10 Happenings

So what's been happening here in our world....

1. We are still trying to rid ourselves of this stinkin' flu thing...thankfully TJ has been able to bypass this.

2. Last week for Tay's Spring Break, I took the kids and Nana to my parents house. It was fun, however I was SO sick... glad to have a huge yard and a Pepere for the kids.

3. We went to Yosemite, the first time for Nana and the kids. They loved it and we made some great memories.

4. TJ will be turning one this week, I can't believe this! We will celebrate in B-Town with my family, something low key...Aaron and I are on birthday party burn out after Tay's bash!

5. Aaron and I are back to counting our points on Weight Watchers...we got a little lazy, the laziness brought on chubbiness.

6. That being said we are hitting the gym. Tomorrow I am meeting with a trainer with a friend of mine to start a group workout type thing, hoping he is tough...I am ready to shed this weight!

7. We might get a dog, not sure if I am 100% convinced...we are taking our time in deciding. We are looking at a Yellow Lab if we do.

8. We just joined Melaleuca. It is all great products for house, body, beauty, and even some food...natural and green and very affordable. I am excited to get healthier products in our home, not lethal ones to kids. I am also hoping to sell a little, especailly the make-up line, Nicole Miller. I already have a time set up at a Beauty Show at one of the local wineries with two other gals, I have some fun ideas and am excited for the possibilities.

9. My kids are super cute...latest things they are doing...Tay is reading everything, at a first grade level already, she is amazing to me, six seems very mature. She is loving her music and is looking forward to swim lessons. TJ is so cute, walking more and more, waving hello and goodbye while he says "AAAHHH", his attempt at "HI", and he has been doing this super cute "cheeser" smile showing all his teeth.

10. My God is good. I am not always perfect...I know hard to believe:) He is my constant. He has blessed me with a husband who I fall more and more in love with and two children who are a reflection of that love. Even with all life can bring, all that I can stress about, even at this moment, all the unknowns I can't plan out, that keep me up at night...He is there...I think it is time I surrender those things so I can get some sleep.

Goodnight! Have a Blessed Day!

Traditions

I have so many grand memories of holidays and being a child. I grew up in a huge family, having only one brother my immediate family was small however I have a huge extended family. My Mom is one of seven children...so I have somewhere between 15-20 cousins. Those 15-20 cousins have had children and now even some of those children have had children....there are a lot of us. So I grew up with a huge family. With love and a lot of fun. I don't have many "traditions" when it comes to holidays other than just being with my family. This is something I want to give to my two children and even Aaron.

Yesterday was Easter. This holiday especially is a huge one for my family. My Mom's twin died on Easter Sunday when I was three, so this is a holiday we for sure spend with the family. It is huge. There are Easter Egg Hunts...with plastic eggs filled with candy, Goldfish and Teddy Grahams, hard boiled eggs died to Easter like colors, and the famous money eggs:) Two egg hunts, one for the little ones and one for the older kids...older kids get the money eggs:) And food, such good food. Not even extra special food, food just like potato salad and those little hot dogs in sauce from Costco, Nana's beans and Lana's spinach dip...but on Easter it all taste so rich and yummy.

We have always made the trip to B-Town for this holiday. Except last year when I was completely out of it because I had just had the Baby. This year we really contemplated going since that flu is still having it's way with Aaron and I. We waited until Sunday morning to make the decision and then decided to just make the drive for the day, so nice that we live close enough to do that now. I am glad we went. The kids had so much fun. My aunt and uncle have a HUGE yard and we just sat outside and talked and watched the kids play. We ate and we hunted for eggs. We were able to catch up with family and see how much all the kids have grown. Taylor got to play one of her favorite cousins, Dillon, they just love each other. He never calls her Taylor but TayTay, always, I think this is SO cute.

As Christians, Easter is a huge holiday. One in which most are in church on Sunday morning, even if for no other time during the year, they go on Easter. This has always been something we have had to choose, church or traveling for Easter. It has never been a thought, for me at least that we are just with family on this day. This year, Aaron and I talked about it and what it may mean that we are not in church on such a big day. I thought about it all day yesterday and is still on my mind. I have always felt, and still do, that as long as we teach and know for ourselves the meaning of Easter we are okay to not be in church. Especially since we are there most other Sundays. But I did wonder a bit if in the midst of all the Easter stuff like eggs and what not is Jesus's resurrection shadowed.

I don't think it is at all. I thought of this yesterday as I was in the midst of comfort and love...As I hugged my Nana and longed for my Papa to see us all now. As I hugged my aunts and uncles and showed off my children. As I walk up on a conversation Aaron is having with one of my cousins when they are discussing Jesus. I thought of this as one of my Uncle's offers to get me this soccer couch I was admiring, wanting to make sure I had one for our soccer games. As I watch my parents hold and play with my children on this special day...I think of growing up on this special day and how precious those memories are to me. And am overwhelmed with gratitude that my children are making those same memories and I am adding to mine. I learned that under all the Easter stuff, there is such love and family. More community than perhaps I would find on an Easter Sunday service when we all show up in starchy uncomfortable "Easter outfits" and it is all overly crowded with people who are there only to say they went to Church on Easter.

I love my traditions. I love that my traditions involve family. I am thankful to be closer to them. I am thankful for this thought process I went through of seeing if my Easter tradition overshadows Jesus. I am glad to know they don't. I am not above Jesus breaking traditions and starting new ones for me and my family. I am glad to know this is one He allows me to keep. The memories made are precious.

I admit, I was wrong ... Kinda

On rare occasions I have been known to ... mis-speak ... mis-remember ... say something which is not, in its entirety 100% accurate. Some might even go so far as to say wrong. On these ecliptic occurrences it would only stand to reason that there is someone who would be ... more accurate than me. Tonight was one such occasion (no that wasn't the sky falling or an earthquake just me). And on this particular occasion the person who was, not as wrong as me, was Courtney.

And so, I feel the need to give public adulation to Courtney for her being more right than me. Now you may be asking, what have I learned from all this? 1) Being less right than someone else can easily be diluted by blogging semantics. 2) If you are going to argue a universal principle, make sure your data spans across the entire data stream. Otherwise, be specific and argue your point only as far as your personal knowledge of available data takes you.

Props to you Courtney. Tonight ... You weren't wrong and I was ...

Cinderella, Beach, and Anniversary

Thought I'd give a little update after the last post and let you know what we've been up to. My Baby Girl is better. She had it bad though. Yesterday she returned to school. My Baby Boy is better too, he has so far managed to not get the nasty thing sister had. His fingers are healing, we go back to the Doctor on Wednesday to have them looked at again. I, thankfully, have managed to not get it as well. However Aaron has not been so lucky, hopefully he won't run the fever and all. Today as he left for work he told me his skin hurt, so I think he has it for sure! Poor guy!

So yesterday Tay and I got to do something SO fun, we got to go see a real life play with her school. We went to see Cinderella and were three rows back from the front and it was amazing. The theatre was amazing. The play was amazing. We laughed and were entertained the whole time! Aaron stayed home with the Baby, that was nice too. It is nice to have time with the oldest without the youngest every once in a while. We held hands and I slipped her cough drops. When I got home Aaron asked how it was and all I could say as it was amazing. It was.

The weather here is perfect right now. The beach is the most perfect blue, turquoise with patches of royal blue. We have not been in about a week with all we have had going on so we took a drive to take it all in yesterday after school. On the way there Aaron and I realized that our one year anniversary for living here came and went and we did not even stop to pause. Probably because we were focused on getting healthy again, but one year came and went. Wow! Doesn't seem like it has been a year.

Not much to say on the past year, mainly because there is too much to say. That make sense? We are all one year older. We are settled here. I don't feel so much like the new kid. Living here feels more like home in some ways than any other place we have ever lived. Our quality of life is better in so many ways. Life is much slower paced and much more family focused. I love this. God has been good to us. I still feel such love when I think of how He moved us and how perfectly He put things into place.

Calm in the Midst of a Storm

Crazy past couple of days. My Babies have had rough days.

Yesterday my Baby Boy followed his Mamma into the kitchen as I was taking food out of the oven. The oven was closed but in the split second I turned around he stuck his tiny fingers in that area between the oven and the broiler on the bottom. Right away there were blisters and tears I felt, feel, horrible. Wish I could make it better.

So today I had the Doctor look at his fingers. Second degree burns, that need to be wrapped, his tiny hand wrapped like a boxer. I cried to the nurse. As his hand was getting wrapped Tay looks at me and says, Mom I think I should throw up. And her face is whitest white. So I handed Tommy to the nurse and rushed her to the bathroom and sure enough she throws up.

My Baby Girl started with a temperature and tummy ache two days ago. Progressed to a bad cough, head ache, and sore throat. Today while at the Doctor and being diagnosed with croup is when she threw up. Throwing up is no fun at all especially at the Doctor's office with wet paper towels instead of wet wash cloths. Her temperature is 103 and she is miserable, chills and all. Wish I could make it better.

So it has been one of those days. Both Babies now are sleeping soundly. My Boy in his swing, he loves that thing. And my Girl in our bed, your parents bed is always more comfy when you are sick. Right now there is a calm in the midst of a stormy day. (Not literally, the sunshine is calling us to come out and play...) So Lysol spray is my friend right now and lots of hand washing. But please if you read this and have a second pray that this will be the end and we won't all come down with this and that Tommy's fingers will heal quickly.

Steps

Yesterday was a big day for us. My Baby Girl who is now six years old...lost another tooth. This one is one of her front top teeth. It has been barely hanging on despite my attempts at getting her to eat corn on the cob and apples:) Yesterday her Baby Brother got overly excited that Sister was home from school and whacked the tooth out. She is beautiful, so beautiful.

Yesterday was also a huge day for my Baby Boy as he took his first step. He walks everywhere holding on to something but yesterday was the first day he did all on his own. When he did it I was wishing Aaron was home to see, so when Aaron got home he did it again. Soon he will be walking. My Baby Boy is growing SO fast. Almost one now.

So how does Mommy feel about this? Bittersweet. So excited my two are hitting those milestones and I get to be excited with them. But with each milestone I realize they are growing up. I never want to take for granted how precious time is with them...I want to celebrate each day.

PTA

Just got home from a PTA meeting. It was interesting. It was fun. I think I might like to be a part. I went because one of the members called to give me a personal invite. Not sure if others there had the same call but I felt special that I was thought of and invited. In school I was involved with things like the Student Council where we brought the meeting to a start, addressed people as Madam Treasurer, and had to first and second motions. I was a bit lost in the formality of the meeting and don't think I ever was able to say "Aye" to say I was in favor, even though I was in favor because I missed the cue. Under all that I found a group of people who are committed to my daughter's school. The amazing part to me was that there were women involved who did not even have children at the school, yet are still there because they are substitutes, used to have children, or are just supporters of the school. And there were even a few there who had went to the school themselves. I went to the same school as my Mom, we even had some of the same teachers. I always thought that was so cool.

There are many aspects to being involved and I think there will be a fit for me. But I want to make sure I am involved in the area where I can be most used and not feel overwhelmed with it. Our pastor has been preaching on worship (not the singing kind) but how what we worship is where we spend our time and money, it is what has our attention. This has hit me and I have been pondering this, trying to put more of my worship into God. I can be driven by so much....to name a few would be my husband, my kids, myself, cleaning, cooking, etc.

My job is to care for my family so I know I am guilty to worship and take control of that. I want to change this. I want to prioritize. I need God to be my number one, carrying all the burden of my family and trying to maintain that control is tiring. One of the things I most struggle with is how do I change this when my job is my family. And they need me ALL the time. And I love to serve them by caring for them. And then there is that whole being in control thing, how do I give that up? And if I don't do I trust God enough? There have been hard times in my life when I have been crushed, hurt down to my core. As much as God was there is as much as I pushed him away and took away that control. I have taken on that attitude that, if I can control it all then we will be okay and I can protect myself and my family. This hit me in church during a time of communion after one of the Pastor's messages. I was hoping that he would get to the how to worship God and let go of the other things. He did. His answer was simple, ask God. Ask God to help me see where in my life I can let go and give Him more of my attention. I am excited for this. To feel freedom. To see what that intimate place with Jesus will look like when I can surrender that control. I pray that God will show me these ways. I desire to give Him more of me. To surrender that control. I need balance in caring for my family and controlling them.

I mentioned pushing God away. However in a way I also pulled into Him. I know him differently. God never changes, however I think our view of Him can change. Through the different seasons we go through we need Him in different ways. I know God as stability now. As my constant provider and comforter. He is always there. The longer I live the more I see how life doesn't always go as planned. That life can hurt. Maybe I thought God protecting me meant Him shielding me from hurt in life. Maybe when life hurt I was at first angry at God. If He is God then why not protect me from pain? What I have learned is that God is my constant. I feel like this has made me see God, "after the honeymoon". That He in all His power will allow me to live a life in this world, and although I may not be free from hurt that the world brings or that we as humans do to one another...He will be there for me, regardless. He is never changing even though we as people do. In knowing this and realizing this, and realizing God needs more of my worship and to be a priority in my life. I desire to give Him more. I desire for the first time in a long time to be in the Word. I am excited to see where this will lead me. I know that I have to give Him that time and in doing so I am praying for that deeper level of intimacy.

Valentines Day Pictures

Here are a couple pictures from Valentines Day. The first one is of flowers that Taylor received delivered to her in class from my brother. I walked into her class to set up for the party and saw flowers sitting on the desk, when I got closer I saw they were for Taylor. I was a bit confused, thinking they were from her Daddy since he had not mentioned anything. However, my brother called and had them delivered to her. He is such a great uncle, we are blessed he loves my kids. And in his heart is such a soft spot for Taylor. And just a side note, I am so very proud of him, coaching at a college level and excelling at it. Love you Uncle Beau:)

This is a picture of all four of us from the party. TJ apparently had the giggles:)