21. soft blanket
22. chocolate covered faces
23. sunlit trees
24. birthdays
25. brothers who kiss each other boo-boos
Sporadic Gifts
Nothing can melt you heart faster then when you look out your window and there is big brother kissing little brother's hand.
We have giant windows at the back of our house that look out into our yard. I can see everything and sometimes hear things too. This is what I overheard yesterday:
Kellan - "I hurt my hand Logan."
Logan - "Well, let me see it."
Kellan - "See, right there. Its bleeding."
Logan - "Here, let me kiss it. (kisses the outstretched hand.) There, all better."
Kellan - "Thanks!"
and Kellan runs off.
These are the moments that I really have to stop, thank God and take that mental picture. Unfortunately they are few and far between, but when they happen, they are worth a thousand frustrating moments. This is the genius of our Lord. He places these little gifts sporadically to renew us and remind us what all our toils are for.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
5 Years as a Mom
My oldest turned 5 years old Tuesday. I cannot believe I have been a mother for 5 years! Its been a wonderful journey. I have made many mistakes, cried many tears and suffered many sleepless nights but I know it is still only the beginning. There are many more mistakes to make, tears to cry and nights to toss and turn. Logan is a happy, sweet, silly and very creative boy. No matter what I have done right or wrong, I have loved him with all my being, that and nothing else, is what matters.
Thank you, God, for making me a mom, for giving me Logan.
Thank you, God, for making me a mom, for giving me Logan.
Happy Birthday, Logan!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
2012 Goals - April Update
I started this post on May 1. Right on schedule but then life happened and I am really struggling with the format of this post. I copy so I don't have to type so much each time but the bad formatting lingers. I try to make changes but its not working. Can anyone help?
Last month I felt like I accomplished a lot, but then when I looked back I felt that my quality time with family may have suffered. It's such a hard balance each day. All I know is that God wants me to put Him first, family second and all else after that and I hope next month I can juggle it a bit better. Here is my update:
How are your goals going?
Last month I felt like I accomplished a lot, but then when I looked back I felt that my quality time with family may have suffered. It's such a hard balance each day. All I know is that God wants me to put Him first, family second and all else after that and I hope next month I can juggle it a bit better. Here is my update:
Start and maintain a blog.- Eliminate caffeine from my diet. It has definitely been reduced. I do not have a 9 AM chai or coffee everyday anymore. I have switched mainly to caffeine free when I do grab a coffee on the run and caffeinated pop is not even in the house. I have been feeling better but I am making a lot of Real Food changes to my diet too so who knows.
- Teach my oldest to tie his shoes. First few tries have been a bit frustrating.
Switch to natural cleaners.Hope to blog on this soon.- Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order) I am not sure we have saved $300 exactly, I probably should have better records but we are definitely not spending as much. I also can tell my buying decisions are changing.
- Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more). So far so good.
Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.Hope to blog on this soon.Teach my youngest his colors.- Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
- Reduce the sugar consumed by my family. I feel like I could mark this off. I am definitely happy with how much sugar we get as I feel its more natural. Its mainly homemade except for the occasional Easter treat.
- Begin biking again.
- Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks.
- Read, read and read some more. Ongoing but doing great.
- Expand my garden.
- Help my husband finish the trim work in the house. We are working on doors right now.
- Make homemade marshmallows.
Incorporate lentils into our diet.Go to Adoration.Need to go again, it was so refreshing.- Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest. We are doing so much more than we used to. I try to work with him 3 afternoons a week but its been tricky. Its getting better though.
Try brussel sprouts. Loved them! My family did not.Establisha regular prayer time with my husband. We pray each night together in a coversation style prayer. Its been wonderful for us!- Get out of bed when my husband does. Baby steps here.
- Switch to natural, chemical free sunscreen.
- Learn to make beans in crockpot and freeze.
- Learn more about what oils to use in cooking. I pretty much just use coconut and olive right now. Still experimenting on when and how.
Journey back to full-fat dairy.I think I am where I want us to be. The boys drink 2%, the little guy and I drink soy and almond. I don't buy fat free anything when it comes to dairy. I am trying to keep it natural.- Find out about Essential oils and try them.
- Eliminate my chemical hair products.
- Go paper towel-less.
- Try to make my own gluten free pizza crust and chicken nuggets.
- Plan a more regular faith-building schedule for my children.
- Teach my oldest to tell time.
How are your goals going?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Count my Blessings Wednesday
16. Backyard baseball games
17. freshly mowed grass (the smell especially)
18. friends
19. squirells playing tag in our trees
20. free stuff
I can see a glimpse of God's love for me everytime I look at my husband. Part of that is because its the closest thing I have to His love here on earth but the main reason is that my husband has to be a gift from God.
He is helpful around the house, great with our kids and always has time for his family. He is kind, considerate and rarely says a bad word about anyone. He is so funny and has a good heart. When I met my husband, he was not a Christian. He was raised Catholic but his immediate family had stopped going when he was still in high school. That was a challenge during our dating years, but his values and morals were so strong that I knew someday he would be a Christian. Also he respected my faith and our family's future faith. I have seen his faith grow everyday and it amazes me.
Right now as I watch him play baseball with our boys in the backyard, my heart overflows and I know God loves me. Thank you!
17. freshly mowed grass (the smell especially)
18. friends
19. squirells playing tag in our trees
20. free stuff
I can see a glimpse of God's love for me everytime I look at my husband. Part of that is because its the closest thing I have to His love here on earth but the main reason is that my husband has to be a gift from God.
He is helpful around the house, great with our kids and always has time for his family. He is kind, considerate and rarely says a bad word about anyone. He is so funny and has a good heart. When I met my husband, he was not a Christian. He was raised Catholic but his immediate family had stopped going when he was still in high school. That was a challenge during our dating years, but his values and morals were so strong that I knew someday he would be a Christian. Also he respected my faith and our family's future faith. I have seen his faith grow everyday and it amazes me.
Right now as I watch him play baseball with our boys in the backyard, my heart overflows and I know God loves me. Thank you!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
I Drank the Kool-Aid
11. the smell of lilacs
12. Birds singing in the morning
13. little boys prayers
14. homemade guacamole
15. little girls in their First Holy Communion dresses (especially my Goddaughters)
I Drank the Kool-Aid
Ok, my husband says "I drank the Kool-Aid". That is how he explains my new pseudo-obsession. I think I might be becoming one of those real food, crunchy, green-loving hippie freaks.
The truth is that once you have a child with a food allergy, or probably any allergy for that matter, the world starts to look different. I think its tough enough having your first child because you realize how unsafe your house is - knives on the counter, furniture with sharp corners, hard floors + high bar stools, etc. But when you have a child with an allergy even the food becomes an enemy. You go to a restaurant and you have to play detective to decide what food is safe for them to eat. You worry about social events - what will be served, will there be options for my child, will a tantrum ensue when I tell him he can't have that, will someone slip him food when my back is turned? I will admit we have declined invitations simply because I wasn't sure how we could safely handle the situation.
Its been over a year now and we feel much more confident to travel, go to a restaurant or attend a social event but that is only because I have done a lot of research and my son is a great communicator. He will point at milk and cheese and can say "That makes me sick." I can't wait till he is old enough to walk in front of me in line and say "Can I have that? Does it have dairy" Then again, it makes me sad that he has to say those things. Shouldn't he have the right to just be a kid and live life without cares and worries? Unfortunately, he can't. And I will admit his allergy is not even that bad. He gets hives and an upset stomach but at this point, we do not have to carry an epipen. Thank you, Lord!
So that brings me to why I wrote this post. For two years, I have had to worry about what I ate and my child. It has begun a slow process of why? Why are children getting more allergies? Why is it so common now? Why was it that 4 years ago I only knew one person with an allergy and now I know over 10 (that is not counting people I have met through the allergy itself, just people I happen to be social with). Why is their more autism, ADHD and behavioral problems? WHY??
As you start to read up on allergies you come across a lot of articles that try to point to the answers. There are many philosophies out there but they all seem to intersect in certain places, especially around food. This is not going to be a political post. I will just encourage you to read for yourself. (I am currently reading The Unhealthy Truth which is eye-opening and also a bit stress-inducing but good. I also would encourage you to check out Kitchen Stewardship and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. These at least tell you about one side of the information and link you to some great research.) But for myself, I do feel that there is probably a connection in our over industrialized, over processed society of convenience. Scientists are always creating something easier and faster to clean or eat. Is this really a good thing? I don't think so.
I also have a strong faith and that side of me likes to think that just because we can make it, doesn't mean its something God wants for us. He doesn't want war either but we create that and violence and weapons and drugs...ok, I will stop there. Just because we can create foods in a lab doesn't mean that is what God wants us to eat. I have this same mentality for meat. I personally think God wants us to be omnivores as long as we take care of His creation which means not cloning and adding hormones and junk to animals and treating them well.
For two years I have been thinking more about this and making little changes here and there but after a series of events the last few weeks, I have been reading a lot more. And analyzing and over processing all this in my mind. For awhile it was starting to take too big of a role in my life, in fact. Thankfully, God help me to see this and I am trying to back-up a bit. I am taking baby steps and only changing things as I can with A LOT OF PRAYER! If I wanted to make all the changes quickly I would be spending A LOT of money and time obsessing. I don't think God wants that either. I think He wants me to do the best I can. So hopefully I will start to blog a little about my changes, attempts and maybe recipes. Some of them even fit into my 2012 goals and some will become part of the goals. Here is what I am doing far;
- trying to rid my house of plastics! I replaced the family's water bottles to glass and stainless steel. The boys have been upgraded to drinking out of water glasses and eating off our regular plates instead of kids plastic dishes. I always tried to avoid cooking in plastic so that was easy. I am saving glass jars and bottles for freezing and storage use as well. I have stuff I need to buy but that will come in time.
- cooking with more coconut oil and getting rid of canola and vegetable oil.
- slowly replacing cleaners and hygiene items with "green" stuff as they run out.
- buying organic produce, especially if they fall on the "dirty dozen" list.
- cooking with more beans and lentils and less gluten.
I feel like I have been doing more but that is what I can come up with right now. I would like to tackle one thing each week and then hopefully share what happened. Hopefully I can help others a little bit with trial and error. Currently I am testing a green dishwasher gel by BioKleen. The jury is still out.
This will be an adventure, especially considering my very picky preschooler and skeptical husband. When I asked my husband what he thought of all this, his reply was "I think you drank the Kool-aid". I can see his skepticism as he had an aunt who severely restricted her diet many years ago. She also refused to see a medical doctor and it affected her health. I think there is a balance to this. It will definitely be very, tiny steps but I think it will be worth it in the long run. Even if the long run is 10 years from now.
I am not sure if this makes me one of those Real Food people or green or crunchy. I just think I am someone trying to do my best for the family God asked me to take care of.
12. Birds singing in the morning
13. little boys prayers
14. homemade guacamole
15. little girls in their First Holy Communion dresses (especially my Goddaughters)
I Drank the Kool-Aid
Ok, my husband says "I drank the Kool-Aid". That is how he explains my new pseudo-obsession. I think I might be becoming one of those real food, crunchy, green-loving hippie freaks.
The truth is that once you have a child with a food allergy, or probably any allergy for that matter, the world starts to look different. I think its tough enough having your first child because you realize how unsafe your house is - knives on the counter, furniture with sharp corners, hard floors + high bar stools, etc. But when you have a child with an allergy even the food becomes an enemy. You go to a restaurant and you have to play detective to decide what food is safe for them to eat. You worry about social events - what will be served, will there be options for my child, will a tantrum ensue when I tell him he can't have that, will someone slip him food when my back is turned? I will admit we have declined invitations simply because I wasn't sure how we could safely handle the situation.
Its been over a year now and we feel much more confident to travel, go to a restaurant or attend a social event but that is only because I have done a lot of research and my son is a great communicator. He will point at milk and cheese and can say "That makes me sick." I can't wait till he is old enough to walk in front of me in line and say "Can I have that? Does it have dairy" Then again, it makes me sad that he has to say those things. Shouldn't he have the right to just be a kid and live life without cares and worries? Unfortunately, he can't. And I will admit his allergy is not even that bad. He gets hives and an upset stomach but at this point, we do not have to carry an epipen. Thank you, Lord!
So that brings me to why I wrote this post. For two years, I have had to worry about what I ate and my child. It has begun a slow process of why? Why are children getting more allergies? Why is it so common now? Why was it that 4 years ago I only knew one person with an allergy and now I know over 10 (that is not counting people I have met through the allergy itself, just people I happen to be social with). Why is their more autism, ADHD and behavioral problems? WHY??
As you start to read up on allergies you come across a lot of articles that try to point to the answers. There are many philosophies out there but they all seem to intersect in certain places, especially around food. This is not going to be a political post. I will just encourage you to read for yourself. (I am currently reading The Unhealthy Truth which is eye-opening and also a bit stress-inducing but good. I also would encourage you to check out Kitchen Stewardship and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. These at least tell you about one side of the information and link you to some great research.) But for myself, I do feel that there is probably a connection in our over industrialized, over processed society of convenience. Scientists are always creating something easier and faster to clean or eat. Is this really a good thing? I don't think so.
I also have a strong faith and that side of me likes to think that just because we can make it, doesn't mean its something God wants for us. He doesn't want war either but we create that and violence and weapons and drugs...ok, I will stop there. Just because we can create foods in a lab doesn't mean that is what God wants us to eat. I have this same mentality for meat. I personally think God wants us to be omnivores as long as we take care of His creation which means not cloning and adding hormones and junk to animals and treating them well.
For two years I have been thinking more about this and making little changes here and there but after a series of events the last few weeks, I have been reading a lot more. And analyzing and over processing all this in my mind. For awhile it was starting to take too big of a role in my life, in fact. Thankfully, God help me to see this and I am trying to back-up a bit. I am taking baby steps and only changing things as I can with A LOT OF PRAYER! If I wanted to make all the changes quickly I would be spending A LOT of money and time obsessing. I don't think God wants that either. I think He wants me to do the best I can. So hopefully I will start to blog a little about my changes, attempts and maybe recipes. Some of them even fit into my 2012 goals and some will become part of the goals. Here is what I am doing far;
- trying to rid my house of plastics! I replaced the family's water bottles to glass and stainless steel. The boys have been upgraded to drinking out of water glasses and eating off our regular plates instead of kids plastic dishes. I always tried to avoid cooking in plastic so that was easy. I am saving glass jars and bottles for freezing and storage use as well. I have stuff I need to buy but that will come in time.
- cooking with more coconut oil and getting rid of canola and vegetable oil.
- slowly replacing cleaners and hygiene items with "green" stuff as they run out.
- buying organic produce, especially if they fall on the "dirty dozen" list.
- cooking with more beans and lentils and less gluten.
I feel like I have been doing more but that is what I can come up with right now. I would like to tackle one thing each week and then hopefully share what happened. Hopefully I can help others a little bit with trial and error. Currently I am testing a green dishwasher gel by BioKleen. The jury is still out.
This will be an adventure, especially considering my very picky preschooler and skeptical husband. When I asked my husband what he thought of all this, his reply was "I think you drank the Kool-aid". I can see his skepticism as he had an aunt who severely restricted her diet many years ago. She also refused to see a medical doctor and it affected her health. I think there is a balance to this. It will definitely be very, tiny steps but I think it will be worth it in the long run. Even if the long run is 10 years from now.
I am not sure if this makes me one of those Real Food people or green or crunchy. I just think I am someone trying to do my best for the family God asked me to take care of.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Mother of a School Aged Child?
6. Brothers sharing a tractor ride.
7. Rhubarb crisp
8. Welcome home pictures
9. Clean bathtubs
10. New, white shiny doors
Mother of a School Aged Child?
So I am entering a new phase of my life and I am unprepared for it. Motherhood of a school aged child. Really? When did I get here? Now I realize I am still a mother of a preschooler but we have had to think so much about kindergarten lately that I feel like the former.
Tonight we had a conference for Logan's preschool. Granted it was only 15 minutes long and you basically look at colorings but it was still stressful. I can only imagine what they will be like from now on. My oldest is a May baby. He is also a May boy which I feel is different than a May girl. I have really struggled with if he is ready for kindergarten or not. Of course the best advice I heard is to do what feels right. I am praying but I will admit, I am not good at waiting for answers. I begin to worry right away. Something I need to pray more about.
I have heard that its always better to hold them back, no one ever regrets it. But then the school says he is ready and they said they never recommend holding back a May baby unless its necessary. They reminded me that it could be a big deal when he is older and developing sooner than the other kids. My mom thinks its just me not wanting my baby to go to school. (I don't think so but you never know what your inner conscious is doing sometimes).
Its just hard to hear that your child is behind in a certain area or struggles with something. Of course, they said he is bright, creative and sweet but I immediately focused on the negatives. Then started the deprocating self-talk. Its my fault. I don't help him enough. I need to work with him more. He gets this from me. By the time we left, I was very downhearted.
So as we drove away, I prayed. I did not feel immediate relief but after a few distractions, I realized how silly I was being. I mean its not like he wasn't performing. He can write his name and spell the name of everyone in our family. He is already adding and subtracting. I couldn't do that at age 4. Plus, I was being one of those moms that I did not want to be. Overly critical and overly involved. I have always said what mattered most for me was my children's faith and values. They can be janitors for all I care as long as they love God and others. So what was I worrying about?
I have a feeling this is what I will have to look forward to next year. A lot of ups and downs as I get stressed one minute and then remember the big picture the next. We do have him signed up for kindergarten. I will continue to pray. I will continue to take advice and I hope in August, we will be doing what is right. Either way.
7. Rhubarb crisp
8. Welcome home pictures
9. Clean bathtubs
10. New, white shiny doors
Mother of a School Aged Child?
So I am entering a new phase of my life and I am unprepared for it. Motherhood of a school aged child. Really? When did I get here? Now I realize I am still a mother of a preschooler but we have had to think so much about kindergarten lately that I feel like the former.
Tonight we had a conference for Logan's preschool. Granted it was only 15 minutes long and you basically look at colorings but it was still stressful. I can only imagine what they will be like from now on. My oldest is a May baby. He is also a May boy which I feel is different than a May girl. I have really struggled with if he is ready for kindergarten or not. Of course the best advice I heard is to do what feels right. I am praying but I will admit, I am not good at waiting for answers. I begin to worry right away. Something I need to pray more about.
I have heard that its always better to hold them back, no one ever regrets it. But then the school says he is ready and they said they never recommend holding back a May baby unless its necessary. They reminded me that it could be a big deal when he is older and developing sooner than the other kids. My mom thinks its just me not wanting my baby to go to school. (I don't think so but you never know what your inner conscious is doing sometimes).
Its just hard to hear that your child is behind in a certain area or struggles with something. Of course, they said he is bright, creative and sweet but I immediately focused on the negatives. Then started the deprocating self-talk. Its my fault. I don't help him enough. I need to work with him more. He gets this from me. By the time we left, I was very downhearted.
So as we drove away, I prayed. I did not feel immediate relief but after a few distractions, I realized how silly I was being. I mean its not like he wasn't performing. He can write his name and spell the name of everyone in our family. He is already adding and subtracting. I couldn't do that at age 4. Plus, I was being one of those moms that I did not want to be. Overly critical and overly involved. I have always said what mattered most for me was my children's faith and values. They can be janitors for all I care as long as they love God and others. So what was I worrying about?
I have a feeling this is what I will have to look forward to next year. A lot of ups and downs as I get stressed one minute and then remember the big picture the next. We do have him signed up for kindergarten. I will continue to pray. I will continue to take advice and I hope in August, we will be doing what is right. Either way.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Giving Thanks
I have been MIA in the blogosphere. Well that is not true, just my posting is MIA. I have probably been a little too busy in the others' blogs. I think I am struggling with if blogging is a good idea for me. I don't really have a true purpose for the blog yet. I mainly just want to share my trials and successes each day as a Christian, mom, wife and woman each day. I read a lot of blogs of people who seem to have all the answers. I wanted to blog as a person still looking, trying, failing and sometimes succeeding each day. Anyway, I am going to give it another try.
My big worry is that I don't want blogging to also take me away what is truly important to me - God and my family. I have been trying to seek the balance. I have read two great books lately - One Thousand Gifts and A Mother's Rule of Life. Each have really been teaching me about priorities and how I can truly spend each day worshipping, loving and thanking God each day while serving my family and the world. Its a tough thing to do. At least I feel like it is. Especially when you feel pulled to do so much like volunteering, cleaning and just figuring out all the stuff that is supposed to be "best" for the child (more on that later this week).
So one thing I am going to try to do is when I have nothing else to write, I am at least going to list my thanksgiving. Its sort of like trying to create my one thousand gifts list. Here is my start from this weekend:
1. Sun shining on new rainfall.
2. Brothers holding hands.
3. Elderly couple walking hand in hand.
4. Little boys who have lots of kisses and hugs for their mama.
5. A single red rose.
I hope you saw lots of the little gifts the Lord gives us each day. Remember to tell Him, Thank You!
My big worry is that I don't want blogging to also take me away what is truly important to me - God and my family. I have been trying to seek the balance. I have read two great books lately - One Thousand Gifts and A Mother's Rule of Life. Each have really been teaching me about priorities and how I can truly spend each day worshipping, loving and thanking God each day while serving my family and the world. Its a tough thing to do. At least I feel like it is. Especially when you feel pulled to do so much like volunteering, cleaning and just figuring out all the stuff that is supposed to be "best" for the child (more on that later this week).
So one thing I am going to try to do is when I have nothing else to write, I am at least going to list my thanksgiving. Its sort of like trying to create my one thousand gifts list. Here is my start from this weekend:
1. Sun shining on new rainfall.
2. Brothers holding hands.
3. Elderly couple walking hand in hand.
4. Little boys who have lots of kisses and hugs for their mama.
5. A single red rose.
I hope you saw lots of the little gifts the Lord gives us each day. Remember to tell Him, Thank You!
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