one

while the earth has been busy making its way around the sun

our littlest love has gone from this

to this

just like that.

and as i rocked her to sleep tonight to the tune of big sisters shrieking and laughing in the background,

i tried to remember what life was like before her

less chaotic?  yes

quieter?  sure

calmer?  undoubtedly

but her presence here has done more than just add to the noise

it has added to the joy

the laughter

and the quality of this home

she teaches us to smile bigger...

to let our jaws fall wide open in amazement at the littlest joys

that turn into huge happiness when we receive them the way she does

one year ago we were excited, nervous, unsure

wondering how this family of 5 thing would work out

hoping that being responsible for another human being wouldn't tip us over the edge of insanity

tonight we're snuggled down in a torrent of rain and thunder, 

thanking God for all the years, but especially this last one

smiling about how this crazy adventure with Him just keeps getting better

praising Him for teaching us that when we put our "yes" in His hands, 

He will never fail to show us how long and wide and deep and high is His great love

one baby girl

one year

one of the best things we could have ever done with our lives

calling all scurvy dogs and scallywags!

arrrrrg, me mateys!

all hands on deck for the surliest party to ever sail the high seas....

the puny-est pirates aboard our ship turned three and one this weekend.  

we swabbed the decks and hoisted the jolly roger in honor of these little lady land lubbers.

avast, ye!

the grub was mighty tasty

 

we plundered friends and family for eye patches and swords galore

yikes, me hearties!  

matching buccaneers....

there were heaps o' presents

and crafts a' plenty

blimey!  

these little scallywags took seriously the pirate pledge to hornswaggle as many tattoos as possible

we pilfered libraries far and near to find golden stories and used pirate voices to tell the mighty tales

and when the dirty rotten scoundrels got feisty, we sent them outside to walk the PLANK!

shiver me timbers!  even grandpa braved the shark infested waters

before we battened down the hatches, there was a hunt for golden booty

and a round of swashbucklin' cupcakes

heave ho

into another year we go!

yo ho, hey, hey

'twas a happy birthday!

the wait...

Good Friday

the day when we remember the wait....

how could it be?

Jesus....on a cross?

God, are you going to show up?
how much longer?

everything silent
still
dark

Jesus' friends weeping
and wondering
and waiting

our family is in a season of waiting right now
dreaming with God
KNOWING that He has something miraculous in store....

and although it is hard,
we are closer to His heart than ever before

there is something sweet in this difficult time of waiting
wondering
watching



we are praying with new passion
asking with great expectancy
remembering that we are a RESURRECTION people
people of the promise
people who KNOW that the painful wait of labor eventually gives way to new life

we're trying to be still....to hear His voice....
choosing to be happy for the miracles we see happening for others
KNOWING that He hasn't forgotten His promise

waiting

and remembering that God is unchanging...

what was true on the cross over 2000 years ago is true for us today:

when God says "wait", it just means that He's getting ready to show up.

lately

i consider myself a pretty happy person.  i'm usually down with the "cup half full" motto in life.  when there's a choice between joy and frustration, i'm in the habit of dispensing grace.

but lately.....there's been a speed bump on my happy highway.  and i'm gonna' just come right out and say it: 

this morning down in my laundry room, i lost all control.

can someone tell me - why, in the WIDE WORLD - my children cannot figure out the simple task of separating their underwear from their pants before tossing in the laundry?  these little half-heights can easily figure out how to remove a gum from its wrapper and a banana from its peel.  they can dig play-doh out of its container and remove worms from the garden, not giving ONE THOUGHT to the cleanliness of their hands.  BUT, despite HUNDREDS of kind, sweet, loving reminders, dripping with patience, these turkeys continue to leave their stanky skivvies balled up in a wad and twisted around their empty pant legs as though they were just flung from the vortex of a tornado.  

do not - i repeat - do not let the cuteness of her polka dots paired with flower capris fool you!

really, people.  i don't think i'm asking too much.  i will wash the underwear for you.  i will put them back in the drawer.  i will even help you put them on your body in the morning when you are groggy and limp and drooling. i will not complain about the condition of your breath as you hang over my shoulder and i place your legs into said underwear.  i will listen to you complain about how you want a different pair and i will choose my battles wisely, not pointing out that you actually chose these drawers last night, telling me that they are your favorites when we laid out clothes for the next day.  i will quiet the screaming voices in my head and lovingly wipe away your tears when you fuss about how unfair life is that you have to wear underwear at all.  i will wipe your butt.  i will wash my hands seven dozen times a day.  but........i will no longer fashion my fingers into tweezers to wrangle your nasty underwear away from the death grip of your pants.  i won't.   you are five and three.  congratulations, your underwear are now officially your own problem.  

i'm sure there are moms out there right now frowning and thinking that i should "enjoy this" because "they grow up so fast".  yes, they do.  and i'm enjoying MANY parts of their littlehood.  however, underwear separation is something that i refuse to make myself enjoy.  ever.

there are areas of this parenting gig where i tread lightly.  sometimes i don't know whether to exercise tough love or pour out easy grace.  there are times when i have to stop before i speak and ask for forgiveness after i've spoken too quickly.  but this is not a gray area for me.  

dirty underwear and i are done.  it has to stop.  it just has to.  

i am not above wrath and woe when it comes to underwear separation.  you have been notified:  my temper tantrum in the laundry room this morning is just a SLIVER of what could be.  you heard me right - there's more where that came from.  

Shel Silverstein once wrote:  “When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?”

a stop light with blue and orange and lavender spots is about as perplexing as capable people putting their undergarments into the laundry while tightly wound around pants, expecting some magical laundry fairy to sort it all out.  i'll tell you what you do when facing such a ludicrous situation.  you yell, stomp your feet, shake your fist in the air and get serious about teaching these little moochers a thing or two about responsibility.

and you....don't think that your day won't come, miss sparkle-pants.

there is the grace and mercy of God and then there's the warrior heart of God.  watch out - today i've got my battle armor on. 

let the wacek household war on undewear commence!

gotcha!

i know this is a week late, and i don't even have the energy tonight to make up for it with anything witty or wonderful to say

just a few pics of the tricks we had up our sleeves on april fool's day

made with an empty paper towel roll....he he he ;)

mmmmm...oreos are J's favorites

a little extra flouride never hurt anyone, did it?

this silly little pickle is about six gallons of cheesy in a five gallon bucket

but that makes me love her all the more

:)

a double dose of greatness

every once in a while i take a look at this one life i've been given

and i'm left speechless and teary at how utterly spoiled i've been

this week i had one of those moments when i took stock of it all and came to the humbling realization that "thank you" falls about fifty million miles short

for thirty years, i have known my father's father's mother

she held me as a baby

chased me as a toddler

listened to my chatterings as i grew

played cards with me for pennies when i should have been in bed

fed me nutter butters by the box-ful

kept her candy dish full of jelly beans just in case i'd stop for a visit

told me i was beautiful when i was an awkward teenager

cheered me on

watched me graduate....get a degree....walk down the aisle

lucky, lucky me

add to that the priceless moment when i placed my daughter in her lap

grandma raised five boys, so snuggling a little girl was always a special treat :)

these two ladies - such big, central pieces in the puzzle of my life...
 they won't remember that day, but i will

i will remember what it feels like to watch someone full of years adore a life brand new

i will remember how there were no words between the two of them...but then again, sometimes words just get in the way

i will remember thinking about the passing of a torch - five generations living under the light of her flame

i will remember how rare a thing it is in this life to have a great-great

a double great

someone who isn't just great....but super great

i got to witness them being that for each other
and just the thought of it puts me in a waterfall of gratitude that brings me to my knees

on saturday, my great-grandmother had her last heartbeat on earth, closed her 98-year-old eyes and sashayed her way into the presence of the One and Only

oh, how i wish i could see what she sees

my heart is aching to know what she knows

i'm so happy for her

so.unbelievably.happy

i don't understand why it all happened the way it did

but i'm crying happy tears tonight

as the wise and wonderful winnie the pooh once said:  "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying 'good-bye' so hard."