As parents, my husband and I are always trying to teach good manners to our four children.  Right now our 20 month old is the most polite child you have ever met.  She always says “please” and “thank you”.  She will shake your hand and give hugs and kisses to just about anyone.

Now about the other children…well that’s a work in progress.  We figure with a lot of hard work and prayer they’ll turn out OK.

Yesterday our oldest daughter  (1st grade) had a class assignment to write a letter to a fairy tail character.  Below is her letter.  Too funny not to share.

Just a reminder to always say “Please”

If you can answer “no” to this question, I have one thing to say – liar!   I say this gently, smiling, but nodding in disbelief.

Last week was, at best, full.  This week will be at best, crazy.  Let me give you a brief glimpse, and then I will share a guest post with you, and… go take a nap. NOT.

• My husband works with 2 other full-time ministers.  Starting today, our 3 families will celebrate the birthdays of 5 of our 11 children.  Yes, almost half in just  seven short days.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Emma (8), Clark (4), Avery (9), Landri (7), and Cade (9).
• Teacher of 2 of my girls has a birthday today…gift still at the store
• Birthday girl with dance recital which means 3 nights of practice this week.
• Funeral today, for most of us to attend.
• Wednesday night meal for 70 to prepare…with NO ideas as of yet.  Once I have the idea, shopping must occur.  That’s what midnight is for.
• Daughter One has a basketball banquet.  3 dishes for potluck.
• Son has a birthday party for 4-year-old mentioned above.
• Daughter Three has her last soccer game.
• Daughter Two has her dance recital.  She is thrilled.  Saturday night at 5pm at Memorial Hall.  All are invited.  Admission is free.
• My husband is preaching Sunday.  Which means a sermon must be prepared before then.  Again, that is what midnight is for, right?
• It is Administrative Assistant Week.  We love you Maxine!
• And, did I mention that my mother-in-law, and possibly a few other family members may be coming to join the circus.  Her birthday is also Sunday.
• Thankfully, my mother called last night to regretfully inform me that they were not going to be able to come as planned….PLANNED??? by who?  This was the first word I had heard that they were coming….  grandparents love to come for birthdays and my kids get very excited.  Me too,  just not about cleaning EVERY room of the house!   Now that I know they were thinking about it, I am actually a little bummed they can’t make it.

So, here is one of the first things I read this morning.  God is sooo good, and knows how to prepare us for what is ahead.  I hope I remember to seek Him in the small moments, remain joyous in all things, and celebrate this exciting week with my family.  If you are feeling the least bit “at the end of your rope”, just remember that God is the one holding on!  If you drive by house and it is covered in “snow”,  just laugh with me!!!

When All Else Fails . . . Throw Flour

Posted on 04.14.10 by Erin Davis

I’d been having a really bad day. You know, the kind of day where everything that possibly can go wrong, does. My toddler had thrown one too many fits, my baby needed a little too much of my attention, lunch was burning on the stove, and my house looked like a toy bomb had gone off . . . After a while little things seemed huge and I started feeling really stressed and frustrated. My blood started to boil. I wanted to blow my top. I wanted to yell at my family. I wanted to curl up on the couch and feel sorry for myself. I wanted to wallow in the notion that God didn’t give a hoot. But, I didn’t. I threw flour instead.

Let me explain.

When we are feeling stressed and stretched to the max, there are lots of destructive ways we can respond. We can lash out at our husbands and children. We can medicate ourselves with food, or shopping, or the Internet. We can look to our human relationships to soothe us. We can turn to substances like drugs or alcohol looking for a high to counteract our lows. We can vent. We can bail. We can sink into despair. Or we can cling to God’s Truth and find a way to keep on going.

When my day got uber-stressful, I felt myself starting to believe the lies of the Enemy. My problems seemed insurmountable. My stress felt unmanageable. My family felt like the enemy. Instead of lashing out or losing control, I found a way to get a grip. I grabbed the huge bucket of flour I was using to cook with, hauled it outside, and called for my husband and son. We took turns lobbing flour at each other, and before long we were laughing so hard, the stress we were facing just melted away.

When it was all said and done (it took us an hour to sweep up all the flour), I was reminded that living out God’s Truth is a choice. Stress is part of life. Bad days will come. Defeat and despair will always knock at the doors of our hearts. We can react in ways that hurt ourselves or our families, or we can find a way to keep going and cling to the hope God offers us in His Word.

You don’t have to throw flour to get through your own stress. You can take a walk, call up a friend, go pick flowers, knit, draw, sing, dance . . . the possibilities are endless. The point is to do something constructive that allows you to take a breath and get some fresh perspective.

Boy, my kids sure do have a way with words.  They love to make me feel old!  This past week my a member of our church was giving my 7 year old a ride on his motorized scooter.  When it was time to leave and go home she loudly proclaimed ” I’m going to get one of those when I get old! “  Then she turns to mom and says, “Do you know when I’ll get old Mom?  When I turn 26!”

I guess that makes me ancient!

Okay, I’m confused.  I hear my girls, ages 11, 8, and 6 saying to friends and acquaintances alike, “I’m older than YOU Are! “  …with that Ha-HaHa-Ha-HaHa sound to it.  Now, fastforward just a FEW short years, and you would N-E-V-E-R hear those words coming from me!!

So, Happy Birthday, Ginger!  And, yes, I’m ”more mature” than you are….   It’s a fact.  I can live with it.

OK- is anybody REALLY tired of seeing lists of goals and resolutions for 2010?  As I sit here day after day and watch blog after blog post how much weight they plan to lose, or how many minutes they plan to devote to their husbands, or how much time they will spend each night with each of their 9 children to make sure they all feel loved, I am exhausted!  I haven’t written any goals or resolutions for 2010, because my goal for the year is just to survive!

You may not know me personally, but I think most of you can relate to my life as a stay at home mom and wife.  I am a PW (Preacher’s Wife), we have 4 children, 1 cat, a one huge church family.  And I LOVE it.  My children are wonderfully annoying, whiny, forgetful and a source of joy all at the same time.  Each one of them can make me so mad at times and then they do something so sweet, like leave a note on my pillow saying, “You r best mom in whorld”.  And somehow that little note melts my heart and things go back to normal, for awhile.

Each day I try and wake up early and make breakfast for them, but somehow the box of cereal seems so appealing at 6:30am.  My kids are public school kids, yes, I know they will have to have therapy later in life.  I look forward to the 15 minutes I have between sending them off to school and my 1 year old waking up.  As soon as the rat pack comes home from school our house turns into a flurry of homework, chores, arguments and general chaos.  It seems like it takes most of my energy to make sure I have dinner on the table and the floor picked up by the time my husband comes homes.  Some days I never come close to making it.  I have days that I fall into bed exhausted only to realize that one of the kids needs their laundry done, so they can have clean clothes tomorrow.  That’s when I turn to my husband and ask how many days can an eleven year old boy wear the same pair socks before we have to soak them off?

As far as losing weight in 2010 – nope, I just don’t have to turn the heat up like skinny people do.

Exercising in 2010 – Does running after a 1 year old, who thinks she’s a mountain goat, count?  (Not Kidding – She learned this week that if she climbs on the kitchen table she can swing our chandelier.)

Spending more time with my husband-   Does the 6 hours in the middle of the night count?

Spending individual time with each of my kids so they feel loved – Dishes are a great way to connect with them!

Loving every minute of my wonderfully chaotic life – ALWAYS

So as far as my goals for 2010.

1. Survive (and pray I don’t mess my kids up too much)

God has blessed me with so much and I will ALWAYS remember that whatever I do during my day, whether it’s changing diapers or cleaning up hairballs, I am doing it for His glory.

How to weigh yourself

I can’t believe I was doing it wrong all these years.

Get the word out!