One Month

I was going to say, "One month till my life changes..." but the truth is I am already changed.  I am a single mother about to become a wife and bonus mom.  Sometimes I'm nervous about how it is going to go!  Yes, the wedding has a lot of details and moving always create major anxiety for me.  But I anticipate much adjustment and great challenges over the next couple of years.  Still, I can't wait!

Moody Monday

I had a lovely weekend, just lovely!  I missed my father terribly and wished I could have spent time with him.  I hope he knows just how much I admire and love him.  It's been a rough season for him the past couple of years and I think he forgets what a great Dad, Papa, person he is!  I was thinking about how the things our parents say create the internal 'soundtrack' that we play to ourselves throughout our lives.  My father never let me forget how great he thought I was, how smart, how pretty and special I was to him.  I notice Mr. Wonderful speaks the same way to his girls (even thought they sometimes blow it off) it's one of the reasons I love him. 

 

Speaking of Mr. Wonderful, he purchased a new suit for our big day ... my he looked handsome!  I've never seen him in a suit before.  Our culture just doesn't provide that many reasons to get dressed up.  Life it very informal.  I like it kind of fancy sometimes!

I'm getting very excited for our wedding day!  It's going to be so fun to have all our family and friends in the same place.  The bridesmaids (my sister and future step daughters) are all fitted and the dresses under alteration.  The wedding plan is coming together and Mr. Wonderful is giddy about the roles he gets to play.  The end feels in sight...I'm trying not to wish away these final weeks as a single mother to my three.  We've enjoyed carefree summer fun and too many late nights.  They seem happy and secure, looking forward to our future as a larger family. 

It's a good season of life.  I'm grateful, for a sense there will be many challenges ahead! 

There are three stages in the work of God: impossible, difficult,done  - Hudson Taylor

The Daddy Wound

This is a hard subject for me to think about.  All wounds are that way, I think.  My three children will have an extra long visit with their Daddy this weekend to celebrate Father's Day.  I will miss them and their energetic activity.  I let them choose a gift for Dad and I try to do something that they can all do together.  So they chose a 500 piece train puzzle they can all work on together.  I hope he does it with them.  I hope he acknowledges the love they so freely give and the way they unabashedly  admire a dad who doesn't always deserve it (NOTE: I do not say this to put down their dad, children give all of us a lot more admiration than we ever deserve).

My children have not known a protective male covering over our lives or home.  It is my hope that Mr. Wonderful will be the male figure who is a healthy, godly example of what God intended when he created man.  I pray my boys will learn the importance of faithfulness and my daughter to know what love looks like.  May she not be vulnerable to harmful predators who seek only to use her for their own selfish pleasure. 

I worry about their Daddy wound.  I worry they will seek approval and attention from unhealthy sources.  I worry that they will not well define the role of men.  I worry they will take on the views I see as negative about women and self.  I worry they will repeat history and have broken relationships in their future.  It makes me sad.

We all have a Daddy wound, to some degree, for none of our earthly fathers are perfect.  My own father was present, loving, faithful and the best dad anyone could hope for.  I still made choices that weren't the most wise.  So I turn this worry over to the One who heals all wounds.  I have to trust our Lord to gently replace the negative messages of this world with the truth.  I do all I can to reinforce the positive, create healthy views of family, men and marriage.  But ultimately they will make their own choices. 

I'm thankful for the men in the lives of my children: For pastors who teach and keep the Truth before us.  For my Father, the Papa who loves them and gives them attention and affection whenever he can.  For Mr. Wonderful who is willing to open his heart to love in ways they will likely never understand. For my former spouse, their Daddy who remains a part of their lives and was part of their being.  Thanks, guys.

Feeling Rich

I've written before about how being rich is more about your life than your wallet and this post reminded me again this week.  My bank account is tight right now because of extra wedding-related expenses and yet I feel so wealthy.  A list is the only way I have time to get it out:

1. My firstborn desperately needed a haircut, so we took a dining chair to the backyard.  He had trouble sitting still, but we got it done.  Laughing together and listening to the younger two chase fireflies is a memory I will treasure.
2. We've taken several trips up to the Smoky Mountains.  Having the richness of nature and a block of unscheduled time is truly priceless.
3. My babysitter is so helpful.  She shuttles the children, shows up on time, takes them to the pool and makes their summers childlike and carefree.  She's not cheap, but she is so, so valuable!
4. When I feel overwhelmed with clutter (and the thought of moving again soon), I can always find things to purge and donate.  It makes me feel like a queen to pass along our loved items that remain in great shape. 
5. Sometimes cooking feels like such a chore, but my children have recently rewarded me with high accolades for simple meals like pork chops and pan seared steak.

Life is good, the future is hopeful and we are so blessed with good health.  Can you make a quick high-five list?  I promise you will feel better remember how rich and full is your life.

Are These Gams Worth It? You bet!

Okay, summer is here and my legs have been out in the open for a while now.  Typically, I keep them covered because of excema and the whole thing about needing to shave every single day.  I like to shave at night because - well, I like the smooth in the sheets.  But in summertime, I guess I prefer to shave in the morning so that my legs are stubble free (for the first part of the day at least).  Sigh, it is quite the female conundrum.

Photo courtesy of Gillette

And then I am floored by the price of razors today.  Seriously, I was able to stretch a pink Daisy razor for a couple of weeks and now the extreme, five-blade, lotion-infused refills seem to last a whole week!  What is the deal with this new technology?

Yes, there was the token slice to my Achilles or random miss hairs around my knees, but it was dependable.

So, I'm going to try my hand a new razor: the Schick Hydro Silk.  My legs are long and muscular, so it's worth it to play them up as one of my better assets.  I'll let you know how it works over the next couple of week. 

Does anyone have any razor recommendations?  Do you shave daily, weekly, avoid it all together?  Do you find these decisions more complicated (and expensive) than they used to be?

Check out the Razorvention App for you chance to win!

This is a sponsored post for Schick.  I will be compensated for discussing razor issues here and on Facebook, but all the opinions are my very own.

 



Moody Monday...on Tuesday!

Monday came quickly - the weekends often feel too short.  Yet I'm thankful for a job and for payday today! 

It's Tuesday now and obviously I didn't finish my post! 

Yesterday was the birthday of my former spouse and father to my children.  They went with him to celebrate, so I had some time alone to catch up on grocery shopping, laundry and some fun 'me' time, too.  It was interesting to consider how different he is at age 40 than when I met this man more than twenty years ago.  I wasn't sad, just a bit retrospective as I considered the alternative life I could have been living.  I thought about all the choices he made and I made that brought us to the day where we celebrated only by trading our children on special occasions. 

On that note, I do think it is important to teach my children to celebrate others.  So, I let them pick out a silly t-shirt to give their Dad on his birthday.   They got to wrap it up with a balloon and feel like they did something special.  We'll come up with a gift on Fathers' Day, too.  They want to celebrate their dad.

This was the first year that the father of our children did not acknowledge Mother's Day.  And they felt it...especially my sweet daughter who's love language is gifts.  She was so concerned to not have anything to give and brought me flowers from outside and a plethora of drawings from school.  I do not want to squelch her sweet, expressive nature so I'll suck in my annoyance and help them do something special for their dad. 

Do you acknowledge special days of your former spouse?  Do you enable to the children to do so?

 

By the way, I took matters into my own hands and splurged on a new pair of exercise shoes for my own Mothers Day treat ... I get comments any time I wear them!

From Addidas.com