It's all fun & games until...

 Someone vomits.

If you have a weak stomach then grab a brown bag. You may need it as you read.

Yes. Someone in my house seemed to always be vomiting last year. It started the NIGHT our youngest was BORN. Our second child puked his guts out that night.

And it began...

The winter from Hades. With a newborn & snot flinging puke hurling children.

It was a rough winter. 

This is how my sister came up with this blog! Because of a spewing incident in a local cupcake store. Oy.

This is right before the 'incident'. Site seeing with the cousins. 'Hey kids! This is great, wonderful fun!!!'

Nobody cares.

It isn't a cousin visit until someone Ralphs!!!

We realized that our lives are so whack that people might enjoy making fun of us or taking comfort in knowing that they aren't alone. 

Honestly, I could write 17 blog posts on 'Disney Disaster 2013'. But instead I give you this...

Top 5 places my kids have blown chunks in the past year:

1. Mens Urinal at Hollywood studios

2. Coat closet in Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot

3. Trash bag in my NEW VAN

4. MY BED

5. Trash can at our local country club pool right next to the buffet!

He's the only one who didn't give me any hurling trouble on vacation.

He's really thinking here 'hey, in about 37 minutes I'm going to puke my brains out in a urinal!'

This is what he thought of Disney Disaster 2013. Insert evil baby laughter.

Anyway.

These crazy moments that I like to just explain as 'life with children' have taught me A LOT about relinquishing control. 

The Lord has it under control much better than we do.

 If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31 NIV)

When your baby girl looks like this AFTER a Disney vacation it should be from exhilarating exhaustion instead of 5 hours of straight up spewing. And then I was like... 

WHO can be against us?!! Like, there is some puke raging curse against us!! I got really discouraged & anxious having a newborn in the house. But then God reminded me:

 Letting it roll. Letting it go... 

 

I mean, after your kid dry heaves in a restaurant & pukes in a cloth napkin as you shove yourselves into a coat closet in Disney World, you get over yourself REALLY fast. 

One of my friends from college told me once: 'if I'm ever to the point where I can't take myself to the bathroom I would want you to wipe my butt.' 

Seriously. 

You know, we are shaping our children in how we handle these stressful situations. They learn from what they see. That's hard for me to swallow sometimes. And every self inflating comment we make about ourselves or someone else or even TO THEM (hey, I'm guilty! Right here. Up in this living room for yelling, 'what is WRONG with you? It's just not normal to tear your pancakes in tiny pieces and put them in your water & then drink it!!!') molds a little piece of who they will become.

Reality. 

Who cares how they eat their pancakes. 

 There are important battles to fight. And pancakes, for me, isn't one of them. 

Vomiting children are out of my control. But, I can control how I react to these moments. And this past year I've really learned to let go & let God take over. Not just with spewing kids. In lots of areas.

you know something...

'Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you DO but may be someone you raise.'

~Andy Stanley