Moments to remember...

One of the many great things about having a blog is that it gives you the opportunity to write about things you want to make sure and remember. Little things that ordinarily you would say to yourself "I've got to make sure I remember this" but then inevitably a few months down the road, it escapes you.

Last night I am sitting in the floor of the living room watching American Idol and folding laundry. My little Ava (who will be 3 next month) comes up and plops down beside me and says "I want to fold the wash-a-rags" (cute how she always calls them that) This isn't the first time she has folded the "wash-a-rags" or attempted to at least. I always give them to her and she makes an attempt, then when she takes off to play, I refold them and put them away.

Last night, I watched her out of the corner of my eye and noticed her frustration. So I stopped her, picked up my own wash-a-rag and laid it out on the floor beside her. I told her to lay hers out also, and do as I do. "Fold the bottom all the way up to the top...then fold the side all the way over to the other side..." She listened and watched intently and then folded hers exactly the same. She was sooo pleased with herself.

So I hand her about six of them to fold and she is working very diligently, and perfectly I might add, when she says to herself, without looking up from her work... "you're a great mother"... SHOCKED I said to her "what did you just say" thinking I must have caught it wrong... she looked up at me grinning her little sheepish grin and says "I said I love you mom" to which I laughingly replied "no you didn't...what did you say" She looked back down at her half folded wash-a-rag and said again very quietly as she started to fold "you're a great mother"

I sat there in awe, looking at this tiny little creation, amazed at the depth of her thought process, wondering what in the world I did to deserve such an amazing comment from such an amazing little girl. It was a very convicting moment for me. I am always so incredibly busy with the business, and the house, and the laundry, and the cooking, etc... that I rarely get to give 100% of my attention to one child at one given moment. This was a moment just for her and she was relishing it out loud. It was a moment for me... that I will cherish forever. And that my friends... is what it's all about.

Wake-Up Chirp...

This morning as I woke up I noticed two things...it seemed a lot lighter out than usual, and I was hearing a familiar sound.

There is a bird that lives in the pear tree right outside my bedroom window. He drives me insane every spring and summer. Cheerfully chirping to herald in the morning, while I pull the covers over my head cursing him. His chirp has a distinct rhythm and he repeats it incessantly. Sometimes as I lay there I put words to it. "hey YOU...hey YOU...are you sleep-ING," "I AM...I AM... so an-noy-ING," and my favorite "craZY...craZY...Tim Tim TimMY" (obscure I know but Ethan has a really funny friend he calls Tim Tim Timmy and it seemed to fit)

Today I did not get irritated at my old friend. I was happy to have him back. With his return comes the return of Spring and I am so very ready for it. Spring brings the promise of hope. It is a reawakening and renewal.... not only of nature, but also of the soul.

Think Spring!

Tuesday Tunes...

Well, with life around the Jones house crazy as usual...the "Saturday Spotlight" I promised to become a regular feature last week, has been pushed off into "Tuesday Tunes" this week... I swear I need a 36 hour day.

Anyway, this week Austin will be getting a little "Led" out for your enjoyment. He is not happy with his performance in this video. His beloved guitar had a broken string so he had to use the trusty old backup which just doesn't quite have the sound and he's just not quite as "bonded" with it. There may be other songs he could have played better, but this one is a must on the playlist of every serious rocker. :)

Austin thought it would be cool to take requests for next weeks gig, so if you have one, leave us a comment...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

He will make a way...

It's been a tough couple of weeks around the Jones house....make that a tough month. Jaden is in week three of a nasty upper respiratory infection, and Ava is at the end of week two.

For the past three weeks, I have had one or both kids in my bed most nights. Poor Aaron has been outcast to the downstairs with the two healthy kids in the house. Between the two sickies... I am averaging about 2-3 hours a night. My butt is dragging....along with my attitude.

Today, I had to have Ethan in Jasper at 9:15 to have some stitches removed. This meant dragging both babies out of bed to go along. Not an easy task on a good day. Compounded by the fact that I did not set an alarm and woke up 40 minutes late. I cursed myself as I got up for making such an early appt. time. I told myself as I got ready to go... "there is no way I can get there on time... there is no way this is going to work.... Ava has a fever and needs to go back to the dr. but Ethan has to get back to school by NOON" and on and on and on. I was tired and extremely irritated. I said a very quick prayer that somehow I could just get through the day.

And then it happened... God took over
First... Aaron was able to stay home long enough to help me get everyone up, dressed, and loaded up in the van... we actually left almost on time (a miracle in itself)

Second...we hit every light green, and arrived at the dr. with a little time to spare.

Third...As soon as I signed Ethan in, they called his name... no waiting!

Fourth...After an easy removal of the stitches, we went upstairs to Ava and Jaden's dr. to see if they could be seen sometime today... They said...(are you ready for this)..."we can take them right now" (miracle #2!)

Fifth... no waiting once again, (r u kidding me!) so as soon as we got our diagnosis (double ear infections in both kids) we were out of there, prescriptions in hand. Unbelievable!

Because everything happened so fast, this left me with time to go to CVS and get the medicine, take a card and gift to my precious grandma who turns 92 today, stop at Walmart and get food for the week with no wait in the checkout (unheard of!), AND go through McDonalds drive through and feed everyone! All this and I delivered Ethan to school at precisely 11:58!

God heard my cry this morning. He answered by perfectly orchestrating every moment of my day in a way that ONLY HE can. (if you don't believe that... read the above chain of events again!) He reminded me that even when I feel like my world is crumbling around me...He is holding me. That while I am caring for my babies...He is caring for me. That when I need Him...He is there. That when I feel as if I am spinning out of control... He is in control. That even the tiniest little prayer whispered under my breath is heard. That even when there looks as if there is no way.... He will make a way.

We serve an AWESOME God.... Can I get an Amen?!!!

Saturday Spotlight...

Austin and I were talking last week and decided it would be cool to spotlight some of his guitar music on my blog... so.... the Saturday Spotlight will be a regular feature for awhile.

For those who don't already know, Austin started taking guitar lessons a couple of years ago. Since then, he eats, sleeps and dreams music. His guitar is in his hands literally every available waking minute he has. His musical repertoire has grown to around 100 or so songs.

This video was taken the first time he laid his eyes on a twelve string acoustic guitar. He had literally just taken it off the wall and sat down to play when I started recording. It is Bon Jovi, Wanted Dead or Alive, and it is pretty impressive if ole mom does say so herself. (You will need to pause my playlist at the left to listen)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Austin!!!!!

Thirteen years ago, the temperature was -12 degress.... that's MINUS 12 degrees. There was also quite a bit of snow on the ground as Aaron and I made the hour long drive to the Bloomington hospital. My water had already broken at home, but I hadn't started having contractions yet. It was five weeks before my due date.

For the next 20 hours... that's what I said TWENTY hours.... I labored. It wasn't bad, just exhausting. Many people hung out and waited. Mom, Dad, my step mom Julie, my brothers Kent and Evan, my sister-in-law Patti, my neice Haley, and our good friends Mike and Kristy. They waited, and waited and waited. At one point somewhere around midnight a few of them braved the cold and went out for breakfast. They still talk about how painfully cold it was that night.

FINALLY, at 2 in the morning, after 3 pushes, Austin made his grand entrance. After the traditional "It's a Boy!" the next thing the dr. said was "He's a little red headed baby!"

She was right... sort of .... his hair wasn't exactly red. It was bright orange. Bright orange fuzz all over his tiny head and tiny little eyebrows that looked like they had been drawn on with an orange crayon. He was perfect. All 6 tiny pounds of him.

Unfortunately he had gurgles... his lungs held some fluid. No doubt from being 5 weeks early. He was whisked past all the people who had been waiting hours to see him and taken to the nursery. He spent three days in an incubator on oxygen but he did very well considering.

So three days later we brought him home. Ethan was only 18 months at the time, but oh so excited. They have been best friends ever since.

Today, it seems like thirteen years went by in the blink of an eye. He has grown into such a great person. So fun to be around, such the crack-up, so smart, loving, considerate, sensitive and talented. Happy Birthday Austin...even though you're not so tiny anymore...you'll always be my little orange headed boy!

Mom....What can I have to eat???....

Ok, we are on day 5 of consecutive snow days from school. If my kids ask me one more time what they can have to eat, I may leave the country. I know we all like to eat when we are bored, but come on!

The biggest challenge in my life at this point is figuring out what to feed people. I feel like I am feeding people all day every day... I can't get out of walmart for much less than $200/wk and by mid week the food is all gone. I have one teenager who eats anything and everything...one almost teenager who is a little more picky but eats his share nonetheless...one 5 year old with an eating disorder (he only will eat from a list of about 6 or 7 things literally)... and one poor little two year old who is only allowed to eat 6 or 7 things because of her food allergies. The whole thing is absolutely maddening! By the time I fix four different breakfasts and clean up the mess... it's time for lunch... after four different lunches and clean-up... it's time for supper. Not to mention all the snacks in between!

Thank goodnes for Papaw Stevie for rescuing me today and taking all three boys to Jasper to eat lunch... not that they were hungry since they had been eating non-stop since their feet hit the floor this moring.... at least it's a break.