Monday, September 28, 2009

Not Me Monday!



Well, I'm back to doing Not Me Mondays!  One would think that it would be a super long one since it's been a while but I figure I can leave all the "old" ones out and just focus on this past week. I am sure if I think hard enough I can come up with enough "Not Me" moments.

For starters it is NOT me that is currently allowing both girls to eat Chex cereal in the living room so I have a little peace and quiet and can type this rather than do the dishes or vacuum a dirty floor (that now most certainly does not have tiny bits of Chex cereal all over it).

It was NOT me that after breaking a glass bowl on our kitchen floor trusted that my husband and the broom got each tiny sliver of glass and continued to walk around in my stocking feet. Therefor it is NOT me that currently has two tiny holes (one in each foot) now.

It was NOT me that took advantage of the daycare at the community center that after my physical therapy today I did not allow my children to stay in there an extra 30 minutes so 1) I could work on my Bible study in peace and quiet in the cafe sipping a cold diet coke and 2) so they would be extra tired out and take an extra long nap this afternoon.

It was NOT me that took 8 days to finish a weeks worth of laundry only to finally have it upstairs and still waiting to be put away causing a large mountain of laundry to have formed on our bathroom floors.

It was NOT me that rather than being angry with my daughter smiled when I saw that she had colored on every drawer of her dresser. It did NOT give me a little bit of pleasure as it hit me that "I'm a mom!" and this is what mom's deal with. (And if my daughter DID do such a thing she would have wisely chosen to do so with chalk so it was easily wiped off with a sock).

It was also NOT me that took an hour and 15 minute drive prior to our Mom and Tots group at church because my children were so crabby and whiney that I knew that if they didn't nap before going someone would have wound up in the looney bin and that person most likely would have been me! I am much more frugal with our gas money and would never drive just to get my children to nap!

It was also NOT me that bought my husband not one, not two but three Glenn Beck books because I wanted to read them too! I am certainly not that self-centered!

Well, I think that is enough for now....I am sure there will be new opportunities for more next week!

What haven't you done?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

2.5 hours of Controlled Chaos - Otherwise known as Awana! :)

Last night was my first official night as the Awana Sparks Secretary. The directors and leaders of our church have often described it as 2 hours of Controlled Chaos and now I understand what they mean. It was wonderful! There is such energy and such joy there it is hard to put it into words. It is an amazing feeling to be a part of a group of almost 200 who are being positive, encouraging and learning/teaching about Jesus. In a lot of ways it reminded me of when I worked at camp (Phantom Ranch) - just much more condensed. However, the feeling was the same.

Although I have known about Awana since I was a child I was never a part of it. One of the reasons we chose our church was because of the Awana program they offered. After all I heard about it I knew that was something I wanted for my children. Not only does my church provide Awana for our children but also for many, many children in the community. I would say about 80% of the children involved are not from our church. We have almost 150 children that come every Wednesday night. It is amazing and I can not wait for the girls to be a part of it.

For those that don't know what Awana is you can check it out here - Awana.  In a nutshell Awana stands for Approved workmen are not ashamed as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible. Joy will start next year as a 3 year old and will be involved until 6th grade as a participant. After that she can become a LIT which is a Leader In Training program that allows Jr. and Sr. high students to help out and learn to be leaders.

I must admit that I felt a little teary-eyed as I watched the Cubbies go by (the 3 and 4 year olds) and imagining Joy there next year. I am sure she will love it. Both girls will be there some nights in the nursery program now on the nights Les is working late.  

I am working with the Sparks which are students in grades K-2. I forgot what it is like working with kids that age. After years of teaching high school it's quite different! :) There was not much down time as I am still learning how to do everything and get myself organized. I figure by Thanksgiving I should be good to go!! (Christy, as a former Sparks Secretary I will take any suggestions!).


Well, I am off to PT. Still doing that for my knee surgery. Have a ways to go but hopefully will be as good as new in the next month or so!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Fresh (safe) Start

I started a new blog for a few different reasons. I guess the main reason is that we don't live in a perfect world. Our last blog was very open about our names, locations, etc. I am a very trusting person..sometimes too trusting. I have a hard time believing that people would intentionally be evil - although I know it's true. I know that there have been times in my life where I have hurt others - intentionally or not. However, it is beyond my comprehension that there are people out there that would stalk and prey on innocent young children.

We recently had a speaker at work that talked about personal safety. He was a police officer from the area and he had some really good ideas. I think some of his ideas (such as not having any pictures at work of your children or family) were a little far fetched. As a police officer - then yes, I could see that. But I think there are a lot of jobs where you would probably be okay. However, his talk made me realize that I need to be a little more cautious. Hence the new blog, ...a fresh start...a new beginning of hopefully a more consistent blog (although I have learned to not make promises). On this blog I will be calling our children by their middle names...just so you know.

When trying to think of a new name for our blog I tried to be creative. There are some cute names out there - but nothing I could compete with and you can't really "copy" a blog name - especially if you are a regular reader of their blog. I thought about "Just another mommy blog..." but that seemed a little self-deprecating and I want to be more then "just another..." So then I thought about what is important in my life, and what do I write about; what is important to me.

My family and my faith are my two most important facets of my life. They are the pieces that I want to share the most of, that I want to be most known for.

So my next step was to find a verse from the Bible to represent both. I thought of several. One of which is my all time favorite and I consider a life verse - Jeremiah 29:11-13. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. But that didn't seem to fit just right.

Later that week I was reading a book and this verse popped out at me. James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father." and the light bulb went off!

That is a wonderful verse to share with others to describe our life - my life. I have been blessed with many wonderful things! I am in continued amazement with how full my life is. For those that are new to my blog here is a super quick replay of my life. (I'll start after college to keep it short).

The Lord led me to a unique teaching job. As a result of that I ended up owning my own business educating students. I was making good money and was happy but by early thirties I had given up hope of ever having a family of my own - or even getting married. In the Spring of 2004, just before my 35th birthday, a friend recommended that I try E-Harmony. I went online, looked at it a little, filled out the profile and was pleased with the matches I received but still didn't hold out a lot of hope. I signed up anyway and paid for a full year. Well, much to my surprise soon after joining I started conversing back and forth with a gentleman who reminded me much of my father. August 28, 2004 was our first date -- it lasted 10 hours. Valentine's day, 2005, we got engaged and we were married August 27, 2005 -- 364 days after our first date!

I had warned Les that I would probably not ever be able to have children. I have HAIR-AN syndrome and so doctors had told me that the likelihood of me conceiving naturally was slim. I had spoken to my doctor about some fertility medication and Les and I had talked about adoption. Imagine our surprise and joy to find out I was expecting the day before Mother's Day, 2006 (while on birth control). Our oldest daughter Joy was born December 22, 2006 and came home on Christmas Day!'

In April 2007 Les and I purchased and moved into our house.

In November 2008 our second daughter, Grace was born.

In January 2009 we got a mini-van.

We are certainly looking forward to 2010!!! :)

I know that I have no one to thank but God for these blessings. It certainly isn't anything Les or I did to receive such gifts. We certainly don't deserve them but we are thankful each and everyday for them.

I am not a theologian. I do not pretend to understand how God works. I am not the person to ask "Why, then, do bad things happen to good people?" or even "Why do good things happen to bad people?" Have we had heartache and pain - sure. Have we had it even close to the extent of others -- no way. I can't explain why. I can't explain why I was born in America, given the family I was given. I just know that I need to be thankful to God each and every day for what He has given me. I also know that He is in control. That God sees the big picture. My job is to continue to trust in Him and do what I can--to train up my children in the Lord, to be a neighbor and a helper and friend to those in need, to give of myself, my time, my money.

So anyway...welcome to my new journal. I am hoping that now that it is fall and we are settling into somewhat of a routine my time for blogging and reading your blogs will increase! I hope everyone had fantastic summers!

God Bless!