Mother's Day

It is not infrequently that I am asked a variation of the question, "How do you do all of that?"

Work . . .

School . . .

Family . . . 

House Maintenance . . .

Manage Finances . . . 

Vacation . . .

Blog . . .

Watch 'Top Gear' (the BBC version, of course) . . .

Maintain Friendships . . .

Maintain Marriage (I am very fortunate that Clay makes this easy and more joyful than it is for many) . . . 

Read . . . a lot . . .

Laundry . . . laundry . . . laundry . . . laundry . . . laundry . . . and toilets . . . 

Pray . . . 

The list is long. 

And the question makes me question my chaotic schedule and motives every. single. time. 

What am I chasing? For whom am I working? Why am I so busy? Does it matter? What matters? Who matters? 

I am reminded daily of the frailty of life. I am reminded moment to moment of time passing. I know, to my core, that MOST of what we pursue and do and are in this life, if we follow the culture and ways around us, DOES NOT COUNT. 

So WHY am I so driven?

Ultimately, I believe to my core that the final purpose of my life is to establish a lasting relationship with my children and those around me that is nothing more than an extension of God's love for us. And, while I am just about as far from perfect as one can get, I am aware of the implications of that in every move. 

It has the potential to be excruciatingly intimidating. To the point of crawling in a hole with a sour attitude and extra bottle of Jack, just in case. 

But. 

Just when I think it is simply NOT POSSIBLE, I hear things like this:

"Mom, wouldn't it be cool if we could breathe under water through our ears?"

"Mom, is God the same color as a rainbow?"

"Mom. Did you know that 'gangnam' backwards spells 'man-boob?!?'

"Mom, you are the best mom. Except when you are sort of tired."

"Mom, can we go to Target? It's my favorite."

"Mom, when you were little, were you in black & white?"

"Mom, can you have a sleepover with me?"

"Mommy, my honey, dis, you like purple? Awwww, you so sweet, Mommy!"

"We're not playing church, Mom. We're playing 'Grandpa Talking.'" 

"I can tell this is a church song. I can feel it in my circle." 

"Mom, did you know that Seth is in the Bible? My cousin! In the Bible!"

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strongness, and parts." 

"It's ok, Mom, even Jesus had a bad day once when he was crucified."

(Sigh.)

So. I don't do it all. I do. And pray--more than anything--that my kids know God because I share my busy life and imperfect self with them. If I can raise my children to be wise, discerning, spiritual people who can easily live without me--but don't want to--I will consider my life successful. 

Happy, Happy Mother's Day. 

Easter Overdues

So, these pictures took a lot more than three days to resurrect out of their digital SD card tomb. But that makes them all the sweeter. 

The weekend before Easter, we drove to the little hamlet of Hesston, KS to blend our souls with cousins. For five glorious days and nights, we busied ourselves with coffee, routine, unstructured idle parenting. And enjoyed a live-in bartender and Euker tournaments every night.

 (Before we left, my wise and not-so-tactful mother reminded me that "after three days, company starts to smell like dead fish.")

This is a caption waiting to happen.  The longer you look, the funnier it gets. 

Their was an easter egg treasure hunt, complete with easter baskets. 

This might be one of the Courtney Loves. Or maybe Lulu . . .  Liam was trying to see where the eggs come out. 

I believe this is prior to the Great Dye Spill of 2013

Dance, Evelyn Rain, till you wash the world clean with your powerful soul. 

We drove to the happ'nin' city of Hutchinson. In case you are wondering, the Cosmosphere is as good as--if not better than--the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. In addition to just as many awe-inspiring displays, there was a whole section on female astronauts and only a few items off-limits to touching and climbing on. With six (count them--six) little people in tow, touchable displays were incredible. It was also a bonus that one didn't actually have to walk through the gift shop in order to exit the building.

Posing in front of Apollo 13. Houston, we actually don't have a problem--everyone is smiling. 

The Endeavor. Really! We could even TOUCH it!!! 

The last night, Tyler & Eva spend at least two hours in the sub-freezing garage building a robot out of scraps. There was a welcoming ceremony and commencement exercises complete with sparklers left over from last July. 

Testing the world's first-ever "Cookie-Bot". 

And I was assured we never once smelled like fish.