The Artwork Challenge

We have come into a new phase of childhood at the Zavala house...artwork.

Now that Hayden is going to his speech classes daily, he comes home with all kinds of crafts and scribbles that are precious. Okay, well some of them are cute. Some are two black marks on a blank page - but who am I to judge the quality of original Hayden Zavala's?

So what does one do with all these?

I have come up with a solution that has worked pretty well. I save my favorites, but the rest I add to a pile for the grandparents to dig through and keep for themselves.

I also make cards for the grandparents out of scrap "coloring" activities. For instance, I cut a heart out of some of his scribbles and threw it in the Christmas card or birthday card. So far that's kept us from drowning in crafts and still avoid the guilt of tossing his hard work.

How about you? What do you do? Or maybe what did your parents do to save your childhood art?

Muscle Relaxer Induced Post

Let's go random today....

1. There is a rumor of snow tomorrow - dare we believe it?

I can't help but get giddy at the thought. I don't know why, not like I get a Mom's "snow day" or something. I just get two stir crazy kids and possibly a husband who has to work from home amidst the chaos.

2. My kitchen was supposed to be done yesterday. We started this remodel November 2008...yes, you read that right, over a year ago.

I think we are cursed when it comes to this kitchen. Hours from job completion and they hit a pipe in the floor - water goes rushing everywhere. This leads to hours of waiting for the plumber with no water, removing tile and concrete, and now they have to come back tomorrow to finish. Oh joy.

3. I have this bottle of wine that's awaiting the "completion" celebration. I intended to drink it last summer...uh huh.

4. Hayden has been organizing things into "families". Like if there are four penguins, he labels them momma penguin, daddy penguin, Hayden penguin, Corbin penguin. On the potty the other day, after finishing he ended by pointed out the momma poo-poo, daddy poo-poo, Hayden poo-poo, and Corbin poo-poo.

5. Last week when asking Hayden to go upstairs for bedtime he responded, "Umm, no. I'm busy." Wonder where he gets that from...

6. At church when the teacher asked Hayden to help clean up, he responds, "Ummm, no hanks (thanks)." Always polite.

7. Hours before we were supposed to attend a funeral, Corbin decides to toss his only pair of shoes in the toilet. Luckily we found a babysitter at the last minute.

8. Mark and I bought "Just Dance" a new game for the Wii. After 17 minutes of dancing (yes it's timed) we were both sweating and too tired to continue...I followed that session with a muscle relaxer for my back - just in case. We're getting old.

9. I found a new blog to love - Walk Slowly Live Wildly. Very inspirational.

10. I stopped drinking soda. During the Olympics, I saw a commercial for Coke advertising that they support the Special Olympics, and drinking Coke helps support them. I almost ran to the fridge in support, until I remembered all we had was Pepsi. Guess I'm still not drinking soda.

11. I'm not a huge fan of the Olympics...I know...I'm like the only person in America not glued to the TV. I had a bad experience ok? This is why school sucks. I was FORCED to watch the winter Olympics one year and record as many events as I could for extra credit. I really needed that extra credit to get my grade up and I had PAGES of scores. I turned it in and the teacher LOST it. LOST it!!! I still can't believe it. I think she just hated me. Since then, the Olympics and I don't get along. NEVER AGAIN!!!

12. Okay, Mark made me watch Ice Dancing - which I totally tease him for watching...but the Great Britain couple was pretty good (doesn't hurt that we shared the same last name as my family - go KERRS!!)...but I'm still not INTO the Olympics. P.S. The snow jumpers look like flying squirrels.

13. I totally think I could get in shape doing the Just Dance thing...I know lame - but dude, who wants to exercise when I could be playing games!!! So I predict I'll either start slimming down, or break an arm doing some wild move.

14. And finally, do you know how to turn off the water to your house? Well you should. Ours is practically down the block...ok well on the side of our neighbor's yard in a flower bush...but still, I would have NEVER found that. I'd figure it out now before you really need to know that info...you know, like if your house is flooding from a broken pipe.

V-Day

Mark and I aren't really Valentine's Day folks. In fact, we celebrate the weekend after and get all our gifts and chocolates 75% off, and we avoid the lover-packed restaurants and romantic venues. But, even so, I like enjoying the actual February 14th date with simple treats - like homemade chocolate covered strawberries!

Plan C

I just read an excellent post over on Tapestry by a friend of mine Laura Singleton. If you haven't read her posts before - they are really worth a few minutes of your time. She is always challenging me in my thinking and I highly recommend her writing!

Her topic this time was "Stop trusting God to fulfill those promises". I know sounds crazy, right? But, as usual, she was right on.

How often have I put words in God's mouth - promises I've "claimed" He's made that He never agreed to?

And how often have I limited God when praying? In a small way, her point #4 came to life for me just recently with Corbin.

This February we headed back to the urologist for another consult on Corbin's bladder reflux condition. My prayer requests fell into two possible outcomes - either that the condition wasn't fixed and God would give me peace and comfort about the surgery to come OR that Corbin was healed.

Instantly, I limited God's plan into two paths - my paths - never thinking that He might have an entirely different road for us.

And, of course, He did.

No, the bladder reflux wasn't healed. But, the specialist thought that we could continue on without surgery OR his daily antibiotics and was optimistic that the condition would heal over time without surgery.

Whoa, what? That wasn't one of my "solutions". But it was God's solution. He answered my prayers in His own unique time and way - and that really hit home to me. And His way continues to challenge and grow me in the areas of patience, peace, and just "letting go" of the illusion of control I think I have over the health of my boys.

How many other times have I "put God in a box" and limited my prayers to my own plans and solutions?

This was a great reminder that God really does work in mysterious ways and even when things seem like they are going south, maybe God's road map of my life is supposed to head south for the time being so that I can reach my final destination.

Are there times in your life where God's plan didn't match your own and He answered prayer in unique and amazing ways?

Losing My Life

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ~Matthew 16:25

That speaks against all rational thinking, right? Lose your life, to find it. And if I lose my life, will I like the life I find?

Who knows better than me what I need in life, right?

So let me ask you this - how's life working for you?

I'll be the first to admit - it wasn't working so well for me. I mean from the outside it looked pretty good. I had all my "stuff" together and a pretty good front of being who everyone needed me to be.

Inside...I was a wreck in so many ways. Torn in a thousand different directions, trying to serve a thousand different masters.

Continual failure, never pleasing everyone, always drowning in my duties and responsibilities.

Never truly happy for long, discontented, disappointed, and frustrated with my inability to "get it right".

Lost in this world, searching for the point, living without a passion, and going through the motions.

I had the "good Christian" act going. But I never lost my life to Him. He was an accessory. A label. A social club. Another duty.

And then something changed. Better yet, I think Someone changed me, because I've never gotten a thing right in my life. My attempts at "check box" Christianity were always met with dry and feeble connections to God.

And for a while now I've been falling down this "Alice and Wonderland" rabbit hole of Him. Discovering Him more and more - and finding that there is no end to this falling. He is all-consuming and never ending.

Little by little, He's been releasing my grip on this life I've built up and turning my heart towards Him. He's been opening up dark holes in me that I'd long since considered "Off limits". He's been reigniting passions in me that I'd given up years ago.

I feel...on fire.

I feel...consumed.

I feel...free.

Some days these feelings are SO strong I want to run out into the street and scream it for all to hear:

Life doesn't have to be like this. There IS another way. There is Someone so wonderful out there, you can't even imagine it!

I am no longer who I was. And yet, I was never me. God is opening up this whole new world of who I can be in Him, and His work is just so beautiful.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Secrets of Motherhood

One of my favorite things about motherhood is those little "secrets" just between you and baby. You know, like those unspoken needs or gestures that only you can interpret.

Like if my son Corbin walked up to you and handed you a chip clip - would you know what to do with it?

Secret: Open it.

Difficult Day

Today was, well, a difficult day. Most of the day I have just felt off. And I am going to ask you to excuse my lack of real post, because I think the time would be better spent in prayer and time with Him than trying to explain about my day - because we've all had one of THOSE days. So you can already relate without my saying a word.

But I'd love to hear about one of THOSE days that you've had? They can be quite funny once they've passed, HA!