Back to work!

So, apparently I'm not all that good at this blogging thing, considering it's been SEVERAL months since my last post. I wasn't sure whether or not it was even worth it, but decided to give it a shot again today.

Since my last writing, I have gone back to work full-time. I am really loving my new job and am excited to go (nearly) every day. The kids are adapting well to the change, so it has been a fairly smooth transition familywise. I loved being a stay-at-home mom, but still felt like there was something missing. I now have no doubt that this is it!

My struggle has been less about balancing work and family and more about finding the time I need for spiritual growth. I am not succeeding very well in this area and need to push myself to do much better. Seeking God is so important and making it a priority has been difficult. There is no valid excuse, so I just need to do it!

On another note, my 30th birthday is coming up very soon. I know it's just a number, but doesn't it seem like a large one! I'm hoping to forget about the reality of it (at least for a few days) while celebrating with my hubby in Boston for the weekend! I'm looking forward to spending time alone with him, although I'm gonna miss the kiddos so much! I've never spent the night away from my youngest yet, so I hope I make it through okay.

Anyway, just wanted to give an update for those of you that are interested and encourage you to continue seeking after God. He will never stop seeking after you.

Covering up the Mess

I was making my bed today and the sheets were all messed up and falling off in different spots. Instead of fixing it, I found it much easier to just pull the comforter up and hide them underneath. As I was doing this, I thought about how often our lives are like that. It's so much easier to just cover up problems instead of dealing with them. Just like it would take some work (tearing off all the covers and starting over) to make the bed properly, when we're facing something difficult, often it's easier to simply find an immediate fix instead of getting to the root of the problem.

I think one clear example of this occurs often in the relationship between husband and wife. How many times does the same argument/disagreement occur and you find the immediate solution by agreeing on a short-term solution, but unless you deal with the root of the issue, it will keep coming up, time and time again. I have found that a lot of my disagreements with my hubby are simply the result of miscommunication. It takes us sitting down and discussing how and why things are often misinterpreted to help the situation from continuing to recur.

I don't know if that made any sense and I know it is kind of a weird example, but it made me think a little and hopefully it will mean something to you. If you have a thought on the subject, please let me know. I would love to hear from you!

Summer Sunshine

So I guess I took a hiatus from this blogging thing, but truthfully, I feel like most of the time my life isn't interesting enough to write anything about! I felt drawn to do it today though, so here goes.

The kids and I spent the better part of last week with many family members in Nags Head, NC. It was so great to spend time with some people I love but don't get to see very often. While I was there, we had relatives from PA, NC, KY, CA, and FL. What better way to spend time together but in an amazing beach house steps from the ocean, relaxing in the sun, surf and pool, catching up and enjoying each other's company.

My kids loved spending time with their KY cousins who they only see a couple times a year, as well as my cousin's kids from California who they've only met twice. Seeing them play together makes me happy and I wish we could all see each other more often.

We celebrated my Aunt Lorrie's birthday while we were there (a milestone b-day, but I won't mention which one). She is an amazing woman who has always been inspirational to me, but this past year, she has truly become one of my heroes. My uncle is battling a very serious form of cancer right now and though the outlook seems bleak, both of them have had amazing strength through it all. I love that she doesn't pretend she's ok, but lets her emotions show in a way that is so full of faith and love that I am in awe of how God is using both of them through this in ways they never could have imagined. Hearing them say that they know God has a purpose, no matter what the outcome is amazing. Especially since I know they mean it and aren't just saying that like many others do.

They have inspired me to enjoy every day and never forget that God is greater than anything we face. His sacrificial death for us is all the miracle we could ever need. Anything else he chooses to do for us is just icing on the cake!

Loving Spring in PA

Today was one of those days when I truly love where I live. It was a beautiful day, so I put Danae in her Moby Wrap and headed out for a walk. Even though I was walking along the main road, we could hear the birds chirping, the creek bubbling away and even a woodpecker happily pecking at a tree. Only the occasional car passing interrupted the amazing sounds of nature. Saw some pretty little wild flowers poking their way up through the ground along with a lot of daffodils nearly in full bloom. We also stopped to talk to a couple of neighbors who were out in their yards enjoying the day as well. One of the things we were looking forward to the least when we moved back here from Texas was the weather. In El Paso, it's pretty much always relatively warm and there's rarely a day where the sun is hiding. Here, there are days when it's been snowing for the 5th week in a row and the temp hasn't been above 25 for 3 months when I think it would be easier to be in a more temperate climate....but then you have days like today. Seeing the change of the season is one of my very things. The new life gives you new hope for the world. Of course the dawn of spring brings about the return of many animals who have been hiding for a while, namely the bear who loves to hang around. He made his first visit of the season to Mom and Dad's last night, pulling all the garbage out of the dumpster and strewing it around the yard to see what he could find that's good. I'm sure you can experience spring in different ways in lots of different places, but it is truly a blessing here. After coming through the long and cold winter, it brings a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively) to our weary souls.

Hello Again

It's been a little while since I wrote anything on here. I guess I just haven't felt like I've had anything interesting to write about. We have had a lot going on with our family and have been keeping plenty busy. This weekend was daylight savings (as you all know) and it's funny how we wake up Sunday morning totally confused about what time it actually is. 'Did I set that clock back already?' 'Is that the real time or the old time?' etc... This seems to be what we're all thinking. I adjusted the clock in the boys room Saturday night when I put them to bed, not realizing it has an automatic adjustment made in the middle of the night. My younger son woke up saying that 'we don't have church in the middle of the night! It's still dark out!' The older one was simply bewildered as his clock in his room now said 8:30, while the clock on the microwave said 6:30, but the real time was 7:30. Talk about confusing!

Then last night, there was a moment of meltdown when I told them it was time to take a shower and get ready for bed. 'But it's not time yet!' echoed through the house. I told them that it was 6:30 and if they wanted to watch the TV show they like at 7, they had to get ready now. The oldest burst into tears (as he is often prone to do) and wailed that it couldn't be that late yet as it was still so light outside. I love having the extra daylight, but why do we have to make this so confusing! It messes with adults internal clocks enough. Imagine how those poor kids feel!

On another note, the baby started rolling over last night. She's so cute and I can't believe how quickly she's growing up. All 3 kiddos and I were cuddling on the couch the other night and one of the boys said to me, 'I wish we could stay like this forever!' Part of me wishes that too, but part of me can't wait to see who they become when they get older. But for now, I'll savor the morning snuggles they love so much before heading out to school and relish how much they want me around right now. I'll have to save it up for the time I know is coming all too soon when they don't want hugged and kissed by their mom!!

Back At It Again

Well, I did finally lead worship again yesterday. It seemed like it went well and baby did just fine without me. I asked for one song to be recorded so that I could send a copy to a family member that I felt really needed to hear the song. When I was listening back to the recording, I felt the attack of the enemy telling me that it did not sound good at all. I started to feel like, why do I do even do this if I sound so bad when I sing (and all the other stuff he tries to throw in our faces sometimes). Now I know that there are others out there who sing better than I do, but I know that God has given me my own gift and that he is using it as he sees fit. As long as I am willing and able, I want to continue to do what he has asked of me. Nothing more, nothing less. I will not allow Satan to tell me I'm not good enough. That's all there is to it.

On another note, if any of you have never taken the Love Language assessment, I highly encourage you to do so. It can provide some real insight on yourself as well as your spouse and children. My husband and I both took it and I also had both my boys take it as well. The results (especially for the kids) were a little surprising, but it is an awesome tool. It allows you to know how you (and they) best recieve love in one of 5 categories: Acts of Service, Recieving gifts, Quality Time, Physical Touch, or Words of Affirmation. Sometimes what you thought might be the answer could be wrong. I am almost dead even with Words of Affirmation and Acts of Service. This is definitely accurate in my case, and my hubby's was definitely on the money as well! Here is the sight to access the assessment: www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love

There is also an assessment for the Language of Apologies. This was also helpful to see how each other best recieves an apology and what feels most sincere to them. Hope you enjoy these tests and that they help you figure out something you didn't know before!

Valentine's Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I've never really thought Valentine's Day was super important, but I felt blessed this year by having the people I really care about in my life let me know they loved me. My mom always gets us something for Valentine's Day and the boys especially look forward to it. This year they got little stuffed animals and some money, which they are always excited about. My mother-in-law got us all McDonald's gift cards, so they kids and I had our Valentine's dinner there. I bought the dinner and let them get a special treat with their cards (Oreo McFlurries).

Since my husband works 3-11pm most days, we had to go out for lunch instead of dinner and we had a nice time. On Friday before Valetine's the UPS delivery person arrived with a bouquet of mixed flowers for me. The roses, lilies and snapdragons were beautiful and I set them up in their vase to be displayed proudly. On Tuesday (the day after Valentine's), UPS was back again with a beautiful array of lillies. Then on Wednesday, here they were again (they were probably wondering how many boyfriend's I have)! This time there were a dozen red roses. There's been some times in the past where I wasn't sure my hubby had a romantic bone in his body, but he has now proven that to be the farthest thing from the truth. Thanks for making me feel so loved this week!

It's not the gifts themselves that make me feel so loved, but truly the thought behind the gift. The fact that he took the time to think and plan ahead as to how to make me happy is so sweet. I have to admit that I didn't really take the time this year to do something like that for him. He has upped the ante for the years to come. Guess I'll have to start planning for next year...:)