Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Good Cop Bad Cop

Moms are kind of like cops. They police the area watching for signs of unintelligent behavior, they take note of the surroundings, they make their best attempt at cleaning up the boundries that they are in charge of.

And here is where this post takes a severe curve ball out into left field (but don't worry, I'll make the connection for you later). If you're a guy reading this, but I really doubt there are any guys that read my posts- even my other half- sorry, but this is a girl post. You can proceed if you like, but here is the TMI warning.

I'm a good mom. I'm going to give myself that today. I'm a good mom. HALF of the time. The other half of the time, I don't know who that crazy lady in my house, screwing up my kids is! Let me tell you, from Day 1 after Aunt Flo comes to visit, I'm calm, patient, my panties are never in a bunch, I can turn frustrating situations into funny ones, I'm loving, compassionate, rational, I hug and kiss and love on my kids, twirling them around and playing the, "Boo! I love you!" game. It's glorious! It's how being a mom was meant to be- truly!! And then, just as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning, the days tick on by and all of a sudden she shows up. That other mom. She comes in, ties my hands behind my back, duct tapes my mouth, blindfolds me and shoves me in the closet for several days. She is irritable, annoyed, impatient, snappy, irrational, and self-pitying. Oh seriously she's so annoying. But I feel like I can't fend her off. I can't guard my castle against her.

I was watching the show The Doctors the other day. They were talking about PMS and said how something like 60% of women are affected by it. Some women even suffer from severe depression symptoms during this time. Dr. Lisa was talking about certain ways to deal with these symptoms and noted that one of the best things to do for PMS is to be alone. Alone.... what a lovely word and if only it were that easy just at the time of the month when it was needed. But like that EVER happens.

So what to do? That's the question. As I'm a year post-partum now, my body is really getting back to "normal". I've got to get a handle on what my hormones are going to do and be the master of my own body. It's just difficult when I feel like the loony bin should be on my husband's speed dial.

Back to the cop thing. Ok... so the connection isn't quite what I thought it was going to be. There's the saying "Good cop, bad cop," and well.... I feel like "Good mom, bad mom." That's all.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Merry Belated Christmas

We had a spectacular Christmas at the Kruger House!



We thoroughly enjoyed our tradition of going to church at our church on Christmas Eve and then sleeping in/waking up in our own beds Christmas morning so we could eat caramel and cinnamon rolls, read the Christmas story from the Bible, and open presents!



The kids loved the gifts they received this year and we loved watching them open them up! Isaiah got everything he wanted, "A baw" (ball). He was pretty smitten with each and every "baw" he got. Jonah's favorite gift was Wii Lego Indiana Jones and Phia's favorite was her Polly Pockets and Princess Barbies.

Monday, December 20, 2010

SOLD!!

This story starts roughly 6 months ago. Just having moved into our new home, putting our old home on the market and waiting what we thought was patiently for it to sell; we began a journey that brought us many thoughts, lessons, and emotions. I blogged a while back about some of the things that I've learned on this journey. I'm really not sure how to link that blog post to this blog post, but it was written in October and titled "Learning Much," if you care to read it. It seems that after that post there was another lesson I was to learn on this road.

Several weeks back, I was driving home from the grocery store by myself. I was having a little conversation with the Lord and was being quite verbal. My volume was loud. I was asking God the question I had asked many times before, "What am I supposed to do Lord?!" He answered me as He had many times before, "You're not supposed to do anything." In the past I've heard it like this, "You're not supposed to DO anything." This time I heard the same answer... different emphasis, "YOU'RE not supposed to do anything." Huh? "What do you mean Lord?" was my question. What he was about to tell me rocked my world, to say the least.

Let me scoot back a little. If you don't know me super well, let me introduce you to me. I'm a first born child. I take the lead, it's natural for me. I don't follow a lot of times. Examples: I never tried smoking when other kids were curious. I didn't drink in high school. I didn't do things with my boyfriend (ahem... ya know...) that the rest of society did. I didn't wait, like the majority of my dearest friends, to have kids. The list goes on. I'm also somewhat (and by somewhat I mean REALLY) boisterous about a few (and by a few I mean MOST) things. These characteristics carry over into most areas of my life, including my marriage. My default role is decision maker, motivator, leader, take-charger, etc.

Come on back to me, in the car, God speaking to me. He says, “Shhhhh. You need to be quiet. You need to let your husband lead. Jeremiah bought the house before you were married and he has to sell this house. It’s for him to sell. So shhhhh.” The rest of our conversation sort of went like this, “Um, Lord, do you know me? This isn’t going to be easy.” “Of course I know you and you’re right, which you are most of the time {ok, the “being right” part may have been added by me}, it is going to be close to one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do.” “So, what am I supposed to do?” “Like I said, be quiet. Tell him I told you to back off and that you’re going to follow his lead. Pray for him, encourage him and love him.” “Ok, if you say so. But I feel the need to remind you again, this isn’t going to be easy for me.” He just shakes his head at me.

Over the next few days, God, like I said, rocked my world. Jeremiah was a little stunned with his and my new roles. I had been taking the lead in ALL of the house-selling issues. Now it was him. Many, many times I wanted to ask, “Did you call…” “Did you check on…” “Did you…” “Can you…” “Will you…” and God said to me, “Shhhhh… Be still. Still your tongue. Still your lips.” When I would sit there and be still, a couple times it almost brought me to tears thinking of all the things I thought we needed to hash over and discuss. Then in typical God fashion, Jeremiah would bring up or say something about what I was only thinking about, just in time for me to not completely fall apart and lose it. It was awesomely incredible.

Here’s where it gets cool. One night my brother Richie was at our house and we were chatting a little about the house. I was briefly (and I really do mean briefly!) sharing my woes about not selling. I did not want to say too much because, well you know, I was in this “having to be quiet” thing. Richie said to me, “Have you prayed about this?” “Um, yeah.” “What have you prayed?” “Um, what haven’t I prayed?!” And I went into my repertoire of prayers about selling the house. Get this, Richie says, “Ok,” and literally walks out of the room. Just leaves. Um ok. A while later he comes back in and I sort of wait for him to pick up, but he doesn’t. So I say, “Ok, so you just left…” He says, “God told me to tell you to march around your house.” Ummmm, this was big to me and since I was doing the whole quiet, non-leader thing, I deferred to Jeremiah, “You need to tell this to Jeremiah.” So Richie turns to him and continues on. Basically it was as such, God told Richie to tell us to go and march around our house 5 times. Jeremiah asks Richie why and Richie said he didn’t know, but that God told him to tell us.

Jeremiah shared with Richie that several times he had felt the pull to go over there and walk around the house, but he always dismissed it for one reason or another. Finally God was being LOUD LOUD LOUD, speaking so Jeremiah could audibly hear.

So the next day, a beautiful, gorgeous, sunny, Sunday afternoon when of course the neighbors were out in their yards, we prayed and marched around our house. Of course God wasn’t going to let this be easy, with no one watching us, not having to be self-conscious or anything. Nope, we had to walk around over and over and over and over and over. So we did. We were obedient. It was hard, but we did it.

A few days went by and Richie called Jeremiah. They talked about Joshua marching around Jericho, but it being 7 times. He told Jeremiah that he was supposed to go over and finish the job. He needed to walk around 2 more times. So Jeremiah listened, went to the old house and walked around 2 more times at 10:00 at night. The next day, the guy that ended up buying our house looked at it for the first time. And today, we signed the papers and closed on the sale of our old home. {giddiness overflowing!!!}

I continued and continue to be quiet, letting my husband lead. It really, really gave a new meaning to the prayer my mother-in-law frequently prays for me to “be still.” I had to learn to not only let my body be still and calm, but my mouth. God said to me, “Am I enough? Am I enough for you to listen to? If you can’t talk, am I enough?” I had to learn to say, “Yes Lord, you are. I’ll be quiet and listen to you.” He’s also said to me, “This isn’t only for the selling of the house. This is for life. You need to watch your words and listen most of all.”

I’m trying to focus on this new role in life. It’s not only not easy for me, it’s not easy for Jeremiah. He was raised by an incredibly strong, single mother, leader. He defaults into follower just as much as I default into leader. These characteristics are who we are, yes, but in our roles as husband and wife we are learning that there needs to be a shift. Me leading, and him following is just not what God wants for us and he’s making that strikingly clear. Jeremiah is an incredible, strong, yet quiet leader. He doesn’t always lead how I would expect, but he does in his own way.

This life, for everyone, is about learning. Learning to listen to God. Learning to be obedient. Learning it’s not “all about me.” Learning it’s about loving God and loving others. Learning that as much as we think we can control things, we have no idea what control actually is because we don’t have any control in the grand scheme of things.

It has been a long road (but I realize it could have been MUCH longer!) and I’m grateful for it.

Sold.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

click

A long time ago, a blog friend wrote a post about certain times in her life when she wishes she could capture the moment with a camera, but knowing that the moment could never actually be captured. She prayed that God would be gracious and if she'd stop in those moments He would specially store them somewhere in her brain for her to think back on later.

Jeremiah has often talked about a similar idea of an eye camera that would instantly record as you wished. Wouldn't that be great?!

There have been a few of those moments lately in my life that I'd love to stop and capture, but know that the moment is fleeting and can only hope that the Lord has stored them up for me as a scrapbook to look through with Him when we sit together in glory!

Sitting today at the computer, doing the bills, I turned to see all the giggling as Aphia and Isaiah were chasing each other and playing peekaboo around the island in the kitchen.

CLICK.

Watching my baby (who... dare I say... is and will always be the baby) walk all over, knowing that he is not a baby anymore.

CLICK.

Peeking in the boys room to see Daddy and Jones having a discussion about being a Christian, being baptized and other things that are on a little 6 year old mind as the night winds down. And specifically how incredibly his daddy talked through those big things so that he could perfectly undertand them.

CLICK.

Watching Uncle Richie be so enthusiastic about taking Jonah out in the huge snowfort that he built.

CLICK.

Sitting with my babe, watching Sesame Street. With him actually sitting, snuggling, and relaxing for a good 15 minutes.

CLICK.

Seeing Jonah's joy-filled face when I brought his boots to him, that he had forgotten in the car, right before recess time and hearing his best buddy Jack say to him, "Your wish came true!!"

CLICK.

Watching Aphia excell, with bravery and courage, at her pre-school screening and score well above and beyond where she "needs to be."

CLICK.

Seeing the older two in the Christmas program on Sunday at church, singing praises of worship!

CLICK.

Monday, November 22, 2010

liFe aS uSuaL

The babe is awake, an hour early from naptime.

The middle is playing with the self inflating whoopy cushion.

The eldest is at school, having clean up time, getting ready to come home.

A candle is burning with the smell of apple cider.

A trip to Target is on the horizon.

I cut my hair 2 weeks ago and today it's in a teeny tiny pony tail.

Bible study is at our house tonight, but it's the men so I'm not overly crazy about cleaning.

The shower has not been turned on once today.

Too many kitkats have been eaten when today I was supposed to be good.

Pork is in the crockpot to make pork fried rice for dinner.

When I told the middle that she was having a hard time listening and following directions today and that frustrated me she broke into made-up-song about obeying your father and mother and included the words, "...obey them, obey your father and mother. Obey hey hey!"

The bathroom has been cleaned.

Only a 1/2 hour of work-work was done today.

The babe can now say several words consciously: "mama" "dada" "ball" "uh oh" "all done" "down" "more" and he sings "lalalalala"

The oldest got "advanced" reading books to practice with at home from his teacher... neither JJ nor I ever had advance reading books in school- we feel very blessed.

A lunch date is planned with my mom and bro for tomorrow.

I have to keep the kids quiet and busy tonight to stay out of the guys hair.

The middle is onto eating butterscotch pudding.

I will vacuum the family room.

The babe is back to sleep :)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Guest Blogger- Aphia!

My name is Aphia and I'm guest blogging for my mommy today. She's really busy and so I told her that I would write a post.

You see, she just started working a new job at our church. The nice lady who is the Director of Pre-School Ministries right now (who I just love and is so great!) is transitioning out of her job. Her daughters are a little older and need their mommy in a different way at home. She's busy bringing them to and from volleyball, piano lessons, awana, and other activities that they have. She's looking forward to being able to be a substitute teacher next year when her youngest is in 1st grade full time. My mom says that we'll miss her a lot, but is so glad for the opportunity to phase into this job also.

My mom will be transitioning into the position over the next several months. Slowly taking over bit by bit of the job. It is a big job, handling everything involved with pre-k ministries. That means anything inside the "pre-school circle" on Sunday mornings, Cubbies on Wednesday nights, pre-k VBS in the summer and helping with other activities that happen throughout the year- like the Birthday Party for Jesus that's coming up! She's so grateful for the slow phase in and not having it all plopped in her lap at once.

But this brings me to a new point. My mom keeps using that word- "transition." I feel like she's been using it since I've been born! It seems that every time we feel settled into a niche then it's up and there's a new "transition."

Right now and for the next six months we'll be transitioning into my mom's new job at church.
Six months ago we were transitioning into a new home.
Six months before that we were transitioning into having a third kid at our house.
Six months before that my mom stopped doing daycare, so we were transitioning out of that and into full time at-home-no-job mommy.
And so the story goes.

My mom said she feels overwhelmed right now, but not stressed and she said that must be God's grace. We all know she's a bit nutters some of the time. Someone said to her the other day, "I was thinking about you the other day, are you crazy?!" She simply answered, "Yes." But God is good and seems to be providing enough hours in the day... so far.

Today is my mom and dad's anniversary. My dad told us that last night and asked what they should do. My brother Jonah said that mom and dad should go to a hotel! That brother of mine is SO SMART! He said Grandma Lollie would come and babysit. Someone should let her know that. But my mom told me today that they wouldn't be going to any hotels anytime soon, especially because they still have to sell the old house. Boo. I'm going to help my mom make a fancy dinner for my daddy with candles and they get to use the China. They only use it on their anniversary since they only have two settings. I'm not sure how they have two China's because she told me a long time ago that China was a really big country on the other side of the world. I told you before that she is a bit nutters, we just always keep this in mind.

I should go. I'm supposed to be having quiet booktime in my room! Maybe my mom will let me write to you again sometime. Bye now!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Happy Birthday Isaiah

October 28, 2009- the day I fell in love for the 4th time.
He still melts my heart.
Happy 1st Birthday to my Baby Boy, Isaiah John.