Christmas cards on Halloween

"Disappointment is the difference between your expectation and reality".**

A friend used this quote in a raw and honest blog post lately, and it struck so many, many chords with me that I had to form at least one post around it. There are so many that could be.

The Mice and I rushed out the door to church on this cool, gray morning. Miss Mouse had to be awoken; she's had a cold, and apparently 14.5 hours of sleep was not enough for her. Grousing she dressed and accompanied us. Once there, her quiet excitement was apparent, at least to me.

The reason for our rush today was a Compassion International Christmas card writing table that we were heading. Last year, Miss Mouse and I wrote out (she drew pictures) around twenty Christmas cards. These cards we mailed to the Compassion office in Colorado where they were translated and sent to families all over the world who would not otherwise receive anything - not even a card - on Christmas. How easy can it get to just sign our names, or at the most write a short note, on a card?! To share the love of Christ, the hope of His birth with those to whom the world whispers, "You don't matter. No one cares. No one loves you. No one even notices you exist.....", by simply signing a Christmas card? Well, it was too easy for me to resist.

And as usually happens when something is too easy....I decided to complicate it.

This year, after becoming a Compassion International Advocate last spring, I set my eyes on a Christmas card writing event. On our region's advocate group on facebook I've seen other advocates talk about the hundreds of card their fellow congregants signed to be sent (by tomorrow!). Honestly, most of those churches likely worship far fewer people per Sunday than ours does......which unfortunately led to my faulty expectations....

We had worked hard on a big Compassion Sunday event back on Mothers' Day. Miss Mouse was nearly as crushed as I was when person after person walked by our tables without giving us a second glance. When we did get a second glance accompanied by a nervous smile and a quickened shuffle, it was nearly as crushing. Our other campus, where the other advocate, Eunice - the awesomely experienced and wise one - was stationed with her crew of volunteers faired better than we and our volunteer group did, but still, it was a disappointing response which I had to fight to not take on myself. Without Eunice's encouraging words and repeated reminders about "seed planting", it may have seemed like a pointless battle to be involved in....

But her "seed planting" reminders and the faces of our own Compassion children, the Compassion correspondent children to whom we now write, encouraged me to pick myself out of my pity party and plan another event to keep Compassion in the focus of our congregation.

But those faulty expectations, those expectations that should not have been there in the first place, they crept in as I planned this Christmas card event. I rush-ordered ten child packets, set up volunteers for both campuses, purchased beautiful Christmas cards (please don't ask me to tell you where, ahem, because it started with a "W"....), and rushed my two little Mice out the door this morning.

All this with my eyes set on the "goal" of 190 Christmas cards simply because I saw another advocate post that number on our facebook group.

If I could have seen the day through my Miss Mouse's eyes, I have to think I would not have spent the afternoon moping and berating myself, the congregation, myself, myself, myself, the congregation, about the 66 cards that we did have signed between the two campuses.

The first words out of her mouth to her Daddy were, "It was so great! People stopped at our table and signed the cards! They didn't all just walk by! Isn't that great, Daddy?". It is great! It is marvelous that there are 66 families who will be receiving cards, some with drawings by small children, to remind them that they are not forgotten to the world, that we remember them and pray for them, whether we know their names or not. God does, and so we pray for them and show them the love that we can. And that really is great.

And yet, there is that difference between my expectation that anyone and everyone would want to do something as simple as sign a greeting card (for free!) to encourage others to know the love of Christ and the reality that a lot of people just didn't understand the idea, or were in a hurry to get home for the "big game", or had Sunday dinner that might be burning in the oven, or had to get the kids home to start their homework, or, or, or.....

There is the 124 card difference between the number of cards our congregation of thousands was able to produce compared to that of the other congregation mentioned on facebook. Sometimes I hate facebook! Perhaps I hate my own competitive nature more, though, because truly I should only rejoice for the 190 families who will receive cards from the other congregation and be joyful to add 66 more families to that number. Perhaps it isn't facebook at all at fault and is far more our (my!) own sinful nature that gloms onto the disappointment that God would not want me to feel rather than onto the sweet excitement that my less-cynical Miss Mouse enjoyed today.

So....eat that, disappointment! Sometimes that difference between expectation and reality does not matter! Sometimes it only matters in our own, small, human view of the world!

Sometimes it does matter; I've been in dark valleys where it has mattered so very much. I'll probably be there again someday.

Sometimes, though, it does not. I have ideas for next year's Christmas card push; I think I learned some valuable lessons from today's event; tomorrow, though, the Mice and I will mail out 66 cards for families known only to God and Compassion, 5 cards for our own sponsored children and correspondent children, and some fun goodies for our little ones, as well, and I will not let my disappointment cloud the joy of that event!

Oh yeah, and disappointment? Eat these thanksgivings, too:

8. Two sweet girls who care so much about children they have never met and will likely never meet in this world.

9. The help of those sweet girls' faces in attracting people to our Compassion table - few people are as intimidated by children's faces as they are by an adult sitting behind a table.

10. The leaf sweeper our awesome neighbors let us use.

11. That said sweeper is a convenience rather than a necessity. That I have the physical strength and ability to rake or sweep the leaves, tired and sore as it may leave me.

12. My "helpers" with said sweeper who stretched the sweeping job time out by at least 50%.

13. Celebrating 19.5 years of friendship by road tripping to a spaghetti feed.

14. That I was on the giving side of the spaghetti feed.

15. That I get to debrief my wacky Compassion International events with the pastor in charge of missions (though I'm not sure this one would be on that pastor's list!)!

16. That our family have voices to be used for those who have none.

Running

I love running. I love hearing the thump of pavement under my shoes, seeing the first brave, green blades of grass poking through leftover snow on a sunny spring morning that promises to be just a little bit warmer than the one before it, crunching golden-brown leaves in the fall; I love to run.


But not on errands. Nope. Not at all.


The only thing that makes running errands all day a bit brighter is that the Mice usually come along. Yes, that's right. The addition of my kiddos to my errand-running is the best thing about the errands. I'm sort of a countercultural rebel that way. Although I hate running errands with a passion (a passion), I do love including the girls in the grocery and household shopping. I am the mom who talks to her babies through the whole shopping trip far before they can respond.


I am that mom, and I'm okay with that.


Regardless of how much I enjoy having the girls along on errand-running, I still can barely deal with how much I dislike that running. The whole time we wait in line at Walmart, during the drives from the bank to the grocery store to Walmart, I go through the list of what else we could be doing that would be far more valuable to their development (and to my sanity!).


Therefore it should not be surprising that leaving for my first Walmart trip at 10:45 yesterday morning, a good 45 minutes later than I had planned, and returning from my second trip to Walmart at 9:45 last night was not exactly the idea day in my world. In between Walmart trips we "ran" to the church, the dollar store, two health food stores, and a swimming lesson.


And yet.....it was a good day. It was a marvelous day, a brilliant, beautiful, crisp fall day spent working my tail off to clean up from a glorious vacation, to organize and re-organize a house that is finally being settled after four years of spending our lives here, and most importantly, to fight as hard as I could to find some peace and calm in our rat-race lives for the Mice.





As I struggled to find some quiet, calm time for them in the midst of our necessary errand-runs, they were the ones who provided for me.


They wanted to picnic outside for lunch, and, since the wasps have left (died?) for the season, I happily obliged. I was 'running' around the kitchen munching leftover pizza while they dined on their sandwiches outside when I suddenly heard two gasps. Miss Mouse, in a horrified voice, announced, "We forgot to pray!". Sunny, equally horrified, set her sandwich down with an, "Oh, no!". I waited, just wanting to see what would happen without my intervention. Sure enough, two tiny voices in unison began, "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.....". They resumed their picnic after finishing their prayer.


In the midst of our running day, the children were the ones who remembered to pause, to give thanks, to enjoy the moment. With that, I'm beginning an intentional practice of thanksgiving, counting blessings to 1,000 and beyond.

1. Two children's voices in unison saying our table prayer

2. Knowing those two voices are our children

3. Crunchy leaves all over our lawn....and the strength and health to be able to take care of them with a rake

4. The means to be able to run all those errands - the time, the finances to know our needs will be filled

5. The post-vacation chaos that is present because we were able to take the vacation in the first place

6. My 4- year old insisting on buying bracelets for her 2-year old sister with her own money "because [Sunny] wants them, Mom!"

7. These moments with my girls - these days that I could not see from October six years ago

More - More - Summer - Summer

We've been soaking in all the "summer" we can around here. It's been a bit rough on the motivation to break out the crockpot or make apple pie, but it's been so very, very worth it after the incredibly late spring we had! I couldn't say "no" when the girls begged to wear these overly-summery outfits last week. It's not often I have troubles saying "no", but I couldn't squelch this pure joy about the combination of warm weather and crunchy leaves!

In this first picture here, I think Sunny Mouse looks so much like my Grandma and her family. She has one certain expression where she does. Then, she can change and look just like my Auntie Linda and my Grandpa Don. Then, of course, there's the Grandpa Bob look that's been around since she was born! The other day, she added some of Daddy's side into the mix, too, for good measure!

This is my relaxed Miss Mouse just enjoying herself and the weather and those crunchy, wonderful leaves. She was throwing them into the air to be caught by the 50 mph wind gusts.

Sunny decided she wanted to be a doggy. Miss Mouse had been jumping rope (another of her summer accomplishments - getting started on doing so, anyway), and Sunny wanted some attention from Big Sis!

You can judge whether Sunny is a "good dog" and a "good listener" or not by their expressions! She's a "fun dog" for sure!










This week is supposed to cool off and bring us more fall-like temperatures. Bring on the apple pies and soups! Deep in the middle of winter, though, we will survive by remembering these gorgeous gifts of warm October days!

800 in 4

It wasn't until our way home that I realized what I had done.

800 miles. 4 days. 3 girls. Combined age in the car of 37.

I'm glad I didn't know how foolish I was being because we might not have started out at all.

We'd have missed one incredible journey.

When we arrived in Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m., after having left home at 10:30 a.m., we were greeted by these adorable blue eyes. He even helped his Mommy hold the door for us, motioned with his little hand, and said, "Go 'head, Wadies." My heart melted. There's something about meeting a friend's child....seeing parts of my friend, parts of her husband, living, breathing evidence of their love and devotion to each other. I feel the same way each time I get to be with long-time friends and their kiddos; after not seeing each other for four years, in which time we added three children to our friendship equation, it was both overwhelming and relieving to finally get to meet Sarah's little ones!

Miss Mouse loved on Sweet Baby as often as possible.


Miss Mouse is determined that Sweet Baby wants to be held and cuddled. I'm thinking Sweet Baby wants to chew on some magnets. But what do I know?


Miss Mouse is determined.



The sweet smile of success! A compromise was achieved between the two of them, I believe.

Sunny Mouse and Sir Gentleman are the same age, nearly exactly...within a few weeks. They're also nearly the same size. They were fairly adorable together.

I'm still not sure what he was asking her, but after our chivalrous meeting our first night (I can't remember the last time anyone called me a "lady" and meant it in a respectful, loving way!), I'm sure it was entirely appropriate and sweet.

We did stop them from running into the cornfield, though. They're adventurous...but they're still two and fairly small...compared to a corn stalk, anyway.

Miss Mouse is really taking the backyard cornfield in, mainly because we had a discussion on the way there about how corn grew taller than Daddy. She didn't believe me until she stood right by the field. I like her discerning curiosity, but, really, I was right!

As I said, Sweet Baby got loved on at every turn.

If Miss Mouse loved on Sweet Baby, then certainly Sunny Mouse needed to, as well.

When we got home, Sunny told me that, "Babies are a lot like kitties. They like to crawl around and chew on things. Yes, they're a lot like kittens."

I should mention there was a cat and dog in Wisconsin, too. Poor Condoleza the Cat was being "loved" whenever Sweet Baby was not! Miss Mouse is quite adamant that she "taught" Condoleza to shake hands and to roll over.

This trip took place in August, so we were happy to have cool, wet relief from the heat. I love that they are so close to the same size and so interested in playing together, having their own conversation even.

We mommies laughed at how you can see their ribs. Whenever they'd get ready to run into the ice cold water, they'd suck in their breath, and their little rib cages would poke out.

Any poking rib cages were not for lack of yummy food! We gorged ourselves on corn and fresh tomatoes one evening (literally, my girls grabbed the fresh garden tomatoes from the counter...after permission was granted, I think....and started eating them like apples!), and, after running out of time our second night for a s'mores campfire, Sarah lit a fire for us to have our s'mores party....at 10:00 a.m.! The mommies decided we had to work with what we had, and in the evening we had four tired, exhausted children. In the morning, we had three that were pretty excited about s'mores!

I think Miss Mouse looks so hilariously dignified eating her s'more in this picture.

Sunny was determined that we were to eat s'mores at the picnic table...which was in the hot sunshine...and was across the yard from the shade and campfire. The rest of us stayed in the shade; she sat with her back to us and munched her treat for 20 minutes. That's my little determined Mouse!

But she's not really my dignified one.

The mommies desperately wanted a group shot of our kiddos together. I realize this one is out-of-focus, with an exhausted-looking Miss Mouse, but the two little big kids are so sweet looking, I had to post it! Plus, Miss Mouse has her "tree" that she made from random paper she collected from Sarah.

Our next attempt at a group shot now that Sweet Baby is up from her nap. The littlest girls are apparently not impressed with this idea. Big girl is trying her best to get them together.

Sir Gentleman is tired by now; he may have been still waking up from his own nap. Or it could just be that it is bright, bright, BRIGHT out, and two mommies are attempting to take thousands of pictures! This might be the winner of all we got.

Clearly it is bright outside.

This one is decent, too, but by now there is a definite interest by Sir Gentleman in his foot.

We had such a great time visiting our sweet friends in Wisconsin. Three hundred miles, nine hours, countless stops, broken air conditioning in the vehicle, four children ages four and under ( two 2-year olds), the closest daddy 300 miles away....farthest daddy half a world away, massive amounts of corn, one cat, one dog, 40 hours, two friends, one bottle of wine, several cups of coffee.....I'm attempting a bit of humor, but really, it was an inspiring weekend and one that I can't entirely put into words.

Possibly I should have put a disclaimer on this for Grandpa Dick not to look at this one. Sunny found his bear when we traveled to Auntie Steph's (we were, at that point, visiting our third state of our trip). She didn't hurt him, but she did kiss him several times and stare sweetly into his eyes.

Auntie Steph was incredibly prepared for our visit! She even had colored bubbles! It didn't even occur to Mommy here that colored bubbles = Super Mess. Thankfully they were also super washable, so there was no harm done. But there sure was a lot of fun had!

I really don't know what she found or how it got around her head. The girls pretty much attack and latch onto their aunties when they have the chance, and I just get to enjoy the photo opportunities!

Barkley - He's a sweetie and didn't seem to mind his home being invaded. I think we even took his room!

They were wired. It was so exciting for them to get to see Auntie Steph's place, though. The last time I was there, we were three months pregnant with Miss Mouse, so it was about time the girls visited Auntie Steph's house! As with many families, I think, it's so convenient to meet at the grandparents' place, and it's so fun to do that, too. But it really was neat for them to be able to see where their aunt lives.

Auntie Steph even handled the bathing.

She's so proud and so, so squealy!

Here we are at the last step of our journey of 800 miles. It has become a tradition, apparently, for Grandpa Dick to hold sleeping Sunny at a family wedding each summer. Her first summer, he had her to sleep for Daddy's cousin Chrisy's wedding to her husband Paul; Sunny's second summer, it was Auntie Laura and Uncle Jon's wedding where she napped on Grandpa Dick; this third summer, she fell asleep in the car (thank goodness!) after the wedding, so I gave her to him for the reception. She stayed asleep with him over an hour!

At that point, we were in our fourth state, on our fourth day of travel, 500 miles into our journey, and we were exhausted but were having such a fun time! Thankfully, Grandma Kathy rode home with us on our last stretch of the trip on Sunday. I'm not sure those last three hours would have gone very well without her along. As they were, we stopped once (twice?) for an upset Sunny-tummy, and our vehicle could probably have been shown on some type of reality hording show or something.

All in all, though, it was an incredibly blessed weekend for me, and I think for all of us. To be able to make it alone with my girlies on such a long trip is something of which I'm proud...but more so something for which I'm thankful. I'm thankful we can run as a well-oiled-machine together, but I'm equally thankful that at the end of the day, at the end of the trip, no matter how long a day or how many miles the trip, we have a Daddy who is home with us. Since August I've been inspired to work harder, to work smarter, to continue being consistent in discipline and in patience, to seriously pare down my priority list, to let go of work I don't have to do so that I can focus on that which I should, and to above all honor the calling which God has issued me and to honor the calling God has given my husband.

Yep, it was definitely worth pushing through the 800 in 4.

This is the Way We Wash Our Clothes....

I don't have many words for these pictures. I don't think they need many. We were privileged enough to spend the day with Grammy and Grandpa Bob and to meet up with a dear friend at a reenactment-style event where the girls were allowed and welcomed to fully participate in the activities. There are days I have to pinch myself to be sure I'm not dreaming; these days are so good.

Perhaps starting a new fashion trend? Blending the contemporary with the definitely-traditional.

Miss Mouse spent a large chunk of her afternoon washing clothes by hand. The most modern thing was the glass washboard, for which I was thankful. She and my friend had to chase down dirty laundry in the pie-baking area to keep her dirty laundry pile well-supplied. The ladies making pie over Dutch ovens in a fire pit were more than happy to supply the needed soiled aprons and dish clothes. I spent most of the afternoon marvelling at the inter-generational activity that went on so naturally. There was no separate area for children, save the hourly games that were played; the little boys chased frogs; some little girls helped. Other little girls smacked each other's faces, and their aunts working by their sides, with flour from pie crust and added finishing touches of cherry juice.

She's serious about her job.

Evidence of a hard day's work

I love thinking about a day where this was an astoundingly advanced technological breakthrough. I'm thankful to have come home to a central air conditioned home, but I'm thankful, too, for the opportunity to show our Mice what a community working together looks like, how life and work really were back in the "good ol' days", and for the chance for them to be enveloped into a group of people of all ages working together.

Swingin'

Adding to the long list of accomplishments of the summer, Miss Mouse learned to "pump" herself in the swing earlier this season. With her long legs, it came sort of easily, and she's got a lot of power behind her pumping.

She perhaps gets a bit higher than I'm comfortable with....a bit faster than I'd like...

But she loves how her hair flies in the breeze...sometimes the breeze her own swinging has created....


She's practiced at our house...at the park...pretty much where she sees a swing...

And I have no idea where my baby went.....But I sure love the bright, intense, thoughtful, energetic, hard-working little girl Miss Mouse is becoming. I thought these milestones might be bittersweet, steps away from needing me as much, but instead they are such wonderful steps towards becoming who she is as a girl, someday as a young woman....Every day, honestly every day, I am thankful and honored to be part of her life. What a privilege is parenthood! What an incredible privilege to watch and be part of these milestones!