hi from the corner

I wish I was that mom, that rose early in the morning before the sun was up. Sipping coffee, in my yoga pants that fit perfectly hiding all the flaws. My hair up in the cute messy bun that you see on pintrest. Have you seen ? I have dozens of times trying recreate it , only to finish with what looks more like a sticky bun. Yea fail! 

Often times my morning starts out late , a hat on backwards, a banana on the way out , spilling coffee on myself trying to keep Gracie girls hands out of it and burning my child. My first sane moment of the day is when everyone is strapped in their seats, worship is playing and we are on the way to school. 

Its then I can sip my coffee, gaze at the road and pretty much filter everything out but the safety of the road. 

Except one particular morning I was stopped at the red on the corner of my neighborhood. I have taken that route for two years now never notice the lady with a red visor and yellow vest. I put my coffee down, slipped my sunglasses down and gave a good morning wave.

From then on we became wave friends ,she was my friend the crossing guard and I became the lady in the sequoia. We would give the good morning wave and smile as I passed every morning. 

This past Christmas, I decided to stop and give her a card . I pulled up and barely had time to slip her a card and exchange names before the light turned green . "I'm Andrea" she said. "Monica, Merry Christmas " as I drove off.

Since then there are some mornings sitting at the light I am busy with the day's thoughts that I hear from the back "mommy your friend is waving." 

Today we started our first day of summer. Just after breakfast I got the kids ready and told them we were going for a walk. "It's so early, can't we rest, can't we drive , where we going?" I explained that school was still in for the public school and we were going to meet the crossing guard that mommy waves too. 

Why? Asked Noah. "I don't know son, because every morning we wave to her and I would like to know who see is." Thats weird he said. "Yes it kinda sounds strange but sometimes God calls us to do strange things and I feel in my heart we should visit her this morning.

As we walked up to the light from across the street I hear her say "you are walking today!" I turned to see both my boys hiding behind me. Hahah , and I ain't going to lie I kinda felt like I wanted to hide, and heard the words of my son. "That's weird!" 

As we crossed , we talked how we only knew each other for a distance , I  got to know where she lived, how long she has been a crossing guard etc. Then she turned to me and said, "my sons in the car. He lost his father last week, my ex husband. He is sad, I am too.  

I'm alittle overwhelmed and just trying to keep busy ." It was alittle busy on the corner , I explained to her that I would pray for her , and her son. We exchanged numbers and she asked if she could join us on a walk or hang out  in the summer. 

Absolutely! Sometimes God will call us to do weird things. Sometimes He will put people in our path because He wants us to be His hands and feet. Often times our vision on serving God is so big , we can miss the opportunities to serve him in small ways. Like a little wave in the morning to a new friend. 

These little things can go a long way in someone's life. Would you take a moment today and allow God to use you in a weird way? Will you be open and do something thing that seems crazy. Maybe buy a stranger lunch. How about have a more meaningful conversation other than a "hi " with the person ringing you up at the store.

Or perhaps go out of the way to thank a faculty member at your child's school you never talk too. There is so many weird things you can do... Let be weirdos and see how God can move. 

Today as I walked away from Andrea, she was no longer the lady at the corner. She is a new friend, a friend that has a name. She was blessed that we made the effort to meet her , I am blessed to be able to pray for her. 

Would you mind praying for her and her son Ian. They can use it! 

Thank you! You Matter More than you think!

Mrs. Ripp - Caleb's Teacher

Miss Logston- Ashers Teacher

                             

I watched her get out of the car , strap on her little guy, while her other one grabs her backpack. Carrying a toddler on her chest , holding her daughters hand and carrying supplies for the classroom in the other. I wonder what her morning looked like and what time she had to start her day. 

Under those dark sunglasses hid tired eyes I'm sure. Holding onto the next remedy that would relieve morning sickness, she made her way to her class , I wonder how she makes it through a full day without barfing on her 1st graders. Where does she get the energy.

When my dad died, I wanted to just crawl up and shut out the world. She showed up to work with a peace and joy ready to tackle a day with her kindergartens. 

I can go on with the story's on how I have witness the countless self sacrifices, I see daily with the staff at the boys school. Some may think an occupation is not sacrificial. But I have to disagree when it come to being a teacher. 

You see when someone chooses to become a teacher, it's not because of the pay. In fact I believe that there would be more teachers if they got paid more. The other day someone asked me what my husband wanted to do after he graduated from the masters program at Biola. Sadly I said "well what he would love to do we cannot afford."

Truth is he would love to teach, but it would not pay enough to take care of the family needs. However he would be a great teacher.  

I know the teachers at the boys school are not getting rich. In fact I also know that many of them could be working in the public school and probably be making much more. But to them it's more that's a job it's ministry and its not work, but more serving. 

This week kicks off staff appreciation week. In light of that I wanted to share a letter I wrote a few years ago. 

Dear you,

You .... who should be our children's second teacher, but sometimes we get busy and put that burden of being their first on you. You see we should be our child's first teacher, but often you have to picked up where we have fallen short. Thank you!

Thank you for showing up every morning ready to pour into our children, when perhaps you are depleted from your own. Thank you for your time outside the classroom preparing lessons, prepping projects and grading papers. Time you don't want to take away from the kids in your class ,but more than likely time away from your own family. Certainly not being paid for it!

As a mom here is what I want you to know...

 I take my children and I leave them with you, because I trust you. I trust that you will love them, care for them, teach them, giving them back to me at the end of the day  . Not only are you helping them academically, but you are helping , me raise them for society. I could not do it without you. Your calling is a high one, you are touching the world by teaching the next generation on how to live, work, and play. We see the fruit of your labor. Your labor isn't easy, and knowing you have to do it for at least 20+ kids, makes me wonder how you do it?

I can imagine on some days you wonder if you are making a difference. Perhaps attitudes don't change, the test scores are not higher or that child will just not connect with you. Maybe today or tomorrow the fruit will not be revealed, but know that it is there.  And I know we don't say thank you enough for the things you have to put up with in the class. I do not take you for granted and Jesus ?.... Well he is pretty pleased with the care and love because , He is clear in his word on how special the little ones are to him. 

Thank you for being a mom nurturing them, when they are missing us. Thank you for being a friend when they need someone to play with. Thank you for being a coach when they need that push.  Thank you for being their cheerleader, when they need that encouragement. Thank you for being their nurse when they fall on the playground. Thank you for being that disciplinarian when they need correction.  Thank you for being like Jesus and showing them love! Thank you for being there when we cannot! 

One day when my child graduates from high school, and Lord willing college, I will remember each one of you and know you all had a hand in it. I want you to know that I'm praying for you. I'm praying that God would bless you abundantly, because although its a job that should pay millions it pays dollars and cents. I'm praying that my God would keep you healthy, as you wipe boogies, He would give you patience with those challenged by bad behavior and praying that the joy of teaching never leaves you heart. 

Why? Because we need you, we need people like you who care enough about our children to be teachers! We need you because you touch and make a difference in this world because you are called... Teacher!

Cant thank you enough,

A grateful Mom!

I give thanks for you making mention in my prayers..

Eph 1:16

Like a flood, with a purpose!

I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with my Noah Asher. That morning I had dropped off my husband at the airport for his trip to Israel. I somewhat had a feeling, but in all the hustle and bustle to get him ready I didn't get a chance to take a test before he left.

That night after meeting my parents for dinner and barfing in the restroom  I took the test. Sure enough it was positive.

Well so , here I am with child and there he was on his way to the holy land. I decided to wait it out and surprise him with the news. That was the longest 12 days of my life. The night he came home a big group of us probably about 20 of us gathered at his gate with balloons and a huge banner that said "welcome home daddy". By the time he arrived we had attracted a bigger crowd of bystanders that wanted to wait around to see his reaction.

I'll never forget the look on his face as he rounded the corner coming down the escalator  , jet lagged and confusion written all over his face. He made it to the bottom , I stepped forward , he said "what" gave me a hug and whispered in my ear "I think I'm going to faint". We made it home, he rested his head on my tummy , we prayed and he cried himself to sleep.

Few months in, we found out that our boy had a kidney issue. It was one of those "common/not common" things. Because of this issue we decided that on the eve of my birthday 11/7 we would induce, not to go beyond the day he was due 11/9.

To speed up my labor, my doctor broke my water bag, to our surprise the water came out brown. Noah had pooped in the sac and that meant he was in some sort of distress. Immediately they started pumping me with fluids to flush out the sac. They called in the NICU staff to be on stand by. I pushed and true to his name, he came out with a flood of water. As a matter of fact they had to grab towels and mops to soak up the floor , but he came out quiet.

They didn't place him on my chest, they cut the umbilical cord from around his neck rushed him to the side and immediately started shoving some sort of contraption down his throat to clear whatever was there. It seems like it was eternity before I heard a peep out of him. He finally let out a squeal and they brought him to my face as the doctor worked below. I whispered "Yahweh is Lord" in his ear and they took him to the NICU. I only saw him for seconds and I watched him leave with my husband right behind. I asked the doctor if he would be ok, he said calming, he was fine.

It wasn't till a few hours later that I was able to see both my boys. After having low blood sugar, severe jaundice and a slight heart murmur we left 5 days later. My entrance to motherhood wasn't what I expected , but after six months of follow up appointments for his heart and kidney he was signed off with a clean bill of health and my faith was stronger due to the months of exercise.

Shortly after Noah was born, maybe three months after a friend of a friend found me at a morning bible study. She said that as she was worshiping, the Lord had given her a vision and scripture for a baby. Asking who it was it was revealed to her that it was my Noah.

She approached me with a piece of paper with the scriptures. She hadn't seen Noah yet, only hearing that we had a baby. She began to prophesied over him. He will be gentle like Joseph, strong like David. He will be gifted with worship and be a comfort to many. She was so excited to share her gift and I thought she was crazy. Still somewhat immature in my walk , I thought she probably got the juice from communion that was fermented.

She stopped looked me in the eyes and said " the Lord also showed me that the day , your son was born you whispered "yahweh is lord" in his ear. Then I , was looking for the fermented juice to drink! Fo real.. What! But I firmly believe that I needed to know that so that I would not doubt that what she was saying was from the Lord.

Noah has always been special, as a baby he would look to the heavens, smile and laugh. When he was a toddler, he would shhhhh me because "Jesus was sleeping" in the corner of his room. He said he played soccer with him at night. We would give him his bible upside down, he would always turn it right side up as small as six months. He would turn to the books before he could even pronounce them correctly. His prayers were beyond his years and he is gifted in memorizing scripture.

He defiantly has a heart to comfort, and a generous spirit about him. He is introverted which I feel can be mistaken as rude and shy which is hard for me to relate too. I am learning how to adapt and how to help him socially. He has a heart to serve, doesn't like to clean his room but loves to pitch in anywhere we go. He's well behaved ,but not perfect, well mannered ,but still is all boy and one thing is true is that he is a family dude.

At the tender age of newly eight today, he understands the importance of family. He is loyal, loving, all thing presidents and can't get enough of Legos. He loves his Lord, has a heart to worship and loves the God ok USA and history of it.

We are blessed at his quiet yet mature spirit and I could not imagine our family without him. Without a doubt the day he was formed in my womb, God had a plan and I am enjoying every minute of watching it unfold. I am forever grateful and changed that the Lord chose me to be his mom!

Noah means comfort and Asher means blessed or smiling one. If you know my Asher you know he smiles hard and that smile lights a part of my heart that only he can.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! Mommy loves you!

On the eve of forty

On the eve of my 40th birthday I am not sure I want to drop kick it to the face or embrace it and hug it like a long lost friend. 

On one hand the thought of being out of high school for 22 years makes me seem old ,but the fact that every morning I woke up for last 40 years is a gift I should embrace. Some haven't been so blessed. 

If you asked me in my teen years what I'd be doing at 40, id probably tell you I would be playing basketball in the wnba. In my 20's id say sitting in my office for AT&T still taking long "working" lunches and still loving my honey. My 30's well that's when things would start to change. I'd say raising a boy or two, still loving my honey and possibly be a stay at home mom, and involved in ministry. 

Well here we are on the eve of 40! I am laying here in sweat shorts, my husbands shirt,  watching a sweet little girl sleep. My house is tore up, my two boys are at an amazing school that we are somehow affording to pay. My body stretched, scared, gray, and flabby. But it's ok I am still using the I just had a baby card. My office is my home and paycheck comes in hugs.

I never knew what forty would looked like and I never could have wrote it any better. Has getting to forty been easy? Absolutely not! We have lost way too many loved ones, hit lots of dark valleys, experience many disappointments,  and struggled through emotional, mental, financial, and physical pain. 

But here is what I can say about forty, although my body aches from lack of sleep, my house looks like El Niño arrived, we have some bills heading into the 60 day mark from Gracie's birth there is great peace. 

I've learned at 40 that every year before it was written out way before I was born. When the Lord formed me in that precious strong lady I call mom, He knew what forty would look like for me. He knew I would one day be here in this house , entrusted with a loving husband and three children that call me mom, well kinda.

So the day I was born he started my training. Everything whether it seemed good or bad, has been to prepare me for this day and the days ahead.

The reality of life is that I have no idea how many birthdays the Lord has for me. And for me, I realize that our time is precious and short in compared to eternity. So for me forty doesn't look like the dirty house or the rundown tent I occupy.

Here is what my forty looks like. It looks like hope, hope that one day I can stand before the Lord with confidence that I took care of the people he trusted me with. That my arrows he placed in my quiver would hit the target. That the man he gave me I respected and loved him as His child. 

It looks like love, I love people. The boys are always asking why I talk to everyone. I love to love. I love waving to the crossing guard every morning as I drive by that I have never met. I love dinner dates, coffee dates and any time I can sit across the cutest four year old to the hurting 50 year old. 

It looks like peace, despite circumstances, hurts or failures I have peace that "He who has begun a new work has not completed it" so I rest in the fact that God is not done with me. So there is Grace.

It looks like faith, I don't know what tomorrow holds , but I know who holds it. It is because of my testimony and what God has done in my life that my faith is stronger than a mustard seed.

So here's to 40 and praying for many more! And as always I want to thank my mom that 40 years ago she chose life. And to all my family, friends , strangers I've met... Thank you loving me and helping me be who I am today!!!

So let's eat cake!!!! Xoxoxo 
Moni 

Triggered Moments, Happy Birthday Caleb Joshua

Last year I went through a book that explained about triggers. You know when something happens that triggers a moment or a time of significance in your life, good or bad.

Sometimes the trigger can be something as small as a scent or a sound or sometimes something subconscious you don't even know what it was that triggerd that memory.

The other night, I noticed my cell phone was dead and I needed to make a call. I went to the kitchen to use the red thing that's been sitting on the counter since we moved in. You know what it was a ......land line phone. As I lifted the receiver, my mind was triggered by the last time I used that thing , about two and half years ago to call 911 when Caleb had his seizure and laid lifeless in my husbands arm.

I placed the receiver back and my mind just went for it. It replayed that afternoon as if I hit the rewind on the dvr. And then it was paused on a conversation we had with the doctors. Caleb had a febrile seizure, and chances of it happening again before he turned five were a lot greater than him not. So from that day the number 5 was embedded in my mind. 

Realizing that we are coming up on Caleb's fifth birthday, I just had one of those moments of reflection and gratitude mixed with emotions. When he turns five the chances of another febrile seizure drastically diminishes. On one hand that comforts me and on the other hand seen him mature into this little boy playing on the school yard makes me sad. I just feel like the last few years didn't come fast enough and then they came to quick. 


I crawled into bed and just thought about the years with my Caleb Joshua, he is such a strong boy in character yet so sensitive. He was the one we ended up in the hospital with a few times, and when he gets sick we always feel a little more cautious , but it has helped us to rely and trust in the Lord.

Luckily for Caleb I was having this moment when I heard the jiggle of puppy's collar as Caleb tried to crawl into our bed at midnight. Instead of telling him it was to early to go back to his own bed I had him pull up a pillow and he got into a little snuggle trouble.

Here is what you should know about Caleb. He is quite the communicator, the other day he said he "loved his school" and that "it was really working out for him" in his own words.

He does not take no for an answer. He will plead his case to the END. He loves all things Mickey, always has his puppy by his side even if he is just coming downstairs and loves chocolate chip cookies. He loves school, is a prayer warrior and smothers his little sister. He looks up to his brother and wants to do EVERYTHING Noah does. He appears to be tough, but he is a softy. He still cuddles with his mommy and way over protective. And if you are sitting or laying next to him chances are he has his leg or arm on you. And he pays way to much attention to the girls for a five year old. 

Our family is stronger, our house is louder, my heart feels fuller, and our love is deeper, because on this day five years ago the Lord allowed us to welcome Caleb Joshua to family. And I am grateful that two years ago the Lord had His hand upon you allowed us to spend more birthdays with you. Happy Birthday my baby boy, we love you a little less than Jesus, but surely

more than any one on this earth.

Love you forever, like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
Mommy

Asleep on the toilet and a Spartan Race

It's been awhile since I last blogged and it isn't from a lack on content, because having a newborn - now infant in the house has surely reminded me on how much more I need Jesus in my life.

Like last night for example, I thought I'd see the pearly gates of heaven when I fell asleep going potty in the middle of the night. Yup fo real, like sitting on the pot in a full on sleep. Only to wake up frantic in complete darkness wondering where the heck I was. When I went to get up, I hit the floor because my leg had fallen asleep which tells me I was sitting for awhile.

As I crawled back in bed I glanced over to my husband still snoring not affected by the little tremor of me hitting the floor and wondered how nice it would be to be a dad for a day or night. And all the moms said..... Amen

Well let's move on because this blog has little to do about my bathroom excursion and more about the power of prayer and the willingness not to give up.

Over a week ago my husband did his biggest obstacle course race. If the grueling 14 miles with 33 obstacles in triple digit heat weren't enough, he was getting over a nasty virus and his plantar fasciitis in his foot was acting up. Before the race started , I prayed told him to utilize wisdom and to quit if needed, after all he is the sole provider of our home.

The reality? I knew he wouldn't stop as difficult as it was going to be, because he had his eye on the prize.

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!"
1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT

What was his prize? Well he was going to complete his trifecta. This was his third final race to finish a series of runs to become a true spartan for the spartan races. To not run or quit would mean that next year he would need to start all over, running the series of races because they needed to be completed in a calendar year.

The average time for a non elite racer was about five hours, for this particular race this day. This was his goal as well. He took off at 915am and we saw him about half way through , limping down a hill clearly in pain. He was only at the half way mark at about 6 miles. I reminded him it was ok to stop, he gave us a kiss and rimped (running while limping) on his way. By this time the temperature had hit triple digits and it didn't look promising.

However, in my heart I knew quitting wasn't going to be easy for him, when he had his two little guys counting on him to finish.

There was a moment when it was just me and my boys sitting on some hay in the middle of this tent with over a hundred people waiting for daddy. I was prompted to pray. I looked down at my watch and noticed it was 2:15 and realized we were coming up on the fifth hour and he was no where in sight.

So I gathered the boys and told them we needed to pray. I asked the Holy Spirit to intercede on his behalf on what he needed. I remember only two things that I prayed for , super natural strength and miraculous healing on his foot. As I prayed I had a sense that my prayer wasn't just a help him through, but more like a devine intervention to carry him to the finish.

It was about a hour and half later that I saw him coming over to his last few obstacles. He was clearly in a lot of pain and could barely walk let alone run. My heart broke to see him that way, but I rejoiced knowing that in a few short moments he would cross the the finish line. Battered and bruised , barely walking ,but he would finish.

He finished , I walked over and congratulated him. He was in a lot of pain and he apologized that it took longer than he expected. He said I almost gave up, at mile ten I couldn't do it anymore. Then something happened and I was able to just go. I said, oh really , what time was that at? He said at about 2:15.

You know what I love about The Lord? When He does something , He makes it pretty obvious. Jesus told his disciples that He was to go away to prepare a place, but not to worry He would send a helper. That moment in the tent the Helper showed me when to pray and what to pray for. And that helper gave my husband the strength to finish his race.

Take a moment and think about where you are... Are you in the middle of your race about to give up? Or are you praying and interceding , hoping for a miracle? Or perhaps both? I want to tell you NOT to give up. We have no idea when the answer to that prayer is just around the corner.

But it's hard to keep running, it seems like I have been running this same mile for days, years etc. Perhaps, but would you like to start over? A HARD mile completed is better that having to do it again. Don't give up keep you eye on the prize! The finish line is near, you may finished battered and bruised, but it's better than not finishing!

My husbands motivation to finish was us being there waiting cheering him on from the sideline. Similar to what it says in Hebrews 12: 1-2 , I'll leave you with this scripture...

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"

Many have finished the race, many are praying for you, cheering for you. Whatever is holding you back or down, get rid of it and run. And like Paul has said run to win! AROO!!!!

Run, Walk just don't quit! love you,
Moni

Throwback- Teacher Appreciation Week!

My sons school had Teacher Appreciation Week a few weeks ago. This week is the "official" week and I was sadden to know a few teachers who's principals or parents didn't recognize them for what they do.

I'm grateful that Asher goes to a school where our principal cares about her staff. So in light of the week, I wanted to share a letter I wrote last year to all teachers.. Here is a little throwback blog...

Here is the link http://faithfoodandfitnessforreal.blogspot.com/2014/04/touching-our-world.html?m=1

Have a blessed day!
Mon