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erin

erin

I'm Erin Jo. I'm thinking, writing, dreaming, mothering, loving, living, praising, BLESSED to be Fiona to my Shrek and Mommy to my four amazing kiddos.

dave

dave

Shrek is "like an onion with many layers" but has a heart of gold. He's my husband and my friend, and we just get better all the time.

lily

lily

Lily is my first baby and only girl. She's smart, funny, tall and kind. Keeping up with this girl is a challenge and a joy. She's terrific!

max

max

Max is one part ogre, two parts lover and all boy! Our little man has a temper but gives the best hugs of anyone I know!

colby

colby

Colby is as ornery as he looks. He flirts shamelessly, even with strangers. He's all mouth and curls and the loudest by far.

luke

luke

Luke is the baby of the family, but holds his own. He's happy and adorable. And he's a terrible sleeper. =)

We Dance


I wake up to miracles today.

I start this morning snoozing cozily in my bed. My olders are up and half-ready for school. Lily keeps coming in to turn off my snooze for me, carefully updating me with the time every ten minutes. My littles are finally both soundly sleep beside me in my king-size bed. My hubs is off to work, but gave me a snuggle before he went.

I rise to find my girl, completely dressed and rockin’ an “it’s-my-birthday-party-day” outfit, reading a Babysitter’s Club book in her lit closet with the door open. She requests cinnamon toast and hot tea for breakfast, please, and Max says yes, he’d like the same.

The sun rises. We flow effortlessly through school prep: toast, tea, packing lunch, socks, shoes, brushing teeth and hair. Finding coats, packing backpacks, out the door without a single angry word. And, as I close the door, I realize, the two olders are off to school, the two youngers still asleep!

My breakfast is ready. Coffee brewed. I sit down at my clean table and ponder my alone time. I decide to write about miracles. My sis calls on her way to work, and we have an uninterrupted, adult conversation for twenty minutes. I start this post.

And then Colby is up, standing at the top step with his two favorite stuffed doggies, in his slightly fevered, warm-from-sleep squishiness, perking right up in a wide smile at the sight of his two favorite things coming up the stairs to greet him: his momma and his chocolate milk.

We take immediately to the couch, where I snuggle him and start his new favorite DVD: GeoTrax. And we get in about three minutes and forty-five seconds of perfect peace before the baby brother wakes up. So I rise to lift him from my bed, in his syrupy sweet, smelly pajamas. He takes a minute or so to decide to be happy.

We find the sippy for him and join his brother on the couch. I revel in the peace of it all. That sunshine filtering in through the windows and the large storm door window. Being nestled on my couch between my two slightly sick boys with their funky, not-well smelling breath and their warm little bodies. The coffee, the loose plan for the day, the anticipation I feel for the birthday party I’ll throw later in the evening.

And the day unfolds. The laundry doesn’t get very far, but with my mom’s help, I get some things off the to-do list. We pack up orders for my business, straighten house, conquer the dishes and save the littles from themselves.

And life is good.

Especially because I feel as though I made up with my dear husband last night after a fight we never had. Those of you who have been married for a bit might know what I mean. I’d had a fight with him in my head, I suppose. And it finally fizzled out. Found its way into the annals of history where it belonged.

Other things happened too. I can’t put my finger on all of it. And I don’t need to know.

I just need to take this day, this gift of the present, this hope and promise that comes from the beginning of one of my favorite months of the year: the month of one of my favorite holidays, the month of my true Mother’s Day–November 7, the day my first child was born–and the month that truly feels as though it will bring great change and positivity. I just need to take these things and be grateful.

And I can carry on, with days like these like flashlights in my pocket to pull out in the dark times. I can remember that sometimes we wake up to miracles, to blessings we might not even deserve, to the buoyant feeling of hope like a firefly’s wings beating in our hearts.

And we dance.

5 Responses

  1. Julie says:

    Beautiful ! And that says it all. ( hope the little ones feel much better soon.) happy birthday , early, to Lily!

  2. Jessica Yost says:

    Very sweet, reminds me of all the little details of my life that I take for granted…thank you for reminding me to be grateful:)

  3. Patti Miller says:

    Thanks for finding joy and being grateful for even the little things in life. Reminds us to be grateful for all of our blessings everyday. With all the turmoil on the east coast we ALL have reason to be thankful for the life we are in here, safe and sound. Sounds like you had a rare day of peace in the busy life you lead! May you be blessed with many more.

  4. Anita says:

    Beautiful as always….. I loved and miss those days. I woke up this morning to teenagers running down their weekend plans (and thankfully being honored by inclusion in them…) but it is a different time of life than those precious small years. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Emily says:

    What a wonderful post! Feeling kind of down and homesick this weekend. Your post brought tears to my eyes! Thank you!

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