Thursday, December 31, 2015

Goodbye 2015 - Hello 2016






Goodbye 2015 - Hello 2016! I'm looking forward to some really great things this year - like more blogging, more reading, a more active lifestyle and more time spent in prayer.  Whatever your new plans or ambitions for the next year are, let's all remember to balance them.  Is this important to God, or just me? How will making this choice (or ignoring this problem) affect my family and future?  Do I have all the facts? Am I showing genuine love?  It's easy to get caught up in a crowd and what they think is important this year - much like the fashion industry sets the tone for our shopping choices.  But always, always, always, dig deep for what is true and what is good - not just what is popular with the age. You likely won't find the true and good if you're not looking for it to begin with.  

Wishing you a very joyful and proactive new year!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Simply A House

There is a certain mystery as to how some inanimate object can be meaningless while simultaneously  facilitating the birth and growth of a family.  This house that we are about to move from in two days is just a house.  It was very good to us but there is much about it that I won't miss.  It is simply a house.  All of the important elements of my family are either coming with us or are greater at the new house.  And yet I have been preparing to grieve this house ever since we first seriously discussed moving (since before Miss Z was born).

This house sheltered a couple of naive newlyweds while they learned the hard work of marriage.  The neighborhood beckoned us on hundreds of walks and the horses nearby replenished our souls.  The walls of our living room witnessed both of the births of my children - their first cries and the most intense feelings we had ever had.  Our first gardens, birthday parties, skinned knees, tricycle rides, snow days, and puppies.  This house is just brick and shingles, but somehow it has attached itself to the identity of our family.  Because of all this, I have been praying for the next owners.  Mostly my prayers have consisted of a desire for the next owners to love the back yard and the unique neighborhood to be a safe haven for them like it was us.  It feels silly in one way, but it helps me grieve I guess.

If you have ever met J, you know how much this kid loves to hit a ball.  From the moment he turned 2 and was given his first baseball tee, he was begging Mr. Butler to play ball with him in the back yard.  The hours and hours they have spent in that yard will always be burned into my brain.  It just makes me love the house and yard more because it housed the growing of us.   The new house has an even bigger yard and will witness many more just as significant milestones, Lord willing, so the house really doesn't matter at all.  But sometimes in life, especially as we transition, it is difficult to let go of something until we can acknowledge it's significance.  No matter how glad I am to move on, I am so thankful God blessed our quick and (my) emotional purchase of this old house. So, to attest to some really great moments in our house, here are the pictures to prove it!












Friday, December 4, 2015

Healthy December: What's On Your List?

Healthy living can become a nagging annoyance in our minds if we don't continue to educate ourselves about our changing world.  MANY corporations and entities are motivated by money and ignore health ramifications for as long as possible.  It's not a conspiracy theory, it's a historical fact that is still alive and active today. So, what? So, the status quo of living life in the most convenient way possible all the time is not good for us.  Just because a company sells something doesn't mean it can be trusted.  Like people, some companies lie or don't care what is best for you.  Never assume and always do your research.

That is why making some healthy goals for each month is important in our house.  I can't assume that what everyone else is doing is going to magically help me reach my goals.  And neither can you.  Unless everyone around you is mastering the goals you have for yourself, it is unlikely that you'll absorb them by osmosis.  And even then.  ;)

This month is December packed with holiday goings on and end of the year activities, but also I'm moving in two weeks!  Of course everything is crazy so why not just give up?  Remember, shoot for the moon and land in the stars?  I want to reinforce healthy habits no matter what the circumstances and know I'll be that much better off than if I had quit.  Here's my short list:

-Write Every Day.  This is inspired by the book below.  I need to be in a better habit of writing.  It doesn't matter if it is a novel or a single comment.  Just writing as a way to further process my life.  Does your husband or friends not want to listen for as long as you need to talk?  Then you need to write my friend.  It's not about having lame friends or support necessarily, but about your physical and emotional need to process.  Being healthy is more than just eating vegetables!



-Read a Proverb a Day.  There are 31 chapters for 31 days.  It's easy and simple AND it clarifies the walk of a Christian beautifully.  It reminds constantly to ask what is the WISE thing to do, not just the right or wrong.  I'm reading it to my children too!
-Make my Healthiest Lifestyle Mandatory.  Exercise.  Lots of Water.  Plenty of Space (days) between Less than Healthy Choices.  I know what will feed my brain and emotions.  I know what will feel good in a moment, but fill me with regret and discomfort for hours to come.  Just because there are more options available doesn't mean my body will act any different.

How are you going to make this a Healthy December?

What Happens If You're Disappointed This Week?

Disappointment is a big issue with kids around.  Every parent will tell you not to say a word about a trip to the zoo or a possible visitor ...