Rising to the Call

My Crew

People often tell me…

You’re an amazing mom. 

I don’t know how you do it. 

You must have the patience of a saint.

Bless your heart.

And if you know anything about that last one (a notoriously southern phrase) it can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. ;)

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Do You Know What’s Sexy?

valheart18

Young ladies, you can chase anything in a pair of snug-fitting blue jeans.

You can find a set of diamond-cut, blue-green eyes that pierce right through you.

You can seek out a hard body at the gym that ripples with muscle.

But let me tell you what’s really sexy.

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Unforgiveness

Dripping Faucet

It was a school day.

I was behind.

I slept through my morning routine and threw clean clothes onto my unshowered self.

I doused my hair with dry shampoo, ran a brush through my flat bed-head, and applied some make-up.

This is how you fool the world into thinking you have your act together.

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A Couple’s Weekend

Couple Time

When our children were younger and we needed some ‘us’ time…

we would simply wear them out, feed them an early dinner, and scoot them off to bed.

We affectionately called this ‘Flex Time’ and it was oh so rejuvenating for us and our relationship.

As our children have grown and multiplied in number…

bedtimes have grown later, responsibilities have increased,  parenting has become more complicated, and wake-up calls remain early.

There is very little alone time and it seems more necessary now, than ever before.

It’s nearly impossible to have an uninterrupted conversation in our home, never mind one not intended for little ears.

The work is never done.

A new problem is always on the horizon.

And life just keeps getting busier.

It’s easy peasy to place our marriage on the back-burner and forget about it in the name of sacrifice.

But what exactly would we be sacrificing as time ticks away?

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Happy 16th Anniversary

Mr. and Mrs. Christian O'Melia October 12, 1996

21 years ago I met a man who drove me absolutely crazy in the worst way imaginable.

He annoyed me…and I aggravated him.

He was my complete opposite, everything that I wasn’t.

The only thing we had between us were differences, lots and lots of differences.

But you know what they say about opposites…

And as time passed, we began to appreciate the differences.

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Meatloaf: The Recipe for a Happy Marriage

The house was spotless and the fridge, fully-stocked.  We (the 7 kids and I) had spent all morning cleaning house and food shopping.

I scarcely had enough time to put the the groceries away, before little tummies were growling for lunch.

I fed the kids something quite nutritious for their afternoon meal, got the little ones down for a nap, and restored the kitchen to order.

It was Friday afternoon, and I needed to skedaddle out the door, to go horseback riding with my son Luke.

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Don’t You Know What Causes That?! (How We Ended Up with 7 Kids)

Almost every time I go out somewhere with my children, I get asked the questions…

Are they all yours?!

or

How many do you have?!

or

Don’t you know what causes that?!

Sometimes people just stare in disbelief…

or I see them counting the “stair-steps” as we pass on by.

Regardless, we always seem to get some kind of reaction.  And honestly, I find it quite entertaining.

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A Scandalous Story of Love: Intentions

I had reached that point in the relationship when I was ready to get married and have his babies.

But mercy!  You can’t just come out and say that to a 20 year-old college boy!

Talk about the top ten things you don’t say to your boyfriend!

Seriously though, I couldn’t live without him.

He was perfect for me.

He was everything I was not.

He was spontaneous, bold, and logical.

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The Scandalous Story of Love: Kissing Disease

It was November of 1993. I hopped onto the stairmaster at the gym for my afternoon workout. My legs felt noticeably weak. I wrote it off as one of those days when you initially feel fatigued. I just needed to push through. Get warmed up a little. But I barely finished my routine and headed back to my dorm, legs still terribly heavy. Later that evening, my throat grew sore. I peeked in the mirror to discover a few white spots on my tonsils. Clearly I had strep throat.

I considered the possibility that I might need to visit the infirmary come morning. Perhaps get a rapid strep test done and pick-up some antibiotics. The sun came up, and I could scarcely swallow. I scooted into the bathroom and visited, my friend, the mirror.

Horror.

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A Scandalous Story of Love: Gram and Gramps

Junior year at Boston College began for us in the fall of 1993 with all of our money pooled together in a joint bank account. The morning air grew crisper and the trees around campus began to turn breathtaking shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Autumn was my very favorite time of year. I loved walking across campus in just a sweater and jeans, sun warming away the slight chill. I delighted in the deep blue sky of autumn, a backdrop for the leaves twirling and dancing their way to the ground. I had a bounce in my step and a flutter in my stomach. I was unspeakably happy and content.

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