Blessed!

I can't remember the last time I got anything out of going to my parents' church. I go because it's family time and it's important to them but I go knowing I won't walk away feeling blessed. I was proven wrong today! I am visiting my parents and was actually excited to go to Arden today because the W&W team was going to share about their time in Namibia. One of my close childhood friends, Kim, went and I couldn't wait to see the beautiful pictures she had taken. (She's a VERY talented photographer!) What I wasn't prepared for were the tears of joy that streamed down my cheeks as she shared about her experience there. You see, Kim only came back to her walk with the Lord a few years ago. She had grown up in the church but had sought out the world for awhile before realizing what was important (I think God used her son in helping her see the Light!). I sat there, tears falling freely, thinking about how God has a plan for all of us. Had you told me 5 years ago that Kim would be going to S. Africa on a mission trip I would've laughed at you. Instead, God laughed at me and showed that His plan always prevails. It was an emotional service today and I felt very blessed to be a part of it. Thanks for sharing Kim. You rock!!

Mommyhood 101

I'm not gonna lie. The past two days were not fun with the lil man. There was a lot of hitting, kicking and throwing temper tantrums...from him of course, although I wanted to join in on the temper tantrums a few times. I went to bed, crying, thinking about what a bad mom I am. I lose my patience and raise my voice after he does something that I specifically asked him not to do. I lose my patience when he gets up from "Time Out" after he was put there for hitting me. I lose my patience when I'm changing his diaper and he hauls off and kicks me. Last night I was at my wit's end, wondering how I'm going to get through the 2's and 3's. But, before bed I picked up "Bringing Up Boys" and read a few chapters. Then I prayed that God would give me wisdom and patience today. I know millions of moms have husbands that work out of town a lot or are nonexistent so I can do it just like they do. I'm happy to say that today was a MUCH better day, even though he didn't get a lot of sleep due to the horrible storm we had last night. He didn't get 1 Time Out or swat today. We laughed and cuddled a lot. It was a really good day! The only time we had a little glitch was at bedtime. If we could only have small glitches like that then I would have no doubt that I can survive- and enjoy- the next couple years of "becoming independent".

Discover Discovery

If you've been to our neck of the woods you know that we get a lot of snow for a long period of time, not just the "usual" Winter months. And if you've been around P you know that he has more energy than an entire roomful of people combined. So I'm trying to find places to take him during the Winter to get out his energy and help me maintain my sanity. I found one of those places today...the Discovery Museum. I met up with a friend and her son, who ironically has the same name as P, and is the same age. They had fun exploring and trying new things. We both bought year long memberships, which will come in handy once the snow starts falling. (Oh, oops, that's TONIGHT!). Here are a few of the fun moments the boys had together this morning and I can't wait to capture even more during the next several COLD months....

Happy Birthday!

I dreamt about her last night and woke up thinking about her this morning. Today is my ex-best friend's 37th birthday. For 2 years we celebrated out birthdays together. Last year we acknowledged each other's birthday. This year I'd bet my last dollar that that won't even be happening because in July we mutually agreed to write each other out of the other's life. It all happened because a professional decision got made into a personal issue. That got complicated with others getting involved, saying untrue things and causing unnecessary drama. Although Rob said she wasn't a friend to begin with if she let our friendship fall by the wayside without ever sitting down and talking it out it still makes me sad. We shared our pregnancies together. She was one of the first to hold P and then 1 1/2 days later she gave birth to her precious son. We've shared laughter, tears and everything in between. I thought we'd be lifelong friends, our sons growing up together and being best friends as well. But, as is the case with some friendships, it wasn't meant to be. So today, for what it's worth, I'll think about her and silently wish her a Happy Birthday.

Fall Colors?

Despite having plenty to do today all I've wanted to do is read a book I started yesterday. However, I've learned that when I REALLY get into a book I sometimes struggle to decipher between reality and fiction. Since this book is depressing I realized it was affecting my mood.
So I decided that the chores and cleaning could wait until tomorrow and P and I would go exploring in search of Fall colors. Unfortunately, the leaves haven't started changing all that much but we still had fun.
We shared ice cream, walked on the train tracks, went to the park and took some pics (Well, I took the pics). So, despite not seeing the colors change yet, we still had a fun afternoon out and about.

Sleeping Beauty

If you read my blogs or are "friends" with me on FB you are well aware of the fact that I survive on limited sleep. If you would've told me 5 years ago that I would function with 4-5 hours of sleep under my belt on a regular basis I would've laughed. Sleep is one of my favorite things in life! Last night I was finally able to fully enjoy my favorite thing....a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Rob isn't feeling well so he slept on the couch to keep from disturbing my sleep with his coughing. This worked out perfect for me because when P woke up at 4am wide eyed and bushy tailed, Rob was ready for him. He kept him quiet enough for me to sleep until 7:15! I don't remember the last time I've slept that late without being woken up several times throughout the night!! Then after church we put P down for his nap. Rob and I both laid down, ready for a nap ourselves. Shortly after I fell asleep I heard a loud thud. I jumped up and went to P's room but I didn't hear anything so I figured I had imagined it and went back to sleep. An hour later I was rested enough to wake up. I thought I heard noise coming from P's room so I stood outside the door. When I heard him playing I opened the door. I'm pretty sure he never napped because it looked like a hurricane had hit his room! I confirmed this later when we were on our way to the Marina and he fell asleep in Rob's truck. I'm hoping that, after getting such a good night's sleep last night and P hardly sleeping the past 24 hours, I'll be able to enjoy another night of my favorite pastime...zzzzzzz!

Zing Zang Zoom!

Tonight we went to the circus, a first for Preston AND me! P was absolutely mesmerized and probably could've sat there all night despite being tired. I, on the other hand, was SLIGHTLY disappointed. I had it in my head that there would be numerous clown acts, several elephants and even a couple tigers. There were 3 "eephants" (What P calls them), maybe 3 clowns and no tigers whatsoever. Needless to say, the acts and animals they did have were impressive. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the best pics due to photo restrictions so here are the few that turned out.






All the way home P talked about the "eephants" and motorcycles. When we asked if he liked the dog and cat acts he said "kitty cats" then went back to telling us all about the "eephants" coming out. His enthusiasm was the highlight of our night and made the circus a very enjoyable family event.