A Floppy Ear Doggy Miracle

We had our own little Christmas miracle this year. A simple miracle, but yet it touched my heart so.
I don’t know if you have ever had the chance to meet a Floppy Ear Dog, but he is my daughter's favorite stuffed animal. She twiddles his tail when she gets sleepy. He has big droopy eyes, large floppy ears and the perfect tail for twiddling.
This Christmas, her big brother got a lovely red sled under the tree and seeing all that fresh snow out the window was too much for a little boy to take. He just had to try it out. So while at Grandma’s house, we all went up to the nearby big sledding hill to try it out. Even sweet Baby Girl, but being tired from all the excitement of the special day, she insisted on dragging her Floppy Ear Dog along and I let her.
Big Brother, Daddy, Aunt Cassie and Uncle Josh sledded until their hearts were content. Grandma, Mommy, Baby Girl & Floppy Ear Dog mostly watched. However, towards the end she finally decided she wanted to give it a try. Grandma held Daddy’s jacket (he was claiming to be hot by then), Baby Girl’s blanket and Floppy Ear Dog. Grandma gently wrapped Floppy Ear Dog in the jacket to keep him safe.
Baby Girl giggled all the way down the mini hill as she sledded with her Daddy! She loved it. Again, again!
After a few times down, Mommy, Grandma, Big Brother and Baby Girl piled into the car to head back. Daddy, Uncle Josh and Aunt Cassie decided to enjoy a walk back to the house. However, Daddy decided he better get his jacket for the walk home.
Once back at the house, we warmed up with cocoa and played a few board games, then everyone loaded up and said their goodbyes as each headed in their own direction back home. Not even five minutes down the road from the back of the car, we heard, “Dog.” Then again “Dog.” Thinking it was on the floor of the car, we pulled over to get it for our sweet Baby Girl. We searched, we pulled things out of the car. No Floppy Ear Dog! Oh my! Where could he be? This wasn’t good. An hour plus drive ahead of us, a sleepy little girl and no Dog. We called Grandma, could he possibly have been left behind at her house? Nope not there. We traced our steps and thought about the last time we had seen him.
Oh no! He must be at the hill! Would he still be there, even if we went back to look?!? It was dark now. However, we knew he must be close to the parking area since he had been wrapped in the jacket. We had to take the chance and go back to look. As we drove back, I prayed…”Saint Anthony, please, please, please, help us find Floppy Ear Dog. He just can’t be gone.”
As we pulled in, Daddy barely got the car into park before jumping out. People were actually still there sledding! He walked up and down beside the parked cars, searching the ground for the little brown dog. Nothing. He started to walk back to the car, shaking his head in defeat and then out of the corner of his eye, laying in the middle of the sidewalk on the path down the hill, lay Floppy Ear Dog! Not even snowy or wet at all. It was as if he never moved from the moment he fell.
Triumphantly, Daddy held Floppy Ear Dog high in the air as he headed back to us. Baby Girl and I clapped with delight, as she exclaimed “Dog!” As her Daddy handed him to her, she hugged him tight, and I added, “You know, you were just your daughter’s hero.”
I texted Grandma to let her know, that as was well. She texted back, “Amen.”

Truly…Amen indeed.

Making the Most of the Life You've Been Given

I've missed my blog. I took a bit of a break, not really planned, it just happened. Life got in the way, but in so many good ways. Summer was really busy, and now we're all back to a somewhat routine. I love routine. My hubby is back to work and the kids are back to daycare. I will never regret our decision for him to stay home with baby girl this past year, but man did it presents all it's own challenges! Me working my normal day job and him on nights. We hardly saw each other, but the important thing was our kids were happy and well cared for. I love that he works for a school system too. It allows the kids times to be home during his breaks. It helps me to feel better about them being in daycare. Plus we've been blessed with an awesome Christian daycare/preschool. I know my kids are in good hands each and every day. I still wish I could be home with them more, but for some reason God wants me right where I am. I'm really trying to make a better effort to bloom where I've been planted and trust. However, I know God feels the yearning in my heart to be able to do more SAHM things and I feel really blessed of late that He is opening more doors for me to be able to fulfill those desires. I am blessed to work at a place where the owners know how important family is and are flexible when I need them to be. I am blessed to be able to pop in the kids daycare during the day and participate in special functions. There are so many awesome blessings in our life - so many.

Moreover, this Fall I am finally getting to do something I've wanted to do for years! I've joined the MOMs group at my parish! I never thought that would be something that would happen for me. Their meetings aren't really condusive to a working mom's schedule. I was always put off by that. What about working moms?! I always felt looked down upon - like I wasn't being a good mom by working. I felt judged. I never thought that possibly if I asked, my boss would be willing to work with me on making it possible for me to do a few meetings a month, or that the MOMs group would allow someone to join that couldn't be there all the time. I have to say both sides really surprised me and worked to help me achieve my heart's desire! Blessings all around! I can't wait to write about my experiences as the year goes by - from my unique prospective as a Catholic working mom.

The biggest lesson I've learned over this past year, is to let go more and to make each and every moment count. Life is too short for regret, worries or disappointments. Make the most of the life you have been given and count your blessing each and every day.

Where did the time go?

My little man is 5 now! I can hardly believe it.

1 Year Old Already!