Lent

I've never participated in giving something up (or doing something extra) for Lent, but this year I decided to try it out. So I gave up facebook!

*gasp*

So, from March 9 until April 24, facebook is off-limits. No stalking people's pictures, checking out new babies, wedding pictures, Spring Break pictures, etc. No reading statuses, no updating my own status. No nothing. If I want to talk to someone, I have to CALL or TEXT them! Omg, right?

Really, though, it's not that bad. I mean, I have a ton of pictures of my cute boys that I'm dying to share with the world and I still find myself wanting to post song lyrics or quotes from Ryger as my status. But I'm okay with this. Honestly, I figured I'd be rocking back and forth in the corner with my thumb in my mouth before the weekend hit. But I surprised myself.

Instead, I've found extra time for my husband and kids, and have spent more time doing daily devotionals through www.crosswalk.com.

So, facebook friends, I'll be back in a few weeks! :-)

A "wow" moment...

I was fixing supper tonight while Ryger and Braylen played in the living room. (Before anyone freaks out and thinks I was neglecting the boys, the living room is open to the kitchen...) All of a sudden, I heard Braylen let out this high-pitched squeal/cry. I whirled around, thinking that Ryger had gotten a little too vigorous with his affection for his brother, as he often does. Actually, Ryger wasn't even in the room, and Braylen was wedged between the couch and the plastic bin that holds some of their toys. I use that bin to block off the end table that holds everything from old magazines to candles, to other random stuff that no 9 month old baby needs. So I go over and lift Braylen up, set him down next to his toys, and go back to dinner.

After the incident, I was zoned out in the kitchen thinking about what had just happened and it occurred to me, yet again, that God blesses us with parenthood in order to allow us to understand our relationship with Him a bit more. There are so many parallels between the parent/child relationship and the God/Christian relationship that sometimes I am utterly amazed...

Braylen, who had been placed in a safe spot and given all that he needed to entertain himself for a few minutes, decided that wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to explore. During the course of this exploration, he found himself stuck in a situation that he couldn't get out of. So what did he do? He called for his mommy. And his mommy promptly came and pulled him out of his sticky situation. Now, I'm sure, since I had to walk in from the kitchen, that I didn't get to him quite as soon as he would have liked. I'm pretty sure there was a few seconds where he wondered if I was coming, since I didn't say anything while I was on my way. But, I did rescued him. And when I rescued him, I lifted him up, gave him a big hug, and lots of little kisses on his nose, set him back where he needed to be, and we both went about our business.

How often do we, as Children of God, become bored with the blessings that He gave us? How often do we go around looking for something "more" or "better" than what He has provided? How often do we find ourselves in a situation that is unpleasant, and end up begging Him to "fix" it?

Pretty often. Hey, we're only human, right?

But the point to all of this is that He is faithful to forgive us and set things right. (1 John 1:9) He hears our calls of desperation and, even thought it may not be as soon as we think it should be, He rescues us and sets us back on the right path. How awesome is that?!?!

I want to finish this with a youtube video of a song by Lifehouse performed by a church youth group. This skit makes me cry every time I see it. I'm talking big, crocodile tears of joy and amazement that there is a God who loves me THAT MUCH! I don't deserve it and Heaven knows that I've done plenty to make myself UN-deserving of it. But that doesn't matter to God. All He sees is his daughter....someone he loves so much that He sent His only Son to die for me. (That concept amazes me in and of itself. I certainly don't love anyone enough to willingly send one of my kids to die for them. But that's a whole new blog. I digress.) Anyway, enjoy the skit. And have a blessed day. <3

*GAG*

If you have a weak stomach, or have just eaten, or are simply not in the mood to be grossed out, there is a little red button on the top right of your screen with a white X in it. Click it.

Tonight, Shannon and I decided to steal a couple of minutes sitting together on the couch. The boys were happily playing in Ryger's bedroom (a normal activity in this house) so we were good....we thought.

After about 5 minutes of silence, I decided to go check on them. (Every mom knows that silence=not good unless the kids are asleep.)

In this case, things were definitely not good.
Ryger, being the potty trained boy that he is, pooped in the potty.
Braylen, being the curious, I'm-going-to-get-into-everything-that's-less-than-2-feet-from-the-floor 8 month old boy that he is, decided to play in it.

*gag*

I called for Shannon, handed Braylen to him with strict instructions to not let him put his hands in his mouth. (Yes, I figured it was already too late for this precaution and judging by the smears on his cheek....ew. Moving on.) His hands were clutching little brown chunks and his long sleeved tee shirt was soaked up to his elbows.

*gag*

I started cleaning up the floor, and emptying the potty while Shannon stripped Braylen down to his diaper. Then, I gave the little stinker (no pun intended...okay, it totally was intended...) a bath, in which he sat and splashed and chewed on plastic bath toys...and peppered me with smiles and giggles.

Rotten child.

It's hard to be mad at someone who's so cute.

So, soon he was warm and cozy in his pj's and smelling like Johnson's new Shea Butter baby wash. (That stuff is heavenly, I tell you!) I gave him extra cuddles tonight when putting him to bed.

Soooo...my lesson is learned. From now on, the babygate will be put up in the doorway between Ryger's bedroom and the bathroom.

Happy New Year!

2011!!!

There's just something about the first day of a new year.
It makes things seem so fresh and new and clean and...well, promising.
Everyone talks about making resolutions and wanting to change this
or stop doing that or start doing this....and this is all well and good.
At least until January 7th, when all these ideas go down the drain
and 98% of people go back to doing what they were doing on December 31st.

So, instead of a New Years resolution, I'm going to make goals for myself.

First, I want to lose at least 15 pounds.
I was doing well at weight-loss until the holidays hit,
so I'm pretty sure that once I get back on track things will go well in that department.
My goal is to lose the 15 lbs by the end of March.
That's 12 weeks to lose 15 lbs, totally doable.

Secondly, I want to commit myself to spending at least 30 minutes a day
in prayer and/or reading the Bible.
I have fallen away from the closeness I used to have with God
and I am desperately wanting that back.

Thirdly, and this kinda goes along with the weight loss,
but I am going to strive to fix healthier meals and
keep away from a lot of processed/fast foods.
I feel that my family deserves the best, and so I want to give them the best.
I already puree Braylen's baby food myself instead of buying the jarred baby food,
so there's a start. This goal will be healthier for the whole family,
as well as help me manage our budget since I'll be making meal plans
and won't have to buy a bunch of random stuff at the grocery,
only to find that I STILL have nothing in the house to fix for dinner!

So, here's to hoping that 2011 is a great year!

Time flies....

Okay, so despite my well-intentioned promise to keep up with this thing,
I've obviously not been doing a very good job at it. :o)

Ugh.

So, in order to keep the natives happy (And by natives, I do mean you, Tami!!! LOL),
I'm going to give this thing yet another attempt.

I'll start tomorrow. ha!

No, really, Braylen had his shots yesterday and some kind of mixture of shots plus teething resulted in him having a 102-103 degree temperature all night. No amount of tylenol would bring it down. My poor baby. He was up and down all night long, about every hour or so. And if he was awake, so was I. (Of course.) Cheers to my darling husband, who willingly took over baby duty this morning so I could get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. But I'm still dragging tail,
so I'm headed to beddy bye.

But I can't go without a cute picture. So here you go.


Luvs ~n~ Huggies.
(and yes, for those of you who are looking a the screen with a confused
look and your head cocked to the side...
Luvs and Huggies are both brands of diapers.)

:o)

Tendinitis

About 2 weeks-ish before I had Braylen, I woke up in the middle of the night and felt my thumb on my left hand pop. But it wasn't really my thumb...I felt it down in my wrist. Ever since then, I've had wrist pain. One day, it gave out on me while I was picking Braylen up out of his crib and I dropped him! It was only a few inches and he landed on his mattress, but that was the final straw for me. I bit the bullet and went to the doctor.

An x-ray and about an hour later I had a diagnosis.

Tendinitis.

I was given a cream to rub on it. (Which wasn't covered by my insurance. And considering I'm not made of money, I could find something better to spend $150 on!)

I was also given a prescription for pills to take. BUT since I was nursing, I couldn't take those either.

So I pretty much toughed it out and the pain started slowly going away. The past few days, though, it's been hurting more than usual. I (playfully) smacked Shannon on the arm yesterday (he deserved it, I promise!) and just about cried because it hurt so bad. Today, I have a bruise on my wrist, right where the pain is.

Tendinitis doesn't leave bruises.

*sigh*

Happy Fall!

Ah...that was the best picture I could get of the two of them. :o)

My little Monkey and Banana! <3
They won the "cutest costume" prize at our church's
Fall Harvest Fest this past weekend.
I was pretty excited.

Guess what?
It's FALL!!!!!
I'm pretty excited about that, too.

We've been doing all sorts of fall activities around here.
I'm teaching Ryger about the change of seasons
so he will tell you that when the leaves change colors
and fall down...
it's Fall!


He's adorable and I love him. :o)


We've also roasted pumpkin seeds.
Which Ryger absolutely loved.
(Making AND eating them.)


And, of course, Braylen is keeping me on my toes.
He's growing so fast!
I can't keep up.


How cute is he? :o)