All the Little Grubbs

Aunt Eileen and Dad

memories, siblings February 29, 2012 Leave a comment

Last June, my parents, brother and I flew out to California to see my Aunt Eileen and Uncle Lance. This picture is of my dad and his only sister. They don’t get to see each other often and it was wonderful to hear stories from their childhood. From the exciting times of living in Africa, to the extremely sad times of watching their mother pass away from cancer when they were young.

It’s a different perspective, observing someone with a sibling. A depth, and opening of themselves that you don’t see in their surface interactions with the world. Almost like there is a secret society and only the siblings are members.

Our siblings push buttons that cast us in roles we felt sure we had let go of long ago – the baby, the peacekeeper, the caretaker, the avoider…. It doesn’t seem to matter how much time has elapsed or how far we’ve traveled. ~Jane Mersky Leder

Theodore’s ready…

homeschooling, Theodore February 29, 2012 Comments: 2

Theodore had his “ready for Kindergarten” appointment with the doctor today. He checked out great. I love that our doctor didn’t say a word about his speech. He got his shots. Then, he got a milkshake and corndog and time in the sunshine with Mommy. Smile

Jonah (5 months)

baby, Jonah February 29, 2012 Comments: 2

Rolling over, cutting his first tooth, smiling, laughing, trying some infant cereal…growing too FAST.
But, I guess that’s what you say when they’re the LAST!

Grace

blessings, favorite songs, God's goodness, struggles February 27, 2012 1 Comment

It’s 8:30 pm. All the kids are in bed and that’s where I need to be. Because the baby will be up soon and several times through the night. I feel as though I am just trying to keep my head above water right now as a mother and wife. I have done something to hurt my back, so now on top of my sleep deprivation and attempts to lose weight and every other area of my life that I feel need to be “improved” I am dealing with this back pain that isn’t getting better fast enough to suit me. I heard a song recently that has one tremendous line. I just keep telling it to myself over and over.

“In the loneliest places, when I can’t remember what GRACE is…tell me, once again, who I am to You…”

I need His grace. I am so glad it’s always there for me.

A little break…

blessings, Foster February 26, 2012 Comments: 2

After the past 3 weeks of Chris working overtime, a stomach virus that wiped us all out and then me hurting my back somehow…we hit the road for a little break at Grammy and Grandad’s house.
Foster finally got his birthday dinner at Chili’s! He enjoyed his meal AND his huge dessert. He couldn’t finish the whole thing but he gave it a good try. Smile

Making your child your god…

parenting, priorities February 25, 2012 Comments: 2

My husband and I were able to go to dinner (just the two of us)! Thanks to Grammy for watching ALL the kids for a couple of hours.

So we were able to have an uninterrupted conversation. We talked about religion, politics, stresses and then we came back around to talking about kids…again.

We love our children and they are such a huge part of our life together that it’s a natural progression for us to discuss them. Usually we talk about terribly stimulating topics, like who last used the potty, which kid grabbed which kid by the shirt and threw them to the ground in a crying heap, who had a meltdown because they couldn’t get their shoes put on RIGHT THEN.

Tonight, however, we branched out and started to talk about how it seems that sometimes parents tend to treat their children like they are little gods and goddesses. They spend so much time and money and attention on their children’s sports, hobbies, desires, etc.

I just found out last summer that people actually pay money for their 6 year olds to have professional, private coaching sessions to improve their baseball skills. Like a lot of money, hundreds of dollars, so junior can pitch or hit or whatever better.

Whole families sacrifice time to eat dinner together or hang out in their backyard and play because they are running to 4 or 5 nights of practices or rehearsals.

Parents work overtime and extra jobs so that they can have nicer things for their kids.

And it’s so tempting to want to do that, isn’t it? We love them so much and want them to have “the best” clothes, education, experiences. Chris and I just signed 3 of our 5 kids up for baseball and softball. We know we will be running around like crazy in April and May. Our kids will enjoy it and we will, too.

The hard thing is maintaining a balance. Helping ourselves and our kids to see that while we want to spend money and time on them, that they are just one person.

And whether kids are in a big family or only children, we can’t put them on a pedestal and have our lives revolve around them. We can’t make our children into our god.

You shall have no other gods before Me. – Deuteronomy 5:7

Doing laundry…

Foster, homemaking February 23, 2012 Leave a comment

Foster showing me how he gets the wet, clean laundry out of the washer and into the dryer.

“And this mess is so big
And so deep and so tall,
We cannot pick it up.
There is no way at all!”
― Dr. Seuss

100th Day of School

homeschooling February 22, 2012 Comments: 2

Well, we finally made it to our 100th day of school! This school year has had some exciting times…

(we’ve added a new baby brother to our family)

And we’ve had some hard times…

This time of year gets a little difficult with homeschooling. The sun isn’t shining as often, we can’t run and play outside as often. We get sick a little more and we get grumpy and irritable with one another. Thankfully, homeschooling is flexible. It allows for real life to go on and for our children to continue learning. Foster and Katie have progressed nicely in the 3 R’s. Theodore is learning his pre-school skills more rapidly than I expected. Parker is starting to be a little more quiet while I am reading aloud.

2011-2012 School Picture
(Photo taken by Donna Williams)

To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. ~A.A. Milne

Monday Memory

blessings, children, Family, memories, motherhood February 21, 2012 Leave a comment

This picture is of my Mamaw, my mom and I at Cracker Barrel in May of 2003. I found out shortly after this Mother’s Day that I would be a mother, too.

This past 5 days all of my kids (except Jonah), myself, Chris and my mom (who was here visiting) suffered from a terrible stomach virus. Thankfully, the grown-ups were sick at different times. When we had recovered enough to have a conversation this morning, we talked about how no matter how old you are, you want your mom when you’re sick. My mom’s mom is 82 years old now and she still takes care of mom when she can. My mom takes care of me and my kids. And, now I take care of my children.

I am blessed to have this. My mother and grandmother. Chris doesn’t have his mother anymore and he feels it acutely when he’s sick or struggling with certain things.