It’s all in your attitude

Today could be a  downer for me. Today I turn 40

(Prepare your self for lots of pictures—sorry!)

(18 years old)

(almost 19)

I’m not a teenager anymore(thank God!)

(24 years)

The 20s are a fond memory & the good old 30s are done………

(34 years)

Ever since I can remember when people ask my age they exclaim—NO way you aren’t that old.  I also get “there is NO way you have a kid that old.”  I like that I look younger than what my id says.

(37 years)

Today I am not going to be unhappy that I am 40.  I am choosing to be thankful for all the blessings that God has placed in my life. 

In fact I thought I would list some of those blessings.  These are in no particular order.

1. A husband who loves me and gives me more joy than I deserve.

2.  Adult son coming home “just because” he likes to hang out with his parents.

3.  My beautiful, loving children

4.  Flowers delivered unexpectedly!

5.  Parents who love me

6.  Connecting with my brother & sister recently

7.  Projects to keep my hands & mind busy

8.  Sunshine instead of rain—everyone knows how much I love the sun after days of winter gray.

9.  Being a stay-at-home mom

10.  Flowers blooming early this year!

11.  Forgiveness

12.  Daughters who cheer me on & laugh at my sillies

13.  Food in the frig, gas in the car, clothes on my back

14.  My iphone—seriously would go crazy with out it

15.  Dark curtains to keep the light out when I want to sleep in on my birthday(any day).

16.  Friends who forget I like to sleep in and text me at 7 am to wish me a happy 40th.

17.  Death by chocolate cake with peanut butter between the layers(aaaahhhh)

18.  Anticipation of a afternoon with my mom

19.  Sweet hugs from my youngest

20.  Grace

21.  A mother-in-law & father-in-law who have helped me to grow and treat me as one of their own.

22.  Friends who walk beside me, cry in sympathy, laugh for no reason, understand when there are no words left to say.

23.  Adventures

24.  My precious church family

25.  The Brush/Schweikert clan—we aren’t hillbillies really(if you don’t count some of them)

26.  Little girl giggles, big girl hugs

27.  Pepsi

28.  My hip—defective but functioning

29.  Comfortable place to lay my head at night

30.  Memories stuck down, decorated & sitting on a shelf for times when I need to remember.

31.  Lessons learned, paradigms shifted

32.  Abby’s companionship

33.  Peanut butter

34.  Plans for the future—gardens, vacations, trips

35.  21 years with my love

(39 years)

36.  Warm breezes of spring

37.  Energy to get up each day

38.  Little boy energy, big boy compassion

39.  Messes to clean, laundry to do, errands to run

40.  One more breath—means that I am still here with a purpose to live out as I make this journey

I love this saying from pinterest. 

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

Try making your list—I promise you won’t be sorry.

Operation “Grandma”

On Monday my mom had her 6th chemotherapy.  It went very smoothly.  She hadn’t slept well the night before so she actually napped most of the 6 hours.

As of today she has had about 10 days of “feeling normal.”  That is such a blessing and encouragement to her.  You get really sick & tired of feeling sick & tired.  At chemo mom finished the hat she’s been making for Joshua—yeah!

Today dad called to say that mom would be coming back to stay for some extra TLC at our house.  We went in to Operation grandma mode! 

Got her bed made up!

Stocked the frig with drink & snack options.

Cleared a counter for her medicines & notebook to track when she takes things. (my counter is never that clean on a normal day!)

Dad called back later to say that she changed her mind.  She will be staying home at least one more night.  I hope and pray that she doesn’t HAVE to come.  But if she does we are ready!

CRAZY weekend of FUN!

You might think that my whole life has taken a side road and I don’t do any of the regular stuff of life.  We do have a new normal with my mom living with us for a while.

We do still do normal things.  My kids are still working through their school work(albeit more slowly), the girls go to their Bible study, Joshua entertains us all by telling riddles and we’ve managed to keep up with memorizing for Bible Quizzing.

Its not easy but everyone agrees that it is worth it.  My Top 10 reasons Bible Quizzing is worth it pretty much lays it all out there.

This past weekend my sister & brother cared for my mom while we made a trip up to Cedar Falls, IA to participate in a regional tournament.  We took all 3 teams from Columbia.  That was quite brave for the youngest team as most of them are 11-12 years old.

We were gone 36 hours.  There was 12 hours of driving, 12 hours of quizzing and not much time left  for sleeping. 

Both the girls teams did great!  Megan’s team Amnesia ended up in 19th place out of 38 teams.  The best thing was that as we left one of the boys on the team said “I really love this team.”  They’ve pulled together and supported each other in many ways.

Elizabeth’s team Greek Squad placed 2nd out of all the teams who went to Iowa.  Their goal was stage & while they were there they made a bid for first.  Everyone was super excited that they managed to get 2nd place! 

I was proud of Elizabeth for getting 3 right answers and dealing with a microphone that was WAY too tall.

She has changed and grown from a girl who used to memorize quickly but not accurately to one who knows her material inside and out.  More importantly I am seeing the fruit of that scripture being written on her heart.  So while the trip was crazy—it is always rewarding to go and hang out with my kids while they do something we all love and know is worthwhile.

Unexpected phone call

Years ago(like 10) I had little people in my house.  The worst time of the day was 5 o’clock hour.  The kids were hungry & tired.  I was exhausted & ready to turn over the reins to Steve when he walked in the door.  But I had supper to prepare & have ready.

I liked to listen to Spirit FM, a Christian radio station, while I worked in the kitchen.  Michelle Odell was the deejay at that time.  I enjoyed her laughter and joyous outlook on life. 

Really I’m going some where with this—be patient.

My normal schedule on Tuesdays is to be in town running errands.  Yesterday I was home instead.  The kids have been staying with my mother-in-law so I can care for mom.  I won’t lie it has been a rough couple of days.  Survival kinds of days.

So when the phone rang yesterday I really wasn’t expecting the blessing that God had planned for me.  The sweet familiar voice I heard on the other end of the line was very familiar. 

The radio station was calling listeners, who support Spirit FM(which is AWESOME by the way), to chat & see if we had any prayer requests.  Did I mention that I am not normally home on Tuesday afternoon?

So I shared Michelle what our family has been going through because I knew she could relate.  Did I mention that when I was listening to her so many years ago she had learned that she had breast cancer?  Did I mention that I felt burdened to pray for her as she walked that journey?  You just never know how or when you might get to help someone or have that blessing come back around.

Michelle asked me a few things and then she sweetly prayed for my mom.  She reminded me that God is in control.  The only big “C” is the one who God sent to save us.  Christ is our great physician and he can do mighty things. 

Sometimes I think that we must go through the tough times, the really dark and desperate times, in order to know when God sends us encouragement.  In normal life we don’t always pay attention.

This is one of my favorite songs right now. . . . . I hope that you enjoy it.