While the Mama's Away...

Last weekend, Paco and I were able to steal away for a couple of days. 

Just the two of us.  Tehnically three of us, I guess.  But I digress.

It. was. amazing.

More on that later, though.  This is Ya-Ya's story.

On night two of our excursion, we decided to call home.  We're good parents like that.  It's okay, you really don't have to clap.  As my mother picks up the phone, I hear hysterical-near-tears laughter from her.

Uh-oh.

In a panicked moment of missing Daddy and Mama, Ya-Ya has proceeded to train hersef in the art of cutting hair.  Her own.

Of course, my mind jumps to the worst case scenario.  She's half bald.

With Christmas pictures scheduled for the next weekend.

Heaven help me. 

I came home the next day to this:


Not too bad, right?  It was just a four and a half inch chunk taken out.  Not too bad, but enough to put in an emergency call to my beauty magician, Sandy.

 

 

And now, well, she's just as adorable as she's always been.  Maybe even more so.

 

But I don't think I'll be going away for the weekend again any time soon.

I Am So, So Blessed...

I just sat down to write this and the full force of what this day hit me like a semi.

I consider myself a person who is thankful all year round.  This past year has been a hard one for us, as many of you know.  There have been times when we all we could do is hang on to the Rock for dear life and cry out.

We've held on.

There have been days when I felt like I couldn't get out of bed and face another day.

I've gotten up.

There have been moments when I couldn't breathe because of the pain.

He breathed for me.

And all I can do is get on my face and cry out, "Thank you, Jesus."

Thank you for holding me up, for carrying me, for breathing for me.  Thank you for bringing me into a new, deeper, more vibrant relationship with you.  Thank you for giving me the confidence to know who I am in you.  Thank you for my family who has loved me everyday, even on the ugly days, especially the ugly days.  Thank you that everyone is healthy and safe.  Thank you for the love I get to experience everyday.

Thank you that no one in my family can see me right now with the tears streaming down my face.  Thank you that I hear the sound of little voices in the kitchen laughing with their Daddy.  Thank you that Little Bun is still with us and kicking me like crazy.

All I can say is, "Thank you."

And that there is pumpkin roll in refrigerator just begging to be cut into.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.  From One Blessed Family to yours.

Ya-Ya's Thankfulness...

Day three of the Week of Thankfulness.

Whew!  Almost missed it.

The girls, of course, needed their turn.  And I'm all about taking turns.   Take it away, Ya-Ya...

 

For some crazy, tech-y reason (which I'm so frustratingly unaware of), I couldn't get Gi-Gi's video to work.  I'll keep trying, Gi-Gi.  I promise...

Have I mentioned how thankful I am for them lately?  Not within the last five minutes, you say? 

Boy Thankfulness...In Their Own Words

Day Two of Thankfulness Week!  Woohoo!!

Today, I want to share with you what the boys are thankful for...in their own words. 

Heaven help us.

As you can see, we're still working on what thankfulness really means.

In the meantime, I'm still thankful for them.  I mean, really thankful.

Again, linking up with Olivia over at Such is the Kingdom.

Thankfulness...

I had been planning on doing this already when Olivia over at Such is the Kingdom invited me to join her thankfulness week linky.

Apparently, I'm not as original as I thought.

And I'm okay with that.

So for every day this week, I'll be posting on what I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it will be goofy or silly, sometimes thought-provoking and wise, sometimes, well, who knows?

I consider myself a very thankful person.  I always realize how blessed I am.  I mean, look at the title of my blog for heaven's sake!

This time of year, of course, always makes more aware of all the blessings that surround me.  Some are big, some are little, some spectacular, some rather mundane.  However, they are my blessings and I am thankful for them.

So let's get started.  Shall we?

1.  My washing machine.  Seriously.  I had two sick kiddos this morning, whining and fussing.  I had a fourth grader needing to be taught and a toddler begging to be picked up.  And then there was the laundry.  My nemesis.  So as I was standing there throwing the jeans in the wash, I started realizing how thankful I am for this particular appliance.  In about two minutes, I could throw everything in the wash and go and take care of the restless natives.  I could come back a while later and they would be clean.  No need for a washboard and a wringer, here.  Thank you, Jesus.

2.  New pretty underthings.  Okay, I know.  TMI!!  However, after four children and in the midst of a fifth pregnancy, the poor girls need all the help they can get.  Now I can sing, "Love Lifted Me" and privately insert "Playtex Lifted Me".  This is one happy lady.

3.  My coffee maker.  This is a brand new love affair and it's passionate, heated and hopefully never ending.  My husband is not worried.

4.  My husband's blind love for me.  Whoever coined the phrase 'Love is blind', sure knew what he was talking about.  He, too, must have had a wife who had carried five children in less than ten years.  It's certainly not a pretty sight.  My husband must truly love me.

5.  Our home.  Sure the dishwasher needs some servicing and there's crayon on the walls.  But it's lived in happily and with love.  If it could, our house would be smiling.

Now, if you're so inclined, head over, visit Olivia and link up!  'Tis the season for thankfulness.

I Would Walk 500 Miles...

When Paco and I were dating and then engaged, I had in my posession one of my favorite cds of all time.  It was a cd that Steven Curtis Chapman had made with love songs on it.  One day, when I was listening to my Christian radio station, he was being interviewed and was asked why he would make a cd that didn't have worship songs on it. 

His response forever changed the way I viewed my relationship with Paco.  He said, "I think that one of the best ways to worship our Lord is to love those who have been given to us well." (or something like that)

Well, that was many years and children ago...  The cd has subsequently been destroyed (accidentally, of course) by little fingers.

I think I cried.



I was browsing through Youtube the other day, in a minute of fleeting spare time, and found this song that was on the cd. 

Seeing as it's Monday, and we all might need a fun little kick in the pants, I've posted it here for you.

Because I love you.

And because I need a fun little kick in the pants.

(as always, if you're receiving this via email, click on the site to see the video.  it will be worth it.)

I Have A Hope...

I've noticed that for every season in my life, God gives me theme song.

Y'know, it's kind of like how the Cosby show has different musical opening numbers for their different seasons? It's kind of like that.

Only I'm not an attorney or doctor. Or black. Brown, yes...

For this past season in our lives, I've been given the song 'I Have a Hope' by Tommy Walker. We learned it in church, where our dear friend and cousin-in-law taught it to us. The first time I heard it, I was spellbound.

It's a song of God's grace, love, and yes, hope. I've sung it over and over again and I love hearing my kids sing it during their quiet time or school. To hear their precious voices singing these lyrics brings tears to my eyes...

If you haven't heard it, well, listen up! YOU have a hope! His name is Jesus!  (If you're looking via email, you actually have to come to the blog to hear it.  C'mon, I won't bite.)



Listen and be blessed!

Love you, dah-lins!

I've Gone Over to the Dark Side

A few nights ago, Hubby and I were breaking bread with some dear friends of ours.  At some point in the conversation over Red Beans and Rice and pumpkin pudding cake {sigh}, my friend discovered that I've been dabbling, sampling heretofore unknown pleasures that my tastebuds had refused to indulge in.

Boy, are they sorry that they waited so long.  You know... my tastebuds.

Once my friend made this discovery, she moaned, "Oh, Jamie.  Don't go over to the dark side."

It was too late.

The Dark Side has won.  I am powerless to stop it.

It's true.  I am now.........a coffee lover.  A novice, to be sure, but well on my way.  It's only taken me thirty one years, although technically, I wouldn't have been drinking coffee at eight months of age.  So, really, supposing that I had started at the age of eighteen, it's only taken me thirteen years.  There, I feel much better about this whole thing.  Don't you?

Good.  I thought so.

Being the novice that I am, however, means that I am by no means a heavy weight.  My Grandma takes her "Joe" straight up, black.  And I shudder.  Me, on the other hand, must have flavored coffee (Folger's french vanilla) complete with a huge dose of my specialty creamer (Coffemate Vanilla Caramel, I think).

photo courtesy of freefoto.com

In fact, so much creamer and my coffee looks light.

Wait a minute, Dark Side?  I don't think so.

I've gone over to the Light Side.

Now, I feel much, much better.

Welcome to the Light Side, Jamie.  You're now officially a Big Girl.

Cheesy to the Max

I love smiling.  It's my favorite.

Anyone recognize that movie?

I came across some really old pictures today that I haven't seen in years.  I was transfixed, I was mesmorized, I was teary.  Yes, I'm sentimental, yes I'm sappy, yes, I'm pregnant.

The more I looked at these pictures, the more I realized that when you take two people who like to smile like this:

you end up with children who also like to do it:

\

Gi-Gi, five years old

Bubba, three months old

Ya-Ya, at what age, uh not so sure

Ju-Ju, yet again, age unknown. (poor babies #3 and #4)  

My heart melts every time because I'm a mama.

A mama who is really, really happy for the invention of cameras.

Find more joy this week at Sharon's Just for the Joy of It over at The Good, True, and Beautiful.  Link up and share what you're joyful for!

The Weather Man Lied

The weather man promised.

He lied.

Okay, okay, I can be more gracious than that.  He was mistaken.

Still, that does not bring my fall back to me.

We had been promised that there would be no more days over 90 degrees.  It's kind of like when I was pregnant with my first child and my due date came and went.  Someone messed up somewhere.

Maybe it's my fault.  Maybe I greeted fall with such unbridled enthusiasm and passion that it got scared and went away.  I guess I have been known to be overzealous and loud-mouthed.  It's my fault for opening up windows, getting sweatshirts out and starting to bake my seasonal favorites.

Oh, all right.  It is my fault, Arizona.  Blame me!  I was just so excited for us all that I lost my self-control and sent fall running in the opposite direction.

Now, we're all paying for it.  The air-conditioners are back on and Ya-Ya keeps coming up to me telling me she's full of sweat.  It's my fault that my children's sandals are too small for them and I refuse to buy them new ones because it should be cooling off any time now.

Well, fall and Mr. Weatherman, if you're going to play like this, I'll just show you.  You know that fall-cleaning that's supposed to be done every fall?  No fall weather, no fall cleaning.  So there.  That will show ya.  And how in the world am I supposed to get in the holiday-like mood while wearing flip-flops and tanks?  WELL???

Wait, wait, wait...please come back, Fall. I love you so.  I promise I won't overwhelm you with my passionate, all-consuming love for you. 

I'll be a good girl.  I promise.

Sometimes...

Sometimes...

I'm amazed by his love for me.

Sometimes...

I'm reminded how much he desires to be with me.

Sometimes...

I truly realize that I belong to him and he belongs to me and we both belong to Him.

Sometimes...

my breath is taken away by the preciousness of this baby inside of me and his incredibly meaningful name  - God is gracious.

Sometimes...

I feel overwhelmed by the desire to never let our children leave my arms, our home, our protection.

Sometimes...

I panic because I could never deserve this...him...them...our life together...everything.

And then I remember...  It's because of His grace.  And that is sufficient for me.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9

And sometimes...

songs of praise and thanksgiving that fill your heart to the brim have to come out in short blog posts.  Because if they don't, you might just explode with the joy of it all.

May your day be full of His grace in your life.