N in a nutshell

N: you know the story about the tortuous and the hare Mommy?
Me: yes N I've heard it.
N: slow and steady wins the race.
Me: so I've heard
N: I want to win the race Mommy.
Me: good.
N: but I want to go FAST!!

I think he missed the moral of the story somewhere along the way, but thats my N in a nutshell!

Girls night in

I'm having a few girlfriends over this friday night. It will be after supper so I don't have to worry about feeding everyone a big meal (although I do like to do that). But I do want some appetizers and drinks and I am trying to come up with a theme: mexican? italian? dessert & coffee? Anyone who knows me knows that I like to have a food planned theme for every event. Sunday brunch with girlfriends/overnight french toast with triple berry medley. Date night in with Spencer/bruschetta with Gorgonzola and honey. UFC fight/hot wings (or in my case veggie hot wings).
But in this case I've got nothing. Any help would be much appreciated. I think part of my mental block about the food is that I don't want anyone to see inside my house. The decor is what I lovingly refer to as old lady chic, and aside from slapping some paint on a few walls we have done nothing to improve it! Now I love to entertain and I love to have pretty things around me. So I guess what is bothering me is that the stained kitchen cabinets and the peeling linoleum is not a reflection of my personality. And I do want to make a good impression because isn't making new girlfriends somewhat like dating? You want to put your best foot forward. Make sure you don't have lipstick on your teeth or toilet paper dangling from your shoe.
But then I think, get over yourself. Nobody is going to care what your house looks like as long as the company is good. Right?!
So back to the important stuff: food. Any ideas? Please leave suggestions.

Silence

There is a nice silence to the air. A peacefulness. I can breath deep, feel my soul unwind. I have always been comfortable in the silence. Have never felt the need to fill the space. I live with two that are noise makers. They have to fill up all the space, every corner, every nook and cranny. And one that is his mamma's boy. I can see that sometimes it is almost painful for him to speak. The look in his eyes begs for the still and quiet.

This time that I have before everything starts again. It's important that I have it, so I can find calm. So that I can be a better wife, mother, and friend.

Friendship

I love the sisterhood that true, authentic friendships with women provide. I love the come on over, I'll be right there. The tears over coffee, the laugh out loud moments. The silly, irreverent and light. And also the life changing, hard, fall to your knees and pray moments. I love it all. Friendship's are wonderful. They are bold and loud and we live courageously in them. They are as soft and soothing as sunshine on our face on a warm summer day.

It's been difficult to pack my bags and move away from all my friends. But I felt and still feel that this is the best move for our family. There have been moments when I have prayed, are you sure God? Did I misunderstand? But then I feel a peace settle down, a calmness that says yes. Yes, this is the place to grow your family. To grow your dreams. To grow in Me.

The stuff I said about friendship. I believe it with all my heart. I'm also going to say it's hard. It's not easy inviting people over, letting people in. We have lived here for a year and a half. And I still haven't found anyone that I can invite over when the house is messy, or when my four year old is in a temper. When we are less than our best.

A few nights ago I was crying. Why don't I have any friends? It seems so easy for some people, why is it so hard for me? My husband's response, have you prayed about it? No. So I did. And I have every night since. And then I found a wonderful blog about entertaining. Invite people over it said. But I'm the new girl. Shouldn't people be inviting me over? Is that what I've been waiting for? Would it really be that easy? So I tried it. Invited people over for supper. And they said yes! Giddy with excitement, my confidence restored I invited a few other women out to a movie that we all wanted to see. Yes. Thank-you God.

Friends

We had friends over yesterday, out of town friends that we haven't seen in ages. So we had plenty of time to prepare the house, dust the dirt off, clean out the corners and pretend that we always live this way. But I was still fretful. Will they see the stains on the carpet, the cracked tiles, the sticky little boy smudges?
But when they arrived it was sweet comfort, hugs all around. Laughter. Catch-up, remember when. New friendships formed for the little ones.
Come as you are.
Oh, what a blessing friendship is!

Sweet Boys!

The other night I went over to a girlfriends house and got back home around 9pm. My husband had already put the boys to bed so I went in their room to check on them and kiss them good night. M was still awake and he asked me if I would play with him.

N was sound asleep and my husband went for a run so I said: Sure, I'll play with you!

We snuggled under a blanket and talked about his day and how excited he was about getting to go to Disney World. It was such a special time and we had so much fun together. It's rare that I get one on one time with M because N is always there.

At one point he yawned and told me he was tired.

Anyway, when my husband got back home he put M back to bed. When he came out of the bedroom he told me that M had asked him if he would pray with him.

Ohh! That's what he asked me to do!

He asked me to pray and I heard play!

I think that God knew that we needed that time together!

Conversation with N:

Mommy why did God make Ticks?

I don't know N

Why did God make wasps?

I don't know, we will have to ask him when we get to heaven

Okay.

Summer Recap

What a busy summer we had! We started the summer off with N's birthday in June. He was so excited and it was such a special day that we got to share with my sister and her kids who live in Colorado but have actually been at N's birthday party two years in a row. I can't believe my baby is four! He is so full of energy, engaging and talkative! He can be very sweet and loves to hug and kiss and cuddle. He is also very stubborn which is a trait that I know will serve him well in life.

We spent several days at White Water in Branson which is not that far away. We actually got season tickets this year because we live so close now, and we have gotten our money's worth. But it was such a mild summer that we didn't go as much as we were planning too.

We finished off the summer with a camping trip with friends and M's birthday party all rolled into one weekend!

M turned six this year, lost his two bottom teeth and started Kindergarten all in a span of two weeks! Needless to say I was a little emotional! I am so proud of him, he is growing into such a smart, funny kid! He is kind and caring and sensitive of other peoples feelings. What a good kid. And he always tells me how pretty I am!