Five Down

FIVE MONTHS DOWN, AND SEVEN TO GO! THAT SEEMS DOABLE, RIGHT?? Especially with these next two months being our countdown to R&R!

71 days!!! Whoop Whoop!

Why do you have your Christmas tree up so early?

I stole this from a blog I follow. Thought it was great.

going deeper

"deep cries out to deep"

I want to go deeper in my writing. I have been reading Ann Vos Kamp's "A Holy Experience" blog, and really enjoying it. Her book "1000 gifts" is truly life changing.

Daily I think, remember when I was fun and spontaneous, and full of life? Well, I am still that girl, but today I get bogged down by all the clothes piled up on my kitchen table that need to be folded and put away, and sick of telling the three year old to stop jumping on the couch. Seeing things in an eternal perspective is something that I have pondered for years, but what if I really started doing it? What if, instead of thinking of all the things I want to do, and all the places I want to go before I die, I just start living in the moment and realizing "So what if bed time was supposed to be 40 min ago? I am just enjoying time with my three year old. Time that I will never get back!" It does make it harder when your help meet is in Afghanistan, and there is no back up, but that is not a reason to rush the days full of naps and schedules and feeding and bedtimes! My children are gifts, and I should start treating them as such, instead of burdens. They are MY LIFE right now. Obviously, Thomas the Train is on in the background, and both the boys are in bed....................... Oy Vey!

10
Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting

(any text in turquoise links to posts for more explanation & encouragement)::

1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.

2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.

3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies!Only amateurs hurry.

4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude.My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!

5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.

6. Today, I will pray to be consistently consistent. I will create safe rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are CELEBRATING the gift of now!

7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.

8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals — because children’s hearts feed on touch. I’ll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible — the taller they are, the more so.

9. Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen.

10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create aculture of JOY!

Cold and Flu Season

Well the bacteria has struck already. Turner has an ear infection, Colden has diarrhea, and I have pink eye. In most cases, it is ALL CAUSED BY THE SAME BACTERIA. Somehow we all got some part of it. Not sure which one I would rather have.

PC problems and update

My motherboard is on it's way out. Last night, my computer's audio stopped working. I am currently watching my school presentations on my neighbors computer. Thank God for neighbors and friends.

Turner has a yeast infection brought on my antibiotics. I think the yeast got in the diapers, so now I have bleached them, and just about everything else. Hopefully, they do not give him chemical burns now. He is currently sleeping in a plastic diaper. It is weird. I do NOT trust them. The diapers.

Trying to rid myself of bitterness. Cliff's grandfather passed away last week. This man had nothing to do with him his whole life, and he lived so close to us. He made this choice. He had another family and didn't want Cliff's dad and aunt to get in the way. I think I am bitter now that he is dead because when he was alive, it was like there was a possibility of him apologizing or telling someone he was sorry or regretful or that he loved them or anything. Now, he is dead, so there will be nothing like that. I can't shake this bitterness. He robbed my wonderful husband of having a grandfather.

LOVE THIS SONG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-51dy5Knk

For King and Country's song "Busted Heart"!

I LOVE IT!