Confessional

Jealousy, greed, vanity, and selfishness

date back to,

well,

Let me see.

Oh yeah, Adam and Eve.
They are such ugly feelings

and I am sure there are not many people out there

who experience all of these things on a daily basis.

At least I don't see you doing it.
But I do.

Everyday.

And Actually,
A lot of other moms can't deny doing it either.
Well I guess they can deny it but it won't do them one lick of good.
These things happen in the form of COMPARISON

Comparing ourselves to the other moms in our stage of life

and wishing.

Wishing

for little things

like,

being able to look so put together like Susie,

or always having a clean home like Glenda,

or always playing and having a great time with the kids like Debbie,

organic diet,

the new purse,

perfect clothes,

gourmet meals,

trim figures.

We think:

Why can't my kids behave like hers,

Why is my kids nose always runny?

how come my daughter won't keep her hair perfectly combed like that?.

how do they keep their van so clean?

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.

You know what?

Nobody is perfect.

This mom stuff is hard work.

24-7

Anyone who leads you to believe differently

is lying.

or has a full time, live in nanny.

Or a maid.

Or both.

Listen to me. I can't really attest for all those perfect looking families you see at church, or school or that you read about on their blogs.

Well I am breaking that cycle. Though I am sure you have noticed on my blog that a lot of non perfect stuff happens here.

Every once a while I think I may throw a "mom" confession out there just to keep things real.

So here are a few confessions:

I have not vacuumed my couch crevices in like 5 years. I don't wanna,that's why. (don't tell my mom)

There have been times that my kids have had macaroni and cheese for lunch for like 5 days in a row.

Recently Mya has been asking to change Graces diaper. Even though I think it is inappropriate at her age to do so there have been a couple of times I pretended not to notice she was doing it so I did not have to.

Instead of cleaning out my van I park far away from all other cars so no one else will see in it. (I tell my children it is good exercise)

I don't have time to give Grace a bath every day so if she gets a little stinky I put baby lotion on her. (my poor 4th child).So far each time I have done it someone has commented on how wonderful it is to smell the "clean baby" smell!!

So there you have it.

I am sooo not perfect.

Blog Hop

Theme of this blog hop? A favorite picture and title!

"You make me smile!!"

Happy Independence Day!

As one of my friends on facebook stated "We are Independent to be dependant on God"

Thanks Todd for that statement and Thank you to all the brave men and woman who fought or are still fighting. Who have given up wives, husbands, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles or close friends for any amount of time to defend Independence for me. I am humbled and grateful.

We celebrated the 4th over the stretch of 2 days. Our family tradition is to head over to the land of Allendale on the 4th. We share a meal and spend time with extended family. It is always fun for the kids. There are 8 kids between the ages of 7(almost 8) and 4 months. 3 of them were born within a month of each other. They always look forward to playing together!

Jacob looks forward to this day all year round. The day after our Christmas party he usually mentions that he is now looking forward to the 4th of July. Umm I am pretty sure that Grampy is enjoying himself too. Take a look at his "lighter"

If there was anyone who could participate in the annual water fight looking like a princess it would be Mya.

Ellie does not deem that sort of behavior necessary. As soon as she chooses her weapon she turns from a sweet 3 year old to a lean mean squirting machine.

The evening always ends with us walking down to the local fireworks. Grace loved them. She never jumped or cried. She just watched with wide eyes the entire time.

Sunday we spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa Vander Laan's house with the Hayden family. Grandpa and the kids spent some time playing croquet. We spent most of the day by the pool.Relaxing and playing with our cousins.

Surprisingly Mya wanted to hold Grace and play with her (Now I must go get a napkin for the sarcasm that is dripping from me!!) Graces 2nd mommy!Cuddling with Grandma!


By the end of the weekend we were WORN OUT. This is Ellie at 7:30!

Finding Joy Friday

I found myself bogged down this week. Big things on my mind made me stressed and angry. Something I will probably post about soon. It made me realize that this week I should take a deep breath and take part in Finding Joy Friday something started over at Four Now

I can get angry and yell until I am blue in the face (or tongue).

But it doesn't really help anything. Instead I will focus on what brings me Joy. Like spending time with my sisters.

Thank you God for putting these strong, Christ loving woman in my life. Amen.

small changes for my growing babies

9 days since I last posted? Yikes! You would think I am busy or something! Ha! We really are.

One of the things we have been doing at the Fredricks house is GROWING!

We have a bedroom shortage over here. I was becoming concerned with what to do with Grace because she has been sleeping a bassinet in our room. One problem was that our crib converts to a toddler bed, which Ellie was still using. Which leads to another problem. I told Ellie she could get a big girl bed in return for some potty type favors (which shall remain unnamed).

I had decided to borrow a pack and play (we have one but use it for outings). We would use that to buy some time before having to decide to move the kids rooms and beds around! Before I went and got the pack and play, my mom and dad went to get the last of my Grandpas things from his barn. They came home with what I would describe as a miniature crib. They weren't sure what to do with it but they did not want to give it away because my Great Grandpa made it for my Grandpa when he was a baby.

This is so incredibly cool for so many reasons. I knew my Great Grandpa briefly. I remember him as a quiet man. We used to ride with my Grandpa on Sundays after dinner to bring him back to the nursing home. My dad has filled in the rest of the information I have on this Vander Laan patriarch. He was a very hard worker. He loved working with wood. He loved Jesus and his family. He constructed this crib and it was well made and very sturdy. He made it while thinking of the baby(ies) that he and my great grandma would have. He made it with love and it has stood the test of time. When you think like that it is no longer just about the crib, its about love. The love my great grandpa had that he passed on to my Grandpa, who passed it on to my Dad, who passed it on to me. What a blessing and huge responsibility to pass this on to the next generation. The love of Jesus tied to the love of family. And each and every time I tuck our little Grace into that bed I will be reminded of that legacy.

Whoa! I got off on a little tangent there didn't I? The other cool things about this crib are it is in almost new condition and it fits in our bedroom. It will also be a safe place for Grace to sleep until she starts trying to pull herself up. So take a peek, do ya think it was about time? Every time I laid her down to sleep she would try to get comfy and hit the sides!

This crib fits perfectly between our bed and the wall.No, she cannot sit up yet. Yes, I propped her up ! No, the smiles did not last long!

Oh and by the way Ellie ended up trading those certain potty tricks for her big girl bed complete with Strawberry shortcake sheets! She is soooo happy and proud of herself!

Wow! I have some cute kids! I will update again soon! We have been busy, busy, busy!

An apology for my Aunt Judy

This morning we watched the news about the storm damage in our area. Roads were washed out, trees fell, and people were pumping water out of thier basements. I am very grateful that the worst we endured was being without power for a while and a few trickles in through our dryer vent. Oh and some sick kids. VERY GRATEFUL.

My kids were also grateful. Not only because we were safe and dry but because there were huge puddles they could play in. They were busy for hours!

Then Mya came to me proudly to show me what they were doing. 1st of all I must say sorry to Judy because she was the person I thought of first when Mya showed me this. Followed shortly after by Charity. I am so sorry Aunt Judy for dangling frogs and worms in your face. We VL's took a lot of delight in the shrieks and for that I am sorry.

But it was never this bad!

Mya: Jacob and I collected some worms so that we could go fishing!

Me: Thats great honey!

Mya: Do you want to see them?

Me: (long pause) sure I guess so.

Then they waved this in my face!

And when I started gagging they started giggling. Kids can be so cruel.

Just to let you know........................

I am SO in love with my husband!

I just went to check on Grace to make sure she is still breathing. Yes I still do that after 4 kids.

Greg took her to bed with him. Yes we co sleep from time to time. It helps everyone sleep better.

They were snuggled together sleeping peacefully. What makes it even better is that she is wearing her I love my daddy PJ's.

For this and many other reasons, I seriously love that man.