Hearing Tests and Mysterious Masses

Went to visit my doctor this morning.  Just a typical, run-of-the-mill checkup.  My medical history is a snore (thank you, Jesus!) so I expected nothing unusual from this visit.  I went through the preliminary tests and laughed with the nurse when we remembered how confused I'd been a year ago when they asked for a "hearing" test while handing me a little, plastic cup.  (It only took a moment before I discovered just what the cup was for and that perhaps my hearing did, indeed, need some attention.)

Doc finally entered the room (I was borderline annoyed at the long wait.  Those paper towel outfits are not made to be worn for more than an hour, but the frustration dissipated when I learned she had been busy reviving a child.)  (I think I'll try using that as an excuse next time I'm late.) and we began chatting about my boring medical history, the fluid in my ears (which might explain the aforementioned confusion) and my nearly 20 pound weight loss (yay!).

I told her how I'd ran a 5K, and that I have continued to run on a regular basis.  I described how the running has helped in so many areas of my health.  She was pleased.  So was I.

The visit wrapped up with her asking if I had any questions or concerns.

Yes, actually.  I did have a concern.  Now, I have to admit that I would rather ignore symptoms than admit that there's a problem, but lately I've noticed a strange mass in my stomach area. The mass felt hard, but since it was painless, I ignored it, hoping it would go away.  It didn't. 

Doc poked and prodded while I lay there imagining all manner of sickness and disease growing within my being.  Slowly a smile began to creep across her face.  I was confused.  My personal diagnosis had me looking at months of treatments, pain and uncertainty.  Instead, she had found something else.

Something I hadn't been familiar with since four tiny humans had added layers of fat to my stomach area.  Something called... muscle!

Yup. I had been fearing something I didn't understand, and in the end I discovered that the very thing I had worried about was actually a good thing!  Less fat!  More muscle!  

I returned my lovely paper towel ensemble and sashayed out the door as they filed away my still boring medical chart.  

Driving home, I realized that the months of training had given me a strength I wasn't aware of.  Through the months of running, I would have highs and lows, but my favorite times were always on the days when I ran faster and further than I had before.  I was surprised by my own strength!  

That's how life is sometimes.

If you're walking through a difficult season right now, take heart.  One day soon, you'll stop and look back and in that moment you'll realize how much you've grown.  You'll feel the difference deep within and you'll notice a change inside yourself.  

The change isn't always obvious in the middle of running that last mile - but it's there nonetheless.  

Don't give up!  Don't fear what you don't know.  Take your burdens to the One who has the answers and recognize the growth that's been happening inside you all along.

And for goodness sakes, if a nurse ever hands you a cup, do not hold it up to your ear!

Though the cherry trees don’t blossom

    and the strawberries don’t ripen,

Though the apples are worm-eaten

    and the wheat fields stunted,

Though the sheep pens are sheepless

    and the cattle barns empty,

I’m singing joyful praise to God.

    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.

Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,

    I take heart and gain strength.

I run like a deer.

    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

Habakkuk 3

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The "Hearing Test" reminded me of this picture of Tyler and

my nephew, Payton, at my brother's wedding

YOU Had a JOB?!

I love speaking truth into my children's lives... seeing them grasp ahold of new concepts and applying it to their lives.

I love watching them learn..  watching them grow.

This morning during Bible time was no exception.   The kids were gathered around listening to Kobe read (a.k.a. lip syncing along with the British man that lives inside my Bible app) from James.  Our topic was humility so after Kobe had finished "reading", I expounded on the benefits of not being proud and admitting when you need help.

"I learned that quickly at my first job, kids," I said.  "My boss taught me that it's always best to ask for help rather than try to stumble along on my own.  You see, too many times we don't want to ask for help from others... simply because of our pride."

The kids were all listening - at least half-heartedly, but Corey... Corey was watching me with awe in his eyes.  My mother-heart warmed to see him soaking in all the wisdom I was so anxious to impart into his life.

I have to admit to a measure of pride swelling up in my heart as I watched his face looking up at me with rapt-attention, his eyes wide with amazement.  But the moment passed all too soon, and my balloon of pride burst, plummeting me back to earth when he opened up his mouth.  

Rather than ask for more advice on living a humble life... or thanking me for taking the time to share such wonderful insight, my very impressed little boy said, "WHAT?  YOOOUUU had a JOB?!?" 

His eyes were huge and his mouth hung slack.

I stared at him for a second.  

Laughed.  

Then announced that Bible time was over.  

Maybe that lesson on humility was actually more for me than it was for the kids!  :)

One Cool Mom

It started with the sandwiches.

When Corey was in Pre-K, he came home talking about the amazing sandwiches his friend, Morgan, had.

"They're dinosaur sandwiches, Mom!"

"Impressive!" I thought.  Morgan has a pretty cool mom, so I wasn't too surprised.

"His daddy made it!"  Corey's emphasis on the word 'daddy' clarified just how cool he thought Morgan's dad must be!

Several days went by, and Corey continued to talk about Morgan's awesome dinosaur sandwiches, so one morning I decided to surprise Corey with a (drumroll please) tractor sandwich!  By my own admission, the tractor looked pretty beat-up and misshapen, so I grabbed a magic marker and outlined a simple John Deere 7400 tractor on the sandwich bag.  

The plan worked - Corey was impressed!

Happy to have elevated my status as one-cool-mom in Corey's eyes, I continued to cut his sandwiches into different shapes... for a while anyway.  Over the summer, I must have forgotten and my "coolness" level waned.

Fast forward two years to Kobe entering Pre-K.  To our delight, one of his classmates happens to be Owen, Morgan's little brother!  Kobe was thrilled to spend his every-other-day time with Owen and often came home with little tidbits of this and that about the amazing Owen.

The amazing  Morgan and Owen

Corey & Kobe

And then they had a conversation.  A conversation that has changed Tuesdays-and-Thursdays-at-home-with-Mommy.

They talked about clubhouses.

"Owen has a clubhouse, Mommy!"  Kobe's eyes were huge and I could tell he was very impressed!  

"Really?  That's great!"  It was Kobe's day at home and I was naive to what I was getting myself in to grateful for the idea.  Kobe misses his siblings when they are at school, so I was happy to help him create his own "awesome clubhouse".

I pulled several chairs into the living room, threw a blanket over the top and helped him tape the sign he had made (all by himself!) onto the side.  He turned into a cheetah and crawled into his clubhouse cave where he lapped water out of a bowl.

Kobe with his clubhouse sign

The clubhouse was a hit, and Kobe was entertained for several hours.  Corey came home from school and he, too, seemed duly impressed.

A few days passed by, the clubhouse was taken down, the sign disappeared, the cheetah turned into a little boy and was off to school once more.  I thought the clubhouse dream had been fulfilled and I mentally patted myself on the back for the ingenuity and creativity I had displayed for my young son.  

I was one cool mom!

But alas, I was not as ingenious and creative as I had hoped. By 3:00 that afternoon, Kobe was sitting in the van, excitedly describing Owen's clubhouse.  Apparently, he hadn't realized that clubhouses could be created out of materials other than fleece coverlets.

"Owen's clubhouse is made out of WOOD, Mommy!  WOOD!"

"Oh..."  I really didn't want to build a clubhouse out of wood, so I scrambled quickly to think of a new subject.  "How was school today?"

"Good.  AND they are gonna paint their clubhouse too!"  

Ok, so that didn't work.

Kobe went on, "Mom, can we build a clubhouse with wood?  And paint it?  I want to paint it dark blue... or dark black!"  I know he kept talking after that, but I stopped listening as I mentally pictured my boys covered in dark blue (or dark black) paint.  And I groaned.

"Tell ya what, Buddy," I glanced at Kobe's hopeful face in the rearview mirror of the van, "that sounds like a good project for you to talk to daddy about!"  

Thankfully he agreed and I was off the hook...  for the moment anyway! :)  If it started with a simple sandwich and has already climbed to dark black clubhouses, who knows what these boys will come up with over the years.

I cherish conversations like these with my children.  I enjoy seeing them build friendships of their own and watching them dream big dreams while using their imaginations!

No, I'm not threatened by the "coolness" of other mommies or daddies - I am secure enough to know that I hold my children's love and affection. :)  But I do love the fact that I can learn by watching others.  Through the avenue of friendships we can discover new adventures, ideas and traditions for our families to enjoy.  Hopefully soon, that will include a clubhouse for the Carpenter kids!

And I might even let them do the painting!  (Just don't hold me to it!)

Morgan and Owen are being raised by some pretty cool people!  You can read their story here.

Living On the Funny Farm

Hillybilly Sledding

We had a heavy snowfall yesterday which resulted in area schools being cancelled.  My kids were thrilled and wasted no time in heading outdoors to go sledding.  Unfortunately, their sled had been broken somehow through the winter, so they improvised by using their kiddie pool.

I didn't realize what they were doing and looked out the window just in time to see the kiddie pool go skidding by the window with two kids sitting inside.  I wish I had a picture to show you - it was by far the most hilarious scene of the day!

Later, I was able to run to the store and get them a real sled and the kiddie pool has been retired to the barn for the winter.  I was still laughing at the picture of two bundled up heads bobbing along in the swimming pool as it raced across the snow.  Since I didn't get a picture, I hope it will remain burned in  my memory for a long time!

Conversations With Kobe

Kids are always coming up with something hilarious - and my four-year-old certainly has had his share. He has this fetish with animals - baby wart hogs, in particular. The other night, Kobe was informing his older siblings that it was time to play "animals". He told them all what to do and where to go to be the kind of animals he wanted.  Then he proceeded to lay down in a fetal position, lifts his head a little and says, "I'll be the victim."

Tim and I looked at each other over the kids' heads, and mouthed, "victim?" to each other.  We still aren't sure where he learned that word, but it did give us a good laugh!


Then last night, Corey had just gotten out of Bible Memory at church and was so pleased to show us the two toy trucks he had earned.  He opened the package and gave one of the trucks to Kobe.  Kobe was thrilled and my mother-heart was proud of my six-year-old's generosity.

Then out of the darkness of the van, Kobe pipes up, "Corey?  You know what I am of you?"

I chuckled at his choice of words and waited to hear was he "was of him".

"What?" Corey asked.

"Proud!  Thank you for giving me this truck!"

Is that not cute?  I went to bed last night thinking about those precious moments and wishing I could hang on to them forever!

Day 5 - Laughter

I love to laugh! Life in general gives us plenty of things to laugh about. Sometimes we get so bogged down by situations that we don't realize how long it's been since we had a good ole laugh until you cry moment.

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Hope you enjoy a day full of joy and laughter!

P.S.  Had to add this.  Ironically enough, after thanking God for humor, I had this to post on Facebook:

"Discovered my little boys had emptied the Candyland game ALL over the living room, spread about 100 animals from here to there (no exaggeration!) then squirted shower gel in the empty tub, and climbed in clothes and all to enjoy their new slip and slide - somehow it ended up ALL over the bathroom! The entire house now smells like Gillette Fresh & Clean, my floors are gonna need several buckets of water to get the layer of soap off and Kobe's tooth is bleeding from all the slipping and sliding. I hope I think this is funny someday! :-P"  

So there, now you can laugh at me!  And I don't want to hear ONE SINGLE WORD about Signs of Life!  Hee hee!!

The Farmer Takes A Wife

Tim came in the house last night very excited!  And when I say excited, I mean STOKED!  He was punching the air with his fists and making "boo-yah" sounds.  Of course, my curiosity was peeked!

"What's the happiest you've EVER seen me?" his EVER highly enunciated.

"Uhmm," I quickly flip through mental pictures of the day he met ME (we were three), the first time he kissed ME, the day he married ME, but before I could answer he interrupts with another "YEAH" and several fist pumps.

Now I'm really curious!  I mean, Tim is generally a happy guy, but what had happened to make him so SO excited?

"You know how I used to have to start that irrigation down the road?"

Seriously?!  "Uhmm, no... no... not really."  

"Yeah!" He's still exuberant.  "It's all set up now that I can start the pivot AND the pump with the push of... wait for it... ONE button!"

Crickets...

I stood staring at him, laughing and wondering how I had lost my entitled position in my husband's "happiest-I've-ever-been moment... to an irrigation!

I wasn't about to take that sitting down, so I tried again.  "You mean to tell me you're happier about how you can start this pivot than (here was the test) ANYTHING else in the world?  Even more than ME?"

Tim didn't bat an eye - or answer me, still so wrapped up in his happiest-day-of-my-life moment.  He just grinned like he'd remembered something important and said, "Oh yeah, AND I got the booster pump to work too!"

I think he said more about that, but I had already checked out.  I mean come on, it's an irrigation! And a booster pump!  And he's a farmer!  How can I compete with that?  :)

Note Tim's true love in the background! :)