bsmiles and sunny days

For the last three days, I have woken up like a hungry mama bear; mean, crabby, and bossy. Some days I just don't want to do this anymore. You know what I mean? I wake up to a fussy baby, usually have to spank one kid before nine o'clock, spend the next four hours juggling teaching, prodding, cleaning, entertaining, and disciplining all at the same time. It's hard. It takes all my energy and all my emotional fortitude to get through it. Fortunately, I usually have the option to take a nap, which is like a prize awaiting me in the middle of the day. I have a few support people in education that are quick to tell me that my discontent is called spring fever, and it's brimming in the heart of every school-aged child. The end of the school year is in sight, the sun is shining and begging us to come out and play, and we just don't want to finish. It's a battle of wills to finish the race, but in spite of the dragging of my heavy feet, we manage to get through each da...

I have this really great mom. As a kid I don't think I ever acknowledged how wonderful she was. I certainly didn't make it easy for her by any stretch, I only gave her severe guilt when I felt that my argument was stronger than her silence. God has this funny way of bringing things back around, and now that I've managed to take ownership of her shoes and found myself journeying on her path, there is no denying it. She is really great. Amazing, actually. And I really love her. I married this really dreamy guy. One of the things about him that made my heart flutter was listening to him talk about his mom; the dude loved his mom and made no bones about it. Now that she's a part of my family I get it. She's lovey; you can't not love her. And I really love her too. On my first mothers day I stood up on the stage at First Assembly of God Life Centre in Emporia as a newly wed just a few months pregnant. I had a chance to ask some of the older, more experien...

This year instead of hunting at the park, we opted to do an indoor egg hunt because of the 1000 mph winds. I waited until everything was marked down to 50% off and surprised the kids with this little adventure. They didn't mind waiting until after the holiday. I couldn't believe how excited they were about this. I keep thinking my kids are outgrowing the wonders of childhood, but they aren't. The oldest ones still get just as excited at the little ones. I love it! Before the big hunt, I had the kids put on their Easter clothes so that I could take some pictures. We are blessed to have moms on both sides that love to sew and love to shower our kids with these hand-made dresses. The boys get other kinds of hand-made treasures so they didn't really have anything to dress up in, and they didn't mind either. Instead, Micah chose to do an action shot. Tre put on his "tuxedo" and did this pose; the other one was even funnier- I'll have to use it a...

This afternoon I was wandering around my house like a lost puppy. We've been in a whirlwind of activity this week and I had the strangest reaction to it. For one thing, Deisha is now officially one. A year ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and found myself looking down a long dark tunnel with no sign of light anywhere near the end and a baby screaming in my ear day and night. It seemed-- dismal, to say the least. Now here we are a year later, a full school year past, and we all managed to survive. She's made a home for herself in the boys' closet, has started walking, and is mimicking phrases like a pro. She was the feistiest one in the nursery from day one of her life in the hospital, and she has become the feistiest child in the house to boot. Tonight while we were sitting in the parking lot while the kids ran track, she made it clear that if anyone attempted to take something out of her hand, she would launch a blood-curdling scream shrill enough to wake the ...