heart to heart with my oldest

Last night I enjoyed a rare heart to heart with Dominique.
We talked about everything from his childhood to his dreams and everything in between.
We talked about his sister. I am so very proud of the man he has become. He is solid in who he is and what he believes. I never have to worry about him being led down a crazy dangerous path. He is strong courageous loving compassionate a hard worker loyal to his friends and family.
at the end of our talk he said something that melted my heart.
He said mom you did a good job raising me. I know you don't agree with all my life choices but I am what I am because of you. I would not change anything.
I needed to hear that. I am so critical of myself as a mom. I take on the failures of my children as my own and that is not always a good thing. I know I am not perfect, I have made mistakes along the way. But to hear my son say those words was like a big hug wrapping around me!

where is my time going??

I swear it was JUST the last day of school....wasn't it?
It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of June already. Our house has been a busy place these first few weeks of summer.
We signed up for the summer reading program at the local library, started our summer "school" program, made our individual summertime bucket lists. Had sick kids, started catching up on appointments, went camping, baseball tournaments, and this week Isaiah and Elijah are at camp all week!
I love having the kids all home. It has been a bit of an adjustment for some of them to make. Those who are routine oriented have struggled a little but things are looking up.
On our bucket list so far:
go see the buffalo
go to the drive in movies
swim
take a long weekend trip to the lake
go to the zoo
go to the science center
star gaze
see fire works
have a picnic
see a parade
take a walk
I am sure there will be more adventures added as the summer goes along.

thank you

Think about it! God knows the end from the beginning, and all the days of our life are written in His book. Every decision we're ever going to make, good or bad, God already knew them before we ever showed up on planet earth. He already knows today every word in our mouth that is still unuttered, even what we're going to say a year from now.

Sometimes we go around ...thinking that God is so disappointed with us all the time. It's true that we make mistakes. And we're not supposed to be lighthearted about them, we need to take them seriously. But in spite of our mistakes, God has hope for us and knows that He can change us if we'll stay close to Him.

God's not disappointed. He's full of hope where we're concerned! He believes in us more than we do ourselves.
(Joyce Meyers)

I was having a particularly rough morning today. When the above flashed across my phone screen, posted on a friends facebook page, somehow even though I was not tagged in this message it mysteriously wandered into my morning...mistake? I dont think so....God was trying to calm my hot head and bring a little peace into my broken heart.
Thank you God. For the reminder that although the things that wrecked my morning were a total shock to me they were NO SURPRISE TO YOU.

box full of memories

it was Dominique's birthday. about half way through my morning, my lap was filled with paper work and a crying baby when my phone rang. It was the birthday boy! He wanted to know if I still have the photo from his ninja turtle 3rd birthday. I told him I was sure it is packed away with his graduation stuff and would look.
Little did I know i would be swallowed up whole by a box filled with photos and memories.
I had fun sending him photos he did NOT ask for. then finally sent the treasured photo. That may have been his favorite birthday photo. but it was my favorite of all his birthdays, because it was the last birthday spent with my dad.
in the background of every single birthday photo you can see dad beaming with pride from his hospital bed.
many more memories were released when i opened that box.
some days its nice to sit and sift through old memories.
thank you for giving me a gift on your birthday, Son. I love you!