We had a great time at music class, as usual, yesterday...
The drums, the balls, and the pianos were a huge hit.
We also got to go on a pretend picnic and the boys thorougly enjoyed their waffles and chicken.
It reminded me of an amazing meal of chicken and waffles we had at a restaurant in Hilton Head. If I remember correctly the name of the place was A Lowcountry Backyard. That lowcountry food is out of this world...DELICIOUS! We went twice in the week we were there. Check it out if you're ever there. ANYWAYS...
We also were fortunate enough to have Heather come over to touch up the boys hair. She had given them their original haircut exactly as I had asked her too, just trimming the front, but when several people, including their dad thought it looked like a mullet, it was time to revisit the look...
Thank you, Heather! Check out their new dos...
...of course they were too busy to look at me this morning while I took their photo.
We've had a very low key day today--lazy breakfast, play date with a friend, a trip to the gym for some weights circuits and a little time on the elliptical followed by a quick stop in the pet store. Of course we couldn't pass up a visit to the hamsters and other rodents...
I'll go there every week to visit them before one of those is coming in my house. I am so not a rodent person. I think my little sisters did me in with their breeding of dwarf hamsters. Talk about hamster overload. The icing on the cake was the one that escaped and holed up in the furnace to die. The smell the next winter when we turned on the furnace was lovely to say the least...I keep getting off subject...woops!
I've been a cleaning machine while the boys are napping. Gotta get ready for my sister's visit. All that's left is the vacuuming...don't want to wake the boys...and I love an excuse to avoid it. Now if we can just maintain it until Saturday...
Since I've been going off topic a bunch already in this post, I thought I'd share one more tidbit that's been going around and around in my head the last couple of days. It really struck a chord with me.
One of our pastors made an interesting analogy in church on Sunday that I keep thinking about this week and I was reminded of it again as I was chatting with a friend during a play date this morning. I think it relates to so much of life and I wanted to share it with you. I hope I can do it justice...
He presented two glasses of water. One was full of water that looked very murky, like pond water, clearly something you would not want to drink. The other was filled with crisp, clear water and looked quite refreshing. He then proceeded to point out that the clear water was toilet water, something we consider gross and water that no one would ever want to put to their lips. The first glass was clearly dirty but the second one had hidden dirt. That water is like our sin--some of us walk around wearing very obvious sins, but some of us walk around appearing to be doing a better job of getting life "right." However, we have to remember that we're all sinners and in need of a savior whether our sins or hidden or obvious. Be careful not to judge based on appearances.
I think this analogy applies to mothering as well. Some of us walk around looking like we've got it all together, that life is perfect, we're well-rested, well -fed, with perfectly behaved children and it appears that we don't have a care in the world. Others of us walk around clearly tired and disheveled, with cranky, disobedient kids, kids just trying to hold it all together while we flounder from one task to the next. Our status may change from one day to the next or we may be stuck in one state or the other for a period of time. Regardless, we all have our flaw and struggles, whether hidden or obvious, and need other people to help and support us, including a God who loves and forgives us and gives us a chance to start fresh each day.
I'm learning it's ok to let my murky water be seen sometimes. It's easier to be real if you don't try to hide your struggles all of the time. I'm extremely flawed, whether it's obvious to others or not. I get very tired, we don't always eat perfectly, I lose my patience with my children, they don't always obey me, my house isn't always clean, I get overcommitted and stressed out at times, and feel guilty when I take time for myself, I mess up and ask for forgiveness on a daily basis. The list could go on and on.
Of course I want to strive to be pure water, the crisp, clean kind straight from the tap, but I am learning that I'd rather be the murky water than the toilet water. I find I am more blessed when I don't try to hide who I truly am. Some days I feel like pure water, straight from the tap and other days I'm certain I look and feel like the murky pond water, full of dirt and nastiness. Thank God I have a Savior who makes me fresh and clean each day as well as friends and family who love and support me along the way. I am blessed!
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