Grateful for Christmas Break

Ahhh. The day after Christmas. Time to unwind, clean up, and relax. I was so ready for Christmas day. For all the craziness of the season to finally be over. Not in a bad way, just ready to relax and enjoy versus the days leading up to Christmas that were filled with hurrying around, millions of trips to the store (with 3 kids in tow), and last minute projects like Christmas cookies and Christmas cards. Each thing is enjoyable in its own right, but when all is said and done, they are big projects that Mommy ends up finishing herself. I'm excited for this week between Christmas and New Years. I am hoping to relax, get some projects/deep cleaning done that I don't usually have time for, and do some fun things out of the ordinary like playdates, playing with Maddy during nap time, and playing with the kids with their new Christmas toys!
These days, there isn't much "down time" where we can just relax, catch up on stuff, or work on projects. Life has been full of lots of busyness but also lots of blessings. This summer, while on vacation, I was really trying to take that time to think, pray, and counsel with people about what "things" I should keep in my life for the next school year. I have lots of opportunities to do things, be involved, and serve. But the reality is, I can't do them all! And when I try, I end up frustrated, miserable, and exhausted. I am still in the same boat. I think after all that thinking, praying, and counseling, I dropped 1-2 things out of our hectic schedules. It was good that I actually did drop 2 things, but I could probably do better. I just don't like being the frantic mom who is always running behind, stressed out about something, showing up early to everything because I have to prep, plan, prepare something. This semester, Thursdays were my favorite day of the week. I have bible study on those mornings, and it was the one place I could go, be around godly women, socialize, make new friendships, and just be. I didn't have to serve, work, show up early, coordinate, or run around. I could simply partake and take in what was being offered.
Now, I'm not saying that I just want to relax, be on vacation, and take instead of give all the time. I'm just saying that sometimes it feels like I am just go, go, going all the time and rarely have the time to just be. That's why God knew He had to include the "Be still, and know that I am God" verse in the bible. Just for me. And maybe you.
Those moments of being still and quiet are so rare, and yet so vital to our relationship with God. We forget that. Satan tempts and lures us with all these "things" we need to be apart of, serve in, and do, and yet God tells us to just "be still." Now, of course we are to serve, love, care, give of ourselves as a living sacrifice, and I get that. But hopefully not at the expense of our still moments.
So this next week, I am hoping to get some of those still moments. To relax, and to get some reading time in. I am looking forward to reading the appropriate book for my life season right now by Lysa Terkeurst called "The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands." Hopefully I will get a book review out about it once I finish it!!
So, Happy Holidays, my fellow exhausted, weary Moms!! Get some rest and some still moments in soon, and let God speak to you about what you should keep in your life, and what you may need to let go of!! Blessings!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's another new year; Happy 2014!! It's that time of year...packing up the Christmas decorations, cleaning up the house (after the Christmas explosion and kids being off school), and planning to get back to school and other "normal" routines. I actually like the progression of things; I am always ready for a break from CC and school, and excited for Christmas, but afterwards I am ready to declutter the house of the decorations and get back to the regular schedule. I will miss the extra time I have to get things done, but I have been getting a lot of deep cleaning done that I usually don't have time to do, so hopefully that will make up for the rest of the school year where I don't really have time to do that kind of thing!!

Christmas Eve service

A Lushes with Brushes birthday party: so fun!!

The kids have had fun being on break, but they also get bored and end up fighting, so I will be glad to get back to a more normal routine with schoolwork and normal chores, to keep them busy with constructive things. A little too much TV, computer games, and phone games around here! It's also a good time to think through things that could change; routines, schedules, working out, school ideas, extra-curricular activities. The break just gives me a little bit more time to think straight without so much to do all the time. Though I did feel pretty overwhelmed with Christmas duties, so I am trying to relax a little more this week, but that's hard to do! A mother's work is never done!
I am reading a book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge and I am really enjoying it. I thought I would have more time to read it while on break, but I feel like I have actually had less time to read!! But it is a great book so I need to carve out some more time to get into it.
So what are you all excited to get back to after break, or are you excited at all? I have a new workout partner and we have been meeting at the Y before 6 am to workout, so that is good motivation for me. It feels good to get my workout done so early, before anything can ruin it and prevent it from happening. I did a workout at home this morning while the kids were awake, and it is ridiculous trying to referee and keep them occupied and get almost an hour long workout done. Ridiculous!! It just reminded me how going to the Y earlier is so much more practical. So that is what I will do tomorrow!!

Date night!!

Well, I guess this was just a rambling post with no real point or purpose. Just what is going on with me, with us. And I want to know what is going on with you!! So if you have read this post, let me know how you are planning on improving in January. Improving your marriage, schooling, taking care of your home, losing that "holiday" weight, or making your time with God a priority. Let's spur one another on towards love and good deeds!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Day!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We have been so blessed this year and are enjoying being a family of five!! We had a wonderful Christmas with Tad's family, and all of his siblings were in town on Christmas day! I miss my family in Ohio and other places, but I look forward to seeing them this summer!!

Tad has had a change of jobs this past year and enjoys delivering mail for the United States Postal Service. He practically runs all day long delivering mail and has lost quite a bit of weight doing it! He has done several races this last year, including his first ultra-marathon in Arizona!! He finished 40 out of 50 miles, when he injured his IT band. I was so proud he made it so far!! He is also now the worship leader of our praise and worship team at church, and he is doing a great job!!

I have been busy homeschooling Madelynn, who is in second grade this year, and Judah, who has started preschool! I also teach Maddy's class once a week for a group called Classical Conversations, which is a Classical, Christan model of education and we learn a History Timeline, History sentence, World Geography, Latin, Science, English, and Math, as well as Fine Arts, Presentations, and Science Experiments. The kids love it! And it is such a good opportunity for them! I also enjoy working out, running, cooking (as always), and spending time with family!!

 

 

Madelynn is in second grade this year and is doing great in all her subjects. She has become quite the reader and also takes piano lessons (from me!) and swimming lessons at the YMCA. She has passed all of her swimming classes and is about to move on to Intro to Swim Team! We are so proud of her!! The wheels in her head are always turning and she is always asking questions, trying to figure things out, and trying to come up with solutions to problems. She is also a huge giver, and spends a lot of time making things for other people. I love those things about her! She is full of energy and spunk!!

Judah is doing preschool this year and is doing a great job. He is very smart! He just turned 4 on Christmas Eve! He does a preschool class once a week during Classical Conversations and is learning so much!! He loves art, wrestling with his dad and uncles, playing with his sisters, playing computer games, and cooking with Mommy. He is such a joy and is still my little cuddler. He also has been doing swimming lessons and has come to really enjoy them!!

Ruth will be 2 at the end of February and we love her so much!! She has been such a fun addition to our little family!! I can't believe how much she is doing at this age, but I think when they have older siblings, they learn to do more at an earlier age. She pretends with the kids, will lay down with a blanket when they are playing doctor, crawl when they are playing kitties, or call Madelynn "Mommy" when they are playing house!! It is so cute to watch them all play!! She has a similar personality to Maddy: loud, outspoken, very opinionated, and a ham!!

Well, we hope you enjoyed some of our funny family photos, and that you all had a great Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year!! We are so blessed to have our little family, and wonderful friends, and of course, salvation, blessings, and redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord. God Bless you all as we enter 2014!!

It's Been Awhile!!

My friends! It has been so long since I have put out a blog post! Our computer died, and so we spent the summer without a computer, but since we have gotten one, we have been so busy with school (and Judah is doing preschool at home this year!), Classical Conversations, swim lessons, church, and life with 3 kids! I'm sure some of you wondered if I fell off the planet or something! I have missed putting up my favorite recipes, blogging about homemaking, tips I have learned, life, and stuff that makes my life interesting! I have so many things to share as I get back to blogging. In April, I got into a weight loss group on Facebook and have lost about 15 pounds (give or take what day it is!) I would love to share about that! Also, I am in my second year of tutoring (teaching) Maddy's class at Classical Conversations. So I have the children that are mostly in 2nd grade. This year is going great!

Another cool thing is that God has been doing some awesome things in my heart, and I have finished a book that I want to share about that was really awesome! There were 2 things that I realized at the beginning of this school year that have really helped me in my everyday life. The first thing is that I realized I needed to get up earlier than my kids in the morning. I used to do this before I got pregnant with Ruth, inspired by the blog "Inspired to Action" where there is a whole "movement" to Maximize Your Mornings (link on the right hand side of the blog). When you are not in the habit of getting up early, it may seem like an impossible feat. But once you start, and you realize the amazing quiet before the kids get up, and that quiet time you can spend with God, you will get addicted to it! The other thing I realized, with my quiet times seeming boring and not drawing me closer to God, was that I really needed to spend quiet time with God. Not just time before my kids got up, but time where I wasn't doing anything else. Where I could just listen to worship music. Or just sit in the quiet. Or where I could "be still, and know that He is God." (Psalm 46:1) And then, randomnly, I picked a book off our bookshelf (I don't know where we got it, or how long we have had it), and decided to use it during my devotion time. It is an oldie, by A.W. Tozer, called "The Pursuit of God." And boy did God drop that in my lap at the right time. It was about the very thing I had been missing in my walk with God. That sweet fellowship and intimacy that comes from pursuing God and seeking that quiet time of drawing near to God that we all too often miss out on. And when we just read the Bible (check), pray (check), and do all our church duties (check, check), it can start to feel dull. And we can start to get resentful. And feel like we are wasting our time. But when we can turn off the distractions, and actually let God do the talking, when we can just listen, and be thankful, and draw near to Him, He will change our hearst. And it starts to feel different. And new. And amazing. And you will be fed. And as mommies of little children who need us for a million different things all day long, we need to be fed or we will burn out. And we can just feel overwhelmed with a million different to-do lists that seem like they have no purpose. Things that get undone 10 minutes after we do them. And the other reason I felt like it was so important to get up before the kids, was so I could also plan my day right after my time with God. Know what I want to accomplish for the day, check the account and be on top of the finances daily (something I was slacking on), know what we are having for dinner and how much prep time I will need, look at the calendar, and just be prepared for the day.

Before I got up early, I would wake up with kids who needed something, I would be groggy as my husband left for work with minimal breakfast, I had no idea what was for dinner, how much was in the account, or what I was doing that day. And that's when my life was feeling overwhelming and I felt like it was out of control. But with my new plan in place, I was getting fed by God first thing in the morning, having relaxing, quiet time with God to start off my day, and knew what my chores were for the day, and what the plan for the day would be. These 2 things have really helped me a lot during this crazy, hectic season of homeschooling 2 kids, preparing for CC each week, and a load of other responsibilities.

I hope everyone is well. I hope to hear from some of my regular readers from before, and hope to encourage some new moms as well who are in the thick of it, busy but satisfied staying home with little ones. Maybe we have homeschooling in common, our relationship with God, Classical Conversations, being a stay-at-home mom, or a love for cooking, but whatever it may be, I hope this blog will encourage you and give you some new ideas for how to make your life easier, more fun, or at least make your house smell yummy with some new recipes to try! Happy Fall!!

A Broken Arm, a New Job, and Field Trips

The kids outside Tanganyika Wildlife Park, Uncle Joel hijacked the picture!!

 It's been a busy, crazy, and exciting couple of weeks. I know I have been totally MIA from my blog lately. We are trying to get school done before our trip to Ohio in June, we finished CC for the year, we had 2 field trips last week alone, and have exciting news to share. Tad got a new job with the post office! He starts May 18 and we are so excited! It will be a pay increase, better benefits, and unfortunately, more hours. But God is providing for us, and we are so thankful!

In his splint before he got his hard cast

About to get his hard cast on!

The glow-in-the-dark cast is fun!!

About a week and a half ago our little Judah broke his arm, poor thing! We went to watch his Aunt Naomi and Aunt Charity (who are 10 and 12) do their gymnastics show. When we came home Judah was trying to do gymnastics moves and said "watch, Mom, this is what the gymnastics people do" and proceeded to do a cartwheel type of thing. All he did was run and do a little hop-hop thing that was close to the ground and he must have landed wrong and was instantly crying like he was in a lot of pain. After about 30-40 minutes of nonstop crying, we finally took him to the ER where they confirmed that he fractured his humerus bone right above the elbow. And because it is around 6 growth plates, they usually have to rush right in and do surgery, but he was so lucky (no, it was God!!) that his bones were in alignment when he went in for x-rays 5 days later. So no surgery! They just put a hard cast on it and will x-ray it weekly until he gets his cast off. He picked a glow-in-the-dark cast!!

He is figuring out how to do things even with his arm in a cast! Good thing he is right-handed!!

 We also went on 2 field trips, one to see a bunch of different insects. It was very hands on, and they could hold some, touch some, and just look at others. Not my favorite thing but the kids loved it! Of course Judah was walking around with a little glass jar filled with ticks (in a solution) and dropped it and broke it. Of course!!
 

 
 



Later that same week we went with our homeschool group to a Wildlife Park in Kansas called Tanganyika Wildlife Park that was very hands-on! The kids got to feed birds, giraffes, lemurs, goats, and alpacas!! They loved it! It was such a fun day!

 

Well I can't believe we finished up our first year of CC and it was such a blessing! It was very challenging at times, I'm not gonna lie, but it was also so rewarding! And the things that Maddy learned and experienced this year were totally worth the stress and time commitment!
We are trying to wrap up our school year since we have been out of town so much! The weather is getting so nice, so it's hard to have all this schoolwork! I have realized that Oklahoma's spring is like the summers I am used to up north. Green grass, beautiful temperatures, sunshine everyday. The summers here are the pits! Too hot to do anything but stay inside a lot of the time! So we are trying to get out and enjoy this weather! We went on a compass walk last night as part of our school. We attempted to look at clouds too, but there wasn't really a cloud in the sky!!

Happy Spring Everyone!! 

The Ultra-Marathon Adventure

Ruthie living it up and being fed breakfast in the big hotel chair!!

 Well, we had quite the adventurous trip to Arizona for Tad's first ultra marathon, which was a 50 mile trail race in the mountains! He was going to go by himself since he was running it with some good friends from college, but then we decided to make it into a family vacation! And it was a crazy one at that! In the last 2 months, we have been on 4 trips! They all happened kind of randomly, but each one was fun in its own way! So, the kids have really learned to be more flexible and sleep in different places. Which is a far cry from Maddy when she was little who could hardly sleep anywhere but her own crib!!

The kids having fun in their hotel bed!

 This trip in particular was a little hard for the kids, because we were in the car everyday, almost all day for about 5 days. I thought the day of the race we would watch Tad start, and then go back to the hotel or hang out in town. But our plans quickly changed when I realized we didn't have the official race map with checkpoints written out. We had friends who had the map and we could follow them to the next spots. We were 45 minutes away from the hotel and I didn't want to get lost and not be able to find Tad on the mountain when we returned! So the kids spent that day mostly in the car as we raced around trying to see Tad at different checkpoints!!

 We took 2 days to drive to Arizona, staying the first night in the infamous Roswell, New Mexico. Alien town!! It was pretty comical. Tad said he didn't want to tell Maddy anything about it because he wanted everyone to be able to sleep that night! But they got a kick out of the aliens that were around!!

 Fast forward to the race. We left the hotel about 4:30 am. The kids were not happy to be up that early, especially Ruth. I felt horrible! We ended up running a little late, and Tad had to book it to the starting line to get his things there by 5:30. The race started at 6 and the parking was about a quarter mile from the starting line, so I hoisted Ruth on my back into the hiking backpack and started down the trail in the dark. The beginning to an absolutely crazy day I will never forget! The crazy ultra-racers started with their headlamps since it was still dark!

 Mind you, this race was in the mountains! Not just an average marathon, or ultra marathon! Hiking! Elevation! Craziness!

 Our dear friends from college were there, Ian and Ruthie. Ian ran the race with Tad and Ruthie and Ian's brother hung out with us for a little bit. It was so good to see them!

 It was freezing in the morning, but it quickly warmed up to crazy warm temperatures for the day!!

 Tad at mile 7. Feelin' good!!

 Coming down the path to the first checkpoint where we could see them!

 Still feeling really good! So good to see them together!

 The narrow mountain drive to the next checkpoint where we could see them! Beautiful views! The next checkpoint is mile 25. We waited awhile there to see them! 

 And it started to get hot! We went from our winter apparel to rolling up our pants and taking off our coats, and I got sunburned really bad!!

 But the kids had fun playing in the dirt!! At least that! Had a little lunch on the side of the road!

 Finally, we went for a walk hoping to see Tad on the trail! Judah, at this point, and it was not a long walk, said "I just can't do this!" Poor guy!

 Ian had to drop out at mile 22 because of his knee and Ruthie and Eric had to go rescue him by car. Tad had to keep going by himself but he was still feeling good at this point! We saw him at the checkpoint, he ate and drank, and changed his shoes, and he was off! And this is where the story starts to get interesting.

We saw him 4 miles later at mile 29. Since Ian and Ruthie had other friends running the race, they drove ahead and watched them. So me and the 3 kids were on our own. I asked some workers at mile 29 how to get to the next checkpoint, since we had no map or directions. He gave me some sketchy directions and said it was mile 33. I said, "I don't think we are suppose to go to mile 33." He said, "I'm not gonna tell you you can't go." So, I thought to myself, "Tad would be really happy if he saw us at an extra checkpoint. We could encourage him. And I already have the directions."

So we started off. But once we made a turn and ended up on a super narrow mountain road, I started getting nervous. The roads ended up being pretty rough, and there was no way I could turn around. We finally got to mile 33, and waited for awhile to see Tad.

 One of the workers gave the kids a book to read. It was pretty warm. I was getting worried about Tad, as he was alone and it was almost time for the checkpoint to close. We hiked up the hill a little and waited for him. Finally, we saw him. He was close to the cutoff point for the checkpoint, so he needed to get through fast. He ate some and was on his way. We got directions to the next checkpoint, mile 40. 7 miles that way. That sounded easy enough. Oh my word. The 7 miles weren't marked well. And the mountain terrain was not meant for my Pacifica. It was treacherous. Judah and Ruth fell asleep. And I'm surprised they didn't get whiplash. I made a couple of wrong turns. I didn't think the car was gonna make it through these rough roads that had deep spots, high ridges, super narrow paths with a cliff on the other side. I was lost. I had no service on my phone. I was responsible for 3 small children by myself. And I was scared to death. I was shaking while driving. I couldn't just stop the car and get out. There was no one around. There were a few people at the checkpoint a few miles away. A motorbike passed me and did a double take. That was before I realized how dangerous the path was. The second motorbike I saw I tried to flag down, and he didn't stop. I was about in tears and I was telling Maddy she had to pray.
We finally made it back to the familiar checkpoint we had been at and just kept backtracking until we were off the mountain.
By this point I just wanted to go somewhere familiar and to find the people I knew. I tried to remember what the camp was called that we had started at that morning. I remembered, "Kentucky Camp" and started seeing signs for it. Phew! Time for the next adventure. There were flashing lights at the entrance. When I stopped, the policeman told me that there had been an accident (of course, right at the entrance to the camp) and that the camp was closed. No one could go in or out. I told him my husband was doing a race and that it was on that mountain. He said I could go hang out in the town up ahead. So we hung out at a gas station where I called my parents and tried to figure out what to do. I passed by the accident several times and they finally opened up the camp. There had been some motorcyle road rage and a truck had creamed someone on a motorcycle. We passed by the mangled motorcycle, the body wrapped up and a pool of blood, and the cop car. I just wanted to know Tad was okay.
We finally hiked down to the camp, we hadn't had dinner. The car was a disaster from things flying all over the place while we were driving through the treacherous mountain. This mommy was spent.
We got down to the camp, and by God's grace, they were serving dinner, frying up hamburgers individually on the back grill, and there were picnic tables to sit at. For free. And our friends were there. What a relief. They said that all the racers had passed mile 46 and it was getting dark. I got the kids their dinner as we all waited for the racers to finish. At one point, as we were waiting, Tad walked up behind us, not where the racers were finishing.
His knee had given out. He couldn't make it past mile 40. He tore his ACL and knew that he couldn't safely finish. He waited over an hour to get a ride back. He was okay. He was exhausted. He was worried about us. But we were all safe and sound and back together. And ready for our beds!! We drove back to the hotel and told stories of the day. And we were thankful that we were all safe!!!

 So, that was kind of the long version. But I am documenting that adventure so I can go back and read about it in the future!! I hope to never have such an "adventure" again!! I am so proud that Tad completed 40 miles! He was bummed that he couldn't finish, but it was 14 more miles than he had ever done! And he is a winner in my heart!!!!!

The Art of Losing Things

Just so you know, this is not a picture from my house!!

If Tad and I got paid for losing things, we would be rich by now. We specialize in losing things in deep, dark places, or even random places, or even obvious places and we should remember where they are! It is just amazing to me how fast things disappear into the oblivion around here.
Just yesterday we lost something important and spent a good deal of time looking for it. We looked through boxes, through piles of papers, in the garage, in purses, etc. and I happened upon it this morning with my sleepy eyes that weren't fully awake yet. It was on top of the microwave. Duh!
We usually have certain "spots" for important things, to make it less easy to lose them. But man oh man, if we don't put them in those spots, it seems impossible to find them. We just forget. I just forget, where I put them when I'm cleaning. I'm the master cleaner/hider of all things important. When I get going, especially if someone is coming over, I just grab piles of things and either put them away, or if there's no time, I just shove them places. Sometimes it seems like they do disappear; like pacifiers for instance. We had bought Judah so many pacifiers and lost them and bought them. I feel like I should be finding them in random places, but alas. Who knows what happened to them. (And by the way, we just finally weened him off of them! Well, I will give all the credit to Tad, because I was still hanging onto his obsession with them!)
So, judge all you want. Call us messy, unorganized, cluttered, forgetful, or irresponsible. But I just had to brag. Because I am a pro at losing stuff!

What bad habit are you a pro at?? Go ahead, brag in the comments section!!

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