There is a song by John Waller called While I'm Waiting and it's a great song. It has been speaking to me ALOT the last few weeks. I catch myself singing it at all hours of the day and night. It happens to be from the movie Fireproof, which was produced by a church. It's a film about protecting your marriage and really was well done. Kirk Cameron is the main character in the movie.
John Waller - While I'm Waiting (Official Music Video) from Provident Label Group on Vimeo.
Lance and I are in a waiting place in our lives right now. And as we wait, I've been caught up so much in the waiting, that I've forgotten to live. Right now! What a tragic mistake and unfortunately one I've made other times in my life.
One of my biggest regrets of my life was not using my time wisely while Lance and I were waiting to adopt. I should have been hanging out with friends, crafting, exercising, and serving others while I waited. Then the focus would have been taken off that for which I longed and the selfish me. I don't want to waste that much time again.
So...thanks to some conviction thru this song, thru my wonderful husband who sometimes has to beat me over the head (no, not really) to get me to hear things that are right in front of me, and thru the voice of God, I'm finally starting to listen and LIVE!
I'm quite sure I'll slip back into my old patterns again eventually, but for now, I don't want to sit and play the waiting game. I want to get out and soak up LIFE!
So, if you are waiting for a baby, a husband, summer vacation, a new job, a promotion, a move, a college degree, to lose 10 pounds or any other thing, don't be like me...enjoy life while you wait!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Vacation advice needed
After the last 2 years of heading south to the Beach in the middle of hurricane season, we've decided to do something different this year. We're fast learners, we are. :) But we have not in fact decided what to do.
Ya see, next year is the big vacay we've been talking about for years. Disney! Our deal was our youngest child had to be 5 before we would go. It's alot of $$$$, it will take a lot of time, and plus, I want them to actually remember the trip! I know LOTS of people take younger children and that's great for them, but for us, not so much.
So, all that to say, since the BIG trip is next year, the vacation this year needs to be less expensive and smaller.
Our criteria are these:
***Not too far a drive (we discovered last year that the 7-8 hour trip to South Padre Island was a wee bit ambitious for us; we are "old school" and don't have a DVD in the car; our entertainment is each other, books, and toys! :)
***We go the 3rd week in August, so it will be hot - we need to be somewhere with either a body of water or a pool or preferably both!
***Our kids will be 7 and 4 - so activities have to be child-friendly
*** We like to go somewhere and stay in the same location for 3-5 days so we can truly relax, unpack, and unwind - we aren't yet to the days of being able for the "roadtrip" of multiple stops on multiple days!
Anyone have any great suggestions within a 4-5 hour (maximum) radius of Bryan/College Station?!? I know, I'm asking the impossible!?!
Ya see, next year is the big vacay we've been talking about for years. Disney! Our deal was our youngest child had to be 5 before we would go. It's alot of $$$$, it will take a lot of time, and plus, I want them to actually remember the trip! I know LOTS of people take younger children and that's great for them, but for us, not so much.
So, all that to say, since the BIG trip is next year, the vacation this year needs to be less expensive and smaller.
Our criteria are these:
***Not too far a drive (we discovered last year that the 7-8 hour trip to South Padre Island was a wee bit ambitious for us; we are "old school" and don't have a DVD in the car; our entertainment is each other, books, and toys! :)
***We go the 3rd week in August, so it will be hot - we need to be somewhere with either a body of water or a pool or preferably both!
***Our kids will be 7 and 4 - so activities have to be child-friendly
*** We like to go somewhere and stay in the same location for 3-5 days so we can truly relax, unpack, and unwind - we aren't yet to the days of being able for the "roadtrip" of multiple stops on multiple days!
Anyone have any great suggestions within a 4-5 hour (maximum) radius of Bryan/College Station?!? I know, I'm asking the impossible!?!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Transformation
I've mentioned it so many times this school year, but WOW 1st grade has been a pivotal year in our house. In the beginning, it was rough, really rough, but now here we are in the final 6 weeks of the year and oh, the progress that has been made in every area.
N started the year reading very simple things - See Jane run. Stuff like that. Last night? The boy was reading a book about Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis all.by.himself. It was a multi-chapter book and had very large words in it and he was reading it silently in bed as he relaxed for the day. WOW! It's amazing to me still. When he got his report card last Friday, his teacher wrote about how wonderful his writing skills are and how his math skills are developing well and most importantly (at least to me) how well he is getting along with and connecting with his peers! :) This has been something our whole family has been working on this year and N especially! He spent several months going to counseling and the counselor was able to help him (and us!) so much!
And N has decided that he is 1000% sure that he will be a volcanologist when he grows up! So, I'm guessing, that means he will leave Texas, huh? Of course, this career path is a relatively new one after his obsession with trains for the first 6 years of his life. So, I'm sure he might change his mind 1 or 1,000 times again before he grows up!
N started the year reading very simple things - See Jane run. Stuff like that. Last night? The boy was reading a book about Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis all.by.himself. It was a multi-chapter book and had very large words in it and he was reading it silently in bed as he relaxed for the day. WOW! It's amazing to me still. When he got his report card last Friday, his teacher wrote about how wonderful his writing skills are and how his math skills are developing well and most importantly (at least to me) how well he is getting along with and connecting with his peers! :) This has been something our whole family has been working on this year and N especially! He spent several months going to counseling and the counselor was able to help him (and us!) so much!
And N has decided that he is 1000% sure that he will be a volcanologist when he grows up! So, I'm guessing, that means he will leave Texas, huh? Of course, this career path is a relatively new one after his obsession with trains for the first 6 years of his life. So, I'm sure he might change his mind 1 or 1,000 times again before he grows up!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Vegetable or candy?
My 4 year old likes candy. Nothing too profound there although her brother really is not a big candy eater. Or an eater at all for that matter.
Well, after the avalanche of candy that arrived with Easter, we've had a few issues. Namely that L wants candy the moment she wakes up in the morning. Now, I'm okay with her having a piece after lunch and another after dinner, but I do draw the line at morning candy. So, this morning, L tries a new tactic. After begging for the candy and me telling her no yet again. She says, "Can I have a jelly bean?" I tell her no that jelly beans are candy and I've already told her no candy.
Her response was awesome in 4 year old logic. "Nuh uh momma, jelly beans are NOT candy, they are beans." Well then....perhaps we should all be eating more jelly beans. Or not.
And here are a couple of pics from our neighborhood egg hunt. They had a very talented lady there doing face painting.
N - chose to be a vampire
L - with a headband of flowers - this is as close to hair accessories as we are ever going to get!
Hope you have an awesome weekend! Lance will be gone this weekend, so the kiddos and I are going to be looking for fun inside projects since I think it will be raining here!
Well, after the avalanche of candy that arrived with Easter, we've had a few issues. Namely that L wants candy the moment she wakes up in the morning. Now, I'm okay with her having a piece after lunch and another after dinner, but I do draw the line at morning candy. So, this morning, L tries a new tactic. After begging for the candy and me telling her no yet again. She says, "Can I have a jelly bean?" I tell her no that jelly beans are candy and I've already told her no candy.
Her response was awesome in 4 year old logic. "Nuh uh momma, jelly beans are NOT candy, they are beans." Well then....perhaps we should all be eating more jelly beans. Or not.
And here are a couple of pics from our neighborhood egg hunt. They had a very talented lady there doing face painting.
N - chose to be a vampire
L - with a headband of flowers - this is as close to hair accessories as we are ever going to get!
Hope you have an awesome weekend! Lance will be gone this weekend, so the kiddos and I are going to be looking for fun inside projects since I think it will be raining here!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Just a Swangin'
Okay, I couldn't resist using the title from an old country song from the 80's. Two of my country cousins had this cassette tape and played it on at least one trip to their house - that memory of the song and just how country they seemed are etched forever in my mind. I will see those cousins for the first time as parents in May - as we journey to Louisiana for a reunion with my mom's extended family!
We spent all day Friday at Tanglewood Park in Bryan complete with picnic lunch. This is a fabulous park with multiple playgrounds and a sand volleyball court which we used like this....
N built this with sand and then by collecting as many sticks as possible to be the "destroyed" trees on his volcano. Then, as the natural born leader that he is, he recruited 4 other boys plus his sister to bring water over to the volcano and pretend it was lava - you can see the trench to the right where the "lava" flowed. There was a girl's volleyball team practicing on this same sand court, but that didn't stop N and his "workers" from constructing their creation.
And finally, the picture I never thought I'd get....
Last year, the bluebonnet picture-taking was not working - between the scratching of the plants and the bugs, the kids just WOULD NOT cooperate, so we gave up. On a whim, Saturday we pulled the car over and just snapped pictures and my little sweethearts cooperated. So, their outfits are not the cutest, I'm okay with that. At least we don't have boogers on our face or food on our clothes.
We enjoyed our Easter celebration this weekend with our church and friends. And as our pastor shared over the weekend, we need to become an "Easter People" like the early church was. Our culture and church has become a "Christmas People", but we have it wrong. I needed to hear that and be challenged personally.
Hope your Easter was a wonderful celebration with your family of faith, friends, and family!
We spent all day Friday at Tanglewood Park in Bryan complete with picnic lunch. This is a fabulous park with multiple playgrounds and a sand volleyball court which we used like this....
N built this with sand and then by collecting as many sticks as possible to be the "destroyed" trees on his volcano. Then, as the natural born leader that he is, he recruited 4 other boys plus his sister to bring water over to the volcano and pretend it was lava - you can see the trench to the right where the "lava" flowed. There was a girl's volleyball team practicing on this same sand court, but that didn't stop N and his "workers" from constructing their creation.
And finally, the picture I never thought I'd get....
Last year, the bluebonnet picture-taking was not working - between the scratching of the plants and the bugs, the kids just WOULD NOT cooperate, so we gave up. On a whim, Saturday we pulled the car over and just snapped pictures and my little sweethearts cooperated. So, their outfits are not the cutest, I'm okay with that. At least we don't have boogers on our face or food on our clothes.
We enjoyed our Easter celebration this weekend with our church and friends. And as our pastor shared over the weekend, we need to become an "Easter People" like the early church was. Our culture and church has become a "Christmas People", but we have it wrong. I needed to hear that and be challenged personally.
Hope your Easter was a wonderful celebration with your family of faith, friends, and family!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Fort Night
Last week, the kids built a fort in our living room. It was constructed out of the card table and chairs; and every blanket, quilt, pillow, and stuffed animal we own with the exception of those on Lance and I's bed. (pillows and blankets, not stuffed animals, I made Lance give those up when we got married. :)) We had to draw the line somewhere. This fort stayed up all week and this my friends is a miracle, 'cause MommaJen of 2-3 years ago could have never stood the clutter. But, I'm a new woman, I can now relax and live in a land of clutter with the best of them. And I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. To my kids last week though, it was definitely good.
So, the culmination of the week was the agreement that they could sleep in said fort on Friday night with the understanding that on Saturday, everything would have to be returned to it's rightful location and I could again see the living room.
After we got home from date night (yippee!), the kids got in their pajamas and settled in for the big sleepover in the living room. It was exciting, it was adventerous, it was CRAZY! They were so excited that even though it was 11pm, they just could not get still. Lance told me to just let them be crazy and they would eventually calm down. Ahem, for N, yes that would work. For L, no - the gal just couldn't do it. And so, her night in the fort was cut short and she was forced into her own bed. But when she woke up the next morning, she and N proceeded to watch cartoons from their fort and request breakfast in "bed" which of course was really just their sleeping bags on the floor.
It was a fun experience, but also definitely showed me, I will no longer be in a hurry for my kids to have sleepovers with others! :)
So, the culmination of the week was the agreement that they could sleep in said fort on Friday night with the understanding that on Saturday, everything would have to be returned to it's rightful location and I could again see the living room.
After we got home from date night (yippee!), the kids got in their pajamas and settled in for the big sleepover in the living room. It was exciting, it was adventerous, it was CRAZY! They were so excited that even though it was 11pm, they just could not get still. Lance told me to just let them be crazy and they would eventually calm down. Ahem, for N, yes that would work. For L, no - the gal just couldn't do it. And so, her night in the fort was cut short and she was forced into her own bed. But when she woke up the next morning, she and N proceeded to watch cartoons from their fort and request breakfast in "bed" which of course was really just their sleeping bags on the floor.
It was a fun experience, but also definitely showed me, I will no longer be in a hurry for my kids to have sleepovers with others! :)
Friday, April 3, 2009
Date Night!
Tonight is Date Night!
Yippee!
If ever there had been good timing for a date night, tonight is it!
Yippee!
If ever there had been good timing for a date night, tonight is it!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sic 'Em
Tonight, the Baylor Men's Basketball Team plays for the NIT championship. Now, I know this is not the NCAA championship, but still, it's a major step for this program. This is the team that just a few years ago was shocked when one of it's players killed another of the players. The coach got in huge trouble, sanctions were made, and the team basically disintegrated.
This is one of those great feel-good stories where the new coach came in with basically nothing and turned the team around!
Go Bears!!
This is one of those great feel-good stories where the new coach came in with basically nothing and turned the team around!
Go Bears!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)