Pass The Chips

How do these super moms do it? They have multiple children running in different directions with after school activities, managing to get a decent meal on the table in between piano lessons, soccer, lacrosse and most of them even look good!

During the school year my kids do not leave the home other then attending a small church on Wednesday nights. That one night of the week often leaves me feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck. Now with the warmer weather here and summer sports and camps gearing up we’re off and running every night! As if my kids don’t provide enough afternoon running for me Steve asked me to join a softball league…I don’t play softball! Really, I don’t! Seriously, the coach doesn’t know where to put me so he assigns me the catcher position. Since I can’t throw the ball very far I roll the ball back to the pitcher, who does that?

I’ve been trying to keep up with getting homework done, keeping the kids interested in school (a big task), feeding them a balanced diet just like any good mom would do…until tonight. I gave up.. I didn’t care that I had no idea what to have for dinner! As I loaded the boys in the car to go pick up Emeline from swim practice Zachary said “I’m hungry mommy, can I please have something to eat?” I went to the pantry, pulled out a big bucket of potato chips, jumped in the car, grabbed a handful for myself and passed the bucket around instructing everyone to share! Was it my preference? No, but for tonight, for this week, it will have to do.

Blessings,

Debbie

Shut It Down!

Injuries in our house occur frequently. Over eight years ago I had never stepped foot in a Children’s hospital nor did I know the location. Now, my car could make it to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) on auto pilot I’m sure. Not only do we practically have our own orthopedic surgeon, I actually have the private line to the doctor’s nurse practitioner (Meg) who has become a sweet friend of mine. The parking attendants know us as well as the servers in McDonald’s. Often we hear, “Here comes the Summer family again!”

Boys and injuries are common yet don’t go well together. How on earth can you keep a six year old boy down? Zachary fell off his skateboard last fall and injured his ligaments. Damaged ligaments is never good news, a break is much better, it heals quicker. Sure enough after three weeks in a boot Zachary has continued to have problems with the ankle. Last week he could not put pressure on it due to a recent football injury.

“We need to shut it down,” was the doctor’s recommendation. Taking the ankle out of commission with a cast was the only hope to give it a rest. With a bright orange cast we left the hospital, activity was restricted.

As the mom, I’m not sure how to police this cast situation. I guess the responsible moms would make their child sit and do nothing, watch TV all day. We had one of the busiest weekends in a long time with lots of fun activities. The kids were signed up for a tennis tournament and Zachary begged me to play. I made him promise he would not run too much (yeah right mom!).

The efforts to “Shut it down” don’t seem to be working; Zachary has no problem running, jumping, and climbing with a cast on. It’s actually amazing to watch!

Sometimes I wish I could just shut down, go to sleep and rest for a few weeks. Life seems so busy no matter how hard I try to keep it at a manageable pace. I have multiple injuries yet I’m in the middle of USTA tennis, and to top it off I’m on a softball league..I don’t know how to play softball! Steve asked me to play with him, he doesn’t ask for much so I wanted to honor his request.

Although I would love to shut down physically, it is my spiritual being that will keep me going. My relationship with God and abiding in Him is all I really need. The physical aches and pains can be tolerated for now; my main concern is the health and well being of my spiritual relationship with Jesus. Some days it feels great, other days it feels like I’m falling apart. I am thankful for a sovereign God who loves and cares for me. He is faithful even when I’m not. When others see an inner strength in me, it is because in Him I live, move and have my being.

Sweet Dreams,

Debbie

A Tribute To Mom

When reading the Bible for my quiet time I tend to steer away from the Proverbs 31 woman, you know the gal who did it all? Some say the chapter is not referring to just one person, after all who on earth could accomplish all that and still have her children rise up and call her blessed! My children rise and are mad at me that I woke them up! Of course I have respect for the Proverbs 31 woman because she/they are in the Bible and I believe it is inspired by God. The older I get the more settled I become in who I am. I’m actually grateful to have even a few (maybe only one) of the qualities the P31 sister had!

My mom is an example of a woman who (in my humble opinion) comes pretty close. My dad “considers her worth far above rubies”, he always adored her, and trusted her. Years ago my dad had a temper that only my mom could diffuse. Mom is an amazing seamstress, she can sew anything from clothes, to wedding dresses, and draperies. As for me, I can hardly sew a button! She is a pillar of strength and confidence. Her faith in God is unwavering and steadfast. When she speaks only kind words come out of her mouth, complaining is not in her personality.

Sometimes I wonder why I can’t be more like my mom. How did I turn out so different then her? When I was a little girl I looked just like my dad, that’s what everyone said. Now that I’m getting older people say I look just like my mom. Maybe as I continue to age I’ll start to be more like my mom. There’s no one in this world I would choose to be more like. Tears come to my eyes when I think of my mom. So many friends I know have lost their mom and my heart breaks for them. Instead of fearing the loss of my mom someday, I embrace the times I have with her today. I thank God I have been blessed with the closest example of the P31 woman..the gal I call Mom.

I’m so glad God gave us to each other! Happy Mother’s Day mom, I love you!!

Debbie

Shopping With Steve

Blocking the whole day off the calendar isn’t easy for any mom to do but weeks ago Steve and I decided to go shopping. Well, actually I begged Steve to go with me and he said “yes!” I had certificates to a very exclusive women’s store and I honestly felt ridiculous going! I never bought clothes from the store before and I didn’t particularly care for their style but assured myself I would find something.

Having a degree in Textile Technology with a minor in Apparel I definitely like the finer things when it comes to clothes and fabric but I have never been a full price retail shopper. My favorite stores have always been TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. That doesn’t mean you’ll never see me in Ann Taylor or Nordstrom, but only at the “sale” racks.

Today was no different. Even with certificates I still went for the clearance racks which were still quite expensive for my pocket book. Having my husband there felt awkward at first but then it was a fun experience. It reminded me how much fun Steve and I have together when it’s just us, nobody pulling at us or schedules to keep. We’re both calm.

I appreciated my husband taking time to spend with me. I know that is the reason he agreed to come with me, not because he likes to go clothes shopping, in fact it is probably one of the least favorite things for him to do. Yet, he took the whole day from work to be with me. He’s usually a fixer (likes to fix me) and he didn’t try to do that once today!

Our time is the most valuable gift we can give anyone. I constantly struggle with time management, often feeling guilty I am failing miserably. There are so many I care about in my life I can’t find enough hours to show them. So what do I do? I have to prioritize my family first and then everyone else, period.

Today Steve was a selfless example of just that 

Blessings,

Debbie

I Can't Keep Up!

Call it adult ADD, spring fever, senior moments, or just Too Much On My Plate, I can’t keep up! I’m the mom, I’m supposed to be holding it all together and I feel like I’m falling apart these last few weeks.

Once a teacher told me after spring break they "loose" the kids, they don’t want to work anymore! Any serious academic work must be complete before then. To top it off we have had mid summer weather which just fuels the outside activity over the top! Yesterday the kids came home and ran outside before I could catch them to do the normal homework and chores. Before I knew it they were in the stream catching critters, the hose was going, and newly caught bull frogs were jumping out of buckets!

During the school year my kids do not participate in any after school sports, only on the weekends. With the warmer weather here I stepped up the activities to include tennis then swim team, and flag football on the weekends. As it turns out Emeline has been asked to scrimmage with a travel soccer team (those gals can play soccer!), and Sam was asked to run for a track and field club. Fun right? Of course, but I’m only one person and can’t get everyone to where they need to go! Thank goodness for girlfriends and carpooling.

Normally, I’m an organized person managing to keep track of the schedule. So much is going on this last week I’m in a panic on a daily basis wondering if I forgot to take someone somewhere, or pick them up! Today I called school frantic asking them to pull Sam off the bus, he was supposed to be in carpool for a pick up to go to the T & F club, YIKES! Yesterday I was running late to meet the bus and the driver had to call me to find out my location, thankfully I was right down the street. That never looks good for a mom.

Tonight I took Emeline to Girl Scouts only to find out it was cancelled and I never got the message (ugh!). Liking the thought of going home, doing the dishes, getting some laundry done, and getting everyone and myself to bed early, what did we do? We threw caution to the wind and went to a local carnival, bought tickets for rides and had a blast!!

I’m as guilty as the kids wanting to go have fun, seizing the moment, gosh, they grow up so fast!! Dishes and laundry can wait for sure!

Blessings,

Debbie

"Have A Great Time In Heaven!"

Steve and I have been blessed to have both sets of our parents alive until today. Steve’s dad went home to be with Jesus at 6:24 PM EST. He was 84 years young and survived four strokes. This was Steve’s fourth trip to say “good-bye”. Every other time Steve made the trip to Missouri dad would rally, so happy Steve was there and he would recover! This time was different, we learned a few days ago he refused to eat or drink. Not knowing if Steve would make it all the way out to Branson again we all got on the phone Saturday night and said our “good-byes”. Dad couldn’t talk but a phone was held to his ear and we knew he could hear us. Everyone told him how much we loved him. Zachary told grandpa “Have a great time in heaven and we’ll see you again some day!”

Steve left this morning with Emeline and Samuel to make the trip west. Sam had prayed for months that he would have the opportunity to see grandpa one more time before he passed away, and Steve prayed that he would be there when the time came for dad to leave this world. I prayed that also for Steve but had doubts that it would all happen at just the right time, after all, Branson Missouri is not around the corner and there are no nonstop flights to the place!

I’m not a big morning person and was secretly hoping they would not wake me up at 5:30 am before they left, but of course I couldn’t tell them that. Sure enough they all marched in this morning ready to go, wanting another kiss and hug from mom! At 7:00 am I got the call they had missed their flight. I can’t help but say I was chuckling all day to imagine the three of them traveling together!

As it turns out God had a bigger plan then anyone! When Steve and the kids missed the first flight (because they were eating at the food court) they were re-routed from connecting through Denver to connecting through Chicago. When they arrived in Chicago Steve noticed there was a flight that would get them to Branson earlier then the original scheduled flight. They flew standby and successfully made the flight. Once in the nursing home and greeting dad it was 24 minutes before he passed on. Had they made their original flight out of Philadelphia, they would have missed seeing dad alive. How awesome is that? It was as if he waited until his only son arrived and then decided it was time to go…

Now the grieving process begins. Unfortunately so many of us have lost loved ones and are in different phases of the grieving process. I once heard someone say “The best way to get through grieving is to grieve.” As a mom we not only grieve for ourselves, but we grieve for our children, the loss they will feel.

Today was a day I wondered what people do when they don’t have God in their life. I recently spoke to someone who told me they believe they have a soul that goes somewhere when they die but they’re not sure where. How very sad, my heart hurts for that person. As Dr. Ken left this world today he knew where he was going and so did his family. It was and is very sad, but what a blessed experience to stand around a loved one, holding hands, praying, singing, tenderly ushering him into God’s throne of grace where he will spend eternity. Tonight is dad’s first night in heaven. We are sad he is not longer with us but know he is in a much better place.

We thank all our friends and family for their love and prayers.

Blessings,

Debbie

Distractions

Talk about distractions, the other day I was enjoying my quiet time after the kids got on the bus. Getting three busy, loud children out the door by 7:30 with a full belly is quite a task. After they board the bus, and I throw kisses, there are days I want to collapse. Sitting down with a cup of coffee, having a devotional time with God is soothing to my soul.

Recently our front door broke, a part on the door snapped and Steve had to send away for a new one. Certainly Steve and many would wonder what the big deal is not having a front door? “What about the garage door?” some would ask. Good question, that is broke too! My only way in right now is the back door.

A few days ago I sat in my pajamas having my coffee, right after the kids left looking forward to my quiet time. I soon heard the dog start to throw up. I quickly jumped out of my seat to get him out of the house. Before I got to him he threw up on the kitchen floor and his bed. I hoped to get to the cover off the bed fast enough that it didn’t penetrate to the padding. No such luck, the padding had throw up all over it too (ugh!). Slightly annoyed that I now had all this cleaning to do, and did I mention that I do not tolerate throw up very well? I got everything to the laundry room and realized that when the padding needed to be dried I would need some tennis balls to throw in the dryer, you know, to fluff it up! Realizing that I did not have tennis balls in the laundry room I went to the closet where I keep my tennis racquet to get the balls. Then I realized that I forgot my tennis racquet in the car and that is not good for the strings! I marched right out to my car to get the tennis racquet and locked the door behind me. So, there was the dog and I outside my house (me in my red pajamas!) All from the dog throwing up!

My world is made up of distractions. It can be annoying if I choose or I can accept the distractions and let God teach me through each and every one of them. Having three children, sometimes I wonder how on earth anything gets done. Forget about trying to keep a steady train of thought when they’re home! Talking on the phone or trying to write a serious e-mail is suicidal!

I’m learning to embrace the distractions. I use to think I was entitled to my space and time and I still am within reason yet the distractions are what makes me grow, helps me to see things differently. I look at them more now as opportunities then annoyances.

Sweet Dreams,

Debbie