Instead of posting nothing, thought I'd share something that made me HAPPY when I saw it this weekend!
Ahh, Jenny Lind beds in COLOR! Makes me want to buy a lake cottage for the sole purpose of lining up three in a row!!! Swoon!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Happy.
With end of the month deadlines and Betsy's birthday this weekend, I've been a little "blah" and haven't found my "voice".
Instead of posting nothing, thought I'd share something that made me HAPPY when I saw it this weekend!
Instead of posting nothing, thought I'd share something that made me HAPPY when I saw it this weekend!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
A Storybook Bible.
I just saw this BB Bible video today on the Focus on the Family website (Speaking of, if you have a chance to listen to Luis Palau, The Power of Faith to Change Your Life broadcast, DO IT. You will NOT be sorry. It has some extremely powerful messages.).
We adore The Berenstain Bears around here and I am extremely careful about what I "feed" my children's mind, I've talked about that here, and "ranted" a little here. PS-My mom ended up buying us DVDs of Flipper after the show was cancelled. Yay! Thanks Amazon!
I just called Family Christian to hold me a copy so I can pick it up for Betsy for her birthday tomorrow. I'll let you know how we like it. (I'm confident we will!)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A lesson in contentment from my children...
For the past six summers we have vacationed at the same spot, our "summer house".
This past summer, as Justin and I people-watched on the beach,...me 8 months pregnant and him still sweating from our "set-up"...we got a case of what the Berenstain Bears call the "green-eyed gimmies". What if our house was ON the beach? What if we didn't have to LUG all of this STUFF out here? What if we didn't have to pack a lunch and plan for the whole day out here? What if we were at a beach with a lot LESS people and a lot more SPACE? (Although I do love me some people watching and where else would I have found my dream tattoo, a scripted "Forever Young".) HOW are we going to do this with a 1 year old?!
We said right then...Next year we are going to look for a new "summer house".
So, like Mr. and Mrs. Bird in The Best Nest, we started shopping rates. The houses were on the beach...they were spacious...they would be much less crowded. We would pay a little more...no big deal, it's our yearly family vacation and we have room in our budget...We found the perfect one! The kids will be SO excited!
The next day, Justin tells Jay and I tell Betsy.
That night Justin and I have a conversation about how surprised we were the kids reactions. They were almost exactly the same.
"WHY are we going to a new place?"
"I like our old beach house better."
"Do we get to ride the golf cart to the beach?"
"Does it have a golf cart?"
"Does it have a pond?"
"What about the ducks and the turtles?!"
"I don't want to go to a new place. I want to go to the one we ALWAYS go to."
And, as so often happens, our kids really spoke to us through their reactions. They didn't NEED bigger...better...closer, and neither did we.
Our summer vacations with our family in our double wide "summer house" on a pond with a short golf cart ride to the big blue ocean are always the best week of our year. They wanted those fabulous summer memories together EXACTLY like they remember them from the past six years.
Why do we feel the need for more?
Why aren't we content with what we have already?
Which brings me to another point. Just because we COULD afford go to a different place doesn't mean we NEEDED to and it REALLY doesn't mean that the kids needed to.
Kids are SO good with contentment. Then we, almost unintentionally, teach them to want MORE.
-Currently, our kids talk regularly about how much they love our house and how they hope we live there forever. They talk about how when they grow up they are going to buy a house down the street and come eat with us on Sundays (fingers crossed!).
-The first thing Betsy said when she heard about the Father/Daughter Dance this year was "Oh yay! I get to wear my rainbow dress again! I HOPE it still fits!" I virtually had to clasp my hand over my own mouth when the words "Oh, we will buy you a NEW dress for this year." almost busted out.
-They ask for just a FEW items at Christmas and Birthdays and we give them more than they could have ever imagined getting.
Just because we CAN buy something or do something for our children/families/selves, doesn't mean we SHOULD.
So we've booked, and this year will be our 7th year at our "summer house" and we are looking at it in a whole new light.
-The kids will have fun meeting new friends like they always do on the crowded beach (You are so close, it is inevitable).
-They will get to remember their Daddy working really hard to get his family to the beach and they will see some real life lessons of conflict resolution :) . Work before play!
-We will laugh, as we always do, about our incredible tent fort that we set up and take extreme pride in. This year complete with a plastic baby pool for little Lu.
-JB and I will get lots of people watching opportunities where we will have lengthy, deep, conversations about tattoos and other things like, "How cool of a person do you have to be to get the right to name your child 'Maverick'?"
And instead of focusing on what we COULD have, we will focus on what we DO have. A wonderful family beach vacation where every year our family gets a little bit bigger. And we get new/old comforting memories of ducks, turtles, ice cream, golf cart rides, skee ball, the photo booth (a tight squeeze this year!), sandwiches on the beach, boogie boards, shells, etc.
And we will be content.
"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11
This past summer, as Justin and I people-watched on the beach,...me 8 months pregnant and him still sweating from our "set-up"...we got a case of what the Berenstain Bears call the "green-eyed gimmies". What if our house was ON the beach? What if we didn't have to LUG all of this STUFF out here? What if we didn't have to pack a lunch and plan for the whole day out here? What if we were at a beach with a lot LESS people and a lot more SPACE? (Although I do love me some people watching and where else would I have found my dream tattoo, a scripted "Forever Young".) HOW are we going to do this with a 1 year old?!
We said right then...Next year we are going to look for a new "summer house".
So, like Mr. and Mrs. Bird in The Best Nest, we started shopping rates. The houses were on the beach...they were spacious...they would be much less crowded. We would pay a little more...no big deal, it's our yearly family vacation and we have room in our budget...We found the perfect one! The kids will be SO excited!
The next day, Justin tells Jay and I tell Betsy.
That night Justin and I have a conversation about how surprised we were the kids reactions. They were almost exactly the same.
"WHY are we going to a new place?"
"I like our old beach house better."
"Do we get to ride the golf cart to the beach?"
"Does it have a golf cart?"
"Does it have a pond?"
"What about the ducks and the turtles?!"
"I don't want to go to a new place. I want to go to the one we ALWAYS go to."
And, as so often happens, our kids really spoke to us through their reactions. They didn't NEED bigger...better...closer, and neither did we.
Our summer vacations with our family in our double wide "summer house" on a pond with a short golf cart ride to the big blue ocean are always the best week of our year. They wanted those fabulous summer memories together EXACTLY like they remember them from the past six years.
Why do we feel the need for more?
Why aren't we content with what we have already?
Which brings me to another point. Just because we COULD afford go to a different place doesn't mean we NEEDED to and it REALLY doesn't mean that the kids needed to.
Kids are SO good with contentment. Then we, almost unintentionally, teach them to want MORE.
-Currently, our kids talk regularly about how much they love our house and how they hope we live there forever. They talk about how when they grow up they are going to buy a house down the street and come eat with us on Sundays (fingers crossed!).
-The first thing Betsy said when she heard about the Father/Daughter Dance this year was "Oh yay! I get to wear my rainbow dress again! I HOPE it still fits!" I virtually had to clasp my hand over my own mouth when the words "Oh, we will buy you a NEW dress for this year." almost busted out.
-They ask for just a FEW items at Christmas and Birthdays and we give them more than they could have ever imagined getting.
Just because we CAN buy something or do something for our children/families/selves, doesn't mean we SHOULD.
So we've booked, and this year will be our 7th year at our "summer house" and we are looking at it in a whole new light.
-The kids will have fun meeting new friends like they always do on the crowded beach (You are so close, it is inevitable).
-They will get to remember their Daddy working really hard to get his family to the beach and they will see some real life lessons of conflict resolution :) . Work before play!
-We will laugh, as we always do, about our incredible tent fort that we set up and take extreme pride in. This year complete with a plastic baby pool for little Lu.
-JB and I will get lots of people watching opportunities where we will have lengthy, deep, conversations about tattoos and other things like, "How cool of a person do you have to be to get the right to name your child 'Maverick'?"
And we will be content.
Monday, February 25, 2013
It's okay.
So if the five people that read my blog are still with me after my dirty little secret I want to tell you that JB read that post this weekend in horror and wanted me to clarify that there are not poo piles and rotten apples littered through our house on a daily basis. He wants to share that he knows I clean up after Stonie on a regular basis because he gets an extremely angry text from me as I'm cleaning it up and he wants the record to state that he throws away brown apples on a daily basis, so they aren't technically "rotten". Whatever.
So Betsy turns 5 Friday. Five is a biggie. No more cute little concentration faces when she tries to hold up the right number of fingers. It is a whole hand. It means Kindergarten. So that being said, I've been whining about her turning five a lot. I keep saying to JB, "Can you BELIEVE she is FIVE?!"
The thing about it is, I'm going to not want to let go of ANY age, but it IS going to be okay. I pray that God blesses me with MANY more milestones so that when I'm 60 I can stay up all night trying to remember them.
So Betsy turns 5 Friday. Five is a biggie. No more cute little concentration faces when she tries to hold up the right number of fingers. It is a whole hand. It means Kindergarten. So that being said, I've been whining about her turning five a lot. I keep saying to JB, "Can you BELIEVE she is FIVE?!"
I was talking to my mom the other day about it. She is turning the big 6-0 this year and she is in shock. She said she barely slept a wink a few nights ago because she was lying in bed racking her brain about WHERE the time went. She said she was thinking of 50 and what she was doing at 50, how old we were and what my brother and I were up to...then at 40, then at 30. You get the picture. She was dazed about how fuzzy it all was and how FAST it had all happened.
So she's lamenting about a 30+ year period and here I am saying the same thing about FIVE...over and over. It doesn't matter HOW much time is passing. Time. Is. Passing.
I guess Bet has been listening to me whine because last night I was tucked in bed with her, my head on her pillow right beside hers. We had just finished reading a book. I hugged her and said, "Well, Bet. Only a few more days til you are five." She hugged me back and rubbed my back with her little hand. "You are SO sad aren't you mommy. It's going to be okay." She keeps rubbing my back and kisses me on the forehead, just like I've comforted her so many times.
Oh, I want to remember this sweet moment with my 4-year-old, but I also remember feeling that EXACT same way back here about my 3 year-old.
Friday, February 22, 2013
My DIRTY little secret.
Yesterday I was out and texted a friend that I was going to stop by to drop something off for her, "Was she home?". She responded, "My house is nasty and I'm coloring when I should be cleaning." This made me laugh.
So after I popped in and chatted with her for 10 minutes or so, then I was on my way.
Then I started thinking, dwelling, like I always do. I thought back and whatever "nasty" is...I didn't see it.
If someone offered me 1 million dollars I would not be able to tell you if I smelled any weird odors, if there were crumbs on her counters, if there were dishes by her sink, if her toilets were clean, if there were toys everywhere. I'm serious. I have absolutely no idea.
I saw her. I saw her cute children. I left knowing that she listened to me, because I was on a rant when I got there. I left knowing that she was kind because she thought of me and gave me a few things for me and my kids as I left.
That got me thinking, dwelling, even more. What kind of impression do I give? If my house is clean when I have people over, do others think that it is always like that, and I'm judging them?
If someone "popped in" on me, would I be obsessing about what they don't even see?
Here is my DIRTY little secret...and this may or may not make you want to "pop in" on me. My house is RARELY clean. If someone "popped in" on me most days:
-crumbs are all over the floor, tables, counters
-at LEAST 5 pairs of shoes are at the bottom of the stairs and scattered around other areas of the house where you are highly likely to trip on them (even though we have a designated shoe closet. GOSH shoes are a BATTLE around here...)
-not a SINGLE throw pillow is on the couch (because my children have a strange obsession with throwing them on the floor)
-the art table is a disaster of cut paper, glue and several rotten apples (they don't show you the rotten apples in PB catalogs) (these rotten apples may not only be at the art table, but in other very odd places around the house where only a child would lay down an apple...and they may not be found for days...)
-there is a VERY large mountain of mail on the counter
-at LEAST 15 items are by the sink, including no less than 5 dirty baby bottles
-EVERYTHING has tiny-children-hand-and-finger-smudges...the walls, the light switches, the windows, the mirrors, the sinks, the doorknobs, the counters...
-PILES everywhere. Clothes piles, mail piles, shoe piles, pillow piles... You get the picture.
-my stove top has globs of black stuff on it. (I starting cooking something the other day and smoke was coming off of it and I seriously thought it was going to catch on fire.)
-a faint (or strong) smell of urine or poop because our dog is old and has at least one accident per day (or Jay has missed the toilet target...again...even though he has had 3.5 years of practice)
-my bathrooms are as dirty as a truck stop (not a nice truck stop...the kind that you stop at when you are in the middle of nowhere, one with no posted cleaning schedule, one you leave thinking you may have contracted a disease)
And that is JUST downstairs.
You don't believe me, just ask my husband...or my college roommate...
He teases me when I'm in the middle of a "people are coming to my house" psycho clean that, "Wow, we REALLY need to have people over more often."
Yesterday taught me that they are not seeing what I see in my own home. They are not judging me.
When I have people over, I get crazy. If I have a 30 minute warning I can do A LOT, and it is unbelievable what BEFORE and AFTER can happen in 2 hours. (I should be on a reality TV show.) When the pressure is on I'm a bit "Martha". I FREAK. If some one popped by and saw what I mentioned above I would apologize over and over and make excuses and point out things that they didn't even notice, when I should be listening, when I should be being a friend, when I should be being "Mary".
That's the truth, there I said it. So friends, if I go in your home and it is not up to your expectations. Don't worry about me judging, or even noticing. Just hand me a crayon, I'm feeling right at home.
So after I popped in and chatted with her for 10 minutes or so, then I was on my way.
Then I started thinking, dwelling, like I always do. I thought back and whatever "nasty" is...I didn't see it.
If someone offered me 1 million dollars I would not be able to tell you if I smelled any weird odors, if there were crumbs on her counters, if there were dishes by her sink, if her toilets were clean, if there were toys everywhere. I'm serious. I have absolutely no idea.
I saw her. I saw her cute children. I left knowing that she listened to me, because I was on a rant when I got there. I left knowing that she was kind because she thought of me and gave me a few things for me and my kids as I left.
That got me thinking, dwelling, even more. What kind of impression do I give? If my house is clean when I have people over, do others think that it is always like that, and I'm judging them?
If someone "popped in" on me, would I be obsessing about what they don't even see?
Here is my DIRTY little secret...and this may or may not make you want to "pop in" on me. My house is RARELY clean. If someone "popped in" on me most days:
-crumbs are all over the floor, tables, counters
-at LEAST 5 pairs of shoes are at the bottom of the stairs and scattered around other areas of the house where you are highly likely to trip on them (even though we have a designated shoe closet. GOSH shoes are a BATTLE around here...)
-not a SINGLE throw pillow is on the couch (because my children have a strange obsession with throwing them on the floor)
-the art table is a disaster of cut paper, glue and several rotten apples (they don't show you the rotten apples in PB catalogs) (these rotten apples may not only be at the art table, but in other very odd places around the house where only a child would lay down an apple...and they may not be found for days...)
-there is a VERY large mountain of mail on the counter
-at LEAST 15 items are by the sink, including no less than 5 dirty baby bottles
-EVERYTHING has tiny-children-hand-and-finger-smudges...the walls, the light switches, the windows, the mirrors, the sinks, the doorknobs, the counters...
-PILES everywhere. Clothes piles, mail piles, shoe piles, pillow piles... You get the picture.
-my stove top has globs of black stuff on it. (I starting cooking something the other day and smoke was coming off of it and I seriously thought it was going to catch on fire.)
-a faint (or strong) smell of urine or poop because our dog is old and has at least one accident per day (or Jay has missed the toilet target...again...even though he has had 3.5 years of practice)
-my bathrooms are as dirty as a truck stop (not a nice truck stop...the kind that you stop at when you are in the middle of nowhere, one with no posted cleaning schedule, one you leave thinking you may have contracted a disease)
And that is JUST downstairs.
You don't believe me, just ask my husband...or my college roommate...
He teases me when I'm in the middle of a "people are coming to my house" psycho clean that, "Wow, we REALLY need to have people over more often."
Yesterday taught me that they are not seeing what I see in my own home. They are not judging me.
When I have people over, I get crazy. If I have a 30 minute warning I can do A LOT, and it is unbelievable what BEFORE and AFTER can happen in 2 hours. (I should be on a reality TV show.) When the pressure is on I'm a bit "Martha". I FREAK. If some one popped by and saw what I mentioned above I would apologize over and over and make excuses and point out things that they didn't even notice, when I should be listening, when I should be being a friend, when I should be being "Mary".
That's the truth, there I said it. So friends, if I go in your home and it is not up to your expectations. Don't worry about me judging, or even noticing. Just hand me a crayon, I'm feeling right at home.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Focus App...
I've shared about this app before, but I feel compelled to share again.
The Focus on the Family Broadcast app enriches my day SO much and these last couple weeks, the broadcasts have been SO good. I listen when I'm out driving to an inspection...or driving to pick up the kids...or doing chores around the house. They make me think. They make me better. A better wife. A better mother. I find myself jotting down SO many great quotes, notes and thoughts.
Today and tomorrow are Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 ministries. A few months ago I participated in a small group and we read/discussed her book Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl. I LOVED this book. It made me laugh out loud SO many times. It was so relate-able! In her broadcast today (Handling Your Emotions) she shares an exact "explosion moment" that I shared back here.
Yesterday was Ann Kiemel. She has an incredible story about the loss and pain she experienced when trying to have children. Miscarriage after miscarriage until finally God sent her children to her through the gift of adoption. I SOBBED for her and her empty nursery (I don't recommend listening to this one in your car...like I did...). I thanked God that my children came to me so easily. Her story makes me think of my own sweet Betsy and how much she talks now about wanting to be a Mommy. She LOVES babies SO much. I think of how sad it would be if she was unable to have children. It doesn't seem creepy anymore to me when I hear of a mother carrying a baby for her daughter, because if it came to that, I would do that for her.
Last Thursday and Friday was a Zig Ziglar segment that talked about Keeping Romance in Your Marriage. I loved his analogy about not letting the devil "get a toe in".
Last Monday was Dr. Kevin Leman. I REALLY like him. He and John Rosemond have very similar no-nonsense parenting views. One thing I took away from his recent broadcast was "If your children think they are the center of the universe, then where does that leave room for Almighty God?" Wow. Isn't that the truth!
Do you listen to these pod casts too? If so, what has been the one that has impacted you?
The Focus on the Family Broadcast app enriches my day SO much and these last couple weeks, the broadcasts have been SO good. I listen when I'm out driving to an inspection...or driving to pick up the kids...or doing chores around the house. They make me think. They make me better. A better wife. A better mother. I find myself jotting down SO many great quotes, notes and thoughts.
Today and tomorrow are Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 ministries. A few months ago I participated in a small group and we read/discussed her book Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl. I LOVED this book. It made me laugh out loud SO many times. It was so relate-able! In her broadcast today (Handling Your Emotions) she shares an exact "explosion moment" that I shared back here.
Yesterday was Ann Kiemel. She has an incredible story about the loss and pain she experienced when trying to have children. Miscarriage after miscarriage until finally God sent her children to her through the gift of adoption. I SOBBED for her and her empty nursery (I don't recommend listening to this one in your car...like I did...). I thanked God that my children came to me so easily. Her story makes me think of my own sweet Betsy and how much she talks now about wanting to be a Mommy. She LOVES babies SO much. I think of how sad it would be if she was unable to have children. It doesn't seem creepy anymore to me when I hear of a mother carrying a baby for her daughter, because if it came to that, I would do that for her.
Last Thursday and Friday was a Zig Ziglar segment that talked about Keeping Romance in Your Marriage. I loved his analogy about not letting the devil "get a toe in".
Last Monday was Dr. Kevin Leman. I REALLY like him. He and John Rosemond have very similar no-nonsense parenting views. One thing I took away from his recent broadcast was "If your children think they are the center of the universe, then where does that leave room for Almighty God?" Wow. Isn't that the truth!
Do you listen to these pod casts too? If so, what has been the one that has impacted you?
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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