Kids and Rain and Mud

Is it every mother's instinct to cringe, just a little, when they see their children playing in the mud?

The thing is, I do NOT have a nice house. I am NOT an immaculate housekeeper. Yet, I do it. I cringe when I see the mud. I admit it.

I try not to. I look out the window and see radiant joy upon the face of those who are most cherished to me. I try to hold my tongue. I do. I have often told them (lectured) that I don't mind them playing in the mud if they will just wash off with the hose before they come tramping back in the house. I wish they would because I hate the damper that I must put on their joy when they hear my voice saying "don't get muddy!"

Today, a beautiful, light rain started as the children finished eating lunch in the back yard. It was the kind of refreshing rain that I love. I looked outside after a bit & they were all running, playing, enjoying. I said the typical "don't get muddy" thing that I say. I continued to watch the happiness out the sunroom window. Logan, my 5 year old, runs through the yard with such a wonderful smile upon his face yelling "this is one of the best days of my whole life!"

that's what it is about... not the muddy floors. not the extra laundry. It's about childhood and finding joy in the truly beautiful, simple things. Now I better get off here and do a load of muddy laundry.

Loveable Liam

He's boisterous, silly, loud. He loves to read, loves to play basketball, loves to wrestle. He is sweet, big-hearted, and easily has his feelings hurt. He makes up comics that are a little bit too-much-boy-humor, but are still sometimes pretty funny. He and I bond over our love of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, more for the two of us, Harry Potter. We have read them aloud, together, 2 or 3 times, separate, even more. He is so sweet. He was the most excited when I told him we were pregnant with ella. he was the most sad when I told him his Papa had died. His heart is so full. I remember looking at him on the way to midnight Mass, Christmas Eve 2001, when he was a mere 7 weeks old, thinking to myself how much completely and utterly in love I was with him. We were sitting in the backseat of the car (we only had 2 kids then and still could fit in a car!), it was nearing midnight and thus DARK. We were driving from Lebo, KS to Emporia, KS since we were spending the night at Grandma & Grandpa's. I just looked at him & felt this enormous amount of love. Not sure why that night stuck out to me, but it did. Perhaps because we were celebrating Christmas, the night of our Savior & a more immense love than even my own for my son. He's now 10 years old & sometimes questions my love for him. I think to myself, how could he doubt how much I love him???? However, he is a kid & we have to butt heads sometimes, either over school or sibling rivalry or following rules. Last week, he was upset because WE were upset on one day because he drank the last of the milk without checking to see if everyone had breakfast. The next day he was upset because he ate the rest of the cereal without checking to see if anyone else wanted any. yes, you read that right: HE WAS UPSET.... he doesnt' understand why I have to get onto him about things like that. He doesn't understand that it is BECAUSE of my immense love for him that I have to correct him when he does wrong, punish him for mistakes, reprimand him for behavior that is inappropriate. He doesn't seem to realize that I KNOW he is a good kid. I know that his heart is good. I know that his intentions are usually good. I know that when he messes up, he doesn't do it out of cruelty or spite. he does it because he is a 10 year old boy. His heart is solid gold. He is worth mroe to me than an enormous pile of gold. I wish he trule knew that. He says he wants 10 kids. I hope he gets them. he will be such a wonderful husband & father. I already see that. He has a lot of growing up to do, but heck, don't we all? I'm 42 and still have a little growing up to do.

ok, i'm getting this idea from someone else...

so it's been many months since i have posted to this blog. how can i ever, ever achieve my dream of becoming a writer if i never, ever write??? alrighty, so i have seen a couple different mothers with blogs use the following stepping stones to do a quick little blog post... here we go. let's see if it makes me write more often.

IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE MY DOOR: the ground is covered in yellow, brown, red, orange, and gold. there are jack-o-lanterns whose smiles are starting to change. there is one pumpkin that helped a squirrel stock up for winter. and there are 3 boys working on a fort.

I AM LISTENING TO: complete and total silence. baby is sleeping, big girl is in her room playing with dolls. and 3 boys are outside working on a fort.

I AM WEARING: comfy brown pants that are far from figure flattering, cowboy boots, and a garage sale shirt that my mother picked up for me. it's not my style at all, but my mom is always thinking of me. for that i am so grateful.

I'M PONDERING: how to instill kindness in my children. they are usually kind to others. however, within our home, amongst ourselves, i often see them be mean to each other. it makes me sad to see them hurtful to one another. don't get me wrong, they are often all the best of friends. it's those times that they are not that I just wonder how to best teach them all the wonderful virtues that i would likek them to have.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR: a husband who loves me. children who are able to laugh and run and play. parents who have always put their kids first. and God for creating such a beautiful world.

I AM READING: Dickens' Great Expectations. I'm about 1/4 the way through. It's good. However, I have been so tired since I started it. I'm not really "into" it, not like I was with Dickens' David Copperfield which I fell in love with immediately.

I AM THINKING: that I am so full from a yummy lunch of cheese, meat, and crackers.

I AM CREATING: a pinata for Liam's birthday which is themed Harry Potter. The pinata is going to be in the shape of a golden snitch.

I AM LEARNING: along side my children every day....

I AM PRAYING : for many things. one of which is a dear friend whose daughter has a tumor. They are still figuring out what the next step is.

AROUND THE HOUSE: is chaos... it's always chaos. however, today it is more than usual due to the garage sale over the weekend. i need to send the boys down in the basement with the boxes.

FROM THE KITCHEN: tonight will be grilled cheese & tomato soup, the one meal that Liam truly hates... oh well. it's fall & it sounds tasty!!!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS: trader joe's hummus with rice crackers. we had that for a snack today & we all enjoyed it immensely!

THIS WEEK: busy, as usual. planning liam's birthday. planning co-op class. bible study. scouts on two nights. moms' meeting on 3 nights, but will probably only go to one of them. little flowers for ciara. oh yeah, cleaning, school, etc.