I'm Back

Well, I'm back after a 6 month hiatus! I didn't intend on taking that long of a break, but I did. The end of my summer seemed to bring lots of exciting adventures that I just didn't have time to stop and blog about it. Then I went back to work in August and since then it seems life has been quite the whirlwind, but I must say I'm lovin every minute of it!!

I 'm finally getting to blog because we are kind of stuck indoors today due to the nice ice storm that came to visit! :)   I must say I love days like this because.... I stay in my pajamas all day, I lay around and eat junk/ comfort food, I have my family with me ALL day, and I get to do a few things that I want to do!! Also, the school I work at is on late schedule tomorrow. YIPPIE!!!! Although, this does not mean sleeping in for me. I really don't remember what that's like because I have a one year old who seems to think he needs to wake up between 5:30-6am everyday!! This works out great on work days, but not so much on the weekends. Oh well, on the positive side, I've learned I get SO much more done between 6am - 9am, than any other part of the day AND coffee is my friend! I keep telling myself to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride because I know one day I'll look back on these years and realize how fast they went.

Well, around our house, we're in high gear for Christmas! The decorations are out, the gifts are bought, (well, for the most part), and our hearts are focused on the real reason to celebrate, Jesus Christ! I must admit, with all of the commercialism of Christmas, it can be difficult at times to keep our homes focused on the true meaning of Christmas. Now that I have a son, I've also been thinking about how to nurture him in God's Word and in understanding the real meaning of Christmas. I realize that my life and example will ultimately demonstrate this truth to him. Obviously, a child's understanding of God always starts in the home. So, I've been more mindful of how does my life reflect what I SAY I believe about God. Especially here at Christmas, I'm taking a step back, knowing what I believe about Jesus Christ, (his birth, death, and resurrection), but does what I believe reflect in the way I live my life. Because I do NOT want to be a Christian who says all the RIGHT things to my son but never show him that I believe it with my life.  So through prayer, I'm surrendering to God. It would be real easy for me to come up with a bunch of "things" to "do" to feel like I've accomplished this task. But, I know it's not about me and that I'm only human and that I can be a self-seeking, sinful human being at times. So, I continue to give it to God, read His Word, and follow His lead. So, for now we're keeping it simple! 

So, now that you know what I've been thinking on lately, I have more to update on but just don't have the time tonight to get it done. SO, hopefully, I'll post later this week on happenings around here and how my sweet boy is almost 14 months old!!!! So crazy!

Anyway, be blessed and keep Jesus the real meaning of YOUR Christmas!!!!!

Let the FUN Begin

Well, my LONG awaited summer break has finally made its way here! I survived going back to work and now I’m going to soak up every minute with this little cutie this summer.

                        

       

Over the past month and a half, we’ve been very busy. Of course, the end of the school year is always busy for me. But, the month of May is always busy for us. This year I was excited to celebrate my first Mother’s Day. Trevor and Caleb gave me a locket. I love it! And, we were able to spend the day with my mom, dad, my brother and his family.  It was a GREAT day! 

Then the last Sunday of the month, we had Caleb’s baby dedication at church. It was a very sweet occasion. Both of our parents were able to attend and of course we had to take pictures afterward.

(yes, my eye is red… unfortunately, I had pink eye that weekend… L)

We also celebrated Trevor’s first Father’s Day. We ate lunch out and Caleb and I gave daddy a gift certificate to play golf and a book for daddy and Caleb to read together. We had a great day as a little family of three!

And, we had our first fun Friday. We took Caleb to the park for the first time. We put him in the swing and at first he hung on as if he wasn’t sure if he would like it or not. But, after a few minutes, he was giggling. After the park, we ate lunch out and then came home for an afternoon nap. It was nice just having a day together, no interruptions.

I’ve also been catching up on my scrapbook and a few projects around the house. Caleb and I also have gone to the library each week… I’m hoping to get him used to it early because his mommy LOVES the library and I hope he does too! When he turns two, I will definitely be taking him to story time each week in the summer! I don’t know what it is but the library is one of my favorite places. It’s possibly because I love books and I love to read…. and maybe because my mom always took me to the library. Somehow, each week I end up being there over an hour.

Anyway, summer doesn’t last forever so I’ve got plans… lots of plans. I probably have so many plans that it won’t all get accomplished but that’s okay. I’ll just do what I can and enjoy the journey.  Here are just some of the things on my list: visiting family, my cousin’s wedding, vacation, small projects around the house (deep cleaning each room, painting, etc), stocking the freezer (preparing for the fall), finish Caleb’s scrapbook, crocheting projects for Christmas, etc. Okay you get the point… a lot of stuff! But, I’m keeping it in perspective. My most important thing after spending time with the Lord, is spending a lot of time with my boy!

Speaking of my boy, he is growing like a weed! I can’t believe that he is eight months old, eight months old. Ok, sorry for the repetition. I just have to keep reminding myself of that fact. Every day it seems he’s looking more and more like a little toddler boy than a baby. His hair is growing more and he giggles at everything, unless he’s sleepy or hungry! He still loves his jumper and he cracks me up because he gets a serious face and jumps and jumps and jumps! His love of bath time has caused us to move him from the sink to the bathtub. He's still in his little tub but now he can splish- splash to his hearts content. He loves for mommy and daddy to hold his hands and let him walk… he’s still not crawling yet but he rocks back and forth on his hands and knees. He has started using a sippy cup at lunch and he's doing quite well with it. He loves to play peek- a- boo, play with all of his “light” up toys, and his musical toys. This past week, I really noticed him trying to “figure “out his toys. He has some stacking stars that light up and play music and he would pick up a star and look at it and then he would hit it against each of the other stars as if it should light up. So cute! Something else he enjoys is watching me blow dry my hair. In the mornings, I lay him on the bed while I fix my hair. When I get out my red blow dryer, he starts to giggle. Then he stays glued to it as I dry my hair. It cracks me up! Easy entertainment, right?! I just wonder what his little mind is thinking!

This week we’ll be celebrating Independence Day and then traveling this weekend to my parent’s house and to go to my cousin’s wedding. I’m looking forward to fun times!

Until next time... I leave you with this Bible verse.

        Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.   Philippians 2:3-4

Have a blessed week…..      Happy Independence Day!!!

Confessions of a Working Mom

Ok, so I wasn’t planning on taking this long of a break from blogging… but I did. Anyway, life has been whizzing by and I can’t believe it’s been over two months since I last posted. But as you can imagine, life is very busy now…. especially with a 6month old.

As a working momma, life can be quite challenging at times and there seems to be very little time to sit down and relax. Since going back to work in January, I have struggled with balancing or making time for my many roles, such as, balancing housework, feeling guilty when I leave Caleb at daycare, making time for myself, cooking meals, sleeping, and so and so on! If you don’t know me or haven’t read any previous posts, you may not know that I’m a girl who likes routine, lists, organization, and of course, being able to check things off my list! So, figuring out how to be a working mom has, at times, worn me down. As time has slipped by, I am continually learning to keep placing everything back into God’s hands and forever asking God for wisdom!!! And just let me tell ya… when you ask God for wisdom, he definitely gives it! He helps me to put things back into perspective and reminds me that I don’t have to do it all. I don’t have to be perfect….”Whew”. Just knowing this gives me peace and takes weight off my shoulders. I don’t know if anyone else feels this way at times but it is definitely something I struggle with. I’m so thankful I serve a God who is not asking me to be perfect, to do all the right “things”. He desires me to seek after Him with all my heart, to be available to be used by Him. I’m reminded in scripture to be like Mary and not Martha. (By the way, a good book that I’ve read on this topic is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.) Now that I’m four months into this working mom thing, I can look back and see how God has given me strength, given direction, and has shown me how to balance this life he’s given me.

One thing for sure, my husband and I are a team. I could not do this without him. Many times since I’ve had Caleb and when Trevor was sick, I’ve thought about some friends I know who have raised their kids as a single parent and I must say, I should have prayed for them more. It’s a tough but rewarding role that can be challenging even with two parents sharing the load. Trevor and I have divided some of our household chores so that one person isn’t doing it all and to keep us on the same page. Since we both work, this is so helpful.

Another thing we’ve decided to do is turn off the TV. Several years ago, I worked at daycare taking care of 2 year olds. One family in particular made a huge impression on me. Of this family, both mom and dad worked but yet they were not the typical working family. As I observed their son, I noticed just how much he was content with little things. Even at Christmas, when I asked him what his favorite gifts were, he said, “Thomas the Train underwear and pajamas.”:) I finally asked the mom how they made it work. How do you foster family time when you both work? She said that they had decided weekday evenings were to be focused on family. They weren’t going to be a family that came home each evening and plopped down in front of the TV and not spend time with their son. She said they ate dinner together and they played with toys, games, and read books until bed time. They did not turn on the TV until after their child had gone to bed. For over 8 years, what she said has stuck with me. That family was proof to me that it was possible to create a strong family even while both parents work. So, we’re trying to keep the TV off in the evenings until Caleb has gone to bed. We haven’t been doing this every night but we’ve found that we enjoy our evenings so much more when it is off. We don’t let Caleb watch TV anyway, at least until he’s 2.

Some other things I do to help the mornings run smoothly are pack Caleb’s daycare bag and my school bag the night before. I hang out our clothes the night before. Ok, so I try to do as much as possible the night before. I sometimes even set out Caleb’s bowl, spoon, and bib for his breakfast for the next morning. It just makes the mornings less hectic. I hate rushing to get ready and there have been days I’ve had to do this.

I’m still a work in progress. I don’t have it all together (as much as I would like to say I do). As I have a desire to try and do it all…. I know it’s not possible and that some days things will be hectic and not flow the way I want it to. But I’m learning to keep my feet rooted in God’s Word and let Him lead the way. There’s no other place as comforting and peaceful as being in the hands of God.

Well, that sums up my last umm.. four months! Ok, well, while I’ve been learning the ropes of motherhood, I have been having fun along the way. Caleb is 6months old now!!!!!! He’s halfway to a year, ahhh! So, I am trying to soak up every little minute with him. He is SO much fun and such a good baby.

We went to the doctor for his 6mo. check up and he weighed 16lbs and 3oz, and 26 and a half inches long! He loves his jumper, rolling around on the floor, and anything to chew on. He also loves to listen to us sing to him and he has started this squealing phase. Bath time has become a favorite for him because he like to kick his legs and splash the water. I also love the way he raises his eyebrows up as if he is intently listening to me. He is content most of the time and smiles all the time. He also has his two bottom teeth in. He also is doing great with eating solids. His favorite food is apples. He seems to like most any fruit! Of course he’s saying “da da” and that just melts Trevor’s heart. I’m still working on him saying “momma”. He’s formed his lips like he was going to say it a few times but he never has. And who knows, maybe he was wanting to say “monkey”!! We celebrated his first Easter with Trevor's family. We had a great day despite the "blah" weather. He even got to find three eggs with daddy. He’s growing like crazy and in just a couple of weeks we’ll be looking at a seven month old!?!

I have 24 days of school left until summer and I just can’t wait!!!!!!!!

he found a water toy in his egg!

decorating cupcakes at Easter

We also have a lot going on this month that I’m looking forward to… visiting family, planting my garden, maybe strawberry picking (okay, Anna Ruth?!), and Caleb’s baby dedication at the end of the month. Hopefully, I’ll post on some of these events, but, if not… you know what I’m doing…. Heehee!!

Have a blessed weekend!!

Monthly Adventures

Our past monthly adventures has been somewhat, not so adventurous… heehee. We started the month off with Trevor having the dreaded Norovirus… yuck! This was a total surprise because Trevor NEVER gets sick, especially with a stomach bug. Apparently, this virus is a new strand of the stomach bug and is highly contagious. With a three month old in the house, I was focused on keeping him well. So, if you can imagine, I was the Clorox Queen for several days and gave strict orders for my husband to only stay in the bedroom or bathroom! Caleb and I camped out in the guest room at nights. Then, within the past couple of weeks, Caleb has had RSV, thankfully he is doing much better but still has a little cough. This worried momma didn’t sleep but just a few hours a night just checking on baby boy which made for some tiresome days. But thankfully the Lord is my strength because I would’ve made it no other way. Well, I also found out that if your baby has RSV adults can get cold like symptoms and we did! Yay! So to say I’m ready for spring is such an understatement. We’ve never had a winter with this much sickness in our house.

Over the past month it hasn’t been all bad, there have been some good things that have happened. My parents came to visit a couple of weekends ago and at the beginning of the month we traveled an hour away to spend time with Trevor’s family at his great uncle’s surprise birthday party. On another positive note, we have missed school every Friday since Jan. 4!!!! -Which gives me more time with my boy! It seems this year we’ve had more ice than snow… which obviously is more dangerous and pretty much guarantees a day off. I feel like I work a job where I only work four days a week… although, this week I only worked three days because we had a scheduled day off for President’s Day.  WHOO HOO!! I know reality will set in real soon. The countdown to spring break is on!!!

We celebrated Valentine’s Day a little differently this year due to Caleb being sick but nevertheless, it was great and we enjoyed a relaxed evening at home! Of course I celebrated Valentine’s Day with my students and one thing I do with my class every year is visit a local nursing home. We team up with a few other classes, make Valentines, practice some songs, poems, and Bible Verses to present to the residents. I love this! Each year I’m amazed at the responses I get from my students. Of course we discuss what a nursing home is and why the people may have to live there and we discuss how we are being the hands and feet of Christ by sharing his love. As with any class, there are some students who have been to a nursing home before but others have not. This year I was surprised by a particular student who is typically shy. He ended up being the one who was double checking with the residents to make sure everyone had a valentine. As we were taking the elevator back down to the lobby, he would say “we didn’t give that person one”. He seemed to be on the lookout for people who might not have received a valentine. LOVE IT!!  I also love to see the responses of the residents. They completely light up and sing the songs with us. This year in particular, one lady touched my heart. She said she had a Valentine from a child and with tears in her eyes she said she just couldn’t believe that they had made a valentine just for her. As we left the nursing home, in my heart I was completely thanking God for using us and for teaching these students how be servants and how important it is to think about others- not just yourself or people like you. Now that I have a child, this has really made me think about how I want to do this with Caleb as he gets older. As we live in a world that is so self-absorbed, I pray that God will give me the wisdom to teach him how to love and care for others, to think of  “the least of these”. Even though I know through child development that it is natural for young children to be self-focused, I don’t want him to stay at this stage.   I see WAY too many children who seem to be all about themselves and have never been taught differently- even in Christian School!!I pray that I will lead him by example so that when he is old enough to make these decisions on his own, it will not be made through a self-focused lens.

Well, speaking of the cutie, he turned 4 months old this past Monday. He received a good report from his doctor. He is weighing in at 13lbs, 10oz., 25” long. She gave us the go ahead to eat baby foods! Yay! I can’t believe how much he is changing. He loves to sleep with his hands behind his head, which really cracks me up. He still loves his bouncy seat and musical gym. He loves putting anything in his mouth… we guess he’s teething but haven’t felt any teeth coming in yet. He loves mornings, which has really helped me to change- I’m not a morning person!! But, when I hear him wake up with his cute little coos and squeals, I can’t want to get up and see his sweet face! He loves tummy time and although I practice with him turning over, he seems he would rather try to scoot forward. When I read to him, he now really looks at the pictures and tries to hold or turn the page. He is SO much fun and I can’t wait until summer when I get to be with him everyday!! In the past, since Trevor is off on Fridays, we would deem Friday as “fun Friday” and try to spend the day together doing whatever. Now that we have little boy, it’s going to be “fun family Friday”… heehee, I know it may sound silly but I’m looking forward to it!!  Here are some pics of the past month:

(Thanks to Pinterest... my attempt at making "mini" king cakes. Since we used to live in New Orleans, for Mardi Gras, I fixed red beans and rice and these mini king cakes.  Unfortunately,  they are not all nice and pretty but tasted yummy!)

tummy time

fun play time in the morning... 

as the nurses said when he was born... just "chilled", although, I've learned from this pose it means I'm getting sleepy!

happy baby

getting ready to eat.... apples, YUM!

He did a great job and LOVED it!

Have a blessed week!!!!!!

Reflection of 2012

The year 2012 will forever be another “pillar” or “stone” in my spiritual walk that will be a constant reminder of who God is. This past year has been a reminder of His faithfulness and that His power and will are greater than all others! As 2012 began, I never dreamed that by the end of the year I would become a proud momma of a sweet little boy. After being married 12 years and wishing and praying for a child for more than half of this time, God answered our prayer. At the beginning of last year, I had focused all of my attention on my job, husband, and home. I had given my desires over to the Lord and was content with life. I had really convinced myself that God had other plans for me. I’m so thankful that His plans are better than mine and His ways are higher than my ways. What an amazing year!

On to 2013… what does God have in store for this year? As I give this year over to the Lord and make my plans, I ask that His will be done. For I know that His plans far exceed my dreams and desires. Thinking on a new year, there has been a song that God keeps bringing to my heart. It's by Matt Redmond and the title of the song is Never Once. As I look back over the past year and the challenges and blessings we experienced, God is always faithful! The chorus of this song says, " Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did You leave us on our own. You are faithful, God you are faithful." There is nothing more comforting or fulfilling than knowing that I'm being held in His hands. He is a God who loves and cares. So be encouraged today! Whatever situation you're going through, God is WAY bigger and asks us only to trust Him. 

On a lighter note, our little cutie just turned 3 months old and I can't believe how fast he is changing. He's starting to have so much personality.

He jabbers away and laughed for the first time this past Monday. He melts my heart every time he smiles at me. Even the other night I was feeding him his bottle and all of a sudden he stops and just smiles. I wanna just eat'em up! Although, he may be working me now as if it will pay off later... this momma's gotta work on her "soft" heart!! He started daycare on January 7, and I must say that was such a difficult day for me. Caleb did great but my heart was broken. It is comforting to know he is in the same building where I work and it does help that I'm able to see him usually once throughout the day. This past Wednesday, I had my lunch/ recess break and was able to be with him and feed him. Fridays are the easiest because I know he's at home with daddy! God is truly helping me as each day gets a little easier. I know that God has called me to teach for now and that He'll provide everything needed to do His will- including taking care of Caleb... and me! -And He even provides snow days which allowed me a 4 day weekend!!! One night this past week I was sharing with God my heart on this issue and He reminded me that this is just a season. So for now I'm going to do my best "as unto the Lord" at my job, being a mommy, and a wife. I'm choosing to enjoy this time of my life instead of complain because I know God has it under control.