chrisamas roundup

Now that we're home after a week away for Christmas festivities... Another long post! But lots of fun pictures ;)

There are so many moments from the last couple weeks, especially from the last few days, that I want to hold onto forever right now. I've already forgotten some. But I'm trying to be okay with that... with the fact that there are times I'm immersed in the moment, not taking a picture or a mental note, and that I don't have a good memory, so I might not remember the moment. But there are some joys I just have to note and share! :)

"Chris-a-mas" was a whole new experience with a 2.5-year-old. The pure innocence, excitement, and joy was so fun to watch, and was so contagious! His pronunciation, "Chrisamas," made us smile every time. He mentioned it a lot as every day we had to establish whether it was Christmas yet or not :)

friday five 12-6

Five family things from the past couple weeks.

1. Finally got my bottom wisdom teeth taken out. Papa and Nana K helped us out. Those teeth gave me a much greater appreciation (?) for the pain my little boy goes through with teething. The first time I had pain from them, he got his first molars; then I was having major (as in life-affecting) pain, when his top 2-year-molars broke through the skin; then his bottom 2-years broke through the week I had my teeth taken out.
My favorite part of having them taken out, besides extra time to relax and watch way too much Parenthood, was Jordan's sweetness. His gentle loves, touches, words, checking on me in my room, and asking often, "You growing teeth feeling better and better, mommy?"

thanksgiving 2013

30 days of thanks

I love reminders to be thankful. I love all my friends' thankful statuses throughout November and decided to combine mine into one post instead of posting every day. So here's my 30 days of thanks.

1) Thankful I get to work and take care of my son each day, and for a family I love.

2) Thankful for the days of good toddler sleep, like the last two days of sleeping well AND sleeping in, to balance out the rest.

3) Thankful for avenues of saving money and making a little extra money.

4) Thankful for family days.

5) Thankful for an understanding husband that I can be real with, live life with, and learn life and love with.

november's here!

We got to flip the calendar page last week. We all love the calendar flip, to get to look at a new set of pictures and see, from last year's pictures, what kinds of things we are going to get to do this month! :) That morning, though, Jordan asked us to flip it back. He's really been enjoying costumes and pumpquins a whole lot, and the October page was full of them. I think he equated turning the page to being done with those things... so we flipped it back :)

ocachutober's almost over

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of {mostly} fun. It was so busy I seriously almost forgot to be thankful for all of the joy-filled moments we got to spend with family and friends we love! 

At the end of last month, when Jordan asked when grandparents were coming, I told him October. He never forgot. Each time grandparents came this month (multiple times, yay!), he'd say, "It's Ocachutober!!" 

feelings are not dictators

I deal with a lot of emotions and feelings, being a woman and taking care of littles every day. Last week I shared an article on facebook along the same lines of many I've been sharing lately - motherhood is hard and full of imperfection, and that's ok. This one in particular was about loneliness in the long hard days of moms at home with littles. A friend commented, "Motherhood must suck." I responded, "Lol, not a chance! Somebody has to do the dirty work of raising Godly children and our next generation in general!" That is the truth from my heart. But as I spent most of the next morning overwhelmed, frustrated, and at the end of my rope, I thought, "If I really feel as I expressed in that comment, why do I have so many days like this?!" I left the boys playing in the living room just before lunch, to get things upstairs ready for nap after lunch {each in their own space, with a designated toy set, because, whew, we all needed that! :)} and I just cried out to God, venting my frustrations, wondering what to do with my feelings, and how in the world to care for the boys in love despite some negative feelings in my heart.

a little slice of life catch up

I've been avoiding blogging for a little while, but I want to take a step back in because I need to write down and share some of our joys and just life.

2 years old {plus 3 months...}

So... I started making a "Happy Birthday, Jordan!" post for our sweet, I-can't-believe-he's-two year old, and never finished. So, since I stumbled across unfinished business, well... here's to my still two-year-old :)

not perfect | obedience.

It's tempting to dream about having it all, and having it all together. I give in more than I should.

friday five + (7-12-13)

{A few things missed, this week, and lots of cute pictures!}

fourth of july

A few days of fun with family.

Rediscovering the joy of jumping on the trampoline. He said, over and over, "Lookat me! I jump! I bounce! I jumping!"

friday five 7-5-13

See our Fourth in pictures, too! :)

• Seeing the world through his eyes is so fun. Warm summer weather provides more opportunities for this! 

fathers

I could say a lot about dads in honor of Father's Day, but mostly I just want to say how thankful I am for the dads in my life. 

Josh, my dad, and Josh's dad are fathers in the truest sense of the word. 

Though obviously imperfect, as we all are, they show, time and time again, that they are worthy of their calling to be fathers.

Thank you for providing a great example of God's love not only to your own families, but to the church families you serve daily.

Thank you for working hard to more than make ends meet for your families, yet still finding time and energy to be daddy.

Thank you for loving, for being patient, and understanding, even when your wife and kid[s] are less than deserving.

Thank you for being the best dad.

friday five (6-14-13)

This is my last post with a one-year-old. I cannot believe Jordan turns TWO next week!!

{more than} friday five 6-7

Just some life as we wrap up May and fly into June... I'm going to call it Friday Five, just don't count past five. :)

surrender.

I've been promising this post for awhile now, but God keeps holding me back... I think I'm ready now.

A component of faithfulness heavy on my heart the last month & a or so is surrender. What is God calling me to surrender, to Him and for Him?

friday five 5-17

I skipped last week. Not because I didn't have 5 positive things to focus on, but because I just didn't feel like taking the time to make a post! :) I decided that though it's okay to not post about it, I still need to make a conscious effort to focus on the positives from the last week even if I don't physically list them. I could feel the effects of skipping. As our family seeks to return to focusing on positive more than negative, I'm realizing how much sharing my 5 things with you each week helps!
All that to say... I'd love for you to write out and share the positive from your life with me (in the comments maybe?!), or others, too. Just a thought!

friday five 5-3

If you want a little laugh right now, check out this video of Jordan. It's actually pitch black because I'm rocking him before bed, but the audio should at least make you smile! No idea what "boof" means, but Jordan sure thinks it's funny!! http://youtu.be/kfBMDqZylWg
Some more joys here, and hopefully my post on Surrender is not far behind! :)

We were taking pictures of ourselves and I caught this gem!

• Laundry on the line! We'll have to skip this week, but maybe after that we can be back in the swing of no-dryer season.

(Yes, the neighbor's houses are really that close to ours...)

• Finally had a warm-weather visit to the playground and zoo! And we visited basically all "new" things... we saw them last summer but Jordan doesn't remember! He loved the prairie dogs as much as he did last year, he was so sweet trying to tell each one, "Hi!" in the sweetest voice ever, and asking them to "Get out, please," when they went in their holes.

Drink break at the park.

He'd sit outside prairie dog holes all day if we let him.
Notice the tiny finger up by his ear. That's his new motion that goes along with his, "Sss {shh}, yisten! Heard dat!"

Flamingos, feeding fish, sea lions.
At the sea lions: Jordan-"Go in there?" Daddy-"Who's going in there?" Jordan-"JORDAN!" Mommy-"You really want to go in there?" Jordan-"Okay! {Leans over to go in}"

He tried drinking it and told us he was "washa hands!"

• Rainy/snowy days. He's either learning to relax or slightly under the weather, or both.

• Independence is growing. He helps choose his own snack {for a couple weeks now}, and I can trust him to help me cook. No more paci during awake time. And, he's telling me when he has to potty all the time! Whew! With this combination and how old he's been looking lately {we especially noticed at the zoo}, we're having to accept the fact that he's turning two soon!

Snack time. One food at a time, leave the bag in boxes, one piece of food at a time.

"Jordan, time to put away your bobby, unless you want to go back to bed..."
"Backa sleep. {hides as pictured} Mommy take it :("

• Multiple times this week Jordan and one or both of the boys I nanny played civilly together, by themselves, and communicated with each other well if they were upset about something. It brings me so much joy to hear {from Justin and Miles}, "I'm not done with that yet. Can I please have it back? Please wait your turn." followed by the toy being given back. Jordan just says, "My turn." But he's learning! Role playing and coaching definitely pays off!

More things we never want to forget:

• Love when he calls us "honey," "sweetie," and "sweetheart."
• Saw the zoo sign, and said, "z-o-o." Granted, daddy spells it to him all the time, but still, he recognized the letters! Whoo!
• Knows when he sees numbers, but doesn't recognize any of them individually yet.
• Started saying he "gogot" {forgot} things last week. He finds something he hasn't seen in awhile and says, "Oh! I gogot! I gogot _____." Or if he sets something down and walks away without it, stops and says he "gogot" it and goes back to get it :)
• He asks me to find school buses for him to see while I'm driving.

friday five 4-25

The bests of this week... :)

friday five 4-19

Some weeks are better than others, but no matter how many frustrating {and seemingly overwhelming} things happen, there are always positive things we can focus on in our lives! When we focus on the positive, more positive seems to overflow... if you haven't tried it along with me yet, do it now! Think about a few positive things that happened in your week!

friday five 4-12

I am loving how God is revealing a lot to me that I need to work on as a wife and mom right now. Hard change, but good change. Soon I'll share my heart on "surrender" as well as some of my favorite things I'm reading right now. But for now, here's my positive look back on our week!

friday five 4-5

• We more than survived busy Easter week, and the weather was beautiful on Resurrection Sunday. Jordan also lifted his hands in worship to Jesus for the first time. He did it because mommy & daddy do it, and daddy didn't realize what he was doing as Jordan lifted his hand slowly, looked up at it, and then giggled at him. But when we were listening to Big Daddy Weave this week Jordan raised his hand the same way again, and we talked about how we do that to "praise Jesus" or "praise the Lord." He lifted his hand again and said "praise Je-sus!"

friday five 3-28

Whew, the weeks just seem to fly by! Spring is already here, and hopefully spring weather is not far behind! This week I am so thankful to celebrate with many around the world the death and Resurrection of Jesus. I can hardly wait until Jordan can fully understand why Jesus is so important to his family.
{ps: did you notice the new blog header? boo or yea?}

worth it.

I had a slightly rough week. I even had extra help from my wonderful mother-in-law for more than half of it, and it was still. that. rough.

My lack of sleep played a role.
My child's lack of sleep (from waking and playing for two hours every to every-other night), and ensuing naughtiness played a role. {yes, Naughty, with a capital N! His strong will reallllllly shows when he's over-tired.}
My desire to be the best played a role.

But I think what did me in was two skipped days of Bible reading and a poor attitude. Not long ago if I read my Bible two days in a row, I'd call that grand. That's not good enough anymore. I've been reminded why. Finding time to sit at the feet of my Heavenly Father, to soak up His presence, to learn His love, is more than just worth it, it fills me. Like nothing else can. {And fixes that poor attitude, to boot!}

Two ensuing thoughts:
Keep up the Jesus time. Always worth it.
He still loves me and finds me worthy of His love. Even after every. single. fail.

{I have a much better attitude tonight and I feel quite terrible that I did not make my mom-in-law feel as welcome as she truly was (or maybe it's just me that's feeling that way). I love her very much and am so thankful that I can so want her to come stay with us, and spend time with me. I am so thankful that she was here this week, especially. I think I may not have made it through, otherwise! ;)}

Friday Five 3-22

Although I hope you know by now, I feel it important to put forth the reminder that all the things on this page are of the positive/mommy brag nature, and the nitty-gritty, or even {dare I say?!} negative, has been left out on purpose. Focusing on the positive, and sharing those joys with others is the goal of Friday Five! :)

Friday Five 3-14

Random thought you might be interested in: I'm considering partaking in "Analog Weekends," an idea that The Tiny Twig dreamed up. I wonder if I really could do it. The fact that I'm scared to even think about it is probably a great sign that I need to do it. ... hmm...

Faithfulness

A word weighing heavy on my heart lately is faithfulness.
What does it mean to be faithful?
To God? To my spouse? To my child? To my faith? To worship? To my heart? To my job?

Dictionary.com defines faithfulness as: "true to one's word, promises, vows, etc. | steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends."
My Bible defines faith as "reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God" and faithful as "firm in adherence, utterly loyal; those who practice faith."

Friday Five 3-8

As another week wraps up I am reminded... the weeks go by SO fast!
A gal I follow on facebook posted, "Have you spent time today doing something that you love? If your answer is no, I encourage you to reevaluate things. Life is too short to be miserable." I am so thankful that every day has at least a few moments that remind me how much I love being with my sweet boy! I even do things for myself sometimes, too ;)

Friday Five 3-1

I keep intending to post about things like our favorite bread recipes, or, really, anything else... but, alas, I am a "mommy blogger" to the core. There is something about just sharing life that I love. I love to read "mommy blogs" and I like to think a few people like to read what's going on with our family (I know Jordan's grandmas don't miss a post at least!), and so we come to the summary of another week.

Seriously, how cute is he?

Friday Five 2-22

 What is your favorite way to focus on the positive? To remember all you have to be thankful for, all that God has blessed you with? Here of five of my favorite positive things from this week!

Friday Five 2-16

Another week of focusing on the positives. I have a few negative emotions, especially as I spent some quality time with my sweetie in the middle of the night last night ;-) But I love using this to focus on the positives! I almost thought, "Do I really have five this week?" Then, as usual, I had to choose only five! Yeah!

Friday Five 2-8

There a lot of things that take up too much time in my life, that I need to watch more closely. Replacing facebook time with blogging about the highlights of our week has been so good for me! Darn facebook.

Oh Crap. Potty Training | Review and Giveaway (Giveaway CLOSED)

When Jordan was a wittle baby, I came across a potty training method... Oh Crap. Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki. It was highly recommended from the source and comments by many. I checked out the blog for the method and it looked great! But cost like $30. Close browser window.

When Jordan started to show signs of potty training readiness, I thought I'd return to the site and check it out again. She had released an updated book, sold in ebook format, for only $15. That's not exactly cheap, but as with most things with Jordan, I wanted to choose a method and stick with it. I just feel like we have more consistency that way! I read through a lot of Jamie's posts, FAQs and some reviews. Decided to go for it. Bought the book, and read it. I was excited, it made sense and I had hope for it working!

Friday Five 2-2

So, I just have to say I'm super excited about this "Friday Five" thing I've started. I get excited about little things easily, and rightly so, of course! ;) This is my own, and I am going to enjoy running with it! :)

Another week; here we go! I'm feeling the details today, so hang in there :)

Friday Five

In an effort to blog more and update those who care more often, I'm initiating "Friday Five." Always fun to think back over the highlights of the week, too :)

2012 in Review, 2013 - Something New!

A new year! How exciting!
I know, it's been 2013 for 22 days. But I'm just now getting around to writing my first post of the year :) My goal was to get it done in January, success! A little look back and forward!

2012 was another exciting, busy year of our lives. Some of my favorite highlights: