my little garden

This morning, the rains are here and I don’t mind a bit. It’s helping the boys sleep in a little and it’s watering my little garden. Or, I should say He is watering my little garden. I keep telling my husband that it’s one of my most favorite places to be in the whole world. Summer is half over and it saddens me to think that my garden is coming close to its peak…well, I’m sad and excited at the same time. From a distance, it looks like a mess!

My messy little garden

But, if you look more closely, you’ll see the good stuff!

Butternut squash

Yellow crookneck squash

Almost ripe tomatoes

WATERMELON!

Sugar snap peas

Sunflower

God has blessed my little garden and I’m so thankful.

My baby boy, Elam, will be one on Monday! Isn’t that hard to believe? Looking back on a post from a year ago, time has flown and he’s changed so much.

Little Ezra is 3.5 and is saying the funniest things. Like, shoulders are “shirtles”. Gotta love it.

My Thrive ministry is taking off slowly. Check out my separate website for more details about that.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

God loves me (and He loves you, too!)

It occurred to me (again) yesterday how much God must love us. We are His children. I love my children more than I could ever describe to any human. And God loves us more than we love our own children. So, why wouldn’t He bless us and give us the desires of our hearts? At the same time, He wants us to grow and learn lessons sometimes, too.

Up until a few days ago, I had been battling with a big decision in my life and I had no peace or joy. Well, I wouldn’t say “no”, but it was a lot less than it had been in the previous months and years. After praying about it and weighing all the options, I decided I had to make a change and now I have peace and joy again! Through the process, I feel like I’ve grown closer to God and now I have the desire to become even closer to him.

I get Rick Warren’s Purpose Drive Life daily devotional via email. The one I read this morning almost made me cry, even though it was several days old. The part that got me was, “How do you know when you’re letting God live through your life? When you embody the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” It got me for a couple of different reasons…I have the peace and joy again. AND, just a week or so ago, I blogged about my goals for this year and one of them was to study the Fruit of the Spirit.

God loves us. We’re his kids. He’ll talk to us if we listen.

Matthew 7:9-11 King James Version (KJV)

⁹ Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

¹⁰ Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

¹¹ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

My sweet baby boy is 6 months old today!

oh, blog, how i’ve missed you!

I have missed blogging so much (among other things). My life is moving is warp speed, which I’m sure is the case for most of you. Since November, I’ve been Acting Director at the fitness facility where I work. It’s been challenging, both professionally and personally. The holidays were good and I tried to separate work from home life, but I did find myself thinking about work too much while at home.

My boys are growing up so quickly and they seem to change daily. The oldest will be 3 at the end of the month and the baby will be 6 months in a couple of weeks as well. They’ll be 18 before I can blink, I’m sure. I really am trying to enjoy every minute with them. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments that are trying when your two year old screams, “No, mommy!” when you try to tell him something to do, but thankfully those moments are fewer than the good ones.

I did manage to set some 2015 goals for myself a week or so ago. If I don’t get them down on paper and in my face this month, they aren’t going to happen. This is what I have on tap for me this year:

• Spend time studying and applying what I learn about the Fruit of The Spirit
• Take each aerobics class offered at our wellness facility in order to better help members and guests
• Spend more quality time with my husband, kids, and extended family
• Compete in one sprint and one international triathlon (I missed last year since I was pregnant)
• Get back to meal planning and cooking
• Reduce the sugar in my toddler’s diet
• Expand our vegetable garden and can/freeze some produce at harvest

I looked back over my 2014 goals and I’m happy to report I met most of them! These are the ones I missed…

• Help lead one person to Christ – No one came to me and said they were saved because of anything I said or did this year, but I hope I’ve witnessed more. I feel like I have been more comfortable in that over the past year.
• Perform at least one pull up – I give up on that one. I don’t think I’ll ever do that.
• Potty train our son – They say that happens on the kid’s own time. I have to add that back to the 2015 list because it has to happen this year or BUST!

What’s goals have you set for yourself this year? I hope to make it back to blog before February…at least by Groundhog Day!

what a blessed life

I’ve not blogged in over a month and for that, I’m terribly sorry. I received a promotion at work so my life went from busy to extremely busy. Life is going by at warp speed.

Last night, I was lying in bed and the baby (now 4 months old and 18 pounds!) woke up around 11 pm. He really didn’t need to eat that soon, so I got him adjusted with his pacifier. I was just dozing off when the house started to shake and I finally woke up wondering what the heck was going on. Then I realized it was some type of aircraft over our house. I said, “Mike!” (my husband’s name) and started looking out the window. I saw one aircraft go over and then another was behind it kind of zig-zagging along. It was very strange so late at night. The husband said one was an Osprey (I think the loud one). It was unsettling and disturbing. I ended up feeding the baby and laying there thinking too much.

I thought about the mom who, at that very moment, was nursing her child with bombs going off around her. I wondered about folks who go to bed every night listening to planes fly over and fearing for their lives. How good we have it. How blessed we are.

Even in the hustle and bustle of life and the busy holiday season, I think God finds ways for us to slow down and thank Him for his many blessings. All we have to do is listen.

In case I don’t get back here before Christmas, please have a very merry Christmas and remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

My sweet little blessings…

family portraits

We had family photos made a couple of weeks ago and I’m so happy with how they turned out. The photographer is a talented friend of mine and I think she did a great job. I almost cry when I look at the pictures because I am just so thankful for the blessing of a happy, healthy family.

My sweet family – Oct. 2014

scary halloween happenings

This morning, I fed the baby and got up really quietly to take a shower in hopes the babe would go back to sleep and I wouldn’t wake up the toddler. Husband was gone to work. I’m in the shower, when the bathroom door opens, then closes. I hope it’s my toddler! Finally after it opens and shuts a few times, here comes my NAKED two-year-old. Of course I ask him why he’s naked and he tells me he had an accident and his bed’s wet. Good Friday morning!

Then, the second “scary” thing of the morning…I totally forgot to dress up! I mean, it didn’t even cross my mind until I got to work this morning and saw other people dressed up. I knew it was Halloween and I had intended to dress up, but I just plain forgot in the rush this morning.

Today is my late grandpa Bill’s birthday. Freaky, huh?

He’s talking

Not long ago, I blogged about how God still speaks and He’s speaking to me. I get a daily devotion via email and I also pull up biblegateway.com from time to time to read scripture…everything that I’m reading tells me “Read your Bible!” So, even though I’m not reading my Bible as nearly as much as I should, God is still talking to me. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that love?

My prayer life and Bible reading time are lacking and pretty much always have been. It’s easy to make excuses that I don’t have time with two kids, working, trying to cook good meals for our family, etc. But, those aren’t good reasons. What would it hurt to get up 15 minutes early to read some scripture? I bet I would feel better losing those 15 minutes of sleep to gain so much more from spending time with my Dad.

So, that’s my goal. Spend 15 minutes each day in the Word. I wonder what great things He will tell me…

my beef with healthcare

Normally, I’m upbeat and happy in my blog, but our healthcare system has me very aggravated at this point and I must vent!

[Steps on soap box.]

First of all, I have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. Overall, I guess it’s good and I should be thankful that I even have insurance (even though it costs and arm and a leg!). I had it through my employer, but we found out it would be cheaper through my husband’s employer so we recently switched, which should save us $200-$300 per month.

About 8 weeks ago, I had my second baby and I had actually met my deductible by June 1. Well, something changed with our insurance on June 1 and the rates went up. And for some reason, I think they haven’t rolled over my deductible (it’s supposed to be for the calendar year) and those insurance folks are trying to make me pay it twice. It’s very confusing, so I’ve been trying to get the bottom of the situation.

One day, a couple of weeks ago, I called a phone number that Anthem told me to in order to get answers to my questions. I got transferred 3 times in 30 minutes, but not one person could help me. They all told me I needed to speak with someone else! I’ve emailed them asking to please have someone call ME so I can actually get some answers (still haven’t heard from them).

I checked into getting an IUD for birth control because the insurance lady said it should be covered under the new healthcare laws. Not so in my case. It would be over $300 and you have to pay the full amount to the doctor’s office before they’ll do it.

This morning, I was telling one of my sisters about my woes and she informed me that insurance won’t pay for an IUD, but it might pay for an abortion. How messed up is that? I started poking around and can’t find an answer on that one. She also told me that she can’t add her live-in fiance to her insurance but if she wanted to add her same-sex partner to her insurance plan, she could. Really???

The only good thing I’ve seen from all these healthcare law changes is that kids have to have dental insurance…but, the policy holder ends up paying for that feature, I’m sure.

When is this going to get better and more affordable? We’re going to pay nearly $5,000 in insurance premiums per year for our HEALTHY family. I know another older couple who is paying nearly $1,200 PER MONTH for insurance. That’s almost $15,000 per year!!!

Call me crazy, but there has to be a better way.

[Steps down from soap box.]

being a mom

I’ve thought a lot about being a mom lately. I mean, I already AM one, but I’ve been pondering what it really means to be a mom. Technically, I guess anyone who has delivered a baby is a mom…or would she be a mother? Either way, my thoughts have been about being a GOOD mom.

My two-year-old started preschool last week. Up to this point, he’s only ever stayed with family during the day, so it was a big milestone…for him and us! He did well the first day (last Thursday) just crying a little when some of the other kids cried, then the next day he cried a little bit more when we got there then he was fine. He only goes Thursday and Friday mornings for 3 hours, so when he went back yesterday, there were tears again. Yesterday, he started crying as soon as we got into the parking lot, but he wanted to go in. He cried a little, but wasn’t clinging to me or begging me not to leave, so I told him his Poppy would be there to get him a while and he was fine. Today, he didn’t cry at all and didn’t seem to mind staying, thank goodness.

For the first time yesterday, when I saw those heartfelt tears as we pulled into the parking lot, I felt the pain a parent must feel countless times throughout their child’s life. I guess it’s similar to the pain you feel when you take them for their shots, knowing they are experiencing physical pain, but this is different. This pain is knowing your child is hurting emotionally and there’s not much you can do about it.

Growing up, I was a homesick kid until about the age of 13. I went to Bible camp and came home early. In the 4th grade, I went to 4-H camp and cried all week, but didn’t get to come home. It’s the most gut-wrenching feeling in the world. So, when I know my son is having similar feelings, it tears me up inside, too.

I say all that to say this – being a mom isn’t easy, but I can’t explain how rewarding it is. When I was leaving to go to work the other day, Ezra runs down the hall saying, “Wait momma. I have to give you a kiss.” Now, what else in the world is sweeter than that? I didn’t even have to ask for it!

Being a mom is taking your kid to preschool. Being a GOOD mom is wiping away his tears, feeling his pain, and looking forward to the time you are back with your child again (among a million other things).

Our happy Ezra after preschool today having lunch with his daddy.

i’m back

Holding my sweet baby Elam

I’m back…back to work and hopefully back to blogging a bit. What have I been doing? Spending a lot of time holding a baby and chasing a 2 year old. But, I returned to work last week, so now I am back to being a lifeguard, personal trainer and hopefully group exercise instructor in October.

I’ve missed blogging and have had a million ideas of what I could blog about, but never could find the time to actually sit down and write it out. But now that I’m back to work, I can get my thoughts out during my breaks and such.

Baby is doing well and is already 7 weeks old, which is hard to believe. His brother likes him and is good to  him, so that makes my life easier. Having two small kids is chaotic and I thank God that I have a good husband to help me out.

I really enjoyed my break and bonding with my boys. I miss spending time with them already. My older son started preschool two days a week last week and that went well, thankfully. Here’s a shot my sister caught of him on Labor Day weekend playing with an old Halloween decoration we had in the yard…

Ezra and the skull

Now, it’s time to get back into shape (just did a good 20 minute workout) and get back into a groove. And, get back into meal planning/cooking. I really miss eating well, so that’s one of my biggest goals. Here goes nothing!