The High Price of Parenting

We all know what Mr. Save For A Rainy Day would do with roughly $7,880.00.

But what Could a girl like me do with that kind of mullah?

Make a decent down payment on a brand new one of theses babies?
Did you know that the new Acura MDX pushes the luxury SUV to new levels of refinement?  With its super handling all wheel drive, a plethora of luxury appointments, and room for SEVEN, and their gear???

Sadly, no that's not what I did with the cash.

Take the entire family on a magical vacation aboard Disney's New Dream Ship?  Where all our needs will be anticipated and carefully attended to- where we will eat ourselves sick, sunbathe, swim, snorkel and explore- basically, have the experience of a lifetime on the high seas with Mickey & Company?

Nope, unfortunately, regrettably, distressingly, this was not an option either.

How about a visit to my favorite place for home furnishings .......

Oh Pottery Barn how I lovey you....  

But (sigh, sniffle, weep)  it was not meant to be.

No new car, fabulous vacation or beautiful new furniture.

Instead, 7,880.00 was our portion of the 15,760.00 original bill, (choke) that bought exactly:

2 sets of braces (4,500 x 2), 

two retainers (190. x 2), 

2 Maryland Bridges to hold in place the new teeth the dentist had to make to put in place of the missing teeth that never grew in (3,100 x 2).

Warning-- vent coming on...

*HONESTLY, did they both have to be missing the same teeth in the same spots??? I mean really, where did that come from, Mark and I both have all of our teeth--- SHEESH.*

Thank you, I'm done now.

And finally, two new retainers to go with the new teeth. (190. x 2 again).

And that my friends, is what a girl like me did with 7,880.00.

PS, recent dental x-rays show that the little one in the middle does indeed have all her future teeth.

Can I get a Hallelujah?! 

The Magic Spell of Love

Mom.
Mother.
Mommy.
Mama.

Those words mean love.
Love in its strongest, most tenacious, unyielding, purest form.

The first moment you look at your child, Heaven reaches down and casts a magic spell over your soul.
You fall so intensely deep in love, that you have a super natural ability to withstand nights of
no sleep, messy diapers, spit-up, a diaper bag that could double as a mid-size piece of luggage and a waist line that is never quite the same.

That love stays with you as you learn how to deal with tantrums at the store, potty accidents, snotty noses and vomit at 2:00 am.  It swells and grows as you read bedtime stories, watch them run, play, laugh and learn to pray.  

Motherly love overrules that urge to make them change clothes because the ones they picked out don't match and celebrate accomplishments like putting their own shoes on, even if they end up on the wrong feet.

It's the kind of love that leads you to sob when they go off to kindergarten and then 3rd grade and then jr. high.

It brings tears to your eyes when they hand you a homemade card or Christmas ornament or ask you to snuggle at the end of a long day or lie on the green grass and look at the stars together.

It causes your heart to ache and weep when they strike out in a big moment or get left out by their friends.  You wish you could take away the pain of not making a team or ease the sadness of being rejected by a first crush.

Sometimes they do things that disappoint you.
Sometimes you do or say things that you regret but that certain strain of love, wraps itself so tightly around your heart,  you are moved to humbly apologize and ask for  forgiveness.

You find yourself with the uncanny ability to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Every. Single. Time.  You see the best in them, ALWAYS.

You have your Mother Bear Moments and understand when other Mother Bears have theirs.

You see the goodness of their hearts like no one else, even their dad. And while you treasure the memories of childhood, you can't wait to see what's around the next corner.

And the best thing about this unique, extraordinary, unparalleled kind of love?
It never ends.

It evolves and grows and expands.

And someday, you hope to have a front row seat when someone places a little piece of heaven in your child's arms and the magic spell of love begins again.

Chicks Dig Him

Well...
Apparently Chicks really do dig scrawny, pale guys-
and
Dudes with cute little sisters.

Congratulations on the election, Linc!
You'll be an awesome great 8th grade Senator.