Wanna trade jobs?

For those of you out there that think
being a stay at home mom is a piece of cake,
let me trade jobs with you for one day.

For those of you that are stay at home moms or dads,
a standing ovation and a pay raise are due you.

Yup, I woke up today without an alarm clock.
I fixed myself breakfast and did a Bible study.
My plan was to make some manicotti for a friend and her husband,
who has been recovering.
As I was going out to feed the birds,
still in my pajamas,
my oldest called me from Texas.
When I finally deciphered what what wrong, through her sobs,
her dog had run away...
I talked her through not panicking,
calming down long enough to think like a dog,
remember that she is micro chipped,
stop thinking about everything that could go wrong,
from getting hit in the road to someone stealing her...
and ask people if they had seen a brown and white dog,
she finally found her in her apartment complex
instead of the disc golf course behind the apartment.

Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how I could fly to Austin immediately,
praying that the dog was not stolen or dead in the road,
and wondering why had she moved so far away!

After hanging up with the oldest, I get a text from the youngest.
"If you're getting out at all today and want to bring me food...
I won't complain!"
Last night I had made fajitas for her and the new boy wonder.
I was only going to make fajitas,
but got a disapproving tone phone call from her
three hours before they were scheduled to be here..
I trudged out in the bad weather to get two cans of corn,
and some chips, made corn casserole, guacamole, cleaned the house and set the table.
Dinner was good, we had a glass of wine,
and we even played a game, the three of us.
Always a bit awkward meeting a potential boyfriend for the first time,
for all of us.
I have been the completely accepting mom who mourns the loss after a break up,
the screaming Christian mom who flips out after an overnight,
and now I am trying to be somewhere in between.
He took all the left overs home with him.

Later that night I texted the youngest only to get no response.
As a mom, in horrible snowy weather,
I worried that she got home ok.
I texted again.
I called and left a voice message.
I texted again.
I searched facebook for a friend I knew she had been hanging out with
(Boy is so new, I don't have his number)
I facebook messaged the friend
if she would let youngest know to text her worried mom.
Finally decided to go to bed, because there was nothing else I could do.
Texted her that message.
Fifteen minutes later, she texted and said she had fallen asleep and didn't hear the phone.
Ya, ok.

So I made a chicken sandwich, chips, apple, pudding and yogurt
for my starving youngest daughter...
who just last night was telling the boy that she kept frozen meals in the work freezer.

Thankfully my parents had stopped by,
so they dropped off lunch and manicotti for me!
They also let me vent and calm down.
Blessed are parents of all ages~!

Four hours after getting up,
I am about to hop in the shower, do a load of laundry,
put away the clean dishes I just washed,
and possibly ply some yarn for my spinning class.

In the middle of this, I know I will be facebooked by my husband.
(He is in Canada, and I have put the kabosh on phone calls that cost $.89 a minute)
Most likely he will need his sounding  board, companion, cheerleader and partner.

Please do not get me wrong!
I absolutely love my job!
Every part of it!
And feel so blessed that I can be home to care for loved ones.
However, I challenge anyone who thinks this is an easy life,
to trade with me for just one day!
The emotions will crush you!
You will never  be able to read a book in one or two sittings.
And you will long for your corporate, vacation days, sick days,
etc before the day is out!

P.S.
I know that God has everything under control,
and loves my family more than I ever could.
So as I calmly handle my job,
when I get a little crazy, He allows me to vent and be frustrated.
He also reminds me that He has it all under control
and loves my family more than I ever could.

Blessed!

winter

Just a few images I've captured this winter.
It never ceases to thrill me when I put fresh seed and suet out.
The birds flock in.
Blessed.

 

Just wait....

Something extraordinary happened last week!

It's been quite the month.
I have learned to sit still and heal.
Sitting still is so very difficult!
I was unable to be with the one I love the most
in her hour of greatest need.
I believe that others needed to step in.
I believe that God is always in control.
I believe He was telling me to let Him handle this,
because He loves her so very much more than I could even imagine.
He called my Grandma home.

I was able to help plan and celebrate her life!
It was a beautiful life.

The day after her memorial,
an old friend contacted me on facebook.
He wanted to let me know that he had been thinking of me
in this difficult time, and wondered if I was ok.
As we chatted and caught up on our families,
he mentioned that he wanted to return something to me
that he had kept for over thirty years.

(Ya that hurts even to write!)

I couldn't imagine what he was talking about.

He told me that he was holding something in his hand
that my grandmother had given me, and I had given him.
He felt it was time to return it.














(my initials KVT engraved on it)

I received the necklace in the mail today.
It is just as I remembered it.
And I remembered it as if it were yesterday,
when he told me what it was.
I had no words.
Thank you.

For thirty years God has been saving this charm in my friend's hand.
I had forgotten all about it.
God knew that I would need this gentle reminder
that He loves me and thinks of me every moment.

This dime sized charm began to stir in me,
that in every area of our lives,
the happiest of days,
when a child is born;
you find and marry the love of your life,
the spring sun shining brightly after winter's gloom,
or the most horrible of days,
saying good bye to a loved one;
loneliness,
illness,
during natural disasters,
that God is thinking of you.
He always has the perfect gift for you
even if it takes decades to arrive.
He has been planning this all along.

I will wear this reminder for a while.
Then I will put it into another treasure from Grandma
that was given to me last week.

In 1984 I  now remember
buying her a music jewelry box for Christmas.
She loved music boxes.
This one plays "Somebody Loves Me".
Inside was the note I had written her,
and the note she had written under my own.

"This goes to Kris Ballard after I'm gone,
a loving thoughtful granddaughter.
Grandma (Dorothy) Shaffner

Thank you God, for loving me!