New Year's 2015

I'm laughing because one of my resolutions this year is to get back to blogging. Today I logged into my blog for the first time in a very long time.  What did I find?  3 unpublished posts about getting my life back.

Since Paul has been born, I simply haven't been able to get back to normal.  It is time and clearly it has weighed on my mind at least 3 times over the last year.  I have a list of things I really want to reincorporate into my life.  They are:

* Spending time with God in the mornings
* Writing
* Reading
* Exercising

These are not really in order.

I'm hoping this year will be the theme of me returning to normal - or finding a new normal. 

Today - I will count as successful since I did at least one thing for myself. 

Blog: Check 

Mary and Martha: A lesson for the busy

I actually started this post back in August.  But I never got around to finishing it...so I scrapped it and started over.  And then I scrapped it again and started over again.  And here it is New Year's and hopefully I can get it finished!

I've missed my blog.  I enjoy writing.  I've always thought I'd write a book someday, but in the meantime this little blog fills that void.  I'd love to get back to it. But God has had other things in mind for my time lately.  He has been busy teaching me about Mary and Martha.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

~ Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

For a long time I never understood Jesus' perspective here.  After all, it wasn't that Martha was doing things she shouldn't.  The house does need cleaned.  Preparations do need to be made for the meal.  There are many things that need done to keep the household moving.  And in those days?  I shudder to think of what laundry was like.  Or meal prep.  The invention of washer, dryers and refrigerators has done so much for the modern woman.  Yet we are still so very busy.

The lesson began at the beginning of last summer.  I had childcare lined up for my return to work, but it fell through.  So I had to find new arrangements quickly.  There were lots of unknowns (we had no idea what elementary school Peter was going to attend...for example) so making long term decisions became pretty hard.  Normally I rely on God for such decisions - but I also have an idea of what His plans are.  He remained mum on what His intent was for our family on many things.  I had to live day by day.

Childcare arrangements for the summer were lined up pretty quick.  This was a God thing.  A friend needed a job and it so happened to work out.  BUT...these arrangements were to last just until school started.

I normally spend a lot of time researching, visiting and such in order to find God's best.  I rely on Him to show me the way, but I have always felt that we do have a duty to see what that is.  But this summer - God told me to sit down and relax.

I'm not good at relaxing.

Or sitting for that matter.

School started and He cleared the way for many things. We settled on sending Paul to the daycare we use, as it was opening up a brand new baby room.  There was a gap between when the summer care was going to end and when the infant room was going to open.  I was able to work from home (WFH) while waiting for the daycare infant room to open up.  I was SO BLESSED by this.  I got to kick butt and take names at work while spending more time with my baby - more time than I had ever gotten to spend with any of the other kids.  In fact, since my return to work I have had the distinct feeling of having baby Paul with me nearly ALL the time.  Not the "I NEED A BREAK!" feeling.  The "I'm getting to enjoy my baby more than ever!" feeling.

The infant room opened up and the birthday season passed - and for the first time ever I was cool as a cucumber.  Sept/Oct tends to be crazy busy.  The in laws tend to visit extra, birthday parties to plan and school activities all pile up - I promise myself every year I'm going to enjoy my kids' birthdays and every year I finish the season feeling stressed and wondering where the time went.

But this year - none of that happened.

So I have in fact been super busy.  I've had many things to do and unending lists.  But I found that time and time again, when I leaned on the Lord - everything got done.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. 

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

One afternoon I had a fussy baby on my hands, piles of laundry and other things that need to be done.  I was just plain tired and wishing for a nap.  So I took one - me and the baby of course.  I can't tell you how, but by that evening I was refreshed and looking around and found that everything had been done that needed to be done.  Every last thing.  It was amazing.

This is how God operates.  He's here in the midst of busy life and if we focus on Him, He makes the way available that everything that needs done is done.

When we stress ourselves and we are overwhelmed, the simple fact is we have taken on work that does not belong to us.  God is sovereign.  And that is a big word that a lot of people understand without really taking in the fully meaning.  Since God is sovereign - He knows your day to day life.  He knows what must be done and really what doesn't.  He knows your life better than you do.  And if you give these things to Him and let Him guide you even in the mundane day to day life - He will not steer you wrong.  And what this ends up looking like is you starting out a Sunday afternoon yearning for a nap with a to-do list a mile long and ending the day feeling refreshed and ready for the week to start.  All that is required of us is to let go.

And yes - He can hear those million reasons of why you can't.  Everyone has them.  I had them myself.

In the case of childcare search - if I didn't research how was I supposed to find His answer for me?  Turns out since I didn't have time, God sent the answers knocking on my door.  We all know faith is an action - and the action was simply opening up the door.  "Oh hi!  You want to watch my kid?  SURE!"  The action wasn't spending endless hours researching, touring and interviewing until *I* found the mystical answer.

In the case of countless TO DO lists - it meant I cut that list in half.  For Rebekah's sleepover party, I bought a couple activities and a cake and called it done.  The girls had SO MUCH FUN.  I didn't have endless activities like last year.  The party wasn't picture perfect - but life doesn't have to be to enjoy it.  The girls hung out and entertained themselves.  It was magical.  The activities I did plan, Rebekah told me she wanted.  So really - she planned her own party.  I just picked up a few things.  That is what it looks like to take a step back and let things go.

And now - this is a biggie - Christmas season just passed.  As if that weren't enough, I had knee surgery and am working on healing from that.  So it means I trust my husband to take care of some things that I actually like to take care of - and be nothing but GRATEFUL because that is what you are to another human being when they help you.  Our Christmas went off without a hitch. My oven even died, but because the Lord has been teaching me these things I just shrugged my shoulders.  It actually died at the perfect time (in between breakfast casserole and turkey cooking) and because of the way my day had worked out from the day before, I was in the kitchen to notice.  My stove dying on the worst day of the year couldn't have worked out more perfectly.  God was in that. 

So in summation, Jesus is simply asking us to understand that yeah...stuff needs to be done.  But don't put the busywork above relationships.  Take it day by day.  Each day is going to have a priority.  Today, it might be to vacuum.  The next day - it may be a much needed nap.  And in the end, if you prioritize sitting at His feet soaking in His glory each and every day, everything else works out.  God doesn't leave us hanging.  And He is big enough to not only handle the BIG HUGE world problems - but He is able to ease the burdens of the stressed out. 

New Year's 2013

I don't always do specific resolutions, but I usually have a post related to a reflection of the past year and looking forward to the year to come.  (You can find 2012's post here...)  I think having a point in time to remind you to reflect is a healthy thing.  And taking a moment to make sure you are on the right path is also a healthy thing.  And of course there are many ways to take a healthy think and turn it unhealthy.  I try to avoid that of course.  (Obsessing is probably one way...so I don't obsess. :-) )

Last year can only be described as the year of travel for me.  I hadn't been anywhere in a long time (penny pinching and working on paying that debt down!).  But just this year I:

• Made a family trip to Branson.
• Took a girls' trip to Denver to visit my dear friend.
• Visited as a family another friend's lake house - where the kids experienced their first ever BEACH
• Exposed the kids to some relatives they had no idea existed for a wedding in Dallas.
• Had my first ever Momcation in SC visiting another dear friend.

So much fun.  The travel has been pretty therapeutic and  I certainly don't expect to keep up this traveling pace.  It just isn't feasible with our goals. 

If I stopped there, my year would be awesome - but of course I can't.  There is more awesome to be shared.  I also ran my first half marathon.  That is a feat that is so intensely personal that I don't think I can really share it properly.  Miriam ran a half marathon.  The slouchy, overweight, anti-exercising, food junky...made such a radical change that not only did this become a dream...but it is now a fulfilled dream.  Before becoming pregnant - I was just 17 lbs shy of losing 100 from my heaviest - and 7 lbs shy of reaching the weight I was for a majority of my high school years.

So this half-marathon accomplishment is more than physical fitness.  It represents a change so powerful that really only God Himself could do. 

And it represents to me, something I never thought I could do.  I have been raised in a manner to set "realistic" goals for myself.  So there are a whole host of things out there in a category of "I'd love to, but I'd never be able too."  I'm learning that I really need to take a second look at these things.  I need to categorize things as "Yes, I definitely want to do that" and "No, I'm really not interested", because clearly I can do whatever I want to do.  Well - in all honesty - I can do whatever God has planned for me.  Without Him, I never would have started running to begin with.

The last big thing of the year is becoming pregnant for the 4th time.  Each pregnancy has seemed to be thematic with me.  The theme of this one has been 'normalcy'.  That may seem boring, but sometimes experiencing things the way everyone else experiences them is so absolutely fascinating.

I spent 3 months 'sick'.  I use that term loosely because I never actually puked...I just felt like I was going too.  I'd get motion sickness just from walking.  I stopped running (and eventually exercising) because I just couldn't handle it.  So that combined with severe exhaustion (which I always have), I think my first try was as close as it will probably ever get to the way most people experience it.  And while I didn't enjoy the feeling, I enjoyed the experience.  Unless you've ever spent most of your life on the outskirts with the inability to relate to nearly every other human being on the planet - this will be a foreign concept.

The second tri was spent pretty busy - so I didn't have time to really think about much pregnancy related stuff.  I will admit, there were times I even forgot I was pregnant. 

But I'm back to enjoying my normal pregnancy again.  Now I've even been able to hit a new normal - I get see my belly move!  I've heard of this - but because of all the extra flubber I've never really seen it.  This time around, I've lost enough weight that a) it s pretty clear I'm pregnant...even the dimmest of people can see that which just thrills me and b) I frequently will sit and just watch my belly do its own thing.  It is magical.  Feeling the baby kick has always been my favorite part of being pregnant - but seeing the kicks just adds a whole new sensation. 

For 2013 I have some things to look forward too.

First of course - the new family member that will be joining us.  In all honestly, much of the rest of the year will be consumed in finding a new 'normal' as a family of 6.  (And wow - that seems like such a HUGE number!)  I'm so excited that we have been so blessed with all of our kids.  I never dreamed I'd have a larger family (in fact, this was not my plan but God's plan!) - but I simply couldn't be happier.  My kids all love and care for one another (even among common sibling problems).  I just...I'm speechless at times.  We don't always know what we want or need.  We frequently think we do.  But when we close our eyes, hand over control to the creator of the universe (you know, the being that thought ahead enough to know that we'd need things like bacteria and day/night...) and take a step completely in the dark...the results are never a let down. 

My extended family is virtually non-existent.  (Yes they exist.  But they are not a present force in my life.)  William's extended family is mostly absent.  (He grew up with them, but they have since pretty well scattered.)  And there are no cousins on the horizon - so my kids' extended families are (and mostly likely will remain) pretty tiny.  For the kids to have one another is so very important.  Life is so much sweeter when you have people you can count on - whether blood or bond. 

And - God has blessed us with an awesome church family that fills in gaps that the genetic-family lacks.  Really without them, I think life would look very different and my outlook would be very different.

The only other thing on my radar for the year is returning to my running.  I haven't run since the last week of June.  (A variety of reasons why this is...)  I'm terrified I've lost it or that it will take me so long to get back to where I was that I'll get discouraged.  But - running is a gift that God has blessed me with.  (By gift - I don't mean I'm 'good' at it - I mean that He has somehow programmed my brain to enjoy it...so enjoying exercising is something that is pretty new for me!)  I have been reminding myself I probably won't enjoy it again for 3-6 mo when I return to it.  I have a pair of new running shoes waiting for me along with a brand new garmin watch that I got for Christmas.  All good for motivation.

But it will be a matter of time. With the time demands of a baby, pumping, working full time and managing a household - it may be a bit before I can work a regular exercise routine back in.  I guess this is my only concrete goal for 2013 - be regularly exercising again by the end of the year.  It may seem so simple...but based on my experience it will be pretty difficult.  And I will need to be liberal and flexible with myself about it.

After reading last year's post - I see the only thing that was actually 'done' was the half-marathon.  I didn't run a New Year's race b/c I hadn't been running.  Interestingly enough, the kids also didn't stay up because the ILs (which generally means no nap) were visiting.  (We did let them last Friday...got bubbly juice even and we all had cheers!) 

William and I ended up being the only two up to ring in the new year - and we did so playing Yahtzee on our phones. :-)  Fun times!  I read somewhere that New Year's is only fun during your 20s.  I don't agree with this - I think fun just looks different in your 20s than it does in your 30s!

Maundry Service: Unexpected healing

I'm not really sure exactly where to begin so that the events can be fully understood.  So I'm throwing a dart and going to start typing.

After making our way to Maundry service, getting Ruth dropped off and settled and settling down myself - I heard my pastor mention a foot washing service.  My heart plummeted. I'd only ever participated in one service before and my experience wasn't the best.

I've mentioned my sordid church history before.  The only other time I'd ever participated in such a service was at the church that had me escorted out by police.  Just before I was escorted out, we all sat in a circle and the man who wanted to be pastor washed our feet.  After the service, we chatted and he told me he had been told I was promising young leader.  It wasn't very long (days or less perhaps) between this event and when he had us escorted out.  It just added to the feeling of betrayal. 

Our church happens to do baptisms during Maundry service.  I love that it is once a year.  I think that makes it extra special.  Two folks were getting baptized.  It was a celebration and this year it was fun watching the kids.  Rebekah has declared she wants to be baptized.  I don't truly think she is ready just yet, but it was sweet to hear her declare she wants too.

Pastor started discussing the foot washing again at this point and my mind was running a million miles a minute.  Feelings about the last time surfaced, but didn't really take over.  What I was going to do swirled around in my head.  Leave?  Go? What?  I decided to go - but I wasn't sure if I was going to participate.  I walked into the room and sat down.  Rebekah was sitting next to me, babbling away.  Instinctively I peeled off my shoes, being careful to not show my holy socks.  That isn't Holy...that is...holy...big huge holes where my toes are.  All my socks have them (and they aren't that old).  It's from running, as best as I can tell.

I say instinctively because I never made a conscious choice to participate.  I took it tiny step by tiny step.  "OK, I'm fine walking down the hallway to where they are doing the foot washing."  "OK, I'm fine sitting in the circle."  "OK, I'll go ahead and take my shoes off and sit here and observe before making my next move."  It was just tiny step after tiny step.

By they way - I'm not really fond of people messing with my feet.  This entire thing is just so far out of my comfort zone...

Before I could second guess anything Cara was at my feet asking to wash them.  She smiled and began talking about how she just wanted to tell me thanks for being so welcoming.  She talked about how everyone had been attending for so long, yet we accepted her as if it was no big deal.  This rolled around in my head for a bit - I hadn't been attending this church for all that long.  Not really.  Wait - is 7 years a long time?  Goodness - 7 years...wait really?  Is my math right?  She got a little weepy and said a few more things.  Things I keep close to my heart because they were special.

I then grabbed a bucket and made a beeline for Ashley.  I knew I was supposed to wash her feet.  I didn't really know what to say - other than thanks for being my friend.  Some friends challenge you, and I always feel like Ashely does. 

Rebekah at this point was hollering that she wanted hers done.  I wasn't really letting her participate because for her it was just something fun to do.  I was having a tough time keeping her from ruining the time for others.  I kept telling her to be quiet but she wasn't listening at all.  I went ahead and did her feet (I had decided before the hollering started I would) and she quieted down.  I let her do mine as well (she was begging).  I'd love to say it was really special - but frankly I didn't view it as that...not with her demanding demeanor. 

I sat for a moment and knew there was one more person's feet I needed to wash.  She had her shoes on (the sign of simple observation and not participation), but there was a towel there too.  So I decided to venture over.  I still didn't know what to say, but I ventured over to Jan.  I started out by telling her what a special friend she was and then it just tumbled out of my mouth - "You are a role model!"  I couldn't really think of a better way to describe it.  While no one is perfect, we do learn from one another.  And Jan has taught me so much in so many areas.  It isn't intentional on her part, but I have been blessed by her. 

By this time things were wrapping up.  I sat for a moment longer and Ashley stopped by and washed my feet.  She also said some very special things that helped me realize a few things about myself.  It is sort of like looking in a mirror with your reflection being in other people.  She was echoing a few thoughts that someone else had mentioned at a Bible study earlier in the year about me.  It was fascinating because things that are being spoken into me are things that are so different from what has been spoken into me in the past. 

Hanging out with Jesus and other Jesus-freaks truly does set you free.  It breaks the shackles and bondage that hangs in your life.  And while sometimes it can be an overnight thing - sometimes it is a journey.  Who are you?  Why are you here?  What are you doing?  Here I am nearly to my mid-30s and I'm still thinking about these things.

Once it was finished I pondered the vastly different experiences I had - and I thought "Of course - it couldn't be anything else but."  My church has never been anything than my experience that night - God-inspired.  My momentary panic seemed so foolish.  (Doesn't it always on the other side?)

I stepped over to Cara to chat with her a moment about it.  She broke the foot washing ice for me and I wanted to tell her thanks.  It was here I learned that it had been announced the previous week this was going to happen.  I had missed every single announcement.   I'm sure that was by divine design.  I don't know that I would have had the courage to come.  Then I found out that when she prayed about it this week, God had told her she needed to wash me feet and to do it first. 

Well.  God knew.  He knew that he needed to tug at that little piece and heal it.  From writing my experiences out to participating in this - I truly do feel I am healed from my past.  The baggage has been tossed out.  I can even tell you what has been replaced with it - this reflective glimpses I've observed.  I'm not the same person I was all those years ago.  And I can say that God is making me better. 

This has been a pretty sweet Easter.  I didn't get to contemplate the normal things I think about on Easter (Christ sacrificing himself, conquering sin - the effort He has put into loving us) but that's alright.  God knew just what I needed.  I'm not sure yet why I needed it - but I'm sure it will become clear eventually.  It usually does!

New Year's 2012

As I've mentioned the last few years, I like to take the new year to spend a little time reflecting.  Last year, I noted that I had a year full of change with not too much thought about the year ahead.

I'm still not sure what happened this last year. ;-)  In the last year we have continued to pay off our debt, I started running and lost another 20 lbs or so, and my job has changed pretty drastically...for the better.

Rebekah started Kindergarten, Ruth has started walking (and is losing her babyhood *sniff*), and Peter is growing into his big brother role with pride.

The year didn't hold many large changes for us really, but sometimes before a large change happens there must be a series of little changes to prepare. 

This year I can't say for sure what the year holds for us, but I'm hoping my job again changes (promotion perhaps?), William's job changes (another promotion?), hoping for our debt payoff to be complete and for my last 20 lbs to be gone.

I'm also hoping to run a half marathon.

There I said it.  I've been dancing around it and non-committal.  I still reserve the right to change my mind.  (My biggest fear is that training for it could put an end to my love of running - so I must convince myself I can do it and not lose that joy I get!)  And if I do follow through with this goal, I will want to cross that finish line with a SMILE on my face.  (I have no idea why...I just do.)

So that is my thoughts on the new year in a disorganized mess.  :)

You might notice I haven't mentioned anything about God...but the Lord is behind all of this.  He guides me in everything I do.  I go running because of His direction.  Our debt payoff is led by Him.  And He has blessed us with this hope of promotion. 

I guess there is one last thing I'm hoping comes to fruition.  Last year I had a vision that has continued to develop.  The Lord keeps whispering in my ear about it.  I'm hoping that this next year it comes to life fully.  We'll see - the Lord's timing and mine never match up.

Our NYE was spent in a quiet manner.  I loved last year's - my favorite memory was snuggling on couch with Peter watching How to Train a Dragon.  I had hoped for something similar this year.  However - after a fun filled day the kids chose to not take a nap.  After finding out last minute the ILs were going to come visit, it became clear that combined with no-nap, the kids would need to get to bed.  So William and I hung out watching some movies we rented.  Quite, peaceful - at this point the way I like it.  There is enough hoopla and craziness around me, that the quiet stands out.

Next year, I think I'm going to look for a NYE race.  A friend of mine rang in the new year with a 5K.  That seems like a perfect start to me.

May you have a blessed year filled with joy!

Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Cuties

Easter Fun

Easter is a huge holiday for me.  I love to stop and reflect on it.  Because of the special meaning it has for me as a Christian, I sometimes have trouble with some of the commercialism that goes along with it.  (Why do we do that as humans?  Market everything?)  But...I do try to do some of the basics.

Like coloring eggs...

It is a fun little activity I guess.  I don't really understand what it has to do with Jesus' death and resurrection...I mean, you can make up some meaning.  Again - the kids enjoy it.  (It is so hard to balance cultural norms with holidays sometimes!)

Anyway...

About the only thing William has ever been super passionate about was doing Santa. I grew up not doing Santa, and always struggled with the idea of Santa.  But we decided while I was pg with Rebekah that we would go ahead and do Santa...but no Easter Bunny.  (And...no creepy characters for Halloween.)

I did put together baskets.  But I didn't put any candy (knowing they were going to get a bunch from the church egg hunt the next day).

Each kid got a Bible (toddler version for Peter and Beg. Reader for Rebekah), nerf guns, socks, movie, another book, coupon eggs, coloring pages for Peter and nail polish for Rebekah.

The gun was a huge hit with Peter.  Rebekah went nuts over her nail polish.  Surprisingly, she was patient when I said I couldn't paint her nails right that second.

Rebekah's are on the left and Peter's are on the right

The coupon ideas came from FB.  I posted requesting ideas and this came up.  I loved it.  So I drew out coupons for each child.  They each have an activity with each parent and then one for the entire family.  When Rebekah opened hers, she said "Oh these are so cute!  Who drew these?  They did a great job!"  LOL  Peter opened his up and said "How did this paper get in this egg?"  I think he is still having trouble understanding the concept.  Rebekah gets it.  (Please note how she gets ice-cream with me...it is a sacrifice but someone has to make it!) 

The 3 in their outfits

I took like 15 pictures...this was the best one. LOL  Getting all 3 faces and smiles is a huge task!

For Peter's egg hunt, for some reason they requested his age group get the eggs off the cement.  He really wanted to get them from the grass.  I didn't yell at him too much - it is supposed to be fun after all.

Peter is smitten with Savannah!

The kids had fun.  Today Rebekah informed me she was sad we didn't have an egg hunt at home.  Ah well...they normally do.  This year they had the kids dump and return the plastic eggs.  Previous years they did not and so the kids would come home and hide the eggs over and over.

I loved my Easter weekend.  It was jam packed with fun.  Friday I took Peter to his first ever movie and we saw Rio (cute movie - I liked it!).  Saturday we decorated the Easter eggs.  Sunday of course we had church and we later took the kids to the zoo.  I have had a serious case of the Monday-blues that I am still working to get over.  I'm hoping they are gone by Friday. ;-)

Oh - and Rebekah did ask me where the baskets came from.  I asked her what she thought.  She thought about it for a moment then said "I think from YOU!"  If she had said Easter Bunny - I would have let her think it.  But I was highly relieved when she said that. :-)

Changing up the traditions

This is random, but...I think I'm going to figure out something else for Christmas food-wise.

A lot of this was for the Christmas feast...and after all was said and done (expense and time commitment to making it)...all I could think was "eh". And after spending so much of the day working so hard on it - to have a meal come out like that is just shattering.  Why am I doing it in the first place?  I don't enjoy cooking enough to spend all day doing it like that.  Personally, I'd rather be lounging on the couch with everyone else.

The feeling was intensified when I mentioned my "eh" feeling to William and he said HE felt the same way.

So there must be a better way to do the Christmas feast.  And I'm going to figure it out between now and Christmas.  Our holidays are going to look different.

New Year's 2011

I hate New Year's Resolutions.  I actually decided some years ago to stop making them.  BUT - a couple years ago my pastor was talking about it and I liked his perspective.  Having a time of the year to reflect on where you are, where you want to be and where you are going isn't a bad thing.  SO that is what I use this time for.

I actually did post a similar post last year.  Last year my goal was finding time to spend more time with God.  I did do that.  It ended up when I became pg, that I stopped working out at about 16 wks along.  (My doctor said simply to not do anything that would strain the joints...which was mostly what I did...running in place, lunges, sit ups...)  I spent that time slot with God instead.  So I did end up achieving that.

Overall last year was a good year.  How could it not be, considering the addition of Ruth and the miracle God did in my body throughout my pregnancy?  I have no regrets.  And after reading my New Year's post from last year I'm pleased that I was headed on the same course even though I completely forgot.

This year I feel strongly that God is telling me to not worry about exercise right now.  That I need to continue to focus on spending time with Him.  The other thing He is encouraging me to do is to continue my quest in teaching my family about healthy eating.  This is a delicate balance around here.  William still has this viewpoint that if it is "healthy", then it must not be good.  If I don't use that word, then we are golden...but there are still a few things he has trouble getting past.  Wheat bread for example...he prefers white.  (I do too...but I think these days there are a lot of good wheat bread products that weren't there before.  At the very least - I've found better bread than what my parents used to buy. :-)  We have found, in general, that some unhealthy foods that were appealing before aren't so much anymore. 

The fair for example...that was just a stomach ache waiting to happen!  And Christmas I looked at my dinner plate and saw a bunch of carbohydrates with very little veggies.  It was sad really and I'm not sure how it happened.  By the way - I will be changing up the menu for our next holiday feast...and will experiment between now and then!  But William said he felt similarly (although - he worded it quite differently! :-)).

So these changes are good changes.  Some areas of struggle are meats.  William absolutely dislikes turkey and seafood.  Counting out seafood in general is a huge food group.  He'll tolerate the turkey, especially if it is mixed with beef. So I do slip in turkey here and there. ;-)

Another hurdle for us will be me returning to work.  Cooking nice and healthy dinners take some serious time.  As a working mom - time is a luxury.  Spending an hour and a half to cook a meal means we are eating dinner at 6:30 or 7:00 at night.  Bedtime is 8:00, and we generally start the routine at 7:00-7:30 depending if it is a bath night.  If I'm spending all my evening cooking, then bed...that leaves little time for spending with the kids.  And that is if I get off work absolutely on time.

See?  A challenge.  SO - it is something I've dealt with, but before I had Ruth dinner had slipped into that super late time slot.  And I simply don't like it.  I need an Alice. ;-)

This year I'm looking forward to more of God's promises for my family and life.  I'm looking forward to continuing to pay off our debt.  While I haven't mentioned it in awhile, it has never been far from our thoughts.  With the addition of our lovely new neighbors - it serves as a nice reminder to not get comfortable here.  (I couldn't anyway - I tolerate duplex life but by no means love it!)  We are also taking the Financial Peace course here in a few weeks...and I'm looking forward to learning more there.

I'm in a good place.  I'm sure next year I will also be in a good place.  It is hard to not be when resting in God's peace, knowing you are headed where God wants you to be.  One thing I've learned over the last year is that there is nothing more I want than what God has for me.

I am now off to curl up on the couch with an adorable 3 yo boy who is beyond excited that he can stay up as late as he wants.  (It is the night for that after all!)  We are going to watch "How to Train a Dragon".  My adorable 5 yo is downstairs with her father playing Kirby's Epic Yarn.  She is also thrilled at the prospect of staying up so late.  It is going to be a quiet but fun evening.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Christmas Stories

 Rebekah woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 3 AM.  She came hopping into our bed and said "Has Santa come? Has Santa come?"  Yes.  No you can't open your presents.

We did manage to get her back to bed.  Later my mother-in-law (MIL) told me that Rebekah had told her of a dream she had.  Rebekah said that in her dream Santa had left two presents in his sleigh and he had to come back.  We thought that rather ironic...because there were two presents that the ILs got the kids that were set apart.  They had to open the gifts from my parents first.

As soon as the turkey was in the oven, the kids were allowed to open their presents.  By this time, I had already had my shower.  

Everyone in their Christmas PJs

It was nice that I didn't have to go digging for my tripod, since William's family joined us for Christmas.  The took the shot.  (I framed it...I wanted to ensure I got a good picture.)  And I did...I love the look on Rebekah's face here.  And yes...that is a huge pile of presents.  Our stuff plus all the stuff William's family brought.  They are a very generous bunch.

I didn't take too many pictures during present opening - but suffice it to say that there were plenty of presents, wrapping paper and trash.  The kids had a ball.

Rebekah's favorites included her zhu zhu pet, zhu zhu habitat, Leapster 2, Kirby's Epic Yarn (video game for Wii) and guitar.

Peter's favorite gifts were his football helmet, football, remote control car, race track and guitar.

At one point Peter was over by Thomas (William's brother). 

Peter:  You have  football on your shirt!
Thomas:  I do!  It is OU!
Peter:  Oh-ME?

One surprise of the day was my present.  I had mentioned I was saving for a dSLR.  I told William which one I chose and that I was going to get it.  Well...I ended up being short.  So I told him I was going to wait to purchase it a few weeks until I had enough.

My sweet husband went and not only got the camera (which is all I was planning on purchasing), but purchased a camera case, memory card and an extra lens.  He said he went back for the extra lens later, and thought he had given the entire surprise away in doing so.  I'm normally observant.  It is usually pretty hard to surprise me.  BUT - he got away with it.  I was shocked.  He told me he had a super secret errand to run.  I had a suspicion he was buying a new DVD player for upstairs.  We had briefly discussed it the night before and he had looked up prices.  Frequently this is as good as purchasing it for William.  ;-)  That is just the way he tends to be.  By the way - I'm super proud that we still do NOT own a brand new DVD player!  Errr...Blueray. 

Anyway, Christmas was a wonderful day.  Peter wore his football jersey all day long (which wasn't even the main present...LOL  It happened to come with his helmet!) and Rebekah wore her nightgown all day long.  The jammies were the only official gifts from us this year.  Everything else came from Santa.  Frankly, I was too exhausted to figure out which thing should come from Santa so we just decided it would all be from Santa.  I doubt we'll do that again next year.

Some shots taken with my shiny new camera.  :-)

Taken by William :-)

(It needs cropped...BUT with 18 MP sitting around NO PROBLEM!)

My new camera is SU-WEET!  It takes pictures so fast and taking indoor pictures is such a snap.  I am in camera heaven...and I finally have the tool to begin taking creative pictures again.  (I used to take photos as a hobby...before kids.)

And one last shot of all the kids on Christmas Eve before church.

 

Peter absolutely REFUSED to wear his nice clothes.  I wasn't happy, but didn't feel like forcing a rather strong 3 yo into an outfit.  The girls were adorable in their matching dresses though! :-)

I had more stories but I simply can't recall them now.  This is probably why William was able to fool me. ;-)

Joseph reassures Mary

Today William took out the Christmas train. We didn't take it out last year, and this year we decided to take it out just for one day. (Previously it went around the bottom of the tree...but that doesn't work so well with the way our house is setup now.)

One of the cars on the train has a door that opens and closes. Today Peter took our Little People Nativity set folks and started shoving them in. While playing with the people in the car, Peter says "Hi Mary. I'm Joseph. Don't worry, I'm going to marry you!"

How cute is THAT? It made my heart melt. I'm sure that something like that did go down between the two. I could type a whole philosophical piece on this, but sometimes it is just best to leave genius alone.

Remember the reason for the season - I'm so thankful for all the decisions made that allowed our Lord and Savior to be born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

The good ol' tree

We put up our tree at the beginning of December.

Putting on the star

If you happen to notice clumped ornaments...my kids do not seem to understand the concept of spreading the wealth around.  When they put the candy canes on - Peter hung them all on the same branch.  When Rebekah was old enough to help us with the tree (and arrange the tree herself), the clumping bothered William.  He was rather anal about making sure there was even coverage.  Rebekah would come by and rearrange things and then he would come by and put them back.  It was kinda fun to watch.  But - he has calmed down on this and doesn't worry about it anymore. 

Da tree

(We forgot to put tinsel on this year...ah well!)

The bear towards the bottom is not really an ornament...but because he happens to have a string attached to his head the kids believe he belongs on the tree.

Some cute kids

The kids had a blast putting up Christmas decorations...of course.  And there isn't really a whole lot to tell.  SO - I thought I'd tell a few stories about some of the ornaments.We love "A Christmas Story", so when we ran across this ornament it was a must have.  This year, Peter has been fascinated with it.  He keeps pointing to it and asking us why there is a shoe on the lamp...yeah I dunno buddy.  Maybe because it goes on the end of a leg? LOL  (He points to the shoe itself too!)  

Cardinals remind me of my beloved grandmother. She passed away when I was small, but they will forever remind me of her because of her love for them.  I have a fondness myself for the birds, but not quite like she had.  (Fact:  The cardinal is the West Virginia state bird.  This has a lot to do with why she loved them as she loved West Virginia itself.  Her favorite tree was the state tree and I can't recall the type at the moment. I want to say dogwood...)

I love ornaments and I love all types.  Normally we each pick out a new one for the tree each year...but this year the selection has just plain sucked.  Usually between Target and WalMart there is a decent selection.  It seems like one of the stores always sucks and the other is excellent and there is no pattern from year to year.  This year both stores sucked big time.  We did get a baby's first Christmas (which I will highlight in another post if I remember) and our yearly year ornament (we always get one with the year on it).  But beyond that, we bought just the one this year.

Rebekah has been a bit K-State obsessed lately.  We have some friends who are fans and the school colors do happen to be purple.  For these same reasons her favorite NFL team happens to be the Vikings.  I saw this on sale and went ahead and bought it for her in mind. She does love it. 

Both kids play with the ornaments all the time, so I had to make a new rule...whenever they can play with the ornaments, but they MUST put them back on the tree when done.  I was finding them all over the house and that simply is not cool.

Christmas is almost here!  I will be sad to see my tree go - but happy to put my living room back!

Peter's Christmas Party

This year for the Christmas Party at school, I chose to attend Peter's. When the kids first were both at the same school, I tried to attend both parties, bouncing back and forth.  This time, I decided I was going to attend just one.  The bouncing thing simply didn't work very well.

And since I had to pick, I chose Peter's.  My logic was simply that I've attended many of Rebekah's and he's never had me attend a party for his class wholly except for his birthday celebrations.  The kids ate snacks, and while I didn't get to see the snacks from the other classes floaters commented that Peter's class was the place to be snack-wise.  They had fruit (grapes, strawberries, pineapple and apple slices), crackers, cheese cubes and a juice box.  Mmmm - it did look good.

I told him to smile...LOL

As the kids started finishing up, running around ensued.
They played a lively game of "run around in a circle like a lunatic".

The kids weren't into it at first, but the teacher persisted.  Then one of the little girls told her she needed a dress to dance in...and then all the kids decided they needed one.  Well - the ones that were dancing.  There were several that sat, ate and watched. ;-)  I had to laugh when Peter came back with a cheer leaders outfit and I laughed some more when he wasn't the only little boy with a dress!

And I took some video of the kids dancing.  :-)

It was a fun time.  What surprised me most was when it was time for the kids to go outside, Peter wanted to go.  He wanted to go SO badly, that he didn't want to come home with me.  I let him go play for about a half hour and hung out in Rebekah's class.  He still wanted to play, and I finally had to tell him we were going home or he would have to wait for William to pick him up.  He finally came.  Shocking really.  I'm used to him clinging to my leg for dear life in fear of me leaving without him.

Rebekah had a good time at her party.  They made reindeer food and I'm honestly not sure what else.  Their teacher gave them each a book about penguins.  She was bouncing off the walls.  I couldn't even told you what all they had for their party snack, other than fruit (which we brought).  :-)  She was talking about so many other things I didn't get a chance to ask. 

October Festivities: Walter's Pumpkin Patch, Carving Pumpkins and TOTing

Of course the biggest event in Oct was the arrival of our little Ruth. But...we did a few other things too.

We went to Walter's Pumpkin Patch.  This is our 4th year and we love it every time. Somehow, I forgot my camera...no seriously.  HOW you may ask?  Since I keep my camera in my purse?  Well...I had the diaper bag.  And I knew I wouldn't need my purse, so I brought my phone and that was it.  Good thing my phone has a camera.  I think it did a decent job.

A great picture of Ruth's chicken legs!

You can't tell from the picture because it is so far away (the best one I had...I got a perfect shot, but it turned out to be another kid lol)...but Peter LOVED this slide.  Loved it.  He loved it so much he'd go up by himself actually, carrying the sled and all.  At one point William came down and said "Where's Peter?".  I said "He ran back up!" and here he came...shooting out the slide again.  I hung out at the bottom and William mostly hung out at the top. 

Rebekah enjoyed the slide too...but not quite as much as Peter.  I've never seen him so eager before.

Ruth had lots of comments on how adorable she was (and she is of course :-)).  One lady asked me how old she was.  I said "a week and a half".  The lady look at me like I was some kind of crazy.  It was funny actually.  I should have whipped out my camera phone and took a picture. :-P

Our timing was off and we didn't get there until 11:30.  We tried, honestly, to get there earlier.  We did.  We also went during the week - not something we will do again.  It is way better on the weekend, when everything is open.  (None of the extras was running - like the pumpkin cannon.)  AND the tractor was to the patch itself only ran every 30 min.  We missed it by about 45 seconds at the end of the day.  So we actually just bought the kids a couple of pumpkins from the store and skipped the actual patch.  It was for sanity sake.

The kids still had fun picking them out (even though it was WalMart) and we still carved them.  Well...William did.  The kids did help.

And of course we took the kids trick or treating.

Peter is Spider-man and Rebekah is a Southern Bell.

 

And this is what I get when I say "Smile!"

 

William took them to a large local church for a "trunk or treat".  He thought it would be easier.  While our neighborhood isn't "the hood", he just didn't feel comfortable taking the kids in ours.  The kids had a blast.  Peter told me "there were lots of strangers" and Rebekah loved all the candy she got (and the fact we let her eat as much as she wanted when she got home).  

Ruth and I stayed home and gave out candy.  

And that concludes the October festivities.  Bring on November!