Sleep Tight

On the rare chance that I make it home in time for "bedtime" on a work night, I am usually so worn out that my patience for our routine (or deviation from it) is at an all time low. But then when all is quiet and I walk in to catch one last glimpse before closing my own eyes, scenes like this make me chuckle and know that it is worth every second of whatever frustration bedtime poses in our household (including those nightly 3 am potty wakings). This was a while back and is one of many.

Sleep tight everyone!

The Biggest Loser?

Some of my friends might laugh at the title of this post. But hold on! I have been thinking about my current lifestyle lately and don't have much good to say about it. Often it's easy to feel bad about something and want to change it but to feel so overwhelmed at the prospect, so you just keep on and muddle through. Hopefully someone else has felt that way before too. This week as work I was inspired to change all of that. Several of us are having a Biggest Loser type contest. Every one participating throws $20 in the pot, and winner takes all. There are 12 participants so far. Although $200 + bucks is no small prize in my book, the real prize will be the change in my life. Four days in and all is going well so far (the competition ends April 4th). I have given up regular coke products (which I have been a former addict of) and turned to the diet versions and am combining calorie counting and portion control to help in my endeavor. This week I plan to develop and start my exercise regimen. This will be the difficult part for me. I like love my sleep and mornings (when everyone else is in slumber land) are the only time I can really devote to such activities. I am determined though. I want to be better for me. For my husband. And for my children.

Cheer leading welcomed!

The Countdown Begins

I wanted to give a shout out to my sister. She spent the last several weeks here and I miss her already. She was such a help to us and made the Holidays special for us. Maddie and Zoe adore her and she could possibly be the best aunt ever. I know she is the best sister ever. We are hoping and praying that in May when she finishes grad school she will be offered a job and be moving here. So let the countdown begin!

A few bazillion years ago!

 

I love you Leah!

A New Year

I have never really been one to make New Year's Resolutions. I make (and break) plenty of resolutions throughout the year so no need to set a special day for it. I do, however, always like to reflect on the last year of my life and think about changes I would like to make or things I would like to accomplish. In that regard, this year was no different. What is different is that I am going to share my thoughts with you. I will call them goals.

Goal #1: Try to blog at least once per week. 

I got off to a good start but the Holiday Season seemed to get the better of me. I really would like to do more (and hope that I do) but I figured this was a good place to start. By the way, feel free to leave comments. I love them! They encourage me in this endeavor. Although I am mainly doing this for us, it is nice to know someone is out there reading. 

 Goal #2: Memorize more scripture.

I have been convicted and encouraged recently by our Sunday School Bible Study of Philippians to do this. I have not set a specific goal, but I am going to post scripture around the house to help me do this. Any amount will be better than what I have been doing. This is one I learned as a child and as a part of our study has encouraged me to memorize.

  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.   Philippians 4:8

Goal #3: Be more Christ-like in the way that I nurture and discipline my girls.

Let me first say, this not a plea for comments on what a great parent I am. I think it is safe to speak on behalf of my husband and say that parenting has seemed to be a struggle lately for us. I am sure every family has felt this way from time to time but I was left wondering why I had ever wanted to become a parent more often than I felt good about. Steve definitely has more experience with child-rearing and probably feels less frustration than I, but we have talked about it being there for both of us. Let me say, that this is really no reflection on my children or my love for them (because I love them so much), but rather a reflection of my feelings of inadequacy and not doing them justice. I found myself more and more frustrated and less and less enjoying the time I was spending with them. I could feel my blood pressure rising too often. My voice yelling too often. And my sanity quickly fading. There has never been a doubt in my mind the problem was with the parent and not with the child. So I prayed. I prayed that God would give me some direction. I feel that he has. I began reading some books and continuing to pray that God will lead me down the right path for our family. I have already seen some wonderful changes in just a few days and I am hopeful and determined to keep moving in the right direction.

Goal #4: To lead a simpler life and become more organized.

I feel overwhelmed. More that is normal, I think. Like I can't keep my head above water. My goal is to unclutter our lives - our house and our routines. Several ways I hope to do this are: better meal planning, removing junk we don't need or use from our home, and prioritizing what is really important to us. 

Goal #5: Spend more time on me and on my husband.

One thing I have definitely learned from becoming a parent is just how quickly time goes by. You can stop to breathe for a minute and realize it has been a week since you have done this or a month since you have done that. My intention is to make a conscious effort to make time for me. I can only guess that this will be reflected positively in the other goals I have set. I also want to focus more on my husband. On spending quality time with him more. On more date nights, less TV and wasted time, and on learning more about each other. I want to grow and nurture our relationship more. 

I hope that this time next year that I can be proud of what has been accomplished. My prayer is that Christ would be reflected  in my life more this year than ever.

Better Late Than Never?

Well it has been some time since I have posted. Almost a month. Where does the time go? A lot has happened over the past month and at first I was going to do several posts to "catch up" but I have decided to go a different route ( I am afraid that I would never really arrive). So without further ado...

Christmas Eve

My loving husband treated me by offering to take the girls off my hands for the bulk of the day (which I am pretty sure meant he needed to finish his Christmas shopping), which I was very grateful for. Leah was in town so we spent the say finishing up our my wrapping and doing some craft projects which I had wanted to do for some time. It was wonderful and just to sit at home doing some things I have wanted (not the things I needed) to do for some time, in my pajamas no less. And spending some child-free time with my sister was pretty awesome too! After napping we loaded up to crew and headed to the church for the Manger Seen (that's for you, Leah) which is a live nativity done every year. Steve has been in it for many years in some capacity. This year our little monsters angels were in it for the first time. It was a really special mother moment having them start, what I hope to be, a tradition for many years to come. All in all, they were little angels and did a fine job. After all of that was complete the girls came home and sat out their cookies and milk for Santa. This Christmas was really fun!

Christmas Day

As has become sort of a tradition over the past couple of years (if you can call that a tradition), my dad and Lora came over for waffles Christmas morning so they could watch the girls open their gifts. I love Christmas morning. I love the looks on Maddie's and Zoe's face. I love the food. But most of all, I love the fact that we are all together. It is rare to have my family, the "big girls", and us all in the same room at the same time. I love just being together. The girls got their requested "Belle dress" from Santa along with a plethra of other things. It was a fun morning. After naps, we headed over to Dad's house for some more fun and food. It was a wonderful day!

New Years

New Year's Eve we invited our good friends Kristina, Greg, and Christian over for games and dinner. Christian and the girls had a fun time playing. After the kids went to bed, the parents had a fun time playing Balderdash. Many laughs were had and I hope that the new year brings many more of those. New Year's Day was pretty lazy. My grandmother (who was here visiting for a few days) and I got in the kitchen and cooked up a good southern feast. I enjoyed cooking with her and learning from her some things I had always wanted to learn about how she cooks things. We had a lazy but fun day just enjoying each others company. 

I think that about catches us up in a nutshell. We had a fun Christmas season and I am so grateful for all my wonderful family and friends. Check back soon...more to come in the next few days!