Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a beautiful Easter. ☺

Happy Easter!

G is for Grace

Grace is a beautiful word, both in its sound and in its meanings. It can describe fluidity and charm--She skated gracefully across the ice--as well as kindness and pardon--He was saved by the governor's act of grace. It can also describe ummerited mercy and forgiveness, which I think is its most powerful definition, especially when I think of the word in terms of Easter. It's not always easy to extend grace to others, especially when I feel they don't deserve it, but it's one of the most important concepts I can teach my children.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Oh, my aching legs!

This is the first time I've had a chance to sit down since I read and commented on blogs this morning. (I'm caught up. Yay!)

Why is it that holidays are the opposite of relaxing? There's always so much to do, and somehow I always manage to leave most of it for the last minute. Today I've been to the grocery store for more Easter basket stuff (twice), washed everyone's dressy church clothes and found all the accessories (shoes, tights, ties, barrettes...), prepped tomorrow's French toast (it stays in the fridge all night and bakes for an hour in the morning), filled baskets and plastic eggs, and double-checked that I have everything I need for the Easter dinner I'm cooking tomorrow evening. And that's just the holiday stuff! Those everyday chores--dishes, laundry, cooking meals, cleaning--didn't go away, as much as I wish they had. I'm unbelievably tired and so glad to be able to sit down right now. After I post this, I'm taking my tired legs to the bathtub, and I think I'll bring along a glass of wine and a book. It's "me" time now!

Happy Easter!

Unconditional, unquestioning love

Today was another rough day with the kids. Even though they're still very young, they've already started to gang up on me, and their screaming and fighting and unwillingness to listen really got to me this afternoon. I felt pushed to my edge and yelled, which I don't like to do and which I always feel guilty about afterward. The day seemed extra long because my husband worked late tonight, and I couldn't wait for him to get home so that I could sneak out for an hour before the kids' bedtime. I had to buy Easter basket treats, so I needed to go out for that, but maybe more importantly, I needed that time to myself. I needed the peace. When my husband came home, I practically ran out the door.

When I returned home, my son, the son that I had yelled at all day long, ran to the door and hugged me around the knees, and shouted, "Mama! Mama's home!" I wanted to cry. After everything bad that had happened today, he was still excited to see me. Despite it all, he was glad I was home.

I was too.