The countdown begins...

Only 31 more days until I see Michael Buble in concert!!

An Ode to my Valentine....

This week in our household has been rough. We have had many stresses but illness has been paramount in our home. Our Hunter has strep throat and an ear infection and I have had the flu. I have never felt so weak and helpless in my life and Hunter has been tired, not sleeping, not eating, crying all this time, etc. You know the drill. The countless times you get up with your baby when your body is crying out for sleep. But, you must sacrifice yourself for the ones you love the most.

That is what my Valentine did for me this week. He does it all the time in quiet ways. Checks the air pressure in the tires, leaves the outside light on when I come home from work, helps me make the bed...
But, this week was different. I needed Sean in a thousand different ways and in a thousand and one ways he came through. He gave boys showers, he gave boys dinners, he drew me bathes, he made lunches, he read countless stories, he gave me hugs and hugs and hugs and listened to me cry, he brought me Pepsis, he brought me blankets. He never one time had to tell me he loved me because he was showing me in so many ways. Isn't that the best? We'll never make a Kay's commercial, they'll never make a movie about our love but to me that is TRUE LOVE. Taking the hard weeks and sacrificing and coming home tired and never complaining and loving someone when they are at their lowest. I thank God mightily for my husband and my best friend and my Valentine......

I totally love Target...

Well, lately I have been reading about the 90% clearance at Target stores and since John needed some new snow pants, I thought I would take a little ride and I am sure glad that I did. Here was my haul today:




The Christmas cards ranged from .25 to .30 to .69 and the bows were only .49!! With Sean's job we go through a ton of cards every year so the 184 cards I got for 2.98 will really come in handy next year. And I just felt so bad the kids just didn't get enough candy for Christmas and Halloween (snicker, snicker) so I just HAD to buy them the candy canes for .24 a piece!

My wallet thanks you Target.

My New Pin..

See my new pin I bought today at Target? It's great for two reasons. First, it says JOY, (how appropriate is that) and secondly, it JINGLES! I have jingled and jangled my way through the dishes, the laundry and I will spread some more Christmas noise through Jo-Ann Fabrics tonight while I work. So awesome when I find such a little treasure and JOY in my day!

March 19, 2010

The day can't come soon enough for me because that is the day that I will be sitting in Worcester, Massachusetts listening and WATCHING Michael Buble sing!!!! What a good day today is...

The art of saying no...

I truly do believe that learning to say "no" is an art form.  I have always been able to say no to early afternoon snacks that would ruin dinners, to little boys climbing on dressers, but really saying no to someone is not something that I have learned.  But, I am determined to try.  And today was my first step in that process. 

Two years ago, I left a church that I thought I would be serving in until I died.  I gave my heart, my sweat and my tears to that church and the ministry that went on there.  And if you needed something, I was the girl to call.  I was the secretary, treasurer, member of leadership, nursery school worker, so on and so on...  I am not telling you this to pat myself on the back but rather to share that boundaries weren't real easy for me.

But, we left.  Rather God called us out of that church and His timing couldn't have been more perfect because the two most beautiful crawled into my life and their needs were paramount.  With the departure came a sigh, a huge break for me and a time for God to take care of me.  And I wanted so badly to impress Him and people, that I kind of lost my way.

I'm going to be forty in 19 months (but who's counting) and I think it's time I grew up, darn it.  So, today I was invited to a little get together with the ladies from my small group Wednesday morning Bible Study.  And I really wanted to go.  These are really nice, fun women.  But, it was right during Hunter's nap.  I mean, smack dab in the middle of his nap.  So, I did what I always do.  I prayed, I talked about it with Sean and thought about it, ad nauseum.  Do you remember that old song, "Should I stay or should I go now?" 

It is always in the small day to day mundaneness of life that God shows up big time and He teaches me a huge lesson in it all.  And, today, I said "No, I'm sorry, that is right during Hunter's nap and I can't go."  So, as I write this, I have a little cherub blissfully sleeping in his bed instead of being rushed around and exhausted today.  It may sound small to some people but to me that was a huge step because I was putting the needs of my family before someone else.   I cared less about what people thought of me.  Yeah..

Yesterday....

What do I have to be joyful about today?  Yesterday, that's what.  Yesterday was Veteran's Day and my husband was off from work.  And that was so nice because he works six days a week and when he is off on Sunday I am off to work right after church.  So, to have a day with him smack in the middle of the week was surely a blessing.   

And I am a huge believer in getting Christmas shopping done early.  I feel like with so much on my plate on a daily basis, Christmas shopping becomes a chore instead of a pleasure the closer it gets done to the holiday.  And yesterday we were able to sit down and really figure out what to buy the kids and we pored over catalogs and laughed and we budgeted and we dreamed.  We dreamed of what we could buy them and what we could really afford!

We planned what day we are having our Christmas picture taken and when we are going to buy our Christmas tree.  Just having those plans gives me such peace during this holiday season....