Me ,God and Barbie

It has been awhile. I miss the retelling of the hilarious and not so hilarious moments around here.

So. The other morning, I was looking at a daily meditation and scripture reading on my computer. Bella knows this is my time to have coffee and quiet time and she knows not to interrupt.
As I was focusing my attention on the meditation, I sense a little person next to me. I look up and it is Bella standing quietly beside me and holding a doll. I am about to correct her for the interruption, when she calmly says " Mom? Excuse me. I know you are over here finding God, but could you please help me get my Barbie's dress on?"

As a friend said " Sometimes we are called from the alter" to tend to what and who, is in front of us!

The parable of the Loaves and the Waffles

I can never decide which blog to write what on...so I have written nothing lately. When in doubt...do nothing!
Today I was particularly inspired though to share the Lord's goodness,and sense of humor.
I typically attend a family rosary at our church on Fridays, sometimes with all the kids, sometimes not. My youngest, Bella, loves to go-mainly to see all her friends. I say fine, God is happy to see us however we get there! Today however, I was a mess, the house was a mess and I was cowardly in deciding to just not tell her it was Friday. Long story short, a friend who was there already, called to see if we were going. How could I say no to a friend, and to my daughters pleading when she realized what day it was?
We ended up going, it was fine,and everyone, meaning three of us Moms and 11 kids, ended up back here for lunch.
Now in addition to the mess, I realize I have little to no food for lunch either! I gamely offer pb and j to the kids, only to then see I have half a loaf of bread. How embarrassing! My friend offered to go home and see what she had. I said No thanks. We are going to rely on God's goodness and trust He will provide. Then it hit me- waffles! I had several bags of frozen waffles. The kids were amazed and thrilled with this crazy new lunch idea, pb&j waffles, and there was plenty left over. It was the story of the Loaf and the Waffles!!!
We all had a great time and the day was saved.I started out sad and lonely and, in the end, I was spiritually nourished by prayer and friendship, and the kids were fed and happy. God is good! Right?!

Well, it's true!

In a conversation with Bella on the way home from school the other day...

Bella: Mom , this is the worst day ever.
Me: Why is that?
Bella: ( long running commentary on the many bad things of the day, run-of-the mill
every day stuff )
Me: Well, Bella, at least we are here. Any day we get another day on this planet is
a good day. (or something profound like that...)
Bella: ( unconvinced) Nuh-uh, Mom. Remember that time when Grandpa was real sick?
And remember that day he died? Well THAT was the WORST day of his LIFE!

College Boy returns!

Yes- B-Boy has flown back to the nest! (Done with his freshman year-with flying colors). Actually, Daddy bird drove him back to the nest, an all day effort. Thank you Pidge! His siblings were so glad to see him. Bella flung herself into his arms when he walked in. A beautiful thing. the dogs lost their minds when they saw the van go by the front of the house. Now how did they know it was our car, let alone with B-boy in it?
College boy has already driven the boys to Scouts and back and took Bella for ice cream. Such a good college boy. Of course he is turning right around in a day and headed out to visit friends in another state and helping drive a friend back home from college.....We will see how the summer plays out with a man-boy in the nest! So glad he is back.

The Mall

Today I was transported in a time machine back to 1980. G-man and I went to the mall. I ran into a Mom friend at Aeropostle w/her daughter. I joked that we did not look like Aeropostle customers. I told her I grew up in this mall and it was funny to be shopping with my own kid. She looked at me quizzically, brows knit trying to puzzle how I was raised in a shopping mall. I explained having moved to the area as a kid, I spent a lot of my teen years cruising the very mall we were standing in. Funny how my (little) soon-to -be teeneger was all stylin' and chattin' with his peeps there between the flip flops and sweatshirts...and I would have been the same age as little tiny girl he was chattin' with- thinking back then I was all that and a bag of chips. These days I am not all that and I definitely ate the bag of chips! Time rolls on, does it not? Seeing the kids as they grow and remembering what it was like being certain ages gives me a lot of perspective, makes me try to respect the kids more or at least empathize-remembering how I felt at that age. Makes me feel very old now, but very glad to be the wiser...sooo glad I can be me and not shopping for perfection at the mall anymore. God bless our teens!

Hi ans here we are!

I am so excited to enter the blog world and share our crazy, chaotic and wonderful household with you! You have already met the flock. I will be sharing our daily life as well as some fond memories as we go along.
School is winding down and spring fever, along with Hay Fever, has hit us all square in the beak.
It is beautiful in our small town this time of year. We take our antihistamines and fling all the windows open to enjoy the fresh air. We have enjoyed the crazy calls of the barred owls in our neighborhhod-at all hours! Bella can even imitate their call and get them to answer back. As B-Boy says, "Bella, you are a genius!"
He will be home for the summer next week. That will be interesting after his absence this fall.
Rudy or G-man will have to take pity and take him in!
Summer is just around the corner. School days are full tilt til then. Share more on that busy time later!
See ya!
Reese

Meet the fam!