BUNCH OF ORANGES: June 2015

So it's summer!!! Whooo Hooo! We ended the school year great!! We did a high dive into summer with birthday celebrations and swimming and friends and the library and vacation bible school…. whoop! What's next?

It's been a wonderful week and the kids have LOVED vacation bible school. Our church does it at night- family style in August, so we decided to participate at a couple of our local churches with friends. Gunner and Jensie went to the one at their preschool and Noah and Emmie went to a big one that had lots of friends from school. They didn't want it to end…. and neither did I! But today was the last day and OH what a day it started off to be!

So, I have been super mellow this week and just plain happy! We have had the perfect flow of activities… not too much but just enough. :) I had thought after the first weekend of no school when I listed two of my children on the market… (see below for details)... that the summer was definitely gonna need some deep prayer! That's when I started considering writing my own summer serenity prayer. :) Then... our first week of no school has been Vacation Bible School and just what we needed to start off the summer!

However…. today I only had to take Noah and Emmie cause Gunner and Jensie's was done yesterday. So the morning was relaxed and pretty normal. We weren't rushing around or anything. I told the kiddos to get in the car so I could quickly finish up getting ready. Braided Jensie's hair and scanned the house for doors and lights. Took the kids to vbs and then went right across the street to the gym to get in a quick run. I put the car in park and Gunner says, "Mama, Jensie's not in her carseat!" GASP! WHAT! My brain quickly goes into….

Is she hiding in the back? Where is she? She's not in here!….She is AT HOME! ALONE! Pulling out of my spot…. My gas pedal leg is literally shaking to no end and I could hardly press the gas… I travel the 5 minutes to my home that felt like 30…. the whole time rehearsing in my brain what happened…. Oh yes… she had gone back upstairs to get her Elsa braid to clip in her hair. I forgot and thought she was in car. I'm talking out loud and Gunner is listening. He is as calm as can be and says… "Well…. this is the first time we have ever left a kid anywhere." Yes, Yes that's right Gunner…. Mommy thought she was in the car…. Dear Lord…. I pray…. My mind wants to go to bad places like the the street or pool or just her traumatized. I wouldn't let it… I kept telling myself… she is fine…. angels are with her…. Dear God… please let her be ok.

I pulled into the culdesac and ran inside and could hear her crying a little before I opened the front door… I ran in and she was in the kitchen holding a tennis ball playing with Sonny (our dog) and crying to him. I hugged her and held her and we talked about it. She said, "I came downstairs and you were gone and I cried… Mommy come back"

She is the child that 100 times has said to me, Mommy don't leave me! I always say… Jensie I am NOT leaving you! I would never leave you!!! Why would you think that?

GULP! GAG! STAB MY IN MY GUT!

I did it. I messed up. I left my child.

I Am So Sorry.

Who is serving the humble pie? I need a slice.

I couldn't make up a reason why this happened… I wasn't in a rush… we weren't going 90 mph trying to do too many things. I was calm… kids were good. It JUST happened. Needless to say… She was fine and got over it real quick and I didn't make a huge deal cause I didn't want her to think this was going to be the norm. I told her I was so sorry and thought she was in the car and that mommy made a big boo boo and came right back to get her. She is 3 almost 4….but is smarter than a 6 year old! She was alone less than 10 minutes but it's the magnitude of this that paralyzes a mother. You instantly realize how easy people leave their kids in hot cars or worse. I am telling this story because I am a real mother…. I make real mistakes and want to learn from them. The first thing Gunner said when we got in the car was, "Sooooo…. Mama made a Mistake!" Yep, Yep I sure did. I told him how thankful I was to have him there to help me. I told him I needed him to start helping me count the kids. He smiled.

No…seriously…. I need a car count! I count my kids all the time at home for some reason. 4 is just overwhelming sometimes…. hard to understand unless you have been there or are there with me right now. If you are… I hope you can not judge me…but relate to the world of 4 children with me. Us Mama's need one another and need prayer! I have been thinking on this but after today, I have now added a line in my Summer Serenity Prayer.

My Summer Serenity Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please give me the summer serenity I need to accept the days as they are,

whether it's 100 degrees and meltdowns or blue skies with rainbows and perfect children.

Help to to accept the things I cannot change,

like the fact that I have 4 kids and they are KIDS and kids have needs and kids get bored and kids cry and kids are different from one day to the next.

Dear Lord,

Please give me the courage to change the things I can,

like the way I discipline and love and howI can learn from my children what works for each one and not be afraid to try new things…. constantly….

Dear Lord,

Please give me wisdom to know the difference,

The difference in- your control and my control with my children,

Help me to have wisdom to be their guide this summer- to have fun and make memories and be thankful to YOU, our creator and giver of this season of summer.

Dear Lord,

Please give me a clear mind to be aware of my children and how many there are.

Please help me to stay summer slow and summer safe with my children.

Please protect them no matter where they are… because even if I am not there…. YOU are Lord and I am thankful for your faithfulness and for never leaving my side during my journey of motherhood in the days of summer and all the days of their precious little lives.

Amen.

Now let's see some happy pictures with happy Orange Kids! :)

Emmie's 1st grade Celebration

Noah's 4th Grade celebration

Last day of school! Let's party!

Why? Cause it's DADDY's Birthday!!!!

Swimming is fun with daddy

Celebrations

Embrace the moments…. she's figuring it out….

Pool Pics

Lifeguard on duty

Life Dog on Duty

The Entertainment is Free!

Who is excited it's SUMMER!

National Donut Day and 1st Day of NO SCHOOL!!! Whooo Hooo!

Unfortunately….

This child was not for sale… she woke me up on the first day of no school with this card

Seriously? She must be secretly eating spoonfuls of sugar… cause she is SWEEEET

Mama & her girls

Swimming with my Gunner

Don't even ask me what # this is for outfits. She changes 4 to 5 times a day…. battle won. I gave up.

It's always fun to see what she will come out in next…. she has plenty of self expression and confidence and her brother is looking super grown up in the pic :(

Every night she says, "Daddy tell me a mean, scary story" This is while sleeping with one of my dolls that I had when I was a little girl and she is missing an arm and her eyes don't work and her hair is scary