My Wife Rocks!

As I looked at my living room tonight, dog hair rolling over the laminate landscape like some sort of tumbleweed, I saw Sandra's computer. For once in her life, she left her laptop downstairs after going to bed. As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "Big Mistake". My wife tends to flatter me with many a blog, yet I have no recourse in flattering her where it can be seen....until now. I know her password! Bwahaaaaaa!!!!

My wife, God bless her, is as good as it gets. Sure, she usually has a headache, is tired at the drop of a hat, and can scold many a Wal-Mart patron who happens to jump in front of the line if a checker opens a new register, but she is mine! She raises our children in a manner that would make Jesus proud. She stays young with our lovely daughter Sierra in order to be the coolest Mom ever....which she is. Splashtown, Cinemark movies (five so far this summer), library, VBS....she does it all!

Cuddles know no end where Daniel is concerned (he's her little man)! Now, if I could only find a way to get her to cuddle with her big man! Sandra is the Mom to end all Mom's (apologies to other Mom's out there), but it's true. For me and my family, the sun rises and sets with Sandra, and I couldn't be more grateful to God for this gift he's given me.

What about the dads?

Yesterday, a friend posted an article on facebook about what NOT to say to Stay-At-Home moms. It got a giggle out of a lot of my friends while at the same time being OH SO TRUE. As a SAHM, I can say that all too often I get that remark that cuts to the core of what I do. I will hear: "well, since you have all this free time, could you....." or "it must be nice to have a husband that makes so much money" or any number of other statements. I often smile and let these comments roll of my back, but they do hurt sometimes.

That last statement, the husband one, made the list in the article (well, both of them did) and that got me thinking. What about the dads whose wives stay at home? We, as SAHM, go on and on about how hard our jobs are (and they are...very much), but how hard is it on most of our husbands to be married to a SAHM??

It is a common misconception that if a woman stays home to take care of house and children that the husband must be making a whole heck of a lot of money. I do not, though, know many SAHMs where this is true. Almost all of my friends who are at home face the same monthly, weekly, and daily money stresses that I do. We are not rolling in the dough, getting manicures weekly, going shopping and having tea at fancy restaurants.

So, speaking in my own situation, where does this leave my husband. Well, he is under tremendous pressure to provide for his family. He is the sole provider. His job holds our insurance plans. His paycheck puts food on our table, keeps our electricity working, and keeps clothes on our backs. He must pay all the bills including the daunting house payment. If he makes the slightest misjudgement in his financial plan, the whole house could fall a part. If he makes the wrong person mad at work, we could be on the street. That is a lot of pressure to put on one person. A man finds satisfaction and pride in providing for his family and if he fails, it is a LARGE blow to him.

What about the pressures for peers on why he has to provide everything. He has heard from other people, why isn't your wife working. As a husband and dad, he gets the same grief I do.

Why do we get grief? We have both talked about this subject often and we both agree that our priority is the raising of our children. I offered to go to work when Daniel entered school, but Matt adamantly objected stating that he wanted me to be there for the kids. What about part time? NO!!! (and, of course, I started to homeschool Sierra which shut that door)

I see how the pressures of being married to a SAHM affects at least one husband/father. I want to give a shout out to all those dads out there that share the sacrifices in providing that one income....whether it be small, medium, or large. It is not the rewards in the here and now that we are sowing...it is the future and heavenly rewards we are sowing.

And, for the record, my husband works VERY hard to keep me as a SAHM and is far from "rich". His salary provides us with what we need and little more. We sacrifice a lot to live as we do. It is often hard....there are tears....there are clenched stomachs as we try to figure out how we are going to do it.........and there is LOVE, JOY and PEACE as we see the sense of security and love on each of our kids faces. Ask our kids if they would rather have the benefit of 2 salaries over having their mom at home with them and they will ALWAYS say NO.

So, don't be condescending to the SAHM or the husband of a SAHM. And give those dads a fist bump or a shoulder pat of encouragement. They work hard or harder to provide that place of security and love for their children....they are the SAHM's biggest fan and best support.

My Kids

My kids reach(ed) 2 big goals in the matter of days...hmmmm....maybe it is 3 big goals. 2 of these goals make me SO sad....and also make me so proud. The third just makes me proud...but then, does it make me a bit sad. You must remember, I am a woman. Conflicting emotions are just what we are!!

The first of these goals was already met...it was met yesterday by my daughter. She went and turned 12. Oh how emotional this gets, though not as emotional as it will be a year from now when she turns 13!! But, that's just it....she turns 13 in one year. This is her last year in her preteen years and once she becomes a teenager, it will be no time at all before she is an ADULT!! I could SWEAR I was just at the hospital just months ago having her. Now, she is almost as tall as me....growing more and more beautiful daily.....and dang it, she is 12!!! On the flip side of this coin, she is also an incredible 12 year old. Oh, she has her issues, she is a girl and thus has a wide range of emotions she is learning to control. But, she is such a sweet, tender girl who loves life and her family and is sensitive to God's voice. It is hard not to be filled with pride alongside the sorrow at how fast she has grown up.

Which leads me to goal number 2...and this one is a doozy. On Thursday, my son will COMPLETE KINDERGARTEN. Oh, my son. I love him SO much and I admittedly baby him. Try as I do, though, he is growing up faster than I can keep up with. He finishes Kindergarten (his school does not do Kindergarten graduation....a VERY sore point with me) on Thursday, but already seems ready to conquer the world. He is so incredibly smart, that when tested, he is already ready for 2nd grade!!! This has it's good points....he can read and figure things out for himself. BUT, he is MY BABY!!! I want him to need me more. I want him to rely on me more. Lucky for me, that while he is incredibly smart, he is also incredibly lovable and loves to curl up in my arms and snuggle with his mommy. He still tells me that he loves me as big as space. He also tells me how he can't wait for 1st grade....SUCKER. AND, we had a family picture taken for soccer and I was ASTOUNDED at how TALL he was next to all of us....his baby fat is practically gone.......I WANT MY BABY BACK!!!!!!!! But, he is a very good kid and he makes me proud daily!!

Which leads me to number 3. Sierra will have completed her first year of homeschooling on Thursday (or Friday). It was a successful venture with no regrets from us or her. She is succeeding beyond my wildest dreams with homeschooling and is mature enough to know that she needed to get out of the environment she was in. There is a bittersweet moment, though, as she will be done with elementary and intermediate education and will move on to....gulp....Jr. High. Now, I do not need to worry about the influences of school with Jr. High, since she will be home. BUT, it is still a milestone that she has moved on to one of her big stepping stone to independence. My daughter is a Jr. Higher!! WHAT!!!!!!!!

I have amazing kids. They are so sweet and wonderful and smart. I am proud of them everyday. Time does fly WAY too fast. I wish it would just slow down a bit. I love the feel of Daniel's smooth, soft cheeks when we kiss or snuggle together. I love the easy feeling of camaraderie between Sierra and I when those teenage hormones have not kicked in yet and boys aren't quite knocking on her door (though they do knock on her facebook door). Time could slow down a bit more, though. I would like to enjoy those moments in time when my kids are kids. But time will not slow down and I must roll with the punches. I must cheer my son on when he very proudly leaves his school on Thursday, officially done with Kindergarten. I must hug my daughter close and tell her how proud I am of her and all she has done in her 12 years of life. I must hold my head high, though my inner self would like to cling still to the pig tails my daughter wore and the wrap around glasses Daniel wore.

So with that, I bid adieu! Don't feel sorry for me....I am sure tomorrow I will wake up in a different state of mind....I am woman, after all.

Where's the line?

I have posted many posts on my thoughts on media today....media in the form of music, movies, and TV. The other night, I had a talk with my daughter about the movies her friends get to watch and how she wishes she could be "normal". This sparked a conversation with Matt and I about what has become "normal" and if "normal" was good...or maybe I have become a prude, not only in what I allow her to watch, but also in what I allow myself to watch.

What began this conversation is Sierra wanting to see more of the genre known as the "chick flick". So many of her friends post on facebook how they saw this movie or that movie and Sierra will ask me about these movies. One in particular she inquired about was the movie, "The Notebook". Most women would consider this movie among the top chick flick movies made...and when you watch it you do get caught up in the romance of it all. You have an elderly couple living in a nursing facility because the wife has dimentia. The husband loves his wife so much that everyday he reads to her the story of their love, hoping to spark a glimmer of who she once was.

The love story itself is full of passion and love and really is a heart tugger as we, as women, lean in to watch the romantic story unfold. Sounds good....seems like a no-brainer to let my 11 year old daughter watch this story of devotion, right? Well, there is the part of the story where they first meet and fall in love when she is a mere 17 years old. There is the scene where, at this tender age of 17 that Allie and Noah go into an old, abandoned mansion and decide to consumate their relationship....and in a very graphic way. They are seperated by her parents who view the relationship to be uneven (she comes from high class blood while he is but a farmer's son) as well as too fast for their 17 year old daughter. Years later, she falls in love with a soldier who is of the right blood and they become engaged. She discovers, though, that Noah has loved her all along, had restored that mansion to it's former glory and had written her 365 letters (none of which she had ever received). Upon knowing all this, another scene like the above scene unfolds...almost as graphic...and this time she is an adult, but an adult who is engaged to another man.

I am curious. How is this not ok for my daughter, but ok for me to watch? What is the point of a movie?? We watch movies and tv to "escape" our world and live in another world. So, what happens if I escape into a movie where 2 people who fall in love, yes, but do so in such a way as this. Does it make me wish for a fantasy love story like this one which is hardly the love story God would have for me?? What does it do to me and my adult mind and heart? And what impression does it leave for my daughter??

Matt and I, several years ago, fell in love with this show called Chuck. It was a silly show about a normal guy who finds himself in an abnormal (and fantastical) situation of having a spy computer downloaded into his brain. What ensues is hysterical fun as he and 2 agents assigned to him take on the spy world with crazy gadgets, the hilarity of a character who is out of his element but loving the idea of being a spy. However, it did not take long for the show to go DOWNHILL. Sadly, like so many other shows, there was a love interest which turned to the female beginning to be on screen in bra and panties and her and Chuck beginning a relationship that is all the sudden them living together. The focus shifted from the hilarity of Chuck flubbing it up on spy missions to the love interest and the hurdles in that. It got raunchier and raunchier and we finally (we waited too long) had to put a stop to watching it.

So, ask yourself. Is there a show you do not want your kids to watch, but you watch? Why don't you want your kids to watch it? When you get to that reason, could this reason be the same reason that you YOURSELF should not watch that show or movie??

One such show that comes to mind is Grey's Anatomy. I heard so many women oooing and aaaaing over it so I decided to try it. WOW!! The ammount of sex in this show was astounding...casual sex....people cheating on spouses....etc. This fits that category...I would NOT want Sierra to watch this show. I would not want her to cause I would not want her to think that this was an ok way to live. I should not watch this show. I should not allow myself to see these images that are too deprave for my daughter to see.

So, we had to sit and have this conversation with Sierra. We had to talk to her about how we want more for her than the world wants. We do not want her watching these glorified lifestyles that are present in these movies and begin to think...what's wrong with that. And, we also want her to know it is not double sided. We do not allow ourselves to watch these shows either. We are not perfect...we are not holier than thou. We do not watch Christian movies and shows exclusively. BUT, we do try to filter what we do watch...sometimes, the filter malfunctions and something slips by. We have to be diligent in our efforts.

Today, I took Friday Night Lights off of the DVR list. I should have done it years ago. Matt, also, removed Saturday Night Live from his list. It is a constantly moving filter that we have to evaluate and re-evaluate.

New Book

When I got my Kindle at Christmas, I began to look at all the free books one could download. Lucky me, I was able to download many books and have been downloading many books for free. Little did I know that the books I was downloading were all TEMPORARILY free!!! Now I look at the list of free books weekly to see what is available.

Earlier this week, I was in the mood to read something new (I had started MANY books but none had quite captured my fancy). Something told me to try this one book that had become recommended by a friend and so I did....

I am not done with it yet...not quite half way done....but so far I am loving it!!

It takes place right around when Jesus dies. Pontious Pilate is up in arms because he had stood by while Jesus was crucified though he knew it to be wrong...his wife is suffering from nightmares.....and then the unthinkable happens.....Jesus' body disappears. Pilate and Herod Antipas fear revolt and they come up with a plan to find out where Jesus' body went.

That is all I will reveal...but I will say, I am really enjoying the book and so far would have to put it on my list of books I would recommend!!

Ok...I am finished!!

Little House on the Prairie

Books have always played a huge part in my life. I have loved reading since I was very young and would devour anything I could get my hands on. Of course, you have heard me talk about this obsession with books for years....if you know me at all, anyway.

I have read every single Nancy Drew books...well, the original series, not the series they tried to come out with much later. I read all the Beverly Cleary books, too. What a gifted writer she was and I would read and re-read them. I also read Sweet Valley High, VC Andrews (sadly), Janette Oake, and many others.

I was so blessed, though, to have read the Little House on the Prairie books. I loved being transported to prairie days. I gobbled the books up and read them over and over and over again.

A double blessing, though, came in the form of a tv show. Oh, how I looked forward to watching this show each week...seeing the characters I had grown to know and love in action!!!

Melissa Gilbert as Laura just encompassed the little girl, half-pint. I remember my dad put a tv in my room just for this show (and so I would stop pestering him and his obsession with watching football). It was a little black and white tv, but that mattered little to me.

Throughout the years, I have watched this show with channels like TNT and TVLAND playing it. I have probably seen each episode countless times and can quote so many of the parts. My favorite storyline? Why, Almanzo and Laura's love story, of course!!

And now, thanks to dvd and netflix, I am watching this wonderful show from the very first until...maybe...the end (let's face it, the show took it all too far). Almost every episode brings tears to my eyes....and many of them cause those tears to fall!! I am barely on disc 2 of season 1. I just watched the episode where Laura befriends a little girl named Olga who was born with one leg shorter than the other....and Charles makes her a shoe that allows her to walk without a limp. Oh yeah, tears aplenty.

Matt laughs at me as I watch it...let him laugh. These books and this show are an important part of my childhood. I wonder what the real Laura Ingalls Wilder would think if she knew the impact her stories would have on even this newer generation?? Did you know there is curriculum based on these books?? I wonder if authors like Jeanette Oake and Beverly Lewis were inspired by her stories when they write their own prairie type books??

There are few American authors who have come close to the enduring legacy that this author has. Now, let me grab a tissue and watch this next episode called "Ma's Holiday". I love Netflix, I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I love Almanzo...err....I mean the whole Ingalls family.

Soul Surfer

A year ago, my daughter, Sierra, decided to read this book, Soul Surfer. We were in Half Price Books and she was looking for a book with substance. I came across this book and began to remember the news stories I saw about a girl, surfing in Hawaii, who got her arm bitten off by a shark. Sierra was pretty skeptical about the book, but decided to give it a try.

She loved it instantly. She found in Bethany Hamilton, a girl she could look up to. Her strong faith and convictions were a strong theme throughout the whole book. She listened to the same music Sierra listened to. She was active in her church. She practiced her faith in her everday life. I heard little about Bethany's harrowing experience with a shark, but heard a lot about Bethany herself.

Often we wonder why "bad" things happen to good people, and I think this is an example of why. Would we know about a teenage surfing girl and her daily walk of faith? I doubt it. Fact is, there are a lot of teenagers who do walk in faith everyday but it is the bad ones we hear about. But, you take a girl like Bethany Hamilton and you add in a freak incident like a shark biting off your arm, and all the sudden this girl is thrust into the limelight. This girl is now able to share her faith more openly.

It would've been so easy for her to have rejected Christ for allowing this tragic event to happen to her, but, instead, she seemingly grew closer to Christ through this storm. She did not allow this to crush her spirit, but, instead, she stood on her rock and proclaimed her devotion to Him.

I had the immense pleasure, this past weekend, of going to see the movie that was made about her story with my daughter.

It was so incredible and so inspiring. One of the things I loved about the movie was the shark attack seemed secondary to the will of a teenager who would not back down. She lost her arm and she, seemingly, did not break. Sure, she had her moments of emotional loss...but for the most part, she decided this was not going to bring her down.

I believe that all teenage girls should watch this movie, read this book, and look to Bethany Hamilton as a role model instead of the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, or any of those women.

Sierra sold her copy of Soul Surfer long ago. She has resolved that she must buy it again. She wants to have it on hand as a reminder of a girl who inspires her to live out her faith through all her trials.