The Party is OVER

Well, we just finished Spring Break 2011 with an awesome Easter Sunday!! We had an amazing time as a family and we all feel really rested too!! It was bittersweet to see the girls run to the bus this morning, I will miss them still being here lounging in their pajamas until mid-morning. I am counting the days down until Summer break, 26 to be exact!!! If you are interested in a recap of how we spent our break, please keep reading.


Friday, April 15: I took the little guy out of preschool for the day and we went to the Children's Museum and Chik-Fil-A, later that night I went on a date with Hubs!!

Saturday, April 16: I slept until 11am!! This is unheard of!! I was struggling with a cough and sore throat, so I missed all 3 children's breakfast calls!! I finally shlumped downstairs to coffee and pancakes! We spent the day in the yard and then on to church to volunteer.

Sunday, April 17: Church as a family and the remainder of the day was spent on the front porch coloring and reading with Ms. Imagination, until she ran off with the neighbor girls to play.

Monday, April 18: Long and lazy!! We all just sort of looked at each other with bewilderment over what to do next.

Tuesday, April 19: Sort of a repeat of Monday, until we broke the mold and went to Target to score a birthday gift for a party on Wed.

Wednesday, April 20: We met a friend at the playground and headed over to Monkey Joe's(jump castle place) for a birthday party!! So much fun until Mr. Mr. got Karate kicked in the back by an older boy who left with his father promptly before I could go all "Mama Bear" on him.

Thursday, April 21: The pool with the neighbor girls, home to do the beauty shop thing with the girls. It rained buckets.

Friday, April 22: We went to see African Cats as a family for Good Friday and Earth Day. What an amazing movie!! We are all still talking about it.


Saturday, April 23: The girls went shopping and the boys went to a softball game with some friends visiting from Atlanta. It was such a fun day.

Sunday, April 24: Church as a family and then a Pot-blessing meal with out neighbors and all the kids. This was really fun and a nice way to round out the break. I miss my children already, but I know that in only 26 short days, they will be back in the nest for days on end!! Ah, sweet, lazy summer days!!

As I close, I will leave you with what I read in my devotion this morning. A friend gave me this book and I can not put it down. It is meant to be a daily book, but I want to read it non-stop! The writer is Jen Hatmaker and you can check her out at: www.jenhatmaker.com.

This morning's lesson was Greatness, Credit, and Other Myths of Motherhood. I caution you to have an open mind about what I am about to quote. I literally wept as I read her words, because I have just come through a time in my mothering where this is how I felt:

He took the little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Mark 9:36-37

When I choose servant instead of martyr, my children enjoy the security that they are welcomed in our home. They are not a thorn in my flesh, cutting into my personal time. They aren't a nuisance, making me sigh with irritation all day. They are welcomed members of this family, loved and purposed. And when my children are welcomed, I have opened the very doors of heaven and invited God himself into the laughter, chaos, and life of our home. Now that is greatness. Out of the Spin Cycle, Jen Hatmaker