Feeling Bloggy

I haven't blogged in ages for a myriad of reasons, but I am feeling the itch and have several posts ruminating. So be on the lookout for the following:

Summer Fun Wrap Up

My Firstborn Turns Ten

School Plans and Goals

and maybe one about my some personal ups and downs...maybe...

Plus, we have another birthday next week, so there will be a post entitled Sam the Great Turns Eight

A couple friends who we don't get to visit often said they were missing the updates they could find here. That was all the encouragement I needed to squeeze in some writing time-the laundry can wait, right?

Some Firsts for Our Girl

Maggie's hair has been growing out quite a bit. It wasn't too long, but the ends were dry and getting easily tangled, which led to frustrating hair combing/brushing. The boys needed hair cuts, so I decided if they could fit Maggie in, I would let them cut her hair a little bit, too. It wasn't drastic, they just took a little over an inch off the back and then trimmed all around. She sat stiff as a board and as serious as can be while watching Doc McStuffins in the Barbie car as Amy cut her hair. It was funny how stoic she was throughout the whole thing. The lollipop afterwards did make her a little excited. :)

a glimpse of how long it had gotten (best picture I could find, apparently I don't take a lot of pictures of the back of my daughter's head!)

Miss Maggie is quite the busy little thing. She runs and jumps and walks down the stairs "all by self" and basically does anything she can to keep up with the big brothers. Unfortunately for her, this means that she falls, stumbles, trips and bangs quite often. This past week, she somehow hit her eye on a chair and has her first shiner. Yep, my two year old girl has a little bit of a black eye. It was swelling immediately, so I put the Boo-Boo Stick on it and it didn't get too awfully swollen or ugly. Now it looks like she has a little eye make-up on one eye!

It hasn't slowed her down one bit!

Burnt Blankies and Random Rashes

I've been a little quiet over here lately on the blogging front. Life has been rushing ahead at it's usual breakneck speed, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it. Here's just a taste of what's been going on in our crazy house!

A few days ago, I was changing Maggie's diaper after her nap and I hear Will say, "Oh, no!" He runs into Maggie's room, in his typical dramatic style, and says, "Mom! My bluey! My bluey is stuck on the big lights! I was just trying to drop it down and it got stuck!" As I finished changing Maggie, a terrible smell wafts into the room. Something was burning. I rush out and find Will's precious blankie, named Bluey, because each of his older brothers has a blue stuffed animal with that name, melting and smoking on the chandelier. Thankfully, I could reach it and managed to peel it away without an actual fire breaking out. Unfortunately, Bluey was burned through in a couple places, and the whole ordeal scared my sweet four year old boy to the point that he was shaking and crying. It was so sad.

The good news is that he has rebounded well. We have always had a back-up Bluey, but since Will could tell them apart, he has always preferred the one that got torched, saying that the back-up looks mean, something about it's smile-he's such a funny kid! I went to Amazon, hoping that if I could order a new one the replacement might have a happy smile, like the original. Sadly, they no longer make the lovey that we have, but the newer version is close, so Will was excited to get it. Now my little guy sleeps with the back-up Bluey and his new "cute little Bluey."

The day that the new Bluey arrived, so did a rash. Saturday, after making a trip to Costco and to the library with the kids, I undressed Maggie for the bath and discovered that her arms were covered with a hive-like rash!

A few moments later I notice that Will's arms look very similar to Maggie's. Yikes. Just like that our two week streak of everyone going to church together on Sunday came to a screeching halt!

Sunday morning, Maggie's rash had spread to her legs and face. Monday morning, Jon got out of the shower and started calling for me. He had something similar on his arms and legs. Before lunch, Sam had it on his face.

Since we had friends who had recently had strep and two of the kids complained of sore throats, I took them in to the doctor on Tuesday.

The strep tests came back negative and the doctor declared it a viral rash. As of today, the boys are almost completely clear of their rashes, and Maggie just has some traces on her legs and face. I thought last winter with the boys thumb infections was weird, but this one might top it...maybe.

New Year, Old Goals, New Resolve

I keep seeing posts about new resolutions and goals, and while they are great, I feel like speaking up because my goals aren't new. The year is new. My resolve is new. My goals are the same. Maybe that sounds better, same goals rather than old.

I love marking the passing of time and reflecting on where we were last year at this time or 5 years ago or a decade ago. However, the start of a new year did not change my goals. It did not change my hopes or dreams. It just makes me realize that time is continuing to pass. I can either get more serious about accomplishing those goals, or I should probably change them. I'm not changing mine, but I am reminding myself of some ways to help accomplish them.

So while the goals remain the same: Love God, Love Family, Love Others (there's a mouthful), there are a few things that I want to try to remember this year.

Be gentle, with others and with myself. Frustrations come, and it's easy to get angry and harsh. That harshness never accomplishes good.

Be kind, with others and with myself. This quote says it all, "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Be gracious, with others and with myself. I once heard grace defined as kindness undeserved. Others may not deserve my kindness, and sometimes I might not deserve it, but grace...oh, grace. I'm so thankful for it. Even when I have done nothing to deserve kindness or mercy, grace.

Forgive, others and myself. As one who has been forgiven, I can say it is a powerful thing. Sometimes we are slowest to forgive ourselves. If you're holding onto something and beating yourself up over it, maybe it's time to let it go. Ultimate forgiveness comes from God and brings freedom, joy and peace. If that's something you want to know more about, please ask me. But even those of us who know the forgiveness that Jesus brings are still guilty from time to time of holding onto hurt, anger and bitterness. Whether it is something petty, like a child giving attitude or something larger and deeper, anger is a poison and brings only death. Forgiveness brings life.

These are words I need to remember this year.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and if one has complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14

Things I Love, pt. 3

If you've been to this space recently, you've seen part 1 or part 2 of this series. Today's post is a little less serious, but here are a few more of my favorites:

Television Shows:

Sherlock: Our most recent fav. Between the wit and the mystery, this show is so entertaining. Like so many other BBC hits that I enjoy (Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife), this show is so well made. My only complaint is that there are so few episodes in each season. We are watching season 3 currently, and a little sad that we'll be caught up and waiting for new episodes to be released.

Gilmore Girls: An oldie but a goody. This show will always be one of my favorites. I just recently worked through the entire show on Netflix. I love the banter between Lorelai and Rory. The comedy mixed in with a little drama draws me in, even the third and fourth times around.

The Office: I resisted the show at first, but on the recommendation of a friend, who's opinion I value, I jumped in on the episode The Convict. It is still one of my favorite episodes. In fact, last night after watching a more serious show, Pete turned on the aforementioned episode just for the laughs that we knew it would bring. Like Gilmore Girls, there are episodes that I skip, but overall, this show cracks me up.

Apps:

Two Birds: I am a sucker for word games. This one has been a favorite for at least a year now. There are weekly tournaments and you can also play against individuals. If you join and want to play, let me know.

Trivia Crack: This game seems to be very popular right now. A friend told me about it right earlier this month, then I found out that my brothers were playing. Now, I am constantly playing various members of my family and some friends as well. It's like a digital version of Trivial Pursuit, and it's a lot of fun.

My Fitness Pal: Not a game at all, but a great way to keep track of my snacking. I could snack all day long, but if I am faithfully logging my snacks, it helps me to make healthier choices. I can also look back and see the nutritional value of what I am eating, and chart my weight loss(or gain).

So, I'd love to know what are you watching or playing?

Next time I will list my kids favorite apps--educational and otherwise. :)

Things I Love, part 2

A couple weeks ago I wrote about a few other things I love. The goal here being to share succinctly things that I'm thankful to have in my life. Today I want to share a few more of my favorite things...this post doesn't include any embarrassing pictures of me like that one did*, but I hope you'll enjoy it none the less! ;)

Homeschooling and Classical Conversations

I know that many of you think, "I could never homeschool" or "you must be a saint" or "well, you were a teacher before you had kids, so of course you like it" and I have to admit, it is one of the most challenging things I've ever done. Like most challenging things in life, it is also the most rewarding. I love my kids, and like any honest parent, sometimes they drive me crazy. But one of my favorite things is learning with my kids. As we go along in this homeschooling journey, I am figuring out that their weaknesses are mine, and sometimes their strengths are mine. I love the challenge of trying to find a new way to teach them something. Mostly, although I take frequent breaks from them, I just love getting to spend so much time with my kids, and to be with them when they have those light bulb moments!

Classical Conversations has been a blessing in so many ways. I love getting to tutor each week, the quality of the material that I am learning with my kids is amazing, but the best part of it is the fellowship. The community is so wonderful for me and for the kids. I know many families that successfully homeschool without it, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

My husband

This guy, he supports me in so many ways. Whether it's freeing me up to go to a girl's night out, helping with breakfast every morning that he's home, or writing me notes just because, he is my better half. He prays for me and with me. He makes me laugh so much. He even knows when to just let me be. I am forever thankful to be doing life by his side.
He's not perfect, but neither am I. I do believe that God brought us together to sharpen each other and that we are both so much better now than we were before He led us to each other. We still have bad days, days when we shake our heads because we thought we had figured each other out, and yet we probably never will fully. I'm thankful to try to figure it out with Pete.

Blogging

I know it may seem weird to some of you out there, but writing is such a great outlet for me. I have always been an outward processor. Whether it is talking through my problems with a friend or writing in a journal, I have always needed to get things out in order to fully think them through. I also love reading things that others have written and being encouraged or challenged. For me, this is a place where I can sort through the things floating around in my head. I truly enjoy thinking through and then writing something that I hope someone would connect to or be encouraged by. I am thankful for the opportunity I had recently to blog over at What's in the Bible? and hope to do more like that soon. I also love getting any feedback here or on Facebook.



*If you were at all interested in the Cellular Nutritional Cleansing program that I've had so much success with, please let me know. I'd be glad to pass on information to you. Also, they are having a special through January 15th which saves you $25. 

What's in the Bible? Digital Sale

If you missed the huge sale on DVDs over at What's in the Bible? you're in luck. They are having a great sale on their digital downloads. Looking for something with meaning for your kids to do while you're driving to grandmother's house or while you're trying to get some presents wrapped? Download a couple episodes of What's in the Bible? or their coloring sheets or activity books. If you're thinking of doing that, click through my link below for me to get credit! Thanks in advance! And Merry Christmas!