Dreams

Dreams are beyond fascinating.  Do you long to hear God’s voice more clearly?  Start paying attention to your dreams and write them down.  Ask God to speak to you in your dreams.  It is amazing!  God will start giving you insight and wisdom for your life and the life of those around you.  Find someone that is trained in biblical dream interpretation to help you with some of the more complex dreams (we have such a guy in our church and he is fascinating!).  God usually speaks pretty point blank to me in my dreams (not a lot of interpretation necessary).   I guess He understands that he has made me to be left brained (sure, you can call me nerdy)…I need things to be pretty black and white!  Happy dreaming! 

Beautiful Poem

I came across this wonderful poem in a book that I’m currently reading (Choices by Mary Farrar).  It spoke to me and I thought maybe it would speak to you too.  I don’t know why we live this way, but it’s so true!  Smell a rose today J

Present Tense

It was spring…but it was summer that I wanted.

The warm days and the great outdoors. 

It was summer…but it was fall I wanted.

The colorful leaves and the cool, dry air.

It was fall…but it was winter I wanted.

The beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter…but it was spring I wanted.

The warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child…but it was thirty I wanted.

To be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged…but it was twenty I wanted.

The youth and the free spirit.

I was retired…but it was middle-age I wanted.

The presence of mind without limitations.

My life is over.  But I never got what I wanted!

A Few Differences, A Few Things the Same

So as I stated a few weeks ago, I am officially retired from the corporate world.  I’ve gone from a working mother to a laboring mother.  So far the new adventure is absolutely fantastic!  I thought I would share a few of the differences and similarities between my former life as a corporate manager and my current life as a toddler manager. 

·         Only about 2% of my requests in the corporate world were greeted with a “why?” and usually this “why?” was justified.  In toddler speak, about 99.9% of my statements are answered with a “why?”  “Why did God make the sun yellow?”  “Why do we go this way to the library?”  “Why don’t you know, mommy?”

·         Spontaneous dance parties were not part of corporate life.  On a real jumpy day, spontaneous coffee breaks might offer some excitement, but never dance parties.  My three year old’s love for dance means lots of music and movement!!

·         Daily nap times are delightful.  I think this would make corporate world a much brighter place. 

·         Story time now consists of princesses, heroes, candy and enchanted forests.  Most corporate stories offer the same climax that has something to do with money (usually in Power Point form).

·         Brown nosing actually means having a brown nose in my current setting (kids.are.messy).

·         Given my lack of current event knowledge, water cooler conversations are relatively the same (at least from my end).

·         A vendor stalking me to buy their latest software product is not unlike my kidlets begging for a treat.  Neither party takes no for an answer.

Kisses and hugs were not a form of payment in the corporate setting (thank goodness!), but coming from my littles, they are better than a big fat paycheck any day!

Kindergarten, Say What?!?

My oldest little person is officially a kindergartner.  Wow!  There were no tears, only excitement.  I was too excited for him to cry.  I watched my baby with his oversized backpack take the halls to his new found sanctuary; the kindergarten classroom.  It was magical.  I was one of those kids growing up that absolutely loved the start of a school year.  I loved shopping for school supplies, new school clothes, arranging my trapper keeper (my younger readers can Google this) and getting my back pack stuffed just so.  I loved everything about the start of a school year. ..a fresh start, the excitement of learning something new, the chance to see old friends and the idea of being a step higher on the “maturity ladder.”

I pray that my boy keeps his excitement and LOVES the process of learning.  His teacher seems amazing and lucky for him, he has a pretty RAD gym teacher.  Oh the possibilities!        

Things Observed at the County Fair

We took the kids to the county fair the other night.  The weather was absolutely perfect which is unusual for early August.  A summer of heat induced hibernation meant one thing on that gorgeous night…LOTS of people were out making for a fascinating night of people watching. In no particular order, here are a few disturbing "interesting" observations:

·    A mother standing completely upright with her shirt pulled up nursing her baby in front of one of the kiddy rides – no nursing cover or anything (I should note that I am currently a nursing mother and this was....for lack of a better word without sounding judgemental "gutsy").

·    Teenage girls consider it a bold fashion statement to let their butt cheeks hang below their shorts (this is very disturbing to me).

·    Teenage boys have no consistent fashion statement other than acne.

·    Cow manure is the strongest of all manures that we had the great pleasure of sniffing.

·    I am now addicted to nicotine from the gobs of second hand smoke.

·    I still get queasy just looking at the ferris wheel.

·    Watching junior high kids flirt is very uncomfortable (never.want.to.be.that.age.again)

And there you have it...

I’m in LOVE

Dearest Trader Joes,

You’ve captured my heart.  Your fancy food with quality ingredients and prices has had me driving all the way to Missouri TWICE this week just to catch a glimpse of you.  Please take up residence in Olathe.  I would like to maintain our relationship, but I cannot do it with such distance.  Did you know my middle name is Jo?  Coincidence?!?  My heart tells me no. 

Fondly yours,

Michaela 

Last Week of Work

So last week was my final week at work.  I've entered retirement at the ripe old age of 31.  My retirement fund will be drawn in the form of dirty diapers and sloppy kisses and I couldn't be more thrilled.  What a STRANGE feeling it was last week knowing that this was my last working Monday, my last working Tuesday, etc.  I've gone from a working mother to a laboring mother.  Now the real challenge begins.

Life for the new few weeks will feel much like a vacation and not a true retirement.  Marcel leaves for a worship conference on Wednesday so my mom is going to spend a few days with us.  When Marcel returns we'll have a few more days of family time before he heads back to school for the year.  And then my sweet Jadon will start kindergarten a few days after that.  The reality of my retirement probably won't sink in until the school year has started and I'll be forced to find my new normal routine with sweetie #1 and sweetie #2. 

I would like to stop and savor this moment.  There will be many things that I miss about working (namely the people), but I have prayed to be a stay at home mom for over 5 years now.  I wept when I was 5 months pregnant with my first at the thought of leaving this little life in someone else's care.  I thank those that have helped me in caring for him along this journey.  Although I would have liked to have been home with him full time, we've had some great ladies in our life who have loved him like their own.  You know who you are and you rock!  My sincerest thank you.

To any of you working mothers out there struggling with the balance of life, kids, mortgages, jobs, family, friends, etc., drop the guilt and drop to your knees.  He has a plan for you and your family and it is grander than you can imagine.