More confessions of a bad mommy...

Back when I first started blogging, and before I found MckMama's "Not Me Monday," I used to confess my embarrassing mom stories in a "confession" post like this.

Since it's NOT Monday (and, for that matter, since I'm NOT MckMama- even though I enjoy reading her blog and am very excited that she is now a Compassion blogger heading to Kenya in a bit- but just ME) I've decided to confess again. Anew. So here goes:

Last week my daughter's dance teacher told me that Big Sister needed new dance shoes. I think she told me this because the last time she needed new shoes, no one told me (even though Big Sis has been extremely verbal since she was, I don't know, exiting my womb) and I found out because the poor child was bringing home filthy tights from dancing without any shoes at all.

You would think that I would have learned my lesson and check the dumb dance bag every once in a while, or at least ask my child over & over if her shoes were pinchy until she caved.

But no. I had to be informed by the teacher that her shoes were definitely too small.

In my defense, I must say that

1. Big Sister's feet have just undergone a huge growth spurt. I saw it coming, and the dance shoes were confirmation. Time for new tennis shoes, dress shoes, everything...
2. Dance is an "extra-curricular" at her preschool. I am not absent-minded enough to actually drive my daughter to a special dance lesson each week, sit there with her while she practices (or out in a lobby) and then drive her home without noticing her trying to cram her feet into her tap shoes ugly-stepsister-style. I'm just absentminded enough to barely remember to send the dance bag with her on Tuesdays, and almost never check to see if the shoes are the right size...

But it gets better. Or worse...

I checked the consignment store for new, er, old dance shoes but had no luck. I planned on hitting Payless this weekend, but a stomach bug foiled my plans.

So last night I scrambled into the hand-me-down shoe bag and found my old ballet shoes and some too-big tap shoes. When I woke Big Sister to get ready for school this morning, I quickly slipped one of the shoes on her feet to be sure they weren't ridiculously ginormous, and then crammed them into the dance bag with the too-small shoes. I figured if she didn't have a pair that fit, she at least had options.

More embarrassing than being told by a near stranger that your daughter needs new shoes? Yes.

But it gets better. Or worse...

I was wiping down tables after snack while the Mom's Morning Out kids played outside, when my friend Megan stuck her head in the door and told me someone was looking for me.

It was the dance teacher. I was probably already blushing.

I can't really remember the conversation because I don't really want to. I know I told her something about being sick this weekend. And I think I even told her that the new/old ballet shoes used to be mine (why?!).

And then she said that she just wanted to let me know that the tap shoes I sent were both the same feet.

Apparently we had two pairs of the same size, and since I only tried on one of the "pair" I didn't realize it. I just shoved them in the bag before herding the girls into the bathroom to run a wet comb through their curls.

So, not only am I the lady who doesn't know when her kid's shoes are too small, or who sends her with hand-me-downs including a 25 year-old-pair of my own, but I am also the goober who sends TWO LEFT SHOES.

(Insert appropriate "two left feet" dancing joke here, but after what I just spent on Tap shoes, Big Sister better be twinkle-toes.)

Beautiful Day

The weather today was beautiful. After a morning filled with chores (Mommy & Daddy) and playing with the same old toys (Big & Little Sister) we all decided we needed to get out of the house!

So, we headed to the meadows.

The girls were super ready to hit the swings again.

And the slides too.

Little Sister even went down the tall slide by herself (with Hope, while Mommy took Big Sis to the potty. Mommy's nerves probably could not have handled it. Especially after Little Sis jumped up & down on the bridge.)

But her favorite of all were the swings.

Big Sister enjoyed them too. She is learning trying to learn to pump.

After playing for a while, we joined our friends for dinner. Grilled outside. In January. I just hope it doesn't get crazy cold again, because after today, I'm ready for Spring. Which, for someone who loves snow as much as I do, is saying a lot!


I hope you were able to have some time to relax with your family on this holiday, even if you weren't able to enjoy a three day weekend. I also hope you take a moment to remember the man and mission remembered on this day. I'm planning on reading the chapter about MLK in one of my favorite books, Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey. I highly recommend it.


"What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love." ~Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech "Where do we go from here?"

In the name of love, what more in the name of love?

(Ok, that's not the same u2 song as the title of this post, but it is a song by the same band, about MLK, and the ringtone for my phone before it went all crazy on me. So why not?)

Song for Sunday: this is all

For anyone hurting, or wondering where God is when bad things happen...

All That I Can Say
by David Crowder Band

Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give, that's my everything

Lord didn't You see me cryin'?
Oh, and didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember where you sat it down

And this is all, this is all that I can say right now, I know it's not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah, that's my everything.
This is all that I can say right now, right now, I know it's not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah that's my everything.

I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that that was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cryin' too
I didn't know that that was You washing my feet

And this is all, this is all that I can say right now, oh I know its not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah that's my everything.
This is all that I can say right now, right now, I know it's not much.
But this is all that I can give, yeah that's my everything.

yeah that's my everything..
everything...

Sign it ,share hope...

As I was reading more information coming from Haiti and the relief efforts, I came across this petition. It is asking US officials to rush visas to orphans in Haiti who have already been legally adopted by American citizens. Basically, these little ones are just waiting on either a passport from the Haitian government or a visa from the US, and we all know how tedious red tape can be. Adoptive American parents who have already welcomed a Haitian child into their families and hearts would like to bring them home. What easier way can there be for you or I to help one tiny person in Haiti to gain access to food, clothing and clean water than just to sign this petition and urge our government to move on this opportunity quickly.

Please click on the link above and sign your name. If you want to do more, or are skeptical about online petitioning, please contact your representative about the issue. For more information, here is the blog of an orphanage in Haiti (not in the immediate disaster area) where I first read about the petition.


I'll try to write about something "normal" later this evening. I think I have a stomach bug, so no promises. Yuck.

The whole world...

Tonight at bedtime, I sang and rocked Little Sister while Big Sis snuggled under her covers.

A few nights ago, I remembered that, when Big Sis was the age Little Sis is now, she loved to sing songs with lyrics that could include the names of our family and friends. So tonight, I sang the "Goodnight Ladies" song we sang at the end of Girl Scout campfires, but with the girls' names. Then I sang dozens of verses of "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands."

Little Sister makes the cutest little Tarzan grunt (complete with poking herself in the chest) whenever she hears her name (or sees herself in photos, etc.) It is adorable, but not exactly conducive to soothing lullabies. Combine that with the fact that she would pick her head up off of my shoulder, call out her sister's name and point in her direction every time the song included Big Sister, and we were all getting a little tickled (and not very calm).

But it was one of those darling moments I never want to forget. One I'll miss in a matter of weeks- since Little Sis is changing so quickly, and the grunt is sure to be gone soon. My eyes welled with tears of joy in the moment, love for my girls, and gratitude for all that I have been given. Then I immediately thought of families missing simple moments like this- especially those in Haiti right now, and the tears came for more melancholy reasons.

The last line of the song was one I improvised. It was more of a prayer- a reassurance I needed to sing and a reminder I needed to hear:

"He's got the hurting and the hungry in His hands... He's got the WHOLE world in His hands."

Haiti Earthquake

BTW: If you wanted to kick Pat Robertson in the head as much as I did this week, you need to check out Donald Miller's blog post about Robertson's recent comments. It was good for me to read- before I found it I was pretty angry and planning on linking to Keith Olberman's thoughts instead...

Doing Something...

Sorry I've been a lazy blogger all week. Last weekend was a hectic one; the ministers' wives were responsible for the worship service at our church Sunday evening. We decided to make it a laid back "talk show" type atmosphere where we could share a little more about ourselves and our passions for ministry. A few months earlier, though, our pastor asked me if I would share the sermon message for the evening. So at the end of the talk show time, instead of answering questions, I tried to get up & preach teach.

I'll share more about that another time. I just wanted to explain why my blog-time was limited. Basically, after that, I kind of let my brain go numb for a few days. I've also been trying to spend more time with the girls, especially Big Sister, when they're awake. Again, more about that another time.

The other cause for some of my delay in posting is what I want to address. As soon as I heard the news Tuesday evening, I knew that I wanted to share my heart for Haiti. I just didn't exactly know what to say.

I still don't. There are very few words that could express the horrible devastation the earthquake in Port-Au-Prince has left in its wake. I think everyone who is paying even the slightest bit of attention feels compelled to help, or at least pray, for the hundreds of thousands of people affected. I heard someone call in to the local Christian radio station today, saying that she worked at a school and wanted to get her kids involved with the relief effort. But how?

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know one of my passions is Compassion International, a Christian child sponsorship program with the aim of "releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name." Our family sponsors two children, Skarleth in Nicaragua and Emmanuel in Tanzania. But did you know that Compassion serves more than 65,000 children in Haiti? Many of them in the areas worst affected by this disaster.

When I think of the devastation and poverty I know to exist in Haiti prior to the earthquake, and then imagine it compounded with this terrible earthquake, I feel burdened. When I think of the sponsors who face the death of their sponsored child, I'm just sick. And of course, then I think of the parents in Haiti who have lost their flesh & blood children, and their homes, or the children who have lost everything and everyone, or even the families who remain intact but desolate and desparate. And I can't think about it anymore.

But I can't STOP thinking about it either.

If you're like me, and you want to do something right now that can make a difference, and you don't know of a trusted organization to receive your donations, please consider Compassion. They work through the local church and ministries in each Sponsorship area, which means they already have the advantage of being first responders- being able to assess and address the needs of their area quickly and effectively. They also have amazing financial responsibility, which is important as we hear from the FBI about fundraising scams. And finally, something I know concerns many of you, Compassion is a ministry. Everything they do is to show people the love of Christ.

To donate to Compassion's relief effort, click on the widget below.

Haiti Earthquake

The same night that I heard about Haiti, the Tennessee Volunteer fans I know were all hearing about the resignation Lane Kiffin. And that was all they were talking about. And I couldn't stand to be on facebook or listen too much to conversations at church Wednesday night, because more Christians were troubled about a football coach leaving than a country decimated.

I'm not claiming to be more pious or to care more about the poor than those friends of mine. I don't know how much they have been paying attention to this disaster or what they might have done to offer help. But I do know that we all have some pretty messed up priorities sometimes.

One good thing that might come from all of this is that people are beginning to step up and do the right thing. And they might begin to see the poverty and devastation that were a part of daily life in Haiti before this quake, and are a part of other countries all over the world, and do something.

If you want to DO something, and you're not sure what, please consider a gift to Compassion. And share Compassion with others you know who might be wondering what they can do to help, too. I truly believe that Compassion will use our money to serve the people of Haiti when we can not physically be there to serve them ourselves.

Guess what I heard...

... as I tucked Little Sister in (with her three specific blankets, in their specific order, for my very OCD specific child):

"Luf you mama"

I choked out, "I love you too!" and left her to rest.

And here I sit trying to capture how three little, garbled words can make my heart swell up so much that I can hear Boris Karloff describing it in my head.