New Year's Goals (5 Months Late)

 

A few weeks ago at work I realized that we are doing New Year's goals again this year!  Last year my boss had us write out five goals, and in July she gave us a certain amount of shopping money for each goal we completed, and we all went shopping together!  Fun, right?  I have a cool boss.

I obviously wasn't at work for the first three months this year, so I kind of got a late start.  But I finally realized what was going on and wrote out some goals.  If you remember from last year, I'm not usually one to set New Year's resolutions for myself because I feel like I'm setting myself up for failure . . . so I tried to just be reasonable.  Here is what I came up with.

 

1.  Read 3+ books every month.  I am doing great on this so far!  I'm in a reading mood lately, and I just want to read more in general this year, so 3 or more books a month is my goal.  At that rate I should at least make the same book total as last year, if not beat it.

2. Eat less sugar.  And ever since I made that goal, I've been failing miserably.  I admit it, I eat too many cookies, and too much fudge, and too many jelly beans.  And I drink too many mochas.  I'm really going to try to do better.

3. Write 1 letter to a friend a month.  I figure one letter a month is doable, right?  Right.  And it's better than I've done in years past.  Maybe if I stick to this one it won't take me 6+ months to respond to people.

4. Take Wyatt swimming a few times this summer.  I want to take advantage of the warm weather, and I'm really hoping Wyatt will like the water this year!  And hopefully being in a swimsuit will also motivate me to do better on Goal #2.

5.  Start planning Gwen's 1st birthday party.  First thing is to decide on a theme.  Any ideas?

 

And that's it.  Terribly late New Year's goals.  I think I might be able to hit all 5 this time, as long as I can do better at the no sugar thing!  Any suggestions for low-sugar, dairy-free, all-natural snacks to satisfy my sweet tooth?  And that involve chocolate?  Is that too much to ask?  

It probably is, but I'll let you know if I find something.

19-20/52 - Morning and Goofing Off

19/52 - First Thing In The Morning

I open my eyes and see Gwen.

I go in Wyatt's room and catch him reading his books.

This is just a random, cute picture of my kiddos watching a Praise Baby together.

20/52 - Goofing Off

Miss Gwen learned to roll over from her back to her stomach this week!

Mr. Wyatt playing with his cars and looking mischievous.  My boy is growing so fast.

How We've Changed

All relationships change over time, and ours is no exception.

The most obvious has been that our marriage changed a lot after we had kids - now it's not just us, we have two other lives that we are responsible for together.  

On the one hand, it does take a lot of time taking care of two more lives, and so we have less time to just hang out and focus on each other.  We're working on making time for more dates so we can get back to having some time that is just for the two of us.  

But on the other hand I feel like we are more of a team now because of how we work together for the kids, and they glue us together in a completely different way.  They are part of both of us, and together we are the most important people in their world.  That has a way of making you closer.

Our relationship has changed over time in lots of ways, and in general, it's gotten deeper.  We know how we're both committed to each other for life.  With that comes being completely comfortable with each other - we can each show our flaws now.  

Obviously you don't have that in a dating relationship, and even early on in marriage I think you're trying to put your best foot forward, but over time you get to know each other more deeply and you see the ugly parts - but you love each other anyway.  That is true love, and I feel like that is where we are.

I know our relationship is going to continue to change, and I think that it'll just continue on the same trajectory - not that our relationship is perfect by any means.  We have had our share of rough spots, and I know we'll continue to have them throughout our life, but I think over the years our marriage will grow deeper as we go through the bumpy spots together.  

I hope someday we're that cute older couple who share meals at restaurants and still hold hands while we walk.  I think so far we're on the right track.

(January 2011, when we were expecting Wyatt.)

Ministry

I found myself stalking browsing some friends' Facebook pages the other day, and I decided to check the page of a girl I knew several years ago.  We reconnected on Facebook several months ago, and I had been thinking about asking her if she wanted to meet up for coffee or lunch, hoping to make a new friend.  

But as I was scrolling on her Facebook page I found a comment from somebody she knew, and I realized that since the last time I saw her she had spent some time serving in Africa.  

When I read that I suddenly felt a pang of inferiority - here was this girl, and obviously she had taken time to do some really great things for the Lord in Africa . . . and what had I really done for the Lord over the last 7 years since we had last seen each other?  All I'd done was gotten married and had babies.  

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though I never thought I would think such a thing, I had at least partially bought into one of Satan's lies - that motherhood doesn't matter.

Over the last seven years, I've never felt like I wasn't where the Lord wanted me to be.  So why do I assume the Lord would rather I had been in some other country serving Him when I believe He put me here with my husband and kids for a reason?

I think this is something that a lot of moms can lose sight of - your kids are your ministry.  And if you have kids, they are the greatest ministry you have.  We are called to be faithful with the little things, and even when it's hard to see the eternal impact in making macaroni and cheese and picking up little socks, what we do with this task of motherhood does matter.

I realized that I think the Lord had just called this girl and me to different things for that seven year portion of our lives.  The Lord called her to be single for those years, which allowed her the opportunity to travel and serve the Lord through foreign mission work.  He called me to stay here, get married, and have two beautiful children - the first steps in my lifelong mission to do my best to reach my kids for the Lord.

This isn't something to be brushed away as "not as important".  It is the ministry that God has given me for this season in my life, and I think He wants me to approach it just as seriously and passionately as any other ministry.  Because it is important.  

I don't want to minimize it.  I want to work and strive, give my kids my best, show Jesus to them, follow the call to be a missionary to my own kids, and trust the Lord to use that.  I want to be faithful with these kids that the Lord has given me, and I know He can use it in ways that I can't see.

Motherhood does matter to God.  He can use it even when it feels like I'm failing, or even when the work seems insignificant.  

I know this is right where He's called me to be.

The Guardian Review

 

I recently requested to review "The Guardian" by Beverly Lewis.  I've read several of her books, and I like Amish fiction, so I was happy to see this book come up!

This book starts with a little Amish girl, Sarah, falling out of her family's buggy one evening.  She is found the next day by an "Englisher" named Jodi.  As Jodi returns Sarah to her family she forms a connection with Sarah's family, and as she gets to know them some of her hurts over her sister's death start to heal.

I enjoyed this book.  Beverly Lewis's books are always laid-back and relaxing to read, and her characters are likable.  Her descriptions in this book, especially, make me want to visit Amish country!  I would recommend this book (or any of Beverly Lewis's books) to anyone looking for some good Amish fiction!

Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for this review.  This is my honest opinion.

My New Clutch!

Do you ever get annoyed carrying around a purse and a diaper bag?  

I know I do.  Some places it's not a big deal, or when Derek is with me he can help me carry the diaper bag, but sometimes you just don't want to carry around more than one bag, you know?  

Usually I end up putting my phone and wallet and whatever else I need in one of the pockets of the diaper bag, and then I promptly forget all about it until I'm searching through my purse later and realize I never took them back out!  I'm also notorious for locking my keys in the car, so switching so much stuff back and forth between my purse and diaper bag is probably not such a great idea . . .

A few weeks ago Chamel contacted me about advertising her shop, Chamel's Creations, on my blog, and I asked her if she'd be willing to send me a product to review - I was delighted when she agreed!

  I've been reading her blog, and I love her mission statement for her company - to share the word of God through incorporating verses into everyday items!  You can read more about her mission statement here.

I was so excited when the package came in the mail!  

Chamel included a sweet note of encouragement to me.

And she sent me on of her gorgeous Sequoia clutches with Psalm 150:6 on the front!

She also threw in this cute clip as well, which was a fun bonus!

I think this clutch could be a great solution to my diaper bag problem!  It is the perfect size for my phone, credit cards, keys, lip gloss . . . all the essentials, and I could put them all in there and easily switch it back and forth from my purse and diaper bag without forgetting one or more items like I tend to do.  I think this will dramatically decrease the likelihood of me forgetting my keys and locking them in my car.  

I love that the Bible verse is so distinct and central to the design - so when I take my phone or keys out it will get people thinking about God's Word!  What a great conversation starter and potential witnessing tool.

Chamel sells these clutches in two different sizes, along with with smaller pouches and mink ribbon blankets in her shop - definitely check it out!   A portion of each Seqoia product sale is also sent to help a sweet little girl with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which I think is amazing.  You can read more about that on Chamel's blog.

I love Chamel's heart for the Lord, and how she really wants to make a difference with her business, instead of just selling things for profit.  Stop by her blog to say hello if you get a chance!  And thank you so much, Chamel, for giving me the chance to work with you!

Mother's Day 2013

I had a lovely Mother's Day!

First, on Saturday Derek and the kids took me shopping and we went out to lunch.  It was a nice day out for me!  We went to Charming Charlie and Derek got me a purse and a scarf, and I got myself a dress there too.  I'm looking forward to nice days this summer so I can wear it!

Then yesterday we went out to breakfast and then church with my mom and grandma, along with my dad and sister's family.  We had a nice time!

 

 

After church we took Derek's mom out for lunch!

 

 

I snuck in my traditional Mother's Day nap on the way home, and then later Wyatt gave me his gift from him and Gwen- flowers, and a card!  Dad might have helped them a little bit . . .

 

 

Derek traced the kid's hands inside the card, so I can remember how big their hands were at the stage (he did pretty good with a wiggly two year old and four month old)!  

It was a nice day, and I'm so grateful to be the mom to my two beautiful kids!  It's the greatest job in the world.