The Life I've Been Given

Another long day has passed...just leaving me and my tired feet to recuperate for another beginning tomorrow. It has been a good day...full of happy moments. I love days that are full of smiles - today God gave me one. :)
It started off with Zac coming home - I feel such relief to see him after his 24 hour shifts. Zac is my pillar. Yesterday was a wonderful day with the kids so it's not that I was super stressed and needed him to come home and take over...it's just that he is my best friend and my partner - I get lonely just without his presence around the house. I love him being in the same place as me and I'm SO fortunate that I get a lot of time with him in the mornings...sometimes ALL day a couple times a week. There are so many *perks* being a stay at home mom...one of those is getting to see my husband any time he is home since I'm not off at work or driving around town spending all his money. :)

Another highlight of my day was making the kids homemade playdoh and watching them delight in having daddy play with them. Really though, Zac enjoyed the playdoh more then the kids. They had left the table for at least 15 minutes before he was ready to be done. I finally had to just tell him that it was time to clean up because I needed to set the table for lunch. Funny all the things you rediscover while having kids...like the FUN in being creative through simple things...like a lump of sticky flour. Zac was trying to sculpt my image out of dough...it was quite humorous. I shant show you the picture of the end result since that should stay between man and wife...but really...quite hilarious. Oh...and aren't the kids little table mats cute? I got those at Target last year after Valentines day....25 cents! They've been a life saver during "water paint" day!

There are so many benefits for a woman in staying home with her children. For me the biggest is just filling *fulfilled.* I can't quite explain it but it's that feeling when I pull a batch of oatmeal cookies out of the oven...or see sunlight hit my child's hair...or see them drink out of a *new* tin cup. It's sitting on my porch swing in the morning and listening to the birds - instead of in my too hot or too cold vehicle at 7 am listening to the honks and beeps of impatient traffic...the impatient world...always busy. I feel fulfilled when I sing "Swing low, sweet chariot...." over and over again because Trini just keeps saying "again mommy. Sing who...seet shariottt....." It's wonderful being able to walk around all day long in workout clothes that I never actually worked out in. :)

I took this picture earlier today and now that it's posted I love it for two reasons. First...I love the way Tristan is lying on the loveseat all nestled in my comforter (I've had it since junior high.)I think he looks like a baby bird in nest...or mabye an angel sleeping in a cloud.Second...I just noticed the significance of Tristan lying under the stained glass picture of Zac and I - kind of precious. I love my stained glass...twas a wedding gift from dearest Kate and I shall have it for the rest of my life. If you don't *get it* the green image is my back with my blond hair cascading down (isn't cascade such a romantic word?) and the blue is Zac. Our arms are blended together...the other day Trin looked up at the window and pointed to it and said "Daddy and mommy." I just wanted to cry because she got it and so many adults just look at it and have no idea what it is.

Lunch today was delicious...full of flavors from Mexico. I made homemade refried beans and even used REAL MEXICAN cheese...the gooey white kind. Zac was in heaven....so were the kids. Trinity is a guacamole lover and I'm so pleased. Brady just loves the concept of a burrito having a closed side and an open side. He always tells us in his very systematic fashion "first I will eat the open side and then the closed."

Another delightful thing that happened today was that our milk jug started leaking. I'm not being sarcastic. The reason I loved this strange *happening* is because I was able to pour all of that white goodness into mason jars - I think I'll ALWAYS pour our milk into mason jars after this. It's just so darn cute and I love looking in the fridge and seeing glass jars all lined up. It makes something so ordinary (like milk) so wonderfully extraordinary.

And lastly...I love being able to be home and prepare really great food. Simple food, but so satisfying. Tonight I made some banana muffins and added pecans and replaced the oil with applesauce. I'm SO looking forward to breakfast in the morning. Mmmm...muffins and fruit - and coffee. Yes, I can't wait till morning.

I played and played today - our whole living room became a jungle gym of sorts with couch cushions everywhere to be jumped on and flung on to. The kids loved flying through the air just to land on a mound of pillows. Hmmm....maybe I did work out?! Hide and seek is an everyday happening around here too...at last 20 minutes a day. I ALSO got a great Yoga for Kids DVD that's lots of fun to do with them. We got it yesterday and I guess they did poses with me for about 15 minutes. I love the idea of an active family...kids that love to feel their bodies move and are aware. When I saw "aware" I mean aware of their physical strengths and weaknesses...aware of others and their needs and feelings...aware of God's presence around them and hopefully *through* them.
Indeed it was a great day - and I realize now that it's because of attitude. My attitude in the last few weeks hasn't been a good one. Sure...maybe on the outside I may seem like I have it all together - but really I haven't. I've allowed worry and just plain STRESS to take over my heart and mind without even realizing. The last couple of days I have become aware (there's that word again) of how I must be coming off to my family. Maybe *normal* in the world's sense but deep down I've been convicted. I just want to do better...to smile more in the face of my children. To stop nagging my precious husband with little things that really don't matter in the long haul...and even if they DO matter who wants another mother (no offense mom and Mama C.) ? I'm glad that the last couple of days I have felt more "awake." Funny how life runs so much smoother when we just live instead of fighting the life that God has given us. How much better it is to respond with joy and contentment then to let that ugly green eyed monster take over. Anyways, on a closing note...stay tuned for what the next couple of days hold. I asked Zac if I could have a "Honey Do" list and he said YES!!!! I have lots of little projects up my sleeve.....

Oh...and on another closing note...a totally irrelevant one...sometime google dioxin and the dangers of it in diapers and feminine products...bothers me deeply. I love the fact that I use cloth diapers because of the money it saves in the long run, it's better on the environment...they look so cute and snuggly...but now I have even a new reason. I wasn't aware of the chlorine used in so many products - and I no longer care if something says "FDA approved." Really?!!! If you base your health on the FDA....might as well just walk through life with a blindfold on.