Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thoughts....


Warning: this could be a long one....

Ok, so lately I've had some people comment that I have it all together, or they don't know how I do it, or I make this "motherhood" thing look so easy. Let me start by saying, I'm the chief of all sinners, my kids disobey, my house gets messy, I snap at the kids, there are stamps and coloring on my walls, I often wonder what it would be like to sit, by myself, at the beach (or anywhere for that matter) without children crawling on me. With all of that said, as I ponder these remarks and try to figure out why they make me feel so uncomfortable I realized a few things.
Growing up I was homeschooled from 3rd grade to 12th grade. I was 1 of 5 kids, the second oldest (oldest girl). I had a lot of responsibilities and chores. I remember, OFTEN, being told, "if you don't work you don't eat" or "go to the ant you sluggard." One of my best friends growing up was 1 of 9 kids, she had a lot of responsibilites too =) I remember that a lot of my friends didn't like coming over to my house because I was still responsible for all of my chores or taking care of my brother and sisters, but when Christa came over (or I went to her house) we would make a game out of it, pretend to be "mommies," and get our work done while having fun. I also remember watching my mom and dad work. They work hard. I still marvel at their work ethic. They demonstrate a servants heart and servant leadership. I had amazing examples. So, with all of this said, I was talking to my mom the other day and she said something profound. She said that her goal in raising me (us) was that she wanted us to be 10 steps ahead of where she was when she got married. When my parents chose to homeschool all of us their main concern wasn't that we go to Harvard or become a neuroscientist, their goal was that we have a heart for Jesus and what He loves. That we would learn to be servant leaders, that we would learn to run a household and raise children who love and serve the Lord, that we would learn how to die to self each day and think of others as more important than ourselves. That we would desire to bring glory to our Savior and make an impact for His Kingdom. My mom also said having children and homeschooling is probably used more for the parents edification and sanctification more than the child's =) I can truly say, in my case, they have succeeded. When people look at me like I have 7 heads when I tell them we are planning on homeschooling our kids I quietly think about what my parents have said and demonstrated to me in my life. (This is not to say their is anything wrong with sending your children to school! I have always wanted to homeschool and love teaching and seem to thrive in chaos =)
So, yes, because of my amazing parents (and my amazing husband who contributes immensely) I feel like, right now, where God has me, I am good at what I do. I love being a wife and mom. I'm excited about the new challenge of educating my children. I love the challenge of seeing if I can accomplish everything on my to-do list (never happens!!!). I love hearing my sweet girl (who makes me more like Jesus everyday) tell me she loves me, out of the blue. I love Jude's drooly, slobbery wet kisses and claps of delight over the most random things. I love the hilarious stories from my oldest, and I love watching my handpicked little boy take initiative and pick up Jude's toys "to help mommy so she will be happy." I want to be able to help my children be 10 steps ahead of me when they grow up. So, I will work hard at equipping them to work hard (and find joy in it), to serve others expecting nothing in return, to die to self, to desire to bring our Heavenly Father glory above all else!

Pantry Overhaul

So, the older I get and the more children I have the more I CRAVE order in my chaotic life. I feel like I am constantly organizing, decluttering and cleaning only to turn around and have it all over to do. So when I decided to re-organize my pantry I was excited because this is one area my children are not allowed (can't reach) to get into, therefore it has a better chance of staying organized.
I saw this idea on Pinterest, and though I don't have the time to make is as "pottery barn-esque" as the pinterest photos, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I also wanted to do it as economically as possible, so I started shopping! I found all the glass containers, buckets and baskets at Dollar General. They cost me 40.00 total. I had the ziploc tupperware containers from BJ's, but I'm thinking they cost me about 10.00. I "re-purposed the lazy susans, but i got those at Walmart when we moved in a year and half ago. My favorite part...I found these AMAZING labels at Micheals....they are chalkboard!!! (They cost 6.99) You stick them on the containers, use the pen (cost 8.99, but used a 40% off coupon so it was 5.oo) (but I'm sure it would work with regular chalk though) and label! It turned out really cute and when the food in the container changes I just wipe off the label and write what the food item is! The total cost was about 60.00. I keep walking by to admire it...sad, but true =)
Before The magic chalkboard pen from Micheals Up close of the chalkboard labels

...After!!! I'm in love!!!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

1/2 Marathon...I did it!!!


Well, I did it!!! I ran a half marathon! If you would have asked me 4 months ago if I would ever run a half marathon I would have said HECK NO! I realized that running would be the fastest way to get in shape so i gave it a whirl.
Clay and I went to Jacksonville last weekend and ran in the Tour de Pain. Clay ran a 10k Saturday morning and a 5k (with Mary Bodo...our awesome babysitter =) at 7pm that evening and then did a little carbo loading at Cheesecake factory. Sunday morning Clay and I woke up super early and started running. It was hard, but it could have been much worse. My sweet husband ran with me the whole way even though he could have run much faster. I told Clay at mile 11 1/2 (while running up a steep incline) that I was in hell (a little over dramatic =) and I snapped at him at mile 12 ish to stop talking to me...other than that it was pretty smooth sailing. My goal was to run it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. I wasn't sure if I could do it because that works out to being just over a 10 minute mile the whole race. We finished in just under 2 hours and 15 minutes! I'm so glad it's done, but I will definitely do another one soon.

Just before the race
We did it!!!