Look Who's 1!

Michael just turned 1 this past Saturday, he wasn't much for destroying cake but enjoyed his presents and goldfish crackers.      Happy, Happy Birthday!

Lenten Break

Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter started yesterday, Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance. I grew up in a church that didn't really place a whole lot of emphasis on this days. Palm Sunday and Easter-that was celebrating the season. I think I missed out on something. A lot of denominations focus on a Lenten fast, where you give something up for the entire season of Lent. Fasting has mostly been associated with food. Going without a meal to "fast and pray". A good number of people give up caffeine, sugar or chocolate during Lent. I have never been good with food fasts-I tend to be more distracted by my hunger and perceived weakness than I am able to focus on prayer.

My husband works late hours- 11:30 PM is his usual come home time. I wait up for him every night. My kids wind down and are in bed by 7-7:30 (they read and listen to Adventures in Odyssey before falling asleep an hour later). That makes for a lot of hours alone. I have fallen into the habit of eating, exercising, devotions after the kids go to bed. All this (excluding devotions) done in front of my computer while I'm watching some video online. Sometimes I watch great documentaries but lately have been falling into the trap of watching network TV online. We do watch videos but have given up watching "TV" about 10 years ago. Both my husband and I have addictive tendency to media so we easily fall into the trap of watching just to watch. Hence, the reason to give it up altogether.

I really didn't remember that yesterday was Ash Wednesday but all day I was contemplating the felt need to be in a "spirit of prayer" You see when I waste my time on this computer all night, I give the leftovers to my time with God. So this year for the first time during Lent, I am giving something up. This will be a great sacrifice on my part, which is the whole idea. I am powering down my computer from 7:00 PM-until the next morning. I think fasting should be done in private, but I need some accountability. If people know what I'm doing, I'm more likely to stick with it. If you grew up in a tradition similar to mine, I encourage you to look again at Lent. Be daring and try something new.

Olympics Party

What do you get when you have 4 bloggy mommies all together at one party? You get wonderful unique perspectives of the same event. Check out their posts: Sarah, Sarah, and Amanda. We had a wonderful day of international food, Olympics crafts and games. It was fun and exciting. A great time for everybody.

 

 

Husband of the Year Award goes to.....

My husband earned the husband of the year award today for Valentine's Day. I have asked for Cream-Filled Crepes for years. JP made them this morning-I could not finish my plate but they were oh so good. Then he made this tote bag with the kids hand prints and my favorite chocolate indulgence. I have always loved handprint gifts so this was just perfect. Happy Valentine's Day to my baby.....the best one in the world!

Boring is Good!

Sometimes I feel like I look around at others and wish for the lives they have. They always seem to have exciting new adventures to blog about. You never catch their kids wearing the same clothes in any two pictures. There is something to say in a post everyday if not two or three times a day. Then I do a reality check. These people (one in particular that comes to mind) dish about all their personal issues on their blog and let me tell you boring is good.

I admit my life is boring sometimes, it's feel like that movie Groundhog's Day- I repeat the same thing everyday...wake up, feed the baby, shower, feed the baby and kids, school, (during school- make JP's lunch, make our lunch, answer questions about work, unload the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, load the washer, load the dryer), etc., etc..... It's the same thing everyday except maybe for Sunday.

Yes, I live a very regular life but it's my life and I like it....(well except the dishes and laundry thing). I have an awesome husband, great kids, a nice, warm comfortable home and enough food to keep my family well fed. I don't live crisis to crisis or every other day as a holiday. My life plugs along at a very even pace. I have dealt with anxiety issues in the past but this is a time that my stress level is so low that I really don't have very frequent bouts with that anymore. That feels good. Who knew I needed to become boring to address my anxiety?

Sometimes the mundane gets to you but when I see what others who live so called "exciting" lives have to deal with, I will take my mundane thank you very much. I will be content with what I have been given in this life and feel as blessed as I am.