Thank you God, for my life!

My life has been so busy and full lately, leaving my blog rather quiet and empty.  

It's funny, there are so many days when I get to the end, exhausted, worn out, and feeling like I've accomplished almost nothing.

I'm such a project oriented person, that sometimes it's difficult for me to see the value (long term and short term) in "just" being a mom.  In "just" being there for my babies.  In "just" making healthy meals for them and my husband each day.

Today was a little different.  I'm still tired at the end of the day.  I have a headache for some unknown reason, but I feel like I did a lot today. 

What changed?  Mostly my attitude.  I didn't cross off that many things from my "to-do" list, but there were so many moments today that I just took a second to let it sink it how incredibly blessed I am.

My husband goes to work every day, faithfully, even when he doesn't feel like it, to provide a good life for us.  And we have a good life!  I get to stay home with my precious children, be with them all day, watch their little smiles, feel their little hugs, watch them changing every day.  I get to teach them things, and hear them laugh.  Yes, I get frustrated, sometimes, really frustrated.  But at the end of the day, I wouldn't have it any other way!  

I admit, I struggle sometimes with feeling fulfilled.  I wonder what it's like "out there."  I wonder what it would be like to have a "real job" and feel like I'm contributing more financially to our home.  But then I think about our children, and almost keel over with gratefulness that I, not someone else gets to raise these children; that I get to spend time learning about the healthiest and most delicious and beautiful ways to feed my family; that I get to spend time creating beauty and organizing our home to make it a nicer place to be.  

I sometimes wish that I had hours to just think and study and figure life out.  But you know what, I'm figuring it out as I go!  I'm snatching time to read my Bible when I have a quiet moment, I'm praying as I work (although not nearly as often as I should!).  

I have it soooooooo good!  I have bad days, where I spend a lot of my time complaining, audibly or inwardly.  And yet, the truth is that God has given me so much more than I deserve!

Organizing: A Recommendation

Okay, I have to tell you about one of my FAVORITE blogs ever!  It's an organizing blog, with loads of amazing, inspiration ideas!  Seriously, I practically drool every time I read the latest post!

If you love organizing, if you love making things around you beautiful, you will Love this blog! :)

It's called IHeartOrganizing! 

Check it out, tell me what you think. :)

On that note, since reading this gal's blog on a regular basis, I've been even more inspired than ever to organize spaces in my home, and make things beautiful while I'm doing it!

I've been wanting to do something with Ian's toys ever since we moved in.  I had them in a few baskets for a while, not bad looking, but not super tidy either.

Today, I noticed we had this piece of furniture that I might be able to use for this purpose!  Sure enough, when I brought it inside, carried it upstairs, and put it in his room, it was perfect! :)

I have to confess, I did this (quietly) while Ian was sleeping. :P  I just couldn't wait until morning!

I know, it's the simple things in life.... :)

I don't have a specific "before" picture - another testimony to my impatience - but if you go here, you can see what it used to look like.  Not a huge change, but I just love the look of his toys all neatly sitting together on the shelf now! :) 

Life, as I Now Know It

I've been wanting to sit down and write here for ages now, but the timing has never quite been right.  Mostly because with two little munchkins in my life, I don't have as much time to sit down and thoughtfully write out a blog post. :)   

It's been a crazy whirlwind of ups and downs adjusting to life with two little ones.  Mostly good, but there have definitely been a few, okay, a lot of times when I've felt like a complete failure as a mom, as I lose my patience yet again with my little one year old, and collapse gratefully on the couch when they're both napping.  I can see a lot of personal growth happening as my children grow up. :P  

It's amazing how things change when you have children.  I say children, plural, because when you have just one, it really doesn't slow you down all that much.  There are slight adjustments to be made, of course, but nothing too huge.  At least, I didn't find it that way.  However, two children, when one is a little baby, and the other is just gaining confidence to walk, is another story.  

For instance, a few days ago, I decided to go grocery shopping (first time with two babies!).  I made my decision to go in the morning, thinking that would work better for my day....two and a half hours later, we were all walking/being carried out the door!  There are so many little things, extra laundry, nursing, snacks, diapers to change, floors to wash and sweep repeatedly, dishes to wash....all things that are involved in being a mom.  And honestly, I really love it!  Not all the time, but there are so many times that I take a step back, look at my two darlings, and am just so grateful that I can be at home with them, instead of being compelled by circumstances to work away from home, and spend significantly less time with them!  

I also have a lot of times of wondering, "Does my life count?  Am I really doing something that is good, and useful?  Should I be doing more?"  Self doubting seems to come so naturally, especially as I begin to think deeper about things, and question why I do what I do, and why I think what I think.  Part of me wants to just turn off the questions, and relax back into comfortable, blissful ignorance.  But another part of me cannot let that happen.  I'm so desperate to really live life!  I want to fill my life up with things that matter, things that will last, that will count for something!  Not everything feels significant in and of itself, but I feel like I'm very gradually grasping an idea of what counts, and what doesn't.  

I don't always have the time to sit and just really deeply think about issues.  There are so many "practical, every day" things that need to be done on a consistent basis.  I have a really bad habit of separating my spiritual life from my physical life, and then getting discouraged when I have an extremely busy day, just looking after my family and my home, and don't have the time, energy or brain space to sit down and study my Bible.  Not that that is an excuse to not read and study, but I'm learning that this is a season in my life where I'm busier with babies than I will be later on, and sometimes you just have to snatch moments as they become available, rather than having a set time for "quiet time" and then never actually doing it, because you were too busy changing diapers or doing laundry.  

I'm trying to think of a cohesive way to finish this off, but it would seem that my brain has moved on to other things, so I will just say....until next time!  Thanks for reading! :)

Two Things

We saw this rainbow on the way home the other day, it was amazing!  If you look carefully, you can see the beginnings of a second rainbow above it too!  My photography isn't the highest quality, especially when driving in a car, and trying to capture the perfect shot of a rainbow between trees, but I wanted to share it with you anyways. :)

And I found this when I went to check on Ian this morning.  No joke. I didn't pose him or anything, he was just dramatically lying on the pile of shoes he had created! :)  It was so funny, he's such a character!

Simple Joys

 

*Flowers and a meadow right outside our yard.....

*Beautiful tall trees in our backyard

*A baby that loves being outside

*Hanging out laundry on the clothesline.....I get such a kick out of seeing all the diapers hung up, don't ask me why! :)

*Cool summer evenings - a welcome relief after the hot days!

*Working out again

*Ian learning to read.....just kidding!  He likes looking at his books though! :)

*Nap times for little boys :)

*Good books to read myself

*Summer fruit
*Finally learning how to drive standard :P

*Homemade fresh cinnamon rolls

*Friends to enjoy them with us

*Reading about health

*Lime sherbet in the summer

*Playing volleyball again

It's the simple things in life.  We sometimes pass them by without even noticing they're there.  How much we miss when we do that!  It's always worth it to take just a second to enjoy the moment, to notice how good something tastes or smells or looks!  Life is so much fuller when you take a little more time! 

A Little Boy and A Little Girl

Two of the cutest kids I know.....

 She's into books, he's into the camera...

 He's checking out the bookshelf to see if there's anything worth reading....

 Nope, back to the camera....

 She's happy with her book she's found, he's decided to take off to find another adventure!

A Boy and a Shopping Trip

We went to buy a few things all together a few days ago.

It was Ian's second ride in a shopping cart.

 And the little man was thrilled. :)

Doing his little "trucker man pose"

Taking in all the sights.

A Canadian Crib

After 7 months of sharing our room with Ian, we finally moved him into his own room!   We were given a crib from some friends of ours, but it didn't have any hardware with it at all.  So we looked at it, and wracked our brains as to how to set it up, and then my husband finally came up with this brilliant idea!

After all, hockey season is finished for now!  At least for us amateurs. :)

We'll probably get some dowels or something eventually, once winter comes, and we need our sticks back, but for now, this proves to be an admirable solution to our dilemma! 

Ian's First Taste of Something Different!

Two days ago, I decided that Ian was ready for solid foods.  Apparently he concurred with my decision, because he was more than eager to try it out!  Stephen took a little video of it, which I thought I'd share! Enjoy!

Click here to watch the video. :)

Today's A Cuddling Day

My normally very happy and active little boy has his first fever. So we're not doing much today.

Lots of cuddling

Lots of sleeping

Lots of loving

It's actually nice to just sit with him, not worrying about how messy my house is,

or how much I'm not getting done.

My baby needs me to just hold him.

So that's what we're doing today.

(I took the above pictures just after we got our new dining room chairs. I believe it is every child's right to play with big pieces of cardboard packaging....and why not start when you're little! :)

A Little Boy and His Teeth

I know I'm biased just a little, but can you really stop yourself from smiling when you see this grin?

He's such a happy guy....most of the time! His smiles melt my heart!

Oh how I love my little man who's growing up so fast!

Home Alone, and Happily So!

For the first time in over a month, the first time since we've moved to Edmonton, we're alone in our little home, Stephen, Ian and I. As much as I Love having company, there is something so peaceful and wonderful about it just being us.

It's been an intensive couple of weeks. Besides just having people staying here, (which isn't all that intensive, since they were all family or very close friends) our car was rear-ended two days in a row, making things that much more complicated. About two weeks later, we're still waiting to hear back from our insurance company about maybe getting a new car. (Yes, unfortunately it was that serious)

But life goes on. Things come up, and you deal with them, because you really don't have any other choice.

Oh yes, and we have internet back now, after being without it for almost two weeks. :P I began to realize just how much I enjoyed having access to so much through the internet! But, on the flip side, in spite of the few minor inconveniences that came with being without internet, there were a lot of positives as well. For instance, it's hard to waste time on facebook when you can't read it! And also, when I wasn't able to spend time on the internet, getting some real writing done happened a little more!

This is one of my favorite things about living in Edmonton. :) I honestly never thought that Breanne and I would live close enough to have tea together, to get together for scrapbooking and talking, or to be able to get together doing fun things (like the West Edmonton Mall, for instance. :) I love being so close!

Fun Times :)

I had to share these pictures of Ian with you all. :) He's not quite able to sit up by himself yet, but if we put him on the couch, he manages quite nicely! He loves being able to look all around the room, as oppose to a perfect view of ...... the floor. :P

We're still working on the whole balance thing. :P He doesn't even mind falling over though, he gave me a big grin the other day, just before he did a face plant into the couch cushions! :)

Life!

In just a few short days, Stephen, Ian and I will be on a plane heading for San Antonio, Texas. Our living room right now has open, half packed suitcases on the floor, my lists of things to do, things to pack, things to buy, are scattered around the house, and I'm trying not to be overwhelmed with what needs to be done. Oh yes, and two of my best friends, Moriah and Chloe, are staying with us for the week while they work in the area. Bring it on! :)

And yes, I really am sitting down to write a blog post. :P

Ian is sleeping, and I've decided to take a short break to update my blog while I eat my lunch. :)

Stephen just bought me an awesome little camera, which I am thrilled about! All of these pictures are taken with it....I'm still learning, so bear with me as the quality won't be superb!

I gave Ian a bath the other day, and for the first half he loved it, but then the screaming started and he was one upset little boy. :) Once I wrapped him up in his towel, and he realized he wasn't dying, he was quite happy and content to lie on the floor while I finished doing some things for myself. :P

I always enjoy having Mo and Chloe stay with us, and this week especially has been such a blessing! Since I'm more busy than usual, with packing and preparing for our trip, they've been more than happy to hold, entertain and spend time with Ian. It makes it so much easier for me to get things done!

Quesadillas.... (above picture courtesy of Chloe)

A cup of tea in the evening is, to me, the perfect way to relax and enjoy myself. There's nothing like a cup of tea while reading....or watching a movie...

or playing a game.....or talking...or just because! :)

I've been planning to make a quilt for Ian since before he was born, but as I never got around to doing it then, I'm making it my winter project (one of them, at least, I'm being fairly ambitious with my winter projects this year! :P) I love learning new things, especially new skills with my hands, and I'm quite excited about taking on a rag quilt!

I met this dear friend for tea (well, Earl Grey tea for her, a mocha for me :P) yesterday. It was so fun to catch up with her and visit for a while! There is somethings so satisfying about conversation, I don't know what it is, but a good conversation can be almost as filling as a good meal when you're hungry.

For those of you who don't know why we're going to Texas.....back in June we made a film called Accountable, and submitted it to the Independent Christian Film Festival in San Antonio, Texas. We received the thrilling news in September that our film was accepted as a semi-finalist, and this next week, we'll be going to the film academy and festival where it will be playing!

Now I must get back to packing, cooking, cleaning, preparing, shopping.....until next time!

Three Weeks

It's hard to believe that it's been three weeks already! Three weeks of enjoying our baby, three weeks of learning, of recovering, of figuring out what the new normal is, three weeks of watching my baby change and grow so fast! Some of it has been so intense, even though I had six younger brothers, I don't remember any of them crying as much as Ian can! :P One's perspective changes hugely when you're the parent instead of the sibling. Ian is such a beautiful, precious little man, it's hard to imagine life without him! Stephen and I were two for a year, now we're three, and it feels so right. :)

He's so amazingly peaceful when he sleeps, I love to sit and watch him as he sleeps. To see his little face change expressions, sometimes a frown, sometimes he puckers up as if to cry, but then thinks better of it, and his face relaxes into blissful peace. He sometimes smiles in his sleep, and I just want to hold him and love him! He is the most adorable little guy when he smiles! :)
When Ian is awake, he nearly always has this expression, almost as if he's still so shocked over what the world is really like, he just can't get over it! :P

My little cuddly boy......I just love little boys, especially when they're mine! :)

Stephen and I finally just a few more pieces of furniture to help complete our living room! A bookcase, a lamp, and a desk. It was particularly thrilling to me because I love to have things organized and tidy and beautiful, and it's so much easier with a few simple pieces of furniture! Now our living room is so much more cozy, and I still get a little thrill of delight when I come in and see it all!

I love being home, and making things look nice. In the few weeks before Ian was born, I was having so much fun reading (and looking at the pictures! :P) different interior decorating books. I get so inspired when I read books like that, it makes me want to redo everything and make things as nice as they can possibly be! I have so much to learn in that area, but it's so much fun to learn!