because honestly some days are hard.  Not like heavy hard.  Because I'm not dealing with anything heavy hard like financial ruin or death or dismemberment.  My trials are honestly so trivial.  But any work is hard.  And my work is raising kids and sometimes that is hard.  And most normal people wouldn't want to voluntarily add to that.   

But I sometimes do.  This aching I have, though, isn't necessarily because I need more children.  I really think it is more because I am grieving the goodbye.  The end of maternity clothes and feeling the baby kick for the first time and hearing the doctor say 'It's a boy!' 

Because these....these are the good ol' days. 

And the kids are outgrowing the swingset and there is no more teething tablets needed and there isn't a need to go down the baby aisle in Kroger.  Sometimes, though, I take a stroll through there just for the fun of it.  To linger in the smell of newborn baby.

Yes, I have truly loved being a mom to these babies of mine.  And they were good babies.  They were fun and funny and curious.  And they taught me how to be humble and happy.    I've learned that the memories of late night feedings and middle of the night fevers are just as precious as the hugs and kisses that follow.  And they have been the catalyst to me becoming a better version of myself.

Nope, these Yahoos aren't babies anymore.  Not even toddlers.  These days I am trading in car seats for ball gear.  And I'm okay with that.  Or at least I'm learning to be okay with that.  Because there are new memories to be made and more good days to be shared.  And I can relate to the Proverbs 31 woman in that.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

Proverbs 31:25

Shock and Awe

I had planned this post to be a recap of last week's long, lonely week without The Honey.  He was gone on travel the whole week.  The whole long week.

And then Friday.

And our nation sustained a collective punch in the gut when our own were taken from us. 

Shock and awe straight to our hearts.

So many things have been floating around social media.  The Whos and Whys of it all. 

I'm not going to go there.  Because who am I?

I can't understand God. I don't understand his ways and how big he is.

And these are the times that try men's souls. 

Because there is no understanding during moments like these.  Only true grit faith.  That is all that is left.  Faith in the One that is completely good and equally just.  The Creator who sees it all coming and whose heart breaks the hardest. 

That faith is still hard for me at times.   Really hard.

My heart feels all bareboned and bloody from the blows it has taken and the relentless fighting for the faith I so desperately crave.

During times like these faith is like oxygen to my lungs.  It keeps me alive.  And I keep fighting for it.

I was wrapping a few gifts last night.  Thinking of presents that would never be opened.  Anticipation of giggles that wouldn't be heard.  My mind keeps going to one of the boys,  his name was Jack.  He was all blue eyed and face beaming.  Just like my Little Middle.  I can't seem to get his picture out of my head.

As I got up this morning to brush my teeth and give spelling tests I looked in the mirror and thought of Jack's mother.  Today she got up and brushed her teeth and went to a funeral.  And we keep trying to make sense of the maddening world around us with our eyes looking ahead to Christmas. 

Christmas. The ultimate Shock and Awe.  For the holy just God that does still hate evil showed his complete goodness by giving up His  Own.  And He gave Him up for us.....

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

 

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

 

Ephesians 2:3-5

 

 

Shocking.   God....He leaves me speechless.  The more I know about Him the more infathomable He becomes to me. 

And I'm okay with that.  Because that is the kind of God I want to believe in.  

 

A shock and awe kind of God.

I can't make sense of the pain around us.  In  us.  I get frustrated with God.  Frustrated that He doesn't seem to act.  Frustrated that I can't understand.  But in the depths of that frustration I can't let go of this hope I have.  Throughout Scripture, in the lives of Abraham and Joseph and Daniel and Paul, these guys who were ripped from their families or unjustly accused or abandoned or tormented, they all held on until the end.  Hoped till the end.  They didn't quit God.

I hope we don't quit God.  I hope we keep fighting, wrestling with Him.  Wrestling for more answers.  And when they don't come fighting for the faith that sustains us.  That keeps us breathing.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

 

Herdmans

So the other day I informed The Honey about the Elf on The Shelf craze.

He stays somewhat behind on world changing cultural trends like this.

I have to admit, I just don't get it. 

This elf, I mean.  He's a little high maintenance, don't you think?.  He's always hiding and needing to be found.  He creates messes that he doesn't clean up himself.  And he's a tattle tale. 

Honestly, I already have 4 Yahoos that keep me busy with those kind of high maintanence issues.

Not to be a complete stick in the mud.  I think I could totally get into this whole Elf on The Shelf thing.  I would just tweak it a little.

First he would no longer be called Elf on The Shelf.  Instead I am thinking Elf in the Laundry room or Elf at the dishwasher.  My elf is a servant.  He always has a mop in his hands and loves to clean up OTHER people's messes.  He also is a giver.  A giver of iTunes gift cards and freshly brewed coffee in the morning and foot massages at night.

Why can't we market THAT  kind of elf?

Nope.  This family has chosen to forego Elf on The Shelf.  Just don't tell Baby about him.  I have a feeling he would love it.

Baby:  A complete disaster

Speaking of Baby.

The other night we were on our way to drop the van off at the mechanic.  Because the transmission went out.

 Merry Christmas to me. 

So we're driving when he starts talking something about a pond.  Here's how this lenthy, but entertaining, exchange went.

Baby:  You know that pond at our house?

Me:  No.  What pond?

Baby:  The one by the road we throw rocks in.

Me:  Ah yes.  That's not our pond.

Baby:  Yeah, our pond.  Our pond is deep.

Me:  Is it?

Baby:  Yes.  If you get in it you will get dead.

Me:  Oh my.

Baby:  Do you want to get dead?

Me:  Hmmm.....no.

Baby:  Why don't you want to get dead?

Me:  Because I love being your mama and I want to keep being your mama.

Baby:  If you get dead Daddy will have to go to the store and buy a new mama.

Me:  **no words**

Baby:  Do you still want to get dead?




I love Baby.  He always knows how to put things in perspective for me.  Like the other day when he said Jesus was mean and might come down from Heaven to bust his head. 

I know I know, some of you might be appauled at that talk.  And maybe it is flirting with the sacrilege line a bit.  But if we were all honest, isn't that what we are?   A bunch of irreverents.

Tonight I took the Yahoos to see the play of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  We read the book last year and cracked up.  At least I did.  Because it's so true.  If you haven't read it, here's the gist.

Six heathens named The Herdmans crash a Christmas Pageant at a local church. These children are so bad they make my Yahoos look like Mother Theresa.  The church members are all up in arms as to what to do because they've apparantly never had sinners be shepherds or a miscreant be the Virgin Mary.  And in the chaos that insues these 6 kiddos get to hear the Gospel story for the first time. 

The first time I read the book I was pretty certain I was the church members.  I am all Nose in the Air, Finger Pointer, Gossip Spreader.  But then we left the theatre.  And I had to tell Baby to stop turning off the stage lights and Ninja to stop wrestling with boys he didn't know and Little Middle and Sweet Yahoo to stop acting like goofballs.  And then it hit me.

 We are the Herdmans. 

 We are irreverent and ignorant.  We're rough and unloving and unloveable.  We say harsh words and stick our tongues out at each other.  And we need to hear that Gospel story one more time. 

And we do.  And God graciously illuminates himself between the pages of His Word and we can see Him for who He is and us for who we are.  Herdmans. 

Jesus.  He blows me away.   Holiness wrapped some flesh around himself and came to befriend me.  Unloveable, hateful me.  And you. 

THAT, my friend, is the Christmas Miracle.

Remember to Forget

I've never been the brightest bulb.

I can't recall anyone complimenting me on my 'street smarts.' 

But I have usually been graced enough to be surrounded by people who are pretty sharp so as to compensate for my.....ahem....foggy brain.

But there is one mental faculty that I am awesome at.

Forgetting.

I forget better than anyone I know.  If it didn't happen last week then I don't remember it. 

And I have improved this fine art as the years (and the babies) have come along. 

I admit it would be nice to reminisce on days and holidays gone by with family.  Or to be able to tell the children about how I met their father.  But it ain't happening.  At least it isn't happening in such great detail. 

Sometimes my forgetfulness is more than a nuisance.  It feels like a burden.  One of the few things we can into the future are the memories of the past. And though I try to be intentional about making these memories with the ones I love, I am honestly sad that I struggle to remember some of them. 

But I am learning there are ways around my forgetfulness.  Lots of picture taking and journaling.  Having the kids tell me stories of how we celebrated or trips we went on.  This helps jog the ol' foggy brain.

And then I thought of this.

Forgetting.  It might not be all  bad.  In fact, we are called to forget.  His Letter to us tells us that over and over. 

We are to forget the old expectations and way of living.

“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert

and streams in the wasteland."

Isaiah 43:18-19

 

 

To forget the wordly ambitions and trophies we run to.

 

 

 

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13-14

 

 

 

To forget ourselves.

 

 

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Philippians 2:2-4

The Message

But above all I am thankful not only that I CAN forget.  But that the One who made me and knows all my ways chooses to forget.  To remember my sins no more. 

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

  It will not be like the covenant

I made with their forefathers

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husband to them,”

declares the Lord.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”

 Jeremiah 31:31-34

That, my friend, is true forgetfulness.  And for this I am most thankful.

Thanksgiving celebrates remembrance.  To be mindful of our blessings and all the grace lavished on us this year and every year.  And this year one of my biggest blessings has been forgetfulness.  To be able to let go of the way I lived before Him, to let go of wrongs done or hurtful words said to me.   To forget myself for the rest of my life.....letting go of any rights I might have to myself.....to receive an eternal reward.

So this year as we gather around our table I am going to try to forget.  Forget myself.  Forgive the hurt. And to relish in the joy and freedom that comes with His ultimate gift of forgetting.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful day of Thanks!

Wound Healing

Yesterday was hard.

Not just the usual mundane hard.  The refereeing, the weight of educating 3 kids that are distracted by this Tazmanian Devil that keeps running around, the reciting of Laundry: The Never Ending Story. 

No, yesterday was different. 

Yesterday would have been my sweet Pawpaw's birthday.  The kids and I took a minute to make him a cake. 

 

 

He was wonderful man and if you want to find out more about him you can read here and here.


Rememberance is always bittersweet.

But yesterday was also hard because I took dinner to a recent widower.  Not just any widower.  My brother-in-law's father.  And not just any brother-in-law. 

I wanted a big brother my whole life.  And when I was 16 he was born.  Right into our family that Sunday afternoon when he married my sister.  And he truly is the brother I always wanted.  He makes me laugh and doesn't let me take myself too seriously and isn't afraid to hug me when I need it and isn't afraid to put me in my place when I need it.  He's sensitive when I'm hurting and loves on my kids almost as if he actually loves them. 

And he is an only child.  And his mom died last week.  And I don't know that pain but I hurt all the hurt I know right there with him.  Him and his dad. 

There is something about widows that tears my heart all up.  The loneliness I see in their eyes or the disorientation they feel without having the other half of their heart there with them.  There aren't really words to describe it.  Except that yesterday was hard. 

I visited with Brother's dad yesterday.  Sat a spell.   We talked grandkids and farming and The Love of His Life.  And then I had to leave.  And I wanted to burst into tears.  Having to leave the Hurting to tend to the wounds himself.  And all I had is this:

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

 

That's it.  That's all I had.  This simple unyielding hanging on by the skin of my teeth faith in that He came to heal and care for our lethal heart wounds.  No one else can do that.  So I shut the door and swallowed the big lump in my throat and trusted that I wasn't leaving this widow alone, but just leaving him alone with his Great Physician to do a little wound healing.  Painful, slow surgery on a wound that will mend but always leave a scar.

 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

 



 

Superpowers

First a few pix to recap some of the stuff we've been up to.



The kiddos showed up to school Election Day morning dressed to the nines.  They had their stump speeches all ready eager to win my vote. 

Even Michelle Obama came out.  I wonder who she's wearing?

Not to be outdone Baby decided to join in on the campaign as well.

I'm loving that my kids love America.


Speaking of loving this land of ours, we are ushering in Thanksgiving season with a bountiful harvest.  So thankful for this man, his hard work, and the opportunity my Yahoos have in sharing in it.

And now to answer the age old question. ....How many Yahoos CAN  you fit into a combine?

I love looking at these pictures.  This day was a good day.  And I hope every time I look back on them I remember the looks of contentment and satisfaction and joy on everyone's faces.

 

 

 

There is something else I see in these pictures.  There is a look in the Yahoos' eyes.  Do you see it?  It is something deeper than the high from the diesel they're breathing in.  The best word I have for it is awe.  Not in the machinery.  But in the man driving the machine.

Yes, these children are in awe of their father.

 CIA agent by day, driver of large machinery by night. 

If you have had a decent childhood at all, you know what I'm talking about.  Those few moments when you think your parents are superheroes.  For some of us this youthful innocence lasts longer than others.  But eventually the scales fall from our eyes and we see our parents for who they are.  Sinners.  Just like us.

In our home we are in the thick of superhero mode.  These Yahoos of mine can't get enough of their daddy.  Whatever he says....it's truth.  Whatever he does.....it's Nobel Prize worthy.   And though I tell them Every.Single.Day.  the truth about The Honey, they refuse to let go of their fascination of him.  And I am treasuring all these things in my heart.

It seems as if from the moment we emerge from the womb we crave greatness.  We want to be around it.   We are mystified with great athletes, great performers, great thinkers.  We pay a pretty high price to score tickets to our favorite games or concerts.  We aspire to be the best ourselves.  We push ourselves to be at the top.  We go to best schools and position ourselves for promotions.  Yes, even among lowly housewives we desire Top Dog status.  Who can sew the fanciest duds, scrapbook that killer page, bake the best, blog the best, snap that perfect shot the best? 

We are all superhero wannabees.

And then I started thinking......

I wonder what kind of superhero my kids see in me? At the end of the day will the trophies I have won be a blue ribbon pie or 10,000 hits on a blog or well behaved kids.  Will that be all?

True greatness reaches far beyond time and space.  When I think of The Great Ones that came before me it is evident that the trophies they were racing towards were eternal, not temporal.  The race they ran was a quiet one without fanfare or applause.  They were not  The Avengers.  They were a rag tag group of men and women.  They were the  minimum wage earners, the speech impaired, the adulterors, the murderers.  God chose to use these everyday losers and make them into spiritual superheroes. 

 

So now I am trying to redefine my superhero specifications.  Burning the biscuits, not knowing how to start the lawn mower, not remembering the last time I dusted.....these are not my kryptonite.  My superhero status is not defined by how good I am (or usually am not).  I am more than the sum of my parts.


Today I am reminded that my status has already been determined for me.  Way back there.  On the cross.  Jesus took my shame.  He took on my kryptonite and gave me a new name and a cape.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The old has passed away; behold, the new has come

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 

And that encourages me.  To know that in My Father's eye I am marked.....forever.....as His.  To know that though this Mama's cape is tattered and torn,  the race that I am running is worth the hard knocks and struggles I face.  And at the end of the day this rag tag nobody from no where will receive that trophy I've been running towards. 

 

 

That is the my  superpower. 

 

 

 

 

 



And The Winner Is.....

So in my very scientific way (in which I put all the names on some paper and The Honey picked a name out) we have now determined the winner of The Birthday Blog Giveaway!


And the winner is.....


Sweet Patricia!


Congrats, Trish. And thanks so much for your great comments and loyal following. You're the best!
I can't wait to get those goodies to you!

Thanks to everyone who commented. I have to say that each and every post I write is my favorite. It has a little piece of me in each one.

Love you guys! Thanks again. And I'm looking forward to seeing where my toddler blog takes me this year.

My Blog Birthday!

I just realized that this month is my one year birthday of Stop Squeezing The Cat!

I honestly never believed I would commit to...well.....anything.....for a whole year.   I can barely commit to watching a full episode of Andy Griffith.

So in honor of this very minor accomplishment I am giving some lucky reader a Birthday Gift!

Leave a comment (either on the blog or on Facebook -- making sure you leave your name!) of what your favorite blog post has been.  Then on Wednesday I will randomly choose one of you to win a gift basket of some of MY favorite things!

Things like a

                                     Target gift card

             Ghiradelli chocolates

                                                           Starbucks Coffee

     and other randomly useless, but oh so enjoyable, goodies!


Happy commenting and good luck!

Hodgepodge

Great day in the morning!  It has been ages since I last wrote.  Okay, it is more like 3 weeks.  Still, haven't you been on the edge of your seat?

Since Sweet Yahoo's birthday we have been busy making memories.  Good things like jumping in leaves and carving pumpkins and enjoying our first hot chocolate of the year. 

I also managed to squeeze in a field trip. 

Being able to write that sentence makes me feel like a superwoman. 

Because I don't do field trips. 

I stink at taking the initiative to get things done, I am anti-creative in coming up with interesting trips, and even if I get one planned I do not follow through well at things.  Especially things that require me, 4 kids, and a long car trip. 

But on those few instances when I do overcome my weaknesses and actually take one it is so well worth it.

This lastest one was a trip to Perryville Battlefield.  In all my years I have never been there.  But seeing that some of my bunch are such history buffs and also semi-obsessed with all things militia, I thought this would be the perfect trip for them.

All around the country different battlefields are celebrating the 150th anniversary of some of the battles of the Civil War.  Perryville was no different.  We got to watch a reenactment of the battle, see some living history of how people lived during that time, and to top it all off we got to hear Abraham Lincoln speak.  Not the real one, of course, but close.


Here's a few shots of the day.

A big shout out to my Mama who went with us.  She is such a helper!  The Honey was in Seattle during this time so I was going to have to single mom this trip.  But thankfully The Mom stepped up. I couldn't have done it without her.  Well, I might could have but I think I would have been much grumpier and felt more like Joker Phillips after the Western game when the day was done.


And then this weekend  The Mom, Sister and I got to take a long weekend to visit Savannah.  It was a great trip!  Savannah is a city rich in history and beauty.  We shopped and ate and shopped and ate.  And then I got to watch American Pickers and HGTV all night.  Nothing better than that! 





In front of The Lady and Sons Restaurant.  MMMM!

Mom always on the prowl for a mailbox.  She believed they were the architectural backbone to the city.

 

I got back last night and jumped in full force into the schedule for the week.  School catch up.  Then this afternoon we got to celebrate my Granny's birthday. 

She is 85 years young.  And she is beautiful and wise and funny.  I love her so much.  She is always looking on the bright side and always finds the humor in things.  She loves children.  Even mine.  She loves farming and working and a good piece of chocolate.  And she is strong.  So much stronger than she thinks she is.  She lost the love of her life almost 2 years ago. 

Mission Impossible:  Continuing to breathe and eat and live and be without the one who holds your heart there living with you.

 But she has.  She has continued on.  Living gracefully. 


So a very very happy birthday to My Sweet Granny!

I would also like to make side note about this picture.  The smallest child here is NOT the youngest.  His cousin to the left is around 3 months younger than him.  But my Baby sure is a looker, though.  Barefoot and all.  Don't you think?

Finally, I would be a terrible fool to not mention the last post on my blog.  If you have not gotten a chance to read it and you would like to get a glimpse into how absolutely wonderful The Honey is you should take a peak.  I would like to say after reading it (as if I didn't already know before) that he is too good for me.   And this love story of ours is sure to be legendary.....at least in my book.  So thank you, Dear Honey.  I love you to the moon and back.

The Honey Writes A Post

THE HONEY MAKES  A POST

Mama Yahoo left for a weekend get away so I got to fill her shoes.  Yes that's right, I did a little B&E on the site for this special edition so I, "The Honey," could share some thoughts.

I thought it only fitting that if I was going to play the part of Mama Yahoo for the weekend, that I make an entry on the blog. You see, she comes back tomorrow. The house is in order, laundry done up, and now her blog will be up to date. So let me share some very important things I learned during this experience:


Mama Yahoo has big feet!
All I can figure out is her feet must be huge because filling her shoes has been an incredible task.  There was the cooking, cleaning, refereeing, loads of laundry, shuttling all the yahoos around, dishes, sunday morning get ready and out the door...to include a pony tail........which I had absolutely no idea how to do......that was loads of fun.....and of course one kid with a sick stomache that puked in the car last friday.  That's right puked in the car.  I should have known when Mama Yahoo handed me "the list" of instructions that spanned multiple pages that it was going to be an "experience".  And before we get too far down the road just know that I didn't even man up and do half the things on the list.  I bailed on school and called in support at least one of the nights.  I also didn't get to spiritual feeding of the kids, I did well just to stay in the game, let alone advance the ball down the field.  How does she do this?

Mama Yahoo, you are one tremendous and gifted individual. 



A Lesson on Oneness 
Through the first half of this past week I was on business travel.  So Mama Yahoo and I were like ships passing in the night.  I came in, got my orders, only for her to pack up and head out on her excursion.  In total we have now been apart for 9 days.  That doesn't sound like much, but for us it's the longest we have been apart in over 12 years.  What I have found is there is something very unique about this thing called marriage.  Over time you become one in all aspects of life.   

"For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." Gen 2:24

As the yahoos and I sat at the table for dinner or when we road to church there was just something missing for me.  It wasn't sadness or even loneliness that I think most struck me, it was the shear dependency that existed.  Could it be that the dependency we have with our spouse only shows us how incapable we ourselves are.  Sounds like a picture of Christ and how our sin and falleness shows us the great dependence we have on Him.

Mama Yahoo, let me say thanks for walking with me.  Not only in the day-to-day stuff but also in those deeper, spiritual moments.  I'm incredibly proud to call you my wife.


Leaving a Legacy From The Buffet Line
When it gets right down to it, not much we do in the present lasts that long or really matters.  Where our fruit will really show up is in the legacy we leave behind.  For those with Yahoos its all about the legacy we leave in those we are trying to raise.  There was this moment today at lunch, right after church, that I got glimpse of something incredibly special.  Given I had done enough dishes (okay 1 load in the DW, but that was enough for me) I decided to take the kids to the Depot.  We pulled in and got our table.  I instructed the 3 older yahoos to watch baby yahoo while I went to buffet line to get baby yahoo's food.  I figured the sooner he had something to occupy his attention the better off we all were.  And no I did not just use this as an excuse to go first and get my food.  After 3 days with the yahoos I quickly learned you have to focus on baby yahoo or you are done and ready to tap out!

As I made my way over to the line I could see the table where we were sitting and had one eye on them and one eye on the line.  What I saw was 4 very well behaved and disciplined children.  But there was also more, one had already moved a seat closer to baby yahoo and was entertaining him.  Others were interacting with the waitress and serving one another the right drinks.  They were smiling, laughing, and talking amongst each other.  Just the 4 of them. 

It was incredibly precious and something that did not just show-up on its own.  It was genuine and not forced.  You see its a reflection of a teacher investing in her students lives.  Mama Yahoo has done well spiritually feeding these children and I got a glimpse of that today from the buffet line.  Now don't get me wrong there were tons of fights this weekend and a few required corrections along the way.......but in this moment I saw the work of Christ in our children's hearts.

Mama Yahoo, know that your long hours of what sometimes seems pointless is making a difference.  The investement in these yahoos is going to be your legacy and a fine legacy it will be.  You see, you are giving them the tools they will need to sit around a table when we are long gone.  When it is just them they will be just fine if they recall the tools that Mama Yahoo shared with them through the Grace, Knowledge, and Wisdom of the Father. 

So Mama Yahoo, let me close with this.  This post is your tribute.  Thank You for all that you do.  Now get back to work, I need a nap!

- The Honey

Sweet Yahoo Turns 8

This is Sweet Yahoo.

And today she turns 8.

She is so beautiful.

Inside and out.

She makes me laugh and cry all in the same breath. 

She is the kindest sweetest person I have ever met.  EVER.

And I want to be just like her when I grow up.

The thought of anything ever breaking her heart breaks mine.

I remember the morning she was born.  The Honey and I driving to the hospital, butterflies doing their dance in our stomachs.  The moon standing at attention all full face and beaming with curiousity at this marvel that was to enter our world. This Sunday's Child came into the world bright and early one morning as the sun rose to greet her and the birds started singing her a song.  And who cares what the weather was outside because her arrival brought all the light and the warmth needed to fill the room.

And since that wonderful fall morning not a day goes by that I am not amazed at the grace upon grace that was given to me when I received her as my daughter.  My girl.  My only baby girl.

And now I have a confession to make.

When this beauty queen was around 2 years old she would cry.  She would cry alot.  She was scared of everyone and everything and she just wanted me to hold her.  And me, being the foolish woman that I was, tried to toughen her up.  Tried to make her not need me.  What was I thinking?  Me and my tough love.  I wish I had held her more and let her cry it out less.  More comforting.  More grace.

Yes, because I know now that we only have this short moment to hold on to them.  And I don't want to miss another chance to hug and encourage, to kiss and calm those fears. 

Today I use a new kind of tough love on you, Sweet Yahoo.  The kind of love that is tough for me but more grace to you.  No matter the cost, the inconvience, the hurt.  I want you to know that even as deep as my love is for you, there is One that has faced every fear for you. 

I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears

Psalm 34:4

 

 

 

And though at times you might have no one here to turn to, you are never alone.

 

 

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you

Deuteronomy 31:6

 

And that whatever may come, you can trust in the One who holds your heart.

 

 

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Psalm 25:10

 

 





To that end I keep working, Baby Girl.  I know I will fail.  Everyday I will fail.  But when it is all over the only thing I hope to accomplish for you is to teach you to keep running to Jesus with those fears.  And with your joys.  And your hurts.  With everything.  Just keep running.  He will always hold on to you.
 
So Happy Happy Birthday, Sweet Yahoo.  You are my crowning joy and the apple of my eye.  You make me feel like it's my  birthday every day of the year getting to be your mama.  I love you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Yahoo Vacation

Well, it was four years in the making but my little family finally got to take a vacation. 

And it was wonderful.

Our amazing race took us to Virginia Beach, Colonial Williamsburg, and finally Washington DC.

To see where Daddy works.  Because we all know now that he's in the CIA. 

I figured the Yahoos would be disappointed when we hit the nation's capital and saw that their dad didn't get all this special treatments they were expecting, being a CIA agent and all.  Things like advising the President or starting a war or crazy ninja moves on random people walking down the street.  But The Honey convinced them that he had to maintain his cover for national security reasons.  So everyone up there just acted like he was a normal guy. 

Pfft.

Anyway.  We did.  We did have a wonderful time.  We made lots of memories and lots of U-turns.  DC can be a little complicated to maneuver through at times. 

We played frisbee on the beach at night and had ice cream every day of the week and had coke to drink at every meal.  We got to pretend to be spies for the colonists back in 1776 and intercepted secret codes.  Then we walked back to the hotel to watch 27 episodes of Turtleman.

One of Sweet Yahoo's most anticipated moments was being in 'her' state. 

We walked The Mall at night to stand in awe of the Lincoln Memorial and managed to fit in a tour of the White House.  This by far was our biggest accomplishment.  Because I was a little trepedacious to send a 3 year old into the White House.  Especially MY 3 year old.  The one who really enjoys dropping his drawers to pee anywhere he pleases.  But when it was over all the corners of the President's home were puddle free.

**Insert Hallelujah chorus**

Yes, this Yahoo vacation of ours was well worth the wait.

We took advantage of the teachable moments we had to give life lessons on the sacrifices made during WWII, the beauty of creation and the grace of the Creator.  We got to live out in front of our kids how to have patience in stressful situations and how to forgive and be forgiven when we aren't as patient as we should be. 

But most of all we got to love on each other.  To love and be loved.  To hold hands on the beach and hold a gaze across the dinner table.




Our second night we spent the evening on a friend's boat in NC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



No Caption Necessary

 

 

We managed to squeeze in a game of putt putt

 

 

 

In front of the Gettysburg address at the Lincoln Memorial

 

 

In Arlington at the JFK site.

 

 

Live Action at the Museum of Natural History

 

 

Changing of the Gaurd.  We could have stayed here all day.

 

 

 

 

  So as I come back home to toilet scrubbing and washing dishes and laundry piled high I am truly thankful for the past 10 days.  But I'm mainly thankful for the 5 beautiful people God has blessed me with.  I couldn't be more pleased to be their wife and mama.