Nothin' Excitin'...Sorry Folks

Not much exciting has happened the last few days. I think I am really really thankful for that! It seemed like we were in this cycle of super busy, always running never just BEING. Over the past few weeks we have made a consious effort to spend time at home, getting housework caught up, spending time with the kids, doing a few home improvement things. I am so much happier! I try and try to be a goer and doer but I am really a home-body. I like to nest in my little space in this world and come out occasionally to meet with friends and to do something for someone else. I am sure that sounds pretty boring but it is what makes me happy!

We have almost gotten the living room painted. For those of you that don't know, it was chocolate brown. I loved it when we painted it, but it got darker and darker 'til I felt like I was in a cave all the time. We have now painted it a very sunny, muted yellow. It is so pretty and so warm and inviting. It has opened up the room and made it feel so much more inviting. I LOVE it! We have picked out a really pretty vanilla cream color for our bedroom (currently moss green). I have a dusty teal blue comforter set all ready to go. It has cream, gold and brown circles all over it. My friend April and I are getting ready to do a surprise room makeover for my hubby. I will post pictures when we get it done.

Kevin has started baseball practice. Once again, he is practically twice the size of all the other kids. *sigh* I know I need to just get used to it. Anyway, he is really excited about playing and I can't wait to see him. He made so many improvements last year. And, now that I have the new camera, I am all ready to be the proud mom!

Abby has some kind of sinus/allergy thing going. I feel so horrible! I think she is going to have my crappy immune system. I pray not! She doesn't act sick, just wanting some extra cuddles. Man, it's a rough job. :) She is starting to cruise the furniture. I am so proud of my girl but I wish she wouldn't hurry through all this stuff. I know how fast time flies and she isn't making it any easier!

Bob and I are doing pretty well. We have had some good conversations and we are working our way to working on a budget, but neither of us wants to. We know there will be lots of bill left at the end of the paychecks. We are just going to have to buckle down more. I have already cut back on the extra youth group stuff. It doesn't seem like much but if you sit down and look at everything we do in a month, it really adds up!

Well, that's about it for now. I will get pictures of the living room and bedroom posted as soon as they are done.

Pride = Expectation

While organizing pictures for scrapbooking I have noticed that I am quite prideful...not of myself, but of my sweet little kiddos.

I always assumed that Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall, was talking about pride in yourself. Well, God has given me a little AH-HA! moment today.

I tend to be very proud of Kevin when he is "performing" well. Good grades, great behavior, dedication to sports. What I haven't seen is that I tend to let my pride dictate what my expectations for him are. I notice that the more compliments I receive about him, the more I expect from him, so I can hear how great he is. I KNOW how great he is, even on his not very great days. So why is it that I only tend to believe it when others tell me...and why do I want so much to hear it?

Now I am noticing that I am putting the same expectations on Abby. How big my pride has become in them!

How could I possibly take pride in something I have nothing to do with? Why is my first response not to give God the glory for their personalities and skills?

I AM proud of my kids...but I need to back away from taking pride in them.

I am glad that I was at a place today where God could show me something in myself that needs correcting by something as simple as starting to scrapbook my kids pictures.

Christmas trees in April

So, my Christmas decorations have slowly spilled out of our storage room in the basement and are now threatening to take over my son's room (right next to said storage room). I have totes and totes of Christmas tree decorations, knick knacks, towels, blankets, pillows, village, Christmas tree, and verious and assorted other what nots that have slowly pushed my husband right to the edge. My question is, how do you decide what to keep and what to give away or pitch, and then, how to you store it so that it doesn't take up half your house?

Moving a mountain with a teaspoon

Have you ever had a task in front of you that felt so huge that it felt like you were going to try to move a mountain with a teaspoon? That's what my scrapbooking feels like. I love doing it, I have tons of supplies to do it. I just have so much that I want to get done that it has felt impossible to find a place to start.

I spent six hours today getting started on that mountain. My good friend April has gently nudged me along the last few months to get my stuff out of storage and to start figuring out what I need to do to get going again. Today we sat and scrapbooked and talked sometimes and sometimes just worked in the blessed silence of no kids, no husbands, no job and no expectation. I have to say I loved it. I got some pages done and have a much better idea of what to do next, so I have to say thank you to April for grabbing a teaspoon, handing it to me, and cheering me on as I got to work.

After all that accomplishment, I came home and decided to get all my paper clutter organized. It wasn't as bad as I thought and a few hours later I am ready to sit down with my loving Hubby and figure out a budget. THAT task will deserve a blog all its own!

Just A Day

I love those days that are just good. Nothing special, nothing exciting, just a day. Today I got Kevin up and out the door for school with a minimum of yelling and crying and foot-dragging (he was pretty well behaved too!). Then Abby and I sat on the couch and cuddled during Regis and Kelly. We stopped by the Kids Closet on the way to Springfield and picked up a couple of new toys to play with and then met April for lunch. We went to the grocery store to get stuff to cook tonight and then went home and cuddled on the couch some more. Now she is napping and I am looking out the window, relaxing on the bed. See, nothing special, nothing exciting. But what a lot you can learn on a day like this.

I learned that you can make a wonderful connection just sitting on the couch staring at your daughter and watching all the amazing faces and sounds she makes. I learned that she is excited over any opportunity to learn something new, and when did I lose that quality about myself? I learned that sitting with a friend over a yummy pizza can be the rest that you didn't know you needed. I learned that shopping for something that you know isn't for you is much more fun than buying for yourself.

I have been talking to God most of the day about my small group tonight. I pray for my girls and hope that I can make some kind of positive impact on them in the short time I have them. I pray I don't miss any opportunity God gives me. I look at them and pray that someone will come alongside Abby and love her as much as I do them.

Like I said, Just a day. But it's been a good day.