Excuse the Stain, Please

I recently began doing video annoucements for our church. While I was happy to be able to help my church, I do hate watching myself on the big screen. (Yes, I know I worked for years as a news anchor, but you watched me. I didn't have to watch myself.)

The first Sunday, I tried to bury my nose in the worship guide and read while the video aired, but since the lights were off, that didn't work. After church I asked Chris what if I just walked into church each Sunday after the announcements had aired, to which he sarcastically replied, "Yes, because that won't draw attention to you."

I hate it when he's right.

Monday we were about to shoot the videos for May, and I was in the bathroom freshening up my makeup. All of a sudden, I looked in the mirror and saw a dried glob of something disgusting on my shoulder.

My mind flashed back to the scene of the crime.

It was that morning. I was in the kitchen and we were ready to walk out the door when I heard a scream coming from my youngest child. In between sobs she wailed, "I dropped my juice cup on my foot!" I grabbed her and she buried her tear-stained face into my shoulder while I hugged her.

So that thing on my shoulder was a nice little mix of tears and snot from LB.

Nice.

I walked into the studio and explained what had happened and told the videographer that I really hoped you couldn't see it on camera.

Luckily, you couldn't.

It reminded me of when I was anchoring the news at Channel 19 after Ann Catherine was born. It never failed each morning that as I was dressed and ready to walk out the door, she would inevitably spit up on me.

I eventually learned not to put on my suit jacket until I got to work.

It makes me laugh. Only as a mother do you walk into work with Lord-knows-what on your clothing and act as if it's perfectly normal.

Because it is.

You are a mother.

My Rainbow

Those of you who follow my blog know that we call Lily Baker our rainbow. It's simple. Just as God sent Noah the rainbow after the flood to promise he would never flood the Earth again, God sent Lily Baker to us after the darkest storm of our lives as a promise that our family would be okay.



Lily Baker usually doesn't go to school on Mondays, but I had to do some freelancing this morning, so she went. When I looked at her calendar, I smiled. Rainbows! They were learning about rainbows today! And if I hadn't worked, she would have missed it.

So we took off her rainbow pajamas and she put on her rainbow shirt (I'm telling you - she's serious about being our rainbow!) for school. Once we arrived, I asked her teacher if I could talk to her for a moment.

I wanted to tell her that we call LB our rainbow and why, because I knew when Ms. Debbie started teaching about rainbows LB would let her know "I'm a rainbow!" and I wanted her to understand the story behind it.

As I started to tell the story, I got a lump in my throat and my eyes filled with tears. And I realized that three and a half years later, I am so profoundly impacted by our rainbow. I am so incredibly grateful that God gave us a chance to have Lily Baker.

Even though this strong-willed, bull-headed child frustrated me to the nth degree this morning (hmmm, let's see where do I start? The fit she threw when AC needed to borrow her yellow socks, the fit she threw because the rainbow shirt she really wanted to wear was dirty, crawling back into her car seat when I got her out at school because "I want to do it all by myself!") I am so in love with her I can't see straight.



Three years later, that little rainbow just glows brighter. God's promise to our family that, despite the pain, we are going to be okay.

Lily Baker is proof of that.

Showing Compassion

We sponsor a beautiful little girl through Compassion International. Her name is Masleo and she lives in a very poor part of Africa.

Her picture is in AC's room and we pray for her often and send her pictures and letters. Her birthday is next month so today AC and I went to get her a birthday card.

As we talked about her in the car, I realized that my daughter didn't have a clue about what it means to be poor like Masleo. She can't even comprehend that kind of poverty. Because even on our worst day, we still have more than they do.

I turned down the radio and realized that God was giving me a "teaching moment." I tried to put it on her terms. I explained that Masleo didn't get new clothes from Gymboree or new toys from Target. I told her that Masleo's dinner table didn't contain all of the food that ours did.

She asked if Masleo had a Target nearby and I explained there were no stores like that near her home. I told her that Masleo was very poor and didn't have all of the things that she and Lily Baker had. I tried to explain to her how blessed she was that God allowed her to be part of a family that had all they needed. And I told her that it was our reponsibility as followers of Christ to reach out to children like Masleo and help them.

Then she looked at me as serious as could be and asked, "Well, why don't we just bring her to live at our house?"

That's when I was reminded of why Jesus loves the children so much. Their answers and desires are so pure.

I can't think of anything nobler or more fulfilling than giving a child like Masleo a good home. If that is God's will for our lives one day, I would be so happy. But if it is not, then we can at least make a small difference in Masleo's life from thousands of miles away.

Most importantly, I want my children to understand that there is another world out there that looks nothing like theirs. I want them to have a genuine love and desire for kids like Masleo.

I want them to realize that stuff is just that - stuff. It's how we love others that really matters.

The Lesser Known Friend

LB and I were playing this morning. Here was the conversation:

LB: Mommy, let's play Strawberry Shortcake! I be Strawberry Shortcake, you be Angel Cake and Sissy can be Orange Possum.

Me: Um, Lily Baker, it's Orange Blossom, not Orange Possum.

LB: No, no Mommy! It Orange Possum!

I'm thinking she doesn't sell well in the stores.

Tremendous Treehouses!

My friend, Brooke, and I took our girls to the Botanical Gardens last week for "Tremendous Treehouses." Oh my, what fun!

Have you been? You should! It was so much fun! Because where else, but the Botanical Gardens, can you see a giant tree growing out of a flower pot?!

The girls posed...



slid...



stood in a bird nest...



blew pinwheels...



looked through binoculars...



swept....



made wishes in the well...



played in the sandbox...



and hugged some more!




We also visited the Butterfly Garden, which my girls have been wanting to do ever since Mimi bought them Fancy Nancy "Bonjour Butterfly" for Valentine's Day!

They held butterflies...




petted turtles...



and tried in vain to touch something in the water (not sure what!).



Oh and did I mention - the flowers are gorgeous there right now!



We are so lucky to have a place like this in our city! But after two hours of walking in the hot sun, Lily Baker and Lucy decided they had had enough! So we went for lunch and then back to Brooke's for the best part of the day:

ICE CREAM!!

Taking the Time

Even as a stay at home mom, I find I stay so busy (I thought that would slow down when I stopped working full-time, but you just find that other things fill your plate). But I'm often reminded that if I'm not spending quality time with my kids, what's the point of staying home?

I was reminded of this today as LB and I were on our way home from running errands. As I pulled into our driveway, I noticed that our Japanese Maple was starting to really flourish (we call it our "Melissa tree" because my friend, Nonda, gave it to us when Melissa died). I pointed it out to Lily Baker, who immediately asked if we could go see it.

So we abandoned our car - full of groceries - and went into the front yard and stopped at every single flower we had planted this weekend. LB took her time at each one and then "oohed and ahhed" over our Melissa tree.

She then asked me if we could go into the backyard and I said yes. In my mind, I'm thinking "I really need to unload those groceries!" but realized - what the hey - we didn't have anything that would melt. Those groceries could wait.

So we played restaurant, where LB served yummy burgers that distinctively looked like mulch and sticks. And we giggled.





Then she asked me to swing next to her. And as we swung side by side she looked at me and said, "Mommy, isn't this the best?!"

Oh yes, it was.

And I was reminded of how I need to just hit the pause button on what I think I "have" to do, and just do what's fun instead. Because years from now, my kids aren't going to remember how efficient I was when we returned home from the grocery store. They'll remember that I played with them.

I eventually unloaded those groceries, but let me tell you, playing with LB was ten times more fun!

Hockey Champs!

(LB and AC after the Championship game with their favorite Havoc hockey players, Justin Rohr and Travis Kauffeldt)

Yes. That's Lily Baker sitting inside the President's Cup. Chris and I laughed the whole way home about that one! Chris took the girls onto the ice after the game and the next thing I know, Justin plops LB inside the trophy :)

The Huntsville Havoc are the SPHL Champions and we were there for every second of the game Saturday night! We really had a blast. We are so happy for the players, and especially the owners Keith and Becky Jeffries, General Manager Kevin Walker and Assistant GM Ashley Balch. They run such a class organization and give so much back to this community!

It's actually a good thing the season is over because AC's favorite t-shirt (which she wore to almost every game) is turning a dingy shade of gray.




Here's Travis hoisting the Cup after the game...



...which reminds me of my favorite line of the night. I had told AC before the game that if the Havoc won they would get a big trophy. As soon as the game ended she said, "Mommy! Where's the Stanley Cup?!"

Don't know what's funnier. The fact that she thought the Havoc players were actually winning the Stanley Cup or that my Alabama born and bred four-year-old even knows what the Stanley Cup is! :)

AC will now have to enjoy NHL hockey on television to get her fix. And because those playoffs last forever, she'll have plenty of time to watch them with her daddy.

Thanks, Havoc, for a great season!



***btw, thanks to those of you who left such sweet and uplifting comments after my last post. You'll never know what it means to me. As I have said before, my blog is a type of therapy for me (I know many of you feel the same way about your own) and it helps me to be able to talk about Melissa and this never-ending journey we are on. Thanks for going on this journey with us! :)