Kindness Challenge - Day 3 - My Sick Lolly

My Lolly is home sick today. My acts of kindness today are revolving around her. Sitting with her while we watch Little House on the Prairie. Making her a slushy for her sore throat. Letting her lay in my bed and watch TV. Speaking her love language, physical touch.

I would much rather sit and cuddle with her than do the cleaning that is on my list of chores today. Hey, it will just be dirty again a few minutes after I clean it. Hopefully, the hugs and cuddles with last longer and make more of an impact.

Yesterday, we came home from school, worked really hard to get all the homework checked and showers taken and had another movie night together. I really like doing special things for my kids and hope my actions this month will show them just how special they really are to me.

Prayers for Daddy

Rick is at a conference in Dallas that he attends every year. He has the opportunity to speak at one of the sessions this year. That session is today. On the way to school, I asked the kids if they wanted to pray for their Daddy today. Many of them did, but Isaiah's prayer stands out. Here it is:

"Dear Jesus, I pray for Daddy as he goes to doctor. I pray Daddy gets his shots. I pray Daddy gets his sticker. I pray Daddy ok. Amen."

Okay, so he is a little confused about what Rick is doing today, but his prayer is precious. It made me smile and the big kids got a good laugh with me about it.

Blah!

I feel blah tonight. Not sick, just blah!

My hubby is out of town. I am an extrovert. When he is gone, I feel lonely. It is not really a bad thing. It is actually good for me if I focus my energies in the right direction. Instead, I often tend to watch too much TV and spend too much time on the computer.

I also feel blah about the circumstances of those around me. I am in relationship with a lot of people going through a lot of really tough things right now. It makes me feel sad that there is so much pain, and I feel completely helpless to do anything about it.

I just want to hear some good news. I need something to celebrate. Can anyone relate?

Haircuts

I got Cody and Sam's haircuts yesterday.

I feel so much better now.

I know that many of you cut your own kids' hair, but I just can't.

I am still scarred from the time my mom cut my hair as a child. Sorry mom, but I I have to share this story.

I can't remember why she cut it, but I remember being in the back yard. All I know is that I looked like Miss Piggy when it was done, and I have never fully recovered.

Maybe that is why I am so picky about who cuts my hair now. I want a deal, but not bad enough to have my hair all messed up.

Rick did cut Cody's hair for a while when he was little because his first haircut was such a traumatic experience. I am not joking. The kid screamed for 2 hours after it was over. That is before we knew about his sensory issues. Once we found out, it all made sense.

Then, one day, Rick did a bad cut on Cody, and we have taken him somewhere ever since that day.

Now, Isaiah is the only one with home haircuts.

I did have enough stamps saved up to get one of the cuts free and a coupon for the one that I paid for so I got out of there with 2 cuts plus tips for $12.95!! Not too bad.

Now, I just need to find a new person to cut and highlight my hair for a reasonable price. Every time I go to someone, they move away after I get used to them!!

David Hames Update

I wanted to share the latest update on the Hames family with those of you that are praying. These last 3 weeks have been exhausting and painful. Please, please continue to pray for this wonderful family!!

The lobby at the Hotel Montana is structurally unsound, and they are no longer able to use heavy equipment to clear the rubble. Because of the danger of collapse, workers must remove the debris by hand. Colonel Cintron apologized at the delay and told families tonight that it might take up to three more weeks to recover their loved ones. Heartbreaking news…

Dwight L. Moody once said, “One day soon you will hear that I am dead. Do not believe it. I will then be alive as never before.” We don't know for certain if our friend and brother has left this world, but if he has, we know that David belonged to the Lord (Ps. 116:15), and we can’t imagine him “resting” right now. Instead, we see him laughing and singing and playing his ukulele as he dances down the streets of gold, and we look forward to the day we can laugh and sing alongside him again.

Thank you for your outpouring of love and support and prayers for Renee and their family during the past three weeks. If you would like to follow the progress of the recovery efforts at the hotel, Brian Steidle provides regular updates via twitter (link below). I will post again when we have specific information on David as well as further information about how to support Renee. Please pray for the entire Hames family tonight—that God will comfort their hearts and fill them with peace as they continue to wait for news.

Click here to follow Brian Steidle's twitter updates.

Kindness Challenge - Day 1

Today I begin the challenge of blessing my children. So far, I have been able to do a few things that will bless all of the kids. It may not happen every day, but I am trying to follow the mindset of "How can I bless my kids today?" all month.

Since we have been on the spending fast, we haven't been able to rent movies. So, today, I got the kids "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs." I am excited to have it for them after school today. We will watch it tonight together.

I also got the kids a special treat at the store as a dessert for supper tonight.

I am going to help switch out the boys laundry today while they are at school This is an easy task, but one that will help them get done faster.

I hope my acts of kindness towards them will not only help them feel loved by me, but will spur them on to do acts of kindness for others. I will let you know about that one!

You may be wondering why I am not including Rick in this. Well, he is going to be gone most of the month. So, serving him in extra ways will be harder than usual.

I do have to admit that while I was out today buying some groceries I took advantage of the fact that the spending fast is over and bought myself a sandwich from Subway for lunch. It is the little things in life, people, especially when your husband is out of town!!!

Let the Games Begin

Rick is out of town this week.

Bad things happen around here when my husband goes out of town.

It always feels like we are attacked in unusual ways while he is gone(things break, basements flood, multiple children get horribly sick at the same time, children don't sleep well which means I don't sleep well, my truck stops working, etc.). It is not pretty.

I always have all of these big plans while he is gone to accomplish projects that I have not gotten to. Why do I think I can do MORE without his help? I end up not getting the projects done and feel like a failure.

The rough part is that he is going to be gone A LOT this month. I think he will only be home one week out of this month.

It started this morning when I was dropping the kids off at school. The door handle in the truck that they use to get out during carpool broke. Yep, what are the chances? So, now that door cannot be opened from the inside. Good times!