♫♪The Lord is good to me♪♫♪

Ah, dinnertime at the Auburn Weasleys’. Shall I describe in detail the lovingly home cooked meals eaten without complaint; a table set with beautiful dishes? I could spin tales of children who wash their hands without being reminded and who quietly sit waiting to be served a meal. I could do all that, but then I would not be describing dinner at our house.

Dinnertime most nights does consist of something home cooked, but if you think it is consumed without the usual questions of: What’s this? Why did you make this? And the ever popular: Can I have something else? Then you haven’t eaten at the Weasleys. Don’t be expecting dishes that match either. 18 years of marriage + 4 kids + one heck of a ceramic tile floor has taken their toll on my dishware. The beautiful 16 piece, blue rose stoneware from my wedding shower has been whittled down to 4 plates, 3 bowls and a smattering of coffee cups. The missing pieces have been replaced with yard sale selections and the rejects from Wayne’s trailer at college. Forget centerpieces, linen napkins, or any of that other fancy-smancy stuff you find on the table at one of those “expensive restaurants” (think Red Lobster, Outback, that’s as expensive as we get).Martha Stewart might set a proper table, but in the real world, you are lucky to get a plate AND silverware. And don’t even think of dirtying up two plates so your salad is separate…..that right there will earn you Momma’s evil eye.

A non-soccer-PTA meeting-Kroger crisis run night has dinner being served around 6. The kids jockey for position to sit down first to avoid being called for kitchen duty. Dogs pace underneath the table like sharks waiting for a bait dump, and the table top is quickly covered with the nights fare. As food is dished out, the air is filled with stories about the day. Our own little dinner show unfolds full of drama, laughter, accomplishments and disappointments. Amazing how much you can learn over a plate of food about 7th grade social politics, 5th grade Queen Bees, and who stuck what up their nose at kindergarten.  A simple meal becomes so much more because the world stops at the moment dinner begins….computers and TVs are ignored, phones go unanswered and for 30 minutes all that matter is us: Our family, our moments.


Such a simple thing really, but worth so much more than you can comprehend at the moment it occurs. For that short period of time we get to focus on what truly matters, on what is most important, but what is often pushed to the backburner due to demands and time constraints. 30 minutes is all it takes for not only a body to be nourished, but six souls to be nourished as well. 30 minutes a night to be reminded that Family is what all the fuss is about. Then the table is cleared, the nighttime routine begins and everyone goes off to focus on separate interests. But for that short window of time, we reconnect, focus and share. The family is strengthened. Dinner is a blessing in more ways than one. Is it a wonder that most dinners start with a little song all the kids learned at Grace Preschool?

♫♪Oh, the Lord is good to me ♫ And so I thank the Lord♪ For giving me, the things I need ♫ The sun and the rain and the Appleseed ♪ Oh, the Lord is Good.To.Me, Amen♫

A work in progress

I have been tossing around the idea of a blog for a few months now. One day it seems like a grand idea; the next day it seems like too much work for an already overloaded Mom. However, the idea keeps taunting me; calling to me like a siren’s song. The more I have pondered the idea, played with the design and templates, stalked my friends’ blogs, the more I realize that this is what I have been missing. This blog is my chance to keep a journal of the magical, yet all too fleeting moments of my children's early years. With the twins just celebrating their 13th birthday, those moments are increasingly fleeting and my time is short to commit every moment to memory.

 I have been presented with a grand opportunity to sit and log in all the highlights, funny moments and even the difficult, dark times that make us grow stronger as a family! A virtual scrapbook (diary, future blackmail) to keep up with school accomplishments, childhood milestones, and most important, who bought what Lego set and who played with it last. All it takes is some stolen moments from laundry detail, a few less games of Bejeweled on Facebook, and my iPod cranked up to drown out tiny pleas for the computer. Hmmm, maybe I can do this….



So, if you need a laugh, an ah-ha! moment, or just a chance to see that you are not alone in the crazy world of raising children; allow me to conjure up a squishy armchair, pour you a drink and bewitch you with tales of family and the magic that holds it all together.