Passing on wisdom to the next generation of moms... Session 1

I have now been a mother for almost 7 years.

Now although that does not make me any sort-of expert, I do feel I can pass a few nuggets along to those who are just entering into motherhood naively. I feel it is my duty to pour my wisdom upon your beautiful pony-tailed heads. Here are some things I've discovered over the last couple years:

1. When feeding your baby bananas of any sort, be swift to wipe them up. Dried bananas are harder to clean up than glue, and the brown, slimy substance they turn into will make you want to vomit.
2. DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, allow your kids to use paint. You may be tempted by the amazing projects on pinterest, or the wonderful artwork your friends have displayed on their fridges, you may even convince yourself that it is "washable" and will be an easy clean... but mark my words, you will live in undeniable regret. No hand-print is worth that.
3. There are certain things your kids will eat that don't digest: corn, raisins, legos. Prepare yourself to see them again later in the week... also prepare yourself to never be able to eat them again yourself.
4. You will never be alone again... like never ever ever... ever. Go ahead, try to take a shower or go to the bathroom. The minute you step out of their sight, they will hunt you down like prey.... and if for some reason you can't be found in 32 seconds, they will shriek your name at the top of their lungs until you reappear. (Even while in bed you will find remnants of them.... G.I. Joes, band-aids, nasty little sock with no match.)
5. Anything you love... they will break. Anything you treasure... will be destroyed. Anything you have saved for years and years... will be shattered into pieces. Case in point: A beautiful vase brought home from Amsterdam from my parents mission trip as a special gift to me= crushed into smithereens. My most favorite mug that I have had since college= cracked and crumbled. My sanity and hope that tomorrow will be a better day= PULVERIZED.
6. You will never have a clean floor again for more than 23 minutes. Period.
7. When getting 4 kids ready in the morning, each kid will be missing something different: one kid will be missing socks. one kid will be missing shoes. one kid will be missing a coat, and one kid will just be missing. Learn to roll with the punches and just bring blankets in the car during the winter.
8. Things you will never again be able to live without (and if you have all these things with you, you could survive 25 days alone in the wilderness and people will forever refer to you as "MacGyver"): ziplock bags, wet wipes, nail clippers, ponytail holders, a pen and the newest issue of Family Fun.

So that's it for now.. and here is my disclaimer: I AM TOTALLY AND MADLY IN LOVE WITH MY CHILDREN and if I have to go insane to raise them right, I am willing to do so.... forever.

my baby girl

I really don't think there is anyone in this world that makes me laugh harder than my daughter. She has a hilarious sense of humor and a way of looking at the world that keeps me young. Today she wanted to know if I could do the splits (to which I swiftly declined) and then was somewhat disappointed in me during a dance session we had together, "mom, are those your moves? like jagger?" She is the 1st one to ask me how my day was and to ask to help me clean or cook. She stands out in a sea of boys and gives each of us a run for our money. She is growing up so fast, and I honestly don't know what I would do without this fiery little girl!

Harvest Fest

Last week I was able to hang with Isaac and his 1st grade class for a field trip to Harvest Fest. It was so much fun for me to see his interactions with his classmates and teacher, and it was also fun to meet the other parents/grandparents. I love meeting new people! Isaac made me promise I would bring a coffee for his teacher.... I have trained him well. Such a fun day!

I don't love all my kids equally.

I went to a conference this weekend.

{GOD BLEW MY MIND... but I'll touch on that later this week... still processing.}

I heard something that I loved.

Lisa Bevere said "God doesn't love us all equally."

I was confused.

Then she qualified.

"God doesn't love us all equally. He loves us all uniquely. To state that God loves us equally means that His love for us can be measured."

Oh yeah... I thought it was great too.

It made me think of my kids.

I can definitely say that I love them all uniquely.

Family Fun Day: Deneweths

Today we had some wonderful family time at Deneweths.

(Thanks for the tickets, Stephy, and for some great pics!)

Corn Maze. Hayride. Pumpkin Painting. Cider-n-Donuts. Kiddie Hay Maze... and so much more! I even made some fall flower purchases. I can't wait to go back every year!

he's still my baby.

I was going to wait till I got video proof, but that hasn't happened, so I'm happy to announce that every person in our house can now walk! Jacob is walking everywhere.... and although he still falls down a lot and enjoys crawling as well, he can go over 10 steps on his own. I am thrilled for him because you would think he unlocked the secret to success, but, like everything else this kid does, it makes things even more nail-biting for me. Congratulations Jakey!

Our Carlson tradition is starting to get a little crowded.

We spent the weekend with my family in Frankenmuth.

It's a tradition we started years ago for my dad's birthday.
(2008...2009...2010...2011)

We were all unable to spend the night last year and just came up for the day.

This year we purposed to do it right.

It was a lot different this year....

8 adults and 9 kids (6 of them 2 yrs or younger).

I wasn't able to get many pictures, and since my sister Keri is our designated family photographer, I'm hoping to get some good ones from her.

our 1st progress report for 1st grade.

Well, we are well into Isaac's 1st grade year of elementary school, and it has been a blast. This kid LOVES to learn, which is a wonderful trait he inherited from his father. He has made a lot of new friends and is already bringing home work that I swiftly hand to his dad to handle. Who knew you would have to figure out the mass of something in 1st grade? This week was his first progress report from his teacher (marks the 1/2 way point until parent/teacher conferences) and he was stars all around. He is such a great kid, and although I try my hardest to mask the pride I have for my little man, I have to say that he brings us so much joy for the good choices he has made already in life. I love that my son is now starting his collection of cheesy, posed school pictures! I made him promise that he would show his toothless smile in his school pictures... it's way more fun later in life to have pictures that you can giggle at.

and in all things... session 40

Things I am thankful for on October 13, 2012...

1. 2 Peter 3:9
2. My lavender heating pad from The Body Shop.
3. Thursday Night LifeGroups.
4. Friends I can cry with.
5. Lemon Salt.
6. Nighttime family devotions... and giggles.
7. Brainstorm Printable from The Flourishing Abode (I use this all the time at work)
8. Forgiveness... and the ability to forgive.
9. Peace of Mind by Origins.
10. Big, comfy, warm comforters.

leap.

overtake.

I was in my office at the church today working on something that needed to be completed before I left for the day. As I was typing on my computer I felt an urgent sense to pray. I stopped what I was doing and offered up a quick prayer. As I started to conclude, I was overcome with a stronger urgency to continue. I tried to shake it since I had a deadline, but couldn't. I ended up kneeling in the corner and couldn't compose myself. I kept feeling the Lord prompt my heart to pray that He would OVERTAKE. I started to pray that the Lord would overtake my heart... overtake my family... overtake our LifeGroup... overtake our church... overtake our community, etc. I feel like the Lord was revealing to me my critical need for Him to OVERTAKE my life.... my plans.... my hopes... my endeavors.... that they wouldn't just be offered over to Him, but that He would be commissioned to engulf, to overwhelm, to consume, to envelop my life. I became completely undone.

At that exact moment, this song came on my computer. I love moments like that.

doggy day.

Today Isaac spent the entire day with Sage.
He played with him for hours.
He fed him way too many snacks.
He rode in the car with him.
It was one of the "best days ever".
He now wants a dog.
A German Shepherd... like the police have.
He is about to learn a very valuable life lesson about life not being fair.

more rambling: if i try to fake it till i make it, i'm going to lose it.

I realized this morning that I can no longer "fake it."

I have a friend coming into town to stay with us that I only see a few times a year, and I really wanted to have my house spotless.... at least clean... even just straightened. As I left this morning there were dishes in the sink from last night's LifeGroup dinner, blocks spread all over the family room (perfectly distributed so you step on one every time you enter the room) and the bathroom has blue toothpaste all over the sink (my kid's are the messiest teeth-brushers I have ever seen!).

I had every intention of having everything in order before she came. I stayed up late... even left for work a little later... still a disaster. I want to put up a sign on the porch that says "WELCOME to my real life." Now here's the good part- this friend won't care in the slightest. In fact, she will probably feel more at home that I didn't put all the kids toys away, she's amazing that way. The things is... the clean house isn't really for her... it's for me (ok, so it's a little for her, but you know what I mean). This is my life. I have 4 kids. Everyone else around me has accepted that, why can't I?