What do you do with minus two?

Mike and I were planning on going to a marriage enrichment seminar at church last night and didn't have a babysitter, so I called and begged asked my parents to take our two older kids for the weekend. Actually, it went something like, "Hey, mom you wouldn't want to come and pick up Tate and Norah for the weekend would you?" "I totally would if I didn't have to work, sorry." So, I call my dad. "Dad, you wanna hang out with your grandkids for the weekend?" "Well, I'd love that Melissa. Let me call your mom." Yep, I'm 31 years old and I employed the thing we tell Tate NOT to do: I asked dad when mom said no. Some things never change.

Since our early riser was away (who apparently was so excited to be at G & G's house, he was awake by 6:00 this morning), Mike and I thought we might just get to sleep in. Nope. Tate must have talked to Anja before he left and told her, "Whatever you do, do not let mom and dad sleep past 7:00." Oh well. Sleep is over-rated, right?

I was so excited to get a lot accomplished today while I didn't have kids here to make messes as I cleaned. I cleaned the kitchen, washed the floor, cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry, went shopping, ate chinese with my love and baked banana bread (which is in the oven right now). I feel like there are still enough things to fill another day, but I am SO thankful for the time I had to get done what I did.

We also had lots of opportunities to have some great talks with Anja today. And boy was she talkative! It was so fun to hear her babble and smile every time we looked at her throughout the day. I love seeing each of our kids' personalities come alive and getting to know who God made them to be. God makes no two kids alike, so we get the chance to get to know them as individuals. I am in awe of God for His creativity when I look at people. If it were up to me (and thank goodness it's not), we'd all be exactly the same.

I have thoroughly enjoyed some relaxed time with Mike and getting some things done around the house, but it will be great to kiss those two adorable faces tomorrow!

To Clean or Not to Clean

One of my favorite quotes is, "If you came to see me, come any time. If you came to see my house, make an appointment." I think I might just paint that on a plaque and hang it next to my front door! I used to try to have my house "company ready," but finally realized that was just not realistic. I really do wish I was neater and my house was usually picked up. I am much more relaxed when it is, but I have finally admitted that I am just not that way. Maybe I will be some day, but for now messy is the norm. As I type this, here's what my living room and dining room look like:

The sad thing is, this is a fairly good day!

When company comes over though, I do try to have the house presentable. I've been thinking lately about my motives for this. I don't think it is good to try to make my house perfect for the sake of impressing other people. Sometimes it might make someone feel inadequate, because seriously, whose house is perfect all the time?!? Admit it, you have a spot in your house where all of the clutter gathers. In my house it's the end of the dining room table....and the top of the dishwasher, and the.... So, I started leaving a little of the clutter out when people came over to let them know that I am normal too. Mike even talked about this in a sermon one time. A friend of mine said that what she learned from the sermon was that she's not supposed to clean her house for company. I don't think that was his point, but instead that we don't need to feel the need to impress everyone.

But what if my motive is different? Maybe my attitude needs to be that it makes the guest feel honored that I took the time to clean my house for them. (I suppose they would have to know what the house looked like BEFORE they came over. Hmmm...maybe I should frame the above pictures with a caption that says something like, "This is what my house normally looks like. I cleaned it just for you!") Back to the point. I do believe that a big part of hospitality is making the guest feel welcome and comfortable. Walking into someone's mess might not make a person very comfortable or at ease. Hey, I'm not even at ease in my own mess let alone someone else's. When someone comes into my home, I want them to know they are welcome, that I am glad they are here, and I want them to be able to relax and be themselves.

I guess my point is this: The Bible calls us to be hospitable (Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9) and we are not to have any other gods. People can be one of many idols that we put above the One True God, so we try to impress and please them instead of God.

So if your heart is right and your motive is to be hospitable and put your company at ease, then yes clean your house. If not, leave it messy.

He is Risen!

He is Risen INDEED!

When Tate woke up on Easter morning, we practiced saying, "He is Risen!" "He is Risen Indeed!" It is fun to teach the truths of our faith to our kids and see them get excited about it. Easter Sunday is just one of many days to teach them about the sacrifice of love that Jesus made for us!

We had lots of fun on Easter, so I thought I'd share some photos from the day:

 

Here's Tate at breakfast in the morning - Bed head and all!

 

Tate was excited to wear a tie, and Norah, well she just looks cute.



Sweet Anja in her Easter dress

It is really hard to get a good picture with everyone looking at the camera at once!
This is the best one out of MANY tries!

A little Easter egg hunt for Tate, who thinks that Easter eggs fall from the sky!

Norah giving hugs to the doll she got in her Easter basket.

Norah was sleeping during Tate's Easter egg hunt outside, so after she woke up, she got to hunt for eggs in her bedroom. She was thrilled with the first egg she found and would have been satisfied...
good thing there were only 4!

Okay, so this wasn't on Easter, but I just had to put this one up.

Can I just say I'm very excited that she has a dimple?!?!

Okay, this one's not Easter either, but this kid makes us laugh all the time. This morning when I told Tate to get dressed, this is how he came out of his room. You can't really see it, but his undies are over his pajamas too. And that big lump in his pajamas? Those are his blankets stuffed in there.

I love my kids!