Doing it for me should be good enough

One of the biggest things I struggle with eating right is when I am wanting to comfort myself. So now that Jeremy has started periodically working night shifts I find myself wanting to snack on comfort food when I am alone. Luckily there isn't much of that in the house and he takes the only working car with him so that rules out running to buy crap food. The other thing is cooking a healthy meal. I feel like putting little effort into that when it is just me and the boys and I know they are likely to turn their noses up at most of what I am serving. But tonight I made myself do it. I cooked baked lemon chicken with homemade breadcrumbs and garlic. On the side we had whole wheat couscous with wilted spinach, tomatoes and feta. YUM!! The kids weren't scarfing it down or anything but I truly enjoyed it and it was good for me. Can't say I will always feel like that kind of effort when Jeremy isn't home for dinner but I will have to try to make just me important enough more often.

Good Friend equals Good Times

My best friend Lish just came and visited with us for 6 days (the above picture is from her last visit). We had so much fun!! I always love it when she is around, we just fall back into the same place we left off the last time we saw each other. Plus, she is absolutely amazing with my kids and they love her to death. That definitely makes things easier! We mostly stayed home but we made the most of it with a sushi night, and a couple of game nights. I definitely miss having her in my life on a regular basis and wished she lived closer again. But she is great enough to make the effort to come visit us every few months so I will take what I can get. Already counting down to the next visit:)

Me Time

One of the things that I have enjoyed about Jeremy working nights has been the alone time I have gotten. Very strange at first, as it has been a couple years since I had several hours to myself several days in a row. But after the initial weirdness and wondering what to do with myself, it was quite refreshing. I have been able to allocate my time without thinking of anyone else's thoughts and needs. Not that I ended up doing anything too exciting, mostly watching girly movies and knitting (no really, I am only 27!) but it was nice because it was all mine. I don't think this is something that happens just to moms either. I think most women find themselves at a place where other people or other responsibilities come before their own wants and needs. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, however, without balance that can drive a person crazy. I think it is unhealthy to be completely self-serving but it is also unhealthy to give only to others and never take a little time for yourselvf. What good are you to everyone else if you are burnt out, stressed out, and for some resentful because of it? So next week when night shifts come around again, a part of me will groan because I will miss my husband in bed with me at night and all the help he provides with the kids. But another part of me will celebrate my very rare chance for some me time:)

How appropriate!

All you moms out there (or anyone who spends their day around children or adults who act like children) will be able to relate to this. You know when it has just been one of those days and by the end of it you feel like the screaming banshee woman? That was me today. Jeremy is working nights this weekend and it has been draining. Granted he has worked 12 hour shifts since we had the kids and I stay home with them so I am used to going it alone most the day. But the kids are all wound up and confused about the change in schedule and it is all me for every meal, naptime and bedtime. Needless to say it led to some chaos today. Mostly in the form of my tiredness mixing poorly with the kids' craziness. By the end of it all I was counting down until their bedtime, and I think they were too! And when it gets like that I for some reason always am reminded of a banshee. So I decided to look up what exactly a banshee is (yeah, I'm a mega dork:) and I thought that I have been describing myself quite accurately. Here is the definition I found: A female spirit in Gaelic folklore believed to presage, by wailing, a death in a family. When I get to that level of overloaded, my yelling very well is a warning for all around that someone is going to die soon if things don't change!! Thank goodness that each day is only 24 hours and that if we are lucky, we get the chance to start over in the morning. I think I will enjoy my quite and my coffee and try to calm myself back down from totally crazy to just semi-crazy.

Timing

God's perfect timing never ceases to amaze me. I don't know why, He has never failed to come though with his promise to see us through and it is plain to me that everything happens for a reason. But nonetheless, I find myself amazed. Jeremy started his rotating shift which puts him on night shift for the next 4 nights. He worked nights all through the beginning of our marriage and it was horrible. Mostly draining on him and my selfishness and lack of empathy didn't help. Yet this time around as we go back to working around this crazy schedule I am able to approach it in an entirely different way. And I think that is why God presented us with this at this time. Had it been 6 months ago we may not have been equipped to handle it in the way we are now. Right now I can hold onto the truth that God never gives us more than we can handle. I can also choose to see the blessing in this as he also gets a lot of weekends off which he didn't have before. Most of all I am able to see that it could be so much worse. He could work ALL nights or I could be a wife with a husband in the military who is gone for long stretches of time in dangerous situations. I could be a mom with no husband and no help. When I look at it that way I know I can feel nothing but greatful. That doesn't mean it won't be hard to fall asleep without him tonight or it won't be hard to get the kids ready for bed alone tomorrow night, but it means that it won't be enough to bring me down!


Relevant verses:
*It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
*Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
*Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)

End to a great week

We have been so blessed to have Jeremy home from work for 7 days in a row, one of the positive changes to his new schedule. It has truly been like a mini vacation for us. We spent time at the park, the lake, a concert and today took the kids to their first movie and then Greenbluff for the afternoon. We saw Madagascar 2 at the Garland this morning, they do their free movies for kids all summer. Nathan loved it and was amazed by the "big tv." Jordan did pretty well, although he was more fascinated by the seats than anything. Then this afternoon we headed out to Greenbluff where we stopped at a few of the farms (or orchards or whatever they are called:). The kids love Walter's Farm best because they have a play area and a giant sand box (that's actually filled with dry peas instead of sand, quite interesting) and an area with goats and stuff like that. Another great day in what's been an amazing week. After coming home from visiting my parent's in Arizona we decided we could be doing a lot more with the boys then we had been. We also realized we needed to make the most of where we are. One of the biggest lessons I have learned recently is that it doesn't matter where you live your life, it's how. So whatever your situation you need to make the most of it. We are trying to love our life where we are and are coming to realize that this is the place we are meant to be in this season of our life. How different life looks when you begin to look at from a place of joy and possibility!

Women of Word

Had the opportunity today to attend a Woman of Word class at our new church, Real Life Ministries. First of all, felt great to get out of the house all by myself and to do something just for me. All you moms know what I am talking about! It was a great time of fellowship with other women. We were discussing biblical foundations of world events. How do we know that we are closer to the end times than any other generation? We read Matthew 24:1-8 which talked about the beginnings of end times and how they compare to birth pains. What an interesting comparison. We had the chance to discuss this in groups and my group talked about just how similar these two events are. In both there is a glorious result after a painful process. There is an aspect of faith in the unknown. We experience joy, expectation, worry and anxiety all wrapped up in one. We also know that it is going to get worse before it gets better. I think that is where it is important to focus on the end result. Most importantly, it is short-lived. I always remember what my mom told me when I was pregnant with Nathan and fretting about the pain of labor. She told me that it was just one day. How true is that! No matter how painful, it would be over in a day. And when I look back on it, I can remember it wasn't my favorite thing but I don't re-experience the pain. Just like what it will be like when Jesus comes! We may suffer here on Earth, experience trials and hardships. But it is so short-lived compared to the time we will have in heaven with our creator. And we will no longer feel that pain and suffering. Definitely makes it easier to deal with whatever comes my way here when I know the end result will be so sweet. If it felt that good to meet my new little babies at the end of the labor process, I can only imagine what it will be like to meet my Jesus.

For those of you locally who are looking for a church, or who are looking for some activities to get involved with, check out their website www.reallifeministries.com

Fun in the sun

What a fun day we had today! We went to Waitts Lake with Jeremy's parents and spent the afternoon into the evening just playing and having a good time. We took out their pontoon boat twice. Once we went swimming, which Nathan absolutely loved. Jordan was a little more cautious sticking to the sandy areas and wading in to about his ankles. The second time out we did some fishing. The kids liked watching grandma catch a fish. That trip out was pretty short lived as the boys started reaching their limit and were getting cranky. In fact, on the drive back to shore Jordan passed out on the boat seat face down with his legs dangling over the edge!! Big drool pile and all:) Then we ate dinner and the kids experienced their first smores. They mostly picked out the chocolate but they thought it was a delicious treat. Mommy has been left a little sunburned but it is so worth it.

Three's a crowd, but in a good way

I have been looking forward all week to watching my little niece Sophia. She is such a doll and the boys get so excited whenever they get to see her. My brother and my husband went golfing today so it was just me and the kids. But really, she is so low maintenance that it is barely noticeable compared to just having my two. Told Jeremy he was in trouble if she was good because I have the baby itch bad enough!! Don't know if another baby is in the cards for us but we would be blessed to have such a sweet girl as her. Craig and Amy are doing such a great job raising her.

God is good...ALL the time

What an amazing weekend this has turned out to be. Starting yesterday morning with my hubby going to a men's breakfast at our new church. This is noteworthy for 2 reasons. One, this was the first week we had actually attended the church so he knew absolutely nobody. Two, he is new to Christianity, has never regularly attended a church before and normally crawls deep inside his shell when things like this that are out of his comfort zone present themselves. But instead when I jokingly ask him after our first service if he is planning to attend the men's breakfast the following saturday he replied, "I think I might!" And he did and he loved it. And now he is thinking about joining some small groups. Who is this man? So after that we dropped the kids off with gma and papa and we drove to the Tri-Cities where we got to spend a little time with some dear family friends, which is always nice. Then we attended a benefit concert that had two local Christian bands and along with 33 Miles. That got off to a slow start but by the end of the night it turned out to be a fabulous show.
By the way, just have to quickly share the amazing meaning behind their name. You may or not know that Jesus only lived 33 years on this earth. Isn't it amazing all that he accomplished in his time here? What have you been doing with the miles you have put in so far? We will never live up to the life Jesus did because none of us are perfect like him, but we sure can strive to live by his grace and touch as many others as we can while we are here.
The drive home was actually my favorite part of the entire evening. We got to talk in that special intimate way that only happens once in a great while between couples but is absolutely perfect and lasting. We talked about all God has done in our lives, all that He continues to do and how excited we are to see what He will do in the future. There was a lot of deep conversation that I will keep private but that meant a lot to me. I am just bursting with joy by all that we going through right now and give God all the glory!
Finally, today we went to church and just really enjoyed the message. It was our first time attending with the senior pastor speaking and we just loved the way he spoke and how honest he was. This church definitely believes it putting it out their how it really is and I think that is great. We just continue to look forward to getting more involved and seeing what place God has for us there. The biggest thing that I have come to realize lately is that whatever He has instore for us and wherever he has in store for us, we will make the most of it and live it to the fullest. As the song says, "We only get just one time around..."

Spontaneity...I've missed you!

It has seriously been so long since we did something on a whim! Having those little ones really changes the way you plan your days. Everything takes such effort when you have two tiny people to take into consideration. So we usually keep things pretty simple, mostly for my sanity! But lately we have been trying to get out and try new things. We are so tired of being home all the time. So when Jeremy came home from work Thursday and said, "They are having a benefit concert in Tri-Cities on Saturday, we should leave the kids home and go," I thought why not! Obviously we can't actually leave the kids home seeing as they are 1 and 2 but that's what grandparents are for, right? Anyway, after checking the details, calling the grandparents, setting up dinner plans with old family friends....we are doing it. And besides all the packing, and note writing, and insurance card finding, it feels pretty spontaneous. Who knows, maybe next time I'll work up to doing it without writing a note (highly unlikely, but anything is possible:).

Starting my own blog

Fact - I have enough to say at any given time to fill pages and pages.

Unknown - Does any one really care to hear it all?

Answer - We'll find out!! If you ask my parents, husband, friends they will tell you that when talking about my day I am likely to start with "First I brushed my teeth..." so let's see if I can keep it to just the interesting stuff:)


Quote of the Day: I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard