Falling asleep at the wheel

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

(Image courtesy of Schonfeld Photography)

Do you ever have days where you forget to pray, days when you probably need to pray the most? Pray that you can find one extra ounce of energy to stay awake at the wheel of life? Those days seem to just drag on, and on, and on…you get the picture. Today has been one of those days for me.

I found myself ready to get up and go first thing in the morning. I took our dog around a local lake for a quick workout while my husband loaded the four kiddos in the car and dropped Gracie off at school. I was excited to get out in the fresh, brisk Colorado air and just breathe. About halfway around the lake, however, I hit a wall and looking ahead at what I had left to jog felt like I was looking into eternity! “You can do it Noell, not much farther!” I kept telling myself.

Fast forward to the rest of the day…doing laundry just to avoid playing with my babes, perusing the internet as a way to zone out. At one point Jeannie, who just got her cast off of her leg, falls with a huge thud from the kitchen chair. Oh crap!! What a “wake up call”! What the heck am I doing?! Thoughts of rushing her to the hospital with another fracture, run through my mind. What would I say when asked what happened? “Oh, well I was staring at the computer instead of watching my little girl, no biggie,” yeah right!

The rest of the day was an emotional roller coaster. One minute I found the motivation to rough-house and give piggyback rides, the next minute I’m pulling my hair out because all four kids are screaming. When will the day end?! Normally I would try to take a deep breath and ask God for mercy but today I completely forgot…and you know what? God gave me mercy anyway! He was still there with me encouraging me throughout the screaming, the spaghetti dinner on the floor, the kids fighting and talking back to their mama. He was still there giving me the strength to get through the day. I made it and only because of Christ carrying me through it all! Hallelujah!

And it all starts again tomorrow!

Take a look…a Pinterest-inspired post on kitchens

Did I mention I love Pinterest?

As of right now I’m numbering 39 boards, 467 pins, and 43 likes. Yes, I’m a bit obsessed!

Take a look at the board I call “Kitchens to Cook In”(From CountryLiving magazine)

This is one of my favorites! The wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Chameleon. I love anything green and in this kitchen it’s just the right shade and right amount. This is such a clean, simple look with the buttery colored cabinets, the butcher block island counter top, the classic sink and faucets. I don’t need a huge kitchen, just one that is functional and well laid out!

(Originally from Elle Decor as seen on Lacquered Life)

Here are those beautiful (butcher block?) counter tops again as well as the glass-front cupboards and creamy colors.

(Originally from Design Sponge as seen on DwellingGawker)

Most people probably wouldn’t choose as galley-style kitchen, I know I purposely wouldn’t! Our current house, however, is a 1970′s tri-level (yuck!) with a horrible galley kitchen (double yuck!). If I absolutely knew that we would be staying in our house forever this is something I would do with our kitchen. It’s super stream-lined and while the cabinets aren’t my favorite I do like how they add to the clean look of the whole room.

Here are more views of this kitchen.

On that note, I hope the weekend was all that you hoped it to be! We’ll see you in the new week!

Encourage

Can you see him? That’s my boy!

In the short 3 years he has been on this earth he has made quite an impact on our hearts, challenged our parenting to the max, given quite a few laughs. Recently we have been challenged in was that we never thought were possible. Our little man is healthy in many regards but there are things popping up that are causing some concern in our minds. What does it feel like to be out of sorts when your toy trains aren’t all facing the same direction? How frustrating is it when you know that you can’t wear the same color every day? What is the fear that you feel when the automatic-flushing toilet finally flushes? These may seem like small things to you and me but to him it can ruin his whole day (and mine)!

His world is brighter when he’s able to feel everything. The biting cold of a bowl of snow. The warmth of mama’s face. The sometimes bumpy, sometimes smooth texture of one of his favorites objects…a basketball. He loves to spin, jump, run, play. He’s a 3-year-old boy, afterall!

All we can is encourage him. Encourage him to feel, encourage him to laugh, encourage him to express his frustrations. It feels good to be encouraged, right?

As a mama I often feel like I have no clue what I’m doing. Why did God entrust me with the lives of these little people? Sometimes I feel so incompetent, I can barely take care of myself much less four little humans! I have to admit, though, it brightens my day when the stranger at the grocery store stops to tell me I’m doing a good job…even though three out of four kids are screaming at the top of their lungs! It makes me feel like I might be cut out for this “job” when my husband comes up to me at the end of a hard day and gives me a huge hug. That’s all that’s needed sometimes…a little encouragement!

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Savor the moments

My littlest babe.

So tiny.

Her birth was quite a miracle and a blessing. She was born at home, not planned, in the bathtub. The other three babes sleeping in their beds while their littlest sister arrived, on April Fool’s Day. Her membrane still intact, enveloping her tiny body securely. This is how she entered the world, with warmth, security and peace.

Those first few months seemed like any other after a new human life has arrived. Feeding her, watching her fall asleep at my breast, milk glistening on her lips. Catching bits and pieces of sleep while taking care of three other little people. Those moments when I would pick this littlest one up I would find myself smiling filled with a new perspective. You see, one, two and three babes ago I probably wouldn’t have been so eager and calm in those wee hours of the morning. I was slightly irritable with a hint of anger roiling under the surface. Why wasn’t this little person letting me sleep?!

What has changed? I’m not 100% sure. She is my last baby, the last tiny body that I will have carried inside of my own for nine months. The last small person that I will cuddle with and call my own. Right now I am trying my darndest to hold on to these moments. I’m trying to take in every little smell, sight, sound and feeling of this little girl no matter the time–be it three o’clock in the afternoon or three o’clock in the morning. She needs me right now, like she did while she was in the womb. She needs to feel secure, warm and at peace. I can’t hold on tight enough, before I know it these moments will have slipped through my fingers and my littlest baby will be running from me, not reaching for me.

So for now, I can be tired but really the reason behind it no longer makes me angry. I know one day I’ll get a full night’s sleep and I’ll dream of those times when I wasn’t.

This post was inspired by Heather’s over at Shivaya Naturals. Thank you Heather!

What I am loving right now

Interest, meet Pinterest: Site helps users cata…, posted with vodpod

I suspect I’m not alone when I say that Pinterest has become my new obsession! I only just found this beauty a couple of months ago and at first I thought it was nothing special, maybe because I didn’t really know how to use it. I have files and folders filled to the brim with pages I’ve torn out of magazines, the beginnings of “inspiration books” that I jot down my ideas, bulletin boards, whiteboards, chalkboards purposed for documenting things I have no intention of forgetting. Stuff to contain my ideas, inspirations, projects, you name it! Now let’s not forget that I’m finding more than half of these ideas on the internet and therefore I have hundreds of bookmarks dating back at least 4 years now. I really can’t even tell you why I bookmarked half the things I did!

Enter Pinterest. Oh.my.word! Is it really possible that I might not have to keep all the clutter that is building up in my home and on my computer?! Can I really just “pin” things in one organized spot and come back to it later knowing exactly why I pinned it? YESSSSS! Amazing!

I am officially addicted to Pinterest! So please, feel free to

Keep Praying!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God‘s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Keep praying. That’s what I am reminding myself all day today. Pray for energy when you know that you have none. Pray for patience when your reserves have almost expired. Pray for the ability to recognize when something precious is staring you in the face, even if it’s screaming at you while you’re changing her diaper. Pray for the wisdom you’ll need when answering difficult questions. Pray for the strength to admit that you’re not taking care of yourself and that the best thing for everyone would be if you started. Pray!

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