Mud Masks and Dirt Baths

Six and half years ago, my wonderful hubby bought us a house.

Now I was not privy to what this house looked like or anything other
then that his grandad had owned it as a rental.   So my first vision of
"Our First Home"  was pretty depressing and quite daunting to say the least. 
But hey, it was our first home together and we were still newly weds, etc.
So after many ups and downs and nasty and horrible moments, laughter and tears
we are finally seeing the light at the end of the fixer upper tunnel. 
(not mentioning all the small things like trim, and one bedroom left to do, and a
few windows, and cabinet doors, and counter tops and oh, just various other things)

But one big achievement this summer is our "Behemoth", oh, I mean garage.
The one that was started and never really began five years ago.   Yes,
we are finally getting somewhere on it.   What a process it has been.  

The kids have loved it.  And I do believe all the other little kiddos that frequent our house.
For you see, to do this monolith of a garage, we also had to do a lot of excavating.
Hence the massive amount of bare dirt. And when it rains the extreme amount of MUD.
Now, we were discussing buying and building a swing set for our children this summer,
but have really saved money buy just building a garage.   They have spent hours out there
doing, well, I try not to figure out to much of that, that is until they come tramping back into the house and I wonder all over again why it is that I even attempt mopping the floors.
 And my youngest, finds it all quite wonderful, from mud mask and mud baths and even the occasional snack.
So if anyone is pondering that swing set, all you really need is a mud hole and a dirt pile.

Life

Life is so full of ups and downs.
This morning had a lot of downs.....................
But it is a Monday, if I wanted to go along with the world and
blame all my issues on that fact.  
But honestly, it was just another day.   Yes, I have
my good days and bad.   
And with three little ones and one on the way that has
caused me more sickness then any of the other three combined,
at times it feels as if those days just abound with    ARGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and
AAAAHHHHHSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   and UGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But then there are the moments that make it all worth it.  
The   'I LOVE YOU MOM'S!!!!!!!'   and  the ' I NEEEEED A KISS MOM!!!!!'
and   "  MOM, YOU ARE THE BEST MOM EVER!" 
Even if those comments and gifts come from mud covered hands and sryup covered lips. 
They are all mine and I cherish each one.

WHY do I try to save my husband money??????

OK, so that is a very odd question, but the fact is, at times I find myself asking this.    Especially after deciding to go all Proverbs 31 and instead of "BUYING"  new trim for the bathroom that has not been stained or polyurathaned,  I decided to "SAVE" money and refinish the very nice trim that we already have, just is not the color I want for the a bathroom.    So after much labor intensive stripping( which, by the way, do they not make stuff that actually works anymore?) AND sanding AND scraping,  I go for my first coat of stain which does not stain, just streaks..............ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So after all of this, I come to remember  that Proverbs 31 has some other verses, such as................. "She makes WISE purchases".   Why, oh why did that not accur to me before...but I am to far into the project to set a match to it, which by the way sounds really sweet.   So I continue to war with those pieces of trim and will conquer, though at this rate, it will be awhile, but then, at the moment it matches the rest of my partially trimmed house, so why would I want to break the theme?

Aaaahh, Finally Pictures

Considering that I have yet to post any pics, I figured that it was high time I got my act together.
So just a few recent events, birthdays and crazy, fun life.

The Birthday Boys

                                                             And the tractor cake



The birthday Girl

In her cowgirl getup

Sweet kisses

That's my girl

And my viking boy



My Life Runs on, Though my Blog Stands Still

It has been along time since last posting............ 
 Christmas came and went, Ethan turned four, how did that happen?  Rinnah is seven now, struggling with the logistics of reading and fractions and such.  How and when did she grow up? 
 And my life runs on... 
We tore apart our bathroom for a remodel that I was hoping would take maybe two weeks at the most and it has been three months and we are still working on it.  I know, really bad, huh?  All well, such is the way things work sometimes or don't.
And my life runs on...
 I keep thinking that I will have more time when things slow down and my life goes back to normal.   Ha!!!
What is normal and when does life ever slow down, but at least it is a nice thought sometimes.  I have this nice loooooong list of things to conquer before the weather gets nice and I am drawn outside, repainting pretty much every room in the house, amazing how the walls seem to get so beat up and dingy after awhile, recover a chair, FINISH the bathroom, restain the kids bunkbeds and so on. 
And my life runs on...
I was thinking that I have not posted any pics yet on here and decided that is a job that should be done, when things slow down. :)
And my life runs on...
So my blog is short and dull, yet my life is full and loud and crazy and wonderous and amazing and sad and frustrating and eventful and meaningful and fulfilling.  
And as my life is running on and my blog stands still, I will have to wait to another time and day to try and catch up my mind and thoughts with the whirlwind that I just can't contain. 
And now I must run.....  

Like Rubber

Children are like rubber, no matter what happens to them they bounce back to the same shape.....that is an amazing feature.  And that is a really great thing considering I have done a few things, well maybe more then a few that would probably really leave some decent marks on most adults.  Yet my children forgive me unconditionally, no grudges, no making me walk the line of forgiveness, just pure and simple love and trust.  What a glorious thing to be loved like that.  That we as adults would be able to accept and love in the same manner.  Amazing what my children teach me, even though I most often think that I am teaching them,  haha, what was I thinking?     

Not only do they love me and forgive me and trust me...........they put up with me and all my crazy, hair brained ways.   You know they still think you are the cats meow even when you brake out in a dance that would make most people's draw drop and not in a good way.  Or when you totally forget to feed them breakfast and realize that is the reason they are beginning to faint.  Or you knock them down and then instead of picking them up like they think you are going to, you kick them in the rear and shove their face into the rocks, all in one fatal swoop.  ( and yes, I really did do that to poor little Miah)  And the list goes on, and yet they think that you are the most wonderful thing and love you and kiss you and smear you with their sticky little fingers, pouring their heart out in the artwork that they so generously give to you. Yes, they are like rubber and I love them and am thankful for the love they show me, no matter what.

The NOW

Moments……..they are what make up my life. I do not live life in days or weeks, but in individual moments of time. I have been noticing how fast time seems to slip by and each moment has become precious to me. It seems that as if it was just yesterday that Jeremiah asked me to be his wife and I was dreaming of the future and then I blinked and here I am a mother of three children, my oldest is six……..how ? Time is a funny thing, when in it it seems to take forever at times, such as two deployments, in those times, it was forever and the end was not in sight, and now he is out of the marines and on to other things. And when I am up at night cleaning up peed in beds and puked on floors. Those never seem to fly, but they also pass. And then there are my kids, people tell me to treasure this time, because before I know it they will be out of the house and with their own families. And sure I used to agree, but still I was living for then and when and after, but it is finally hitting home as I look at my youngest and realize she really is not a baby anymore and my oldest who is fast approaching young girlhood. What ever happened, will I be able to remember all these precious times with my children? I am afraid I won’t if I am always living for the future. This is my time, this is the moment to live for, these are the days of joy and growth and this is what will make my future worth living for. These are the moments with my children and I aim to live in them to the fullest.