Life lessons

Recently, my bible study girls and I have been digging into Titus, especially the verses that speak about how older women are to teach certain things to younger women. It's been a really interesting, life giving study. From that frame of mind, I started thinking about what big things I want to teach my daughter (and my son). Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the day to day toddler discipline (don't lick that, keep your underwear on, you have to eat something other than cheese today) and this was really fun to think about. I know most of these things we will talk about when they are much older, but I also want my (our) life/lives to lead by example and I want to be intential about walking out what I preach. :)

So....here's the top things I want my kids to learn.


For my daughter
-The most important thing you can ever learn is how precious you are to Jesus. He thinks you are the most beautiful one. He died for you. He is for you, always. He will never ever leave you. Understanding this will give you a foundation no one can shake.

-The world will try to convince you that beauty is on the outside, that modesty is dorky, and standards should be flexible. Those are lies.

-Middle school is awkward for nearly everyone. This too shall pass.

-Sometimes when you're feeling grumpy, a shower, pretty make up, and your favorite outfit will do wonders to improve your mood. When all else fails, try chocolate.

-Look (and wait) for a man who cherishes you. Don't ever settle for anything less. He should be a strong, Godly leader, respectful, hardworking, and fun. He will be perfect for you, but he'll never be perfect. Don't try to change him. It won't work and you'll both be miserable. Fight hard for your marriage. It's a precious gift in life.

-Have fun every day.

-Comparing yourself to others is a slippery slope. Someone will always *seem* prettier, smarter, a better cook, a better wife, etc etc. Learn to love who God created you to be and recognize unfair expectations you are putting in yourself.

-When your man asks whats wrong and you respond "nothing" he really doesn't know you're lying.




For my son
-You were created to be a strong, victorious warrior for the Kingdom of God. You were also created to be a lover of Jesus. They don't contradict each other. You can be both. Strong and sensitive. Powerful and tender. Leader and follower. I think finding this balance is key.

-The world will try to convince you that lust and pornography are normal. They are not;in fact they are sinful and disrespectful to women. As a man of God, you are called to a higher standard and (hear me loudly, son) you CAN and WILL walk in victory over these strongholds.

-Learn your way around the kitchen, pick up your wet towel, put your dirty clothes in the hamper, and clean off the sink after shaving. Your wife will thank me for this someday.

-Look (and wait) for a woman who knows who she is in Christ and carries herself with grace and integrity. Someone who makes you want to be a better man yet adores you for who you are.

-Do what you love and makes you feel alive.

-Your (immature) peers will try to convince you to join them in their wrong doings. Standing up for what you know is right makes you a man. Succumbing makes you a coward. Be a man of strong character.

-A stay-at-home momma's job is equally as hard and important as yours.


That's all I've got so far. As fun as it was writing it all out, it also really made me again recognize how desperately I need Jesus to guide our parenting. This is a tough job y'all! Rewarding? Ooooooh yes, but also? Pretty hard work.

What am I missing? Anyone else got some life lesson thoughts?

Feeling the Love and the Nausea

You guys! You made me smile the other day reading your sweet comments. Thanks for the love!

Also? this cute kid turned 10 months a few days ago. Is he handsome or what?

There wasn't much else to smile about these past two days as we got hit with the stomach flu. Colson started it off, then Emma followed suit, and I was down for the count yesterday. I have SO much admiration for single mothers. It's Jarred's early week which means he's out the door at 2:45am and needs to be at least semi-rested before then. So....two nights ago, he fell asleep on Emma's bed and she woke him up at 9:30 by throwing up all over him and the ground as they ran to the bathroom. I heard the cries and quickly sent him to bed and spent the rest of the night in a sleeping bag on her floor armed and ready with the puke bucket whenever I heard her whimpering. Poor thing barely got any sleep, and around 2:30am, her cries started waking up her brother each time. So, I sat on the floor in her room, holding her exhausted still-sorta-sick brother, rubbing her back and praying they'd both go back to sleep and be healed. I'm not ashamed to say that there were several times I just wanted to cry and call my own mom to come help. But we survived.

I feel like I earned another notch on my mom belt. Two kids up throwing up in the night? check.

Then I tried to eat breakfast, and that was a mistake. For the rest of the day, we sat on the couch, watching tv and sleeping off and on between runs to the bathroom. It was not.fun.one.bit.

I feel like I should earn like 3 notches on my mom belt for yesterday. Taking care of two sick kids while sick yourself? check.

Thankfully after a full night's sleep (hello 8:30pm bedtime) we woke up feeling much better and able to keep food down.

Who's ready for Spring with me??

I'm loving it.

1. My skinny jeans - took me a LONG time to jump on this band wagon. I've never been in love with my legs and wasn't sure I could pull this look off. For the record, I very well may not be pulling it off but I feel pretty trendy and my hubby loves them so hey, I'm working it.

2. My little guys' babbles - "uh oh" has officially become his first word and he says it all.the.time.

3. This warmish winter. The weather this year has proven to me that I could move to a place where it doesn't drop below 50 and be completely happy. Ok, I take that back...for me to be completely happy the weather also shouldn't go above 85 in the summer. I'll take a perfect warm 75 with a tiny little breeze anyday...not too hot, not too cold. :) oh, and no humidity? k, thanks.

4. Surprising the Mr. with Courageous for Valentines Day. He checks our online bank account constantly which eliminates the possibility for me to purchase things easily without him knowing. I amazingly was able to keep our grocery bill to $30 this week so I could get some cash back to use to go treat him to his new favorite movie without appearing out of the norm. :) I love giving gifts. Oh and yes, there isn't much food in the house this week due to said grocery bill. He informed me that he was eating chips for lunch today because there wasn't anything to eat. (which was a lie because I came downstairs and made us grilled cheese) By "nothing" he meant, we didn't have leftovers to heat up or sandwich fixings - his staples. haha

These aren't really things I'm loving, but random thoughts bouncing around in my head.

-It hit me the other day that Emma is turning THREE in a few months which means, technically, she could go to PRESCHOOL this Fall. That's weird to me.

-Colson is starting to walk. Like, four or five steps back and forth between us. That's crazy to me.

-I need find a cute pair of wedges or flats to wear in my sis-in-laws wedding in June. The wedding is in a park soooo heels are a no no, any suggestions on where to look?

Ok, now that I've sufficiently bored all three of you who read this, I'm off to scavenge our cabinets to find something to make for dinner. In case you haven't heard, we have NOTHING to eat.

But, we have a great movie to watch! Priorities, right??

Oksana Baiul

This post has nothing to do with Oksana Baiul. Other than it has to do with ice skating which made me think of Oksana Baiul and a funny little story I was reminded of the other day. Everyone knows the song, "I'll Stand By You," right?? I'll stand by you, I'll STAND by you, so that nobody hurts you, I'll stand by you....

well, I have this terrible problem of getting lyrics wrong. I used to think the lyrics went like this:

"Oksana Baiul, OkSAAANA Baiul...hope that nobody hurts you, Oksana Baiul...."

I know.

Aren't you just blessed to know me? :) haha, don't answer that.

Anyhooooo, back to the point.

While most of America sat glued to their TVs Sunday evening, anticipating the Super Bowl, we took this cutie ice skating for the first time. You know I'm Canadian so getting on the ice good and early runs deep in my blood. 

For the record, the game was on in the "warm room" and it was technically a Super Bowl party, but we just skated for a bit and then headed home for our bedtime routine. She did AWESOME! I have to admit, I was leary of how she'd do. I love her to pieces, but I know my girl and she tends to frustrate easily. (i.e. collapse in a heap on the floor crying out "I can't DO IT!" when things don't go per her plans)

I'm pretty bummed this cute little shot is blurry.

She looooved having her Daddy or Papa hold her between their legs and skate really fast. Before long, she was taking steps on her own. I was thoroughly impressed and proud. We only had a few of these moments....

Ahh the drama of being 2 years old and learning something new....

And those tiny little skates? to.die.for. So cute!

Speaking of cute,

I could nibble on those cheeks all day long. This goober is growing so fast. He could totally walk if he was brave enough to just go for it. He just learned how to wave bye bye and sign "all done." He is driving me crazy with his sleeping habits at night....He still isn't sleeping through the night. Recently between his ear infections and teething and allergic reactions, we've gotten off of the sleep training bandwagon, but we need to get back on and fast. Momma needs sleep. He also isn't a big fan of eating. We've just now started to turn a corner with baby food and I'm able to get him to eat most baby foods, but he won't go near table food. Someday when he's a teenager sleeping all night and day and eating us out of house and home this will all be a distant, funny memory. :)

Truth be told, I love this stage. Sure the lack of sleep, disciplining, whining, picky eating, yadda yadda gets to me, but most of the time.....I have to pinch myself because I just feel so blessed to be where we're at. I'm home (where I've always wanted to be) with everyone I love right here with me. My love is right outside working hard and my babies are in my arms. I know all the stages will be fun, but right now it's nice to not have soccer practice or homework or pta meetings or anything to deal with. We're just....together. I'm not sure if that makes any sense...it's hard to put into words what I feel. Just mostly happy and content.

And that's how I hope to stay. When the whining starts to bother me, I just send her out to the calf pens and lock her in. :)

Blogger Fail

So....I'm no good at consistently updating this blog. It all becomes way too overwhelming to me as the fun times and memories pass by and I think in my head how many things I could update you on but then the post would be 800 times too long to read and I try to think about which highlights to post and then I remember that the pictures are still on my camera and I don't have time to upload them and....

see, it's so overwhelming it's a run-on sentence. Karla and Courtney...feel free to lose all grammer respect for me. :)

So, let's do a bullet style, rapid fire post, shall we?

-I am OBSESSED with Downton Abbey. It's classy, entertaining, dramatic, beautiful, ahh I love it. If you haven't seen it yet, you should.

-Colson's been on a mission to make sure we visit the pediatrician each week. Poor kid. He had his 9 month well-baby visit 3 weeks ago, a double ear infection 2 weeks ago, and last week he broke out in a rash from an allergic reaction to his ear infection antibiotic. Thankfully I think he's almost 100% better and I'm praying we'll take a break from visiting the doctor. As much as it's frustrating, I also have a really strong sense of gratitude that 3 doctor visits is out of the norm for us. There are so many little ones who spend their days in and out of the hospital/doctor's offices and I'm so incredibly thankful that we have healthy, happy kiddos.

-We took Emma ice skating last night for the first time. The little skates? Couldn't be cuter! Her tiny little steps on the ice? I was dying from all of the cuteness. She actually did really well!

-I didn't watch the Super Bowl. (gasp!) I saw a bit of the Half Time show out of the corner of my eye as I played some cards. Thought it was weird, personally.

-I entered us (Jarred and I) in a Valentines Day contest and we made the finals!!! If you love us (and if you don't, why are you reading this blog?), would you help and vote for us?? The winners get a professional photo session, an overnight stay at the Lancaster Arts Hotel and a dinner at JJ Jeffries.  All you have to do is go HERE and "like" our photo.  We are the farm cartoon picture with my corny poem. Note: you can only vote for one photo (preferably ours!)....otherwise your votes don't get counted.

-It's a very little known fact that I'm actually quite skilled at writing corny poems. If you need my services for a Valentines Day card for your loved one, just let me know. :)

-I'm on a mission to try to de-country-ify my house. I'm just over the country style and really wanting a clean, fresh place. Buuuuut that's really hard when you live in a country farm house. My current struggle is my fire place mantel. It's a huge brick fireplace with a large slab of rustic wood for the mantel. I can't exactly just slap something really contemporary up there without it looking like a fish out of water. Any suggestions?


Until next time (aka until my next random, catch-all update)....so long, beautiful friends!