What can be learned from watching old home videos?

1. man our kids were cute.
2. how fast the time has gone by.
3. I looked so relaxed (although I don't remember really feeling that way).
4. how I miss TX
5. I would give anything to go back in time............
6. Noah has loved Wesley from the moment he laid eyes on him up until this very night.
7. man these boys were cute.
8. it hurts my heart a little to know that time is past and I can't get it back.
9. it makes me want to have another little baby in my arms, marveling at every new stage, and watching my family interact with them........(but only if I forget about all the work involved).
10. what an amazingly lucky girl I am to have these kids, this husband, these homes, these memories, this love.....poured down from heaven above.

Thankful Thursday

I have not been one to post regularly on Thursdays, but today I have so much to be thankful for (not just today, but you know what I mean). Kristen--you inspired me with your post, so here it goes:

1. The boys, a.k.a the little boys. Noah and Wesley have just been adding so much sweetness to my days I can hardly stand it. They are two peas in a pod and they adore eachother. I realize parenting has its ups and downs, but we are in a huge upswing right now and I'm so thankful. We've been enjoying our time at home this winter and I feel so content with being a stay at home mom.

2. Health. God has protected all of our immune systems for a incredibly long stretch and I'm quite convinced that is why I've enjoyed being at home this winter. When there is illness in our house, I am an anxious mess. But so far, no one has been sick this winter and it has allowed all of us to enjoy eachother day in and day out. Yes, the boys take vitamins, and I take vitamins (SuperMom) but I'm not so sure that is the ticket. Either way, being healthy is great and even if we had colds and flu and junk, I would still be thankful that we do not have any major illnesses/conditions in our family.

3. Brian's job. This is why I'm able to stay at home in the first place and I am thankful everyday for the hard work he puts in and the respectable company he works for. He had his annual review today and while I haven't heard all the details, he did say it went really well and he felt good. What a blessing! I often think how horrible it would be to be in his shoes and be responsible for so much, get up so early, travel so far, befriend "not so nice" people, etc. I try not to think that too much because I'm afraid I'll suddenly have to work. :) But, the bottom line is, he is so much better of a person to do what he does than I could ever dream to be. I'm proud of him and I'm so so so thankful.

4. TurboJam. What's that, right? Well, it's these silly exercise DVDs that my neighbor gave to me because she had 2 copies. They sat and sat for months till one day I decided to try them out. I love it! I feel healthier and more energetic and I can do them without ever getting in my car (I usually go to the Y to workout). Wow, that sounded like a total commercial! What a dork I am. We're going to FL in 3 weeks and I hope to have a better bathing suit bod by then. We shall see!

5. My home. It's feeling more home-y to me lately and I've had a lot of good moments this winter in it. Where I sit in the morning for my quiet time, where I read to Wesley in his room, where we play boardgames as a family...I'm thankful for all these spaces. We try to make it clear to Noah how special it is to have a safe, warm home and half the time, I think we're reminding me. I love our home, and I hope any of you outoftowner friends, will come bless me by staying in it!

That's a rap folks. Enjoy your Thursday!

Goals for the New Year!

You see I didn't call them resolutions because that word alone causes almost instant failure. Goals suit me better and with God's help, I will be making some big changes this year. These are things I feel the Holy Spirit and my own conscience have been telling me for a while that I need to work on. So here it goes! And I will admit, that I've already had MANY opportunities (being that it is the 12th day into the new year) to practice these....sometimes it is fun, sometimes I groan. :)

In no particular order:


1) Do not step (or run) away from new experiences.

2) Think of others more highly than myself.

3) Savor and take joy in each day as it really is all I have.

4) Love Brian in new and deeper ways.

5) Make less assumptions.

A few comments about these....
#2 and #5 have to do with my pride and self awareness. LOTS of work to do here, folks.
#1 and #3 target the introvert in me as well as the lazyass butt I can be.
#4 is a simple goal that I want to pursue with passion as I fill the role of "wife" for what will hopefully be decades and decades to come.

So far #1 & #2 are all up in my grill and it's becoming pretty obvious how much I need to work on these. It's also becoming obvious that in no way shape or form can I do this without God. I am NOT that good of a person. I actually like the reaffirmation of these challenges because it shows me that I didn't really come up with this list---the Holy Spirit did.

I would love to hear of any goals you might have set for yourself this year. I have NEVER ever set New Year's goals/resolutions and taken them the least bit seriously, so don't feel like you have to earn your keep here. Even if you just have one thing you'd love to accomplish this year, I wanna hear it. Go on, Kristen, give me your list. :)

Simply Pathetic

Me, that is. I cannot believe I have been so TERRIBLE about blogging the last several months. I won't deny it. That's one thing I can't stand is when blogs I read go MIA for months and then all of a sudden they will post a random post with photos and make no mention of their absence. That makes me think I can only expect to wait weeks/months till their next post! Well, folks, have no fear. I won't do that to you. I know I've been awful and Lord willing, I will quit letting Facebook appease my need-comments-fast weakness and become a devoted blogger again.

So! Where to begin? I don't really feel like diving into a topic I'm excited to write about yet, so instead I'll do a kind of update.

Brian and I celebrated 10 years last month. 10. Wow. That's a lot of years. And I'm not kidding when I say I feel like we were just married. Not in that gushy mushy kind of way. In the I-seriously-just-graduated-from-college-and-all-details-of-our-wedding-are-crystal-clear-like-yesterday kind of way. I've been in this haze lately evaluating life, our life, my life, and where it's headed. Realizing I have been married 10 years makes me think about what we've accomplished in those 10 years and what I can expect from the next 10. For a few weeks I really thought I might be having a mid-life crisis at 31. Is that possible? I just seem to be questioning everything. Almost like a narcissistic 20 yr old that spends her days with her head in the clouds feeling serious about everything. Ever been there? I hope I'm not the only one. That's one of the many things I love about Brian. No matter what planet I'm on, what trend I'm following, what scary opinion I throw at him, what emotional meltdown I'm having (which he often doesn't know about), he remains the same. Other than God, he is the most constant and unwavering thing in my life. He is the same guy I fell in love with. I'm not so sure I'm the same as when he fell in love with me. But he loves me none the less. And he is what keeps me grounded. So I am thrilled to celebrate 10 years with Brian. I'm blessed. And I have a feeling God has many surprises in store for us in the near future. I have faith He's going to do some amazing things in our family.

Alrighty, on to Christmas. We spent Christmas in Texas this year. However, the weather fairies decided to play a cruel joke and take Midwest weather and throw it on the south. SO, we spent Christmas eve and early Christmas morning in Memphis due to a snow storm that hit Dallas. :(
Fortunately, we had our Christmas with the boys days earlier so there was no Santa or stockings that they expected on the "real" Dec. 25th. I think I would have sobbed if that were the case. I would tell you all the pitiful details of our experience with Northwest/Delta but it just isn't worth it. Ok I will endulge you with this little snippet: the cherry on top of our travel experience was once back at home in IN, receiving my suitcase off of the luggage spindle literally ripped open with my stuff hanging out. Not unzipped mind you, ripped. Threads everywhere. Bent up, battered and bruised. And when I took it to the Delta office 15 ft away, the lady (who most certainly had a bad day) ripped my head off and told me that it was my fault for having too bulky of an outside pocket and I shouldn't have packed it the way I did. I sat there tongue-tied and utterly confused at her response to my pathetic looking bag. THAT, my friends, is why Delta is getting a big fat letter from my said amazing husband who happens to be a silver medallion member or whatever the heck they call it. :) Okay, enough of that story.

Our time in TX was good. Seeing family and friends is always awesome. The highlight though, was going to our old church. God is truly in that place because everytime I am there, I want to ball my eyes out and never leave. So many incredible people and families that we have walked through life's hardest times with. The way all different generations of people go running up to my kids and pick them up. The treat we were in for, though, was to see the transformation of a life very near and dear to us. God saved it for us on the one Sunday we'd be there and it was simply amazing. It changed my heart for the entire trip (and beyond). God is so very good. His power never ceases.

This is sadly getting way too long and for fear of you clicking that X in the right hand corner, I will end this. But I have so much to pour out and hopefully will be disciplined enough to do it in the coming days and weeks. Happy New Year to all my friends out there! Stay tuned......