The Truth..........

"Three things that cannot be hidden long........the sun, the moon and the truth."

I love this quote........

It is the essence of what we try and teach our children and the very bullseye of our lives as children of God..........

Truth is impossible to camouflage, misinterpret or even dissolve.........

Eventually......it rises to the surface and reveals itself to us, in many ways, in ALL ways.........

No matter how we have tried to close our eyes from, or unjustify........

IT IS......

IT WILL ALWAYS REMAIN..........

It is our greatest struggle, our greatest joy, our highest self..............

oh, how we wrestle with it from moment to moment, circumstance to circumstance, in each and all situations.........it's there staring us right in the face....... the fire burning deep in our soul, crying out to be heard and grasped hold of......

May we learn how to wrap ourselves around it......at all times, no matter how it feels in our hands or our hearts......

May we learn to reside with it in the deepest places we call home........

Tumbling Towers........

As we prayed for those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom, our hearts were thankful to be with family.......

Minus my firstborn who will be here in 14 more days, yippee !!!!!!!!!!!!!

We played this really fun new game......It's just like a really huge Jenga game.......

It's called Tumbling Towers and you can find it here:

http://www.tumblingtowers.com/

It was a lot of fun for all ages...........It would be great for summer gatherings............

Hope your weekend was full of loved ones and lots of fun.......

May all those brave, courageous Americans who serve in our military know how very thankful we are.........

How much we appreciate your dedication and complete sacrifice so that we are safe at home......

We send you love and continue to pray for your safe return..............

"Does She Know She is Adopted?"........................

Someone asked me a question today that I am always surprised at..........

"Does she know she is adopted?"...........

It always strikes me so strangely.

When God sent my final child into my arms, it never even occurred to me to withhold the miracle of her journey to us. I honestly don't remember a conversation between my husband and I about how we would handle it. From the moment she left the hospital she always knew she did not come from my tummy like her brothers did.....but instead she grew right in my heart........

I tell that story over and over.......i love telling it..........It reminds me of the miracles of God's love for us and how much He knows the deepest desires of our hearts...........and that our prayers are sometimes answered, not in the ways that we hope for, but in unimaginable designs that only He could create for us.........Her journey to us is such an affirmation of faith, and love and trust in the truest form..........

I knew about her long before my husband did......I knew someone was missing from our family......even after a few more failed cycles of IVF, I knew there was one more person who was missing.......God placed her in my heart where she grew and grew and grew.........

My husband was perfectly content with our foursome.........and I was too, but somehow unsettled........We discussed it over and over.......my body just could not handle any more invasive procedures to attempt conception and pregnancy........my heart couldn't either.......

So we prayed, and we prayed and we prayed.........and years went by.........and then, our Most Loving Father placed my daughter in my husbands heart.......on a plane.......on the way to Washington........and our daughter grew in his heart, right then, in that very moment..........

And the love that he has for that child is a love beyond written words........You would have to see them together and the way he listens to her........the way he can calm her down and comfort her.......the way he can make her smile when it's not possible for anyone else to restore it.......
the way she seeks him from the moment she gets home from school.......the way he believes in her and holds every hope for her future in his hands.......

It's a story I love to tell.......it's a story I can't imagine withholding from her........It's a story of great love and immeasurable faith.......It's the hands of God working in her life and in ours.......It's the story of hope and the happiest ending, no matter how the final chapter reads.......

It's a story I hope she will love to tell someday.....over and over.........

It's her story.........and I can't imagine keeping that beautiful gift from her...........

Is it over yet????????

Well, it's winding down.........Can you feel it?

We have my final child's open house this week, my sophomore starts finals in a few days, and confirmation is almost over...........

There are year end school projects, summer school classes to finalize and plane tickets to purchase for my firstborn......Can't wait to get him home...........

I finally put up my D.I.Y. solar shades on Saturday.......I don't actually know if its cooler inside the house but it certainly is darker......If it does, in fact, keep our a/c bills down then it will be worth it. If not, they will not be going back up next year..........

We are all more than anxious for school to be over......... ..FINALLY..........and to take things down a notch or two for the next handful of summer days.....The sunshine has been beautiful here lately, not relentless yet, but those days are coming.........

It's hard to believe another year is almost in the rear view mirror, again...........It's true what they say about time......The older you get, the faster it goes............But every year, about this time in May, we anticipate and yearn for long summer days............They are just a stone's throw away now.........I see the light ahead..........

The funny thing is.........those slow, long summer days never really do get here before its time to start this whole thing over again......

But I know, in the not so far off future, that these are the days I will miss most.....When all my children are here with me, filling my days with laundry, unbearable anxiety, and my purpose in life........I will miss those annoying eye-rolls.......The last minute, "but I need it tonight" requests.......The joyful dinners filled with conversation that last no more than 4 minutes..........Sibling love banter(that's the nice way of saying that)..........School plays, school awards, teacher conferences, back-to-school night, open house, confirmation parent nights, teacher appreciation week, teacher luncheons, magazine drives, cookie dough fund raisers, pointsettia fundraisers, dinner auctions, canned good drives, book drives, turkey dinner baskets, Christmas angel trees, secret Santa's, valentines, filling out endless school forms, permission slips, report cards and field trip slips...........I seriously think I could still name more......

I'm exhausted..........

Even still, as much as these drive me nuts, I know I will miss them, ugly cry miss them.........

I will be thankful tonight, as I close my eyes, and thank God for my blessings...........For the joys that the gifts of motherhood has brought.........For all the blood, sweat and tears that go with it.........For every single second of it that I would not want to think of my life without............It my purpose here on earth, to be a Mom and a wife...........It's the only thing I really ever wanted to be.............

How lucky am I?.....................

Coffee and Conversation............

My husband and I made a New Years Resolution (novel idea, huh?) to commit to 2 mornings each month to connect. We chose the popular coffee shop to make that happen because we might as well enjoy a nice warm beverage while we are at it, right?

Well, it's May and we haven't missed one yet. It really gives us some uninterrupted time to discuss family issues, couple issues, financial woes, health or even current events......

I think it really has been a gift to us. I almost wonder how we managed without it. It's become that important.....

With three teenagers (on Friday) and our own business, we have a schedule so tight that no one better have an accident, become ill or add any spontaneous calendar event. It's that crazy busy! It's awful really.......

Having three small children was busy and difficult, too. My husband traveled, A LOT! But these days are harder. With school, homework, and extracurricular activities it has become incredibly chaotic.

We really need Summer to arrive yesterday!!

In a year, our final child should be done with braces and also confirmation. That should free us up some. My sophomore will be a junior and I anticipate he will be driving a car to and from school. Not sure what car that will be, but I am hopeful he will be driving everyday.......

I know, I know.....We all are busy and have crazy lives and schedules. I know this is true. It's not only me.........

Just looking for a little sympathy..........and maybe some more caffeine (I meant coffee) and conversation.....

Happy Tuesday!

Happy

Houston.....We Have a Problem............

Yesterday was a great day........

My husband and children made a great effort to make me feel loved and celebrated.............

I am truly thankful.........

In a couple days, I will be the mother of THREE TEENAGERS and I am desperately groveling for your sincerest prayers......

Believe it or not, your beautiful, cherubic angel babies that snuggle with you, anxiously fall apart when you leave them anywhere, and ask you every night if they can sleep in YOUR bed "just for tonight", may someday tell you that you "love them too much"..........

My father once told me as my firstborn approached this magical age, that he would, in fact, turn into an alien........

"But the good news is", he said, "is that someday they do come back"..........

This maybe one of the wisest things he'd ever told me............

I love my children more than life and I hope they know, someday, that I was born and created by God to be their Mom.........to love them unconditionally, just as God loves us............to teach them that no matter what they do, I will never stop loving them.......ever!

So my flying space ships.........fly away for awhile if you must..........

As long as you know I will be right here waiting for you, with loving arms, as soon as you get back to Earth.........

But don't leave the Mothership too long......ok?

An Open Letter to My Children's Father.........

Life's a Beach........

Well, the fires are finally almost out here in So. Cal. and the air is no longer thick and and filled with ash.....

The wind has finally died down and the temperature has cooled, greatly.........

We are so thankful for our brave, tireless firemen who so gallantly kept the fire at bay......

Only a handful of damaged houses and I believe not one was a complete loss..........

28,000 acres burned (as of today) and once again life seems to feel under control again.....

We spent the weekend at my Mother and Father-in-law's house.......

It's walking distance to the sandy shore and it was a beautiful day on Saturday.......

I can't imagine a more peaceful feeling, walking on the beach with my family.....the wind in our hair and the sand between our toes.....it was just nice to be together, breathing the fresh air.....

There is only one thing that I would have enjoyed more......

If my firstborn was walking alongside us.........

On Saturday, "Life was a Beach".........it was renewing and relaxing..........

But my oldest child was missed.......

He makes our family complete..........

Mamamoons???????

Remember that blissful time spent with your brand new spouse, immediately or even sometimes later, following your nuptials called a "honeymoon"?..........

I have been hearing more and more couples talking about taking trips away together before the birth of a child called "babymoons"...........

My husband and I have been married for almost 23 years.........we had a lovely honeymoon immediately following our union in the Cayman Islands............

However, in these 23 years, we have both taken only 1 weekend away from each other, and the children, to rest and rejuvenate singularly..........

What do you think about taking Mamamoons and Daddymoons once a year, or so, to just renew the soul, relax the body and refresh the mind?,,,,,,,,,,

Wish I would have thought of this about 22 years ago.............

Maybe it's never to late to start.............

Life in So. Cal.........

Welcome May.......hot, dry and windy weather is never welcomed in the southwest....

We have a large fire burning close by here.........

Thank God, no homes have burned yet.........

We pray for our neighbors safety today.........

This always reminds me of how blessed I am........

Things can always be worse........

I thank God today for my family's safety and health......For shelter, food and clean water.....

For the simple things I sometimes take for granted, feel entitled to........

I pray for your health and safety today too......

For the comfort and shelter of Gods love................