Our Haven.

Our home. Our place to hide away when the world gets crazy. It's cozy and warm in the winter, bright and cool in the summer. The spring and fall finds us with the windows open, attic fan on and brooms in hand! Barring the occasional leaky diaper or stomach bug, it smells good here. It may not always be as neat as it could be, but it is clean and safe. There is always something to be done but we all know that the chores will be waiting for us later if we decide to run out to play or hit up "happy hour" at Sonic!

Our haven is shelves of books that are tattered and torn from being read over and over from the comfort of our couch or Claire's bed. A rug under an art desk covered in marker and paint and hundreds of masterpieces to show for it. There are little fingerprints everywhere reminding me of how lucky we are to have 20 little fingers attached to two of the most beautiful children in the world!

Our haven is a yard full of grass that is as soft as the carpet inside and a playset that has been the backdrop for puppet shows, talent shows and jungle safaris. A tree houses 4 new baby robins and teaches my 3 year old about how precious and delicate life is. A swing hanging outside has heard too many silly made up songs to count.

Our haven is full. Full of love and laughter, smiles and giggles. Full of bumps and bruises, hugs and kisses. Full of the pitter-patter of 4 not so little feet. Most importantly our haven is full of Gods love. We are blessed and that is all there is to it. Just blessed.

Our haven is not in any way perfect. However, if I choose to....I can make it sound pretty good. My home is a haven as long as I choose to make it that way. It is a haven when I open my eyes and thank God for another day here before my feet even hit the floor. If I focus on the things that have not been accomplished, our haven quickly becomes nothing but a huge chore. I have been guilty of comparing myself to others all too often. There was a time (not so long ago) that I was so down on myself and my housekeeping habits. I was letting other peoples opinions and influences get me down. Once I quit worrying about what others thought and started serving God and my family with a joyful heart it was easy to change my habits. It has freed up more time to just play!

Stop by Biblical Womanhood and see what other women are doing to make their home a haven!

Happy Mother's Day (part 2)

This is my WONDERFUL mother-in-law. She is another one of the most special women in my life. I can barely remember a time when she wasn't part of my life and I am soo thankful for that. She is a second mom to me and I know she is ALWAYS there when I need her. (Notice I said WHEN not IF!!) When we get a last minute appointment in KC, I never have to worry about where Cohen will go. When Brian is gone and I am in need of some adult interaction, I know Grandma will come to the rescue! She always has fun things planned to do with the kids. Claire LOVES crafting with Grandma Connie! I admire her more than she will ever know. There have been so many times lately when I am "flying solo" and I find myself constantly asking her "HOW DID YOU DO IT?!?!" I can't thank her enough for instilling in my husband the values that have made him the man he is today. I don't think she gives herself enough credit...so I will!!!

Connie,

I hope you know how special you are to our family. (Including my parents!) We love you so much and appreciate every little thing you do. Thank you for always being there and loving our children so very much! Have a wonderful Mother's day!!!!

Love,

Chrissy

Happy Mother's Day!

For those of you who don't know, this is my Momma. NOOOO not my sister, my mother! She is one of the most special people in my life. She has taught me so many things. Some big, some small but all equally important. Here are a few.
1. Kill 'em with kindness.
2. If you don't stand up for yourself, no one else will.
3. Never overload the silverware holders in the dishwasher.
4. You can talk and you can sing, but you can't make nonsense.
5. Don't put a knife in the toaster.
6. Don't put metal in the microwave.
7. Wear what looks good on YOU.
8. Just ask, all they can do is tell you "no."
9. If you aren't sure what something is, use your toes to touch it first.
10. If it doesn't smell bad and you can chew it...it's probably okay to eat.

There are a MILLION more but, you get my point. I have learned some pretty valuable things from my dear mother. Most of the things I have learned just by watching her. I aspire to be the kind of mother to my children that she is to me. I have often told her that I wish there was some way to repay her for all of the wonderful things she has done for me. She told me that all I have to do is take care of her grandbabies and we are even. DEAL! I am so thankful for my mom and the relationship we have.

Mom,
I hope you have a wonderful day! I hope that you know you are loved EVERY day of the year and not just Mother's Day and your birthday! You have prepared me to be a mother and a wife and I know I COULD do it without you....BUT I sure am glad I don't have to! I treasure each day we spend with you!!

Love
Chrissy

Never too much

I was beginning to wonder what my limit was. On Sunday night Cohen woke up with a fever of 104.1 and having a VERY hard time breathing. I took him to the ER at about 11:00. I walked in and groaned because the place was PACKED! However, I was a little startled when the nurse took one look at Cohen and said, "He needs to go back now." Within 15 minutes we were talking to a doctor and he was being given a breathing treatment. 20 minutes later Cohen let out quite a scream and started crying and barking. The doc came in (rather quickly!) and said that the breathing treatment had not worked and we needed an x-ray. They took us down immediately and 10 minutes later the doc came in with the results. Croup. Yuck. His airway was only as wide as a coffee stirrer. Not a straw, a STIR STICK!!! He said that it would take about 8 hours for the steroid to kick in so they wanted to admit him because of the risk of his airway closing off! YIKES! We spent the night and were sent home at around 4 on Monday afternoon. He was VERY grumpy for the next day or so because of the medicine. It was NOT fun for anyone. Brian was out of town Wednesday night and Thursday night so I was flying solo. Wednesday night...Claire starts coughing so hard she throws up all over herself and her bed. She coughed and hacked all night so I kept her home from preschool on Thursday. We were both bummed because it was muffins with mom day. HOWEVER, God knew I was at my limit and He knew we should stay home. Why? Because at 10:00 am the preschool was in lockdown because someone was shot in the carwash next door. AAAAHHHHHHH! How foolish of me to even consider the fact that God would ever give me something I couldn't handle. HE knew that I wouldn't have been able to handle that situation on THAT day so HE took care of it! Thank you LORD for being so faithful!! So anyway, here are some new pics and a video of Cohen in the hospital. Grammy, pause the song that is playing so you can hear the conversation between Mom and Cohen! (just a tip!)

It's still pouring.

I'm being tested big time this week. We are waiting for a call from Oklahoma. My aunt (my dad's sister) is very close to being called home to our father in Heaven. She has been in a existing in a nursing home for years now. They had to remove her feeding tube last week which was a blessing. Now we wait for her to go. I'm not sad for her because she gets to go home to a place where Huntington's disease doesn't exist. She gets to join her mother, sister, son and husband in heaven for eternity. She gets to be free. We mourned for her when we started losing her to this cruel disease years ago. However, my heart breaks for my Dad and his brother who are burying yet another sister and have already lost their mother as well. My heart breaks for my Mom and my Aunt Donna who have to do this with their husbands again. The pain I feel for my Grandpa is intense. No man should ever have to say goodbye to his wife and both of his daughters in his lifetime. So many people in my family have been devestated by this disease. It's almost too much to bear. I KNOW this is Gods plan. I don't get it sometimes, but I will one day...just not today. Please God be with my family as they face this difficult time.

And can I just say....I HATE CANCER!!!! I know "hate" is not really a "nice" word, but neither is cancer. I will post more on that subject later because I'm not ready yet. It's just been a really hard day. It's crazy to think about my life one year ago and what a "hard" day would have been. I have to chuckle a little at myself. I am so thankful for the strength I have found in the LORD! Without him, it WOULD be too much to bear.

Ooops!

For some reason the link didn't work. I'm sure it has something to do with user error! The blog is www.momzoo.blogspot.com and I am not sure why it didn't work. AND, to Lindsay King...e-mail me! I would love to catch up but I don't have your e-mail address!

Created to be his Help Meet

If you have talked to me in the last month, you know that I have been raving about my new Bible study. I am pleased to report that just 1 month into it, our entire family is reaping the benefits of this wife who is choosing to be a little less selfish and a little more wife-ish. (yes, that is a word...I made it up, but it is a word!) It is funny though, a lot of things I am learning are things that my dear sweet mother tried to teach me, I just wasn't ready to listen. I have a hunch that there is A LOT of eye rolling going on somewhere in the world when I talk about this. I know this because I used to be an eye roller. People would talk about the roles of women in Christian families and I would literally gag. "Oh yeah, I want to be someones doormat for the rest of my life, that sounds great!" As a woman in this day and age, I was conditioned to think that being submissive to my husband was striving to achieve doormat status. I was convinced that I was a lesser woman because I didn't have a career outside the home. In order to feel like a "strong and independent woman" I must take CONTROL of this home. I tried that. It didn't work. It left me feeling like a failure. My attitude toward my husband was bitter. After all, he was out socializing all day with attractive, well dressed successful men and women while I was stuck at home in sweats eating chicken nuggets in the shapes of dinosaurs. I was a slave to the washing machine, boogers and diapers. I wasn't finding joy in everyday life. My attitude was sucking the life out of me and of my husband. Because I serve such an amazing and gracious God, He was patient with me. He kept talking to me until I listened. Actually, he put wise women in my life who kept talking until I listened!!! When I found the courage to admit my mistakes and swallow my pride, my life began to change. I had to start small. A wise woman once told me, "Honey, it took her all her life to become this person. She isn't going to change over night!" (thanks Grammy!!) But each day, I felt the walls coming down. I could see it in my husbands smile when he walked in the door. I could tell it in the random hugs I was getting from him and my children that there was a new joy in our home. A joy that I, the lowly old mom, was completely responsible for. Now THAT is power. THAT is success. THAT is attractive to a man who has entrusted me with the most important little people in his life.

I still have times where I slip back into my old habit of being grumpy, but they are minutes....not days or weeks. I love my Bible study, and I bet if you ask Brian he would say the same thing. So I continue to look forward to every other Monday when I meet with my girls and we encourage each other and eat WONDERFUL snacks! I always feel so inspired when I leave. It's such a blessing!

My mom found this blog and told me to look at it because it is really good! I'm hooked!