The Magic of Ordinary Days

So one of my favorite things about the Holiday Season is the Hallmark Movie Channel! I know I know.. sounds crazy but I just love it! I can watch cheesy movies all through the season and never be cursed at, never have to see naked people, never watch any one being tortured... it's just good, clean, Christmas Season fun... I love it! There was this movie on Hallmark this past month called the Magic of Ordinary Days... it was a very stupid name for the movie I have to say. It turned out to be a pretty cute flick but still... the name just didn't fit! However, I did like the name.... something about the Magic of Ordinary Days that is so true. The Holiday season is so full of magic... the lights, the gifts, the families gathered around a dinner table...There really is something so magical about it! In the year's past, there has been a little bit of disappointment when I have had to return the "ordinary" days. However this year has been different: As soon as the ball dropped, Carson sarted saying "Ah O"... and he broke through his two front teeth, which he has been working on for months now. Campbell started gymnastics class. Seeing her in her pink outfit with her hair piled on her head like a ballerina was more joy than I have ever felt. It was a whole new level of parenting emotion for sure! Then I started thinking... I love my home, I enjoy my children, I'm married to my best friend in the whole world, I loving living where I live... there really is something to be said for finding the Magic in Ordinary Days.

I pray that as you begin this new year and your ordinary days begin all over again, that you are able to find the magic! 

Thank God for Little Girls...

     All growing up, I always thought that I would be a mother of all boys. Ummm... first baby out was a girl... a suprise for sure and I have to say, it was a thought I had to get used to. I wasn't sure that I was going to be a great mother to a girl. Boys, I knew I could handle but a girl... I just wasn't that confident. After a lot of prayer, I knew that I had to trust the Lord to be the mother to a little girl. Once she was born, I fell more in love with her than I ever thought possible. Then, it was time to bring her home from the hospital. I did, and though I was still in love her, she became the most challenging thing I've ever done. Everything has been a challenge: The bottle, the baby food, the sleeping, the napping and now the potty training... Every stage of her life has been a learning experience for me. I have learned my strengths and weaknesses. I have learned that I'm great with cooking with her, making bows for her, making blankets for her and her dolls. I have learned that I have an unmeasurable amount of love for her.
     I have also learned several weaknesses. The biggest one I have is know ing that I don't have it all figured out. I am a very choloeric personality type. I have major control issues. I am extremely organized and planned. Usually, if I don't know how to do something, I just figure it out. I never stay NOT knowing how to do it. Then, she came along. I can honestly say... I don't know what I'm doing... I don't know how to raise her. I have tried for the last 3 1/2 years to figure it out and I still don't have clue. I have been potty training her for a year now.. that's right.. one year! Now, I read the book about how to potty train in a day! Cover to Cover. I have done everything my pediatrician has suggested to me down to the sticker chart on the wall. We've done balloons and presents. We have had so many M &M's that I'm sure this potty training venture will end up supporting our local dentist office. Still... we are EXACTLY where we started one year ago.
     I have said how difficult she is, I have said that I feel as though she is the thorn in my side with the whole failure to potty train. I have cried myself to sleep over this girl. I have screamed into the air outside on my back deck. I have had every emotion one can possibly have over the last 3 1/2 years.
     But when I step back and look at her life, I see very clearly that God was right... He knew I didn't know how to raise a daughter... that's exactly where he wanted me. Not knowing how and being left with the only option of trusting Him. My daughter is the reason I learned how to make bows. She is the reason I make blankets. She is the reason I bake cupcakes in the afternoon. She is why I get to go the park. She is why I get to buy pink shoes and Strawberry Shortcake toys. She is the reason I'm humbled and the reason I have learned to trust the Lord. Through it all, she is the reason for every good thing in my life. Most of all, she is the reason I have learned to rely on the Lord. I have NO idea what to do. I have no clue how to get her to use the potty. I have NO idea how to get her to eat vegetables and drink juice. I have NO idea. 
      There are so many of us who feel inadequate to handle the situation we currently find ourselves in. We know it's a God Thing but that isn't making it any easier. If that is you. If you are finding yourself feeling inadequate then I pray you are able to step back and like I do ever day, see that the impossible situation you are in is what is making you the best person you can be.
     And all I have say is this...Thank God for Little Girls!