WHERE TO START

 

  

Sometimes I don't know where to even start. Above was my day in a nutshell. After a decade of avoiding it, I finally went to the dentist. I was extremely nervous, but was pleasantly surprised (as was the dentist) to the shape my teeth were in. A nasty storm came through and when it had passed, like bears coming out of hibernation we ventured outside. Henry made the most of puddles, while Lucia and I just tried to stay warm. Henry got a lot of good male bonding in with his daddy, rough housing and skateboarding. Today Lucia had her first taste of solid foods. I made her some carrots and she did very well. She's a take charge kind of girl, she kept trying to take the spoon out of my hand to feed herself, which is more proof that this adorable little creature is mine!

It was the kind of day that makes me absolutely grateful for my family, glad that we can do the little things together.

Today's Reflection:

Lord, thank you for days like this, where I realize I need people and I'm glad that I do!

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken " 

-Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

MY PHOTOGRAPHER

 I bought this little vintage Polaroid camera over the weekend and it sparked some interest in this little guy...

  

This is my nephew Rome and he may be the world's next great photographer.  He's 3 and he likes cameras. Sure he also likes dinosaurs, choo-choo trains and bugs (except ants), but when he takes an interest in something, I like to stand up and take notice. Here are some of the pictures he took with my camera...   

  

One day I will go to his gallery opening and I will walk up to the young artsy hipster admiring his work and pull these pictures out of my old lady purse and let them know "I knew from the get go!"

Now that I have kids and my nephews I am overwhelmed with hope for them. I know that God has great plans for them and I want to give them all the tools they need to follow those plans. I get excited watching them and seeing their little personalities and talents grow. Sometimes I might get a little too excited, but hey someone has got too! I hear my son singing 'Jesus loves me' and I'll call my mom, "He's going to be a worship leader!!" My nephew Levi wanders off from the playground to play in bushes and I'll tell my sister, "He's going to be an explorer or maybe an environmentalist or a missionary!" My daughter starts to babble (with conviction!) and I'll tell my husband "She's going to be a preacher!" They are everything to me and can do just about anything and I will be there rooting them on. Henry can be a chimney sweep and I'll be up on the roofs with him teaching him "chim-chim-cherree!"

Todays Reflection:

Feeling all this hope for these kids I can't help but wonder what kind of hope and plans God has for me. Does he stand up and cheer when he sees me following his plans? I guess no matter how old we are, 5 months, 30 years or 60 years we all still need a little encouraging and it's always nice when someone is there saying, "I believe in you!"

Lord thank you for the plans you have for all of us!

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future

-Jeremiah 29:11

amen, amen, amen!

LOVING WHERE YOU'RE AT MONDAY

I am totally unquestionably in love with my children. There are moments in my life when I look at them and I feel overwhelming joy there are moments when everything else gets quiet around me and I want to take in every ounce of them, capture ever piece of that moment so when I am old and they are no longer babies I can remember those tiny little moments.

I think part of loving where you're at is taking the time, if even a minute, to stop and pay attention to these lovely moments that God has graced you with.  My moments recently have been these.. 



Some might look at these pictures and not get it, which is okay. But on this busy Sunday morning it's like God smiled at me and said look what I can do! And I looked, and I'm so glad I did. 

Today's Reflection:
Have I missed other great memborable moments because I was too busy or distracted by things I have already forgotten? Lord, help me to start paying better attention to the beautiful moments you've graced me with.

OH FRIDAY

It's been a long week of potty training. I might be a little deprived of adult interaction, but I'm hanging in there. Today my mom came over to visit, lend a hand and help encourage the potty training. About 20 minutes into the visit she upset me (it happens!) and I asked her to leave. Do you know what that women did? She grabbed a blanket and made herself even more comfortable on my couch... 

Tried to hide...

 

Down right refused to leave! I told Steve the story and he said next time I ask him to leave he's going to do the same! It's like they're starting their own little 'Occupy Rena's house'. After I came to the realization that she really wasn't going to leave (she wore me down), we packed the kids up and headed to Target(that's pretty much how most of our fights are resolved). I needed potty training supplies, a strong cup of coffee and to see the light of day!

  

In the end I'm glad she didn't leave, she was a big help and Henry's always happy when Mama is around. He even got some new toys out of it, thanks Mama!

Today's Reflection:

You know, this incident somehow reminds me of my relationship with God. Sometimes, I think I can handle things on my own and I start pushing God out the door. Not that I don't love God, I just think I can take it from here. Do you know what God does? He makes himself comfortable, he just does not leave. God stays by my side, even when I try to get a little space from him. He knows me, and he stays, he's in this relationship, even when I start to fade.

How great is that?

and of course, that makes me love him even more and helps me to realize how much better things are when he's around!

Thank you Lord, for not abandoning me!

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

-Deuteronomy 31:6



Have a Lucia kind of weekend (a Happy weekend!)

TRAILER FOR SALE

My current obsession, thanks to my sister is vintage travel trailers. Recently I have been having a love affair with all things vintage! I think there's something about the world before over 200 channels on t.v., text messaging, social media, online shopping and nudity in just about every movie. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my modern day luxuries but from time to time I just want to disconnect and really focus on my family and the more simple things in life. Steve and I love camping and road trips, we pretty much fell in love on a road trip! And being the California girl I am, I love camping especially by the coast. So now, we are in the market for a vintage trailer. Because neither one of us has RVing experience we are pretty much learning as we go, spending a lot of time looking at used and new trailers asking a lot of questions, searching the web and checking out books that might help us! We are getting all our ducks in a row and hopefully soon I will be the owner of a trailer and the 'king' of the road! For now, we're having fun just shopping and dreaming... 

Today's Reflection:

I'm pretty blessed to have grown up in California and to have the opportunities to get outside and enjoy nature. I know that not all kids grew up camping like I did and I've heard there are people who have never been to the mountains or the beach. I'm grateful that my parents always took the time to take us places. Steve and I both have fond memories of road trips and camping as children and now being parents we appreciate how much work those trips must have taken and what an impact they had on us.

Lord, thank you for the opportunities you've given me, I do not take them for granted. I know it does not take much to find the beauty in the world you've created and I hope that I can share that with my children.

POTTY TRAINER

Yup, that's me, mom of two, wife, celebrity impersonator extraordinaire, amateur tap dancer, under a dollar fashionista, PB&J making coffee drinker and now added to my list of accolades...potty trainer (novice potty trainer really!)

I have locked us up in this house for the last two days and we are determined to get this kid potty trained! So far he is doing really well, I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure why it terrified me so much. I'm sure he's sick of me following him around and asking every 5 minutes if he needs to go. I've tried to make it as fun and easy for him. Today we had a little arts and crafts...

 

His daddy got in on the action too...

This piece will probably be worth more when he passes...

 

After two days inside and a lot of successful pee pee in the potty, I decided a little fresh air was needed, so we took a little family walk... 

 

 

  

Just the kind of break we needed and now we are refreshed and ready for day 4! 

Today's Reflection:

Lord, thank you for trusting me with this little guy! I am still amazed that you have trusted me with him, and I hope I can make you proud. I can get overwhelmed and scared about leading him an teaching him, I'm still learning myself! I pray that you continue to guide me as a parent give me the strength I need and the courage to follow you. Forgive me when I get it wrong and thank you in advance for the grace to realize it. He is yours and I am blessed every day by him!

Thank you, Thank Lord!

DATE NIGHT - FEBRUARY EDITION!

The other day I heard someone make the joke that by now everyone has already quit working on their New Year Resolutions. Not to be discouraged and loving a challenge, I am determined to continue working on mine! This Saturday, Steve and I went on our second date of the year (at least one a month is my goal!)

 

We were both extremely tired and we didn't really have any plans, although we did have a babysitter (grandma & grandpa are always on call!) so we decided we would just see where the night took us! We got in the car and decided to brainstorm, next thing we know, we were at the record store, browsing with no intention to buy! Just like we did when we were broke college students!

 

Next stop Coffee and Dinner!

Followed by the Movies (I know, crazy kids aren't we!). Not having the luxury of 'free time' anymore we decided that we needed to plan our dates a little better so we don't end up just going to the movies each time or end up driving aimlessly around Sacramento looking for something to do. The new plan is for us to take turns planning a date! We're going to write each date down and put them in individual envelopes and open one at the beginning of each month. We'll see how it goes, I do all the planning in this family, so I'll admit I'm a little nervous, but I'll let him surprise me and take advantage of a night off! I'm glad I made this one of my resolutions, it's fun dating my husband and no where near the pressure it use to be before we were married. Also, it's nice not having to say good-bye to him at the end of the night and instead we both get to say hello together to these sweet little faces safely asleep!

 

 

Looks like it was a good night all around!

Today's Reflection:

Lord, Today I want to say thank you. Thank you for keeping my marriage together. Thank you for giving us opportunities to reconnect, thank you for giving us both the desire to love one another. Thank you for creating us for each other, I know that you thought of me when you made him, you knew what I would need in a husband and even considered what I wanted. I find that comforting, I find that inspiring and I find that encouraging on days I do not get him! You know exactly what you are doing and because I know you love me, I know that my marriage is a loving gift from you that I need to cherish!

"The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."

-Proverbs 10:22



I WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN (ANYTIME SOON)

Sometimes I go out with the kids and people will look at me, baby strapped to my front, diaper bag around my shoulder, Henry wiggling in my hand. I usually get the comment "Oh, you've got your hands full don't you?" in which I just respond with a smile. I smile because I know this is just the beginning for me.  I'm hoping for a couple more kids and I can only imagine what they'll be saying then! Some days I brave the big world alone just me and the kids, some days I am successful, and some days I am not. Yesterday, I was not.

It's been a while since I've been to the library and I had been wanting to go for the last couple of weeks. Finally I got up the nerve to go by myself...

 

He's such a good boy, he tried his hardest! I had to pull him off a couple of shelves and "shhh" him a couple of times. I had to explain to him that I could not stop and take a picture of him down every aisle when he would loudly yell, "take a picture to me mommy! take a picture!" I had to give an apologetic look to the librarians while he pulled the books off the shelves and then put them back in the wrong place (no respect for the Dewey decimal system!). When we got the children's area, I had to convince him that the Dinosaur book was much better than 'Cooking traditional Native American Cuisine' (which he found in the cooking aisle and carried the entire trip, referring to it as "my book")

  

Feeling semi-successful we checked out and began to leave. We got to the parking lot when the following happened, my son had pooped, I had to pee (really bad) and I could not find my car keys meanwhile Henry's playing with a dirty McDonald's cup he found by our car. With Lucia strapped to me, Henry in my hand a book bag and diaper bag around my neck, I quickly rushed back into the library and into the restroom. I nearly peed my pants, Lucia still strapped to me as I'm bent over the toilet, bags on the ground in the cramped stall and Henry trying to get into the "feminine" waste basket and crawling on the dirty floor into the stall next to us. I apologize if that's too much information, but other parents will more than likely get me and those without kids, perhaps this will shed some light on what it can really be like at times.

In the end I found my keys, and we made it home in one piece, but I felt completely defeated! So defeated, I needed a whole day to blog about it! On the bright side, I learned a lesson for the next time and we got some good books... 

   

I find it ironic now that I got a bunch of books about 'Fun places to go with children'. I doubt that the library is listed in any of them!

Today's Reflection:

Dear Lord, sometime I need your help in finding the bright side. Yesterday when I got home I felt completely defeated, but now that I'm looking at it I can see how you can present these opportunities for me to grow. I am walking away with the following; 1. I am grateful for my kids, forgive me for times I might not show my appreciation. 2. Things are not so bad, if I focus on the positives, the negatives quickly fade. 3. I really have nothing to complain about!

Thank you! I will not give up, you are a good God and with you, I can do this!