The Justin and Laurie Story: July 2012

the thing about mommyhood

is that it's so incredibly constant.

if you don't know what i mean by that you've never spent

a full 13 hour day with children

followed by another 13+ hour day with children

followed by an entire summer of children. that are yours.

that you are raising to be

law-abiding citizens

and lovers of Jesus more importantly.

oh mercy there are those moments when i just want to find the hidden camera

in my house or in my shopping cart or somewhere on my van's dashboard

and replay the moments that just occurred.

not always for comic relief (but sometimes)

but mostly just to verify to the world.....

yes, yes i just had to say that same thing 17 times in the last 10 minutes

{ and now someone's asking again }

yes, yes i did just have to tell my son not to lick the inside of the freezer

at ALDI as his brother cheered

on his near-victory tongue attachment to tilapia fillets

yes, yes i did just run across the living room, leaping into the bathroom

as my daughter almost fell head first into the tub

where her brothers were bathing

i wipe up spills approx 3 times a day

i wipe tears more often than that.

i have splenty of snot-smeared shirts

and the laundry to prove it all.

while i think my children are sometimes entertaining

i guarantee you that the target cashiers

never think so

{especially when one of my boys was about to pull the fire alarm

as i swiped my target card...

the one moment

i was distracted during check-out. promise.}

no amount of slushie bribery can or will stop my boys from being boys.

arm wrestling and basketball-style tossing of goods into the shopping cart.

random yells and bathroom words and running headfirst into displays.

{and they know better. mercy, do they know better}

don't even get me started on potty training being added to the mix

of summer 2012.

charity is now beyond the 'mike and ike' bag of goodies

everytime she goes

and onto the

'i think going potty is fun

when i know mommy is super duper busy and distracted' stage.

{ yeah. we're there. mercy.}

{ i don't want to forget these days.}

i don't want to forget the adorable legs hanging in the front of my shopping cart

and the random hugging by short arms around my neck.

i don't want to forget the crazy frustration that lasts for the moment.....or moments

but makes a great story for justin when the kids have been tucked into bed.

i don't want to forget the monday morning bible study

with 10 kids between my friends and i.

chaos mixed with God's grace and vulnerability and wisdom.

i don't want to forget my need to cry out for patience as a fruit of the Spirit

i know i can taste.

or the verses about strength and waiting that i cling to during this season.

don't let me forget.

there's nothing less grace-filled than forgetfulness mixed with judgment.

and i'm not about to be that woman.

so i come unglued sometimes in front of my children

and i ask for forgiveness if i've wronged them in some way.

those times, by God's work in my life, are becoming fewer and farther between

{praise Him}

but i know i want my kids to see a mom who is real about Jesus

more than a mom they perceive to be perfect

only to find out at some point they have been seriously fooled.

so i tell them i pray for them

and i pray with them.

i make grandious plans to read through ephesians 6 in the summer

and to make detailed armor of God to bring home the point.

but real life is a beautiful chaotic mess at the breakfast table

with each child wanting a different cereal poured

and so ephesians 6 is slowly but surely becoming a part

of breakfast chatter

with my boys excitedly telling me the part of the armor they remember that morning.

kinda, sorta, maybe with the idea of letting others go first being lost....

but we're getting there.

and i slowly but surely plant the Word of My Savior and theirs

into their sweet little hearts.

and mine overflows with the fruit i see.

my helpful little guys filling up my boxes at the end of grocery shopping

and sharing with each other

and shining with the love of Jesus as they obey

'with a happy heart'

that which i've asked of them.

and other moms in the checkout lanes next to mine

overhear my children picking out a bouquet of flowers for me

{all their own idea}

and there is oohing and ahhing

and i realize that i'm no super mom

and my kids are no perfect little people

but there are just some moments that fill me up with

the realization that i'm just so overwhelmingly blessed.

{wild moments and all.}

thank You, Jesus.

last year we made this fun 4th of july drink
and it's back by popular demand and for the sake of tradition

want to join us?
here's what you need:

{ a clear cup filled with ice }
cranberry juice
blue gatorade
and diet lemon lime soda

the trick of the drink is in how you pour:

the drink with the most sugar grams goes in first
then the one with the next amount of sugar
and then the least amount of sugar grams on top
(hence the DIET lemon lime soda so don't hate me for aspartame usage)

AND.....pour the beverages directly onto the ice to limit mixing of colors

here i am pouring the cranberry juice directly onto the ice
with a shaky hand because i'm a blogger and we do crazy stuff like this
while holding a camera for your benefit...
{ you're welcome }

see, now isn't that just so fun?!

oh, but this year we're taking it up a notch, my friends
we were informed by a fellow wal-mart shopper that if you add pop rocks to the drink
you get a great fireworks explosion to go with the patriotic color concotion.

well, my boys overhead the fellow wal-mart goer and....
we had to get the pop rocks.
and we found them at the dollar store {woot, woot}