Motherhood, not as easy as everyone makes it Sound

Let's just put it out there, I hate disciplining. Why? I hate conflict...I think I have mentioned that before...but I love my children and I don't want them to be parasites in society.

God disciplines us because He loves us, I discipline my children because I love them. Hebrews 12:6 "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

My children know how to pull out the "let's charm the parent" when being disciplined...Matthew with his crazy voices and H with her big eyes and curls. Works on dad, doesn't work on me. (I will confess being the only one who disciplines gets weary)

Easiest way to discipline? Take the phone. However, it is the hardest because I can't reach them...like today. I was going to pick up lunch after Matthew's doctor appointment and texted my lovely daughter to see what she would like...after a few minutes of not hearing back from her...I realized "Oh yeah, she lost her phone." Inconvenient. 

Which leads me to the question, why don't my children just do what they are supposed to do and then I don't have to discipline....and...they get what they want for lunch and not what I decide to provide. So simple yet so out of their understanding. Rant over.

Invaded

Nasty little invisible creatures have invaded the home...it has been confirmed by the doctor, The flu bug found a host creature in Matthew and is looking for future hosts with each cough, sneeze, or touch of a handle.

My goals: I do not get sick. The Big Man does not get sick since men are big babies, H does not get sick. Get M well enough to play some hockey before the season is over.

I think I may not reach goal one since I am feeling a bit squishy. I'm taking my Tamiflu now.

Squishy

Squishy. That is how Matthew described how he felt last night.

We went out for a family dinner and Matthew turned down a hockey game to go home. I had a feeling something was out of whack.

The flu epidemic has swept the nation and our little home was left unaffected...until now. The Birthday Boy is sick. I know without the swab, it's the flu...fever, congestion, cough. I felt his forehead after he said he felt "squishy" grabbed the water and a thermometer, ascended the stairs and had my mom instinct confirmed.

I am left with the decision of take him to Urgent Care so they can confirm what I know or do what they're going to tell me to do...fluids, rest, ibuprofen. Do I go so he can have the Tamiflu, which is only 30% effective? My mom wisdom stops there. Ugh...as I listen to him cough, I am thinking of spraying him with Lysol...

Letters of Hope

Hope. Encouragement. It's the purpose of the letters our church does as part of its prison ministry. I enjoy writing them (before you panic that I am writing strange men in prison, there is no personal information shared by the letter writers and all letters go through two censors before reaching a prisoner...the letters are signed from the church and the recipient has no idea if a man or woman wrote the letter...although I am sure the handwriting provides an indication). Writing the letters actually bless me probably more than the inmate because I realize how simple and easy my life is...and how free I am. I cannot imagine life incarcerated.

There is one prayer connection card that I get from time to time that breaks my heart. The man seemingly has the mind of a child but did commit a serious crime. It seems like there should be something where he is confined but not with the prisoners who might mock or abuse him.

I wish I had wisdom to think of a better way and become a Norma Rae of the prison system. But, I do not have an answer to I write to give hope and encourage.

M is 14

My sweet Matthew is 14. I can't believe it. His voice is deep, he's taller than me, he's fierce about hockey, and he is blessed by God. (Although to be honest he was a bit sweeter before the testosterone kicked in)

Speaking of testosterone, he is asking to play football. I asked him why...his answer? I want to hit people. Ummm, no. I have given him a 2 concussion limit for hockey, let's not waste those. "You can hit people in hockey" was my response.

I thought it was really nice to our church had their big party on his birthday, saved me a lot of work. Kidding, we are celebrating today. One of the youth leaders took him to Chipotle today for a birthday lunch and we will take him to his favorite restaurant tonight, Pane e Vino. It occurred to me the restaurant is probably Jesus approved "Bread and Wine." Ha! Kidding.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from last night. Lauren refused to have a Kodak moment (she was under the weather so not feeling her finest). I'll try again tonight.

This one is my favorite, he hates it but I love it. He rarely smiles for a picture

I'm Dawdling

I love my church. It is like a breath of fresh air. The teaching is solid but there is love and laughter and I feel like I'm home.

The best thing I love about my church is they have a sense of humor. Teaching comes with laughter, appreciation comes with laughter, and let's face it, I like to laugh.

Last night, we had our Dream Team Party. (The Dream Team Party was created when our pastor started the Church and wanted people to give their ideas for what they wanted from a church. We have all become so conditioned to be being told by the leader what to do, people were afraid to say anything. Pastor Chris wanted people to dream, envision what they would like this church to be...and about that time the Olympics were going on and we had The Dream Team in basketball...hence, the Dream Team name was given to everyone helping build the church) Okay, history lesson over...our church has a big dinner once a year to thank all who serve. Cajun and Comedy is the theme because our Pastor is from Louisiana. I missed the party last year and was so sorry when everyone was talking about the music skits. The music interpretation has been my favorite part each year...I was dismayed there were no skits last night. I have a feeling Pastor Chris wanted the Worship Team to enjoy the part too. Praise the Lord for YouTube. I can watch last year's skits this year. (And I still had fun last night music or no music).

Watch last year's tribute to the Usher Team, Coffee/Hospitality Team, The Administrative Team, The Worship Guide Team, and our Setup/Take down team for the portable campuses (Like Ours)

Funny (Hysterical Stuff). Watch it here:

2017 Dream Team Party Songs from Church of the Highlands on Vimeo.

And just for fun, I'm going to add the songs from 2015:

2015 Dream Team Songs from Church of the Highlands on Vimeo.

Parking Spaces

I'll let you in on a family secret. I pray for parking spaces. True Story. Jesus cares about all the details of our lives so I just put my parking space up in prayer. It works every time. If I don't ask, I usually don't find one. This is especially true when I take Matthew to Centennial for practice. If I don't ask for a parking spot, I end up over by Tri Centennial Hospital. It's not the greatest area and I don't mind the walk but I really don't want to get robbed during my hike to the Rink. So...I pray.



My daughters find this quite amusing and feel free to disparage me. The beginning of this video had the two mocking me. Ha! I laugh. it works, disparage away. (And I love this video1)