To be the best Wife, Mom, Daughter, Sister, Friend, and Runner I can be...God willing!

Friday, June 29, 2012

Day one of the journey

Today was day one of our driving trip and it was the shortest day. We drove 454 miles from our home to Jackson Mississippi. The kids did awesome. However, their brains lost major smarts today from all the movie watching. I think I did too just listening. Tomorrow is our longest day...10 hours plus the time change. I hate that time change. It is like punishment for no good reason. Oh well! Tomorrow night we will be in Virginia!

The end of soccer season

Samuel's first season playing soccer has ended.  It was a bumpy ride, but it ended on a high note.  Samuel liked practice.  It was organized, controlled, and made sense to him.  The games were kind of like rugby scrum and Samuel was unsure what to do.  By the end of the season he followed the ball and occasionally was brave enough to kick the ball!  It was progress.

Samuel's team did have some good players.  They were a little older and had played other seasons of soccer.  Overall, I think Samuel enjoyed himself. 

The last game of the season was the divisional championship game and Samuel's team WON!  It was a total shock, but very fun for Samuel.  All he really wanted during the season was a medal.  Well, on that last day he got a medal and a team trophy.  He was one happy little boy!


Thursday, June 28, 2012

Summer Bucket List

Tomorrow we leave home for six weeks.  The kids and I will spend five week visiting family in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina.  Drew will be with us for short periods of time and then for the final week of our trip.  We will be in Vermont on the glorious shores of Lake Champlain!

Every summer I kind of dread the trip.  It is a lot of effort to get everything organized and I miss doing summer things with our friends.  However, we always have a blast and I have never regretted going.

This summer I decided to make a list of the things I hope to do with the kids.  I hope to do some of things we always do like go to the beach, go on bike rides, and play at the pool.  But this year I really want to FOCUS on having a great time.  I want to remember to be in the moment only worrying about that moment!  With this list I hope to make lots of fun silly memories!

1.  Go on a picnic or two or three
2.  Make ice cream
3.  Fly kites
4.  Play in a creek
5.  Go to a zoo
6.  Visit at least one historical site
7.  Catch fireflies
8.  Go on a date with each of them....they pick the date!
9.  Watch the Olympics with them
10.  Have our own backyard Olympics
11.  Go to a drive-in movie
12.  Go on a hike...something semi easy so Elena can walk some too
13.  Go to a different park each week
14.  Go fishing
15.  Go to Dutch Wonderland
16.  Go tubing with them
17.  Play in the sprinkler with them instead of just watching them
18.  Go to a baseball game either pro or minor leagues or both
19.  Eat ice cream for dinner
20.  Do a craft with them and yes, just one (I don't really like crafts, but they do)
21.  Have fun doing whatever it is we do each and every day!  

On August 14th it will be fun to see if we accomplished anything on this list! 

Happy Summer everyone!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

One overdone momma!




Have you ever had a week where everything seems to go wrong.  These types of weeks don't seem to happen during a "light" week.  They always happen when there is already too much to accomplish.  For me, the past 10 days have put me on the brink of a minor breakdown.  Some days I think it may be a major breakdown.

Since we have returned from NYC Jonah has been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and received another head injury requiring staples.  Emma had her birthday.  I am still dealing with my broken toe.  We have had lots of responsibilities at church to fulfill.  Oh, and I have to plan and pack for five people for six weeks.  This is just on top of all the normal stuff I have to do.  I have nothing going on.

Monday I reached my breaking point when Jonah injured his head again.  The injury was a total accident. Jonah was sitting on a circle mat at the gym when it was bumped and he rolled into the wall.  He hit his head on a bolt.  Having to listen to my poor baby cry and scream as he received four staples in his lower head was more than I could take.  Instead of crying I had to be the strong one telling him it would be okay....to breathe...to be brave....it would be over soon.  All I wanted to do was cry with him.

Later that night I saw this posted on Proverbs 31 Facebook page.  I felt like it was speaking directly to me because I was definitely running on empty.

 

It was such a needed reminder.  It was one of the verses I memorized for my marathon and I think about this verse regularly.  Being a stay at home mom with four kids results in me failing quite regularly.  My life would not be nearly as neat and organized as I like to think it is without prayer and without God.  He is definitely the one who picks me up several times a day!

As this week progresses I have just decided to be even more faithful to prayer.  I have lots to do, but I know that God has a plan for each of my days.  I just have to have faith in Him.  He knows what I need to accomplish before we leave.  He knows what I need to take care of Jonah...all the my kiddos, but especially Jonah at this moment.  He knows what I need to survive this week with a smile on my face and kind words (most of the time!) on my lips.

He has already provided.  Tuesday I had a great dinner with a good friend.  It was so fun to catch up and chat!  A little time away was refreshing.  I was able to run today despite crazy foot pain.  It was still worth it.  I know little gifts will come my way in the next two days as well.  God is faithful like that!

For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 117:2