Wednesday, May 13, 2009

My Version

**this was written yesterday... but life interrupted so it's being posted today**
Is it safe to assume that y'all read Sister's blog too? I never want to bore you with the same story that she's already told... but I do have my own version and if you're so inclined to listen read I'm inclined to tell.

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This picture is fairly unrelated to my post but I just thought I'd share. This is a game the girls love to play. It goes like this: "Morgan/Paige can you please bring me a diaper/wipes/paci?" Child retreieves diaper {or said item} and then asks 100x, "Guess what's behind my back?" We have to give 100 answers {none of which can be "diaper"} before we "guess" diaper and then the child will hand over the diaper. Sometimes this game is fun, sometimes this game will make you want to pull your hair out. Please tell me that games like this are often played at your home too?

Paige & John Martin are both sleeping soundly and Morgan is playing quietly in the playroom. I love a quiet house. It's not always like this... this morning was one of those "Lord help me" mornings. I say "Lord help me" a lot and I say it out loud. I don't say it vain. I say it in desperation. I know a lot of y'all are moms, want to be moms, and/or have moms so I imagine you have either said it yourself or have heard your own mother say it. This morning it was one of those mornings where all I wanted to do was get the children dressed, out the door and in the car. A simple task if you're only responsible for yourself. A major feat if you're responsible for yourself and 3 others {the oldest of which is 4}. This morning our getting out the door was interrupted by a gallon of sweet tea spilling in the fridge and onto the kitchen floor, followed by projectile vomiting by John Martin onto me, him, and the den floor. Lovely, isn't it? But an ever powerful reminder of my need for a Savior in times of weakness. I cannot be a mother by my own strength. No way. The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31


I'm thankful this afternoon for a few hours of peace. The only things I hear at this moment are the rhythmic tumble of the dryer and Morgan playing with toys in the playroom... thank you Lord. {I say that a lot too, because He is faithful to answer my "Lord help me's"}


Ok... back to our visit with family. I was a wonderful respite from the daily grind. I found nothing about their stay in our home stressful... in fact it was quite the opposite, it was peaceful, and very enjoyable. To any mother, I'm certain, eight extra hands would never be looked down upon.

Morgan anxiously awaited their arrival. Word to the wise: Never tell a 4-year old that their grandmother will be here soon if you don't know that to be an absolute fact. The sweet girl sat in this chair for 2 hours... w a i t i n g.


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They did eventually arrive and she was thrilled! The next morning she had a program at the preschool. If you've never been to "preschool production" it's one of the most entertaining shows you'll ever see. She even had a solo!!

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Her music teacher is retiring this year and most certainly went out with a BANG! The program was fabulous and she is a wonderful, patient woman and I was SO impressed that she could teach this many 3 and 4-year olds so many songs! Morgan's solo was well received by her fan club that took up the entire front row and looked more like the paparazi than family. Sister Paige was her number one fan but wasn't too sure about the idea that she will be the one on stage next year.

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Brother, on the other hand, was well-behaved and thrilled about his opportunity to shine. Hopefully sans paci!


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The majority of our time together was spent doing 4 things: shopping, laughing, eating & swimming. All of those things are great together with the exception of the eating & swimming... unless you're 4.


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Our poolside time was spent (1)watching Morgan dive for rings from our (2) lounge chairs (3) underneath a colorful umbrella that was a wonderful shield from the hot afternoon sun:


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By the end of the week we all felt like could very well pass for these two:

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Afternoons were spent coloring & playing. MommaSis' is one fun aunt and I hope I can be half the aunt to her little girl as she is to mine. They crafted up a garland to hang above the girls' table.


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She also taught John Martin how to use an iPhone. He promised to call her all the time if she'd make his face the wallpaper.


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Sunday was special not only because it was Mother's Day but because the young man was being baptized. The combination of these two events had me up at the crack of dawn ironing clothes and scouring the yard for flowers. Call me old-fashioned but I wasn't letting any mother in this house head out to church without a homemade corsage.


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All of which were manhandled by the young man himself. Oh well! They did look pretty before he got a hold of them.


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He also worked over Pastor Henry's microphone and Paige only showed her panties to the congregation 3 times. Other than that, it was a delightful celebration of our covenant child. Some of you are scratching your heads and wondering why on earth we would baptize our babies... and I'll add that to my list of "blog material". But if you are interested in learning more about it you can follow this link and read under the section labelled Presbyterian and Continental Reformed churches.

The entire family joined us back at our house for BBQ and other fixin's, petit fors, & swimming.

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It was the most delightful Mother's Day I've had in years. First because I am blessed to be the mother of these three little ones...


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Second, because I was able to celebrate with my mom & sister and we haven't all 3 been together for Mother's Day in about 10 years?! Sad but I believe it's true.


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Third, because my precious aunt & cousin were here with us too {and this picture was taken at 6:45 am so they may not be thrilled with it... but I loved it!}! It was a Mother's Day week for the record books... or at least the blog!

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36 comments:

Taylor Wise said...

Lovely post! I love the idea of homemade corsages! Isn't baptism day the best? To stand before the Lord and covenant with Him for your children along with your family and friends...

And my almost three year old is proficient at using my iphone. No exaggeration. If you ever get one, they are great, but little ones learn how to navigate them fast. It is hilarious to watch.

erika said...

Great recap!
Wish I was still there. Really, truly, honestly wish I was still there. Those 3 munchkins melt Mommasis' heart. Chance and I often say "we hope our kids are as sweet as yours". Kiss them all for me. Tell Morgie sorry we were late arriving. And tell JM to call me anytime!!!
Thanks for the hospitality!!!
XO
Mommasis

Anonymous said...

this is so sweet. you love your family so well and it's so encouraging to see that love lived out in so many aspects.

Ivy said...

What a sweet post! Glad ya'll could all be together for Mother's Day!

Molly said...

Great recap, love hearing the details from peoples weekends, there is just something inspiring and fun about it.

We play games in this house 100x as well, sometimes fun and adorable when we have the energy and other times it's everything in me not to snap some words out of my mouth like "enough!".

Did you do something on your SLR to make the colors so vivid? I've been having to adjust the colors once I upload mine to the computer- wondering if you changed ISO/metering/ or something before taking the shot? I'm learning...and it's so confusing sometimes. :/

L said...

I'm glad you provided the link to baptism. I grew up in a church where we dedicated babies and baptized believing adults. However, I attended a church here where I was able to appreciate and understand that not all churches believe baptism ensures salvation, but rather it's much like the dedication other churches do. My question is - are children ever baptized later in life if/when they choose to surrender their life to Christ?
It looks like a lovely Mother's Day weekend! :)

Unknown said...

Darby, I also truly wish I was still there. We had so much fun. I haven't laughed like that in a long time! I absolutely adore your three children and was so delighted to be two of the extra hands. You'll never know how much you all mean to me and it was so, so wonderful to spend Mother's week with everyone. I love and miss you all so much all ready!
XOXO
Cousin

alison giese Interiors said...

Awww! Ya'll pack a lot of fun into a week!
Thanks for sharing "your side!"

Anonymous said...

Great POST!

Meghan said...

Your mother's day sounded wonderful! My oldest boy decided that he wanted to be baptised on Mother's Day and WOW what a great day to pick! I have never had a more special day! I completely understand doing it as a baby, however, conflicts in our beliefs prevented this. Congrats to JM and to you!

KM said...

Beautiful post! Thanks for sharing! I will try your brownie pie - I'll tell you the icebox cake is my son's FAVORITE! Thanks for sharing. And my husband is obsessed w/ your tortilla soup recipe but I added tomatoes, black beans, and avocado to it and it really is amazing!! You should try it.
I just posted on my bathroom facelift but yours takes the cake!

Pretty in Pink said...

I recently found your blog through a friend and I am so glad that I did! You are so creative and I love your pictures. I recently got a cannon rebel as well and i'm anxious to learn how to shoot like you! Your family is precious and i look forward to following your blog :)

Megan

Abby Maddox said...

What an awesome post! I love the picture of you smiling on stage with JM. So happy your Mother's Day was precious. You certainly are :)

Anonymous said...

Love the weekend recap! Looks like a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

When are we going to see the other bathroom? I can't wait!

Candice said...

What a great post, it left me all warm and fuzzy inside. Yes, my kids play those games, you know that later when they are older you will look back on those games as fun, but when you are not in the mood they can wear on you! thanks for sharing.

Jenn said...

Did you make your petit fours? I have been looking for a recipe, so was just curious!

Love Being A Nonny said...

Your children are so blessed!!

Did you make the petit fours?

pve design said...

I love hearing both versions, each sibling shows so much gratitude for the other.
Great photos....
God is good!
pve

maria said...

great post! your entire family is gorgeous!

andi said...

Precious!

Tonja said...

Great post, Darby. What a fun filled week of happy memories! Glad you enjoyed the program...Morgan did so well. Loved all the pictures you posted, too. A close family is such a blessing!

Cathy said...

The pic of you and your children is precious! Oh and cute petit fors too!

Anonymous said...

I should have asked in my first comment...where did you find such adorable lounge chairs? That print is too darling!!!

Maggie Dickinson said...

What a wonderful weekend. I love the cute petit fores. Our son prefers the blackberry (crackberry).

Mandy said...

So cute....JM is precious and I love his baptism...the girls are so cute too! I am so glad you had a special Mother's Day...you deserve it! I make that pie and it is so good! And yes, my three year old plays the "guess what I have behind my back?" game as well...Have a good week!

Kellie said...

Awesome post - you are a wonderful mom and daughter and cousin - friend, wife - everything - they are as blessed to call you "theirs" as you are "yours"!

Tara said...

Love it, love it, love it....loved EVERY word! Just what I needed before heading off to bed for the night. Sounds like your Mother's Day couldn't have possibly been any better! Love you, D!

Victoria said...

Loved reading about your Mother's Day. What a special time you all had!

I could relate to your diaper game! We have to play certain games and say certain things with my 3 year old. Like you said, sometimes it's great and other times I want to pull my hair out. :)

tarheel said...

Okay, everything's lovely, but the picture of your precious angel waiting at the window for her grandmother {for hours!} brings tears to my eyes!

Scrappy_Lady said...

We end up doing the "guess what's behind my back" game, too. Invariably, one of my guesses will be a porcupine. One day they'll surprise me and actually have one. :)

No.35style said...

Oh what a FUN weekend!

Kelley said...

You are seriously amazing and inspiring :-)

ang said...

What beautiful mom's!!!!!!
You guys are all gorgeous!
Great pics of your kids!

stewart and james said...

what a fun post! and yes - we play the guessing game, only my kids hide them in their hands and i have to guess which hand (i HAVE to guess the wrong hand first) and usually the object is too big for their tiny fists to close around, so i have to pretend to be a complete moron picking the wrong hand :) life's fun isn't it!

Jamie said...

Would you mind sharing how you made and decorated the petit fors? I love them and have always wanted to make them, but am not sure how.

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