Happy Halloween Party #3

Happy Halloween...well, in two days. I have been in the bahumbug attitude this year...and right before our big bash?!? I finally found my costume today, but I cannot tell you what it is for I am sure my sis in law is going to read this and we are having a costume contest. It is probably not my first choice, but it will do. I also just got done coloring 20 BINGO cards for the little one's bingo game. They are sooo cute and if any of you are needing a fun Halloween game, I suggest this. I also suggest printing it in color as it took me 3 hours to color all of them. The website is: www.dltk-cards.com/bingo. Very cute stuff on there. But, I am stuck for the grown-up games. We bought the prizes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for three games. But, we have no games. So if anyone has ideas, please let me know ASAP. I have only tomorrow to finish getting ready. We put up spider webs today and the boys thought it was the best thing ever. However, while I was decorating, I put the bowl of candy corns from the entry table to Troy's desk and evidently it was not high enough. I heard a funny noise and went to the LR and found Tevan eating candy corn and pumpkins as fast as he could, spitting most of them out after one bite. I just laughed. What a character!!!

I guess that leads me to another part of my blog...mostly for journal purposes, so feel free to skip this portion. I am a very uptight person when it comes to the way things are. I get angry very fast and I am more concerned with my house being clean than I am with some of the important things in life. So, about five days ago I decided to relax a bit. And it is going very well. It is amazing that the attitude and tone of my house is so much better. My boys behave better and we get along splendidly. We still have our ups and downs, but I have chosen to lower my voice...if you know me you know that I can be very loud and my voice carries. I haven't raised my voice for those five days. This might not sound huge, but to me it is. I have started to spend a bit more time with my boys and really take time to get to know them. I think it is so easy to get wrapped up in the "things" in life that we often ignore the most important people. I cannot tell you how many times I say, "Just a minute" or "Wait until..." or the worst: "Mommy is busy". Looking back at those times I have said it, I get very sad. I get so sad my heart hurts. My job is my children. I might be just a "Stay-at-home-Mom", but I am a teacher, a nurse, a walking encyclopedia, a super-hero, a healer of wounds and broken hearts. I am a mom to the most beautiful children in the world...what is more important than that? NOTHING. Period. We live in such a bad, bad world. We are up for some scary changes in our beloved United States. We have the adversary to fight against not only out there, but in our homes. I am so proud and honored that I get this chance to raise my children. I don't have to take them to daycare everyday and HOPE that someone is going to teach them something good. I know every second what my children are learning. I am the one who gets to moderate them. I get to teach them to pray...something that is no longer "allowed". I am so thankful to Troy that he works so hard to provide for us. He supports me fully. He is such a good man. I guess I am a very spoiled woman as I don't want for much. I also have my gracious Heavenly Father to thank as he is the one who gives me strength every single day to make it through. I know I would fail without Him picking me up. I have so much gratitude in my heart right now that I could go on FOREVER. I grew up in a home where my mother was able to stay home. There were times that we were extremely poor. There were times my parents struggled to get where they are today. But no matter how hard those time got, she satyed at home and raised 4 children. My dad worked a lot of shift work and he was gone a lot...especially during med school. My mom had a lot of weight on her shoulders and made it through. I am so blessed to have that example. I know the importance of being at home with my kids. I know it is the most important job any Mother could have. There are times I want to quit. There are times I want to cry...there are times I have cried. Those are the times that I am being taught patience and long suffering. I would not trade this experience for the world. I am sad that it took me this long to appreciate what I am able to do. Daeson is three years old. No one could have told me this is what it would be like. I am sure many tried to tell me. I used to feel like it was a strap holding me down. Now I see mother hood for what it really is and I am slowly learning to embrace it. I still have moments when I want to lock myself in the bathroom just to finish a chapter in my book, or just to plug my ears and have silence. But those times are becoming fewer and fewer as I am becoming less selfish. It is not about me...it is about my two wonderful children and my wonderful husband. I only can pray that one day my children will look back at their childhood and be happy. I do not want them to remember me as someone who was "there". I don't want to be remembered as the one saying, "Just a minute", "hold on", and especially, "I don't have time." If I don't have time for my children, my priorities are very out of order and that calls for some re-evaluating.