Pass the Salt Please...

Today I was called "a seasoned mother"...

Ya, I laughed too...

We were just a couple of moms standing around talking about...

Everything...

Little did I know she was listening...

She didn't appear to be paying attention...

But she was.

And upon saying goodbye she said, "I just love listening to seasoned mothers talk."

I giggled...

I'm not THAT much older than her...

But as I looked at her sweet faced children...

I saw me, 6 years ago...

3 kids, 3 and under.

How did I do it?

God's grace. It's the only answer.

I remember those days, but I don't remember anything I did to get through them.

So it HAD to be God's grace.

And then I relived the conversation in my mind. What had I said. Did she walk away feeling encouraged?

I pray she did. I don't remember saying anything negative. It was just a couple of mom's standing there talking.

But it made me think.

I never know when someone may be listening.

Do I complain about my children? Do I speak of how much I enjoy my kids?

Honestly, I don't see myself as a seasoned mother. We haven't even reached double digits yet...

But there are always those who come after. And they are listening, even if they don't look like they are...

So even though I don't feel old enough to be "a seasoned mother", I will be mindful of how I speak. I will be encouraging. I will be honest. I will be thankful.

I will be seasoned.

Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Traditions...

I love traditions.

I get it from my mom.

We had funnel cakes every year on the first snow.

Chicken a la King for just about every holiday meal growing up.

And we always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve.

Just did!

So it should be no surprise that I too have traditions for my kids.

And our Christmas traditions start, not surprisingly, at my moms.
Where they get their own little tree to decorate.
OK, just had to throw this one in for MawMaw. The apple doesn't fall from the 'coffee out of a china cup' tree does it. Then on Friday Coach has to work, so the rest of us decorate the house which begins with moving a book shelf to make room for the tree. It takes all morning as you can see. Again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Just sayin...

We make the necessary repairs. Like hockey taping a tree stand together...
Get all the boxes of ornaments and extras down from the attic...
The kids got their little trees decorated and we got the main tree done. We take turns putting the star on the tree. This year it was The Kickers turn. For most of the day you couldn't walk in the living room. And even now as all the kids are tucked in their beds, the boxes still sit...

It is at least a 2 day process for us. And I think I may be missing a box or two...

Hum...

The tree has some bare spots and some spots that are 'over ornamented' but we'll get to that tomorrow. For now, Baby Jesus is safely back in His manger.

Until tomorrow...

Thankful

We have a lot to be thankful for here at TeamBabetz

We've pulled together and ...

And now flush with confidence...

We've pulled together...

And have plenty of food to eat...

And when the day is done...

And the kids are asleep...

We have plenty to laugh about...

Like catching the coach playing with laser guns...

And being threatened if I put these pictures on line...

But I hope they make your thanksgiving a little better...

Because it's things like these that make all my days a little better.

And give me much to be thankful for.

I hope those of you who stop by have a Happy Thanksgiving too.

Psalm 118:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Leaves...

A Bed in the Leaves

By Marian Kennedy

My yard is full of leaves today

Brown and yellow and gold

I think I'll rake them in a pile

Higher than my head

Then I'll pretend it is my bed

I'll jump in very quick

And pile their leaves up over me

For covers soft and thick

I'll just lie there so nice and warm

And look up in the sky

And watch more leaves float down for me

To rake up bye and bye

Thankful Neighbors

I know what my neighbors are thankful for this season...

He's Five Now...

Yep, he's 5 now...

He had a party, but we confused him by having it two days after his birthday. So all day Thurs. he kept asking when his friends were coming over...

And all day Friday he complained that his friends didn't come to his party...

But he was thrilled to see them Sat...

That's my boy...

And now he's 5.

"Pipe Problems"

"Pipe Problems" was the title of a letter my 8 year old gave to her teacher telling her that our plumbing was...

backed up...

unusable...

unflushable...

And that her dad was digging up the front yard to fix it...

We have no secrets here in "White Trashville"...

And clearly no pride either!!!

And we lost one of our beautiful Camellia in the process...

which an unnamed member of the team was wanting to get rid of anyway and now had a 'convenient' excuse...
And yes, I let my boys help in their mis matched pajamas...

Because when your husband is digging a 100 foot long trench in your front yard that hardly seems to be the issue...

He got to the ROOT of the problem...

And in the process found out that the plumber, who wanted to do the job for a ridiculous amount of money $*,***.**...

Either lied or did not know what he was talking about...

Neither of which built a whole lot of trust for the kind of work he would do...

So my manly man is doing it...

He actually fixed the problem last week, but wants to "make it right" so it won't happen again...

Yay!!!

So now that we have this beautifully dug trench...

And 2-4 inches of rain is projected for tomorrow...

Nice...

To be continued...