Whoa..is all I have to say about this morning!

Whoa is right. I don't know if any of you have seen the greatness of Steel Magnolias or not (you should if you haven't...I mean grab a box of tissues, your mom, sister, grandma and best girlfriends, get a good cup of coffee and pull up for some chick flick greatness!) but if you haven't, they talk about laughing through tears being the greatest emotion. Today I would agree.

Toby is out on the recruiting trail and so I am "holding down the Trotter fort" this week as the lone commander. This morning I did not do so great at leading the troops. For starters I woke up late. Boooo. I hate that when it happens. I needed to get up early so I could have a little "me time" or better said "God time", get a shower and be ready to go when the little people woke up because we had year doctor checks today. Side note: it is actually a little more accurate to say year plus two months...I'm a little behind :)...Any who...

My thoughts are that I overslept my alarm because at 1:30am it started storming outside and I heard Cade's battery powered dump truck start rolling through the backyard because of the wind...and when you are the lone commander your senses are on high alert so I about jumped out of my skin when I hear a huge bolt of thunder and then think a dump truck is backing up into my backyard at 1:30 in the morning! Needless to say I was jolted from my "I will lay my head down in peace and rest" - slumber. Finally I think I drifted back off around 3am after I had checked the crazy Oklahoma weather and made sure we wouldn't blow away to Oz in a Tornado...Geez...

So back to my morning...well Cade man wondered in to my room to give me my wake up call and of course I jumped a mile high when I realized we had 45 minutes to do the flight of the bumble bees and shower me (and I was desperate for a shower...and a hair wash..hey, just being honest here...personal hygiene is low on the ole' to do list these days, but today it had to happen!) milk, breakfast, COFFEE (and yes it is in all caps), get me dressed, kids dressed, diaper bag/Euro pack of tricks packed, Insurance info in hand for new doctor (which is a huge part of this story), and out the door! And for sure on track to be only 5 minutes late...awesome. Another side note: I hate to be late!

Okay so we are clean, ready and I am trying to toss all the questions I want to ask the new doc to the front of my brain while I am driving, putting on mascara, giving a quick spiritual lesson for the day to Cade and trying to pass bites of breakfast bar to Ainsley. Multi-task much?!?! Welcome to life as a mom! :)

Okay...(remember I say okay at least 500 times a day..I wasn't kidding!). We pull into the doctor and I grab a quick call from the hubby before he hits his recruiting meetings for the day. Quick I love you and we bust through the doors of the doc!

The rest of the story I will fast forward and hope that you can hang with me and feel the laugh/cry that was coming on from the shot of the gun this morning. We enter the office and greet the nurse/receptionist at the window. I am given a huge stack of papers to fill out while keeping both my toddler children "in play". Again, okay...

They call us back before I have time to finish filling out the paper work and although I came armed with my new insurance info it never fails to take FOREVER to "get in the system". We finally get to the room, wait a bit and have the doc come in. Of course I forget every question I wanted to ask and just go with the doctor flow because I am just trying to make it a pleasant experience for all. Knowing all the while I am about to ruin Ainsley's day with the all exciting immunizations. The doctor, nurses, staff etc were great...no complaints. But somewhere in the middle of dishing out another breakfast bar, talking to the doctor about Cade potentially regressing the whole potty training thing when he is 6 (whoa, he is only 3?!?!), Ainsley pulling out old Popsicle sticks out of the trashcan and the mound of "we just need you to fill out these few papers to get you in the system" paper work I started to feel a laugh/cry coming on.

Well, we made it through the appointment all smiles. Ainsley made it through her immunizations and got her finger pricked. The kids are happy, healthy and ready for another year of fun! As I am walking out the door I am handed immunization precautions, what to do if your child is anemic, and the mound of paper work I didn't finish to take home. Whoa...to say my brain was on overload is an understatement.

I got everyone in the car. I got in the car and all at once I started laughing so hard and then just started crying. It was awesome. I just released it all. We are in a new place, I was championing the new doc and new insurance thing, and I was just trying to make the best decisions for my precious kiddos in the middle of it all.
I have tons of support, love coming from a million directions and a family that is just precious, but in that moment of "overwhelming new" I just needed a laugh cry.

Okay...

And you know what as soon as I let out a few tears and a couple of laughs God scooped me up. He loved on me in my weaknesses and didn't forsake me. He loved me and was tender to me today so that I could continue in joy and not accept the "overwhelming new" that was pressing against me.

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11-14

In the middle of it all I said a little prayer for all you ladies doing the same thing and feeling a laugh/cry coming on today. God will not forsake us in our weaknesses, in fact it reminded me that His power is perfected in my weaknesses! (2 Corinthians 12:9)Thank goodness!!!!

To finish off this little post for today I wanted to share a link to some music that is AWESOME and a song that fits my heart perfect for today. Check it out if you get a chance. The link is www.karijobe.com and the song for the day is You Are For Me. Oh, and I will be watching Steel Magnolias tonight! :)

Much love to you today!
Cari

Unfinished Business

Unfinished business. That is the slogan of a local high school baseball team this year. I was thinking about that statement and I could not help but share my thoughts...

The spirit of competition is fueled by unfinished business. We are finishing the business of winning that state title we lost by just two points last year. We are finishing the business of winning a decade of championships. We recruit to finish business with the next big athlete on our team. We condition ourselves physically to finish the business of that marathon goal. We meet with that coach just one more time to perfect the skills that will help us finish the unfinished business. We sacrifice, support and pray to finish the business of the dream realized. We train, we push, we cheer, we pursue. We are persistent at finishing the business that fuels our competitive spirits.


24-25You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.

26-27I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (The Message)

So what I think about all that is this...as a wife, mom, woman and daughter of God I have unfinished business. As a wife I have the unfinished business of supporting my husband today. I have unfinished business as a mother to love, encourage, and build up (even though I have moments of pure insanity:) my children. As a woman I have dreams that God needs me to realize and accomplish whether professionally, personally or spiritually. As a daughter of the King of Kings I have the unfinished business of acting as His child. I have business to do in my neighborhood, and in the community that we live, and with the family that I love. I have unfinished business to proclaim His name through my daily actions and the way in which I live.

Ladies our husbands my be coaching up teams to finish unfinished business or training to finish the unfinished business of atheletic achievement in the professional ranks, but we...we are facing our own unfinished business. You have business you know needs finishing. Finish the business of serving your family today. Finish the business of loving those around you. Finish the business of supporting your husband everyday. Finish the business of following that dream or reaching that goal. Finish that business of doing the daily "blah-ness" of life with vibrant tenacity. Finish the business of planning that vacation, or slowing down long enough to SEE what is going on around you. Ladies let's finish the business at hand!

18-20Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20

Unfinished business huh? I say we finish it! :)

Love to you today,
Cari

Bathroom Break...

Today I was remembering a funny story about a bathroom break that I am hoping you can relate to. And get a chuckle out of...

This was something that happened when Toby was the FCA rep for TCU but I know it will happen again. Especially as a coach's wife. We were headed to the SMU/TCU football game and I was armed and ready with my Mary Poppins bag of goodies. I had supper, snacks, camera, coloring books, crayons, toys and a partridge in a pair tree. Toby spent the game down on the sidelines so it was just the kids and me in the stands. As we are making our way down to our seats of course we are getting some looks. I mean I look like I am ready to go backpacking across Europe with the pack I have on my back. I am trying hold on to a very active infant and aid my then 2 1/2 year old down some very steep steps. We finally make it to our seats and I start to unload the bag of goodies. I get Ainsley's baby bib on and I am about to feed her some baby food when my Cade says, "Oh, mommie I have to go to the bathroom!"

Huh? Ooookkkkaaayyy?!?! Don't know if anyone can relate to this but I say okay at least 500 times a day!

So we re-pack the backpack and climb the stairs to the bathroom. We finally make it in to the bathroom and get to a "clean" stall. To which I am saying "Please don't touch anything." Of course they are both touching things faster than I can say Baby Wipe so I am trying to hurry us through this little potty break. As we emerge from the stall I am re-packing, trying to wipe the kids down and pull up Cade's pants when I realize there is this woman standing there. She bends down to my level and with the kindest heart says "Honey, do you need some help?" All I could do was chuckle. We must have been quiet a sight sitting there on the bathroom floor.

The moral to this story is you just have to laugh. I could have been really offended by her comments but what was I going to do, we were sitting on the floor of the bathroom, my son was having major underwear malfunctions, and my daughter was moving like a spider monkey. We were hilarious, and yes probably looked like we needed some help.

It was a moment in time. And I just laughed, and the woman laughed. It ended up being a sweet moment. As wives and mothers we have a lot we are balancing. I thought I was so prepared with my Euro pack of tricks, but I didn't anticipate the bathroom break by myself with two kids. I am realizing there are lots that we won't anticipate. But if we just laugh and embrace the moment they can turn into the sweetest blessings. What I do know is that moment made me human. I try to be super wife, super mommie and super woman but truth be told I am just as human as can be. I have to rely on the Lord to get me through those unexpected bathroom breaks with Joy!

"A joyful heart is good medicine.." Proverbs 17:22

So when you are thinking you are all alone in the middle of a bathroom break with your kids and tons of stuff falling out everywhere remember, you are not alone. I am probably doing the same thing with my kids :) And although I don't know much, I know that God is with me too. He sees us battling and trying to take on the world and He promises not to leave us alone in our weaknesses. Stand strong sweet ladies and laugh! Laugh a lot!!!!

The Journal of a Wife...

Seems like yesterday when we were all together at Simply You Cafe in Colleyville, Texas. We heard some incredible wisdom from Jane Armstrong, who together with her husband Neil have influenced so many through time spent on the staffs of Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State University), Chicago Bears and most notably under Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys just to name a few. What a rich blessing that was to gain insight and understanding from such an amazing little lady!

And then we were so honored to hear some great advice on how to be The Organized Wife from The Coach's Wife herself, Carolyn Allen who has written the book The Coach's Wife and developed such a successful ministry for wives all across the country! She has been a coach's wife thirty-two years to Randy Allen, head football coach at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. Please check out her website when you get a chance...and sign up for the network she has created!! It is so fun to connect with other coach's wives across the country! As well as having a great time to fellowship together with sweet friends!

One of the items in your gift bags that day was a journal. I had gotten an idea from another wife to take a picture of your family and place that in the front of the journal at the start of the season. Then journal about the highs and lows of life thoughout the year. When the season is over snap another photo of your family and see where you are! Just thought I would give a little reminder and encourage you to start one if you haven't already. It has been a great outlet for me as we are starting a new journey at Southwestern Oklahoma State University where Toby will be the Secondary football coach and Recruiting coordinator. I am planning on posting some entries on this blog...should be entertaining! :) And I would love to receive "entries" from your journal to post. We all need to know we are not alone in this life as a wife! If you have a short entry please email me!

You are amazing, strong, confident women that are juggling a lot and I am honored to call you friends! Keep up the good work!