Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Ode to Mothers

My Aunt just gave me a book that I am really excited to read: Out of the Spin Cycle by Jen Hatmaker. I opened the front cover to read this and just thought it was worth sharing (because let's be real- we could all stand to read this):

 
A (fairly lame) Ode to Mothers
 
An ode to the marvelous woman called "Mother"
Though not one of us is exactly like another.
From the second we're born to the minute we die
Our preference are as limitless as stars in the sky.
 
We might have been perfectly gracious before
But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War.
Rather than letting everyone else be
We criticize perenting that isn't exactly like...me.
 
So once and for all let me put this to rest
None of us owns the title of "best."
Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy
Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy.
In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed
We all got a baby with limbs and a head.
 
Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong
But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along.
This is a choice for each mom- it's her route
So it's just A+B= and everyone else can C their way out.
 
Schedules and timers do not make you cruel
Feeding on demand does not make you a fool.
In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed
Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head.
 
If I see one more mom roll her eyes at "organic.."
"Partically hydrogenated" throws some of us into panic.
But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries
Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die.
 
Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori
Listen, my friends, and I'll tell you a story:
Two moms differed on favorite school trends
Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end.
 
If a girl gets the title of "mom" accidentally
The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally.
How about some love,  some help, some advice?
She needs our love and we shouldn't think twice.
 
Discipline through various methods will prevail
Look, we're all just trying to keep our kids out of jail.
These things are just preferences, not right or wrong
What matters more is teaching our kids to get along-
To love and to share, to speak gently and kind,
To obey so that mom won't go out of her mind.
 
Showing them Jesus is our common groun
Teaching them how he can always be found.
He's present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy)
He's over at Whole Foods but also at Wendy's.
Jesus never cared about these sorts of things
It's our hearts that he wants to the worship we bring.
 
It's time for us moms to declare a truce
Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice.
My way is not your way, and  your way isn't mine
But both of our kids will turn out just fine.
 
Rather than judging and looking down our noses
Let's enjoy the common ground motherhood poses.
As believers, we all love the same good Lord
We all have children who tell us "I'm bored."
 
We all need more sleep than these tiny five hours
Most of us struggle to find time for a shower.
We haven't been to the bathroom alone in an age
Our mothers have all told us, "Relax, this is just a stage."
 
We all love our babies so much we coud die
We'd take a bullet for each one without batting an eye.
Though we are different, we're in the same tribe
Motherhood requires a similar vibe-
Love and affection, sacrifice and grace
laughter, which keeps the whole mechanism in place.
 
Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect:
ALL our children will rise up and call us...collect.
 
She looks well to how things go in her household...Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Proverbs 31:27-28
 
 
 
 


Monday, September 24, 2012

Cousins!

Hey boys lets line you up and take a cousins picture!
Mr. Cru I did not say wrestle! Now everybody look at the camera and smile:
 
Ahem, Cru you are still trying to wrestle!
 
 
Oh my goodness I think we got one!
(although I'm pretty sure Cru is thinking ok I'll lay here but I'm not going to be happy about it)
 
 
Maybe if I keep looking at the camera she won't notice my arm sneaking over.
 
 
Ok, I think we'll call it quits.
 
 
LOVE THESE BOYS!!


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Unfortunate Mishap

This picture is from last Sunday, but it still makes me laugh out loud every time I see it:
 
 
This is why you do not let your kids play in the tackle box (ahem- Shawn :P).
Lincoln got himself into quite the predicament!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Ledges

So I realize it is a little late to be blogging about labor day weekend, but that is the story of my life. :)
 
Have you ever been to Ledges State Park up between Boone and Madrid? It is AWESOME!!
Shawn and I used to go there a lot when we lived in Woodward, but we had not gone since we had kids. I really don't know why it took us so long to take the boys there, they were in heaven!!
 
They started by sliding down this nice little dirt slide:
 

And headed straight for the stream!
 

 
Shawn had them trying to catch minnows but they were a little too fast for my boys.
 
 

I can't believe how easy this picture was to take, I just told them both to sit on this rock and smile and they didn't even hesitate. Definately a first for these two.
 

 
Lincoln has been into picking up rocks lately so you can imagine the pure joy he felt when he saw how many there were. Once his hands were full, he started finding other places to stash them. :P
 
"Mom, look at my strong muscles! I moved all of these rocks!"
 
 
You know a little boy is having fun when his clothes look like this:
 
 
We packed a very "manly" picnic of deer brats, and Dorritos. ( I know terribly unhealthy)
 
 
Then, after a quick change of clothes, we decided to try hiking.
Kallen actually turned out to be a Great little hiker! But with Lincoln and his obsession of picking up every single stick and rock he sees, we were doing a little too much of this:
 
 
So we ended up hiking like this:
 

 Kallen spent a lot of time exploring off of the trails
 
 
And a little bit of time doing this:
 
 
Kallen was excited to make it all the way to the top and thought he needed to touch the sign.
 
 
A quick family photo to capture the moment and our day was complete.
 
 
Like I said, I don't know why it took us so long to take the boys there but we will definately be doing it again soon!