Wednesday, February 8, 2012
28!
Yesterday, I celebrated my 28th birthday.
It was a normal Tuesday, with a few special events:).
After I came home from teaching my morning spin class, Layla greeted me with a "Happy Birthday, Momma!". We met Natalie, Katie and their babes for a yummy lunch and then we all walked around the corner for some even yummier frozen yogurt! Lucas came home with my gift which Layla opened for me. He bought me a gift card for a spa day (YAY!) and another gift card for make-up! He HAD been listening:) Of course, Layla wanted to know where her present was??
The power of social media always amazes me. Starting before I even climbed out of bed, people were wishing me a happy birthday on FB. All through my morning spin class, my phone was lighting up! I had to turn it over to keep from being distracted. At the end, of the day I think I had about 125 birthday wishes. That is just CRAZY! Thank you everyone.
After teaching my evening spin class, Lucas had arranged a sitter so we went out dinner. We went to Murphy's in the Highlands and it was delicious! It was a perfect day with many of my favorite people.
The older I get, I realize that age is just a number. I still feel like I am in my early 20s! If it has taken 28 years to get me to the place in life I am right now, I will welcome growing older. Because of a lot of grace, I can say without a doubt that I am better at 28 than I have EVER been, in every area of my life.
Cheers to many, many more!
It was a normal Tuesday, with a few special events:).
After I came home from teaching my morning spin class, Layla greeted me with a "Happy Birthday, Momma!". We met Natalie, Katie and their babes for a yummy lunch and then we all walked around the corner for some even yummier frozen yogurt! Lucas came home with my gift which Layla opened for me. He bought me a gift card for a spa day (YAY!) and another gift card for make-up! He HAD been listening:) Of course, Layla wanted to know where her present was??
The power of social media always amazes me. Starting before I even climbed out of bed, people were wishing me a happy birthday on FB. All through my morning spin class, my phone was lighting up! I had to turn it over to keep from being distracted. At the end, of the day I think I had about 125 birthday wishes. That is just CRAZY! Thank you everyone.
After teaching my evening spin class, Lucas had arranged a sitter so we went out dinner. We went to Murphy's in the Highlands and it was delicious! It was a perfect day with many of my favorite people.
The older I get, I realize that age is just a number. I still feel like I am in my early 20s! If it has taken 28 years to get me to the place in life I am right now, I will welcome growing older. Because of a lot of grace, I can say without a doubt that I am better at 28 than I have EVER been, in every area of my life.
Cheers to many, many more!
Monday, February 6, 2012
House Fires and Beach Vacations
Today was definitely not an ordinary Monday. After dance class all was quiet on Warren St until about 11:00am when I heard the first firetruck. We are close to a health clinic so firetrucks are not out of the norm BUT then I kept hearing them. I went to the window and they were all parked in front of my house. Then I noticed them unraveling the hose and looked to the left, only to see the house 2 doors down up in smoke. I immediately called Lucas because he had the number of the guy who lives there who is usually home during the day. Thankfully, he wasn't home but was shocked to learn what was going on. It wasn't until about 3:30 this afternoon when the last firetruck left. All in all, there were probably about 10 trucks and about 30-40 fireman. They busted out windows and slammed through the front door and then used a big chain saw to cut a hole in the roof. It was determined that they think it started in the basement from the furnace. Everyone is ok and thankfully all that was ruined can be replaced. My neighbors have been so generous in their donations which is no surprise to me. We really do have the BEST neighbors:).
God used this whole episode as a test of my faith. We have been challenged at church to be not only tithers but sacrificial in our giving this year. I had been struggling about what kind of "sacrifices" our family could make. We really don't live on that much and are not that big of spenders because we don't have a lot of extra, quite honestly. I had been holding a couple of checks from my work and from my birthday and had taken them to the car this morning so I could add them to our savings account. I was feeling a little more comfortable with our financial status because this was going to add more to our savings than we have had in there in a LONG time. When I watched these peoples belongings disappear right before my eyes, I thought about how God promises to give us our daily bread. So was I going to hang on tight to my extra, or give it freely to this family in need claiming God as my provider of all things? I think I passed the "test". Funny how God challenges us in these areas so that he can prove himself more faithful than every before. I am thankful about how God answered my prayer about our role in the sacrificial giving and I pray that he will give us more opportunities throughout the year to return to him what he has so generously given us.
On a much lighter note...our spring time beach vacation is in the books, April 22-28th. We will be spending a week at a friends condo in Hammock Beach Florida. When I say we, I mean the girls. Grammy, Aunt Natalie, Annie, Layla and I. I look forward to this trip every year!
God used this whole episode as a test of my faith. We have been challenged at church to be not only tithers but sacrificial in our giving this year. I had been struggling about what kind of "sacrifices" our family could make. We really don't live on that much and are not that big of spenders because we don't have a lot of extra, quite honestly. I had been holding a couple of checks from my work and from my birthday and had taken them to the car this morning so I could add them to our savings account. I was feeling a little more comfortable with our financial status because this was going to add more to our savings than we have had in there in a LONG time. When I watched these peoples belongings disappear right before my eyes, I thought about how God promises to give us our daily bread. So was I going to hang on tight to my extra, or give it freely to this family in need claiming God as my provider of all things? I think I passed the "test". Funny how God challenges us in these areas so that he can prove himself more faithful than every before. I am thankful about how God answered my prayer about our role in the sacrificial giving and I pray that he will give us more opportunities throughout the year to return to him what he has so generously given us.
On a much lighter note...our spring time beach vacation is in the books, April 22-28th. We will be spending a week at a friends condo in Hammock Beach Florida. When I say we, I mean the girls. Grammy, Aunt Natalie, Annie, Layla and I. I look forward to this trip every year!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sunday Sitdown
1. I finally got back to book club this month! It was so great to see some friends that I haven't seen in forever. We chose Redeeming Love for the month of February. It is absolutely one of my favorites and I am excited to read it again.
2. Layla had a traumatizing experience trying to poop this week. Without much detail, she was struggling and I had to help her. All ended well and I think Lucas for more traumatized by it than Layla.
3. I also got back to a Stroller Strides class this week. Again, it was great to catch up with some old friends. I was even sore the next day which was a great feeling. There are some things in the works so that maybe I can start teaching a few classes. It would be a privilege to be apart of this organization in a different way. I love seeing moms trying to do something to better themselves and I also love that we are doing it right in front of our children.
4. We had some awesome prayer time at my mom's group, Thursday morning. I am so blessed to be doing life with these awesome ladies.
5. The weather has been AMAZING these last couple of days. Our late afternoons at the park our back on the schedule and I am loving it! Layla is too:).
6. Friday afternoon, we went to a sweet neighbor's 2nd birthday party at one of the jump places. Layla had a blast and her climbing skills are much improved since our last trip in November. Friday night, we had a couple of couples over for dinner. They are "younger couples" from church and we had a great time getting to know each other more.
7. Saturday night, we chose to spend some time at home. We rented the movie 50/50. I think both of us enjoyed it! Definitely worth renting.
8. Lastly, I was so relieved to get some rain last night.. My allergies have been making me crazy the past couple of days. I am feeling much better today. We had a great message at church today. I will be listening to it again so I can digest it more. It's super bowl Sunday, but I don't really think it is that super. We did have a couple of friends over to grill out, but I will be going to bed before the games ends.
I've got to get some rest because today kicks off the start of my birthday week!! Bring it on 28:)
2. Layla had a traumatizing experience trying to poop this week. Without much detail, she was struggling and I had to help her. All ended well and I think Lucas for more traumatized by it than Layla.
3. I also got back to a Stroller Strides class this week. Again, it was great to catch up with some old friends. I was even sore the next day which was a great feeling. There are some things in the works so that maybe I can start teaching a few classes. It would be a privilege to be apart of this organization in a different way. I love seeing moms trying to do something to better themselves and I also love that we are doing it right in front of our children.
4. We had some awesome prayer time at my mom's group, Thursday morning. I am so blessed to be doing life with these awesome ladies.
5. The weather has been AMAZING these last couple of days. Our late afternoons at the park our back on the schedule and I am loving it! Layla is too:).
6. Friday afternoon, we went to a sweet neighbor's 2nd birthday party at one of the jump places. Layla had a blast and her climbing skills are much improved since our last trip in November. Friday night, we had a couple of couples over for dinner. They are "younger couples" from church and we had a great time getting to know each other more.
7. Saturday night, we chose to spend some time at home. We rented the movie 50/50. I think both of us enjoyed it! Definitely worth renting.
8. Lastly, I was so relieved to get some rain last night.. My allergies have been making me crazy the past couple of days. I am feeling much better today. We had a great message at church today. I will be listening to it again so I can digest it more. It's super bowl Sunday, but I don't really think it is that super. We did have a couple of friends over to grill out, but I will be going to bed before the games ends.
I've got to get some rest because today kicks off the start of my birthday week!! Bring it on 28:)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I see grandma
My mom's mom, grandma Strawn had 12 children and lived a long life to the age of 92. What a blessed woman she was! She was in her right mind until her last days in the hospital and her physical health was pretty decent, considering her age.
Lucas and I had been married a couple of years and I interviewed and got offered an awesome job at a cardiac clinic in town. The pay was the most I had ever been offered and I would have been doing things that were above my education level at the time, but they were going to train me to do them.
I had finished a Certified Nursing Assistant Program which meant I had a lot of training in basic patient care. At this point, my grandma's health was declining and all her children were going to do whatever they could to keep her out of a nursing home. This meant they were going to have to hire someone to come to her house to care of her. For some reason, deep in my heart I felt that I was suppose to be the one to take care of her. I still remember the conversation with the man who was offering me this great job and I told him I wasn't going to take it. He was shocked and quite frankly, I was too.
Taking care of my 90+ year old grandma was anything but glamorous. It included meal preparation, giving her meds, cleaning her house, bathing her, grocery shopping, and taking her to run various errands around town. BUT it also meant precious time with my old grandma, to listen to stories, tell stories and spend lots of quality time that otherwise would have never happened.
The point of all this is that I see grandma a lot in Layla and it always brings a smile to my face. The way she spits in the sink after she brushes her teeth, the way she splashes water on her face, and the little bit of OCD that she was born with. Tonight, Layla stood up in the bath and put soap on her washcloth and started to clean herself. And there grandma was again. It feels like a déjà vu experience but always puts a smile on my face.
I am so grateful for the time I spent with grandma and I am also grateful that she is still around at times in the form of my daughter. I am even more grateful that this world is not my resting place and I have an eternity to spend her.
Grandma, we look forward to seeing you one day. Can't wait to introduce you to your great granddaughter.
Lucas and I had been married a couple of years and I interviewed and got offered an awesome job at a cardiac clinic in town. The pay was the most I had ever been offered and I would have been doing things that were above my education level at the time, but they were going to train me to do them.
I had finished a Certified Nursing Assistant Program which meant I had a lot of training in basic patient care. At this point, my grandma's health was declining and all her children were going to do whatever they could to keep her out of a nursing home. This meant they were going to have to hire someone to come to her house to care of her. For some reason, deep in my heart I felt that I was suppose to be the one to take care of her. I still remember the conversation with the man who was offering me this great job and I told him I wasn't going to take it. He was shocked and quite frankly, I was too.
Taking care of my 90+ year old grandma was anything but glamorous. It included meal preparation, giving her meds, cleaning her house, bathing her, grocery shopping, and taking her to run various errands around town. BUT it also meant precious time with my old grandma, to listen to stories, tell stories and spend lots of quality time that otherwise would have never happened.
The point of all this is that I see grandma a lot in Layla and it always brings a smile to my face. The way she spits in the sink after she brushes her teeth, the way she splashes water on her face, and the little bit of OCD that she was born with. Tonight, Layla stood up in the bath and put soap on her washcloth and started to clean herself. And there grandma was again. It feels like a déjà vu experience but always puts a smile on my face.
I am so grateful for the time I spent with grandma and I am also grateful that she is still around at times in the form of my daughter. I am even more grateful that this world is not my resting place and I have an eternity to spend her.
Grandma, we look forward to seeing you one day. Can't wait to introduce you to your great granddaughter.
Monday, January 30, 2012
They keep us humble
After dance class today, Layla and I headed to a playdate at our neighbors. Layla was acting all out of sorts. She was very whiney, very selfish, and just plain ugly. Basically, she was acting like a snotty nosed, two year old. There was one toy that she continued to throw a fit about and so I gave her an ultimatum. Either she cut it out or we were going home. Two minutes later, we were packing up and heading home. When we got home, she continued to throw her fit. I ignored her for a bit and when it seemed that she was winding down (after about 15 mins), I sat on the bottom step and asked if she was ready to talk to mom. She then dried it up, and came and sat in my lap. We had a somewhat intelligent conversation about the rules of life and how we act and treat people. After it was said and done, she went and played with her things. About 20 minutes later, I was doing the dishes and she came walking in and said, "Momma, I share". I just smiled and said, "yeah baby, that's right".
Life is rough for a two year old. Sometimes they have to test us to see if we are going to follow through on what we say we are going to do. This time we both passed the test:).
Life is rough for a two year old. Sometimes they have to test us to see if we are going to follow through on what we say we are going to do. This time we both passed the test:).
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday Sitdown
What a fast week!
We started the week with dance class and then hosted a playdate at our house with 4 of our neighbor friends. It was a great time for the kids (and moms) on a rainy Monday. It was so fun, we are meeting again tomorrow, just at a different house:)
Monday night, we were heading over to aunt Natalie's for our Monday night tradition of watching the Bachelor. Guess who answered the door when we rang the bell?? GRAMMY! Layla was so excited. She had tried to come by earlier in the day to surprise us but we weren't home. So now we were really surprised! Natalie and Chris had gone to TN over the weekend and grammy hitched a ride back and was here for the week. That meant that a normal week, now had a few more plans:).
Layla spent the night at Natalie's Monday and stayed while I taught my Tuesday morning class. Then we all headed to lunch date which included Katie and Lucy. A grandmother, 3 moms, and 3 daughters. It was girl heaven and Layla was surrounded by BABIES! She was on paci duty when ever it called. Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have a daughter? I can't imagine life without one.
Wednesday was a chill day, We shopped a little and had lunch. Then Natalie, Grammy, me, and the kids headed to dinner since the men were working late.
Thursday and Fridays were busy days for us. I had committed to keeping baby Hamilton (8weeks) since his mom was going back to work and he wasn't starting day care until Monday. It was about 8am-6pm both days. He went to our moms group at church with us on Thursday and Music Class on Friday. We had a great time and he was such an easy kid. It was a great way to see what life with 2 would be like. It was ALOT easier than I thought, but you must remember that I wasn't sleep deprived like I would be if he was mine.:) I even went to the grocery store with the two of them. Layla is at a great age. There is not a shred of jealousy in her when it comes to Hamilton, Annie, or Lucy. She is very gentle, sweet, and helpful. Maybe I'm ready to venture in that direction??
Saturday, Lucas and I decided we were going to treat Layla to a new movie. We had grown a little tired of the regular rotation and thought it was a perfect day for a family movie. She wanted to buy Cinderella but we had to somehow explain to her that it was not out of the Disney vault right now:/. After looking through several movies at Best Buy, her hand landed on a Barbie Princess movie.....NO! I eventually sold her on UP because of the balloons on the cover. Daddy also through in the Hunchback of Notre Dame because it is one of his childhood faves. We loaded up on candy (mini M&M's and PEZ, Layla's choice) at the check out aisle and then headed home to watch the movie.
Have you seen UP?? It is a little sad. Over the weekend we probably watched it 3 times and I think I got a little teary eyed each time! What a great movie with some very funny parts. Layla loved it and actually sat through most of it, which was nothing short of a miracle. It was definitely a great addition to our DVD library.
We started today by heading out to church. Anytime, we listen to worship music or christian music in general, Layla calls it "church music". We had tried to remind her that it is music about Jesus, but to her its all the same. Nothing is more precious than my daughter belting out "Oh happy DAy...When Jesus washed my sins away!" She loves that song along with "Stand Up for Jesus", & "Who Built the Ark?". She even throws in her own renditions like "Zip up, Zip up for Jesus" when zipping up her coat. Then one day, we were getting coffee at the grocery store and she added "Coffee for Jesus" all in the same melody as the song. A woman in the coffee aisle laughed out loud as Layla and I talked about whether or not we thought Jesus drank coffee. He was a busy guy who ran on little sleep...my bets are he did.
Anyway, after church as Layla napped, I went on a run with my neighbor. It was a beautiful day and we had a great run. I felt awesome and refreshed and was very thankful that I ditched my Sunday nap and ran instead. Now time to relax with my hubby.
Have a great week everyone!
We started the week with dance class and then hosted a playdate at our house with 4 of our neighbor friends. It was a great time for the kids (and moms) on a rainy Monday. It was so fun, we are meeting again tomorrow, just at a different house:)
Monday night, we were heading over to aunt Natalie's for our Monday night tradition of watching the Bachelor. Guess who answered the door when we rang the bell?? GRAMMY! Layla was so excited. She had tried to come by earlier in the day to surprise us but we weren't home. So now we were really surprised! Natalie and Chris had gone to TN over the weekend and grammy hitched a ride back and was here for the week. That meant that a normal week, now had a few more plans:).
Layla spent the night at Natalie's Monday and stayed while I taught my Tuesday morning class. Then we all headed to lunch date which included Katie and Lucy. A grandmother, 3 moms, and 3 daughters. It was girl heaven and Layla was surrounded by BABIES! She was on paci duty when ever it called. Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have a daughter? I can't imagine life without one.
Wednesday was a chill day, We shopped a little and had lunch. Then Natalie, Grammy, me, and the kids headed to dinner since the men were working late.
Thursday and Fridays were busy days for us. I had committed to keeping baby Hamilton (8weeks) since his mom was going back to work and he wasn't starting day care until Monday. It was about 8am-6pm both days. He went to our moms group at church with us on Thursday and Music Class on Friday. We had a great time and he was such an easy kid. It was a great way to see what life with 2 would be like. It was ALOT easier than I thought, but you must remember that I wasn't sleep deprived like I would be if he was mine.:) I even went to the grocery store with the two of them. Layla is at a great age. There is not a shred of jealousy in her when it comes to Hamilton, Annie, or Lucy. She is very gentle, sweet, and helpful. Maybe I'm ready to venture in that direction??
Saturday, Lucas and I decided we were going to treat Layla to a new movie. We had grown a little tired of the regular rotation and thought it was a perfect day for a family movie. She wanted to buy Cinderella but we had to somehow explain to her that it was not out of the Disney vault right now:/. After looking through several movies at Best Buy, her hand landed on a Barbie Princess movie.....NO! I eventually sold her on UP because of the balloons on the cover. Daddy also through in the Hunchback of Notre Dame because it is one of his childhood faves. We loaded up on candy (mini M&M's and PEZ, Layla's choice) at the check out aisle and then headed home to watch the movie.
Have you seen UP?? It is a little sad. Over the weekend we probably watched it 3 times and I think I got a little teary eyed each time! What a great movie with some very funny parts. Layla loved it and actually sat through most of it, which was nothing short of a miracle. It was definitely a great addition to our DVD library.
We started today by heading out to church. Anytime, we listen to worship music or christian music in general, Layla calls it "church music". We had tried to remind her that it is music about Jesus, but to her its all the same. Nothing is more precious than my daughter belting out "Oh happy DAy...When Jesus washed my sins away!" She loves that song along with "Stand Up for Jesus", & "Who Built the Ark?". She even throws in her own renditions like "Zip up, Zip up for Jesus" when zipping up her coat. Then one day, we were getting coffee at the grocery store and she added "Coffee for Jesus" all in the same melody as the song. A woman in the coffee aisle laughed out loud as Layla and I talked about whether or not we thought Jesus drank coffee. He was a busy guy who ran on little sleep...my bets are he did.
Anyway, after church as Layla napped, I went on a run with my neighbor. It was a beautiful day and we had a great run. I felt awesome and refreshed and was very thankful that I ditched my Sunday nap and ran instead. Now time to relax with my hubby.
Have a great week everyone!
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