A Wonderful Time of Year

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”!! Yes, I know that this is typically a song sung at Christmas time but I look forward to one specific day on the calendar throughout most of the year. That day is September 24. So many wonderful events take place on that day.


For one, by the end of September autumn is officially here. Like many others, I enjoy watching the leaves on the trees change into their amazing colors. I enjoy the opportunity to throw on a sweatshirt in the evening when we are outside playing. But mostly I love the smell of fall. Getting to enjoy all of the colors, temperature changes and terrific aromas makes autumn a terrific time of year.

Additionally, this is a joyful day for anyone reading through the Bible cover to cover in a year. On September 24 you move from the Old Testament in to the New. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure God gave us the OT for very good reasons. However, I, personally, find the minor prophets quite daunting. By the end of a whole group of them I am ready to start reading about the coming Christ. Therefore, I find the division switch very refreshing in more ways than one.

But now that I am married I have even one more reason to celebrate on September 24. Today is Matt’s birthday! (It’s also my brother-in-law, Mark’s birthday. But that is another story for yet another blog.) I never thought I would be married to a 34 year old man but alas I am. And hopefully, as the years go by, I will be married to a 44, 54, 64 and maybe even a 74 year old man.

So this has been a day of many praises in our house. Not only am I celebrating for many reasons but Matt has also joined me in singing this misplaced Christmas carol. His reasons are quite different than mine. He’s joyful because he can watch NFL, listen to MLB and read about yesterday’s NCAA football games simultaneously. I never knew such an old man could have such hidden talents.

The Scariest Moment in My Life

When we got married we made a firm decision to never have the kids in bed with us. We had a full sized bed which was plenty of room especially for newlyweds. After a couple of years and a couple of babies, we decided to move up and buy a queen sized bed. We had so much room we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We still didn’t allow any of our children to sleep with us. We had our bed and they had theirs. Then one day that all changed.


It was like any other hot summer day. Late June 2009. We had decided to visit the Indy Zoo. About an hour into the trip we made our way to the farm animals. We were off to visit our favorite cow. Her name is Bonnie. She is our favorite because she doesn’t look like any of Grandpa‘s cows. She looks like a yak or cow with a hairy costume on. Caleb stood on fence to scratch her back. Bonnie turned her head to see what was going on as Caleb reached his hand in to pet her. That is when I heard it. A sound I will never forget. Crack! Bonnie’s horn had hit Caleb’s temple--hard.

The side of my first born’s head instantly turned the color of an eggplant and the size of an apple. He was in such shock that he couldn’t speak or even cry. He just stood there and looked at me. His eyes said it all. “Mommy, what is wrong with me? I am scared and don’t know what to do.“ Matt quickly, yet carefully set him in the stroller and took off for the first aid location. However, I had a feeling this incident was going to need more than just your typical ice pack and bandage.

Caleb indeed had a concussion. Luckily, the swelling was on the outside of his skull, not the inside of the bone. Hence the purple and blue bump now protruding from his cranium. Because of the head trauma we were not allowed to let him sleep for more than two hours at a time. So, that night we put him in our bed and stayed awake with him. As he laid there in my arms, we prayed over him. We prayed like we have never prayed before. Then it dawned on me. This could be the last time I ever get to hold my baby.

That is when we changed our minds on where the kids sleep. Sure it might be inconvenient and crowded at times. We might wake up with someone’s feet in our faces. We get pushed and prodded throughout the night. We even had to move up again and get a king-size bed but it is all worth it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I realized that there are only a few years of their lives when they are actually going to want to sleep in my bed. Soon they will be teenagers and want nothing to do with me. Then young adults off to college in a different town. Then married and sharing a bed with someone else. Then they can decide if they will share their bed with their own children. But for now, we wake up almost every morning with someone sleeping between us and thank God again for not taking our son from us.

Two Down: 16 To Go!

We pulled it off without a hitch. Actually it was the least stressful birthday party we have ever hosted in our seven years of having them. I am not sure if it was the fact that all of the guests had already been to our new dwelling so there was no pressure to spruce up the house. Or maybe it was my new outlook on life that not everything has to be perfect for people to like me, because it never will be. Or maybe it was because Elizabeth herself is so laid back that we just followed her lead and let everything just happen.


We grilled out some burgers, brats and hot dogs. I made a cute four layer cake with a variety of flavors and decorated it with hard candy, sprinkles and hair barrettes. We put together some side dishes and called it dinner. I hung some pink balloons and a strip or two of streamer and used our gender neutral “Happy Birthday“ table cloth. Simple and easy. We really stayed low key.

For a theme, I finally decided to go with baby dolls simply because we have so many in our house already. I used some of the dolls as centerpieces on the tables and play a game with her new one. Actually, it wasn’t until Matt and I were eating that we finally came up with the entertainment for the evening. We had one person give the doll to her and tell her to take it to someone else in the room. She knew fewer people than we thought. The game ended quickly but just in time to blow out some candles.

We all seemed to have a good time. Elizabeth got some wonderful presents. They are wonderful to me anyway. I doubt there are many more years that we can get away with receiving practical gifts like diapers and pull-ups. But at the ripe old age of two, they work for now. She got some really stylish outfits but with big sister that is so clothing conscience she is set for life. She also got a rocking cow from us that we got for free at a garage sale. After discovering that it is neither male nor female, we have named it Ashpenaz (after the eunuch in Daniel, Chapter 1) but we call him/her “Penny” for short.

We have two of her birthdays behind us and only 16 more to go. Hopefully, many, many more than 16 with us. But, I promise you, she is only getting 16 more theme parties out of me. And that is only if she gets her act together and starts having favorites.

Birthday Themes

Birthdays are a special day in our house. I am sure they are special in yours too. In our house the birthday person gets to choose the meal for dinner and is exempt from any and all chores (albeit they are few for now). My favorite part of my own children’s birthdays are the parties. We plan the festivities around a theme about something the guest of honor likes. As a tradition for any child’s first birthday they get a "#1" cake but for the remaining events have a specific theme including but not limited to invitations, decorations and games.


Caleb’s second birthday was Elmo. We had Elmo plates, invites, thank you cards, place settings and a huge red-faced piñata. For his third party we had three different “ball” cakes and a game involving the recently learned colors and numbers. His fourth was a Candy Land party. We decorated my mother’s house with colored sheets of paper to look like the path. And my favorite part was the sheet cake that we decorated to look like the game board. His firth was Noah’s Ark with a popsicle stick rendition of the ark on a “mountain” cake and animal games. Then, his most recent was Super Heroes.

Rebekah’s second birthday was a Cinderella party complete with princess costume, castle cake and a game matching up shoes like Prince Charming had to do. By her third birthday she loved to color so much we had a crayon party where we bought enough colored wax that we should have just bought stock in the Crayola company. The following year she took some ballet classes so she became our little ballerina for the day. We had everyone attempt one of the dance poses. Last May, we decided to focus on the fact that Rebekah’s choice in outfits didn’t always follow any set of rules and played games about mismatched clothes.

So, one would think that after all of this practice with themed birthday parties I would be a pro by now. Alas, I am not. Our little, precious Elizabeth turns two today and I have nothing. Nothing. She doesn’t watch any cartoons, therefore, eliminating any possibilities of a character theme. She doesn’t play with any particular toy or board game. She doesn’t have any hobbies or pastimes. She doesn’t even really have a favorite color. So what am I to do?

I guess we will just have a party with white cake and lactose-free ice cream, some balloons and presents. And that will be that. I know she will still love me years from now when she is looking through her scrapbooks. She will know that she is also special even if there wasn’t a theme. And maybe by next year she will actually have her act together enough to give me some ideas on what to do for her special day.

Happy Second Birthday, Sweet Sweet Elizabeth. I love you all the way to the bottom of my heart (even if you are theme-less). XOXOXOXOXXOXOX  Love, Mommy

Never Say Never

There are three things I KNOW for sure in this life. No make that four. My friend, Tina will never get a teaching job. Another friend, Ann, will never have premarital sex. Finally, Dale and Mary Lou will never get a divorce. How do I know these things? I know Tina’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses. I know Ann’s integrity and belief system. Mostly, I know Dale and Mary Lou’s commitment to each other.


Then I went back for a visit and learned that I don’t know as much as I thought. Tina had just started her third year teaching in the school system I was employed. Then, as I was leaving her classroom, I ran into Ann and her bulging belly. She was due to have her baby in a couple of months but her wedding wasn’t for another year. I stood there in utter shock. How could I be so wrong about what I thought was right? I was hesitant to finish my trip out of fear of what Dale and Mary Lou might tell me.

Thankfully, my dear friends, Dale and Mary Lou are still together. I at least got one thing right. But, sadly, we discovered over the weekend some friends of the McKaig family are filing for divorce. A couple that none of us thought would ever venture down that road. A couple who love the LORD. A couple that has been married for decades and have grown children. A couple that is no longer a couple.

It makes me wonder--and quite frankly, scared--who could fall into this viscous trap that the Devil has laid out for us. Anyone. That’s who. If we do not guard against the enemy daily, he will find a way to wedge between any couple. No matter how strong they think they are. No matter how much they think they love each other. No matter the circumstances. God hates divorce, therefore, the Devil must love it.

Oh, but wait. There is the fourth thing that I know. This one I do know. I know that God is Love and because of His Son’s sacrifice we are forgiven. No matter what we have done. Lied, stolen, cheated on a test, skipped church, swore, sinned in anger, had a child out of wedlock, or even filed for divorce. No matter the circumstances. God loves you and forgives you.

Pray. Pray for the forgiveness that God wants to give you. Pray for His strength the next time you are tempted to mess up again. Pray for your marriage. Pray for your spouse. Just pray. Prayer can do wonders. I am sure prayer played a huge role in how Tina got her own classroom.

Saturday Mornings

When Matt and I were dating he would woo me with stories about what life would be like married to him. Doesn’t everyone do this when they are trying to convince someone to spend the rest of their lives with them? We had so many of the same hopes, plans and ideas. We would raise our kids in a godly home. We would travel as much as time, energy and money would allow. We would have a large family (although we didn’t quite agree on what the definition of “large” was. I was thinking three or four. He wanted 13!). We would eventually send our kids off to college (undoubtedly Purdue, of course), not become grandparents until we are at least 60 and then grow old together.




One of these great ideas, on a much smaller scale, was Saturday breakfast. When we were courting, Matt told me how much he couldn’t wait until we were married so that he could get up and make me a huge breakfast. Scrambled eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, hashbrowns with cheese, sausage patties, cappuccino, orange juice. Obviously, he had already figured out my love language was food! I was pretty excited. I even had hopes that this huge and wonderful breakfast would sometimes be delivered to me in bed. I mean, a girl can dream. Can’t she? I even dreamt about him making this breakfast for me with our future kids at his side, making a mess in the kitchen while making memories for a lifetime.



But then we got married and reality hit. It wasn’t until then that I realized that he didn’t quite mean breakfast. Now, don’t get me wrong. He has full intentions of making me this huge meal. The problem is that if Matt doesn’t have to be out of bed he is not about to get out of bed before 10 AM. That includes Saturdays. Especially Saturday! So I am up at my regular time and eat my cold cereal breakfast. I get the kids up and feed them. We go on with our day.



Then when Matt does finally get up, he still makes me my huge and wonderful “breakfast”. (We just call it lunch.) We are both happy with the turn-out. He sleeps. I eat. Sure, it doesn’t happen the way I had imagined it.  But then again does life ever turn out the way we thought it would?  When life gives you lemons just make lemonade.  Or when life gives you oranges just make orange juice for breakfast at noon.