Hope in the Daily Grind

Goodbye {For Now}

2011-04-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

Hi friends!

I'm writing because I wanted to let you know it's going to be very quiet around here for a while. How long exactly I don't know. Maybe 2 weeks or 2 months? I'm not setting a time limit. All I know is that blogging and social media are fabulous, but also very time consuming, and right now I have more important things that need my attention (Like the little guy who is twirling my hair as I write this). When I feel like it's time to get back to it and I feel like I can balance it a little better I'll be back.

Thanks,

Tinkering...

2011-03-24T14:57:00.002-05:00

I'm tinkering with some design things today, so please excuse any craziness. :)

Thank you!

Remarkable Faith: Funeral

2011-03-23T22:42:00.001-05:00

Continuing on with the Remarkable Faith series over at Giving up on Perfect, today's topic is a funeral that has been significant in your life. As soon as I saw this topic I was reminded of a post I wrote last August when my Uncle Cordell passed away. Although the post is not specifically written about the funeral, I would like to repost it because it was a time of enlightenment and growing in my faith. My dad actually read an excerpt of this post when he spoke at my uncle's funeral, which meant so much to me. The funeral served as a confirmation of the things I felt when I wrote the post below, as well as a chance to meet a handful of the people my uncle touched with his life.

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A Time to Embrace
Reposted from August 11, 2010

I’m writing with a very heavy heart today.

I just found out that my great uncle, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for some months now, was taken to the hospital. At the time I’m writing we’re not sure if he will be leaving.

After spending some time in prayer and seeking God through His Word, I have looked at some verses in a new light, and thought I would share.

First, let me tell you about my Uncle Cordell. He has been a great uncle. He has been the kind of uncle who never ceased to put a smile on my face, and joy in my heart. He and my Aunt Wilma (his wife) are truly blessings to be around. They carry warmth and comfort with them wherever they are, and I believe this is the “fragrance of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15) on them. If my Uncle Cordell knew I was writing this, he would not want you to feel sorry for him, he actually wouldn’t want any attention on him at all. He was slow to tell anyone of his disease for this very reason, and feel sorry for him you should not. He is a hard worker who, despite his illness, saw to it that work that needed to be done was tended to. It runs in the family, my grandfather is the same way. They are quite the pair of brothers, my Uncle Cordell and Pops, very much alike in the joy they bring and their hard work ethic. I’m hoping that the same work ethic is instilled deep within me as well, it might just take a little searching to find it.

Aunt Wilma and Uncle Cordell at my college graduation/birthday party, May 2007

Uncle Cordell holding Jayden, 4th of July, 2008

It’s hard to see someone you love suffer with the symptoms of cancer. One of the times I felt it most was a few months ago when Dipal, the boys, and I met up with my Uncle Cordell and Aunt Wilma along with my Pops, Dad, brother, and sister at some of our family’s property in Tennessee. There was a lingering sense of sadness that everyone tried to look past as the news of the cancer was still somewhat new. When it came time to say our goodbyes my Uncle Cordell reached out his hand to shake mine. In my moment of ignorance I lightheartedly said, “I don’t want a handshake, I want a hug.” After all, that is typically how we would say goodbye in our family, but Uncle Cordell immediately informed me that while he was on chemo he was instructed to keep his distance from others and their germs, but he reassured me “next time.”

This was the last time I saw Uncle Cordell.

As I was fingering through the pages of my Bible this afternoon, I was led to 1 Corinthians 15: 35-49, which captured my attention because of the subtitle “A Glorious Body.” Specifically, verses 43 – 44 shone a glimmer of hope (talking of the body).

⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

No matter how dishonoring my uncle's natural body may have been to him through this disease, his spirit will be raised in glory. No matter how weak this disease makes my uncle’s natural body, his spirit will be raised in power.

Thank you, Jesus.

As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” It goes on to say in verse 4 “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Laughed we have with Uncle Cordell, but now is a season of weeping and mourning the loss of someone we loved very much. But we have assurance that one day we will be reunited with him in a place of joy.

And I can’t wait to get my hug when I see him there.

*I started to write this yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon after hearing the initial news of my uncle. Late last night I received a call from my dad informing me that my uncle had passed away, and I completed the post this morning. Please keep my family in your prayers, specifically my Aunt Wilma, my grandfather, and his sisters and family.

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If you haven't already, please take some time to check out others sharing their stories at Giving up on Perfect today.

Anyone up for some March Madness?

2011-03-16T15:26:00.001-05:00

With my sweet little man at the Sweet 16 last year.

So, with less than 24 hours left until round one begins of the men's NCAA tourney I'm getting a little crazy, "mad" if you will. I've decided to set up a Hope in the Daily Grind group on ESPN's tournament challenge and would love for you guys to join me! My husband and I always fill out brackets and my husband usually even leads a group of friends in the challenge, which led me to the thought it would be fun to do a friendly bloggy competition. Here's the catch - you have less than 24 hours to fill in your bracket! No brackets will be accepted (according to ESPN rules) past Noon EST tomorrow (Thursday, March 17).

Although last minute, I'm going to try to find a fun gift or two for the winner as the tournament won't end until April 4th. {On that note, if you have an Etsy shop or business you would like to promote by offering a gift for our winner, please let me know ASAP.} Once I know what those gifts are I'll let you guys know.

Now on to the fun...

{Depending on how long it takes you to fill in your bracket this whole process could take less than 5 minutes.}

Click here {http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=174462} and either make a free ESPN account or enter in your account name and password if you already happen to have one.

Once you have created your account you should return to the Hope in the Daily Grind group screen with a red button offering you to "Create and Join". Click that button.

You should see your name as a link on a row highlighted in yellow. Click your name and an empty bracket will open up. To select who you think will win each game simply click on the team.

To finish you will need to type in what you think the score will be of the national championship game. Then click "Submit".

You are allowed up to 10 entries per ESPN rules. Use it as an opportunity to have your kids or hubby join in on the fun. You can name each entry as you choose by hitting "Edit Entry Settings".

If you have any other questions feel free to email me at Hopeinthedailygrind at gmail dot com.

Looking forward to some fun!

Macaroni and Marriage

2011-03-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

It was right after feelings were hurt and sharp words were said. I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my college sweatshirt as I put the last of the dishes away only to make room for more. I placed the pot of water on the stove to boil like the anger that was inside me. Did we really just have that argument? Did I really just say that? Did he mean that like I thought he did? I can't believe we just went there.

I pulled out the blue box of noodles and powdered cheese, added the pasta to the boiling water and turned the temperature down on the stove and in my gut to avoid overflowing. I checked on the once frozen nuggets in the oven that were halfway cooked and I remembered how far we've come since we started.

Just three and a half short years ago we were in a one bedroom apartment, newly married, preparing for our first child, and all I knew how to cook for dinner was frozen chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. It was a weekly affordable staple for our beginning family. Tonight it was an easy option for a late started dinner and a way out of spending too much time in the kitchen on a Sunday evening. It was a far cry from my husband's favorite made-by-me meat loaf or chicken tortilla soup that I've learned how to make over the years, and an even further far cry from the most mouth-watering pork chops I've ever eaten (and I'm not a big fan of pork chops) that our neighbors invited us over for the night before, yet a testament to the beginning and a memento of the origin of two as one.

As I stirred the macaroni and cheese into fruition nerves were calmed and explanations were given. Although feelings still tender, we gathered round the table as one family, praying for God's continued guidance and thanking Him for our blessings, eating our macaroni and nuggets, cleaning up messy fingers and cheesy mouths capable of the most heart-melting kisses on earth.

And afterwards we turned up the music and danced in the kitchen like crazies, and I remembered why I'm here, the promises I've made, and how they make me feel loved. The journey can be hard, but these treasures are worth fighting for.

I Feel the Most Loved When... A Five Minute Friday Post

2011-03-11T11:23:00.001-06:00

As someone who has always dealt with a lot of insecurities feeling loved has always been a lifeblood to me. As I thought about this topic, I realized that for me love speaks through actions and words of affirmation. My love language perhaps?

I feel the most loved when...

The sweet baby boys God has entrusted me with look me in the eyes and flash their big, beautiful smiles. They are breathtaking.

My husband shares my successes with all of his Facebook friends and seems so proud.

I mention to my mom the possibility of the boys and me riding with her and my family down to Tennessee and her response is "Are you kidding me?! We'll find a way to make it work."

When Jayden twirls my hair in his sweet fingers the way he has done since he was only months old.

When Jackson runs to wherever I am and throws his arms up in the air pleading "Hold you, hold you."

When I give Jayden a kiss and he says "So close!" just to get another one, and when he is satisfied proclaims "That's a yay!".

When my wiggle worm Jackson wants nothing more than to cuddle with his mommy after waking up from his nap.

When I feel loved all stress is relieved and forgotten.

Oh love, you warm and fuzzy feeling you. I love when you come around. :)

This post is linked up over at Five Minute Fridays hosted by sweet Lisa-Jo. Go take a peek at the other posts, but while you're there you should also take a look around the rest of Lisa-Jo's site. This post she wrote last week was one of my recent favorites. Those of you who are pregnant or who have ever been on a hospital tour will appreciate it. :)

Remarkable Faith: Baptism

2011-03-10T21:55:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned yesterday, Mary over at Giving up on Perfect is hosting a special series throughout Lent called Remarkable Faith. The topic for today is baptism. If you're visiting from Giving up on Perfect I want to say a huge thank you for stopping by! For everyone else {to whom I am also grateful :) }, feel free to jump on over to visit the rest of the Remarkable Faith posts.

My first baptism was when I was 8 years old. Yes, you read that right, my first. There was a special event at church for the kids and I walked down the aisle, said a prayer, and we planned a time for me to be baptized. I remember very little of it now except for a few details. What impacted me the most was how insignificantly it seemed to impact me from that point on.

As the years went on I wondered if there had ever really been a change in my heart. I worried that my walk up the aisle was more a following of others than a decision on my own part. I just couldn't fathom how at 8 years old I would have really known what I was praying about or committing to. This is not to say that it's impossible to be saved as a child, but personally, I doubted that my 8 year-old self really understood it all. After years of wondering and debating my torn heart was mended in July of 1999 when my 14 year-old self finally decided to do something about it. I prayed to God confessing my sins, repenting of those sins, and turning my life over into His control. And, yes, following the example of the Bible, I followed this decision with baptism {again}.

It was a life changing moment for me. I remember the tears streaming down my face - tears of joy - that I knew, that I knew, that I knew I was His. In fact, I still have a little notebook that I wrote in afterwards where I simply stated, "I'm happier, no more doubts in my mind." I even used the date from the event in my AOL/AIM screen name at the time. How's that for serious? ;)

Have I messed up since then? That would be a big, fat YES! I mean, uh, have you read my story? Have I doubted God since then? Unfortunately, the answer to that is yes too, and you can read some of that here. But the amazing bigger picture in this is that He has never doubted me. He has never let me fall from His hand. He knows the plans for my life {Jeremiah 29:11} and despite my mess-ups and doubts he continues to plant desires in my heart to serve Him.

What's equally as awesome is seeing His work in my family. Within the last year I witnessed my husband's baptism which was such a special moment. A subject I had literally been talking to him about for years, questioning why he hadn't already followed through with it, and trying my best not to be pushy about it. Holding my then 2 yr. old in my arms was priceless as we watched the leader of our home publicly "take the plunge" to show his faith in Christ. I'll never forget the worship time afterwards when my little one {who is usually in nursery during the service} raised his hands and tried to raise mine for me as well, as if he was saying "Mom, we have a lot to be praising for today."

Giving up Perfect

2011-03-09T12:10:00.001-06:00

** A perfect blog post would have a really moving picture that would be related to the topic here. I couldn't find one, and I'm ~~working on being~~ okay with that. :)

When driving home from Tennessee a few weeks ago a line came to my mind seemingly out of nowhere that said "Perfection is my enemy." Occasionally this line pops into my head, but usually it's because I've listened to Francesca Battistelli's 'Free to be Me'. This time it was random, although I'm sure inspired by the song I've heard so many times. So I pondered the line and thought for at least the hundredth time... That is so true for me.

I continued on with my day, picking up my husband from his almost week long trip, then arriving to our home in disarray from a combination of holidays and travels. We decided to get ourselves in gear and go to our church small group despite our long day. In fact, I had been hoping all day that we would be home in time to make it. As usual, it was a great night of being with friends and laughing, but more importantly, encouragement and enlightenment from being with this great group of people. Our discussion was about the importance of reading the Bible and why it can sometimes be so hard to stick with it. A few people threw out different reasons such as it being confusing or not fitting into the "normal" societal routine (all very true statements). Then I got the urge to throw out my own personal reasoning for not reading the Bible often enough - Perfection. You see, I have this perfect idea of how my morning should go: I'll wake up bright and early before the kids, exercise, take my shower, grab some coffee, then sit down with my Bible and soak in what God has for me in the calm and quiet.

I could count on one hand how many times my morning has really worked out that way.

As we were ending the discussion my husband shared a thought he had heard before as a challenge for everyone. If we were going to try to add this habit as a permanent addition to our lifestyle, what were we going to give up? As our friend prayed and asked that question again I felt like I heard God so clearly and simply saying "Give up perfection."

Wow. That was so huge for me. And to feel like God had been preparing me all day for His message was so exciting!

How many times has my desire for perfection kept me from doing anything? It seems so backwards, but it truly happens to me all the time. If I can't do things the "perfect" way then what's the use in doing them at all? I feel overwhelmed by the tasks in front of me and decide to shut down rather than attempt.

As the Lenten season has been approaching I've been questioning whether or not I should try to participate, but I've wondered what would I give up that would really make a difference in my relationship with Christ. Then, it hit me as I worked on the draft of this very post that has been sitting on my computer for a few weeks - this is the time to give up perfection. To pray every time I feel overwhelmed by my to-do list or how others see me if I do this or don't do that. To try my best, even if it's not perfect. To be me and be okay with that. To understand I am a constantly changing (hopefully for the better) creation in Christ who doesn't have it all together and never will. And hopefully, this is something I'm not just giving up for Lent, but for good.

Giving Up On Perfect... It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? An awesome blog title perhaps? It just so happens that a blog I read regularly has that exact title and is written by another mom, Mary, who is figuring out the "journey through an imperfect life." I found Mary's blog through (in) courage and have really connected with her writing. Mary is also one of those bloggers who always replies to comments and when I emailed her with a question about my own blog replied quickly. She's cool like that. It just so happens Mary is doing a series through the season of Lent called Remarkable Faith where she will talk about her faith, but is also asking others to join in and talk about theirs. Jump on over, take a look, and think about participating. I know I'm looking forward to writing some about my own story and reading from others.

On a final note, I know Lent is not only a time of giving something up (Like Diet Coke, Chocolate, or Facebook), but a time of reflection on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, so I hope no one who is participating in Lent will think I'm demeaning this time. As one who didn't grow up practicing Lent I'm still learning what it's all about, and maybe I will more fully participate one day as I feel called to do so. However at this point in my life, this is what I feel God is calling me to work on.

What about you guys? Do you feel like you struggle with perfection? Are you participating in Lent? If so, I would love to hear what you're giving up and what Lent means to you.

Five Minute Friday: Photo Prompt

2011-01-14T11:49:00.001-06:00

I remember being in one of my public relations classes in college when a favorite professor asked the question "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Although I couldn't answer for sure, I envisioned myself in an exciting PR job, loving what I was doing despite the hard times that would surely come with starting my career.

Very quickly, it became evident that's not the direction my life was going to take. Instead, on a random Thursday night just a few years later I was laughing with my favorite boys at a Harlem Globetrotters game. I was sitting with guys that were not apart of the vision a few years ago, but now I couldn't possibly envision the future without.

And look at those smiles. Those smiles make my heart flutter better than any job could ever hope.

*Check out other "Five Minute Friday" posts over at The Gypsy Mama. (LOVE her idea to do this!!)

Project Life: January 1-8

2011-01-11T11:43:00.000-06:00

So, needless to say... My Project Life posts were seriously lacking towards the end of 2010. Ahem. As were all my posts... But it's a new year, so what better time to jump back on board?! I love the idea of Project Life and if I really get my act together, am even thinking about making these pictures into a tangible scrapbook. I love the convenience of pictures online/on the computer, but there is something nice about being able to hold something in your hands and take it in.

Saturday, January 1 ~ Happy New Year from the boys and me!! For the last few years we've hosted New Year's Eve at our home and these were some of the leftover party accessories that the boys (and I) were playing with the next morning.

Sunday, January 2 ~ The boys, especially my oldest, are really into Toy Story. They also are outgrowing all their pajamas, so for Christmas GiGi and G-Man (My mom and stepdad) helped us stock up on none other than Toy Story pajamas (You can also see a pair in the photo above). My poor Jayden has his "sick eyes" in this picture as he was in the beginning of a cold, but they were pretty ecstatic to have these pajamas!

Monday, January 3 ~ Today the boys and I spent our entire day finishing up Christmas (See 2011 goals, #11) and after-Christmas clearance shopping. They were such troopers (A new Toy Story book and some cookies helped)!

Tuesday, January 4 ~ Since committing to do Project Life for 2011 wasn't something I had thought through until the last couple of days, you get to see my messy kitchen on January 4. The original point of this picture was to do a before and after organizing post... but that didn't happen. Granted the severity of my cluttery mess is intensified due to the holidays, we'll just use this picture to say this is why #3 is on the 2011 goal list.

Wednesday, January 5 ~ There are a couple of things Jackson has started doing lately that I think are very cute, like going off on his own to build towers with his wooden blocks and this other little face he's making in the top right picture. I also thought it was sweet how the boys like to sit at the bottom of the stairs while their daddy was working from home upstairs in his office. I can just hear Jackson saying "Cheeeeeeeeeeese!!" for this picture.

Thursday, January 6 ~ The boys and I left for Tennessee today to go visit with family while the hubs traveled on 2 back-to-back work trips. This is one of the pictures I sent him on our drive down. I try to send him a ton of picture updates when we're apart because he misses the boys (and hopefully me) like crazy! Yes, we miss him too. :)

Friday, January 7 ~ Today was a fun day at GiGi and G-Man's house! G-Man wanted to take the boys to McDonald's to play and have some lunch, and in true G-Man style he jumped right in and played with them. Jackson loves pretending he's driving, which is what he was trying to tell G-Man in the picture. Jayden loved climbing and playing in the playplace. After lunch the boys came home and opened some Christmas presents from family who had sent them from WV. Jayden especially loved his sleeping bag equipped with a flashlight. (The kid loves flashlights!) Speaking of love, Jackson loves the Veggie Tales movie Jonah, which is what he, G-Man, and my sister Emmie are watching in the bottom left picture. We completed the day with a story read by GiGi (by request of Jackson).

Saturday, January 8 ~ We started out Saturday with pancakes made by G-Man (He spoiled us with these almost every single day we were in Tennessee) and then drove up to visit my grandfather who we call "Pops." We met my dad, stepmom, brother, and sister there and spent some time playing outside. I forgot to pack any gloves for the boys, so my Aunt Robyn brought some over that she had of my cousin's - Mork and Mindy circa 1980!

To see more Project Life photos you can go visit The Mom Creative!

Looking forward to continuing the rest of the year with our pictures!! Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Slowly but Surely Attacking Goals

2011-01-11T05:00:00.002-06:00

It's day 10 of 2011 -- How are you doing on your goals/resolutions? I actually haven't fully started attacking my goals yet, which I'm happy about. Doing too much too early would only be a recipe for burnout.

One thing I have started on is goal #1 - to read the entire Bible. In fact, I'm doing something a little crazy -- trying to read it in 90 days! A few days ago on Twitter I saw a link to a group planning on reading the Bible in 90 days together and I thought 'what a way to accomplish my goal!' Yes, a bit intimidating, especially with 2 kiddos, but exciting.

The site joining this community of Bible readers together is Mom's Toolbox, a blog that's purpose is to provide "Tools for real moms growing in Christ." They have close to 1000 people taking part in this challenge! I would encourage others to join in, however if you haven't started reading yet it might be hard to catch up as the group is on day 9 today. In fact, I'm still trying to catch up to the rest of the group since I didn't start my reading until day 3.

As for the rest of my goals, I'm mostly just trying to set myself up with a plan to accomplish them for when we return home. My husband had 2 back-to-back work trips to go on, so the boys and I traveled down to Tennessee to visit with family instead of staying home by ourselves. It's been a great trip topped off with the beautiful snow today!

Now, off to go catch up on some reading!! :)

Hope you all have a great day!

My 11 for 2011

2011-01-04T00:44:00.001-06:00

I'm usually not one to make New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are known for being broken and I just feel like I would be setting myself up for disaster. But over the last couple of months I kept having things come to mind that I would like to work on and get better at, so I told myself that this would be a year of accomplishing goals, or as we call them this time of year, resolutions. If I summed up everything I would like to resolve to do into one sentence it would probably be "To get my act together, " but what fun would it be if I left it at that? Not fun at all and definitely not setting myself up for success - I need specifics!

So, in an effort to help gather my thoughts and prepare myself for a successful year, here they are...

My 11 "Resolutions" for 2011:

1. Read the entire Bible.  I've been wanting to accomplish this task for years and years and this is going to be the year I do it. There are so many different reading plans available to help that I really don't have an excuse not to - The only thing holding me back is my own discipline. I think it's wild that I've grown up with my faith in Christ, but have never completely read the book that I believe to be the inerrant word of God.

2. Lose the last of that baby weight. (Yeah, I know it's typical resolution material.)  It's time to get back to the exercise routine, say goodbye to the sodas I started drinking over the holidays, and get back to a weight I feel good about once and for all. No. More. Excuses.

3. Stick to my routine. I'm not a fan of cleaning (Just ask my hubby or even my roommates from college), so the only way I'll get it done is if I do it in small doses. When I follow my routine the house looks better, I feel better, and I know it makes the hubby happy. I would even venture to say our kiddos act better when the house is in order and not chaotic. Peace of mind for all is a definite plus.

4. Decorate our home.  On the note of taking care of our home, I really would like to do a better job of decorating our space. I love decorating, but it's not something that comes naturally to me, so it will take a bit of work. I want our home to be a happy and comfortable place for us as well as a place to gather with family and friends in a pleasant atmosphere.

5. Take better care of myself and our family.  I guess this kinda goes hand-in-hand with #2, but when I thought of this I was thinking more along the lines of finding a good family doctor and keeping up with necessary check-ups and appointments to keep our family in the best health possible. When someone gets sick I want to have a professional close by that I trust to help us out.

6. Blog more.  Oh yeah, it's on here. Have you seen the last time I posted? And let's just be honest, that was only for the free Christmas cards. By looking at the quantity of posts I have you wouldn't be able to tell how much I really love doing it, but I promise I do, which is why I keep trying to find a way to make it work for me. More than that, I feel like it's something I'm suppose to be doing. The best is yet to come.

7. Keep in touch with friends and family more.  I am one of the world's worst at keeping in touch with people. I'm sure of it. I'm positive if it weren't for Facebook I wouldn't keep in contact with 80% of the family and friends I do now, and even with Facebook I don't do it nearly as much as I should. I want to make the time to call family, friends, and people who have impacted my life on a regular basis.

8. Potty train our 3 yr. old. I think I've been dealing with guilt about this everyday for the last 6 months. I just can't stay consistent. Everyone always seems so anxious to potty train, but you know what I realized? Diapers are so much easier! My little man is more than capable of throwing out the diapers for good, he just needs his mama to get on her A-game. (Or would it be P-game?) ;)

9. Have our family participate in more charity type events. I want to start teaching our boys while they're young to appreciate the blessings in their life and to be giving and loving to those that might not be so fortunate. I think so much maturity and responsibility can be gained from seeing the world through the eyes of others and learning there is more to life than your own little comfortable bubble of life.

10. Help the family budget.  Dave Ramsey would be so proud. We've been making major milestones along our journey to being debt free. However, I still see places where I feel like we (mostly I) could improve - like spending less money on groceries/going out to eat. I've tried the coupon thing before, and to be honest, it drove me a little nuts, but I've been having the itch to give it one more go. I even bought a paper on Sunday. We shall see.

11. Be better prepared for events like holidays, birthdays, etc. It's January 4th and I still have a Christmas gift I haven't bought yet, you know, for the holiday that was 2 weeks ago. It's not for lack of trying, but that doesn't mean it isn't eating me alive. I really, really want to be more proactive about buying birthday gifts/cards, planning birthday parties (or any other parties for that matter), and yes, buying Christmas gifts. Doing some things at the last minute can be beneficial and fun sometimes. Doing 98% of it at the last minute causes stress.

Whew! I've got a lot to keep me busy in 2011, but I'm excited!

If you're not into the resolution thing, but would rather sum up your plan for the year in one word then check out Alece over at Grit and Glory. Any other year I would have loved to jump on board, but since the point is to not make a list of goals, I don't really fit the criteria. However, if I did sum everything up in one word it would be Gumption. With a little initiative and drive my goals will be in progress in no time.

Happy New Year!! Here's to a fabulous 2011!!

Living the Dream

2010-11-04T09:07:00.001-05:00

I want to be a singer.

{After watching ABC's In the Spotlight With Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville last night I'm totally thinking country music}

It's true, no matter how cheesy it may sound. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted nothing more than to grow up one day and sing for a career. I have memories of standing in my grandmother's kitchen, tape player in the middle of the floor, belting out Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged album. When I closed my eyes I was pretty sure it was me standing on the stage.

I liked writing my own songs. I had one of those big keyboards that you could press a button and it would play a song for you, and I used that to write a song for my mom on one of her birthdays. I even roped one of my good friends into singing it with me.

I was even willing to put the effort into choreography for a good performance. Elementary school talent show? Totally choreographed a dance to Mariah's Fantasy. I still remember some of the moves (but I'm not going to prove it).

I participated in choir every opportunity I got, whether it be church or school. I even had solos in some of our performances. As I got older I took on singing "special performances" on Sundays at church. (You Baptists out there know what I'm talking about. "Special performances" were/are a time in the church service where someone can get up and sing a song of their choice.) At one of our church youth camps I even got to sing in front of a few hundred people, including Chris Tomlin, who patted me on the back and told me I did a good job, but unfortunately didn't offer me any contracts. Oh well, maybe next time. I also got to sing a line of Big House with Audio Adrenaline once, but that's a different story that I need to find the picture to before I share. :)

Anyhoo, all that to say I've always wanted to sing. At my old, ripe age of 25 I'm starting to realize that's probably not the path set out for my life, professionally anyway.

You see, I realized something a couple of years ago, and was reminded of it again yesterday and thought I would share to encourage you where you might be today. I love to sing, passionately love to sing, and even at one point thought God might be calling me to use that passion for Him. For years I wondered if I had that strong of a passion for singing why wasn't God using me in that way, why wasn't he giving me ways to develop my voice for Him, and why would He give me that passion in the first place.

Then one night when I held a crying little baby boy and didn't know what else to do, I sang.

And he stopped crying. And there was peace.

And another time when he was crying I even made up my own little song for him that I would sing when I didn't know what else to do to help him calm down, and every time I sang it he would stop crying. I might've had to sing through it a few times, but it always worked. I've even pulled it out a couple of times with our youngest. It's very basic and nothing impressive, completely made up on the fly, but it works.

So, in those first moments of singing to my little baby boy I felt like God was saying "See, I didn't give you that passion for no reason. You're using it for your most important task, being the mom I've called you to be." That might not seem big to you, but it was bigger than life to me. There is no one in this world I would rather make happy with my singing than my baby boys.

And we sing. A lot. My oldest now likes to sing 3 songs before bed every night, and they're always the same ones in this order: Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and a song from the Wiggles (Random I know). The Wiggles song we just kinda make up the words because I have no idea how their song really goes, but I think that's one reason he likes it, because we just have fun with it.

So, while I may not be singing for any sold-out auditoriums any time soon, I'm ok with knowing God is using my passion for an amazing purpose - showing love to my sweet boys.

And, I still occasionally bust out some old-school Mariah. Loved. Her.

Have you had any passions that you didn't get to use the way you thought you would? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Photo Credit: BJWOK

My Favorite Treats!

2010-11-02T15:04:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween. Just wanted to share my two favorite treats with you. :)

Buzz Lightyear & Woody

My two favorite treats of all. :)

Defunkification

2010-10-01T17:10:00.002-05:00

So, with the exception of a little design work, I decided to take the month of September off from blogging. Yea, right after I announced the news of buying my domain. Weird, I know.

But, I'm back, and I can't wait to get things rolling.

One very honest reason I wasn't writing is because I found myself in a funk. The first part of September I was doing great. In an effort to finally start losing my baby weight (you know... from the child who is now 16 months old...) I started a strict diet and started temporarily working out twice a day. Yea, I said twice. a. day. I was doing my 5k training, the Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred DVD, and an additional walk or workout when needed. I did great. I was super motivated. I lost 3 pounds in one week, and I (snugly) fit into my goal shorts for the Tennessee/Florida football game. I was one happy chica.

And then we got home from the game. And I was tired. And I just wanted some chocolate and a break. Luckily, I knew I would feel like that after traveling, so I was prepared. I had thought ahead and had the house completely clean and ready to come back to and had low fat/low cal chocolate options in stock. Score! Except the tired feeling never went away. This was burn-out at it's finest, not to mention the shin splints that are just today starting to subside (a whole 2 weeks later).

With the help of a great neighbor I did have one exceptional non-funk day this week. I even finally bought my fall candles, (WooHoo!!) and may I just say, the house smells delish (Which also may be due to the yummy crock pot recipe I made today). Now if the house was clean...

Enter defunkification.

I decided to compare my funk days to my non-funk days and I've discovered some (obvious) things I've got to do to get my game back on and to take care of my family as well as myself, such as:

- Prepare a plan of action ahead of time. When I wrote my plans the night before, the next day's to-do list was so easy to stick to, rather than dealing with an overwhelming cloud of to-do's on the day of.
- Wake up early. This starts the night before as well. If I don't get a good night's rest, the next morning will be hard, the day after that will be even harder. Is anyone else like that? Adrenaline keeps me going the first day after no sleep, but the day after that is always harder to me.
- Exercise. How could I not be energized after a morning run or 25 minutes of cringing at Jillian? Exercise totally boosts my energy for at least the first half of my day.
- Have quiet time in God's word and in prayer. Having time with God before anyone wakes up in the morning is so refreshing. Does it mean my day won't be challenging? Absolutely not. But it does mean I'm better equipped to handle it.
- Do my "chores" first thing in the morning. I have the most energy to be efficient in the morning, so if I put this energy towards the things I have to do, I have no guilt doing the things I want to do later when I just feel like relaxing.
- Have something to look forward to. This was true for me on two levels: Per day, and in this particular case, at the end of the week (Getting to wear my goal shorts to the Tennessee game). My usual reward for the day is internet time, usually blog time (reading and writing), facebook, or Twitter.

So, I gave myself until Monday, October 4 to defunk. I'm going to enjoy this weekend spending some time with the family, doing some fall craftiness/decor, and watching my hubby play in his football league Sunday afternoon. I'm going to make a plan, get some rest, and look forward to a great week.

If you're in the same boat as I am and would like to work on "maximizing your mornings" you can join a great challenge going on over at Inspired to Action. If you're just looking for some inspiration through the month of October you can head over to some blogs that are each doing their own 31 day series through the month of October. A couple I like are Chatting at the Sky and The Nester.

And on a final note, don't think my dieting tactics are usually crazy strict and working out twice a day. I know that isn't particularly healthy, and it was only a one week thing. I am continuing to watch what I eat, and look forward to jumping back into my morning workouts on Monday. However, by watching what I'm eating (for the most part) I have lost an additional pound since the 3 pound loss.

Have a great weekend and spend some time recharging with those you love! :)

P.S. I read a great post on spending some time in rest today, and thought I would share. You can read it here.

Project Life Tuesday: August 22-28

2010-08-31T14:25:00.001-05:00

Whew! We have had one crazy, crazy week. I knew it would be a little on the difficult side because my husband had a lot going on with work, which meant I would be doing a lot on my own with the kiddos, but the end of the week truly threw some bittersweet surprises at us.

Sunday, August 22: Today we left Nashville to return home after celebrating my Pops' 80th birthday. These are my boys with Pops before we went our separate ways.

Monday, August 23: Today I started a new project with Jayden that I learned about at Impress Your Kids. Every week we talk about one letter, a bible verse that starts with that letter, and a craft that has to with that letter. Jayden loved it and we had a blast doing it. I had been feeling like I needed to be doing something educational during the days we're home, but didn't know where to start until I saw this. It was great mommy and son time!

Tuesday, August 24: This morning I decided to make homemade waffles for the first time with the waffle maker we got as a wedding gift 3 years ago. Why we haven't done that yet I don't know, I guess I was intimidated by it, but the waffles were delish. Jackson helped me stir (while occasionally dipping his hands in the batter). :) Sidenote: Yes, those are snowflakes on his pajamas. They fit and they're comfy, so that's really all that matters. :)

Wednesday, August 25: Today was mine and my husband's 3rd wedding anniversary. It was also a very long day for my husband with work. He didn't get home until after 9:00 p.m., but when he did he had these roses for me.

Thursday, August 26: Yep, so this is when the craziness began, or maybe I should say got crazier, because the week was already a little crazy. Late Wednesday night I noticed Jayden having some trouble breathing. By Thursday morning it was pretty intense and he obviously wasn't feeling well, so I took him to the doctor's office. They gave him a breathing treatment, a steroid, a chest xray (the picture below), and another breathing treatment and he still wasn't doing much better. At one point there was high concern about his xray (which absolutely scared me to death), but after an official reading it was confirmed normal. After an afternoon nap and some time for the medicine to kick in, Jayden was acting much better, although still having some trouble breathing. By the end of the day I felt like I had been on some kind of awful roller coaster, but above anything else I was thankful my little man was ok.

Friday, August 27: After all the craziness on Thursday we scheduled a follow-up appointment with our pediatrician to make sure everything was ok and that we were doing everything we needed to be doing. He confirmed that we needed to fill a prescription for a nebulizer so we could do breathing treatments from home among other things. Later, a coworker of my husband offered us second row seats at the Rascal Flatts/Kellie Pickler concert that he no longer was going to be able to go to, so we called up a fantastic couple of friends to see if they minded watching the boys while we went. It was a much needed break from our crazy week and a way for us to celebrate our anniversary too. Rascal Flatts put on a great show and Kellie Pickler was adorable (especially her sparkly shoes you can see in the pic below - If I only I had somewhere to wear shoes like that...).

Saturday, August 28: I used the picture below because today was the first day we did an at-home breathing treatment with the little man and the picture is of the nebulizer we have. I don't know if you can tell, but the mask is a little fish. Jayden does a fantastic job of sitting still and cooperating through the treatments. He has been such a trooper over the last couple of days. Later on Saturday evening we did have some friends from our church small group over for a cookout and water activities for the kids. That would have made for a much happier project life picture, but I didn't even think to grab my camera in the midst of it. It was a great time though.

So, that's it for me this week. I'll be linking this up over at The Mom Creative along with others who participate in Project Life.

Have a great week!!

Walking in Love

2010-08-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

Today, August 25, is mine and my husband's 3rd wedding anniversary.

In some ways I feel like there's no way 3 years have passed, but on the other hand it's hard to believe we've done as much as we have in the 3 years we've been married. We've had 2 beautiful boys, Jayden 2.5 and Jackson 15 months (If your math isn't adding up and you're confused, you can read more about my story here then here), we've moved 3 times, bought 2 homes (not at the same time), made new friends, found a great church, and dreamed about the future.

There are good times when laughter abounds, and there are hard times when it feels like my face is covered in cake. Sticky, hard to clean off, leaving stains on my clothes from where it falls.

I'm following a reading plan for my Bible, and this morning part of the reading was 2 John 1 (The only chapter in 2 John). The following verses stood out to me and I'd like to share them.

"(1) To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, (2) because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: (3) Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."

Moving on to verse 5...

"(5) And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. (6) This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it."

As I studied a little about what was going on in these verses this is what I learned - John was writing to a lady whose family was following God, staying faithful in Him, but John didn't hesitate to remind this lady that she and her family need to walk in love, lest they fall.

And this got me thinking...

Marriage isn't easy. Being a mom isn't easy. Taking care of a home isn't easy.

Life isn't easy.

But I will walk in love.

When I don't want to get out of bed early to take care of myself so that I can take care of my family, I'll do it anyway, because I love God and I love them. When I don't feel like doing the umpteenth load of laundry or mopping the milk stains up off the floor, I'll do it anyway, because I love God and I love them. And God commanded me to walk in love.

I'll ask God to help me wash my face clean, pass the stain remover over, and hold my hand to help me stand back up in Him, daily.

And I'll try to smile, even when that cake is on my face, because beside me is someone who gets cake on his face too, and we're in this together.

Tinkering...

2010-08-24T13:19:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be playing around and tinkering with the blog design today. If you see weird things happening, don't be alarmed! :)

Project Life Tuesday: August 15-21

2010-08-24T05:09:00.002-05:00

Here's a peek from last week!

Sunday, August 15: Jayden sang his first solo at church today! He sang Jesus Loves Me, and he did it beautifully. I'm tempted to share the video on here, very tempted. :)

Monday, August 16: One of the cutest things about babies are their little feet. I love Jayden and Jackson's sweet feet and little toes, so I thought I should capturte a picture of what those little feet look like these days. One day (all too soon), those feet will turn into big, man feet. That is such a wild thought.

Tuesday, August 17: The boys love going to eachother's rooms to play, and although a mess usually ensues, I love that they're making that bond with one another. (Yes, I have been warned that one day brothers start wrestling instead of rolling cars and tractors beside eachother, but in my little, happy world I'm pretending that's not true.) One day last week they closed the door behind them, and when I went to check and make sure they were ok this is what I saw - Jackson opening the door and Jayden jumping in Jackson's crib that he crawled himself into. Silly boys.

Wednesday, August 18: Jackson pretending to ride the dump truck, and yes, this is what our living room looks like on most mornings. By noticing the container on the right of the picture you can see I atleast attempt to keep things somewhat organized.

Thursday, August 19: We thought Jayden ran to the kitchen to get his milk out of the fridge, but when my husband went to check on him (because it was taking him a while), we found him standing in the fridge finishing off some chocolate pudding. So much for that last 60 cal pudding snack I was saving...

Friday, August 20: This was my little brother, Robert's, first day of kindergarden! Doesn't he look handsome? Jayden was excited for Robert that he got to start school, but as soon as Robert left Jayden busted into tears, sobbing "I want to go to school." Jayden, let's not rush things. Soon enough, little man, soon enough.

Saturday, August 21: Today we celebrated my Pops' 80th birthday! He is such a special, special man and I am so blessed to have him as a grandfather. We had a fun get-together with family celebrating the special way he's touched our lives. We picked up some Uncle Bud's Catfish for lunch (appropriate since his nickname is "Bud") and Maggie Moo's ice cream dream cake for dessert. Can I just tell you how great that cake was? Mmmmm. Delicious. Addictingly delicious. And they make cupcakes... I'm just sayin'. (I should totally get paid for the amount of endorsement I just gave them. ;) )

I'm really having fun taking and editing the pictures every week! This week was especially fun as I found some new ways to edit the photos.

I'll be linking this up over at The Mom Creative, where you can find more Project Life posts!

It May or May Not Be Monday...

2010-08-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello, and happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend and a chance to do something fun and relaxing. My two little ones and I went to visit my family in Nashville, TN to celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday! He is a very special man and I am so glad we were able to be with him to celebrate.

My husband wasn't able to be there with us as he had a previously planned trip with others from work, so I did have some stressful moments of being on my own with the kiddos from the time they woke up (an early 6 am every morning) until the time they went to sleep (around 8 or 8:30 pm). I had help from my dad and stepmom who allowed me to step away from the kids to get a shower in, or help one child who might need extra love in a moment of waking up from a bad dream in fear, and for that, my friends, I am thankful.

But as I looked at the calendar of the coming week, I realized something. Hubby has some long days planned this week, which means longer hours of being home with the kids on my own.

With this in my mind I decided I had to start doing something to kickstart my day on a positive note, and this is what my husband walked in on me doing this morning...

Yes, I may or may not be standing on our bathroom counter giving myself a pep talk, but after seeing a friend post this video on Facebook, I couldn't help but try it for myself.

And, this may or may not be my new morning routine. Well, at least maybe without the standing on the counter part.

And this may or may not have been a joke... :)

In all seriousness, I've been trying to come up with a good morning routine for a while. The problem is, you have to get out of bed to follow through with that routine, and I don't tend to wake up until my boys wake up. I'm the kind of girl who likes to soak up every sweet minute of sleep possible. Of course, if I don't wake up until the boys wake up, that means I immediately wake up and have to go, go, go. I don't get to stop and take the time to exercise, read my Bible, have prayer, and yes, showers too must wait until a later time in the day. This leaves me feeling like I'm dragging.

So, help me out blogland!

What do you do to get your morning started on the right foot? What time do you wake up? Do you try to have time to yourself before anyone else in the house is awake?

Do you follow what Flylady suggests of getting up, making your bed, showering, cleaning your bathroom, "fixing" your hair and face, "swishing" the toilet, and taking a load of laundry to be started? She also suggests you get dressed to shoes, even if you're not going anywhere. (That one really irks me.)

What advice can you share?

*I'm thinking about starting a new post series called "May or May Not Be Mondays" as a fun way to start off our week. Keep an eye out for that in the future! Have a great Monday!

It Feels Good to Laugh

2010-08-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

You know how sometimes you just aimlessly wander through blogland with no rhyme or reason? You're just continually clicking as a blog button sparkles from one page to the next, or the link in the post says just enough to make you curious of what they're talking about.

Yep, that was me last night. Distracted by well-designed blogs, personal stories, and funny videos, and something to make me laugh was just what I needed after the week we've had.

Somewhere along the way I stumbled upon a blog called Praise and Coffee (I believe it was through a pro-life button from another page) and found myself laughing out loud at a video she posted of Anita Renfroe singing "All the Wrinkled Ladies." (Which might have made me appreciate that I'm currently in my mid-20's and my wrinkles are -temporarily- minimal.)

So, I decided to check out more about this Anita Renfroe.

Little did I know, I had seen her video before of William Tell Momisms. To make it better - she's from the South y'all!! :) She likes a Big Ol' Sweet Iced Tea just like me (and that song includes a line mentioning Chick-Fil-A, just one more wonderful thing about the South... oh, how I miss thee).

Out of all her videos, I felt like the one below spoke the most to where I am currently in my life, specifically the second verse. (Hello 3 years of marriage, 2 kids, and a bill pile - I'm talking to you.)

So, if you're needing a good laugh I hope you'll find it in the videos I've linked to and/or the one below. I like to laugh, so usually it comes pretty easily to me, but these videos made me laugh out loud to the point where I felt like I should probably explain what I was watching to my husband to keep him from thinking I was crazy.

Happy Hump Day to you!

Project Life Tuesday: August 8-14

2010-08-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all had a great week last week. If you're caught up with posts from last week, or know us personally, then you may know that our lives turned a little rough midweek. Despite that, here are some of the pictures that have brought me smiles, and I hope they do the same for you.

Sunday, August 8: Sunday afternoon naps don't happen often enough for us, but when they do, they are sweet. I decided to spend most the time the boys were napping reading and taking in the quiet (I did take a short nap afterwards though). After Jackson woke up we went to wake Dipal and Jayden, but Jackson decided he wanted to lay down with them. I loved the way Jayden was sleeping, like he was concentrating in his sleep. I wish these pictures were better quality, but the only thing I could grab in time to take the pictures was my phone.

Monday, August 9: Knowing that our family was planning on being out of town at the end of the week (My husband had a conference in St. Louis we were planning to attend), I spent Monday on a cleaning spree trying to do all the chores I would usually spread throughout the week. I'm not sure why, but Jackson is just now developing a fear of the vacuum cleaner. Although the fear in Jackson's face makes me sad, I thought it was so precious how Jayden rushed to his side to comfort him.

Tuesday, August 10: This afternoon my family made me aware that my Uncle Cordell, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for a few months, was not doing well and had been taken to the hospital. Later that night he passed away, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is in a much better place now. However, it is a season of sadness for my family knowing my Aunt Wilma is having to adjust to days without the love of her life by her side. Considering the circumstances, I didn't feel much like taking pictures on Tuesday, so I thought for today I would post this picture of my Uncle Cordell holding Jayden on the 4th of July back in 2008.

*I plan on posting some additional pictures as soon as I can scan them into our computer.

Wednesday, August 11: With the news of my uncle's passing, Dipal and I decided that the boys and I would travel to Tennessee to be with our family. Dipal wasn't able to be with us as he had responsibilities at the conference in St. Louis. Wednesday evening we parted ways, and these were my traveling partners on our first trip without Daddy to Tennessee. We got on the road close to bedtime, so they slept most the way while I (loudly) listened to my Hillsong and Needtobreathe radio stations on Pandora (God bless Pandora - one of the best. things. ever.). :)

Thursday, August 12: We continued our driving through Tennessee today. Wednesday we drove to Nashville and stayed at my dad's house, which is only about a 3 hour drive from our home. From there I drove to my mom's, as she was going to be watching the boys while I attended my uncle's services. On the drive there I got the idea to do something for my brother and sister who just started their new school year. I called my mom to tell them to be ready to jump in the car with me and the boys as soon as we pulled up to the house so I could take them for a surprise. After driving (and walking) them in circles around our hometown, we found ourselves at the Great American Cookie Co. where I had ordered a cookie cake for them saying "Happy New School Year." Creative? Probably not. Delicious? Absolutely. Below are my brother and sister posing with their cake before we devoured ate it. I couldn't help but include the picture to the left because it is so them. :)

Friday, August 13: Today was the receiving of friends and funeral service, or as my Aunt Wilma called it, "Celebration of Life" for my Uncle Cordell. Honestly, these pictures were both taken on Saturday, but represented Friday to me, so that is why I posted them here. The picture on the left is of the beautiful view I took so for granted when I lived in Tennessee. The picture on the right is of the flagpole that sits outside the church where we celebrated my uncle's life. He made that flagpole complete with the cross that sits on top, which I learned in one of the many stories I heard through the evening of my uncle's love and hard work ethic. These were truly the themes of his life and the celebration we had in remembrance of him.

Saturday, August 14: After the interment our family had time to sit and fellowship with each other over some great and homemade southern food. Since it is not often we all get together, we snapped some pictures. Below is my Aunt Nina, Grandfather (whom I lovingly refer to as "Pops"), Aunt Wilma, Aunt Lois, and Aunt Mary. My Aunt Wilma was Uncle Cordell's wife and my other aunts were his sisters. My grandfather was his brother.

If I could just leave you with one thing that was impressed upon my heart last week through everything that happened. In seeing the pictures and listening to the stories that were shared about my uncle, there was a resounding theme of love. It was much more than saying "I love you," as my uncle wasn't known for telling you he loved you. It was the actions of love. My uncle showed the people in his life he loved them, and they knew without a doubt he loved them through those actions. It wasn't something you talked about, it was something you just knew. So, I would challenge each of us to live our lives in the same way. Show love to those in your life, never let them doubt it exists. It's good to tell them too, but our actions speak so much louder than our words.

You can see other Project Life projects here.

A Time to Embrace

2010-08-11T08:11:00.000-05:00

I’m writing with a very heavy heart today.

I just found out that my great uncle, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for some months now, was taken to the hospital. At the time I’m writing we’re not sure if he will be leaving.

After spending some time in prayer and seeking God through His Word, I have looked at some verses in a new light, and thought I would share.

First, let me tell you about my Uncle Cordell. He has been a great uncle. He has been the kind of uncle who never ceased to put a smile on my face, and joy in my heart. He and my Aunt Wilma (his wife) are truly blessings to be around. They carry warmth and comfort with them wherever they are, and I believe this is the “fragrance of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15) on them. If my Uncle Cordell knew I was writing this, he would not want you to feel sorry for him, he actually wouldn’t want any attention on him at all. He was slow to tell anyone of his disease for this very reason, and feel sorry for him you should not. He is a hard worker who, despite his illness, saw to it that work that needed to be done was tended to. It runs in the family, my grandfather is the same way. They are quite the pair of brothers, my Uncle Cordell and Pops, very much alike in the joy they bring and their hard work ethic. I’m hoping that the same work ethic is instilled deep within me as well, it might just take a little searching to find it.

Aunt Wilma and Uncle Cordell at my college graduation/birthday party, May 2007

Uncle Cordell holding Jayden, 4th of July, 2008

It’s hard to see someone you love suffer with the symptoms of cancer. One of the times I felt it most was a few months ago when Dipal, the boys, and I met up with my Uncle Cordell and Aunt Wilma along with my Pops, Dad, brother, and sister at some of our family’s property in Tennessee. There was a lingering sense of sadness that everyone tried to look past as the news of the cancer was still somewhat new. When it came time to say our goodbyes my Uncle Cordell reached out his hand to shake mine. In my moment of ignorance I lightheartedly said, “I don’t want a handshake, I want a hug.” After all, that is typically how we would say goodbye in our family, but Uncle Cordell immediately informed me that while he was on chemo he was instructed to keep his distance from others and their germs, but he reassured me “next time.”

This was the last time I saw Uncle Cordell.

As I was fingering through the pages of my Bible this afternoon, I was led to 1 Corinthians 15: 35-49, which captured my attention because of the subtitle “A Glorious Body.” Specifically, verses 43 – 44 shone a glimmer of hope (talking of the body).

⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

No matter how dishonoring my uncle's natural body may have been to him through this disease, his spirit will be raised in glory. No matter how weak this disease makes my uncle’s natural body, his spirit will be raised in power.

Thank you, Jesus.

As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” It goes on to say in verse 4 “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Laughed we have with Uncle Cordell, but now is a season of weeping and mourning the loss of someone we loved very much. But we have assurance that one day we will be reunited with him in a place of joy.

And I can’t wait to get my hug when I see him there.

*I started to write this yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon after hearing the initial news of my uncle. Late last night I received a call from my dad informing me that my uncle had passed away, and I completed the post this morning. Please keep my family in your prayers, specifically my Aunt Wilma, my grandfather, and his sisters and family.

Project Life Tuesday: August 1-7

2010-08-10T07:08:00.000-05:00

It's one of my favorite posts of the week... Project Life Tuesday!! :)
Here are some of my favorite snapshots from last week, August 1-7, 2010.
Sunday, August 1: Jayden decided to practice some baseball while wearing his "Uncle Nay Nay's" shirt before my family left to travel back home. My mom was taking some shots with our camera and I thought these were really cute of Jayden practicing his hitting. He would throw the ball up in the air himself and then hit it. I (proud mama) thought that was pretty spiffy for his age. :) (Who cares that he was hitting a basketball rather than a baseball?)

Monday, August 2: This child has got to be one of the most photogenic babies I know (proud mama moment #2). He loves the camera.

Tuesday, August 3: Happy Birthday to my mom (or GiGi as we call her around here)!! I took this picture of Jayden with his cheeks full of food because this has been something he has done as long as I can remember. He'll be eating fine and then all of the sudden will start storing all his food in his cheeks rather than swallowing it. Thank goodness it's not as consistent as it use to be, but every now and then it still happens.

Wednesday, August 4: Happy Birthday to G-Man!! I've noticed this summer that we have a ton of butterflies that flutter around our house as if it's their own little playground. It's not uncommon for one to land on our door and this is Jackson checking it out.

Thursday, August 5: I left my empty coffee cup on the coffee table in our living room and when I turned around I noticed a little someone was trying to drink the remaining drops. This was his reaction to the taste he got. Warning: Not for those who get grossed out easily. Don't worry, the very next second he was dancing around proud of himself.

Friday, August 6: Today was a tough day for me around the house. It was hard to find the motivation and energy to accomplish a lot and the boys and I just seemed to be on opposite pages. Seeing Jayden share his last few drops of Gatorade with Jackson after some hot outside play time almost melted away everything that happened that day.

Saturday, August 7: Today we went to a nearby town that was having a "mud bogg." I'll explain for those of you like me who are completely unfamiliar with these. Basically, a mud bogg is when you set up a mud pit to see how far you can drive a 4-wheeler through it before it gets stuck. The obvious goal would be to make it across the whole pit without getting stuck at all, but that didn't happen for anyone at this event. Before the mud bogg we watched the town parade complete with a fire truck, antique tractors, and miniature cars who all threw out candy. The boys and I stayed at the mud bogg as long as we could in the heat, but before the end had to leave to get in some AC. Unfortunately, we missed my husband getting third place! Here's his trophy complete with his muddy jeans in the background. Oh, the things Illinois exposes us to. :)

Hope you all had a fabulous week!!

If you would like to see more Project Life posts then check out The Mom Creative.

Project Life Tuesday: July 25-31

2010-08-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

Oh, my. I really thought I was going to get this posted on Tuesday. I can't even tell you how many times I sat down to work on this and then would have to stop for my full time job, being Mommy. I finally decided I was going to have to wait until the boys were in bed, and within a few minutes of putting everything together, fell asleep sitting straight up with the computer in my lap. It was just that kind of day. Like I said last week, my time management skills are in major need of improvement. It didn't help that our camera is set on the wrong time and I couldn't remember which day our pictures were taken so I kept trying to play everything back in my head... Enough excuses...

Turn that frown upside down...

Yay!! It's Project Life Tuesday!! Here's a peek at our lives from July 25-31.

Sunday, July 25: (Please excuse my long description, but it was that great of a day) We finished up our weekend in Chicago with our first visit to Wrigley Field to watch the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. It. Was. Amazing!! We loved Wrigley and the game was fantastic (Cards won 4-3 in the 11th inning)!! To top it off, my little man got a foul ball!! Here's the story recounted as told to our friends and family: So, there we were, having a great time at the game with the Cards & Cubs tied 3-3. The Cardinals decided to put in pinch hitter Aaron Miles with 2 outs on the board. We (as in Dipal and I) were getting a little nervous as his strike count went up to 2. Then, all of the sudden, just like slow motion in a movie, I see this white ball rocketing towards us. No, this wasn't one of those soar up in the air and drop balls, this was a rocket. It flew directly to the seat of Dipal's cousin, Paresh, who dove down to avoid getting hit. Luckily, Anita's brother Jag was with us and he immediately grabbed the ball from in between the seats and handed it to Jayden. Oh, the look in Jayden's eyes... Priceless. Amazing. Precious. We were all in total shock of what had just happened, but it was fantastic. We (of course) gave Paresh a hard time about diving to get away from the ball for the remainder of the evening, while he continued to analyze every foul ball from that point on to determine whether it was one he would be willing to try to catch or not (That is, if he had a face mask). Every time I replayed the event in my mind I literally laughed out loud - It was priceless. I guess what made it even funnier is that we had talked about the possibility of foul balls heading in our direction and what we would do (I obviously said I would push everyone else out of the way to get a ball for my boys... OK, maybe not). Even the guys (Cub fans) sitting behind us said to me at the beginning of the game that if they caught a ball they would give it to the boys, but then jokingly changed their minds when they noticed we were Cardinals fans. I guess it was meant to be, you know, in the "Cards." (Pun intended.)

Monday, July 26: No pictures today. I think I was still on a high from the night before. Did I mention it was one of my favorite family memories? :)

Tuesday, July 27: Today I tried to think of something fun and different to do with Jayden and remembered he had received some of those little capsule-looking things that turn into sponges when put in water. I thought he would enjoy doing a couple of those, so we got a cup of hot water, dropped the capsule in, and waited... and waited... and waited... and went away, played, had lunch, and then remembered to check on it, and thankfully, it was finally complete. I think the whole process might have taken 1.5 hours. I thought those things were only suppose to take a few minutes, however, he still enjoyed playing with it until Jackson ripped it into 3 pieces. :)

Wednesday, July 28: Today I finally got my Illinois driver's license, you know, after living here for 9 months... I think I'm still secretly hoping in the back of my mind we'll somehow make it back to Tennessee (Please God, pretty please!).

Thursday, July 29: Baseball isn't just America's favorite passtime, but also my little man's. I know I'm his mom, but I'm incredibly impressed with his skills considering he's only 2.5. Lord knows I couldn't teach him a perfect pitch if I tried. He loves pretending like he's pitching, batting, and running the bases. Sometimes, as he's "running the bases"he'll stop, point, and say "Look Mommy, fireworks!" as if he scored a homerun, to which I stop what I'm doing and clap and cheer. He's precious.

Friday, July 30: Today my mom, stepdad, brother, sister, and family puppy dog all came to visit and spend the weekend. My sister made the bracelet below for me out of my 3 favorite colors - orange, pink, and blue (I specifically like turquoise to be exact, but ya gotta work with what ya got). I thought she did a great job!

Saturday, July 31: My mom came in and took some pics of me going through our bedtime routine with Jackson. I'm all about having routine, and this is one of those things we've done with both boys. After getting into pajamas, we read a story, pray, sing a song, and then they lay down. Below is Jackson clasping his hands for prayer time. Did I mention he's precious?

So, that's it. This seems sloppy today, but it's time for me to wrap it up and call it quits.

Say a prayer for God to help me with my time management skills? It goes a lot deeper than just not having time to edit photos and write blog posts.

'Preesh.

Oh, and I'm linking this up over at The Mom Creative. You should check it out! :)

Looking for Hope: What's a Girl to do With Doubt?

2010-08-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

I've been having this struggle lately, a struggle I really don't know what to do with.

You see, I grew up in a family with steady christian beliefs that only seemed to grow stronger as I got older. My faith hit a high point in my teen years, but then it seemed to slowly start drifting away. It wasn't that I ever purposefully let go of it or forgot about it. In fact, there were some times where I felt like I was doing everything I could to cling to it, but it kept getting harder and harder to hold.

When I started college I kept trying to find a church where I could get plugged in and make friends that would help me and my faith grow, but I never felt like I fit in anywhere and just kinda gave up. (However, I did find some amazing friends in college, and I truly don't know what I would have done without them.)

As I started down the road to motherhood (You can read more about that quick trip here and here) I decided I needed to get things in order. Bringing a child into this world was no light task and I wanted to do things right.

I knew my marriage was starting out a lot different than the norm, and it wasn't going to be easy, so I wanted to do things as right as I could.

But that's not what I want my faith to be about - just doing the right thing. I want my faith to be genuine and honest. I don't want to do something just because it's "the right thing to do."

I think one thing that has caused me to do a double-take on what I believe was marrying into a family who has a completely different religion than what I grew up with. My husband is a christian, but most of his family is not. It makes me stand back for a second and ask myself what makes what I believe right and what they believe wrong?

When people look at me and say "Why do you believe in Christianity? How do you know it's true?" I want to be able to look them in the eye and answer them without a shadow of doubt.

Can I be really honest with you? I'm scared to pray about it. (Does this even make sense?)

I'm scared that if it is all real, God will do something drastic to set me straight. It's kinda like being scared to pray for patience, you don't want to have to endure something that makes you learn patience, but you wish you could just have it.

So, I'm at this crossroad. Do I keep looking towards Christ? How do I even know He's there if I can't see Him or feel Him?

I don't want to just go through the motions.

This isn't exactly what I thought I would be writing about when I started this blog, but I did promise to be honest, even if that made me imperfect (which I very much am). And, maybe I'm not alone.

What about you? What do you believe? How do you know it's true?

What if you're wrong?

~Brittany

Project Life Tuesday... Or Friday: July 18-24

2010-07-30T12:35:00.000-05:00

One of my biggest struggles with blogging is finding the time/discipline to do it on a regular basis. I hate to use the word "discipline" because it has such a negative connotation - like someone is making me do it. I actually am really excited about keeping up with the blog, I'm just going to have to be a better time manager in order to do so. So, with that said, better late than never, here is Project Life Tuesday Friday.

Oh, and just let me say, I am so glad I decided to start participating in this project. When you feel like you have the same routine day in and day out, wanting to find something to take a picture of really reminds you to appreciate every moment. For example, one day a couple of weeks ago I made cheese quesadillas for lunch and decided to let my 2 year-old have sour cream on the side. Next thing I know, his hands are covered in sour cream - he was pretending the sour cream was soap. This is the type of incident that would usually make me have to turn away, hold my breath, and count to 10, but when I looked at it as a funny moment to snap a picture, my whole perspective changed. Unfortunately, I didn't think to snap a picture until I had cleaned up the mess, but hey, I'm at new at this! :)

So, here we go!

Project Life: July 18-24

Sunday, July 18: Tonight we went out to a family dinner at a new mexican restaurant in town. I'll be honest, this doesn't happen a lot. Usually, if we go out to dinner it's with a group. We make it a priority to sit together and eat our meals at home, but there was something nice about going out to sit and have a meal. Jackson was so cute sitting in his high chair - he is growing up way. too. quick. As is Jayden, who while we were eating said "Is that a trumpet?" to the music in the background. And, although I'm not educated in instruments, I'm pretty sure it was. Then he proceeded to pretend his fork was a trumpet. I love his love for all things music and how natural it is to him.

Monday, July 19: Today we went with our neighbor, Kyler, to swim at his grandparents' pool. The boys had a lot of fun. Jackson wanted to be a big boy, which was a bit of a problem since I forgot to bring his float, but I tried to find other ways to help him feel big, like pushing him around on the adult floats. Jayden saw how much fun this looked and decided to pretend the floats were boats. This is the only picture I was able to snap since I had to have my eyes and hands on Jackson at all times.

Tuesday, July 20: If you were to ask me if I like the little town we've been living in for the past 9 months, I would try to smile and give you positive answers, but you would probably be able to tell I was just trying to be positive. However, one of the things I really, truly like is our home and the field next to it. The first picture is a deer I saw on the other side of the field. So cute. The last 2 pictures are what happens when you have a 14 month old who likes to get in the trash (Why Lord, why?) - That morning's coffee filter and coffee grinds all over the floor.

Wednesday, July 21: The first picture is Jayden playing with his helicopter/car thing and a little person from a zoo train set. His imagination has really taken off in the last couple of months. He really likes to pretend his little play people are doing things, like riding tractors or airplanes or swimming - the possibilities are endless, and I love listening and watching. We also decided to make biscuits and I let Jayden help roll out the dough. He loved helping and our finished product was delicious!

Thursday, July 22: Daddy wasn't able to be with us for dinner due to work, so I decided I would try to do something fun for just me and the boys. There's a little local place I heard about where they have trains circle the restaurant while you eat and train decor all over. I knew the boys would l.o.v.e. it (as they did) and here is Jackson basking in his locomotive delight.

Friday, July 23: My husband came up with the idea of getting the boys Go-Gurt. They are so not ready to be able to squeeze yogurt out of a flimsy tube. This is what happens when you give a 2 year-old an *unopened* Go-Gurt - He ends up licking it off the table, and it ends up on the table and inches behind your laptop on the counter. Oh my.

Saturday, July 24: We went to Chicago to celebrate our niece's first birthday. She is absolutely beautiful and the boys love her! Jayden was very excited to sing "Happy Birthday" and give her the present we picked out.

I'll be linking this up over at The Mom Creative, and I highly recommend you participate too! It's a great way to look back over your week and smile. :)

There Once Was a Girl... (Part II)

2010-07-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read Part 1 yet, I encourage you to click here. It'll just make more sense that way. :)

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The next day was an already scheduled doctor’s appointment where the news was confirmed. It was true, the girl was 4 weeks along. She decided she would wait until after her college graduation to tell her family because she didn’t want them to be distracted with the news. Her mom, with God-given instinct, immediately drove to see her daughter within hours of that doctor’s appointment when the girl wouldn’t answer her phone. As soon as the girl saw her mom, she knew she couldn’t keep this from her, so she broke down and told her mom the news. Her mom, who loved her so much, assured her everything was going to be ok, and the girl trusted her, and it helped her keep hope.

Her mom told the girl she needed to immediately tell her dad the news. So, her mom drove the girl to her dad’s house and they sat down as she told them. They listened to her, and they hugged her, and they told her everything was going to be ok. She believed them, and it helped her keep hope.

She went on to graduate from her university, seeing the days of her sorority and as president of the public relations student society seemingly so far in the past, with much uncertainty and fear in her future. How were people going to treat her? What would they say behind her back? How many people would turn their backs on her because of the disorder of events taking place? Then she remembered, there was one who would never turn His back on her, and it helped her keep hope.

The girl and the boy went through the motions of telling all the close people in their lives what was going on. They made plans to get married, sought out premarital counseling, but more importantly, they prayed. They wanted to do what was right, not what others thought was right, but what was truly right. There were ups and downs along the way, but they got by the best they knew how, and within 4 months planned a beautiful wedding day (with much help from their loved ones). Despite the uncertainty that occasionally continued to pop up, the boy and the girl knew God could would do great things in their life, and it helped them keep hope.

The boy landed a great job which required the newlyweds to move about 8 hours away from their family. They started building their lives together in a new place, just the two of them. It was hard being away from family, but they knew this was where they needed to be to learn how to completely rely on each other instead of their families. They prepared themselves and their one bedroom apartment for the baby on the way and continued to trust God, and it helped them keep hope.

Then, one morning the girl woke up early and knew something was happening. This was it - the baby was here. The couple jumped in the car and flew to the hospital. Ten hours later they were holding their beautiful baby boy. When they looked in his eyes, there was no doubt, they knew they had hope.

Months went by, the baby boy grew, and so it seemed everything else did too - their faith, their marriage, and their joy. Before long, they were celebrating their first wedding anniversary and soon after were expecting their second baby. They soon bought their first home where they brought home their second baby. Life seemed to be as bright as their sweet newborn's eyes, which made it easy for the family to keep hope.

Soon after the birth of the second baby, the couple experienced the unexpected loss of a loved one. It was hard for them as they saw the full circle of life flash before them in a matter of days. There was sadness, frustration, confusion, and even doubts. The pain was hard, but they tried to persevere and cling to their faith, and it helped them keep hope.

A few months later, the boy, now a husband, father, and leader of the family, got a promotion in his job which meant the family would be moving once again to a new place where they knew no one. Although, it wasn't home, they were closer to family, which was comforting and helped them keep hope.

And, as you have probably guessed, here I am now, trying to keep hope, but not only keeping it for myself, but sharing it with others.

My life has been so blessed, that even when I strayed and made poor decisions, God took it and gave me the most wonderful blessings I could ever desire, but that doesn't mean the road was easy. In fact, it has been a very rocky road (Don't you wish I was talking about ice cream?) with many speed bumps along the way, and, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone on this one. Maybe your potholes and speed bumps (hurts, pains, and bad decisions) weren't the same as mine, or maybe they were, but either way, I hope you know you're not alone.

We each have our own daily grind, but let's try and make the best of it, learn from it, and glorify God through it.

How about we do it together?

Project Life Tuesday: July 15-17

2010-07-21T00:27:00.000-05:00

Occasionally, I stumble across blogs that I really like and really connect with. One of the most recent of these is Jessica Turner's The Mom Creative. Jessica really inspired me with her recent birthday party for her son and a weekly post she writes called Project Life Tuesday. I always think about how I would love to have creative ways to remember this time in our lives and I am a sucker for pictures, so I decided to start participating in Project Life Tuesday despite the fact that it's July... Oh, well. :)

So here is a taste of our life from last week (or the three days of what was left of last week after I decided to start this).

Thursday, July 15: After being in the house all day, I decided to take the boys out for some water time. They love the froggy pool! This is a pic of the two cuties goofing off in the water. The only downside was that we had to put the pool in the driveway instead of our yard because the hubby didn't want us to get the grass wet right before he mowed... This caused our time outside to be a little shorter, but we had fun anyway!

Friday, July 16: We went to our very first demolition derby at one of the local fairs! We knew someone who was actually driving one of the cars, which made it even more exciting!! Here is Luke driving his car after he lost one of his front wheels, which totally could have been the reason he won the Mad Dawg trophy!! (I don't know that "dawg" is the correct spelling in this situation, but it just seems appropriate!)

Saturday, July 17: Ahhhh, Saturdays. I love Saturdays when we are just home. One of our favorite Saturday activities is a big family breakfast, usually pancakes and eggs made just the way everyone likes. For Christmas, my mom Santa put an elephant shaped pancake pan in my stocking and I love using this to make pancakes for the boys. Hopefully, it will be one of those memories they'll look back on - elephant pancakes on Saturday mornings. This is a picture of my little man's plate complete with eggs and ketchup - the same as his daddy. :)

There Once Was a Girl... (Part I)

2010-07-20T23:08:00.000-05:00

There once was a girl I knew, full of innocence and curiosity. She had many questions and filled her time with imagination and creativity. Days were spent in the warm Georgia sun with the smell of Grandma’s flowers and fresh peaches on the tree that grew right beside the array of veggies that sprouted in Grandpa's garden. Hours were spent playing with dolls and barbies who needed to go to the hair salon or local diner to be taken care of. Minutes upon minutes were spent singing and dancing and dreaming up visions of how she would entertain crowds one day – and this little girl did it to the fullest of her imagination.

She was blessed to have an amazingly loving family, and in her big, brown eyes, they were perfect. Sure, there were things this little girl would have changed at the time, like having her daddy live in the same house instead of 5 hours away, or having Mommy able to make it to every single cheerleading occasion or basketball game instead of having to work, but as many times as those prayers might have been prayed, the little girl knew she was loved 100 times more than that by her people, and it helped her keep hope.

Each time Daddy made the long drive for a birthday or to take her trick-or-treating on Halloween she felt the deep love and pride he had in her. Each time Mommy took her to a special breakfast or on a girl's day out to the mall and movies, she knew Mommy's love was unending. This made the little girl feel safe and happy, and it helped her keep hope.

As this little girl grew there were a lot of changes. Mommy remarried and they moved to Tennessee. Soon, the little girl had the brother and sister she had always prayed for, but she wasn’t happy that she had to live that life in Tennessee. She craved the peace and warmness she felt under that Georgia sun and prayed for a way to return there, but that wasn’t what God had planned for her. Despite being somewhere she didn’t want to be, she knew the people around her loved her, and it helped her keep hope.

Soon, she began to love Tennessee and actually became thankful she was there. Although she cherished her old friends and memories with family, she became thankful for the new ones she was making. Her church youth group felt like another home, where she could be herself and seek a relationship with her heavenly creator. She knew He loved her, and it helped her keep hope.

Daddy got a new job and moved closer – also in Tennessee, only an hour away. He introduced her to the love of college football and lazy days on the lake. He cared about her opinion when he chose a bride. She could always feel the love he had for her, and it helped her keep hope.

Soon, she graduated from high school, and although this little girl was short in stature, she was no longer “little.” She was ready to take on the world, learn new things, and show everyone at this big, new school what she was made of – that is, until she felt all alone. But there was a boy, a boy she had known since high school (even though he had known her since middle school), and he told her if she stuck with him he would help the loneliness go away. She felt like he cared, and it helped her keep hope.

Through the years she stuck with him, despite his bouts of acting like a true-and-true college boy, and she began to have the confidence to do all the things she wanted – making new friends, joining new groups, and showing them all what she was made of. But something was missing. She put her heavenly father to the side to seek acknowledgement from those here on earth, and when they made her feel content, she thought she had hope.

Until the times they didn’t, not because they didn’t care for her, but because no one is perfect and people always, always will disappoint when you expect them to be perfect. She still tried to find security in the boy, and when he made her feel loved, she thought she had hope.

Until he didn’t, because this girl wanted to be completed, while the boy just wanted to enjoy his time in college. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her, he just wasn’t ready to make the commitment she was. And even though she tried to walk away, he would ask her for another chance and tell her how much he needed her and loved her, and it helped her keep hope.

Things between the girl and the boy went too far too soon, and the day before final exams their senior year the girl found out she was expecting a baby. Although she hadn’t talked to the boy in two days due to an argument, she called him to tell him they needed to talk. The boy, excitedly thinking this was the girl wanting to patch things up, drove to pick up the girl so they could talk. When she told him the news, his first reaction was shock, but he immediately grabbed her hand, looked in her eyes, and told her everything would be ok. She believed him, and it helped her keep hope.

(To be continued...)

Let's Do This Thing!

2010-07-14T16:18:00.000-05:00

This time I'm ready. This time we're doing this thing - like for real... no turning back.

I started my hobby of blog writing back in 2008. It started as a way to keep out of town family and friends updated with stories and pictures of our little one, and then I realized how much I enjoyed it and felt like there was a higher purpose for what I was doing. That "I think I'm being called to do this" feeling was confirmed when my husband and I sat with friends at dinner who told me I really needed to share our story with others, and even more confirmed when we randomly would run into a complete stranger who had a similar story as me and I felt I was able to offer encouragement to her situation. So, I started a blog called Unwritten Young Mom as a way to share with other young moms about the emotions of motherhood or just growing up in general.

The busyness of being a stay-at-home mom and adding a new little one to our family made it hard to stay consistent with my writing and I eventually just kinda gave up without ever getting to the heart of why I wanted to do the blog in the first place. It was hard enough to keep up with our family blog, much less try to stay consistent with a second blog. But the desire of pursuing that blog has never left, and here we are today - almost a full 2 years later. In hindsight, I had a feeling it would take time for this blog to really evolve, so I'm not surprised it's just now taking off.

While it probably seems so clear now, one of the biggest reasons I kept putting off blog writing was because I felt like I didn't know exactly what I was suppose to say. I felt like my story wasn't perfect enough that people would want to read anything I had to say, or that maybe some might think I'm too young to be trying to help others - like I still had a lot to learn. (And I do, but don't we all?)

I feel like this blog is something I need to be doing - for myself as well as others who might have had experiences like mine. Even if the experiences were very different, I'm starting to understand we all have times where life is scary and we don't know what's going to happen. All we know is we have to keep going. I have a very strong desire to make this blog a priority, but I just keep doubting myself on exactly what I should be writing. So, I'm just going to write my heart. It might not always be perfect, but it will always be genuine. My hope is that my writing not only helps me think through my everyday feelings, but that it also helps those of you who might stumble across this blog... as a laugh, as encouragement, as comfort. I'm going to be painfully honest, so that others out there who have a story like mine can find encouragement and know they're not alone.

My life has been nothing like I ever would have expected. (Is anyone's?) Like many others, I've had plenty of occasions where giving up hope seemed like an option, but fortunately, it's never seemed like a valid option. Through every day there always seemed to be a glimmer of hope shining, sometimes in the distance, but always there.

But, Hope is my middle name. No, really, Hope is my real middle name, and I'm not sure that my parents planned it this way, but I've always felt like it's a constant reminder that I have hope in my life and not to give it up.

Like me, you too have your own daily grind you're going through, so here at Hope in the Daily Grind I'll be sharing stories, laughter and thoughts to help you keep going through your day. I'm going to start by making it a priority to get my own personal story posted very soon, but until then...

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." ~ Romans 15:13

"... but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." ~ Romans 5:3-4

The "F" Word (Repost)

2010-04-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

First, I want to apologize for not posting earlier this week. My Great-Aunt passed away on Sunday, so I decided to travel down to Tennessee to spend time with my family. We're going to be staying through the weekend while my husband runs the half marathon in the Music City race this weekend. With exercising on the mind, I decided to repost an entry from my previous blog. Enjoy!

Originally posted on August 13,2008

This past weekend Dipal (my husband) had to travel to Chicago for a work trip, so little Jayden and I tagged along and brought our friend Amanda to help us tour "The Windy City." It was my first time actually spending time in the downtown area and I absolutely loved it! I definitely could have spent a lot more time there, there's just so much available to do. I think it's great when you can go somewhere and enjoy great shopping, great weather temp.s, a clean beach and of course sight-seeing (if you wish) all within a very short drive, or possibly even walking distance. We had a great view of downtown and the river from our hotel - The Holiday Inn at Mart Plaza - and amazing service from the staff! I have to say kudos to the Chicagoans for being way nicer than I ever expected in the north! Being from the south, I feel like I can always tell a huge difference when I travel somewhere in the hospitality of the people, but everyone was so unbelievably nice in Chicago! My only complaint would be heavy traffic, no matter what time of day, it was always there - but hey, it's a big city, it's to be expected!

So, after our downtown fun was over, we stopped to see Dipal's family who live in the Chicago suburbs. I am very lucky to have very sweet family from Dipal's side and I want to say that I really enjoy the family that we had the chance to visit with! With that said, something happened during our visit and I feel the need to share because I know I'm not the only one this has happened to, and if it happens to you, know you're not alone. Ok, here goes... My husband's aunt walked up to me and said (loosely quoted) "Brittany, you getting fat? Are you pregnant again?". That's right folks - she called me every new mom's worst nightmare, the "F" word, "FAT." Even more, asked if I was pregnant again. :(

I immediately turned a very bright shade of red and became completely flustered and speechless. I felt so great about all the walking we had done while downtown, but that bubble got busted within seconds! I never in my life have struggled with weight and definitely have never been called fat. But almost eight months after giving birth I am still struggling with losing the weight, and those who know me closely know I am very hard on myself because I have always struggled with a low self image. But only eight months after giving birth, isn't that normal for most women? Not all of us can look like Nicole Kidman or Jennifer Lopez with our personal trainers, chefs, and nannys to watch our children so we can spend time whipping ourselves into tip-top shape. For the average everyday person it takes time, and that is okay! Actually, I remember reading many times while pregnant: It takes 9 months to gain the weight and about the same to lose it. And another little fact I heard recently is that although breastfeeding can help to lose weight quickly in the beginning, it makes those last 10-15 pounds harder to lose because your body is still supporting another precious little being. So, to all of you moms out there... it's ok if you're struggling to lose that weight! You are SO not alone, even if you feel like you're surrounded by skinny mommys on TV! The healthy way to lose is slowly and you need to do what is best for you and your baby. I know I'm trying to focus on sticking to the basics of working out and eating well to try to lose my weight and eventually my weight will get back in check. To those of you who know a mommy who is working to lose that weight, give nothing but support and positivity!

I hold absolutley no hard feelings towards the aunt who made this comment to me. If anything, I'm now thankful because it inspired my working out, that had been taking somewhat of a vacation, to get back on track. I have such a supportive network of family and friends who boost that low self-esteem back up that I usually don't stay too down for too long. And hopefully, as part of the intention of the entire blog, this story can show others of you out there we all share in the same struggles as mommys!
*Photo Credit: Wikipedia - Chicago*

** Update to this post: Since the original posting of this entry I have had a second baby (He is almost a year old, and no, I was not pregnant with him yet at the time of this entry) and am still struggling to lose the weight! Plain and simple - it's going to take work. Finding time in the day to work out with 2 little ones is hard! Now that the weather is getting nicer we occasionally take walks around the neighborhood, which is great for me and the boys! How do you find time in your busy day to fit in exercise?

What I Learned from Richard Simmons (Repost)

2010-04-16T14:01:00.000-05:00

As I'm starting out this new blog I wanted to repost some of my favorites from the blog I was working on previously. Sometimes I'm embarrassingly cheesy, but I hope you can see the bright side of it like I try to. Enjoy!

Originally posted on July 31, 2008

First, a disclaimer for today's post: I like to analyze life a lot and take lessons away from things. Sometimes, this is a great way to learn life lessons, however, sometimes (and my husband as well as close friends would back me up on this) I over analyze and make up horrible scenarios out of nothing. Today, some of you might think this is a silly scenario I'm writing about, but I choose to turn it into a positive life lesson!

So, earlier this week a friend my husband works with told us the one and only Richard Simmons was coming to a local Walgreen's. I'll be honest, I've never watched a single Richard Simmons video, never followed one of his weight-loss plans, never been an avid Richard Simmons follower, but I think that guy is hysterical!! Immediately, my first thought was: I have to get a picture with that guy! This is too funny to pass up!! Well, to my surprise, while driving through St. Louis yesterday I saw the sign saying the big day had arrived, Richard Simmons 6-8pm! So, I told my husband how much I wanted to go and how funny it would be. I told my boss (I work part-time, but take my son with me when I actually go into the office, most of my work is done from home), I told my friends... I was ready to get my picture! I even called my husband at work to tell him about the "Welcome Richard" car sitting outside of Walgreen's. *I sound like a crazy person, yes, I know this* So, after my husband gets off work I'm talking about Richard Simmons again and I catch his 'absolutely not interested' vibe. Oh no! Then, I think, maybe one of my neighbors, who happens to be a very sweet friend, would go. She calls to see if I want to go to the gym, I mention Richard Simmons is at Walgreen's, but she didn't seem to care much either, except to say Richard would be very proud of us for going to the gym (Very true)! So, I didn't go, didn't get my picture, and was very sad I wouldn't have a cool Richard Simmons story for my new blog. To make matters worse, this morning my husband sent me a very cute, funny pic of the work friend who went to meet Mr. Simmons!! Never thought I would say this, but I am so jealous!!

My lesson learned - Why was I waiting on someone else to go with me? If I thought it would be so fun and funny I should have just gone myself. I immediately remembered the time when I was a freshman at the University of Tennessee (Go VOLS!!) and wanted to go to the freshman picnic to meet people. When I didn't have anyone to go with me I stayed in my room instead of getting out to meet new people, and this was the beginning of a very hard, lonely first semester of college. Luckily, my now husband became a great friend during that time and made sure I was getting out meeting new people.

Your take-away from all this - Do things for yourself, don't wait on others to help you do it. Be confident, and if something is important to you, go for it. There was a quote I really liked in high school and I think it is very appropriate here: "Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting on someone to bring you flowers." ~ Veronica A. Shoffstall

*Photo Credit: Richard Simmons Official Site*

Wow. It's wild looking back at this post and seeing how I've grown over the last couple of years. Silly example, yes, but I hope it reminds us all not to be so dependent on others. Since writing this our family has moved to a smaller town where I really have to push myself out of my comfort zone sometimes if I want to make any friends. I'm still a work in progress, but pushing myself out of my comfort zone gets a little easier each time I do it.

Welcome!

2010-04-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

I heart blogging. It's true. Reading them, writing them... love them.

For the last couple of years I've known I wanted a platform to be able to share with others, but struggled with the details - what specifically to blog about, what my blog would be called, who would my target audience be (Sorry, PR major thoughts happen occasionally). Finally, I feel like everything is starting to come into view.

You see, my life has been nothing like I ever would have expected (Is anyone's?). Like many others (ok... everyone), I've had plenty of occasions where giving up hope seemed like an option, but fortunately, it's never seemed a valid option. Through every day there always seemed to be a glimmer of hope shining, sometimes in the distance, but always there.

Appropriately, at least I think so, my parents gave me the middle name of Hope. I'm not sure that my parents planned it this way, but I've always felt like it's a constant reminder that I have hope in my life and not to give it up.

Like me, you too have your own daily grind you're going through, so here at Hope in the Daily Grind I'll be sharing stories, laughter and thoughts to help you keep going through your day.

"For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in you." ~ Psalm 33:21-22

"... but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." ~ Romans 5:3-4