A Long Weekend Away

Thomas and I took a little weekend away to the mountains. We visited the Smokies, which are a totally different view than the Rockies we explored about this time last year. Regardless, it was time away together, in recovery and celebration.

My mother generously watched our boys while we explored the Titanic, hiked for miles, drank mai tais, sat in a hot tub, rocked in rocking chairs while listening to only the rippling of a river, saw 3 black bears, shopped at an outlet mall, read books leisurely, watched Red Box movies, and indulged on a few meals of not so clean or paleolithic eating.

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I love being with Thomas, and being that the Gatlinburg area was our Honeymoon destination, we spent much time chatting and reminiscing about how much things had stayed the same/changed in our 9 years of marriage (well, 9 years at the end of this month—but close enough).

Trips like this are what keep our marriage going. Just a few days of focusing on one another, spending time rejuvenating our love, reflecting on and discussing our dreams, as well as what the Lord is doing in us and through us is imperative. We’re so thankful for our life together.

My Little Reader!

Daniel is a reader. A full blown reader, my friends. He has been for some time now, but lately he has just blossomed into a vibrant and eager reader, devouring books and reading them word for word. Often during his “quiet time” while Wesley naps, I can hear him in his room reading aloud, sounding out words. It make my heart swell up with pride, for I taught him how to read. Thomas and I together have helped to foster a love of reading into the young hearts and minds of our boys. What they can and do read will take them places, for sure, and I am so glad to see him already understanding what reading can do for him. First, he read based off semiotics, which is totally a legitimate reading approach. Wesley is in that stage right now. But, day by day, during our little home school time, Daniel has grasped the sounds of letters, memorized some age appropriate sight words, and can read full sentences. It has been amazing to see him gather data and process his world via a string of letters that form words that combine into sentences that have meanings, that make stories. Plain amazing. Below you can hear my little guy read a basic book from a beginner’s series that he got from my friend Pat. Not only is he reading, he is comprehending his text, and I honestly can’t wait until he is the one reading the chapter books to me and Thomas at night!

Brought to You by Instagram

Things have been wild and crazy and busy and a bit stressful around here as of late. You can read the details on my hubby’s blog. It appears though that things have settled and life can get back into some sort of routine. We’ve got amazing friends and family that have been walking with us, praying for us, and loving us deeply– and my God is still good. Although I have much more to say on the matters, I don’t have the time, so until I do, let Thomas’s words fill in the blanks. Instead, I will bring you a picture post, brought to by Instagram. Enjoy!

 

Maybe God Will Push Me…..

The other day, amidst our lovely weather, the boys and I were outside playing. We had migrated to the swing set and I was pushing Wesley while eating a banana. Daniel then asked me to push him in the swing, to which I replied, “I can’t do that right now Daniel. I’m already pushing Wesley and I am eating a banana with my other hand, and you can reach the ground, so you will just have to push yourself. You know how.” This self sufficiency did not sound appealing to Daniel, so he whined back “But I want you to Momma.”

In a short tone, between bites of banana, I told him “I can’t right this second son.” Daniel hesitated and sulked a little. Head down, in a pouty voice, he emitted a single line “Maybe God will push me.” Without pause, I piped back to my 5 year old, “God gave you the ability to push yourself. Now do it,” while shoving the final bites of fruit into my mouth.

Sounds a little harsh doesn’t it? After I said it though, I almost chuckled at how true the statement really is for our lives. So many times we beg and plead to God about what to do and how to do it and would He please just help us out a bit through some divine intervention because we really don’t want to do it ourselves.

We all want a burning bush. We all want that literal sign to fall from heaven to let us know that we are choosing right or being guided by Him. We all want it to be easy because someone else is doing it for us. Sometimes though, we get nothing. It all seems quiet and silent. We’re stuck at a crossroads and we’re not sure what to do and we really just want God to push us.

My, oh my, how easy it would be if He would just push us.

Keep in mind it’s not that He can’t push us. He’s divine, my friends, and if a push on the swing set is what He wanted for us, He could do it, whether it be through the power of the wind or from His holy hand on the small of our back. He could do it, I know.

But just because He can doesn’t mean that He will.

Instead, He is observing us, saying to Himself, “I gave that sweet child of mine the tools to conquer this. She can overcome, if only she’d look inside herself and use those Me-Given abilities to do so. Push yourself dear one, push yourself.”

Maybe God will push me……maybe. Or Maybe He wants to show me just how capable and strong I am. He seeks to empower me. He desires to help me find my own strength, which comes from Him.

i ♥ faces: Beautiful B&W

Classic Wesley:

Check out other images in black and white:

Wesley: Growing Big

I thought it would be nice to officially post on Leap Day, being that they don’t come around too often. So, here are some quick photos of our sweet Wesley from my cell phone (read: not great quality images). He is getting so big!

As a side note, it appears to be good practice to sleep with a sword. ;o)

Rx’d

So, I completed my first workout since starting CrossFit by using the prescribed weight, hence I Rx’d as the lingo goes. Many of the workouts do not contain weight recommendations but there are some that do have suggested weights for the various movements. It has seemed in the past 3 months of my time doing the Workout of the Day, I could do 1 out of 2 or 3 out of 4 of the suggested weights, but there was always something that could keep me from meeting the goal, such as a 35lb kettle bell movement around 100 times. I can do a 35lb kettle bell, but not that many. Yeah, not happening, at least not for now. The other day though, there was only one real prescribed weight and I knew I could do it. It was a great workout:

800m Run

21 Deadlifts (95lbs)

21 Box Jumps (20 inches)

400m Run

15 Deadlifts (95 lbs)

15 Box Jumps (20 inches)

400m Run

9 Deadlifts (95lbs5)

9 Box Jumps (95lbs)

800m Run

I did all 95 lbs of it, all 45 times. As I normally do, I took a picture with my phone so I could write it down when I got home, in order to track my progress. Once in my workout journal, I delete the picture, but for some reason I could not choose to click the little trashcan icon for this one. Turns out, all the veterans say you remember your first official Rx and that you should take a picture of it and remember that workout, for a year later you will possibly do it again and not even think twice about doing the prescribed weight. Fortunately for me, this workout involved running, so I did quite well:

I present this to you, not to necessarily say “yeah me,” although it is true I am proud of it. I’ve already told you that the accolades don’t really mean much in the end. I show you because as I dabble in this new fitness routine, I am learning that I can physically do more than I ever expected, when I give the crazy workouts a try. I do more than I would typically anticipate because someone challenges me to do and also tells me that I can. In fact, the trainers at the gym typically suggest a weight to me that I would not choose for myself, but they know I can and should do it.

The same goes for you.

My husband never thought he could run a 5k but then he did…..and then he ran a half-marathon.

Challenge yourself, and even if you don’t fully succeed, it’s still worth it in the end to have done something hard and gotten stronger than to have done something easy and stayed the same. And before you know it, one day you’ll make it happen.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:10-14

i ♥ faces: oh so silly

To choose just one silly face photo for my family is so hard. Thomas has only let go of the consistent silly face in photos due to a slight transition into adulthood. Daniel will often strike a goofy face in a quick snapshot, but my sweet Wesley basically lives for the silly face. In fact, to find a photo of him without a goofy expression is the real challenge. He truly is “oh so silly.” So, in light of that, I present to you a silly face, compliments of my second son, and by doing so I have managed to make a post to my blog, which I seem to be challenged at doing as of late.

Be sure to go and check out some other silly faces! I am sure there are tons to enjoy:

It’s A Good Thing….

It’s a good thing I do not like computer games, for there does not appear to be any more room on Thomas’s lap ;o)

Merry and Bright

We had a great Christmas, full of family and fun, dinosaurs and angry birds, Legos and love. It was merry and bright.

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And for the record, Wesley prefers candy over gifts, hence the photo of a mouth shoved full of M&Ms and the tummy time near the tree sneaking Pez he got from my mom.

Finally, three guesses on who we need to thank for this gift, although if you know our family much, I am sure you will not need all three: