It’s amazing when life comes full circle!

This beautiful soul with my husband is one of my favorite people in the entire world.  And I know a lot of people all over the world.

This man, let’s call him the English name Jared, hugging Richard is one of the FIRST men that ever walked into our soup kitchen in Poznan, well over a decade ago.  LONG before I even had my first child (and she is a decade plus 2).

In fact, after we returned with Adelyne to Poznan/Poland, at around 5 weeks old, bringing her to our soup kitchen around 6-10 weeks old, HE was actually one of the first to hold our baby.  At our soup kitchen.  In Poland. It was the Holy Start soup kitchen (HS closed a couple years ago).

This beautiful soul that ALWAYS brightened my every day that I saw him…He is now the AMAZING volunteer at an unbelievable SOUP BUS located in Poznan, Poland, with the charity christianer.org … (find them on Facebook—it will BRIGHTEN your life)

Isn’t it AWESOME how you can watch one man go from served to SERVING!

Life — in full circle — makes my heart burst with joy.  Tears. Happiness.  And just an overwhelming sense of #itiswell .

It truly is.

It is well, with my soul.

Jared reminds me of that!

May Jared be your reminder to always invest in the beauty and hearts of others.  Your full circle will come.  And it IS worth it!

God bless.

So Forty!

Like I am so overwhelmingly 40 that someone could write a book about 40 based upon my life.

I bloat—and automatically 3 people ask if I’m pregnant.

I say—“No.  I am not pregnant.  Just 40.”

One kind man looked confused and said, “Thirty?”

And I said, “No, 40…And I am not having any more  (bold and underline this, please) children.”

He went on to tell me I still have time for one more…

I went on to tell him a thing or two…(Okay—nice things 😉 ).

I have two small kids and a 10 year old.  The ten year old is an angel because she can shower and brush her teeth all alone.

The others—it’s like, “What’s that?  You need to go on the toilet AGAIN????  Aren’t you still in diapers??????????”  And then I remember that he is officially 4.  So I follow him into the toilet and wipe his little bum after he goes number 2.

The last is like “NOOOOOOO!!!!!!  I do it!”  And if you enter her presence without her permission, she is like “THIS IS MY ROOM!!!!!!”  And if she was not so RIDICULOUSLY the cutest thing walking this earth, it would just not be so cute (smile smile wink wink)  Okay, okay…It’s pretty typical 2 and cute.

And then there are those that days that my little son brings me cookies and I ask, “Did you eat lunch?” And he’s like “No, my tummy is not hungry for food.”  So I open his cookies and send him on his way just so that I can have a spare moment alone to eat my own cookies.

Friends…I am SOOOOO 40!  Beyond, totally 40.

And while I mostly handle it fine—I realize that the babcia in me is starting to sneak out (grandma for those that don’t know what babcia means)…And then I realize that these are not my grandkids but my kid-kids.  I am suppose to be MONITORING their sugar intake —NOT increasing it 😉

Oh me oh my oh my oh me!!!!!

I am Brooke.  And I.AM.FORTY.

Can I take a nap, please?????

Happy Mother’s Day #failblog to Me!

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ME, MOMMA!” My 3-year-old son shouted at me today.

Yes.  On Mother’s Day.

The sacred day for Mothers.

Why would a 3-year-old shout that he is not understood?

Well, for starters, his 2-year-old sister slightly colored on his Spiderman coloring picture and I told him it was going to be okay.

I even cut around the pencil scratches she made…

But, apparently, it was NOT OKAY!

I don’t understand…

And then he wanted crunchy toast for lunch.

So I made it.

Buttered bread, into the oven, voile!  Out comes crunchy toast.

But NOOOOOOOOO!

He wants the bread in the oven first to get crunchy…THEN…And, apparently, only THEN…can I butter his toast.

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ME, MOMMA!!!”

Yes, Maxwell.  This is where you are 100 million 25 billion 49 quadrillion 237 gazillion correct.  I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU!

Happy Mother’s Day to me?????

Absolutely!

Because just when all sanity was lost, a dear friend showed up delivering flowers on behalf of my husband who is 1 trillion kilometers away…

Flowers…on a day when I was LOSING.  Like BIG TIME!

Flowers…for me!

Winds of change…This surprise uber lovely visit shuffled all children AND crying 3-year-olds outside where they began to ride, run, and play in the great outdoors.

Lunch still untouched—but, hey!  Who needs lunch????

Friends…I don’t understand my kids.

My 10-year-old…A mystery!

My 3-year-old…A puzzle!

My 2-year-old…A NO Monster!

If this was baseball, I would be STRUCK out!  Out of that Old Ball Game!

But that’s the thing about mommies.  We don’t strike out.

Well, technically, we MAY strike out…BUT WE DON’T leave home plate.  We make sure that they pitch it again and again and again…hoping for a hit!

Which sometimes we actually make.

The crack of the bat.  The connection of the ball.

We run and run and run…And round those bases so that we can bat again.

Recently I had posted a picture of my 2-year-old trying to escape out the front door to find daddy (who is a trillion miles away).  Her diaper sagging.  I called her #soggybottom.  My soggy bottom baby.  And I captioned the photo: Because sometimes we fail at parenting.

But then an angel wrote and said, “It’s not a parenting fail…It’s well hydrated!”

That’s when it hit me…

I didn’t fail.  I succeeded.  She was well hydrated.  That meant she wasn’t dehydrated.  Which meant, I could avoid taking her to the doctor for fluids.

Complete victory!

My daughter was well-watered.  Forget the soggy bottom baby trying to escape.  At least she was trying to escape hydrated!

More power for her long, long journey!

I absolutely LOVED how that perspective changed my entire view of the situation.

And, so, I’ll leave you with the same advice my mom used to give me when I’d fall, “Hop up and get going again!  You are fine.”

Dear Moms out there…

You’re not failing.  You are hydrating your children.  Forget all of the details in between…

And, when you need it, remember the words HOP UP!  GET GOING!  YOU ARE FINE!

Because you are…

Happy Mother’s Day to you!

A masterpiece of work in progress!

“He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it…” Philippians 1:6

boy mom…fail????

i am a mom of one boy.  he is 3—nearly 4.  here is the current conversation in my home between my 3-yr-old boy and his 10-year-old sister:

“max—stop pretending to pee on me!”

“MOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!  max is pretending to pee on me!”

i giggle just a bit…mom fail.

10 year old again, “mom, did your brother pretend to pee on you????”

“probably and i survived.”

so then 10 year old logic tries to kick in with the 3 year old brother:

“max—you can’t really pee on me because you are wearing underwear and that means the pee will go in your underwear.”

3 year old ignores his sister…

THE NEXT THING I KNOW…

“mom,” says the 3 year old, “see that beetle!”  it appears he has moved on from harassing his sister.

i look…”sure max.”

“no, that beetle..”  he points again.

in the itty bitty crevice of our home, i spy a beetle.

“kill it mom, we don’t want a biting bug.”

i kill the nasty looking beetle that only his boy eyes apparently could spy and give him the killed beetle in tissue, it’s limbs sticking out, and say, “go throw it away.”

no hesitation.  grabs the dead bug and throws it away.

the next thing i know, “more PEZ in my ninja turtle, mom…” he says bringing me his candy, where he then proceeds to climb on my lap while i am literally typing this and says, “YEE HAW cowboy!”

and now, as i finish this last sentence, he is curled up into my lap with his head against my shoulder sweet as syrup…

wait, i take it back.  he is now pretending to eat my computer and encouraging the 2 year old to do the same.

they are making monster noises with some snorting.

this is my life in the last 3 minutes.

no wait..they are now blowing raspberries at each other.  i am wiping the spit off of the table.

oh wait.  he is back to kissing my shoulder.

no…now he’s dressing like a fireman.  and my 2 year old is now on the table.

SOOOOOOO…

so, my 10 year old may wonder why i laugh when my 3 year old is a boy being a boy…

it’s because i can’t keep up with anything else.

😉

***

okay, seriously…i have just lost my coffee in the last 2.3 seconds.  like it has disappeared somewhere into thin air.  the physical cup.  and this is how the ending of my attempt to type this blog looks… 

HAVE A GREAT DAY, FRIENDS!!!!

Had I Known…

Had I known that my husband’s knees would go out on him this year, I would not be living in this house.

Had I known this fact, in advance, there is no way I would have even considered living in this house—nor be in the process of purchasing it.

I mean—this house is a second marriage to start.  It requires endless renovations.  And it’s okay—but we knew that going in.  So THAT (the need of endless renovations) was upfront with us and quite visible.

As was the coal furnace.  But I am married to a man that takes care of the coal for me.

But then life hit us and sat my husband down.

Which has left me lifting 200pounds of coal every couple days.

This morning, my hair did not feel like hair.  It felt like ashes.  It smelled like coal.  And my nose still blows black.  Wonder what the doctors would make of that?

You see, though—This thing “HAD I KNOWN” is just what we don’t know.

And, therefore, we enter life with a whole bunch of unknowns.

Perhaps you have so many HAD I KNOWN moments in your life:

Had I known my marriage would not work…

Had I known my loved one would not be here this year…

Had I known my health would not always be with me…

Had I known my job would not be secure…

Had I known…Had I known…Had I known…

My friends. We don’t know.  And that’s a certainty we can be sure of.

Sure, in some situations in life, we can be aware that something may go in a certain direction…But in many HAD I KNOWN situations in life, we just don’t know before it happens.

So the question is—What are you doing about it?  What are you going to do about it?  What will you keep doing about it?

You are here.  In this place of HAD I KNOWN and now it’s your turn to realize that you can’t look back and change the past…You are here.

What are you going to do about where you are?

Mud Boots

There was a time in my life—barely six months ago—when I couldn’t get out of my car without first changing my shoes.

You see.  We live where it is VERY muddy.  Mud mud mud.  Everywhere.  All day.  Everyday.

And we didn’t have any sidewalk.  Therefore, I had to put on my mud boots to exit outside, while carrying my shoes for the day.

I traipsed back and forth from the house to the car, loading all 3 kids, so they wouldn’t get stuck in the mud…

And then, before putting my muddy boots in the car, I would sit in my seat and slip on my every-day shoes.

After that, I would have to figure out what to do with those muddy boots, eventually placing them somewhere in the car, usually getting mud all over everything.

Mud muddy boots.

But you see—I had to do this.

I had to wear mud boots.  I had to carry my children.  I had to then change shoes again.

I didn’t have a choice.

If I didn’t have my mud boots on, I would get stuck in the mud.  Our other shoes would get destroyed.  And there would be endless mud everywhere.

We lived like this for five years.

Five years of changing in and out of our mud boots.

But this past summer changed EVERYTHING for us.

We got a sidewalk around our house.  And a gate that opened, leading to our front door.

And our life, although muddy, became a little less so.

Friends, in life, sometimes we feel like we are deep down stuck in the mud.  And it does not seem to get any easier.  Nor does it seem to go away.

You feel as if you are trudging, daily, through the mud—not just for yourself but also for your loved ones.

And you probably are.

It is messy.  You must be strong.  And it is daily.  Daily.  Daily.

But, I am here to tell you, be patient.  Be persistent.  And trudge through that mud.  Because a day will come when you no longer will need to slip on and off those mud boots.

 

There is no magic to turning 40—just a good salon

There are no magic beans for growing older nor any fountain of youth.  And Tuck Everlasting taught us that, even if there was such, we should desire it not.

So I have succumbed to aging.

40 is nothing in today’s world—especially since 40 is the new 20, right?!  But, it’s not entirely true.

Forty is something.  It’s 40.  The big 4-0. The number that defines something monumental.  Your first half of life has passed.

Yes.  Today’s world is living longer.  Healthy.  Traveling.  Enjoying life…seeing many decades more than previous generations.

It’s amazing and I am so thankful.  It’s encouraging and makes me happy to know that I have a great chance to live so many decades more.

But 40 is still hitting me.

Take my eyebrows for instance.

You already know how famous they are 😉

But really, let’s come back to them.  My eyebrows—they grow—long.  Like old man long.

What????  I had no clue I would one day wake up, look in the mirror, and see an old man on my face.  Yet there he is, in my eyebrows.  Old man.

And nose hair.

And my chins.  It doesn’t matter that I’m not a large woman, my grandma chins are still there.

Why?

They are there for a reason.  They are my reminders that I am nearly 40.  And it is a milestone.  And it means something significant:  I am completing my first half of life.

And this brings me into a place of better perspective.  One that reminds me that life is precious and fleeting.  There is not anything we can do to stop or slow it.  So today is my day.  Today is your day.

Make the most of each day.

Even if that day involves a moment at a salon—artificially refreshing your youth 😉

Leftovers

(Photo Source)

There is very little in life that is as comforting as leftovers.  Like, seriously, leftovers…

Leftover dessert.

Leftover dinner.

Leftovers.

Many of you already disagree with this statement.

Piping hot!  Fresh out of the oven for you.

But, the thing is, with many dishes, the longer the food remains — the more the flavors are absorbed.

The better the food is.

Today I ate leftovers for lunch.

Indian food from Valentine’s Day.

Amazing—delicious—mouth watering leftovers.

Perhaps you feel like a leftover in life.

Like you are tomorrow’s lunch or dinner.

That you are no longer piping hot—or as fresh and delicious as yesterday’s meal.

But I am here to tell you something…

You are perfectly seasoned for today!

So, no matter where you are or what your life looks like, I pray that you don’t feel like a leftover but a LEFTOVER!

Wahoo!

God bless,

b

As 2014 comes to a close, did you miss anything?

I’ve been off trying to become a Christmas Viking in Norway. I failed. The caviar that was spread on bread was just not my cup of tea. On the other hand, I did hike all the way up a very snow-covered trail carrying a two-year-old for most of the path in my not-made-for-snow boots while passing an old Viking burial plot along the way.

Does that make me Viking enough? Probably not.

But the carrying a two-year-old should for sure get me an honorable mention, right?!

Here’s a fun photo, however, of my husband.  He helped when my arms were about to fall off!  He most certainly is the man 😉

Anyhow…

As I watch the dates on the calendar fly away at warp speed, I reflect back upon the last year.  And it is with this rear view that I see it all.

2014 marked for us a year of finality and survival.  It was a year marked with death and once again new beginnings.  2014.  It was a beautiful year that gave us no rest.

And this is what I learned about myself this past year as I ask myself the question, “Did I miss anything?”

The answer is yes.  Always.  And with some regret.

But as I look back upon 2014, I see great news!

I see Rich and I celebrating our 2 years of surviving our marriage after I was ready to call it quits!  So it is as if we celebrated 2 anniversaries this year.  14 years of marriage and 2 years of keeping our marriage.  I think that both Rich and I are better and changed people.  And we have a deeper understanding of one another.  A deeper respect.  And a far deeper love.  We are a better couple.  A more respectful couple.  And even better parents.

I see that when you go through valleys that means there are mountains to climb.  And when you summit the peak, it’s a glorious view that surrounds you.  It’s 360.  And it’s complete.  And you are far closer to heaven.

That is our marriage, and I will only speak for myself when I say—I am so happy to celebrate 14 years and 2 years with my husband this past 2014!

In 2014, I see a little baby that sprang forth from my belly.  A baby that was never really little to begin with (10 pounds 10 ounces at birth).  Our baby finale.  And boy, what a bang we went out with, our sweet Josephine.  Although we tied our tubes and still want a million more children, we are enjoying every single moment relishing the final baby pitter patter steps, cries, and sleepless nights.  We are enjoying the morning calls to rise and the cuddles in our arms.  We often allow her to fall asleep in our arms and just hold her for near to an hour after.  We can’t believe the gift of this surprise little Josephine Diane.  And we love every red hair on her head—even as they are fading to a strawberry blond!

I see a daughter.  A brave, warrior daughter willing to move back to a country that was once the only home she knew.  And then she didn’t know.  And she had to reenter in a language that was foreign.  And hard.  And enter a grade where she no longer has the opportunity to not speak and read and write in the language.  Our fearless daughter took a machete and made the way for our family.  My husband and I were sick to our stomachs to move her away from her cousins and aunties and uncles and across the world to a land vastly different from where we were.  And our daughter.  She plowed forward.  With trepidation?  Perhaps.  And yet with determination.  She spent countless hours studying the language.  And countless more inserting herself into the lives of long but not forgotten friends.  Hand motions and sounds were the friends she had when we arrived back in Poland.  And Google Translate.  And hours upon hours of slow, treacherous, painful homework.  And now, 6 months later, she sits in front of me with her best friend.  Rambling in this difficult language (Polish).  And the only English word I have heard out of her mouth in the past 3 hours was “Oh!  Zobacz!  Broccoli!”  As she and her friend play Skylanders Giants.  This firstborn of mine is my greatest Sensei.  And Richard and I thank God daily for Adelyne’s fearless spirit!

My son.  My beautiful baby that conquered death a couple times over.  He turned 2 in 2014.  And we finally had his baby dedication—albeit as a toddler.  But, you know, when you spend the majority of your baby life in and out of hospitals, toddler dedication it does become.  And we have finally seen him go from the never healthy baby boy to a boy that runs and jumps and plays.  I used to have panic attacks out of fear of him getting sick.  And now I realize that I can finally breathe.  My boy.  My boy with an old grandpa name.  My Max.  He is beautiful.  And feisty.  And sweet.  And fun.  He loves his sisters.  He loves swords.  He loves popcorn.  And he loves his sister’s Barbies.  He loves waking up every morning and saying, “Good morning, Mommy!  Good morning, Daddy!  Good morning, Sissy!  Good morning, GoGo!”  It’s as if he knows each morning is a gift and a good morning.  Because every morning alive IS a great morning.  Our Max.  I pray for the direction of his life one day because I know that he will represent God greatly!  Our Miracle Maxwell—2014 brought 2 years of life to him.  Hard.  Fought.  Life.  And now it’s time for Max to live freely.  I am glad to enter into 2015 with Maxwell as our middle!

 

Did I miss anything in 2014?  As I ended 2013, I challenged all of us at And 2 Makes Crazy to enter 2014 with JOY—Jesus over you!  And I think.

Did I do that?  Finish 2014 with JOY?  Jesus Over Me?

And I have come to this conclusion…

JOY is not a 365-day-challenge.  It is a thousand-year-challenge.  And, of course, by then I’ll be long gone.  But the thing about it is, as each day I choose to enter it with JOY, I enter it full of the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  I enter it filled with peace and know that with Him I can do anything.

2014 was a beautiful gift wrapped in colors of all emotions.

And now, 2015 is ringing in all around me with fireworks in all of their clanging splendor.

Reflecting upon 2014, I wonder.  Did I miss anything?

If I did.  It’s too late.  2015 is now here.  And there is nothing I can do about the past.

And so I must look forward to the future.  That’s where I see endless possibilities and great hope.  With my God.  With my husband.  With my family.  And with my work.

Therefore, I smile brightly as I enter 2015…

From the hearts of my family to yours, God bless you, And 2 Makes Crazy Readers.  Enter 2015 with just as much JOY as before…

Happy New Year…Szczęśliwego nowego roku!

Always,

Brooke, Richard, Adelyne, Maxwell, and Josephine

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.  Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

What’s wrong with calling your daughter a princess?

I believe princesses often get the shaft.

There are so many blog postings and articles out there that often make you feel bad for declaring your daughter your princess. They make you feel an ill-fitting parent if you tell your daughter she’s pretty.  And they make you feel plain ol’ bad when you dress your gal in pink.

It gets tiring.  And disheartening.

So, to you moms and dads out there that call your daughter your princess, tell her she’s pretty, and dress her in pink, I am here to say, I’ve got your back!

You see, I have two princesses, and I am their queen.

And this is why I have absolutely no problem with any of the above…

A princess is a highly celebrated figure that is akin to a national treasure.  Wow and crowds surround her, and she is held in high esteem.

Yep.  My daughters are two of my greatest treasures.  With each birth I was in wow.  My family crowded around them.  And to say that I hold them in high esteem is an understatement.  I hold them in the highest esteem!

A princess usually dresses her part while teaching the world how to act, behave, and serve others.

My princesses do the same.  They dress their part.  Sometimes it’s frilly for finer occasions and other times it’s muddy because “their part” is being kids.

Daily my princesses teach me how to act and behave.  When I act and behave appropriately, I see it in their mirroring of me.  When I do not, I see it in their mirroring of me.  And when I don’t like what I see, my princesses bring me back to reality, and I learn to change my ways.

My princesses serve others.  The older learns how to serve with actions, whether it is her daddy, or brother, or sister, or stranger.  She is daily learning and growing to put others before herself.

And my littlest.  Well, since she’s 6 months and rotund, she serves with eye-losing smiles.  And coos.  And cuddles.  And laughter.

Both of my princesses serve to the best of their abilities for their particular stations in life.  And they serve well!

My princesses are pretty.  They’re not just pretty, they’re beautiful.  They’re not just beautiful, they’re stunning.  Speechlessly stunning.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.  And I, as their mommy, will always be (partnered with their daddy, of course), their greatest admirer.  I want my daughters to be intelligent and strong and beautiful on the inside, but I have never in my entire life, never, ever, ever, met a girl grown into a woman, who has not wanted to be told she was and is beautiful.  My princesses will grow into their internal beauty, but my princesses will never doubt their external beauty.

You see, as a parent, it does not matter the physical exterior of your child, for, to you, your child that graces your lap is the most beautiful gift God could have ever given you.  Her beauty will always be beyond measure.

And my princesses will always be the most beautiful gifts to me.

Yes.  I believe that princesses often get the shaft.

But, my daughters, my princesses, will hold their heads high, with strength in their backs, and always know…

No matter where.

No matter what.

No matter how they do in life, they will always be my distinguished princesses, and I—I will always be their mommy queen.