Happy Day

 Today is my husband's birthday. My little Spring Chicken is enjoying the start of his last year in his 20s. He is a youngin'.

Our plans tonight were cancelled due to a snow storm that sent the roads into a panic. It took my poor husband almost 3 hours to get home. His normal commute is 20-25 minutes. :( But we still had a nice dinner, cupcakes and presents.

I am thankful for another wonderful year with my man and look forward to many, many more. Thank you, Ryan, for being such an amazing husband, father and friend. I love you!

 

Awesome and Awkward Thursday: It's been awhile

 Take in this awesome and awkward picture. Super hero paraphernalia abounds...especially when one takes a closer look.

I haven't done a good ol' A&A post in awhile, so I thought it would be fun to knock one out before the end of the month. My blogging habits have really been slacking lately, but hopefully I can get back into the groove again....



~Awesome~

~ Fleece-lined leggings.
~The boys have been sleeping in till 8:30a.m...thus I have been sleeping in till 8:30 a.m.
~ Jack and Colin playing "Rocket Star". Their songs include killer lyrics, such as "I love my mommy, mommy, mommy" and " Kissing Your Mom" to the tune of Elmo's world.
~ Husband has a birthday on Friday! Spring Chicken though he is, helping him celebrate getting older is always fun.
~ The birthday gift this year is SO good. I have had it since mid-December and an dying to give it to him.
~ Soup. I love soup. I probably make some sort of soup 2-3 times a week.


~ Awkward~

~ Static cling due to tights that prevent modest walking...even though I actually HAD a slip on...that two inch section that was not covered wreaked havoc to my skirt and walking ability.
~ Wearing my striped pajama pants AND an old pair of Ryan's sweatpants...at the same time. It is cold in our house!
~The amount of dried food I sweep up on a daily basis. It makes me wonder if my children are actually eating ANY of their food.
~ Virginians and snow. There are little white particle scurrying around my window, with no real chance of sticking in the slightest, yet my Facebook feed is being blown up with phrases like "SNOW!" "It is snowing! It is snowing!" and silly things like that.




~Awkward AND Awesome~
~ Watching 3 of my friend's kids (7, 5 and 2) for a few hours in the late afternoon. Having to leave them with Husband because I had a meeting at church. Getting text from Husband saying that someone (who was probably 5 yrs old) went the bathroom and did not flush. The 2 yr old got into the dirty (think worst case scenario) water and was playing in it. 7 year old casually mentions that he does it all the time. So horribly awkward for my kind Husband and so wonderfully awesome that I was not there to clean up!


Anything awkward or awesome happening in your life, lately? Do share...


*awkward and awesome was an original series by the Daybook. Not my original idea.

Goals: 2013

 credit

The beginning of the year has come and gone and we are now into the third week of January already. Resolutions have probably been broken and gym attendance has probably increased...at least for awhile.

I made no New Years resolutions this year. I was sick in bed, so my only resolution was to get more cough medicine.

But I have some goals that I would like to work toward. Resolutions seem so fragile and breakable. Goals seems like an action that needs to be taken, a step forward. Things that I am going to try to maintain, a conscious effort to change.


My goals, in no particular order of importance...

~ Exercise 3-4 days a week, more if possible.

~ Potty train Colin. (He told me he likes to pee on the floor and won't pee in his potty.So yeah, this could be a long year...)

~Keep a cleaner house.

~Shop online less...even if they are really great deals...

~ Pay off debt. We have some, not a lot...but it would be good to take care of it.

~ Get out of my workout clothes before Ryan comes home. Poor guy sees a LOT of yoga pants.

~ Practice more patience. Remember that they are just being little boys...and need to run, wrestle and yell from time to time.

~ Get the boys outside more. Everyday if possible.


Nothing super dramatic or life-changing, but good, solid goals nonetheless.

This verse has been on my heart a lot the last few weeks. I think it is a good Bible verse to start the year out with, don't you think?

Proverbs 3:5-10

( The Message version)

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
    your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
    give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,    your wine vats will brim over.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

 Christmas Eve night

Christmas has come and gone, as well as the beginning of the New Year.

We spent 15 days in Michigan, visiting both sides of the family and celebrating everything listed above.

The reality of Christmas Day. Jack was so excited he literally did not go to sleep till well after midnight, got up early and did not nap. He was exhausted by this point. Ryan was starting to get sick. Colin was a hot mess from the moment he woke up and looked like this for most of Christmas day. At least they are handsome?!

Unfortunately, between Ryan and I, we spent 6 solid days knocked out in bed sick and the rest recovering. Not exactly the ideal way to spend your vacation, but we had lots of help with family around. It was so nice.

But through out the fevers and the coughing, wonderful memories were made. It is always so nice to be home.

The only family picture that we got this trip.

 Jack and Great Grandma Andrew. They are buds, coloring away.

 

The boys meeting their cousin Audrey for the first time.

The reality was that she only had eyes for her Uncle Ryan. Really. She adores him and he can calm her better than anyone else besides her mom.  She will probably never date now.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2013!

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

It's me...Tolin!

Colin has a hard time pronouncing C's and K's.

He usually replaces his C's with a T. 

Cookies turn into Tooties.

Captain America becomes Tata Amerita.

Sometimes he just skips the whole sound altogether. Jack turns into Jaaa.

But my favorite is when he introduces himself. "I'm Tolin!" he will announce.

One of his favorite things to do is to dress up as random superheros. We have various masks and Colin will put on one, run out to me, strike a pose and wait. I must talk to the superhero by name. "Hello, Spiderman. How are you today?"  Colin will than rip the mask off, laugh and say "It's me...Tolin!" It is a fun game. The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man usually show up, but before I am too confused, Colin let's me know all is well...it is just him, Tolin.

  I am not sure how long his little lisp will last, but I love every minute of it. There is something about the sound of little voices figuring out their thoughts and turning them into words that I adore.

I am just happy to know that I am well protected, whether it is by Thor or by "Tolin".

In Memory...

Today my husband is going to an elementary school. He is going to walk into the doors, say hello to the security guard, get his badge at the office and walk to the lunch room. He will sit down with a class of first graders. He is there for Jaqwan. A 6 year old, first grade boy. Ryan is his mentor.
Those first graders love when Ryan comes in and eats lunch with them. While he only works with Jaqwan, Ryan makes sure to talk with all the little guys around him. They are a lively group. Because that is what first graders are full of. Life.

Newtown, Connecticut had that life horrifically crushed out. Evil beyond comprehension. Pure, absolute evil. The loss of life is tragic any time. The loss of a child's life is unthinkable, unimaginable and so deeply wrong.

It renders me speechless.

I mourn for those that lost loved ones on Friday. I mourn for the loss of innocence that the children in that school had robbed from them. I mourn for the brokenhearted. I mourn for the parents who's baby did not come home.

I mourn and I pray.

I pray for peace. I pray for comfort. I pray for loving arms to hold them tight. I pray for gentle words to soothe aching souls. I pray for supernatural peace and comfort that man can not give.

Today, I pray.

Psalms 147:3 ~ " He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

So instead of posting pictures and stories of my boys like I had planned today, I am going to just ask you to pray.

When I was in college, the male R.A of my brother floor lost all three of his sisters one day before his wedding. They were bridesmaids, on their way to a shower. They were all killed in a car accident.  It was unthinkable. They were all in high school, vibrant and oh, so beautiful.

I was reading my bible, struggling to understand and grieving for the entire family, when I stumbled across this passage. It became my prayer that day and now, it is my prayer today. While looking up Ephesian 3:14-19 in the NIV, I paralleled it with the Message translations. I like the ease of modern language of The Message.

So, here is my prayer.

Ephesian 3:14-21 ( The Message translation)

^14-19 My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

^20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.