MOPS

     I just got home from our monthly MOPS meeting.  MOPS stands for Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers.  It is for moms who have kiddos birth through kindergarten.  I love it!  I get to be around other women who understand the things I am going through.  We can be real with each other and build relationship.  I have met almost all of my close friends through MOPS (not all, so don't lose heart if I didn't meet you at MOPS ;-)  ).  Tonight we had a huge birthday party.  There were games, cupcakes, treat bags, and lots of laughter.  If you are a mom who has a kid birth to kindergarten, check out MOPS.org to find a MOPS group close to you.  When I first had my first baby, I was not getting out a lot and MOPS gave me a place to hear about what other moms were going through and had experienced.  I knew that I was not alone in the crazy land of mothering.  I love MOPS!!!  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Other People Know Best?

     Ok, confession time again...Sometimes I don't know everything.  I know.  It's shocking really.  But I thought I would let you all in on my little secret.  I wish I did, but I don't.  For example, sometimes I have fashion issues.  But I have a great group of girls who help guide me.  One of them recently told me that I could wear brown boots with GRAY.  This seemed crazy to me.  She said I could wear brown with anything.  I think this is weird, but I do trust that she does not want me to look crazy, so she wouldn't make it up.  This same friend went shopping with me to get some new shirts.  One of the shirts she said I should get has a SEAM running down the front of it.  I think that this is a way for the company to reuse scraps of fabric from another product.  She assures me such is not the case; rather, this seem down the front is fashionable.  Another friend continues to tell me (but I don't listen sometimes, I actually listen more than she probably thinks) that I shouldn't wear black socks with certain shoes.  One time, these girls stopped at a shoe store to buy me flip-flops because my shoes choice was off.  They love me and don't want me to look like a clown.  I appreciate that.  But, I don't understand WHY the things they say are right, so sometimes I doubt a little.
    My baby girl has been throwing up the last couple days.  It was really bad two nights ago, so then when she threw up again yesterday morning after taking a few bits of bagel, I called the nurse line.  The nurse that I talked to yesterday morning told me I had to wait EIGHT hours from the time she threw up to give my baby any food.  This is a challenge because she eats.  All.  the.  time.  We made it though, but it was a challenge.  Also, I could only give her 2-3 Tbsp of Pedialite every five minutes.  The nurse told me this was to rest her tummy because she thought she might have viral gastritis.  My baby princess kept saying "eat?" and "Hungry." She even put her own bib on and went over to her seat that she eats at.  It was hard to not feed her.  I listened to the instructions and my baby girl didn't throw up at all again yesterday. 
    I thought we were through the woods, but then she threw up an hour before bedtime tonight.  So I knew that meant I should not give her more food tonight.  But she asked for something and I gave her some plain white bread.  A little while later she was sick again.  :-(  So no more food the rest of the night.  I will listen.  It is better for her, even though she wanted goldfish as a bedtime snack.  I was strong and listened to those who know better than me. 
     I want to remember to listen to people who do actually know more.  I want to increase my knowledge.  I want to share what I know with others.  I need to remember that, yes, sometimes other people know best.  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Differences Or Not So Differences

     I know people tell you that your kids will each be different.  And really I knew that.  It just makes sense- no two people are alike.  I think what I didn't understand was HOW different two of my own children could be.  As we sat in my baby girl's room, my son (4 1/2) was sitting on my lap or laying all over me playing his LeapPad (learning video game thing).  He loves to play it and at this moment he was playing a logic game where he had to move trucks in a certain order to be able to get a cement mixer out of a construction site.  He is quite good at the game, but he loves for me to just watch him play it over and over and over (and help if he asks for the help) as he sits on my lap.  While I am watching my son, my little baby girl (almost 2) is laying out food for a picnic for us all.  I look up and crack up.  In just minutes, she has created an elaborate spread for us.  She has a place for each of us and tells me which plate is mine, hers, and her brother's.  Earlier this afternoon, my son and I played video games while little princess was napping and now that she is up she wants to color with me.  I know some of that is each of their ages, so we will see what they like as the years go on.  Regardless, they each have their own preferences.   
     While my kiddos can be different, maybe they aren't that different after all.  Both want ME.  They like to hear me say nice things or make them food (my kids LOVE to eat), but what they want most is ME.  Not the things I can do for them or buy for them, just me.  Wow.  I want to be like that with my Heavenly Daddy.  To just want Him.  Not His answers to my prayers, not the things I think I should get, just Him.  I am trying to let all the other stuff go.  I have better days than other days.  And I think it's ok that I do other things than just sit and pray and read my Bible all day, but it's about my attitude.  When I am going about my day, what do I WANT the most?  At any moment am I ready to play with God?  To give Him my time?  I want that answer to always be "yes."  So, I know that while my kids' preference for ME may come out in different ways, really the desire that it comes from isn't that different after all.  What are you doing to really want God the most?  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Behind the Beds

     Today I vacuumed behind the kids' beds.  I don't do this nearly as often as I should.  It is kinda disturbing.  My kids get to have snacks in their beds at night, so there were some "crumbs."  Ok, lots of goldfish and Cheerios.  It isn't really that it is hard to move their beds and get the crumbs, I just don't think to do it as often as I should. 
     I was thinking about how there are areas of my life, emotionally and spiritually, that I should check for crumbs in more often too.  Is there any unforgiveness I need to deal with?  Are there things I know God wants me to go do that I am not?  Or things that I should not be doing that I still am?  Am I being Jesus to everyone?  These things don't have to be hard, necessarily.  But when I let them build up, they can get grosser than they should.  If I just vacuum out these areas when it doesn't really look like much, it will make life a whole lot easier.  So, what are your "behind the bed" areas of your life?  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Giggles

     I love to watch my kiddos and my husband play together.  Tonight before dinner they were playing "Blanket Monster."  In this game (usually my husband, but sometimes one of the kids) puts the blanket over themselves and pretends that he or she is a monster.  It's not a deep game, but man, the kids crack up.  The laughter that I hear coming from the house and the running of their little feet is one of my favorite things.  I am trying to more and more enjoy all the giggling moments and do things to make them happen.  I don't want to forget how fabulous this time is right now.  And I want to appreciate it while I am in it.  I love this giggly life I have.  What is a sound that you love to hear?  How can you make sure your home has more of that?  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Crazy Great Plans

     I love living in community with people.  Being there for each other in all areas of life.  One of my favorite parts is watching other people doing what God has called them to do.  Seeing their eyes light up when they talk about where God is taking them or has them.  Maybe they have just gotten a glimpse from God about what He has for them.  Maybe she is trying to figure out how God wants her to get from where she is to this crazy big dream.  Perhaps she is in the middle of it and things are going GREAT!!  Or she is in the middle of it and she doesn't think things are going the way they should.  She could be celebrating because she just finished the dream that God gave her years ago that back then she thought was ridiculous.  We need to be there for each other in all of these stages of our journey.
     One of my biggest passions is helping people figure out what their goals and God's goals for them are.  I love watching people come alive when they realize what they actually want.  Then, talking to them and helping them to believe that they can actually DO their dreams.  It is awesome.  Pray about what God wants for your life.  Think about what you want for your life.  Really take time to pray and dream.  Find people who you can share that with.  Who would help you in your journey?  Who can encourage you?  Pray for you?  Dream with you?  Problem solve with you?  Find someone that you trust and will be a good sounding board.  Then ask that person what her dream is.  Watching each other go through the journey of life is awesome.  God has a plan for your life- a fabulous, wonderful, crazy great plan and a different, but still fabulous, wonderful, crazy great plan for your encouragement buddy.  Find a friend and the two of you (along with loads of other people in the community) go get your crazy great plans that God has for you!!  Thanks for reading!  :-)

Consistency

      Ugh.  Consistency, which I am going to define as actually following through with the things you want to do for long term, can be tough.  The first day or second day of something usually isn't that hard.  The eighth day though can be harder.  By the time you get to the fifteenth, the fortieth, the thousandth?  Those can be harder still (sometimes it may get easier, but that is another blog post).  I really like the results that working out gets me, but to do it over and over and over.  Wouldn't it be great if you could work out for one big huge chunk and be covered for the month?  I would love it.  But, it doesn't work like that.  You have to do it multiple times a week, every week to stay healthy and fit. And so it goes for anything that you want to see a change with.  You know you want the result, but to do it every day?  You need to actually do little changes over and over to see the change you want to. 
     Or if I could brush my teeth for a really long time and not worry about it for a while.  It would take one more thing off of my daily to-do list.  But, that would be gross.  My teeth would get all nasty and rotting.  That's how our finances would get if we did a budget once a year and then thought that would get us through.  Nope.  We have a different budget for every month because every month is different.  I don't want to have yucky teeth and I don't want to have yucky finances.  Consistency.  Actually following through with the plan that we make.  That's how we got out of debt.  It was hard sometimes, for sure, but now I am glad we did stay consistent. 
     I know if I actually put my baby girl on the potty every two hours, consistently, we would have almost no Pull-Up accidents.  I don't though.  I don't follow through.  I get busy, distracted.  That's how other areas of life are.  I want to do a Beth Moore Bible Study lesson every day right now, but I don't.  And sometimes that leads to spiritual "accidents."  I don't have the patience that I should with my kids; I don't love that person the way I should; I do not show God's joy to everyone around me.  I am studying the Fruit of the Spirit, so I know that God is using the study to give me more of Him and His Fruit.  But I have to put in the work.  If we are supposed to be doing something consistently, then we need to do it or we might not get the results we want.  Consistency.  It seems like the word shouldn't hold so much power, but it does.  If we can see consistency in our lives heading toward our goals, we will accomplish them.  If we see that we are consistently NOT going toward our goals, we will not accomplish them. 
     When I am having a hard time being consistent with something, lately I have been asking myself, "Why?"  Do I REALLY want _____?  If not, then let it go.  If I do, though, I am trying to figure out ways to work in consistency in my life.  Join me.  Figure out the things you REALLY want and then try to build ways into your day to make them happen.  Thanks for reading.  :-)