Our memories start now!

My mom has always kept handwritten journals for each member of the family so that one day we can go back and read her thoughts. I've always wanted to that but have never started it. So I thought I would start by writing a blog so there would at least be an electronic record of what happens in our crazy lives each day!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Livng and Loving and Cruising Around

Well, this is looking like its going to be a weekly blog instead of daily postings!  That's okay though.  There will be a day when I have time to things that I want to and I'm sure I'll be wishing there were kids to bathe and clothes to fold.  So, I'm not going to worry about it. 

Our family was busy last week!  It was really cold so our mornings have been full of jackets, hats, gloves, and making sure the car was warm.  That was a challenge with the old Mountaineer but the Lord blessed us with a new car on Friday!  We've been looking to trade for about six months but the time was never right.  Either the car salesman got on our nerves or the financing didn't feel right.  Well, Friday I woke up lead by the Lord to go get a new car.  With the help of my Papa and the good folks at Cook County Ford, I picked out a 2010 Ford Fusion.  I am so excited to have a new car!  Its not brand new but it was on a lease for a year and they took the depreciation.  Now we have a good car with very few miles that will last us a long time and at a lower payment than we're used to making.  God is good!!!

So this whole weekend has been spent cruising around and enjoying the new car.  We've also had some really good family dinners and lunches and some good church services.  The Beth Moore study at church is really going well.  I'm learning how to love others, even when they are difficult to love.  I'm also learning how to open myself up to God's love and let him love me first before I go out and love others. 

Our healthier food choices are going well too!  I've lost 5 pounds and Jonathan and the kids are eating a lot more veggies!  Hopefully, they will be loving all veggies by the end of 2011.  Well, I will go now.  I have to start packing for a trip to Nashville, TN.  Its supposed to snow there and I'm not prepared for that kind of weather! 

Friday, January 7, 2011

Friday! Friday!

I've not been as good as I planned about posting every night!  This was my first week back of work from Christmas vacation.  It has flown by so fast!  Our team spent three days in St. Augustine for a Leadership Retreat.  It was very nice down there.  We took very interesting historical tours of the city and ate WAY too much good food.  We made plans for the year which was very productive.  I really do love my job!  I'm going to have to make some changes with the way I handle stress because it took a great toll on my family this past year.  I'm going to do my best not to worry about things that are out of my control. 

I missed Jonathan, Landon, and Marlee terribly while I was gone.  It seems like it takes six people to do my job at home!  Well, come to think of it, it actually does take six people!  They always do fine when I travel but I don't like leaving them.  I get to sleep all alone in a big, cozy hotel bed but I'd much rather be in my own bed with a three year old squished against me :) 

Now, I have three days of Days of our Lives to catch up on and a very messy house to clean up.  I'm looking forward to the weekend and all the fun it will hold.  Goodnight!!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Holy Macaroni!!

Well, today is the last day of the grown-ups' Christmas break.  The kids still have a week left which is very stressful to me. Jonathan's school schedule is never the same as theirs and we're always scrambling around finding somewhere for them to stay.  I think we have it worked out this week but I'm always very uneasy when we aren't on our regular routine.  We've had a wonderful and very much needed break.  I'll miss all three of them tomorrow :(

It was day two of Deceptively Delicious and my sweet potato pancakes flopped miserably.  Landon didn't like the macaroni and cheese but Marlee, who would rather eat macaroni than go to an amusement park, loved it!  That is very good because she could eat it three meals a day and with a little pureed cauliflower mixed in, I just may let her!  For dessert tonight, I made peanut butter and jelly muffins that were DELICIOUS.  They were a big hit!  Hopefully I can keep sneaking in veggies in small amounts while still encouraging them to eat more on their own.

We had a great Sunday that included a wonderful church service.  Our focus this year is Generous Living and I can't wait to learn more of what Pastor Chris has to teach.  We are very happy at First Assembly and I'm looking forward to the year to come at church.

I hope everyone has a good week.  My prayer is that everything will continue to stay calm and not get as hectic as it was before Christmas.  I think the key to that is how I handle things!  With God's help, I'll stay calm, cool and collected! :)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!!

Well, its 2011!  I cannot believe it.  I am so thankful for the new year and I want to start it off right for our little family.  I've decided to start this blog so that I can record our daily activities and hopefully get some comments and advice from my family and friends that may read my posts.  So much happens on a day to day basis that I forget most of it and its all precious memories that I would love to come back and read when I'm an old lady. 

Today, on the first day of 2011, I tried to start introducing more healthy foods into Landon and Marlee's diet.  I am the project coordinator for a childhood obesity prevention grant and I know all the statistics and facts there are to know about how important it is for our children to eat healthy.  I've decided to practice what I preach and not only encourage them to participate in physical activity (which I've always been good at) to trying to get them to eat more fruits and veggies.  Sooooo, a while ago I bought a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  Its a great concept that involves mixing vegetable purees into your kids favorite foods and they're supposed to never know they are there.  Well, they haven't met my kids!  They eat based on appearances and this stuff definitely didn't look like what they are used to.  But, I'll keep trying and I'll keep blogging about it.

It was very sunny today so we headed down to Cherry Lake to see my dad.  He lives in the house that my family has owned down there for years.  We spent many weekends there when I was a child with all of our extended family.  We would fish all night in the freezing cold and play cards.  No TV, just family.  I loved it!  Each time I go back there, those memories come flooding back.  I so much want that for our children.

I hope that each day I can post something that is meaningful to my family as they read this over the years.  I love to write and I'm hoping that ending the day with a blog post will help to relax me and clear my mind. As for now, I'll be watching Golden Girls until midnight because this is my last night of Christmas vacation!!