Goals for 13'

My goals for 2013.  Better late than never :)

Personal:

• Read through the bible using an ESV reading plan
• Memorize Proverbs 31
• Exercise at least 4 days a week
• Run 1 5k race
• Eat/Prepare well balanced healthy food

Marriage:

• Read two books together
• One overnight trip away
• Date night each month

Mothering:

• Verse of the week
• Each child read each day
• Swim lessons for the girls
• Gymnastics for Anna
• Date with each child 6 times during the year
• Better chore responsibilities for each kiddo

Ministry/Friendship/Extended Family:

• Continue our Bible study in our home weekly
• One trip away with Vanessa and fam
• Continue attending "Come Aside" ministry twice each month
• Lunch dates with a friend monthly

Financial:

• Pay off our car
• Sell unwanted furniture
• Buy new furniture for new house
• Stay on our budget

Work/School:

• Send three courses for "Quality Matters" review
• Complete final class in ph.d program
• Take and pass comprehensive exam
• Begin IRB approval for dissertation

I am amazed at our little family and where we are.  I am thankful for God's blessings on us.  I look forward to 2013 and vow to be more intentional in my decisions. 

May 25

I have never been the type to remember specific days, I really do well to remember my children's birthdays.  May 25th is different.  I remember that day, everyday.  On May 25 in 1995, my life changed and a new "season" began.  I was 13 years old. Up until that point my childhood was happy and carefree.  My parents were divorced, but it was unusually functional.  Maybe it wasn't and they hid it from me, but all I knew was love and happiness.  Both of my parents loved me unconditionally and my step-parents treated me like I was their own.  It was dysfunctional happiness and I loved it!

May 25, 1995 my dad was killed in a plane crash.  Wow!  That hit hard.  The years following were even harder, relationships were broken and life was different, very different.  My mom poured her entire existence into my sister and I.  Our lives were happy again, but different.  I understood pain and loss, but I also understood God's grace and supplication even in our darkest times.  Thank heavens I learned that early on, it has been necessary a few times since.

Life continued on and I grew up; graduated from college, got married and my sweet Anna Beth was born.  At that point my life changed again.  I understood unconditional love.

Soon after Anna Beth's birth my mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness.  She was a fighter and she fought for several years.  She passed away when Maddie was 1 month old.  Life changed again.  God had prepared me for what he knew was going to happen.  Chris was and still is a constant source of support and love.

And today I am completing my doctorate degree, have a dream job as a college professor, and a husband that loves me and our children unconditionally.  God is good.  May 25th was a hard day, but life is made up of many different "seasons".  All of these parts woven together make a beautiful picture.  So today I am not sad, but instead thankful.  I am thankful for the "seasons" of life that make us who we are intended to be.

Tis the Season

The past week has been crazy.  And wonderful.  Today as I was walking out of the school I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.  Sometimes I tell Chris that "my heart swells up with love".  He looks at me like I have lost it and goes on.  But I don't know any other way to describe the feeling. I love  the stage of our life we are currently living.  I love having Maddie and Ava doing "little" kid things.  And I love that Anna and Sam are older and able to do other things.  This week Maddie and her classmates sang at the school PTO meeting.  She is ordinarily very shy, but she sang as loud as she could and smiled.  It melted my heart.

Simply Thankful

During the month of November there is a trend on Facebook to name one thing you are thankful for each day.  I cannot remember to post everyday, but I am very thankful for so many things....

I am thankful for God's plan for my life.  I am thankful that God sheds such grace, when I certainly don't deserve it.  I made the life changing decision to follow Christ as a young teenager.  Needless to say, I have strayed from Him in the past 18 years, but He never stopped loving me.

I am awed every time I consider the path God has laid for me.  I just cannot comprehend why I am so blessed, but I am simply thankful.  I strive to love others and show them His love.  In the book of Jeremiah, God promises that he knows us before we are even conceived.  I am so thankful for salvation through Christ.  And I am thankful, that He knows my name.

I am thankful that I am a Mom.  It is so difficult and rewarding all at the same time.  I often say, being a Mom is similar to putting arms and legs on your heart and allowing it to walk around.  My children are really my heart.  Now don't get me wrong, I oftentimes think I am doing a really terrible job at this parenting thing.  I get angry over unimportant things, fuss and complain.  But at the end of the day, I am thankful for my children and the daily lessons they teach me about this world.

I am thankful for a husband that loves God with all of his heart.  When Chris and I met, I knew he was incredible.  Several years ago, he rededicated his life and was baptized.  He is so disciplined to read
God's word ( he has read the entire bible more than once), attend church and pray.  He teaches me daily about Christ love and what it means for us.  I love to wake him up in the middle of the night to pray.  He wraps his arms around me and prays the most sincere prayers I have ever heard.  He also has such strong faith.  I am a worrier and he is not.  He has faith that God will take care of all things.  I know He will, but I struggle with worry.

I am thankful for my past.  I am thankful for the lessons learned.  I am thankful that my parents taught me so much about life before their time on earth was over.  My Mom taught me what true, selfless love is all about.  I strive to love my children the way she loved me.  My Dad taught me the value of work.  I have to believe that he would be proud of where I am and who I have become.

I am Simply Thankful for where I am, what I am doing and who I am doing it with. 

Ava's Haircut

Maddie gave Ava her first haircut on Thursday night.  I would love to hear the conversation between the two of them while the haircut was taking place.  On Friday, we had it trimmed up.  It turned out really cute and all scissors have been removed from our house.

Halloween 2011

We celebrated our first Halloween in Grundy!  It was tons of fun.  The costumes were cute.  I found Ava's costume on Etsy and it was not cheap, so I made it myself.  She turned into the cutest little clown I have ever seen!

Maddie was a Fairy and Anna Beth was a character from Monster High. 

The was the first time our children have every had a real Trick-or-Treating experience.  The church across the street had hot dogs and hot chocolate.  The Law School sponsored a carnival and finally, the town had a Trick-or-Trunk activity.  It was loads of fun.  Now onto Thanksgiving....

A New Season

Lots of changes have taken place over the past two months for our little family.
1. We moved.
2. Anna Beth and Sam started school in a new (much bigger) school.
3. Maddie started Pre-K.
4. Ava started preschool and has a new babysitter (Ms.Ashley, and she is great).
5. I got a new job! I am a college professor, teaching Early Childhood classes!
6. We found a new church and we are excited to see how God uses us.
7. We got a new puppy! Her name is Piper.

Wow!!! We are ready for things to settle down! I feel incredibly blessed for the opportunities God has provided and for his continual blessing on our family! I continue to be amazed at the plans God has for us! What a wonderful journey.