A Sad Day

Today I am linking up with Shell at Pouring My Heart Out at Things I Can't Say....

So...here goes.

Everyone has the right to choose to vote a certain way.

For me, today is a sad day.  I feel unsettled...not only for me but for the world that my children are growing up in.

Mindy at New Equus wrote today about riding a horse in the dark and turned it into a comparison of finding faith and comfort and trust.  I could use those three things today.

One of my facebook friends posted a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien that was touching to me...

‎"All that is gold does not glitter, not all who wander are lost, the old that are strong do not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring, renewed shall be blade that is broken, the crownless again shall be king."

When I turned to the Word this morning, I turned towards the end of Acts, when St. Paul recounts the story of his conversion.  I can pray for those in office and the decisions that will be made over the next four years.  I can work on myself and all the ways that my own heart is not open to God.  If I work on me....then I can be a vessel that brings God's love to others.  God's love changes all...even the most hardened hearts.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and rely not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths."  Proverbs 3:4-7

Prayerful Moments

I have to say that yesterday with Luke really did go better.  Extra positive attention and very consistent boundaries seem to be key right now.  Sorry for the short post again, but my "mommy job" is very demanding at the moment!

The Catholic Digest quote of the day from Sunday tugged at my heart....

Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

St. Thomas More

The quote gave me comfort...like warm soup on a cold day.  It was a good reminder that no matter what, God's in charge and can bring good out of any difficulty!

I casted my vote and I'm praying.

But, no matter who gets elected today, God is still in charge.  That's giving me peace instead of worrying about the outcome.  

  

Thankful Thought #6: I am grateful to live in a country where we have a voice in choosing who leads us.
 

Working on Behavior

Monday....catch up day...start of the week...trying to organize after a busy weekend with not much being done around the house.  (sigh)

This morning before I even got out of bed I prayed extra hard for patience with Luke today and the fortitude to follow through with discipline and to the grace to put aside what I need to do throughout the day in order to give him some extra attention.  (Which will hopefully help curb the negative attention through mischievousness that he seems to be seeking lately.)

So far, so good.  This will be a short post in order to keep my focus on Luke today.  Living in the Moment with Luke is definitely finding me frustrated lately...and I don't like it.  This is my attempt to change some of his behavior(and especially my reaction to it) this week.  I can't change that he's three....but I can try to make this bumpy patch go a little more smoothly!

Thankful Thought #5:
I am thankful that I can be a full time mom and be home with my children.

Sunday Suprise

Sunday was a little busy, but also fun.

This morning, we woke up to a funny sight.  There were a whole flock of turkeys in our front yard and my mom's front yard!  Luke and Peter thought it was great!

After Mass, we shared some fellowship with some new friends we have the privilege to get to know.  Then, after a little time at home, Sarah and I headed out to a high school open house with Kate as a tag along.  I am so in denial that she is old enough to be in high school.

After the open house, Sarah and I headed over to the mall for a very brief shopping trip to buy Sarah a pair of jeans while we waited for Jon to be done at the open house.(He was helping in the chem lab.)  Then we headed home and, thankfully, can just chill for the rest of the night.

Thankful thought for Day 4:

I am thankful for the friends in our life, both new and "old", that we can share our faith with and share encouragement from all of our various life experiences!

A Month of Thanks

It's late in the day to post, but I wanted to get in a little something!

I read a blog(Gifts We Use) that is using the theme of a 'month of thanks' for November.  Their format calls for using Instragram...but I will adapt it for my IPhone/Android-less life:)  I thought the theme was a great idea!  It's easy...each day I will write/show a picture of something I am thankful for somewhere in my post.

Since it's the 3rd, I will catch up by listing three things I'm thankful for today.

#1:   Faith:  In good times, and especially in bad, I am grateful to have Someone to turn to that is control of all things.

#2:  The flock of wild turkeys that were running in the woods right behind our house tonight.  It was hysterical when they flew up into the trees.  It made me hungry for my Mother in law's and Grandma's stuffings!

#3  Generous family members that have taken a ton of stress off of Jay and were an unexpected answer to prayer.(Thanks Mom and Dad:)

Opportunities to Trust

All I can say is..."Wow!!!"  Being the featured blogger on the SITS Girls site yesterday was an incredible experience!  I received so many encouraging and positive comments from lots and lots of women!  To see my inbox SO full of comments was an amazing experience!  Thanks to the SITS Girls, all my visitors, and a special thank-you and welcome to my new followers!

It was such great timing, too!  This week has been a tough week.  Parenting a young adult is proving to be extremely emotionally draining.  Finding a balance between what's expected as a member of our family living in the family home with finding the right level of  independence for him to make his own choices  is hard.  What's most discouraging is seeing his struggles with faith.  I hope that someday he will be able to choose his faith for himself, but it is so difficult as a parent to realize that the faith that he has practiced his whole life has not been absorbed into his heart.  I know the seeds are there...and God will do the growing...but it's not easy to let go.  It makes us feel like failures...but I know that he has to choose faith for himself.  I really believe in my heart that he will choose it....as he matures and as God works through the road blocks in his heart.

But, he has sucked all the emotional energy from us the last two weeks.

On top of that, Jay found out that his company is restructuring work hours to save money.  The short story is that basically they are cutting his hours and any opportunity for overtime.  Because of Medicare cuts, the per diem job he works isn't as reliable either.  Jay's such a hard worker and good provider.  This is really stressing him out.

Honestly, I have a peace inside that can only come from God.  Good thing!  The last thing our family needs is both parents stressed out!

I'm trying to be patient.  After all, when God closes a door he always opens a window!  We might have to adjust things a little and rearrange some priorities, but that's ok.

It's definitely an opportunity to trust while Living in the Moment!

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

It's My SITS Day!!!

Today is a very special day!  It's my SITS Day!

What is a SITS Day?  So glad you asked!

The SITS Girls are a group of over 40,000 women that support each other's blogging experiences through shared experience, tutorials, and highlighting new women all the time....giving lots of opportunities to 'meet' lots of "new" bloggers that focus on all kinds of 'ordinary amazing' and 'amazing amazing' topics!

Today is my turn to have Normal Chaos highlighted through the SITS Girls....so exciting!

So, to all my new visitors...Welcome!  Thanks for coming over to my small piece of the blogging world.  :)

Maybe you are wondering why I named my blog "Normal Chaos".  Well....it's a term I have used for a very long time to describe my life.  My husband, Jay, and I have just celebrated our Twentieth Anniversary!(For more on that, click here.)   

Our 20 years have had its ups and downs on this roller coaster called life that we are all on.  During those 20 years of marriage, we both earned college degrees, Jay got a Master's Degree, we bought a home that we added on to 3 times(!), we had 9 children(no twins or triplets!), we lost our first daughter in infancy, we had a son diagnosed with autism, we have been to countless sporting events, taught 2 kids to drive, and currently have 1 child in college and 2 in diapers!  Life in our house is never boring!

Thankfully, my husband and I are a team and we hold hands when things are going smoothly and we hold each other up when we stumble and trip.  We pray a lot...especially for direction because half the time we have no idea what we are doing!

Our life is noisy and busy and chaotic and.....we are truly blessed!

Thanks for joining us on our wild ride!