Mark Twain's Advice to Little Girls ;)

Good little girls ought not to make mouths at their teachers for every trifling offense. This retaliation should only be resorted to under peculiarly aggravated circumstances.

If at any time you find it necessary to correct your brother, do not correct him with mud - never, on any account, throw mud at him, because it will spoil his clothes. It is better to scold him a little, for then you obtain desirable results.

If your mother tells you to do a thing, it is wrong to reply you won't. It is better and more becoming to intimate that you will do as she bids you, and then afterwards act quietly in the matter according to the dictates of your best judgement.

Good little girls always show marked deference for the aged. You ought never to "sass" old people unless they "sass" you first.

When They Are Little...

...you can do things like cradle them in your arms, look them in the eyes, and "baby" them. But not so much when they're 9. Greg celebrated his birthday this week, and I was reminded again how little boys are only little for a wink and a blink.

The other night was the usual chaos where you need about 10 hands to do all the things that need to be done for bedtimes. Aaron was outside finishing tasks, and I was inside trying to put 4 children to bed at the same time. I do not recommend this.

Jonathan looked up at me with his saddest face and said, "You never have time for me anymore!" And I just about broke in half. I finally realized, "Okay. I am one woman. I have 4 children. They will all need to simply wait their turn."

I got Hope down first, then told Greg we could finish our Battleship game after everyone else was in bed. I helped Jonathan brush his teeth, gave him extra cuddle time in bed, read a short book to Daniel, put him down, then joined Greg upstairs. And the funny thing is - they seem to get it. They (hopefully) are developing patience and understanding in our family of six.

When I start to have a pity party for myself and think I'm short-changing my kids, I am always reminded that God loves them perfectly and brought them into this family for a purpose. There are struggles in each and every family, not just the ones with more than 1 or 2 kids.

And it reminds me that I am sooo not perfect and can only do the best job I know how. Giving myself grace -- as one of my friends mentioned the other day (thanks Rachel!) -- is VITAL to mothering, VITAL to living with others and growing in Christ.

I can't cradle Greg anymore, but I can cradle a couple of other kids in this house for awhile, and I plan on doing it as often as possible, as well as giving myself small doses of the grace God has lavished on me.

Oh My....

My sister-in-law recently sent me this photo that was taken back in March.

Took my breath away. JR with his cousin, L -- and you gotta love the fairy wings...

Golden

Yesterday, Aaron took the boys fishing in the afternoon, so I took Hope for a bike ride into Spicer. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. She loves riding behind me....and sticking her hands down the back of my pants...

Hope at the park -- it's amazing how much more mobile she is this year. Didn't need my help much at all!

Stopping at DQ to see our favorite cone maker -- KK!!

When we got home, the boys were playing baseball in the front yard with neighbor buddies. Daddy pitched and kept everything civil, for the most part.

After a full week of rain last week, we were all drunk with sunshine and warm temperatures. As I watch my kids enjoying the weather, enjoying life, I remind myself,

these are the golden days

I'm Gonna Miss This:

"This" is MOPS. The New London MOPS, to be specific. I started attending this group back in 2006, when I toted around 3 little boys all the time and had no idea a baby girl would be coming my way. Now that I'm headed back to teaching this fall, I will terribly miss this group of women and all the encouragement I found there.

Sweet MOPS friends
Brunch, adult conversation, good times!!

I like being Mrs. Reid

...and I don't just mean because my husband is Mr. Reid, although that is a delight and a blessing, FO SHO.

I'm talking about being Mrs. Reid - the teacher. Over the past few weeks, my mind has gone back about a decade to when I answered to "Mrs. Reid" on a daily basis. It's hard to remember when I didn't answer to "MOM!" all the time.

I'm remembering what it was like to stand in front of a room of teenagers and try to engage them in a poem, a story, a grammar rule. I loved the challenge and the drama of each day.

Now, I find myself excited about going back to the classroom after so long. Starting this fall, I'll be teaching part-time at Community Christian School (where my 2 oldest attend) - 9-12 grade English.

As I look back over those old yearbooks and some old notes from my days as a young teacher, I realize what an amazing ministry teaching truly is. I pray God will help me to balance the roles of wife, mother, and teacher in a way that glorifires Him!

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

Can I go back every weekend?

I spent Friday and Saturday of this past week at a beautiful Retreat Center called The Red Hen House in Brooten, MN. It's a Lutheran church that closed, but was then purchased and refurbished as a Retreat Center for quilters/scrapbookers/anyone looking to get away!

Thanks so much to my Aaron for allowing me an opportunity to recharge my batteries. Mamas are rarely offered a day off. You truly must make time to get away and have a moment of quiet. Like one of my friends commented, "It's fabulous to wake up and not have to "be" or "do" anything right away." So true! And it also helps you simply appreciate the children and family you have, just by stepping away from them for a moment.
I invited women who wanted to scrapbook for a couple days to come with me. It was an amazing time of refreshment and fun! The photo above is the downstairs retreat area with the dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms.

A photo of one of the bedrooms - the retreat center sleeps 8.

This is the work area where we scrapbooked together. There was room for about 8 or 9 women to work. The front of this old church is now a small area with couches, a coffee table, and a stereo. We brought our delicious breakfast up here Saturday morning and ate there in the sunshine.

I hope to schedule another retreat maybe this fall, or just next year at this time again. Very reasonable rates, and a great time!