Big Picture

Driving home from a Halloween Party tonight, my husband and I had some real adult conversation.  We get bogged down in the day to day life of working parenthood and swim lessons, dinosaur school, etc., we sometimes forget about the big picture, and even when we think about it, we rarely talk about it anymore. 

Mainly because, it's scary.

I have a handful of fears in my life in regards to my kids.  I may not be ready to share those, but they're still there.  Sometimes when I think about the big picture of our life, I wonder how I ever made it here.  I wonder how we survived it all and became the strong family we are today.  I am proud of what we've accomplished, but I looking at the big picture always takes me back to those fears I hold hidden within myself. 

I have worries in my motherhood, that I hope there are very few others who experience, not because I don't long for people to connect to, but because I pray that other families don't have to have the same path to happiness and love.  So tonight, I set and reflect on our life so far and the challenges we have to face.  I pray that no matter where life may take our family, I lead by example.  I trust that God is with all of us each day helping us make the right decisions today, tomorrow, and the next, and 40 years from now. 

Just Thursday

 
Outside my window... it is dark.
The time is...8:54 p.m.
Today I feel...sick.
I am thinking...I don't want to go to work tomorrow.
At the moment, I am thankful...to be home from my work travels.
I am going...bed soon.
I am wearing...my favorite green sweat pants and a Disney World t-shirt I've had since 6th grade.
I wish...I didn't have this cold!
I am reading...The Five Love Languages.  Still.  I'm loosing interest.
I am working on...finding my workout motivation again.
I am hoping...for a relaxing weekend.
I am hearing...some dumb extermination tv show my husband is watching.
I bet you didn't know...my husband got a new job!
One of my favorite...meals is spaghetti.

Weekend Plans...

[Thursday] Sleep.
[Friday] Preschool Halloween party; work; laundry.
[Saturday] Relaxing at home; cleaning; baking; Halloween party.
[Sunday] Church; relaxing.

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Beef Cows!

Tonight we were driving to the Mexican restaurant we were eating at for dinner with my parents tonight.  Along the way, Caden interjects into the conversation that there are beef cows over there!  They were there, I acknowledged that, and then Caden continues with: Mommy we're going to eat those.  They make cheeseburgers.  I like cheeseburgers.  Yes, yes they do, and yes we eat them!  Yum!

It makes me proud to know that I'm raising a little boy who is learning about agriculture and where our food comes from.  It's so important as agriculture is continually changing, and there is so much negative advertising about agriculture, that it is important to us that our children grow up understanding where our food comes from and why.

Just Thursday

Outside my window... a parking lot and some trees!

The time is...9:11 p.m. (MN time!)

Today I feel... ready to go home.

I am thinking... practice makes perfect.

At the moment, I am thankful... my career/job.

I am going... go to the airport tomorrow morning!

I am wearing... dress pants, turtle neck, and a blazer.  (It's chilly up here in MN!)

I wish... I was crawling into bed with my hubby tonight.

I am reading... The Five Love Languages. (Except I haven't touched it in awhile.)

I am working on... working meetings away from home.

I am hoping... for smooth flight home tomorrow.

I am hearing... humming. My room is next to the mechanical/electrical room.

I bet you didn't know... we had exciting news in our home this week!

One of my favorite... meals is spaghetti.

Weekend Plans.. 

[Thursday] Dinner and drink with the co-worker I'm traveling with.

[Friday] Flying home to dinner with my in-laws.

[Saturday] I promised the kids a pumpkin pie and jack-o-lanterns this weekend before leaving Monday for Colorado.

[Sunday] Relaxing, laundry, and packing before leaving again.

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License Plates

My family and I spent the weekend in the State of New York visiting with my friend Robin.  

When we started driving through New York, I noticed a LOT of yellow colored license plates.

In my mind, all I could think was gee there are a lot of drunks in New York.

You see, I'm from Ohio.

In Ohio, only those with DUIs have yellow license plates. 

So to those of you from New York, I thought you were all a bunch of drunks.

Parenting Class: Week 2

This week we reviewed what we learned last week in class, and we started to expand.

This week our homework assignment is to expand on play time.  Not only are we to dedicate 10 minutes a day to child-directed play time, but we're also to start practicing some verbal coaching with the boys.  It's a method to talk about what they're doing during play time and encouraging their actions. 

We'll see how it goes; it's an awkward thing to do in practice.  (We do some role playing/practice in the class.)

On another note, when we broke down into small groups this week, my husband and I were separated.  I dislike that.  I'm not a social person.  I can't make small talk.  I'm very uncomfortable around people I don't know.  I like being able to use my husband as my "shoulder."  I should really work on this, but I'm not too motivated to. 

Next week I'm going to miss parenting class.  I'll be traveling in Minnesota for the week for work, but my husband is going to fill me in.  Hopefully after that, we'll be able to working in the same group!

Point Pleasant, NJ

Another segment of our vacation from July. I know, I'm late, but on with the fun!

After our first day was spent traveling, and our second day spent at Idlewild Park and Story Book Forest, we headed to NJ where we spent the late afternoon at the Point Pleasant.   

This is also where this moment happened.  I am so glad I blogged about it that day to remember our family vacation.  It is one of my favorite moments in our family life to date!  Since I didn't have a photo of that moment, I do have these to share!

I have never in my life seen so many people in once place, where all I could see for miles was person after person after person.  This shore is a crowded busy place.  I'm not a huge beach-goer, but in the ones I have been to (mostly in Florida) I have never had to pay to reach the water.  Nor have I not been able to find a place to put our things down, or even move 10 feet from my group and not be able to see them.  It definitely had my protective mommy instincts fully engaged!

My kids had been asking for a beach all summer.  We found a way to make it work, even if only for a few hours, they really enjoyed it!  I'm so happy we were able to fit this into our trip!