Song for Palm Sunday: We long for You

 Hosanna

by Paul Baloche

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You

Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

Hear the sound of hearts returning to You, we turn to You

In Your Kingdom broken lives are made new, You make us new

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

Catching up

Here are the highlights (and some lowlights) of the past few weeks:

• Big Sister had her first dental appointment.  Yeah, we're a little late on that, but she got a great report.  I however, had to come back to get my gums cleaned.  It was not fun, and I didn't even get a cool dolphin toothbrush or Spongebob toothpaste like she did. 
• The weather has been crazy! When it wasn't raining, we spent lots of time outside. Big Sis is getting great at riding her bike and Little Sis is working on the tricycle.  When it did rain, well, it poured. And stormed.  Which leads me to the next thing:
• We're getting a new roof.  Only, our insurance will only pay to replace the front side.  Fun.  
• I had a doctor's appointment, followed quickly by an ultrasound and mammogram, followed almost as quickly by a biopsy.  Scary times, but the results were good. 
• Big Sis had strep. Only her throat didn't hurt at all and her only symptom was an increasingly stubborn and high fever.  She made her first visit to PM Pediatrics.  She also found out that she is allergic to yet another antibiotic. Yay.
• Little Sister started talking like Adelaide from Guys & Dolls.  Or one of the three stooges.  I can't decide. Her R's are more like Y's. She says things like "foyst" instead of "first." I don't know where it came from.
• My Hubby is gearing up for softball.  Which means our lives are about to get crazier.  And we're about to be eating a lot of pizza and hot dogs leftover from the concession stand. 
• Big Sister was referred to be tested for the accelerated program at school.  We're super proud.
• The girls spent Spring Break in Ohio with my parents.  They had a lot of fun and got to visit with lots of special people.  Hubby and I used the child-free time to paint our bedroom and master bath and get ready for more home improvements.  Then we went up to get the girls, at which time I cleaned out & packed up my bedroom at my parents' house and we brought home a U-haul of boxes and furniture.  Which are now sitting in our garage...
• The girls are slowly returning to whatever semblance of routine we have here in crazytown.  I'm having to fight & win a lot of battles.  Little Sis says she "doesn't like me."  But then she wants me to sit in her room while she falls asleep.
• I consigned a lot of clothes at the Spring sale in town, but didn't work this year.  I'm expecting a good check when everything is all said & done!
• We've been working in the yard a lot.  We planted another pear tree, started some veggies in pots, set up a hummingbird feeder, and made one more attempt at a flower bed in the backyard.  After about three days, Sophie dug up both rhododendrons and "pruned" them.  To nubs. Argh.
• The girls have watched Tangled over & over again since we bought it. It's okay, though.  Even I was started to get tired of Ponyo. 
• I wrote a post about depression in mommyhood on our Muddy Mamas blog.  You can read it here.  And while you're there, check out what all the other cool gals have posted lately.
• I'm finally getting the Easter decorations out and rethinking this whole "seasonal decorations are so much fun" thing I went through a few years ago.

 There.  Now we're all caught up.

A month

I know.

It has been almost a month since I last updated this blog. Why?  I'm not sure.  A combination of busy-ness, preoccupation with other things, and a classic case of writer's block, I suppose.

For starters, I gave up Facebook for Lent.  Those of you who know me well know that this was almost like trying to give up sweets. (Which my husband attempted, by the way. It didn't last.)  I am a Facebook addict.  I actually deactivated my account so that I didn't 1) accidentally forget and check it one day since it is my "default" setting and 2) find some "legitimate" reason to check it that was work or emergency related.

What I've found while away from Facebook is that the ego-centrism that Facebook promotes (getting on facebook and telling the entire world that you accidentally bought whipped peanut butter or cried during Gray's Anatomy, as if anyone needs to know these things) has become the opposite.  Now I feel disconnected and insignificant.  Other people, my friends, are sharing jokes and swapping opinions that I am missing.  And they are not missing me.  The Facebook world goes on just fine without my sharing the cute little things my kids said throughout the day. 

It made me wonder if blogging was equally insignificant.  If it really mattered at all.  Try posting cute pictures of your kids with that going through your head.

The truth is that I started this for myself and for my girls.  To remember these quickly passing years in our family with more than just pictures, but with scenes and reflections.  So, I guess I'll go on sharing that Sophie stole the snack bag from our Ohio trip out of the pantry while we were watching Rio with friends, and that she ate three bags of trail mix, a pop tart, and lots of applejacks.  I'll write about how I woke to find Little Sis standing in my doorway last night, and when I asked her why she was in my room and what she needed (like ten times) she finally answered, "I don't know the truth, mom."

Neither do I, Little Sister.  But I'm trying to figure it out.  And put it into words to keep.  For you. For me.

We care.

Heard at our house...

Little Sister:  Dad, can we jump on the couch?
Daddy: No.
Little Sister:  (turning to Big Sister) Let's jump on the couch!!
Daddy:  Noo!
Little Sister:  I wasn't talking to you.



Mommy: (wiping Little Sister's nose) Is your nose still icky? The medicine I gave you should help it to stop running.
Little Sister:  Yeah, we just want to help it to be walking.



(Mommy is closing the windows and curtains in the girls' bedroom before tucking them in.)
Big Sis:  Mom, why are you closing the windows? If I get hot, I might have a bad dream.
Mommy:  I know it's hot, but I can't leave the windows open in your room at night.
Big Sis:  Why? We don't want stuff to get in?
Mommy: Yeah, sort of.
Big Sis:  Like bugs? And bees?
Mommy: Yes, we don't want that-
Big Sis:  And ninjas.



Little Sis:  Mom, get your hug & your kiss & your cheers!
(Little Sis gives Mommy the most precious kiss & hug, and then sticks out both of her hands.  One is saying "I love you" in sign language.  The other is... trying. )
Mommy: Cheers. (she presses her "I love you" fingertips against Little Sister's tiny ones).
Little Sister:  You can just kiss this hand.  It doesn't work.  It's not cheers.  It's... cheerios.

Wee little greetings

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Why is it?

There are a lot of big things in the world I don't understand, like the tsunami in Japan or cancer or hunger. I can (and do) get pretty depressed thinking about those things.  But there are also some smaller, sillier things that keep me up at night. I thought I'd share some of these perplexing questions.  

Why is it...

• that daylight savings time even still exists?! I mean, I'm glad Little Sis isn't waking up with the sun anymore, but now she won't go to bed while it's up, either.  And Big Sis tries to insist every morning that she is "more tired" than anyone else. I'd LOVE for her to hop inside this old mama body for a few minutes.  I'm pretty sure she'd never, ever say that again.
• that my children are suddenly waking up in the night again?  In two weeks, I've had ONE night where I didn't have to put one or both of them back into their beds. 
• that I could be dead to the world, but as soon as I'm awake, I can't go back to sleep without an act of congress?  
• that Big Sister keeps her bike helmet on even when she isn't on her bike anymore?  How does she not feel that ginormous, pink & purple Barbie monstrosity when she is running through the yard, swinging at a baseball, or (seriously) eating dinner?!
• that every outdoor cat in our neighborhood acts like our backyard is a major thoroughfare?  It's like we've got catnip growing in the wooded area behind our fence! Poor Sophie absolutely loses. her. mind. when she sees a cat.  And the thing is, the people who would probably complain about our barking, squealing, out of control dog are most likely the ones whose cats are trotting past at all hours of the day.  Don't get me wrong, we have a cat.  I'm a cat person.  That's why I'd prefer my dog not eat one. Kitties be warned!
• that (speaking of cats) the water in the glass on my nightstand is so much more appealing to the cat than the water in her bowl?  I'll admit it was kind of cute the first time I woke up in the middle of the night and found Keaton getting a drink with her head so far in my big glass that I thought she might still be there in the morning. But when the cup happened to be a disposable one and she spilled it over the floor, or when she jumped up last night as soon as I set it down and before I took my medicine...  well...  listen, cat. You've got your own water.  Stay out of mine.  Unless you want me to turn you loose in the backyard to fend for yourself like apparently every other cat in the neighborhood. 
• that I have already eaten the two boxes of Thin Mints I ordered this year? I am a walking target for those sweet girl scouts sitting outside the grocery store.
• now that Big Sister is taking dance on Tuesday evenings, that everything seems to be on Tuesday night? Tuesday never felt like a popular day before, but now, I seem to be missing out on everything!
• that I paid someone $10 plus tip to "trim" Little Sister's hair so little that I had a hard time even finding a lock of hair to put in her baby book.  Seriously.  It looks like NOTHING happened.  And I was so confused I just said, "um... sure" when she asked (after cleaning her up, taking her out of the chair, and ringing us up) if she "took enough off." If by "enough" you mean "nothing", then my "um... sure" stands. 
• that with the girls in two different schools, the number of fundraisers seems to have quadrupled?  Is there some sort of exponential equation for this?  And does anyone want to buy a candybar, cookie dough, magazines, flower bulbs, or some random food item like gummy bears or chocolate covered pretzels?
• that I thought giving up Facebook for Lent would be a good idea?  

And finally, why is it

• that I just spent time constructing this silly list of things that make me wonder (and grumble) when I have so much housework left undone, so many errands to run, and so much for which to be thankful? I gotta go. I have other lists to make!

In like lions

March weather has definitely roared around here lately.  This evening the girls made some cute (and not at all ferocious) lions.  Here's what we used:

 

Light brown/gold paint, yarn, red paper triangles, squares of orange tissue, 

small paper plates, and googly eyes.

We painted the plates.

Then we used the paint to adhere the tissue paper "mane."

Finally, we added our eyes, nose, and whiskers.  You can use the paint to make them stick. If your kids are OCD like mine (they come by it naturally) and take so long with the mane that the paint is dry, use glue.

Roar!

They each have their own personalities.
The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking Mufasa and Scar.

I hope next week the weather will suggest we make lambs...