... how each family member adds their own little flair to our house.
...how glad I am that God made two year-olds so cute,
...how much my kids mimic and learn from each other.
... how every day being a mom is worth it, even when it's hard.
... how much more I need to learn about what's really important in my days.
...that E.E. Cummings was right - "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
Since we're on the subject of cutting edge, innovative toy storage in our house (hilarious... this post was the most-viewed post of all time since the blog's been up and running!), I thought I'd share yet another unconventional storage solution in the Daugherty house. This one was my idea. Oh, yeah. You know me, the one low on creativity but high on practicality...
This is a risky post, I'm aware. Longaberger fans everywhere are probably peeing their pants right now. But at least give me this... who in the world owns enough umbrellas to fill this thing?? It was a thoughtful gift from our Realtor when we purchased our home, but I am way more practical than what this basket's intended purpose had to offer. Maybe one day when the boys outgrow swords (uh, like when they're eighteen??), it can go back to being an umbrella basket.
For the one umbrella that I own.
That I keep in my car.
You don't think my realtor reads my blog, do you?
So I'm monitoring the really expensive lawnmowers - uh, I mean kids - while Tyler heads to the storage section to look for some bins to hold our newly sorted LEGO collection (thousands of miniature pieces now sorted by color... this is how we spend our Friday nights). We had talked though our vision before we left home, and knew exactly what we were looking for. Something big enough and flat enough for proper LEGO building. You know, so the pieces aren't so piled up that you can't find exactly what you're looking for. We're LEGO freaks around here, and this sort of thinking is critical for maximum output (I'm so glad I went to college for this stuff).
Ladies, never, and I mean never, send your husband to roam freely by himself in Home Depot. Or the grocery store when he's hungry. It's just plain not safe. Or Sam's Club for that matter. The large containers are just too tempting for any man.
I could go on, but all you really need to know is this. We went in for a few plastic storage containers, and came home with this:
Now I'd like to think that I have an open mind. But Tyler... Tyler sort of has a reputation for thinking outside the box. Let it be known that his creativity has served our family well over the years. But I have to tell you that I was not prepared for this. The Home Depot dude could see it written all over my face. "You want that in their room?" I asked the kind employee if he was married. He nervously giggled, then smiled and said, "Yes ma'am, thirteen years ma'am." Hmm... ironically the same number of years as us. "Would your wife let you put that in your house?"
I don't remember his answer, since I'm pretty sure I was chasing a toddler while cleaning popcorn off the floor at this point.
There was one left in the box, a left-over from Christmas that hadn't sold. It was sturdy, and boy-like and the drawers were large and flat and slid in and out oh so smoothly. And you could even lock a two-year old out of it if you wanted to.
And when the boys were done with it? Why, there'd always be some sort of use for it in Tyler's workshop.
Mmmhmm.
What happened from there is kind of a blur, but somehow I caught the vision, and here we are. It's perfect in form and function. The whole family is in love. Except for the two-year old, who is officially locked out.
Does anyone else have action figures regularly suspended from their blinds, or is it just me?
Beware my Facebook friends, these pics are repeats. I'm officially fired from uploading pictures from our camera since I somehow lost most of them from Christmas morning somewhere in our computer. I can't dance, and now this. I'm convinced they're still in there somewhere (I swear I saw them!), but they're probably filed in some random spot that I'll never think to look in... like the "Makin' Hamballs with Mom" picture folder.
I promise you that folder exists. I would never make something like that up.
Tyler had to work Christmas Day, but fourteen years into the pharmacy profession, we have honestly learned to expect to spend holidays like this. I never heard one complaint from Tyler for having to go in. Only something about him feeling bad that the patients had to spend Christmas in the hospital. So proud of that man. What a blessing that he was able to work the 1:30-10pm shift so that we could wake up and watch the kids open presents together on Christmas morning.
(Imagine a darling photo of all four kids in front of the tree here. Duh.)
Tess got a dollhouse that the whole house is giddy about. Maybe because it's her first big toy. Big girl stuff is new to us. In sort of an embarrassing admission, let's just say that no one can keep their hands off of it. Boys included. :) Just like I used to do with the Little People barn, I have to make sure everything is in it's place before bed. You know, the twin babies in their bassinets, the chairs tucked in neatly under the kitchen table, the decorative pillows set just so on top the matching comforter.
Clearly I need to be put on medication.
But back to more carefree moments, like Tess dancing to Tyler playing the latest Guitar Hero game out. Somehow it showed up in his stocking... a thoughtful gift to himself. :)
Chase decked out in full camo gear. Just what this simple kid wanted.
Scratch that. He wanted that, and everything everyone else got.
They rarely wear shirts, and yes, they're a sticky mess from eating their suckers from their stockings (and don't they look tired from getting up so early?!). But so glad I didn't lose this shot. To all of the tired mommas out there with toddlers so very close in age: something amazing happened as they grew. They became best friends.
We celebrated Christmas with our immediate families the weekend of New Year's. Wish you could see this crew interact. These cousins are full of so much energy... and love! Pictured are our kids, plus my two sisters' kids: Emma (the oldest - 12), Tess (the youngest - 2), and eight boys sandwiched in between!
Our final destination was a relaxing day spent with the Daugherty clan. We had a great trip (oh, how traveling gradually gets easier as babies grow older!)... thanks so much to our families for hosting our rowdy bunch!
Now, I think I'll go check that hamball folder, just in case...
Haven't thought of your New Year's resolution yet? Me neither. Not really sure I've ever bought into the concept, considering the lack of commitment that follows so closely behind the commitment. Maybe my first one should be to teach my daughter modesty. This is what she does now when I tell her to smile for a picture. Hmm. If that doesn't give you a little glimpse into her personality then I don't know what does. She gets it from her daddy.
We've been traveling, skipping meals to build Legos, trying to find the laundry room floor (laundry should NOT exist the whole month of December if you ask me), wondering if that critical piece to that new toy really did get thrown in the trash, regretting the junk food we've put into our mouths... all the while trying to teach Jesus and not "stuff" to our kids this Christmas. Oh yes, and then there are the children to feed and the "Give me that back...that's my new toy..." conversations to interrupt.
We got home last night from our trip to visit our immediate families for Christmas. We had a fabulous trip, but by the time we got home, the two little ones were completely wiped. We got a good laugh out of listening to Chase slur his speech on the way home because he could barely keep himself awake.
Thinking we needed a day to recoup, we made a rare decision to have "church" at home this morning. Turns out it was a good time to address the selfish attitudes that had been looming in the house all morning. Tyler taught from Psalm 100 about having thankful hearts, and then camped in James to cover how our words to each other should be "peace-loving." The boys gave lots of great examples on how they could do a better job of showing each other a love that is sincere and unselfish.
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." (James 3:16)
Just when I was ready to point the finger at my kids. Ugh. Don't you hate it when you're sitting in on a sermon and you try really hard to make someone else own the convicting take-away, only to find that it was meant for you all along?
Yeah.
It's one thing when disorder physically takes over my house. Uh, like now. When I'm so far behind on the regular chores because holiday activities have taken precedence. When it still looks like my house needs an intervention from an HGTV de-cluttering show. When my Christmas decorations are begging for someone to put them away, and the toilet hasn't been properly cleaned in weeks (wow, now you and all of internet-land know the disgusting truth).
But it's quite another thing to experience the disorder of the heart when I'm jealous and think of only myself. You see, I can't just shove everything into the laundry room of my heart and pretend like unannounced visitors don't even know it's there. Oh yes, of course God sees. But the disorder eventually leaks out to everyone around me too. And you know it's always going to come out in some nasty form that you'll totally regret later.
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." James 3:17-18 I want these words to describe our home this year. They are powerful words! I am convinced that as women, we have so much influence over the tone of our home; over these words that can turn into actions that can invade and take over the disorder of our hearts. Someone has to start the cycle. How incredible that the Bible says that "those who make peace" will sow a "harvest of righteousness". I'll take that over disorder any day.
Hmm... sounds like I just might have found my New Year's Resolution. Pretty sure the results will be more lasting than my annual temporarily laying off the junk food.
Praying that by His grace, this one sticks.
She screams when I lay her down for a nap now. Merry Christmas to me. She's getting wise in her old age of 2 1/2, and is one of my best manipulators yet. I will not be shaken (which I repeat three times while closing my eyes and clicking my heels...).
So let the blogging distraction commence. I'm a task-oriented kind of girl, and getting on task helps me to not be tempted to give in. So there. You'd think this would be easy by now.
There was a time when I thought that we'd get it figured out once and for all. Surely after our second (or third, or fourth) baby, we'd slide into parenting cruise control. You know, taking life in stride, not getting ruffled about things that make us uncomfortable and limit our adult lives.
Once upon a time I cared about things like cute matching outfits for events like trips to the Christmas tree farm. You know, for those Hallmark-looking photographs where children with sweet pink cheeks are behaving perfectly, and tilting their heads at all the right angles.
Somewhere along the way, in all of my parenting maturity (ha!), I realized that matching puffer vests do nothing to help an outing go smoothly. In years past, most likely someone peed in those matching pants, or threw up on their brand new coordinating sweater. Forget about the Hallmark picture. I just wanted a set of clothes that didn't stink the entire van up on the way home.
But we trudged on. We kept trying. We learned to not take ourselves so seriously, and to add a lot of laughter a long the way.
We learned that memories are made in the moments, not in the outfits.
We let go of unrealistic expectations for our kids, and for ourselves.
We decided to keep traditions, even if they are a little bit of work, and they don't always go as planned. Because boys grow up and start to remember the best parts, and laugh about those little details that make us parents tired just thinking about it.
Our trip to the farm this year? Pretty uneventful. Don't be surprised, ya'll. 'Tis the season of miracles. No one's outfits matched, and I didn't even get a picture with all six of us in it. I'm not even gonna lie... I couldn't find a pair of gloves for Tess, so I just grabbed an extra pair of her socks before heading out the door. Worked like a charm. And I almost didn't care what anyone thought.
What a peaceful morning outdoors with the five loves of my life. I breathed in the fresh air, and it was almost as if God confirmed our craziness:
"Don't wait until you think it will get easier. Just engage yourself in the moment that's called today. There's so much joy in the moment. If you think too hard, you just might miss it."
P.S. And... she's finally asleep. Sweet relief.
The December birthday boy always gets about three celebrations. Can anyone say overcompensation?! The first one is always a party early in the month, so he won't get missed around the holidays. The second one is on his actual birthday, when I send a birthday snack into school for his class, and we at least hit Chick-fil-A to recognize that we didn't forget his real birthday. And the third (or fourth or fifth...) happens during our Christmas get-togethers when we see our extended families. Geesh. You'd think he's special or something...
So a football party it was... and before the party started, he needed one special gift ahead of time so he could get in gear.
Jerseys all around, because when we say theme party, we mean it!!
The guests have arrived, and so have their game faces.
Make your own jersey. I'm sure every mom was so excited to see
their boy's wet puffer painted shirt come home. Hey, if preschool can send
home glittery, globby-glued messes, then so can I. :)
Showing off their newly molded mouthguards, thanks to Tyler's mad molding skills.
You know your boy is growing up when he gets an NFL grooming kit for a gift.
Decorate-your-own football and helmet sugar cookies...
And Trey's one request... a game of football in the snow!
Happy Birthday to my sweet darlin', who lights up a room with his friendly personality, crooked smile, and sweet dimples. Every day is a little happier because Trey is in it.
... full lives. Shoot, full hearts too. What a privilege it's been to open our home several times this month with the purpose of focusing our hearts on Jesus this Christmas, celebrating relationships, enjoying the magic of the season, and recognizing one December birthday boy who officially turns eight today!
This is your little intro glimpse into our lives these last couple of weeks until I have time to share some fun photos properly. You see, it's 1am, and I just finished classroom snacks for Trey's birthday, teacher appreciation snacks for Christmas week, and some un-iced sugar cookies for Trey's class to decorate at their Christmas party on Wednesday.
Whose idea was it to have a baby the week of Christmas all those years ago anyway?
Oh yeah, we weren't exactly thinking on that one.
Anywho... more to come soon.
After this girl gets some sleep and can think of something halfway intelligent to write...
(This is us in 2008, trying to get a decent Christmas card picture. Smile... 'tis the season!)
I have to admit that I almost scrapped Christmas cards this year. I'm quickly running out of time, and hasn't almost everyone had enough of my kids' pictures on Facebook anyway (uh, don't answer that)? Technology has definitely made it easier to stay connected throughout the year. But then I remembered my sweet Aunt Esther, who doesn't have a Facebook account. She writes me a note every year telling me how much she enjoyed my cheesy little family picture and Christmas letter. If for no other reason, I can't let Aunt Esther down.
And let's not forget how fun it is to be on the receiving end (please tell me you are as obsessed as I am)! Getting a Christmas card in the mail is like God's little encouragement to me for putting up with junk mail, a bazillion credit card offers and bills all year long. For nearly one whole month, I get to open my mailbox and drool over how cute other people's kids are and how much they've grown from last Christmas. Let's do this, people!
Short on time and ideas like I am this season? Shutterfly to the rescue. I'm super impressed with their selection of photo Christmas cards this year. It makes me happy that I can just pick the style I want instead of trying to come up with a design on my own (who has time for that anyway... and, if you're as artistically challenged I am, this will make you happy too). There are all types of styles to choose from. We are sticking with the one photo style card this year. Not necessarily because we're humble, but because one good shot - where everyone is looking and no one is picking their nose - is all you get with four small children.
While you're at it, make it easy on yourself and order matching address labels for your envelopes. Remember, this is the one time of year when we moms can try to pull off like we actually have our act together. Heh. And since you took all that time to coordinate outfits and bribe your kids into taking a decent picture (or so I hear that's what people do...), you should seriously display it year-round. I'm a huge fan of the new Canvas Wall Art from Shutterfly. I get tons of compliments on our canvas print. It's character makes it a clear stand-out from the rest of our wall hangings, and the quality makes it well worth the money.
So get on board this Christmas! For me, and for all of the sweet Aunt Esthers out there.
I'll be checking my mailbox every day in anticipation... :)
This is me, with my big sunglasses and my big mouth (yikes) smiling really big. Why, you ask? Because the tree was up Thanksgiving weekend. If you know Mr. Practical, that's good. Real good. We're still suckers for live trees. Yes, we know about fire hazards, bugs, babies who eat pine needles and daddies who step on them, but we can't seem to pull ourselves away from the great outdoors and our little family tradition.
I'm actually surprised that we're still this committed, considering our track record. Maybe we should be committed for continuing on with our little annual stream of bad luck. You see, we've been known for our trips to the tree farm in the past. The Lord uses memorable family moments like these to keep me humble, I swear. I get laughs every year when the season comes around and I mention that we're planning to head out to the farm again.
Remember this year, and oh yes... who could forget this one? Yeah. So glad we can entertain you with our quickly-becoming-predictable mishap stories. So very funny to you. Not funny to me until much, much later. And don't you forget it.
But we're sentimental little suckers, who nowadays are tipping the balance a lot closer to forty than we are thirty. Approaching mid-life and officially beginning to get stuck in our ways. Strangely satisfying if you must know.
So the tree farm strikes again.
What stories will it hold this year? Stay tuned, my friends. Stay tuned...
I thought we had a good thing going. I liked you and your short-sleeved shirt weather. We were good for each other. I thought the feeling was mutual.
We had some great times together working, jumping, and playing. Life was simpler with you around. I want you and your beautiful colors back. Is that really too much to ask?
Three rowdy boys like you as well. They need you almost as much as I do. They need to be outside to run fast, play hard, throw a football, and tackle in wide open spaces.
They are longing for bike rides with neighbor kids, and fires in our back yard. They're lost without their daily collection of sticks, rocks, and small creatures (dead or alive, no matter). They just want some fresh air and to get a little dirty, for crying out loud.
It all happened so fast. You were here, and just like a good cup of Chai that is empty before I know it, you were gone. I know, I'm getting a little sentimental in my old age. I know you have to go... I just wish you could have stayed around a little bit longer.
With much love and affection until you come again,
~Whitney
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." ~ William Arthur Ward
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..." ~ Hebrews 12:28
Going to bed... a little later than I had planned... but thankful just the same.
Tonight, I'm choosing to forget about:
The turkey sugar cookies... The pies... The Pumpkin Torte...
Doing something nice for my new neighbors... The laundry that piled up over the weekend... My lost cell phone... Trey's not-yet-learned lines for his Thanksgiving play... Traveling with a two year old this week... The grocery shopping... The Christmas shopping... The Lego E-bay shopping... :)
And instead, I'm choosing to just sit still (well, as still as I get... poor Tyler, I take after my mother) and be thankful. Because if none of that other stuff gets done, no one will remember a year from now anyway.
But they might remember if I had a thankful heart.
Choosing to be thankful today. Because I have so very much to be thankful for.
And because being thankful is a choice.
"The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!" ~ Psalm 126:3
This is how we spend most Friday nights now. Not that we were all that adventurous before kids, but still, we might have stayed out past 8pm. I remember when Tyler and I were living in Arizona early in our marriage, both working at a small retail pharmacy. It wasn't uncommon for us to put in 70 hours a week... a great excuse to eat out every night after we got off at 7pm. Sounds luxurious, until we remember how miserable we were. Even though I've only had my nails done twice in my life (one was on my wedding day!), I'd still choose a Friday night with Play-Doh stuck underneath my nails, including the one severely warped by a Chuck E. Cheese bathroom stall door.
Tyler and I were married four years before we had Jack. We're so grateful for that time that we took for each other, to work, travel, and enjoy a little more freedom (ok, a lot more!) than we have now. We poured ourselves into a decent social life and ministries galore. It didn't feel selfish to live that way at first. And then one day it happened. I remember telling Tyler that I was tired of my life revolving around me. Even though there were a lot of good things weaved into how we spent our days, we wanted to reach a little more outside of ourselves. We longed for a ministry a little bit closer to home.
There's no turning back when it comes to parenting. Friday nights will forever look different to us now. There are Friday nights that are full of contentment spent at home with our little ones. Then there are the Friday nights when we long for a little bit of peace and quiet and the chance to come and go as we please. We long for friends and restaurants with decent food. But thinking about how parenting has changed me, I would never want to go back.
I love this quote by author Elizabeth Prentiss. My challenge today for myself: to not spend too much time looking back, so much that I miss all that God has for me today...
(She had just found out she was expecting her third baby and was delighted. Her sister-in-law, however, had a different outlook; much like the one I can be so prone to have).
“She says I shall now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music, and drawing. Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other. Here is a sweet fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ’s name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers!”(Stepping Heavenward, p.228-229)
This was my breakfast in bed last week... made by Mr. I'm-pretty-much-good-at-everything. The boys love it when Daddy's home to make breakfast. He always comes up with something new and creative and fun. And he even cooks to rockin' music and says, "Bam!" a lot when he flips his pancakes, which makes him cooler than cool in their book.
He can cook, clean and even decorate better than me. When we first got married, his crazy amount of talent used to bother me. Our first fight was over a wall hanging, and whose creative eye was more, well... creative. Wasn't I supposed to be the one who excelled in homemaking? But I quickly learned that marriage is not a competition. God gave me this talented man to add to my strengths and help me in my weaknesses. And most of all? Through our relationship, to reflect Christ to a world that needs to see Him. And all of that domestic skill? I wish his momma was still around to thank for that.
One morning last week each boy trickled down one-by-one from their night's sleep - about fifteen minutes apart. So I was able to spend some rare one-on-one time with each of them. Tyler told me once that even when he was old enough to want a little space (ok, a lot of space) from his mom, he would always let her get close to scratch his back. Even though they still want me around every minute of their awake life, point well taken and tucked down deep in my heart.
So I scratched each back, and prayed for the young girls who will one day marry Jack Tyler, Trey Andrew and Chase Dylan. I prayed specifically, keeping in mind the personality of each boy. Each gift, and each quirk. The evident charming qualities, and, yes, the characteristics that will require much patience and forgiveness from a spouse. And I prayed that they would not take this decision lightly... the biggest decision they will make in their lifetimes, next to surrendering their lives to Jesus.
God knew that we'd have to forgive each other often, but He also knew I would appreciate things like an alphabetized spice cabinet and vacuum lines in V-shaped patterns...
I'm so glad He did...
