Annabella's first ballet...and most certainly NOT her last! :)

I took Annabella to her very first ballet this past weekend-Awaken by Excelsior School of Dance.(an amazing christian dance studio right in our area!) To say that she absolutely LOVED it would be an understatement! This girl lives and breathes ballet. She can't be up in the morning for more than 10 minutes and not have changed into 3 different tutus. When people come over, she sees it as her personal duty to entertain them with a ballet production of twirls and leaps.(with multiple wardrobe changes in between of course!)

We went out to dinner before hand and she was wired! She didn't want to sit for a second and insisted on dancing in and around all of the tables! I was a bit concerned that she wouldn't do well for a 2 and half hour ballet...or that she would NOT like being in the audience and insist on running up front and everyone in the auditorium would stop and stare and it would be this huge drama (yes, I totally played it out in my head...not pretty! haha) BUT it couldn't have been farther from the truth!!! She watched every second in utter amazement and every now and then would whisper in my ear "Oh mommy, I wish I was up there!" and "They are just sooo beautiful mama!" She just couldn't get enough!!

I too love ballet sooo very much and it truly was beautiful in every way!! There is just something about watching people dance before the Lord that is so powerful!
I can't wait to see Annabella as she continues to grow with the Lord and watch as she uses her love for ballet as worship before the Lord!

Our favorite mommy/daughter restaurant! A MUST for before our ballet!

Boys will be boys!

So I have learned that you cannot expect boys to be anymore or any less than what they have been created to be..BOYS!!! You can put them in tutus but it is just a matter of time that they will rise up and protest! A matter of conditioning? I think not! Annabella popped out nurturing everything she could get her hands on..and well Malachi and Ezekiel....not so much!

So it won't surprise you that Malachi doesn't have the same care and concern for Annabella's precious dollys!!

As you can see, Malachi is ripping the head off "Gracie"!

Mission accomplished!

What can I say...you can't stop human nature! haha :)

Can one enjoy sickness?

So, it's going on day 3 of feeling ridiculously sick...but it feels more like day 50!! I see the outside from my window...but wonder if I will ever go out again! haha...(okay maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but trust me...days like these feel more like a 72 hour day, than 24!!)

Although I have to admit than even through the fighting children and the pouring out of juice and tea all over the carpet (hoping that it will magically disappear because Lord knows I don't have the strength to clean it up haha); even in the midst of ungodly amounts of dishes piling up, and floors that you wonder if the dried bananas will have to be scraped up with with some sort of hack saw......I hear the Lord calling me to enjoy the simple moments and find joy in the midst of chaos!

There is something that happens when a mom cannot do a single other thing besides lay on the floor with her kids and cuddle with them! It's like I knew my kids were great, but when all I do all day is sit and listen to Malachi's hilarious jokes and then watch him laugh at himself(haha),or hold sick baby Ezekiel for hours just looking into those precious little eyes, or watch Annabella make the playroom into a rocket ship...I realize just how amazing they really are!

Oh and theres something to be said about watching movies all day long..I mean for one thing you learn how amazing your children's memory is!! They have memorized every song to Sound of Music...that's pretty impressive!! haha And to see Annabella chase Malachi down and say"Now, Malachi, you are gonna be Rolf, and I will be Leasel!" haha...pretty dang adorable if you ask me! :)

All of this to say, sickness is no fun,even miserable at times; but I think every mom has to be really sick at least once to learn that sitting and doing "nothing" with our kids could be one of our greatest gifts!! And who knows, maybe with God's grace we could learn to just SIT and block out the dirty floors, and the "to do" lists and enjoy our children even when we aren't sick as dogs!!! :)

MEALTIME

Mealtime= ridiculous mess and applesauce for wallpaper!

I mean I try to "control' things as much as possible but especially Ezekiel, he just finds great pleasure in seeing how much food he can get on his face, as well as the floors and walls!
I mean a mom shouldn't have to sweep a floor 5 times a day...doesn't that just seem a TAD excessive...but if I don't..who knows... one of my kids will inevitably pick up and try to swallow last meals stale mac and cheese under the table and begin to gag! haha...well its sorta funny! :)

Your probably thinking, "oh how cute, he's playing with his bowl after his yummy meal of mac n cheese"...don't be fooled! He barely took a bite! That bowl over his head is just a picture of all the mac and cheese going all over the floor! And you see that little smirk on that face; it's like he had been waiting to do that all day! haha

Mommyhood...it's as simple as WHAT???

MOMMYHOOD....

It will literally make you feel like you have gone crazy and then some! You feel some days like you've totally got it down (ok.. maybe like for an hour or so) and then BAM, you are yet again scrambling for time, overwhelmed and wondering if the day will ever end!! I was asking..ok...BEGGING the Lord for some sort of strategy..anything..."What is the answer Lord? I need something, anything...how do i be the mother YOU have destined me to be? How do I love my children and husband despite all circumstances? How do I have JOY at all times and be filled with the LOVE and passion of Christ everywhere I go???" and then it came...revelation...like a sweet whisper in my ear that had been there the whole time....God spoke....
"IT'S ME!"

"What Lord?!!" Then again.." IT'S ME!!!" and then all of the sudden it just all made sense! God IS patient, LOVE, JOY, SELF CONTROL and Lord began to show me that I have NONE of these things by myself(as if I needed a reminder haha) and ONLY through a constant communion with Him will I ever be joyful in the midst of any circumstance...find peace in the midst of chaos and LOVE people will His kind of love!!

I mean how in the WORLD can I expect to patient with my kids when they are fighting for the 50th time in an hour, or have peace when our car breaks down...agiain..or find love in my heart for the ruthless bill collector on the phone...and then God made it very clear......
I CANT...
I don't have ANY LOVE without Him...I have to be with Him, worshiping Him. spending time with Him, reading His Word and talking to Him....

So wait....its just that simple?!! Just spend time with Jesus and I will be an amazing mommy and wife?? Basically!! As we "waste our life" at the feet of Jesus, He will consume every part of our lives and then and ONLY then can be truly experience any REAL joy, peace, self control, gentleness....

So then I say...Oh Lord, you know I don't have hardly any time! Then The Lord graciously reminded me about the woman who was a widow and gave the last cent that she had to the Lord. And to so many she looked so foolish..i mean how was she going to eat the next day...she just gave away everything she had!! But the Lord called that "GOOD"..and went on to say that what a blessing it is to give out of your NEED!

ok, ok..so what does money have to do with time???? EVERYTHING!

The Lord began to show me that I (and probably ever mother out there) is in poverty when it comes to time. We just don't have enough of it. So when the Lord calls us to spend time with Him we think.."But Lord....I only have this TINY lil allotment of time..if I do that then I will have no time to cook, clean, run a seemingly normal household...and then you can forget about any lil projects!" and the Lord said...
"EXACTLY!!" "WASTE" your time on ME, spend time with me, even though you have NO time and I WILL BE FAITHFUL to provide...(peace, love and JOY)..

"Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and ALL else will be added unto you!"

So there ya have it...the simplest yet most satisfying revelation to being an amazing mommy.
Am I pro at it? ABSOLUTELY NOT...but maybe just maybe I can began to hear the voice of the Lord calling out to me in the midst of the screaming, poopy diapers, and food flying....inviting me to find peace in HIS PRESENCE!!!!!!!

P.S
You might be thinking...but how can God help me with potty training, all I can say is I wouldn't under estimate the God who created the universe! :)