Not me, Monday: A weekend with a friend!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

Confession is so good for the soul!

I did NOT (because I was too tired and unmotivated all week) leave most of my house cleaning for Friday...right before my friend Gianna arrived...even though I know she wouldn't have minded a slightly unkept house.

I did NOT let Sammy stay up until 10:00 so that she could play a little with her friends...and seriously, it's hard to get 5 children to sleep in one little house!

I was NOT relieved that we were able to figure out sleeping arrangements for three adults (Brad and I in our bedroom and Gianna on the couch), a 4 year old (in Sammy's room), a 3 1/2 year old (in Caleb's room), a 2 1/2 year old, (in Sammy's room), a 2 year old (in his room), and one 1 year old (in the guest bathroom/laundry room) in our 1300 square foot house.

We did NOT have children who were incredibly GREAT nappers, but really BAD night sleepers. See Gianna's blog for one of our CRAZY nights.

I did NOT wake up at 4:00 a.m. to find Brin in our bathroom with her diaper off and perfectly awake and happy and then proceed to wander around my house looking for Gianna...since she was not on the couch where she was supposed to be. I did NOT (for one small second) think the rapture had happened and that she had been taken! And I did NOT eventually find her sleeping in a kid's tent in Sammy's room. You NEED to click on Gianna's blog for the full details!

I do NOT have a son who sleeps GREAT every night, but the two nights Gianna is here to visit wakes up both nights SCREAMING. (He slept perfectly last night...you know the night AFTER Gianna left!)

I was NOT secretly happy that since Gianna came to visit that I did not have to attend five graduation open houses. (I LOVE our students, but grad parties with 2 small children in rainy and cold weather is not fun!)

I was NOT grateful to learn at times this weekend that I my children are not the only crazy, loud children on the planet.

I do NOT have a son who crys out, "eat, eat, eat" right before EVERY meal and EVERY snack time and appears to be starving all day long...just ask Gianna!


We did NOT have little girls who played an insane amount of dress-up this weekend!


See!


I did NOT enjoy reconnecting my friend Gianna to her high school "camp" friend and spending a couple of hours with both of them.

I did NOT fall alsleep Saturday night while talking to Gianna and Brad, and then pretend to have NOT fallen asleep and try to rejoin their conversation....and say something COMPLETELY unrelated to what they were CURRENTLY talking about.

I did NOT allow Gianna to struggle with and walk out of church with 3 of our 5 chidren, while Brad and I each had one. I would NEVER be that unhelpful!

I did NOT have a smashing good time with my friend Gianna.

I'm a hopeless connector...

All of us have a unique gift mix. Even though we may share traits with another person, we are all very, very different.

I think it's one of the most beautiful things about us as humans.

And when we think of ourselves as a part of the larger body of Christ, it becomes even more wonderful and stunning.

It's funny, though, how often people see something in us that we don't see in ourselves. When someone else mentions a specific talent or giftedness they see in us, we often tilt our head a bit and say, "really, you think so?"

My masters in education program had a leadership focus. Because of that, I've read many books on leadership and have come to understand my individual strengths better. It has really opened my eyes to how God has wired me to be the unique wife, mother, teacher, and friend that I am.

And in this process of learning and through my husband's comments and observations, I've really come to realize that I'm a "connector."

What's a connector, you may ask? Well, I guess I connect........people. (Side note....this does NOT mean I'm a matchmaker!)

I connect people in similar life circumstances or situations to one another. And I LOVE doing this!

I'm an extrovert and love being with people. I love getting to know people and plugging them into something that they have been looking for or something that they might enjoy or someone who does or enjoys the same thing they do.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

About a year and a half ago I went in for my yearly eye exam. I began chatting with my eye doctor, and found out she was new to the area and was originally from my hometown. I asked her if she and her husband had found a local church to worship and invited her to my church. Now she and her husband are well connected with our young marrieds group and are volunteers in our youth ministry program.

One day, about four months ago, as I was picking up my kids at Kid's Kastle (our YMCA's childcare program), I struck up a conversation with one of the moms about my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group, and I invited her to come. A few weeks later, she joined me at my MOPS table and has now connected with other moms in my church and community.

About six weeks ago, one of our neighbors stopped by our house to ask for names of babysitters since her daughter and 7 month old grandson had moved in with her. After we talked a bit, I began to think of other people or groups that her daughter may like. I plugged her into a local singles ministry and then invited her to a play date with about 6 or 7 of my other "mommy" friends. And I hope to continue to connect her with other moms that she can lean on for support.

Even this past weekend, while my good friend Gianna was visiting me, I was able to reunite her with a high school friend...who happens to be in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) with me. They hadn't seen each other in over 10 years, and it was so much fun to be able to reconnect them again.

I'm writing about this for a number of reasons.

First, I think we often forget how uniquely gifted each of one of us (especially those stay-at-home-moms out there) and how we are wired to do great things. We often get so caught up in making meals, potty training, breaking up sibling fights, changing diapers, and doing mountains of laundry that we forget our sometimes hidden talents and abilities. There are ways that we can still use our wonderful talents....it just takes a little more effort, time and creativity.

Second, there are many things that comes to each of us naturally that DOESN'T come naturally to other people. I really used to think everyone constantly thinks about how to encourage, connect, and help others. But not everyone does that. And I'm glad that everyone doesn't because we need leaders and activators and workers and all different kinds of people.

And third, it's a reminder that we are created to do GOOD WORKS, and that everything we do is not a waste. Speaking in love to our whining child is not a waste. Choosing to make a healthy meal for our families is not a waste. Even cleaning a very messy baby after lunch day after day is not a waste.

NOTHING is wasted in God's economy.

Everything we do has meaning, and even if our husbands, friends, or children don't notice or appreciate it, God does.

First Friday's Fave Fives!

Reflection is good for the heart and the soul. And through that reflection we realize what we have and become grateful for the many blessings in our life.

Join me for my first ever Friday's Fave Fives, brought to us by Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. I am so blessed to have a wonderful group of fellow young moms in my life. And summer in Minnesota is NOT complete without weekly play dates and picnics at the park.

See! Meet Megan and her kids...

Bible Study Fellowship buddies, Jackie and Amy...

Our adorable children playing contentedly...

Christina and her little darlings...

Me and my kiddos...who were both both WAY more excited about their yummy brownie than in taking a picture!

2. I LIVE for Thursday nights with the girls at Starbucks. Our wonderful husbands take the kids so we can meet and chat, work through a Bible study together, drink some fabulous coffee, and lift one another up in prayer. Seriously, I don't know how I survived without this time with the girls!

3. On Tuesday night, we drove 2 hours down to the Twin Cities, dropped off the kids with some friends, and went to a Minnesota Twins game. We went to Twins games a ton when we were in college and also when we later lived there. It was a WONDERFUL evening that included a free dinner, a great catch from center fielder, Carlos Gomez, a win by the Twins and 5 hours of time with my wonderful husband and another "couple" friends. (If you haven't realized yet, date night is a non-negotiable in our home.)

4. My adorable daughter Sammy. Our nursery coordinator likes to call Sammy, "Sammy-pajammy." On Sunday, she called Sammy by this nickname and Sammy responded, "No, I'm Sammy in a dress!" (Not only is she beautiful, confident, and self-assured, she's also--as my friend Gianna mentioned--quite blunt!)


5. My youngest, Caleb, will be 2 next month. And since he was a newborn, I have been in graduate school and losing weight was placed on the back burner. Since April I have been trying my hardest to lose his baby weight and have lost 16 pounds in the last 2 months! Yahoo! I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe...you know, of the clothes you USED to fit into BEFORE you had kids.

Have a BLESSED Friday!

Wordful Wednesday: my little monkey

Welcome to "Wordful Wednesday" created by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

I have a monkey living in my house. Her name is Sammy, and she daily blows me away with her confidence,


her carefree spirit,


and her amazing climbing skills.


As one who has a front seat at watching her grow, I truly love that nothing really intimidates or scares her. I continually pray that these qualities will grow her into a young lady who is assertive, self-confident and who stands up for what is right.

But as her mother and earthly guardian, I wish she had at least an ounce of fear!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

I did NOT have CRAZY children that acted very poorly at Target, and then proceed to bribe them to obey and stop throwing fits with the candy we just got from our previous errand to the bank.

I did NOT let Caleb play with my only set of car keys in the sand so that he would be content and I could chat with my girlfriends.

I most certainly did NOT stay in bed until 9:00 Friday morning, even though I knew the kids were up and Brad had to feed them by himself. Nope! I did NOT roll over and go back to sleep and let him deal with breakfast.

I did NOT let my daughter stay up until almost 11:00 p.m. watching “Finding Nemo” so that I could play a card game with my husband and two great couple friends.

I did NOT feed my children a TON of ice cream and cake at some students’ open houses yesterday so that they would be quiet and I could talk with friends.
And I definitely did NOT have a glorious date with my husband at Famous Dave’s and then spend some time praying over our family, marriage, life, decisions, and concerns together.

Ahhhhh, of course I did NOT!