Wednesday, August 17, 2011

"Whats in your wallet?"

It's 11pm after a long hard day and here I sit with no sleep near my existing future. I have SO much to do and being a mother of 7 blessings, sometimes we work best at the oil burning hours. (Moms you know what I mean, lol.) But being that I have neglected my blogging lately, I felt compelled to add a tidbit tonight of a fine lesson I myself am learning.

This week, we were blessed to celebrate 2 special boys in our lives. Cooper my oldest turned 9, (gulp) and Brooks (my prayer life, lol) turned 4. Being that we have 7 blessings and that mommy took "off" a year to carry twins, pretty much we have been living on daddy's income and relying on Dave Ramsey (envelope system) to get us through. Its truly amazing what creative things you can come up with when there is no cash to spend, but that's for another day to talk about.

Well, this year I wanted to get "thrifty" more then crafty so Cooper and a friend from school went in together to split a birthday party celebration. It was wonderful. We were able to invite the whole third grade to a skate party from his school and her parents and us spilt it down the middle. Pretty much we had to just bring our own cake which brings me to my lesson.

When we bought Cooper's cake it was a sheet cake with cupcakes around it, so I thought from the picture, GREAT, options for everyone but when we picked up the cake there were 30 cupcakes around a sheet cake that feeds 36-42 people. Needless to say, the cupcakes were gone and we came home with a sheet cake.

So seeing that I have an untouched perfectly good cake, I decided to scrape Cooper's name off and place Brook's name on it for his party this Thursday. I thought it sounded like the best most economical idea and even my hubby agreed to let it not go to waste. That was until my 7 year old daughter got wind of what I was up too. You would have thought that I was re-using some of Cooper's ear wax to mold Brook's birthday candles the way she re-acted. she just couldn't understand why in the world I would dare re-use Cooper's cake when Brooks deserved one of his own.

A few thoughts came to my mind:
1. Brooks can't read so really he has NO IDEA that's not his name
2. Its a Star Wars cake and all I have to do is poke light sabers in the holes where Cooper's candles were
3. He's turning 4 and pretty is much more interested in the water park than cake
4. And lastly, ITS A PERFECT CAKE and I'm not wasting money

So how do you do when dealing with money? I'm not asking you to email me your budget plan for the month or even show me your envelope system but how do you do with the things the Lord has blessed you with? Do you share your wealth? Hide it? Do you squander it on silly things? Trust me. I'm preaching to myself here but look at what the bible says:

"Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase..." Proverbs 3:9
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" 1Timothy 6:10

So you ask how did I get all this from a birthday cake? Honestly, I went around a corner, came up a slope, slid down into the gravel, and jumped on to home plate and there I found my answer. So instead of me preaching to my young one about responsibility of money, we talked of the less fortunate. Those who maybe have never had a birthday cake to call their own. We talked of children far away and close by that maybe haven't eaten today and most of all we talked about how to share our blessings with others.

So yes, you can learn a lot from a birthday cake. From school aged children and from yourself. So next time, a path is put in front of you and you wonder whether you should scrape the name off that birthday cake, just remember what debt was paid for us.

Happy Birthday Cooper and Brooks!



Sunday, May 15, 2011

Oh Ye of Little Faith!

So its been a while since I updated my blog and my apologies to my 19 followers. (snicker insert here) Things have changed around the Howton Homefront and two more blessings have arrived. Kalynn and Camden were born March 11, 2011 and are just the most amazing babies. They are SO wonderful and sweet. We could not be happier, or more tired......which brings me to my topic.

As most of you know, I am a Facebooker. (Yes, its a word.) I enjoy catching up with friends, family, and making new ones too. I have Facebook on my computer as well as the phone that is attached to my hip. One of the many features of FB (Facebook) is where you can update and look at people's recent posts, called the "News Feed." I enjoy this just so I can stay updated and honestly when you sit for five hours a day at random times feeding babies, its nice to have something to do.

Well, just today I was thinking just how tired I was. Cam doesn't sleep all that great and Brooks is not having the best week of going to bed easy, plus the twins get us up at 5am and we go to bed late...yada, yada, yada... I don't even like hearing me complain. And this is why.

Today, a dear friend posted online that she would like prayers please on her and her husbands behalf. My friend was due with twins in July and this was her first pregnancy. This couple was so happy to learn of twins and we chatted often  and I "tried" to help her with useful facts about twins and what to expect. Well, at 28 weeks, she lost her babies.

I know your jaw dropped as did mine and I know your heart hurts as does mine. And this my friends is why my faith is stronger tonight. Tonight I will cherish Camden waking up every hour. Tonight I will hold Brooks and tell him what a good boy he is and that's why he needs a good nights rest. I will smile when the first cry at 5 am beckons me and I WILL count my blessings and name them one by one.

I urge you to do the same.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Handicap Bar, Grab Hold!

So when Jason and I sold our home almost 5 years ago, we never expected it to sell in 6 days. Don't get me wrong. WHAT A HUGE BLESSING! But I was also due with baby #3 any day so what were we to do? Well, long story short, we sold the house, moved out 6 days postpartum and moved into a 800 square foot apartment with three babies under three years old. Let's just say, it was hard.

So, as Jason went back to work, I became the house hunting guru. I would load all the kids, with snacks and sippys in tow, nurse the baby before we left, and pack the car seats in our sweet Realtors car, (that was NOT designd for car seats, SIGH!)

So, after four months of looking, I found a house. Not just a house but a house that when I approached Jason about it my exact words were, "Now just imagine..."

Needless to say, this house was dated to be at least 102 years old. It was actually the first Radio Station in Florence, AL. It was commissioned by President Roosevelt for the Wilson Dam workers, so the history was kind-of cool behind it, however, the life time warranty wool carpet flooring, 1960's wallpaper, and the tango orange kitchen cabinets complete with free standing in the middle of the room stove, were more to be desired.

Jason and I both knew we had our work cutout for us but we were up to it. Although only having three blessings at the time, this house boasted 7 bedrooms, so we envisioned a playroom, office, guest bedroom, etc. So we took the plunge, bought the house and gave our handyman the keys for two weeks and said "GUT IT."

We had a brand new kitchen made, as well as Jason and I put new flooring in. Our plaster walls were patched and re-textured, painting of ceilings, walls, molding, and doors were a daily chore. We gutted and pretty much made anew everything. Everything that is but the bathroom.

It was in well working order so we figured we'd conquer that later. Really my only pet peeve was the handicap bar the stretched across the shower wall.
It must have been placed there back in the 70's I'm sure for the previous owners. And really its not that big of deal but the blessings see it as a swing toy, which means many nights of "stop swinging in the shower."
So after five years of showering and bathing with that bar, tonight I finally came to a full appreciation of the thing.

Being that I see myself young still and in NO way need of help, (gulp) I was trying to lift this 32 week pregnant body out of the tub, using the water as my hopeful buoyancy leverage, and it hit me, why not use the bar. AND GUESS WHAT?? IT REALLY DOES WORK!!!

I was beyond excited to have that bar there at that moment. I could feel my baby weight shifting into an urge to fall forward and low and behold, that wonderful, silver polished, Barbie holding, Star War figure carrying bar caught me. It was wonderful.

So for now I'll keep the bar. I'll keep my first opinions of it to myself for now, till I find myself not "needing" its help anymore.
But for me, it also reminded me of our Lord, who is ALWAYS there to catch us. Although many reject His presence and only want to use Him when its right for them, He is always there. He is and will always be our silver polished handicap bar that will catch you. Its just your decision to reach out and grab hold.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A New Year... Same old, same old!!!

CHANGE!! This isn't a word most people enjoy but leave it to me to LOVE it. And I don't mean the kind I always find in the dryer, although I do enjoy those moments of .57 bliss. :) I am referring to the kind where you actually have BIG momentous occasions that are life altering. Journey's that are so noteworthy that blogs and Facebook status's get updated, (with coordinating pictures). We are talking big things!! More like, items need to be bought for this certain something or a new outfit has to be found. THAT KIND OF CHANGE!!!

Its these kind of changes that make me gitty the night before. When you can't sleep, so you lay there till 3am trying to go to sleep but your mind keeps racing and you work through EVERY scenario that could possibly happen and you have pretty much have every detail figured out. Now all you need, is the change to occur.

I guess that being said, you can tell who the thrill seeker is in the family. Yes, I'm the mom who refuses to go to Disney while pregnant because I can't ride the roller coasters. Selfish I know, but I can't stand the thought of sitting there on the "grand-parents" waiting bench. Yes, you know the one I'm talking about. When you come off a ride, they are ones sticking their necks out so high, hoping that this batch of drenched kids has some of their party included. The ones, that are holding all the strollers and bags and melted ice cream because lil' bit will have a hissy if he comes out and his ice cream is gone and lets be honest, who wants to pay $9.00 for another ice cream?

So back to change, I guess the reason I feed off of it SO much is that my life changes SO MUCH and I've just learned that honestly, I can't stop it. I would love to control it all, have a planner that has every detail of how life goes laid out but what I learned from being a mother of a quiver is that those planners make GREAT drink coasters. So I say bring on the change. Bring on the backwards potty training days, bring on the house renovations that last twice as long as expected, bring on the twins instead of the singleton, and bring on the burnt casserole. Besides, we always keep a frozen pizza just in case.

Change doesn't have to be a dirty word or a word to be confused with "you life is ending as you know it." Change can always be for the better and I pray that's what I find each day.

In the story of Samson, he had a major change. Imagine having this GREAT capability and it all changing due to a love struck heart.

When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Judges 16:18-20 (ESV)

How sad to know that Lord had left him. This had to be a HUGE change for him from going to strength to weakness but whats I find comforting in this story and throughout life is that, no matter what the change is, no matter what the change may bring, no matter what the change does, the Lord is always constant and NEVER changing. We as humans and sinners are the ones who change and run, but He is always there. And that's the beauty of a never changing God.

So enjoy life's changes. Make sure you include laughter when they come. Change can be a good thing and more of a blessing than you  think so let the change occur and greet it with a smile and consider it a .57 moment of pure bliss.

In Him,