Family

Family... In my world that encompasses a LOT of people. Coming from a family of eight kids, now several of us married and having kids, plus all the grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins and in-laws can make for a very large family. I LOVE having a large family! I can't imagine it any other way and because I love it so much, it can make living away from home more difficult.

My husband always laughs at me when I watch "Cheaper By The Dozen" because I tend to be an emotional person anyway, and at the end of the movie when they are looking for their brother who runs away it's sappy and I always cry because in a weird way it reminds me of my family.

I used to fight constantly with my siblings and they with me when we were growing up and we thought we hate each other at times. But as soon as anyone ever said anything bad about one of them, I found myself fighting for them and I know I saw it play out in reverse.

I remember getting in a huge fight with each of my best friends growing up (yes one that I am still best friends with today) because they made fun of one of my brothers and I refused to be their friend until they apologized. That's what gets me about that movie ... they may rag on each other a lot but when it comes down to it, it's obvious they would do anything for each other as well.

I'm glad I can't imagine my world any other way. I can't imagine not having all my siblings and all of the additions we've made along the way. They make life crazy and fun and I can't imagine trying to walk through life without them. I may have less people giving me a hard time, but I would have less people who truly care about me in the way only your family does. Like my mom always said, "You don't have to like each other, but you have to love each other." (Yeah for another quotable one mom;)

Whenever I get caught up in missing home, I look at my little boys and focus on creating a home and memories and family where they will experience the love and joy I have received through my family.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all my friends and family who are mother's had a wonderful Mother's Day. Ours was a little hectic, but very, very nice. I got to hear, "Happy Mama's Day" about 400times from my son who just turned 2 last week.

I enjoyed listening to my husband explain to the 2-year-old how they had to go on a "little bye-bye" while breakfast was being made because something didn't quite turn out as planned.

I was also blessed to talk with my mom and one of my grandma's as well as my mother-in-law and share a piece of mother's day with them.

I am so grateful for my husband who honored me by serving me today and allowing me a day off - probably the best gift there is to any mom.

Happy mother's day to all those who are mothers - it is the most important job you will ever have. Even though I get tired from the seemingly constant needs of our two boys, all the work is worth hearing my little man say "Happy Mama's Day," just one more time.

Go Home And Love Your Family

I find it rather ironic and sad that those we love the most often see the worst sides of us. I heard a comment on the radio to that effect the other day and was reminded to examine myself and see what my family sees.

I think about all the times I am so stressed out or frustrated or in a fight and then the phone rings and the caller on the other end has no idea anything is even wrong because my voice changes, my tone changes and suddenly nothing is wrong.

When I have a friend or acquaintance do something that really frustrates me, I rarely say anything, but if it is my husband, all too often I am quick to get more frustrated than the situation warrants.

I know I am not the only one who does this. I do feel like you need to be able to have off moments. Let's face it - everyone does. But sometimes when I am in a funk it seems my husband and kids get more off moments than good moments. Granted we do get to know all the little idiosincracies living with another person and there are going to be things that drive you nuts. Then I think of the movie Good Will Hunting where Robin Williams is describing how he remembers his wife farting in bed in her sleep. He says:

Ah...! But Will, she’s been dead for 2 years, and that's the stuff I remember: wonderful stuff you know? Little things like that. Those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I know about: that's what made her my wife. Oh she had the goods on me too, she knew all my little peccadilloes. People call these things imperfections, but there not. Ah, that's the good stuff.

It's then that I have to sit down and think about why I get so worked up. My family means more to me than any other people in the world and this is how I show it. Usually when I examine what is happening, I quickly realize the "problems" that seem to put me in such a bad mood really are not too bad. They may still drive me nuts, but I just have to get over them.

My challenge for myself this Advent season is to really act with love toward those I do love. Life is too short and you never know how much time you really have left. I'm sure if I died tomorrow I would not regret not getting upset more often, but I may think about the missed opportunities to show love and compassion toward those who mean so much to me and the times I didn't show forgiveness when it really needed to be shown.

When Mother Teresa received her Nobel Prize she was asked, 'What can we do to help promote world peace?' Her answer; 'Go home and love your family.'

Amen! Let's do that!

Really Tasting LIfe

So I was reading one of my favorite magazines the other day and ran across an interesting article talking about really savoring meals and snacks. The author poses an interesting question, "When was the last time you ate M&Ms one at a time?"

May seem silly, but she goes on to talk about how we're always on the go and we rarely take the time to really enjoy a meal or snack and in turn, do a lot of mindless eating.

I've been thinking about that whenever I eat ever since i read the article. How often do I take a handful of chips or candies or dried fruits or whatever and don't taste it. I don't taste the chocolate melting into my tongue. I don't enjoy the warm cheesy macaroni when it enters my mouth. Instead I usually eat very distractedly, often thinking about the things I still need to complete on my to-do list.

What good would it do so many families if, instead of sitting down for dinner with the goal to finish quickly so you can go on to do your own thing, we sat down with the purpose of actually sitting there, catching up with those who mean the most and really enjoying the meal God has provided for us.

When I was in college, I spent a summer living with 7 girls in one big house. It was part of a program that focused on faith in our lives and one of the things we were committed to do was to sit down together each night for an hour and eat, taking turns talking about our days. At the beginning of the summer it seemed so long and I wasn't sure what to do after 10 minutes, but after a few weeks I began to really look forward to those dinners.

I loved having the time to converse and learn from my household sisters. I loved learning about them through those meals and slowing life down, if even just for that hour.

We can't make it an hour at our house right now because we have an almost two-year-old who wouldn't sit still long enough to let it happen, but we can usually make it a half hour. When it happens, I know that is by far the best part of my day. I love just enjoying that quiet time with my family - no phone calls, no emails, no TV - just us enjoying each other's company.

One beautiful fruit from that time is on those days my husband and I seem to have more understanding and patience with each other because we know what has been good and what has been challenging throughout our own days.

Our family is working to truly enjoy the food as well as the company we enjoy it with. I challenge you to take pleasure in the little things in life like daily meals and enjoy all the gifts God has given us ....right down to that M&M.