Have you ever had those periods of time when it just feels like nothing is as it should be? I am having such a crisis right now, and I know how I "should" respond, but it is so very difficult making my heart follow what my head is telling me to do! Isaac got news that his store will be closing at the end of the month. He has been with his company for 9 years, longer than we have been together. I never knew how much comfort and security I placed in his job until it was gone, and now I feel like the rug was just pulled out from under us.
I so wanted to respond to this situation with grace and confidence, but so far I have been falling apart, stressed, irritable, and more than a little freaked out. I feel like I want to stick my head in a hole and come out when everything is better, his job is secure, and we can move on with life. It makes me feel guilty that I am so shaken by this when people around me are dealing with things that are much worse. I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful, just scared. That is the reason I have been MIA from my blog, I just can't muster up the strength to talk about anything else, other than what is consuming my thoughts and heart right now. I read this Scripture the other day, and it comforted me. I am praying that the LORD will direct my heart and mind and help me to trust in this season of my life.
May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. 1 Thess. 3:5
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
April
April is my favorite month. We were married on April 3, 2004 so this year we celebrated our 6th anniversary. I meant to write a sweet, meaningful post on how much I love my husband and how wonderful he is, but that didn't happen. Even though I missed posting, he is a wonderful husband and I am still as in love with him today as I was 6 years ago. That day was one that will forever be burned in my memory (for good and bad reasons), but the most important thing was that, at the end of it, I married my best friend.It is unbelievable to me that it has been 6 years already. It has gone by so fast! 
I also turned the big 3-0 on the 15th. I took it a lot harder than I expected. I don't think it was as much about getting "old" as it was sadness to be leaving my twenties. So many wonderful things happened in my twenties. College, graduation, moving to NH, engagement, marriage, babies. All of those things have been so life-changing and incredible, and I have enjoyed my twenties immensely. I just feel like the thirties are going to be the "hard" years since the kids will be going to school and hitting their teens all in the next 10 years! I guess I am enjoying them being little right now and am really intimidated about what the next 10 years hold for us. I did have a great birthday though. My friends took me out for a girl's night to see Date Night which was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. we had so much fun and laughed louder than everyone else.
My awesome hubby took me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant and bought me a Nikon D 300 camera that I have been wanting forever, so hopefully I will be able to improve my photography skills after I finish reading the 200 page manual. Tech savvy I am not! I do feel like he gave me the gift of beauty since I will be able to capture what I see in a new way. I love him!
I am always a little sad on my birthday because it is one of those times when I feel the loss of my dad just a little bit sharper. He would always call me starting in March and tell me how many days till my birthday. He would try to find a special book for me (since that was a love that we shared) or a special present just from him. It didn't have to be expensive, just something that he picked out himself. I miss hearing his voice teasing me or telling me about the day I was born, how excited he was and how much I meant to him. I thought losing him would get easier with time, but the longer he is gone the more real it becomes.
Easter was also in April this year, and (thanks to my mom) the kids looked absolutely adorable! They were not thrilled about mom trying to take their pictures, and taking one of all three was almost impossible! I still tried to snap a few as they were opening their Easter baskets.
After church, we went over to Ron and Luanne's house for Easter dinner. She had gone all out with games, baskets, and an egg hunt for the kids. That woman is incredible! We had a fabulous time.
I love April for many reasons, but mostly for the promise of new life and sunshine. It has been a beautiful month weather wise, and we are soaking up the sun and playing outside as much as we possibly can!
I also turned the big 3-0 on the 15th. I took it a lot harder than I expected. I don't think it was as much about getting "old" as it was sadness to be leaving my twenties. So many wonderful things happened in my twenties. College, graduation, moving to NH, engagement, marriage, babies. All of those things have been so life-changing and incredible, and I have enjoyed my twenties immensely. I just feel like the thirties are going to be the "hard" years since the kids will be going to school and hitting their teens all in the next 10 years! I guess I am enjoying them being little right now and am really intimidated about what the next 10 years hold for us. I did have a great birthday though. My friends took me out for a girl's night to see Date Night which was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. we had so much fun and laughed louder than everyone else.
My awesome hubby took me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant and bought me a Nikon D 300 camera that I have been wanting forever, so hopefully I will be able to improve my photography skills after I finish reading the 200 page manual. Tech savvy I am not! I do feel like he gave me the gift of beauty since I will be able to capture what I see in a new way. I love him!
I am always a little sad on my birthday because it is one of those times when I feel the loss of my dad just a little bit sharper. He would always call me starting in March and tell me how many days till my birthday. He would try to find a special book for me (since that was a love that we shared) or a special present just from him. It didn't have to be expensive, just something that he picked out himself. I miss hearing his voice teasing me or telling me about the day I was born, how excited he was and how much I meant to him. I thought losing him would get easier with time, but the longer he is gone the more real it becomes.
Easter was also in April this year, and (thanks to my mom) the kids looked absolutely adorable! They were not thrilled about mom trying to take their pictures, and taking one of all three was almost impossible! I still tried to snap a few as they were opening their Easter baskets.
After church, we went over to Ron and Luanne's house for Easter dinner. She had gone all out with games, baskets, and an egg hunt for the kids. That woman is incredible! We had a fabulous time.
I love April for many reasons, but mostly for the promise of new life and sunshine. It has been a beautiful month weather wise, and we are soaking up the sun and playing outside as much as we possibly can!
Monday, March 29, 2010
They're watching
The other day, Evalyn was talking to me and snot started running down her nose. I told her to get a tissue, but she just took the back of her hand and swiped it. "That is sooooo gross" I told her. She didn't see why it was gross when you couldn't "see" the snot on her hands. We then went into this whole conversation about germs and how they are invisible but can still make other people sick, plus, its just bad manners.
Fast forward to bath time that night. I am getting them all out of the bath, one by one, and itch my nose. Evalyn turns to me and says, "Mom, you have lotion on your nose." I wiped it off and said "thanks for telling me." She then says, " Mom, that means you wiped your nose with your hands. That is where I learned it and that's a bad example." I started laughing uncontrollably, but, after I put her to bed, I started thinking about how they are constantly watching the things I do, reactions/attitudes/mistakes, they see it all. There is no putting on a good face, trying to look like I have it all together. They know the good, bad, and ugly of me. That thought is intimidating to me, because I want them to not make the mistakes I have made. I want them to be better, stronger, more disciplined than I am, but someone needs to teach them, and that someone is me.
I want to teach them how to take care of your body, how to live a healthy lifestyle, but that means I have to take care of my body and live a healthy lifestyle.
I want to teach them how to serve their spouse and how to prioritize their marriages, but then I have to serve Isaac and put our marriage first.
I want them to have good attitudes and respond with love when someone says or does something hurtful, but that means I have to watch how I respond (especially when i am driving!).
I want to teach them how to have a intimate relationship with god, but that means they need to see ME spending time with Him, talking about Him, worshiping Him...
I feel like I fail them so often. I told my sister-in-law that the second you get that second line on a pregnancy test, the guilt starts. Am I doing enough or too much? Will this hurt the baby? Is it poisoning them if they get formula for some feedings instead of breast milk? Are they not using as many words because I haven't read to them enough? What school will I send them to? Will they turn out to be degenerates if I choose to put them in public school instead of home-schooling them like my parents did me? See? Guilt is all a part of parenting! I don't want to be a good example because of guilt, but because I feel I have a God-given responsibility to show them the right path and how to walk in it and how to hear God's voice (Isaiah 30:21). God, give me the strength I need to be a good example to them, and let me lead them to You...
Fast forward to bath time that night. I am getting them all out of the bath, one by one, and itch my nose. Evalyn turns to me and says, "Mom, you have lotion on your nose." I wiped it off and said "thanks for telling me." She then says, " Mom, that means you wiped your nose with your hands. That is where I learned it and that's a bad example." I started laughing uncontrollably, but, after I put her to bed, I started thinking about how they are constantly watching the things I do, reactions/attitudes/mistakes, they see it all. There is no putting on a good face, trying to look like I have it all together. They know the good, bad, and ugly of me. That thought is intimidating to me, because I want them to not make the mistakes I have made. I want them to be better, stronger, more disciplined than I am, but someone needs to teach them, and that someone is me.
I want to teach them how to take care of your body, how to live a healthy lifestyle, but that means I have to take care of my body and live a healthy lifestyle.
I want to teach them how to serve their spouse and how to prioritize their marriages, but then I have to serve Isaac and put our marriage first.
I want them to have good attitudes and respond with love when someone says or does something hurtful, but that means I have to watch how I respond (especially when i am driving!).
I want to teach them how to have a intimate relationship with god, but that means they need to see ME spending time with Him, talking about Him, worshiping Him...
I feel like I fail them so often. I told my sister-in-law that the second you get that second line on a pregnancy test, the guilt starts. Am I doing enough or too much? Will this hurt the baby? Is it poisoning them if they get formula for some feedings instead of breast milk? Are they not using as many words because I haven't read to them enough? What school will I send them to? Will they turn out to be degenerates if I choose to put them in public school instead of home-schooling them like my parents did me? See? Guilt is all a part of parenting! I don't want to be a good example because of guilt, but because I feel I have a God-given responsibility to show them the right path and how to walk in it and how to hear God's voice (Isaiah 30:21). God, give me the strength I need to be a good example to them, and let me lead them to You...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A Day
I have lived a lot of places in my lifetime, but New Hampshire just has its own particular beauty. About a thousand times a day I wish I was a professional photographer and could capture the magnificent light at sunset or the bright blue of the sky through the trees. Its beauty just makes me happy. Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids out to play at the church and ride bikes in the huge empty parking lot. The sun has been out the last few days giving me reason to hope that it will come and play for good some time soon. What is it about sunshine on your head that just makes life better? I definitely needed it this week! I loved seeing the kids enjoying the fresh air. I didn't even mind when the twins dug holes in the ground and filled up puddles with mud, or Judah walking through those same puddles and soaking his clothes. I looked at them with complete understanding. Sick of being inside, anxious to get down in the dirt and explore, loving the feel of the sun on your head. I have missed it too.
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