A Mother's Reflection on Family Pictures

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I have a love/hate relationship with family pictures. I love to see them, stare at them, frame them, shop for them but I HATE to get ready for them and take them. It is like the Nazis are coming and the house is on fire and everyone is calling my name to let me know...and we are late...for the Nazis. I spend the whole morning trying to remember why I paid money for this.

We head into pictures with smiles and stern instructions to be obedient and HAPPY, and we leave with sweat rings, gray hairs and our parental dignity shattered. Slushies were promised for good behavior. Children who smiled got in and got out. Those who cried...well, they didn't stop crying...for anyone or any beautiful thing we promised.

It is all worth it when you get those timeless prints. Your whole family is one place, standing still, clean and MATCHING. It really is a magical time.

However, here is the real story behind these pictures.

"One down...thank you Lord! Did you just pinch me Honey? Please tell me you are not pinching ME already."

 "Why did I think I could wear white pants? Let go of your brother...NOW" 

                                 "I love the camera. I could do this all day."

 "Oh, Jack, please...watch and learn. I have been waiting my whole life for this moment. Don't you just LOVE my dress?"

 "Yup... I would rather be dead." 

"I am about to go down...all the way to Chinatown people. You better break out the big guns."

 "Did I just see a Smarties?"

 "Wow Mom, could you have remembered a Kleenex? It wasn't like it was a busy morning or anything."

 "This is what I clapped, talked in a high pitched voice, and told underwear tricks about your dad for."

 "I am a little nervous about this..."

"Oh yeah, bad idea. You better move fast, old man, or WWF Smackdown is going to break out on the church lawn."

"Ummmmmm...weird"

"Oh...now, super awkward." 

 "Why did we leave our kids unattended pile of rocks... why is there screaming? Why are we taking pictures of the two of us?"

Well, it's been real, but I think we will do that again in another 15 years. 

Really, the love outweighs all of that hate. I have a couple pictures from my childhood with our whole family, and I cherish them. I have to give myself the pep talk I know my mom would give me if she heard me whining like this.

“What are all the positives Krista?” I can just see you looking at me mom.

Okay…

·        We only had to drive to our church, 2 minutes from our house. How is that for close?

·        I showered. Big time win.

·        We only paid $25 and it helped out the MOPS group at our church.

·        Since we were so close to home my Hubby ended up just staying home and working in his office. The kiddos can pop in and see him more often and it is a treat.

·        These babies are so stinkin’ cute and they are disappearing before my eyes. I need some memories of them like this…even if it is a ton of work.

Mom thought: Anything that is fun and memorable takes a lot of work for a mom of littles. We have to choose a few things that are worth it to us and make it joyful. A little bit of laughter goes a long way!

A Usual Stay at my Parents House

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I spent the night at my parent’s house last night. Sometimes when Justin has to be away we sneak over to "Nana and Papa Horses" to have some extra special party time with them.

My parent’s house is, truly, a place like no other. It is not the house or the location, it is them. They attract people like magnets to themselves. Well, it is not really them...it is how much they love Jesus and then everyone who walks in the door. You can't be there a whole day without seeing about five... or twenty, different people stopping in to say hi, borrow something, spend the night or stay for a meal.

We were spending the night. All six of us. Then we had another visitor, Sam...my dad's very extended cousin, which, I am still not really sure how they are related. Then Cody, a friend from my parent’s winters in Arizona who has made is a second annual trip to Michigan to stay for the summer. My parents introduced him to Jesus a few years ago and now he is an on fire believer, eats most meals at the table, and talks about the grandkids like they were his. 

I made fish tacos and my mom fixed a fishing pole up for Spence, hunted for worms and told him he could take the turtles he caught home for a pet. Sam came in and with steaks and we threw those on and then Julia came in with her three little babies. There was roping going on in the arena. My boys jumped in the car with her and we swooped her little ones into a pack and play and sat down for dinner.

After dinner we walked up to watch a bunch of tired parents and dirty kids. They fell into the back porch at 10 pm. We feed them all a juice box and Doritos to top off the night...the parents too. It is like the party never stops over there. 

The next morning we all had breakfast together and chatted about the Lord and how important he is in our lives. His name just floated through every piece of conversation… just like is always has. The boys fished and I sat on the porch with coffee and my baby. I dug for worms and baited the hook.

My mom wanted to plant some flowers at her sister’s grave and needed some assistant ( manual labor). The grave is just over the hill from the arena, past the apple trees, in a family cemetery my dad built. We looked at the flowers...looked at the pot...looked at the kids...drank a little more coffee...feed the baby a bottle... and then found a way to haul it all up there without a visit to the chiropractor.

My mom had HER four-wheeler and HER train that she HAS to have to pull her grandkids around. She won't let anyone else touch it. She will probably ride off into heaven on that thing one day...a modern day Elijah. We loaded that baby up and headed off to our cemetery maintenance. Shovels, mulch, 4 kids, flower pot,  and watering can. Done.

We made the boys dig the holes. Hannah cried because we forgot to get her shoes and she was stepping on the pine needles. Sam stopped by to take a picture of the cross over the cemetery and made all of us pose. Then I took a picture of Sam in front of the cross. He hauled the pot up for us. Alisa drove past us headed to the beach. She got out with all her kiddos. They came right as we were finishing up. I made a joke that is was just like when she was a kid...always hiding in the bathroom after dinner until the dishes were done.

All the kids headed back to the house in the train. I lost my seat. We threw on some suits and headed to the beach. Julia pulled in with her kids to get our numbers up to 15 kiddos. Mom went back and made lunch. We brought the kids up and locked them in the back yard.  The mom's drank diet soda's. We let our kids run until there was absolutely, no denying, that they needed a nap. During lunch Sarah showed up, Julia and Alisa left. Mom and I headed back down to the beach. Boys fished, kayaked and caught turtles. Elijah, the oldest took a boat-load of kids of a fishing tour. The best oldest cousin/role model EVER.

We left with a dirty van, dirty kids, some rotten bananas from the day before, two turtles, sunburns, an ice cream container filled with homemade soup, Dum Dum suckers in everyone's mouth, no matching socks, enough sand in the babies bottom to refill our sandbox... and full hearts.

Mom thought: Someday, when I grow up, I want to be just like my parents. I love to be around them. How do we do that as parents of our own little ones? We love Jesus, put him first and spread the GOOD NEWS to EVERYONE that walks in our path. 

Snappy and Scratchy our newest additions.  One happy turtle owner!

The garden is in!

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I had my doubts...I didn't know if it was going to happen this year. We had already skipped last year due to our May 31st baby. I actually had all my plants bought before we went to the hospital and I came home with that sweet baby AND returned all the plants the next day. There was no time for weeding. I had to snuggle that baby and figure out how we were going to survive with 5 kids. 

So...this year I was really itching to garden. I like an excuse to be outside with the kids. I can weed with them, we can talk, no one comes in the house, the baby is happy in the baby jail, I mean, cage.

 I love to grab a bucket full of goodies and cook with it that night.

 I love to can and then rub my hands back and forth, and I feel like the wealthy do for one minute, with my full canning shelves. Then I feed my kids... and it is gone, all of it, in about two minutes. 

I love when someone realizes that dill pickles are AMAZING and that mom made them.

I love watching the first sprouts of green come up.

I love finding the first pumpkins and helping everyone lay claim to the one they will stalk daily and guard with their life.

I love fresh cilantro. That happened one pregnancy and never stopped. AMAZING. IN EVERYTHING.

I love making the kids weed. I love hearing that is hot and itchy and they are so tired, because it builds character and helps them learn to work hard.

Most of all, I loved putting the garden in. All the kids were outside. The girls built beautiful cakes out of the leftover flats from the veggies. The boys helped dad, begged to shoot the birds in the garden, caught grasshoppers and had water fights.

You have to do it as a family or else it is too hard. We all needed to chip in so that we can eat some delicious goodies (sorry Spence, I know you disagree now, but I am telling you...someday bell peppers will taste like candy).

These are the days I hope my kids remember.

Simple fun.

Working together.

Dad being silly.

 Mom slapping dad because he is always putting the moves on.

 Long nights.

 Falling asleep instantly.

              The sweetest little helper. Always looking to see how he can be a servant.

  Teaching her younger sister the ways of the dirt...and maybe throwing a rock          her way when no one was looking.

Our big man quick to volunteer to take care of those birds. 

The beautiful cakes produced by the Dirty Sister's Bakery.

             Yup...Dad is flexing. It is going in all of your picture books and on everyone's graduation poster board. Dad rocked the garden.

Mom thought: Having a family is fun. Some days it is really hard, but other days it is pure joy!

We partied in May!

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We party HARD in May. We have four of our seven birthdays in that month. My in-laws have an anniversary and Mother's Day is thrown in there.

To be honest, I haven't felt quite right for the last two months. We are getting closer to figuring out what is wrong, but these parties, gift wrapping and shopping almost seemed like too much this year. I really wanted to sleep instead of make Hulk pudding cups. I would have liked to shave my legs instead of make watermelon cutouts, but we made it through by downsizing expectations and asking for some help along the way.

I really want Pinterest birthdays for my kids, not for me, but for them. A birthday is so magical and fun and I have a thousand ideas of how to make it that way. No other time do kids get to have a whole day to celebrate how much God and their family love them. So we had to find a way to still celebrate, but not be left feeling exhausted and unable to wake from a coma in the morning.

Here were a few things that helped:

·        I planned ahead and bought presents before.

·        I doubled up my parties (my boys have never had their own party yet...maybe next year...hahaha, yeah right).

·        I asked my mom to make a cake and then a bought another one.

·        I didn't clean as well as I wanted too before people came over (no one noticed and it was trashed afterwards anyway).

·        I bought a lot of things to make it fun instead of making all of my Pinterest ideas (the boys loved the store bought pinata as much as a homemade yard game).

·        I didn't let friends spend the night (boys will be up until 2 in the morning GUARANTEED) but let them invite a few more for a couple hours.

·        I let my husband feed my kids cereal twice on Mother's Day instead of worrying about dinner.

·        I made one thing and did it with the kids so it was fun instead of a stressful list I HAD to get done.

The month played out so nicely that I might do less and less every year!

Cousins are the best party pals.

Amazing hubby working his grill magic. The father-in-laws offering support and encouragement. 

Party table. I snapped this before there was pretzels in the punch and dill pickle juice dripping on the floor. 

Some of the most fun boys ever!

Why not have Dorito cheese all over your hands? IT IS A PARRRRRTY!

 My Super hero Mom rescued the cake decorating. 

Those stones were chocolate.

 Those were for me.

I topped off our birthday festivities with a breathing treatment party and tired Momma picture.

Mom thought: I have to be able to draw the line somewhere. I will never be able to do it all. Whatever, I am able to do I can do it with grace, laughter and honor to God! That is what they will remember.

Double Birthday!

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Last year I shared my birthday for the very first time in 30 years. I thought having a baby was the best gift ever on my birthday so I didn't think for one minute about sharing that day. I imagined her and me going out to dinner when she's older every year, making special memories and hugging and kissing each other all day long.

Really, it was just God teaching me another lesson is selflessness. He did it because I am so consumed with myself sometimes that I forget to focus on others and Him.

I LOVE birthdays for my kids. My mom was great at birthdays and I want my kiddos to love me as much as I love her so I have to do birthdays up right. I do special cakes, and balloons and streamers and special cereal and meals and "free day from chores" pass and pick whatever-the-heck you want today and we will probably do it. I love it and I take extra effort and time to make those little ones know they are special to us and even more special to Jesus.

Justin doesn't get into the birthday scene for the kids, except in attendance, but he does do a pretty spectacular job for me on my birthday. He gets breakfast, does dishes, gets kids ready, and anything else I could hope or dream of. I love my birthday and Mother's Day because my husband becomes Super-Man and I become Super Lazy!

Not so for this new birthday routine. We invited friends and family over, we needed groceries and food prepped. My house needed to be picked up and some areas cleaned. Penelope doesn't know what is going on now, but in a few years she will and she will look forward to this being her special day, not mine.

All that being said...it was a great day. Justin and I tag-teamed it in the morning for our church routine. I helped get lunch ready, but he cleaned it all up while I sat on the computer and had coffee. He took the kiddos to McDonald's so I didn't have to make dinner and I could have a few minutes of quiet. We went for a family bike ride and I ate WAY too much Dairy Queen cake.

Every year after this it will be less about me and more about her. That is why God made me a parent...so I could learn to focus less on myself and more on God and others. I guess only those who need a swift kick in the pants are lucky enough to share their birthday and their spoil time!

Each year, Lord willing, I hope to take a picture of us two! Here is our first two years. 

Mom Thought: Life is not made for me and my wants. Until we head home to Heaven we will be learning to put others needs before our own. Children are a great at helping us with this!