I just read this-thought you might like to too.

The Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously, not.
No one can see that I'm on the phone, or cooking, or vacuuming the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at
all.
I'm invisible. The Invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Can you pick me up at 5:30?'

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I
wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, 4 life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything .

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte . I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile about. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

More global warming!!

the girls out in the wind and snow.
Making a snow angel and catching snow on her tongue.
It was very exciting for 4 of our family to wake up to snow on the ground and coming down still.
The first one out.
Derek was happy for the snow in the fact that they closed down the installation so he doesn't have to work.

Mornings

This morning was such a average morning I thought I would share. Most mornings Lars wakes up somewhere between 4 and6 and comes and stands by my bed until I wake up enough to ask him if he needs to use the bathroom. He says yes and goes in and does then comes to ask me to, "cover me."
Around 7 to 7:30 Heidi shows up in my room usually fully dressed or needing zipped. She will then go play quietly in her's or Lars' room. Lars will wake up and join her until I am done with my shower and we three go down stairs. They do some more playing or start asking (rather loudly) for chocolate milk.
Molly joins us at some point but she always needs to sit by herself and watch the goings on for awhile before she is awake enough to enjoy our company.:) She almost never gets dressed before breakfast.
(Derek's time of appearance depends on if he is working or not.)
I hope you all are having a loverly morning this morning too!

Heidi

"I'm thinking of a farmer excercizing. The pig sneeks out of the barn and runs away.
do ta do ta do."
(picture is of how the pig runs.)