A girl and her Mommy part 2

A day spent at the Zoo.

About to end our last day here with a sunset dinner cruise.

A girl and her Mommy

Big sister and I are enjoying a four day get away in beautiful San Diego. Just the two of us-it is quite amazing. She is loving being the center of Mommy's attention, choosing where/what to eat, where/when to swim, what activity to do next, what dessert to eat (that is bigger than dinner).....I think she will remember this trip for quite some time, I know I will. She is quite the shopper, but most of her purchases have been for her siblings. Here are some pictures of our first two days of fun. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of our kayak adventure including snorkeling with Sea Lions and paddling among leopard sharks.

Abbie has taken my camera as her own and has become quite artsy ;-)

This was our lunch stop-delicious sandwiches (overstuffed just like the sign says) and freshed squeezed lemonade

More pics courtesy of Abbie

Prayer

We are going through a bit of a rough time-sick kiddos, sick mom, behavioral issues just to name a few-nothing we can't deal with or work thru but not a lot of fun. I have been meaning to post something/pictures/stories but haven't had the time. Taking the time to post this is a bit of selfish reason but I know some of you who read this will pray for us-so that is why I am writing. Pray for compassion, for understanding, for creativity, refreshed attitudes, for patience (yes for patience), for peace, for confidence/boldness and for more of God and less of me.

Thanks!

Power of Words

There seems to be a resounding 'theme' over the last week in my life which is- the power of words-the importance of them, the affect they have on others, the ability to build up or tear down, to encourage or to break one's spirit. Hearing wise words spoken from the pulpit, reading devotionals, preparing for a lesson I am teaching, watching the mess on the news about the recent celebrities' outbursts. Our tongue is indeed quite powerful:

James 3: When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water

Not sure why the power of words has been so 'in my face' this week but I am definitely paying a bit more attention to what is coming out of my mouth and how it is being said. Ok, well maybe I do know........cause I need it to be 'in my face'. God-I hear ya :-)

The Princess and Old Folks

On Friday she got to go on two field trips-lucky kid-of course her siblings were quite jealous. The first trip was a morning adventure to the county fair, including getting to pet some baby goats and sheep. The trip in the afternoon was to a local 'day out program' for senior citizens. Her school has been taking the kindergartners for a visit for a couple of years now-and I am not sure who likes it more the little ones or the big ones. They did their usual singing of songs and then played some games and made a craft. This trip was in honor of Grandparents day. When I picked her up from school she came beaming to the car wearing proudly a noodle necklace that was every color of the rainbow. "Mom-look at my necklace I made! This one I made for me. I also helped my new friend make one for her." So of course I ask her about her new friend and I hear "Ummmmm......I can't remember her name, but she was one of the Grandmas we played with today. I think she really liked my help-we smiled a lot. We also played 'whack-o-mole'........we were both pretty good.........had a lot of FUN!" She also said all the Grandpas and Grandmas smiled a bunch-so she had done her job :-) I had reminded her when I dropped her off where they were going and that I thought there might be some kids a bit hesitant to make friends with all the Grandparents, so I encouraged her to keep a smile on her face to help her friends see what a great time she was having.

I love her school and the experiences my kids have had there, I am quite sad this is the last year for a Waggoner kid to be there.

Another 'old folk' story....while at a fast food restarauant Princess says "I think I see somebody that is.....I mean looks like a president." I look around the resteraunt, only to see another family and three elderly ladies at the counter ordering. "Ma, I am not sure who you are talking about, can you tell Mommy with out pointing, who you are talking about?" She says with a grin on her face the one with the red shirt, so as I am trying to figure out why she thinks an 80 year old lady looks like a president the lightbulb goes off............her hair! "Ma, you think her hair looks like the pictures of the old presidents?" Yep-that is it-too funny that she probably couldn't name many old presidents but she could tell you what their hair looked like. She indeed is our fashion Princess!

The craziness has officially begun.......

Well come to think of it, I am not sure I can remember life with out craziness. Guess that is life with four kiddos-which I love....I think. School has been back in for 2 1/2 weeks and all the extra curricular activities have started back. Which means I truly must look at the calendar each morning/night to make sure I don't forget to take a child somewhere or pick them up ;-) and that each kiddo has all the 'supplies' needed for the activity. Thursdays are our super CRAZY day, so if you need to find me, just look in my car cause I think I live there from about 2:30-7:30PM. And yes we all ate dinner (in shifts) and the kids were bathed and in bed by 8 PM. Sometime in the midst of all the driving yesterday Princess says "Mom, I sure am glad you like to drive because I think you will be in the car all day!........Did you bring a book or something to do?" Her comment actually led to a little appreciation talk for dear ol' mom-woo hoo!

Looking forward to this weekend...... two soccer games, one flag football game and rehearsal for Big Sister for the Nutcracker with Ballet Oklahoma, and the first OU home game!!! Now if I could just figure out how to be in two places at once....

Fun Family Day

We spent the day in the great outdoors and got to see a lot of wildlife. We headed south the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. We did a little hiking on Mt Scott (yes there are a few mountains in Oklahoma-or rather large hills) and got to see some wildlife up close. Turns out the Princess is quite the mountain climber, Dad is trying to share Oma's fear of heights and was made a bit uncomfortable by his daring daughter. The kids loved trying to be the first to spot the wildlife which meant there were many far off trees and bushes being labeled a buffalo or a longhorn until a sibling called them on it-many laughs were had by all. We had a great day together and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Here are some pictures of the day.

Something to watch and think about

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Frustration...

Nothing fun about this blog, just a bit of reality and a glimpse into our last week. (and I guess a little venting) A few of the sayings that I am tired of saying, so I know the kids must be REALLY tired of hearing:

• Listen and Obey
• Listen to my words....I said...
• What did I ask you to do...what did you choose to do?
• Is that being kind and respectful?
• Are you treating your siblings the way you would like to be treated?
• It is not OK to speak like that
• Are you telling me the truth?
• If I ask the teacher, will I get the same answer?
• Do you like the way you are behaving?

Needless to say there have been a lot of undesirable behaviors in our house this past week (and I know I am not exempt from that statement). School has brought some much needed routine to the week, along with a break from each other-both from siblings and from/for Mom, but unfortunately it has also brought anxiety and stress. We have had to move a bed into our playroom to separate the two older girls-we have decided not to convert the playroom into a true bedroom since we are in the works of starting to build our 'Someday' home (WOO HOO!!!) We think this is starting to solve a few of the issues in the house, just not at lightening speed.

The past 72 hours has about taken all the patience I have. Blessings to the sweet woman in the Chick-Fila line that complimented my parenting this evening, when inside I felt like screaming. I smiled and thanked her and said I didn't think my parenting was so great at the moment that it had been a long day and I was ready for bed but I appreciated her kind words. This sweet angel God sent my way responded with "Well I think you must be a wonderful parent then, to be at the end of you rope and still keeping it together." Wow-if only she could have been inside my head. Thank you God for this gentle sweet reminder. It added just enough patience to get me thru dinner. Unfortunately, soon after arriving home another lying issue arose, between two kiddos who are struggling a bit in this area. Total frustration, no patience, and no 'truth teller' to be had=two children who went to bed with no story and a disappointed mom tucking them in.

This has been a week that makes me say "God, evidently you think I am a whole lot stronger than I think I am.......please help, show me, give me the strength, allow me to see my children through your eyes, remind me yet again how much you love me when I disobey, am not kind, am not respectful, make bad choices-for I know you have every right to be frustrated with me-yet your love, affection, patience, sweet spirit and kind words are always available to me, you are unfailingly patient time and time again with me....help me to be the kind of parent you are."

I know compared to so many others situations, I have nothing to complain or be frustrated about. We are so richly blessed in so many ways. So after reading this please do not think I am not grateful nor do not love my children. I am human....I get frustrated.....I lose my patience.....I am selfish yet my Father never holds that against me.