The Curve In The Pathway

Sometimes, as a foster parent, it can feel like you live from one court date to the next.

Let me explain.

Typically there is a hearing every three months.

Life can move on in between these hearings.

Babies learn to walk.

Toddlers cut new molars.

Just normal family stuff.

You can forget that everything could change in a moment.

But, in the back of your mind.

It's always there.

The curve in the pathway.

That next court date.

You live with the reality that things could get better for the children in your care.

Or much worse.

Tomorrow is our next court date.

Please pray!

A Deer Hunter's Wife

Around this time of year my husband starts exhibiting some bizarre behavior. 


He peers out our back windows anxiously--scanning the woods in a paranoid sort of way.


He disappears for hours at a time to the sporting goods department of Wally World.


He spends a lot of time polishing his guns with horrid smelling chemicals.


He mutters about how many fat does he saw in the neighbors corn field on his way home from church.


He checks and double checks his ammunition like he is expecting a herd of deer to randomly bound through our yard.


He inquires repeatedly how much extra space is in our deep freeze.


I don't worry too much about it.  After all he has been doing this kind of thing for every year since I've known him.  It's all part of being married to a deer hunter. 

November

N ot many leaves left on the trees.

O ctober and warm days are a distant memory.

V ery brisk wind.

E mpty branches waving their arms.

M any geese flying south.

B ringing thoughts of coming winter.

E ager deer hunters prowling the woods.

R ustling leaves scudding across lawns.

This is what November means to me.  What does November mean to you?

Motherhood

I Corinthians 13 for Mothers (by Jim Fowler)

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love,
I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love,
my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction,
and fault them for every mess they make,
but have not love,
my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,”
the taxi-driver to every childhood event,
the counsellor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,
then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children
have faded away into insignificance,
And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,
dishes with missing place settings,
and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,
But the greatest of all is the Love
that permeates my relationships with my children.

A Few Good Reads

I read some extra good blog posts this week.  Thought I would share them with you.


Have you ever wondered if there was something you could do with all those old wooden pallets.  This post is FULL of ideas.  Some practical, and some just pretty--all of them inspiring!
http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2011/10/creative-uses-for-free-wooden-pallets/

If you have more than one child you are always looking for creative ideas for one-on-one time with them.  This post gives a simple/free/quick idea for special time with each child.
http://lifewithapersonalgod.blogspot.com/2011/10/one-on-oneand-then-again.html

I needed this reminder that as a mom I set the mood for my home.
http://stairstepboys.blogspot.com/2011/10/it-starts-with-me.html

A yummy recipe for left over mashed potatoes!
http://lotsofhelpers.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/mashed-potato-pancakes/

Did you read anything interesting this week?

What Kind of Mom Are You

I've been thinking lately--about how I parent. It's so easy for me to get busy, and focus constantly on the next load of laundry or the next pile of dishes.  I forget to take time to have fun.

Permit me a run down memory lane?

 When I was young my dad was a school teacher, and several times a year he had parent/teacher conferences.  This meant that he didn't get home until about 7 or 8 o'clock at night.

I LOVED parent/teacher conference nights--because my mom made them into something fun.  We would have a supper that included foods that were very untypical in our diet.  "Fun food" was what I called them--in reality it was just things like frozen dinners from the grocery store, or hot dogs. 

These were meals that my mom knew my dad was not fond of, and she purposely chose them for us because we thought they were "fun."  It made the whole evening seem like an adventure.

Now that I have a family of my own I do something similar.  My husband drives truck, and he often works long hours during the summer.  I often try to have my house-work done by about 5 o'clock and plan a "fun" evening with the children.  We have our own version of "fun" food and we play games.

Sometimes we get take out food, drive out to the lake, and eat supper while watching  the seagulls.  It makes the long evenings pass quickly, and before we know it daddy is home.

My children act like I've handed them the world when we do these simple things.  Which is my point--it really doesn't take much effort or money to be a fun mom.  A child's definition of fun mostly just involves doing something together.

What are some ways that you have fun with your children?

I'm Just Sayin'

WARNING!!!

This post is not for the weak of heart.......or stomach.

I think as mothers we should help one another.  When we discover something that works with parenting we should pass it on. 

On the other hand when we fail or our plans fail--sometimes it's good to share that information too.

It helps other moms too see that we're human too, and sometimes it gives them a good chuckle.


Having said that..............

We have some trouble with constipation at our house--especially with the two youngest children.

I combat this with--what else--prune juice.

The two year old likes it ok, but the baby LOVES it.

This morning I fixed a bottle for the baby, and a sippy cup for the two year old.

Both of them had about an inch of prune juice and the rest was water.

The baby somehow inhaled his bottle, and when I wasn't looking got ahold of his brother's sippy cup.

May I just say-----------when a baby drinks two cups of watered down prune juice.

He will no longer have constipation.

The results were disastrous!!!!!!!!

I gave him a bath...........and there is quite a bit of extra laundry.

I'm just sayin'