My Heart Has Been Blessed...

Tonight, after bath time, books, hugs, loves and snugglebugs, Ted, Aidan and I held hands and bowed our head to pray. Only this time, Aidan prayed! Out of the blue and on his own with no prompting!

This is what he said...

"Jesus, thank you for Nana, Papa, Mommy, Daddy and my new playground! Amen!"

OH MY GOODNESS! My heart was blessed to hear praise and thanksgiving from the mouth of a babe...My babe!

God knew just what I needed to start my week tomorrow!

The Way I See It...

Potty training is a monster in all of itself. Aidan, who is so stubborn and wants to do it his way ALL OF THE TIME...(eh-hem...,wonder where he gets that from...) will probably be in diapers until he is 20! I have brought out all the tricks from my bag and still...nothing! He's gone a few times at church, and once at home for me...but then quickly put his pull-up on, ran out to the tree in the yard and stood perfectly still for at least 3 minutes...without a doubt relieving himself in the comfort of his own mess in his britches...grrrr.

Potty training in front of the T.V. or on the "big boy potty", it won't make any difference if this little boy does not want to go. So, I said to myself..."SELF! Just put big boy pants in a special place. Tell Aidan that when he is ready to wear big boy pants and go do his business in the big boy potty, this is where they will be for him to put them on. SO SELF! MOVE ON!"

So, this little pretty self has moved on from potty training...AHHHHHHH...Oh what a relief it is!!!!

Family Day at Turkey Creek

Some days are best just done being candid! After realizing that we got up the Turkey Creek to go hiking, we were all wearing red, white and blue...I know...not the correct colors for the fall season...nonetheless...what a great color coordination for pictures! I guess I just couldn't pass this opportunity up!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Eccentric or Extrordinary?

Okay! Second day in a row to my new way of living! It wasn't as hard to get up this morning! But it helped that this neighborhood is the loudest neighborhood at 5:00 in the morning! At 4:45 the diesel truck next door started up and "warmed up" for 30 minutes, the neighbor across the street's sprinklers came on...VERY LOUD!!!!!! The newspaper boy had his car radio turned up super loud...it was okay because it was Casting Crowns playing...Then, of all things...a raccoon was strutting his stuff across the roof just below our window...OYE VEY! So needless to say, by 5:07...I know an odd time to set an alarm...but hey I am an odd duck myself...it wasn't hard to get up. However, note to self...close window before going to bed at night to cut down on the morning traffic...plus it was FREEZING out from under the covers!

Today was an awesome time spending with God! Today I realized that I desire to have an Extraordinary Spirit. One that stands out in the crowd as a sore thumb! It is the day in age where people who are Christians are often times looked at as eccentric, not extraordinary. I want to be extraordinary! Not just for Aidan and Ted, but for those around me! I guess that is why it is hard to continue living on one income, no credit cards, little debt other than car and student loans...don't get me started on those...and raising our kid!

Well, off the soapbox...I just wanted to share with those who are stay at home mommies to continue doing what you're doing and for those who have to work...continue what you're doing because your extraordinary spirit my be affecting the lives of those you work with!

Have a great day! Whoo Hoo! It's Tuesday! I know...eccentric~

Cherokee Seasons

Someone sent this to me via email and it just seemed that it came at the right time!



CHEROKEE SEASONS
The pictures above are of the same place but taken in different seasons...This is a lesson on life...

There was an Indian Chief who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest in turn to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the Winter, the second in the Spring, the third in Summer and the youngest son in the Fall.

When they had all gone and come back he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said 'no' it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's Winter, you will miss the promise of your Spring, the beauty of your Summer, the fulfillment of your Fall.

Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come.

Live Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the Rest to God.
Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But God keeps You Going!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Aidan and I were to paint a landscape for his Choo-Choo train table that his PaPa made him...well...it ended up being a Picaso painting...It is up for sale on EBay if you are interested! ;)

I found an extra 1-1/2 hours!

This morning I found an extra 1-1/2 hours! It is amazing! Still the same 24-hours, but this time, I found some time in the morning. Setting my alarm to 5:00 am, I was able to get up, drink coffee that is actually still warm, spend some time in the Word, reflecting in my journal, get Aidan up and snuggle with him, change his clothes, make a Lego plane for him, make pumpkin pancakes, send out a few emails, grab 4 subbing jobs, sell a stock, and take a shower and get ready all before 9 am! This is crazy! Now I wonder what I am going to do today! LOL! Just kidding!

Let's hope this habit continues! See you tomorrow!

Too busy to reflect...

Recently, I have been knee-deep in boxes, diapers, papers, bills, curriculum, applications, emails, letters and bday invites...all of the things that mommies are entrusted with once a bundle of joy bombards your life. I had a blog once...once...I can't seem to remember my log in info, nor was I any good at updating it! So, I started a new one...and if those of you who find my blog page, in addition to this one, please let me know so I can delete it! Many of my friends have a blog, an active blog, keep up with scrapbooking, journals of their kids and picture albums. But me, I can barely find time to take a shower. What am I doing with my time? Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day, why does mine seem so short? Or more importantly, why do I continue to do the things that are not as important as they seem to be at the time? Magazines bombard you with new ways to make your life easier, when they just make them more hectic! How many sites do I log on in one day just to update? I don't get it! Why can't I just pick one and stay with it!?

Just this afternoon at lunch, I wanted to find a closet and scream! Just scream! I felt so overloaded that I couldn't even function! Maybe it is because my son is SOOOOOOOOO active that I can't possibly keep up with his energy, or the fact that my medical transcription is not making the money it needs to be worth sitting in front of a computer screen while my kiddo plays by himself? Or is it the load of laundry that I have to wash, AGAIN, because I left it in the washing machine for too long...AGAIN...Do you hear what I'm saying? I'm TOO BUSY! But with what?

Just like a diet...I'm starting on Monday to not be busy. Who knows what that will look like, but apparently...I won't be busy....

Until next time....

PS... I have written down my info and put it in a safe spot so that I can do some more reflecting... :)