Weekend getaway

Chris and I decided to take this weekend off and spend some quality time with my parents. We left KC on Thrusday and will be heading home tomorrow. We have had such a WONDERFUL time relaxing, playing games, and enjoying beautiful spring-like weather. He's a little bit of what we've been up to:

Helping 'nana' fold laundry

Going down the slide all by myself!

Taking a little walk with 'nana' and 'papa'

"CHEEEEESE!"

Enjoying his new Thomas book, DVD, and pj's. Yeah, we don't get spoiled at all at nana and papa's house.

Thanks for checking in! Hope your weekend is going just as wonderful as ours!

Stillness

Listening to the radio is, for me, a rarity. I occasionally listen on my way to and from work but other than that, it usually stays off (I'm not a fan of excess noise, I get enough of that from my son and doggie). However, last week was one of those mornings that my eyes were having a tough time staying open on my drive home from work so I turned the radio up to keep myself from drifting off to sleep. The K-Love morning hosts were encrouaging their listeners to choose a word for 2011, One word that you wanted to persue for the year. Words like, deeper (as in, go deeper into relationships, the Word, etc) love (love more, love harder, etc) and clear (be transparent, be understood) were some of the ones the hosts had picked. The idea stuck and I began to think about what I really wanted this year.
There are still so many emotions flowing through me since we had our miscarriage last month. Some days I hardly want to get out of bed. Other days I look at my beautiful son and see how blessed I am, and think about how selfish it is for me to feel anything less than that. Someday I really feel happy. It's truly been a roller coaster ride. But amidst all this, one verse keeps coming to mind, day after day.

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

It seems so simple. Be still. and not just be still, but be still and KNOW. Stop worrying. Stop trying. Stop crying. Stop running around and trying to stay so busy just so that you don't have to think about what happened. Just be still. Be still and KNOW that I have this. I have got this under control. It's in my hands, its part of my plan. There is not one thing going on that is slipping by me. So just STOP.
So I found my word. Two words actually. Still and know.
Be STILL and KNOW that HE is GOD.
But oh my gosh, being still is hard work. Hard when you have a 1 1/2 year old running circles around you. Hard when you want your house to be spotless and dinner on the table by 5:30. Hard when anything less than perfection doesn't seem good enough. But it's not a request. It's not a suggestion. It's a command. The verse isn't "try to be still" or "be still when you feel like you have time," it's just "Be still." But that's what I'm going to do, slow down and try to find time to be still. To trust. To listen. Feel free to join me.

I'm gonna need a bigger house...

My son is very loved. He's the only child for us, only grandkid on BOTH sides, only GREAT grandkid/nephew on both sides. And not only is he very loved, he's alos a little spoiled (grandparents are so good at that, aren't they? :) ). Here are just a FEW of his Christmas favorites. (Actually, they were the only ones he was interested in while I had the camera out tonight, but belive me, he loves everything he got!)

Playing with the "choo choo"

 Riding the four wheeler. It is SO funny to watch him drive this thing, especially since his steering is...well, lacking.

 Jumping on the trampoline. Since he got this he has actually figured out the whole jumping gig, before all he knew how to do was bounce.

He hasn't really figured out how to ride the sit and spin, but he loves to use it as a stool while he plays with his train set.

  Needless to say, this Christmas he made out pretty well. So well, in fact, that Chris and I have decided to "renovate" (if you can call it that) our garage (which we never use as a garage anyway) and turn it into a big playroom. I think at the rate he's going, Santa is going to need to bring me a bigger house next year.

Marketing genius

Those Girl Scouts really have it all figured out, don't they? They start selling those delicious cookies right before the holidays, just as you are gearing up for the most delicious time of year. And at just a few bucks a box you can't help buy buy two or three...from every single Girl Scout mom you know. Then you buy a few extra for good measure from the neighbor since they went so fast last year. And when do they deliver them? Right after the start of a new year, when 9/10ths of the people in America have made a promise to themselves to eat healthier and workout more. This way, if you're anything like me anyway, you decide you better hurry up and eat the cookies so you can get back on track with the healthy eating. Once they are gone, you are stuck waiting another 10 months while that anticipation builds back up for the next year, when you can go through the same torture again. Well played, Girl Scouts, well played.

Resolutions

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called "Opportunity" and its first chapter is New Year's Day. "
Edith Lovejoy Pierce


This year, I'm not making a "New Years Resolution" in the traditional sense of the word. I read a study recently stating that 78% of new years resolutions fail. They estimate that the primary reason for this is that while people say they are going to make certain changes in their lives, they never actually set forth plans to accomplish these goals. For example, someone may say, "I'm going to lose 10 pounds" but don't create a plan as to how, or "I'm going to eat out less often" but don't look into ways to be better prepared before mealtime arrives and there's nothing to eat.

"Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself. "
Aisha Elderwynv

Instead of having a resolution that is sure to fail, I've created two major goals this year, along with plans as to how to achieve them. I also read in this study that women are 10% more likely to acheive their resolutions or goals if they make them public and share them with friends who will help hold them accountable. So, here are my two major goals, as well as my plan for reaching them:

Number 1: Stop obsessing over wanting more children and be the best mom I can to the one beautiful child I have and cherish every single second I have just the two of us.

-Step one: Keep the TV off during the day so that I can focus all my attention on Benton and his needs. (TV is permissible during naptime).

-Step two: Focus on two learning goals every week such as a color and a letter, or animal sounds and counting to 5. Try to work on the learning goals every day for at least a few minutes.

-Step three: Look for fun outings that both of us will enjoy and take them at least once a month (shopping does not count!)

"Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment. "
Sydney Smith

Number 2: Be a better wife and not JUST a mom.

-Step one: Spend at least 15 minutes every evening I'm not working talking to Chris after Benton is in bed with the TV off and cell phones on silent.

-Step two: Get all the clutter, toys, baby stuff, etc out of our bedroom and turn it back into a place for just the two of us

-Step three: Go on dates at least once per month, even if it means hiring a babysitter (which I hate doing!)

"A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year. "
Edgar A. Guest