Family Musings

Bruce here, hijacking Jennifer's blog again. Today is Mother's Day. And I thought I share a little bit about my appreciation for Jennifer. Jennifer and I met in 10th grade history class. And, within one week of meeting Jennifer, I told her that we were going to get married, one day. This is an undisputed fact. But, Jennifer still has trouble believing I really meant it. Of course, she also shook her head "no" when I asked her to marry me 5 years later; she couldn't believe I was serious that time, either. But, I was. So, why would a 15-year old punk be picking out his future wife? It sure does sound pretty absurd. But, even back then, I knew what kind of woman I wanted to be the wife and mother of my future family. Yes, I was a strange kid. Years later, when I actually asked her to marry me, I had already planned out our financial future so that I knew we'd be able to make it. I was only 19, at that time, but I knew people, including Jennifer, would wo...

I love finding new places to do cool things in my chosen town. And as active as I am in my community and as much as my husband likes to tell people I'm the "stay at home mom who never stays at home," I still find new places to explore with my kids and friends all the time. My most recent discovery is a produce stand called Indian Summer Farms . Obviously though, it is more than just a produce stand. I organized a play date there for my MOPS group and for $5 per kid, we had a great time! Here's a peek at what it included: Feeding the animals in the petting area. Mary had NO fear and walked right up to the goats with her bread. She might have even been a little too bold at moments for this momma! Hanging out in a unusual play area that included a wider variety of toys in an outside area than I ever expected. There are also two swinging tires that the oldest kids really enjoyed. Gave one of the moms a pretty good work out trying to get the swings higher and f...

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how Charlotte fits in with her peers. In part this is because I hadn't been certain that we would home school her and she might end up at the local elementary school. Right now, when I observe Charlotte with her peer group, I think she's a bit socially awkward. She isn't as concerned with personal space as others and is overly enthusiastic for even the small things. It kind of makes me cringe a little when I see them react to her excitement over something they don't consider a big deal. After exploring the issue of her social behavior a little more, I've decided it is important to me because I want Charlotte to have a better social experience growing up than I did. If my memory is correct, I was "popular" until 4th grade. I had lots of friends, don't remember being the object of teasing or bullying, and faintly recall creating an exclusive club for my friends and I to join. However, once 4th grade star...

Sarah Bessey recently shared her open letter to women's ministries and it got me to thinking... ...mostly because I am the coordinator for a small group that ministers to women. It's called MOPS and has been around a really long time. I love it and it has been transformational in my parenting, my marriage, and my personal relationship with Jesus. I agree with what Sarah wrote. Especially this: We need Jesus. We are seeking deep spirituality. We are seeking fellow travelers. We are hungry for true community, a place to tell our stories and listen to another, to love well. But above all, point me to Jesus--not to the sale at the mall. She is so right. Even the women who don't know they are seeking him, are still doing it. Some of them will wake up one day and realize the void they are trying to fill with all sorts of things and activities just can't be filled, except by a personal relationship with Jesus. There are probably women in my church who are even trying to fil...

I hate packing. I know I will forget something and have to go out and buy it at full price. Or, I'll pack too much and regret having to schlep it all over the place. So, that is why, as I watch my #MOPScv twitter friends proclaim that they've already started, a full 3 days before I have to leave, I am getting a little twitchy. Each of these friends mentions something that I just have to  remember, but I'm so worried I won't! So, here is a list of the things I want to try and remember. Please, please, please, if you've been to MOPS convention before (or something similar), chime in with a comment about what I'm forgetting or really ought to leave behind. Poo-pourri: I know that sharing a hotel room with 4 other ladies has its challenges, and if I have just this one thing with me, I won't have to worry about injuring my room mates nostrils. Ever since I first tried it, I knew it would be on my convention packing list. And good news, I'm working with t...

It might seem obvious that a stay at home mom to a preschooler and a toddler would do just about anything to get away from her life to spend a few days of hanging out with some of her best girl friends. Especially after spending a good chunk of the summer solo parenting because her husband was out of town at work. And I suppose for some moms, that would be enough of a reason to pack up the mini van and get as far away as possible. But in less than a week, I have an even better reason to round up those girl friends and go on a 10-hour road trip to Tennessee - MOPS Convention! MOPS Convention is a crazy, jam-packed weekend full of learning ways to be a better mom, wife and MOPS leader. Last year I learned so much - about leading large groups of women in creative activities (i.e. crafts),  how  grace is essential to mothering , why my room mate saved her first kiss for her husband, what happens when I don't get enough sleep and I can't blame a restless baby, and that I reall...

Sometimes it takes a personal story for us to really see the need when other people are experiencing a tragedy. Today, even though I had been aware of the horrible after math of the recent tornadoes in Joplin, MO, I finally saw the human side of it. My friend Tracey shared about the moms of young children in Joplin who had lost their homes. It hadn't occurred to me, but these moms probably didn't crawl into their bathtub or basement with their baby's lovey or pacifier. And of course, the Wal-Mart suffered a lot of damage so they couldn't just go out and replace these items easily. They can't really do any of the daily stuff of raising preschoolers easily. So Tracey, because she is awesome and responded when she saw the need, created an Amazon.com Wish List for the moms of Joplin, MO . On this wish list are things like pacifiers, diapers, blankets, and other items that moms will need in the coming weeks but won't have easy access too. The MOPS group of Jo...

How do you know you are truly loved by your friends? How about when they all gather around you in prayer to encourage you and ask God to bless you, even though you are leaving their happy fellowship? That's what happened to me this morning. You can't see me, but I'm in the middle of that cluster of lovely, praying women. I am the recipient of their happy blessings. Today was the last day of the 2010-2011 MOPS year and, in the midst of celebrating all of the good things they have learned and accomplished this year, they took a quiet moment to lift me up as I continue the process of starting a brand new MOPS group at my home church. The testimonies shared by several women today have reminded me that I am on the path God has set for me to reach out to other moms that need someone to come beside them and care about them and their children. The laughter shared over a delicious brunch encourages me to continue to build the relationships I have with my MOPS friends and ...

I didn't get to go to a MOPS leadership training today that I had really been looking forward to. It's okay though, because God had other ideas and kept me in my own town this weekend for a woman's conference at my church (more on that later). And even though I didn't get to go to Summit (the aforementioned MOPS leadership training), I was able to follow the convo on Twitter by using  #MOPSsummit . Now that I've had a chance to catch up on my Twitter Feed, here's what I didn't learn at Summit, but what other moms did and shared with the rest of the Twitterverse. ( Caution, this post is very specific to MOPS and leadership. Don't feel obligated to read it if you aren't interested in either of these topics.) It takes a lot of work to make a national event like this happen at locations all over the US. Not only do the paid staff in Colorado work hard, but volunteer Field Leaders (like @ShawnaLeeIrish , @TraceySolomon , and others) all over go thro...