1 Corinthians 13 for Mothers

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,

but have not love,

I am a housekeeper  not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,

but have not love,

my children learn cleanliness  not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction,

and fault them for every mess they make,

but have not love,

my children become people-pleasers  not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,”

the taxi-driver to every childhood event,

the counsellor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children

have faded away into insignificance,

And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,

dishes with missing place settings,

and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,

But the greatest of all is the Love

that permeates my relationships with my children.

(Adapted from an anonymous source by Jim Fowler)

Thank-you Crystal

The life and times of a family entertainment center

There she is, our first real piece of furniture in our first home.  I was so excited to have such a lovely piece to display our family photos and trinkets.  It actually stood in our family room bare for a good month because I wanted it to look perfect and didn't know where to start, lol.  See how everything on it is placed just so?  I dusted & polished it faithfully every Saturday morning during T's nap.  And the most surprising thing is during the 7 years we lived in that house, it never moved from that spot.  And anyone who ever visited us knows that everything else moved.....a lot.

And here she is again, another little boy in the house and she is still holding strong.  Proudly displaying even more beloved photos. We had to add the child lock to protect the stereo and dvd player and change out the glass in the doors for plexi, but she's still beautiful, right? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 It was about this time that the drawers began to be filled with diaps & wipes, blocks, cars and coloring books.    

And as our family grew, so did the duties of our trusty (and a little dusty) friend.  The toys and puzzles have outgrown the drawers and are encroaching onto the shelves, and they look even better than the well placed photos and chachskis don't they?

We have so many wonderful memories of babies and littles around that workhorse of an entertainment center.  All three learned to pull up and cruise along her sturdy shelves.  They

learned to take out and put away toys, to close drawers softly and not pinch little fingers.  And not to smear yogurt all over her...okay...um, that one took a while.   

When we moved, the ole girl was assigned full time toy storage duty in our garage/playroom.  What a trooper!

Now those doors are off completely and her shelves are happily housing all sorts of fun family toys.  She has earned quite a few dents and dings and now only gets dusted on a monthly basis and hasn't seen polish in quite a while, but she never complained and took her new lot in life with dignity and grace.

As we grow into our new home, the family van decides it would like the use of it's garage and that once again means change for our girl.  What was once one has become three.

Out on our lanai, we took out a shelf to fit the tv and cable box.  Her drawers still hold toys and books.

In our bedroom, dutifully holding yet another tv, dvd and cable box, the main hub and wireless router, and books that have overflowed our side tables.

                                           

And finally, a little piece of her restored to her former glory, proudly displaying cherished photos in our family room.  

I look forward to many, many more years with you my friend.  Who knows what your next assignment might be, but one thing is for sure, you will perform it lovingly.  Thank-you.    

More Thanky's!

Gramma & Grampa in Maine,

We love you loads and miss you bunches!  Somehow, you knew just what toys were tops on our wishlists!  Pixo's for Tanner, Martian Matter for Jack & a babydoll for Riley, you guys are the best!

    

And last but certainly not least, Grampy & Bebe.  Our biggest gift is living so close to you.  We love sharing our day to day lives with you both.  Bebe, you always find the most amazing toys that we have never even dreamed of, and you out did yourself with Bakugan and a DORA! dollhouse...just doesn't get any better.  We love you!

  

Big Thank-you's to our family!

What a generous, loving family we have, near and far.  The kids would like to say thank-you for their fantabulous Christmas gifts...

Aunt Sue, we so appreciate your generous check.  We took the kid to Build-a-Bear Workshop where they make their own friends.  Funny, none of the made a bear, but we are a family of originals, aren't we?  Each friend has the perfect heart, hand picked by the children, inside it.  We rubbed the hearts to make them warm, kissed them to make them loving, touched them to our shoulders so we could always lean on our new friend, touched them to our backs so our new friend would always have our backs and touched them to our forehead so they would be smart, too!  We love you, Aunt Sue.

     

Auntie Carol,

First, we are so thankful you are feeling better.  You are continually in our prayers.  We loved our "mystery  box",  should have known immediately such thoughtful gifts were from you.  Love to Patty!

Dear Beloved Curry Family,

We miss you so very much!  We think of you every time we read our new books, thanks so much!