Joy in the Journey

  How was your Christmas? Did you get to see family? I did.  Not all my family and not doing the normal family traditions we have in the past but it was really special. I live fairly close to all of my family so the farthest I've ever traveled for Christmas is three hours to my parents house but usually we stay in town and go to see family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year was different. We were going to be home for Christmas and wanted to have people over to share in our Christmas morning. My sister and her family decided to come. They got to stay for three days and with six little children and four adults in one household it was busy and often loud, but it was so special. Look at all that red hair. <3 Seeing the cousin connections. My daughters playing with their six year old cousin and my son with his fellow two-year-old as well as four-year old cousin. And I got to spend time with my sister and her husband. We played games, stayed up late, and laughed a lot....

It was time to goooooo...we were running late. Christmas Eve is a big day of celebration in our family. A day jammed full of fun. And we were behind schedule. We needed to get up to my Oma's house. We were already 30 minutes past when we said we would be there! My daughter was working on her last present for my mom. She had painted her a hummingbird on a blue background. There was a lot of empty space, so I suggested she use a paint pen to put a message or verse on it. She got very excited. She loved the idea.  The problem was that she wanted to write John 3:16 on it. The WHOLE verse. We were running late. She was insistent. I was short with her as I explained there wasn't enough room for that long of a verse. She told me she planned to write small. I told her that she can't write too small with the paint pens or the letters would run together. She told me that she knew that. I sighed and huffed and wrote out the first part of the verse on a white board for her, suggesting ...

It's Christmas Day so I'll try and keep this short. I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas!! What I want to remind you of this Christmas is you are a gift , to your family, to your friends, to the ones you love most. You are specially designed, perfectly you, on purpose, to live a life of beauty and purpose. You are no accident. On Christmas, with all the gifts, cleaning up wrapping paper, spending time with family, I just want you to remember you've done good. You've worked hard. You made it! Take a deep breath. Give yourself a break and drink in these moments watching your kids delight on Christmas morning. Photo Credit: thesun.co.uk Last but not least, I can't help but say to remember Jesus today. It started with Jesus those 2020 years ago (give or take) and it's why we are here today. Though the holiday is far from that first Christmas (imagine having a baby in a dirty stable with animals?!), let's remember and be grateful that the greatest gift of lo...

Well, I've hit the point of being in over my head this Christmas season. Did I just wait too long to do everything? Did I take on too many things? Probably both. It's the week before Christmas (you'll be reading this two days before Christmas) and I'm starting to loose it. Photo Credit: freepik.com I threw a bag full of sweet potatoes on the floor in anger and panic last night when a full bottle of water got turned over on the counter and was getting everything wet. *Panic* *Freak Out*. I barely could pry myself out of bed for the second day in a row. I was... okay, am irritable with the kids and I feel completely overwhelmed! I could sit here and tell you the whole list of why  I'm loosing it but you probably know. There's A LOT going on right now in our world, which effects our jobs and homes, which effects all of us. Top it off with normal stressors from the holiday rush and you got it made, or not. I've been fighting the stress with productivity. I'v...

No, I didn't spell that wrong. Christmas is just a few days away and I want you to stop...and listen. I'm sure you have heard the story of Mary and Martha.  L uke 10:38-42 ( New International Version) As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.   She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.   But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”   “Martha, Martha,”  the Lord answered,  “you are worried and upset about many things,   but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I think Martha was a neat lady. She obviously saw that Jesus was special and invited Him into her home. She wanted to really p...

Recently, I had a Saturday where my husband wasn't home and instead of just staying home I  decided to take the kids to the mountains instead.  The plan was that we could gather cedar and pine branches to make Christmas swags. It took us about an hour to get ourselves out of the house, on the road, and up the hill. I got to drive my husband's truck, which I love! My girls sat in the back of the truck bed once we hit the gravel road and had a blast, while my toddler sat up front with me.  I felt instant happiness and joy as I headed into the woods which is one of my favorite places. I also felt a little panic when I realized I had zero cell reception if anything went wrong, it was just me and the kids. Bumping along the muddy roads, I saw a smoking pile of logging debris that had previously been burning. I hadn't brought anything to make a fire so I decided to scoop up the hot coals and put them on wet bark in the bed to start a fire once we reached the top (moving my...

I've shared a few blogs on postpartum body image and body changes lately. Tonight, I had another, somewhat funny, realization about my postpartum body. I was sitting on my couch in the middle of my crowded living room. There was my toddler in front of me on the couch, crawling all over my lap and playing with Duplo blocks while I tried to concentrate on what I was actually sitting there for, to help my daughter finish up her school for the week. I half ignored my son while he shoved blocks down my shirt between my loose fitting red shirt and my snug undershirt, talking over the clanking noise of the blocks to my daughter about her language arts.  All of a sudden, my son had a "brilliant" idea. He wanted to be inside my shirt as well. He pulled it wide and climbed in along with all the blocks. I had to laugh! It was cute and sweet because he was all snuggled up to me but it was also just plain funny. At first, he snuggle up to me then pretty soon that got old and he start...

Mamas, I've not been taking very good care of myself lately. I've told you before that this is a very busy time of year for me because I make most of the Christmas gifts myself. And it can be exhausting.  Don't get me wrong, no one is forcing me to make all the gifts. I do it because I love to. But it still takes up a lot of time and energy. On top of the normal stuff that a mama of five (who is still recovering from surgery) needs to do every day. So what have I traded to make more time for making all these gifts? The kids' school? Nope, still doing that. Basic housework? Nope, that is still happening. And we are still making time to spend with friends and family and go to events, too. The truth is, it's myself. I've traded myself. Well, more specifically, I'm trading my self care.  Lately I have noticed that I'm getting a lot less sleep. I'm also not taking the time to make myself healthy and complete meals; I've been grabbing junk food more of...

Did you ever notice that some days just feel like you didn't accomplish ANYTHING at all? I'm sure you feel me on that one. Yesterday, my husband was home sick from work. I exercised, did my devotions, went on a walk with the family, and tried my hardest to sit down with my oldest and do Language Arts with her. I finally got to sit down with her and it felt like a total bust (see that story HERE ).  I went outside to check on things for a bit. Then I took a nap. :) I did laundry later, I worked on our remodel project a bit, and I cleaned up the house with the kids and did the dishes. And you know what. I lay down while baby was going to sleep and felt like I'd not done enough. Accomplished nothing. Didn't have a successful day. But WHY?! The Mental To-Do List. I rarely make actual To-Do lists anymore. There's honestly WAY TOO much to put on a single list and I need flexibility with my family and schedule. So, why, at the end of a full day do I feel like I didn't ...

When you hit a wall... Climb it. My kids grow and change so fast that once something is "working", it only seems to work for a short period of time before I hit a wall. That can be in parenting, in schooling, with the chore schedule, daily schedule, you name it, it's happened. Things don't just keep going smoothly, at least not for long. When I hit a wall... First, I usually get pretty frustrated. Why is this not working?!  I think. What is the problem! And then I have to admit, I can't do this or This is not working  and move on. This happened just the other day with school. Though I had doing all the same things, asking questions vs telling, being patient vs frustrated, the results were certainly NOT the same. Instead of mutually working towards the goal of getting through a lesson, I got straight annoyance and even anger at my "helpful" suggestions and instructions. By the end of the fifteen minutes of school my heart was pounding, I was frowning, and...

I love this time of year, don't you? It's stocked full of traditions and business (I love being busy!). Because I love being busy, I can take it to the extreme and make myself feel almost sick with stress and exhaustion.  Recently, I was challenged by a friend with the following suggestion: I almost dismissed the whole idea right away. Read a whole chapter of the Bible every day (Luke does not have short chapters!)? On top  of the normal curriculum Bible reading that we do every school day? Would I really be able to do that? Would my wiggly boys (ages 1, 5, and 6) really be able to sit through all that reading and behave themselves? Would it become a power struggle? Would I try to start it and give up because it became too hard, therefore setting a bad example for my kids? There were lots of questions and doubts, but I decided to do it anyway. I felt like it was the right thing to do. I felt like I needed the reminder of who Christmas was really about just as much as my kids ...

I recently shared with you how we got mirrored closet doors in our bedroom and I had to learn to get used to how I look now vs prebaby (Read that blog HERE ). Well, I've been thinking about that a little more lately. Just like how becoming a mother changed my heart and life forever with my oldest two, getting to give birth to my son has changed my body forever. Sure, my 3.8 degree tear has healed and I'm "good as new". Sure, I'm similar to my pre-pregnancy weight. Sure, I did Kegels and I don't pee myself anymore and can even get on a trampoline but it's still different. My breast, holy cow, have they changed and not in the direction I was hoping for (you know what I mean). My stomach, though the weight is similar, just is not the same shape. My hips, my thighs, you name it, things are just different.  Becoming a mother changes your life forever, giving birth to your child leaves a physical mark that shows it. You can't see what happens on the heart wh...

We moved into our new house the very beginning of October and we've been busy with nonstop projects ever since. My current project has been the most fun, making a PLAYROOM for the kids!  Our downstairs used to have a kitchen/bar area and we fully gutted (minus the drywall) and are remodeling it. My husband took on the heavy jobs of cabinet removal, capping pipes, and removing outlets. I did the finer work like mudding, sanding, texturing, and my favorite, painting.  The before I was super excited when we got to the painting stage because not only did I like the wall color but I had a fun project in store. A mural! This was the playroom after all so I felt free reign to get creative and have fun with it.  I chose a geometric mountain scape after searching the internet for ideas. I poured over paint colors and made a small prototype of what I was envisioning. Then I made a sketch and went to work taping out the design. Now, here's the thing. 1) I've never  painted a mu...