Art Fair

I am so proud of my two oldest right now. Their school had an art fair, where the kids could submit a project if they wanted to. Alexis and Elijah both decided that they wanted to enter this year so they both worked hard and entered two completely different projects.

Today at chapel, awards were given out in six different categories. Don't ask me to name them all because I wouldn't be able to! Anyway, they both won! They each won in their own age groups in the "Best Craftsmanship" category. They were both surprised and so excited to win after working hard on their projects.

The One Degree Me...

Recently in church I learned how significant just one little degree can be. At 211 degrees water steams a whole lot but add just one degree and water boils. If you are off just on tiny degree on a hike, over one mile you will be off your target by 92ft which means by three miles you will be off by nearly a football field. That's huge! That really spoke to me, how something so small could make such a major difference.

If I applied that to my own life, what could I do daily to make myself better, to make a one degree difference in my own little world? I know, one degree doesn't seem like a lot, why don't I shoot for ten degrees or twenty? I guess I believe that if I add one degree everyday, it will compound majorly over time and I will become better and better. Also, by starting small I believe that I have a better chance of achieving something huge because by starting big there is a larger chance for failure.

So here is what my one degree looks:

First, every morning I would like to start my day in prayer. I know that may sound easy to some of you, but getting up and getting my 3 kids out of bed, fed, dressed and out the door for school in less than an hour is a major task. I believe that if I were to start my morning in a quiet time with the Lord, my mornings would be so much better and run much smoother. But for this to happen, I have to get out of bed an extra ten minutes earlier and that is NOT an easy thing for me! I like to sleep until the last minute, and I don't think I am alone in that!

Second, I would like to say things like, "just a second" or "in a minute" or "maybe later" to my kids a little less. As a mom, things get busy. It seems like there are always things to do, places to get to, meals to prepare, etc... And in doing all of those things I sometimes forget what is truly important, the people in my life, mainly my kids (my husband too!). I get busy doing things and want to get them done and sometimes my kids are trying to talk to me or show me something or get me to play with them and I respond with, "hold on a second". Well, when my daughter said to me the other day after I responded like that, "that means a long time Mommy." I realized she was right. When I say just a second, it isn't just a second, it's just something I say and I don't want my kids to think that just a second means a long time, or that what they have to say isn't important.

After all, when I am praying or talking with God, He doesn't ask me to wait or hang on, He doesn't make me feel unimportant. He is right there with me, listening to me with His full attention every time I ask. I want to enjoy my children while they are children, none of the things I am doing while my kids are asking for my attention are more important than my kids are. So my one degree in this area is going to be not saying "just a second" and not following through. I am going to try and put down whatever it is I am doing and give them my full attention, so that we can both enjoy each other in that moment. So I can appropriately marvel at the drawing my daughter made me or Lego creation my son built. Or I can listen to the story my child wants to tell me, and not miss out on that moment when my precious child just wants an open line of communication to talk with me about what is on their heart without me being preoccupied with something else. I don't want to miss out on any special moments I have with my children while they are still young. And I want them to know that they are important enough to be a top priority in my life. One degree better every day!

Next... My New Years Resolution this year is to make my bed every day. I know, that doesn't sound huge, but it really is. It's something that I knew I could do without too much effort, but something that I could feel accomplished doing. I have come to realized that with just that one thing done every day, it makes it easier to do just a little bit more. I can't tell you how long it has been since my room has been clean every day. But for the last month it has been, because after I make my bed, I can't just leave the socks on the floor so I pick them up and throw them in the hamper and oh look there is a toy I might as well pick that up too. And then ah, the room is nice and clean! So I figure if that works for my bedroom, it should work for the rest of the house. My one degree in this area will be to find one thing new every month that I will absolutely clean every day and do it, so by the end of the year I will have twelve things I am purposefully cleaning every day. Again, I know that it doesn't sound like a lot but I believe that it will snowball and like in my bedroom other things will be taken care of daily as well. 

There are other area's in my life that I want to become a better person in too. Area's I may already be pretty good at and other area's where I may need a lot of work, but I believe if I take them all one degree at a time I will be able to accomplish a lot.

I pray that I am able to achieve a little more every day and that I can become the One Degree Me that I want to be. I ask for all of my friends and family to encourage me, support me and challenge me in all of these area's. Thank you in advance for your support!

Season of Change...

First of all, I have to say that I hate change and I am not a fan of saying goodbye. But in the coming week I am going to be forced to do a little of both.

This coming Sunday, January 15th I am losing my wonderful friend Candace Peplowski and her family. I know I am being slightly dramatic about it since I am not losing her in the sense that I will never again see her, I am losing her because she is moving out of the state. Gone will be the days where I can hop in the car and within 30 minutes be sitting in her living room with the kids running around and playing and Candace and I chatting and catching up. Now in order for that to happen it will add 23 hours on to my car trip and that makes me sad.

Up until now I have been pretty successful in avoiding the fact that she is moving, but on Sunday we went to lunch to celebrate her husband David's birthday and sitting there I was struck with the thought that our little group, our family-of-friends won't all be together again for a long time, it finally made it real, that they are really leaving.

It has become such a constant thing -our group- we are always together, hanging out and doing things. A lot of holidays spent together, birthdays celebrated together, vacations taken together and countless game nights had... even if she wasn't that thrilled about the games!!! It was our normal, if we were doing something or going somewhere it was always assumed that the others were invited.

But now I can't go where she is going. Her family following God's will for their lives and although we will always be friends, her family must go where they are led. So to San Diego they go, the sun, the beaches, a warmer climate and real Mexican food! I know that the whole family is looking forward to it, to a new change and a new beginning. And I believe as a good friend it is my job to help her not to look back and wonder if this is the right thing, as a friend I must support her and pray for her and encourage her the best I can.

But being a good friend is not always an easy thing. I would be more than happy if she would stay right where she is, but I know that is my selfishness talking. How am I supposed to be the supportive, encouraging friend when my heart is breaking over my friend leaving, when my kids are sad because they are going to miss their friends and they keep asking me why they have to go? Like I said I hate change. The thing about change though, is that you can either accept it, move on, grow through it and learn from it. Or you can let it get you down, seep into your heart and harden and become sad and miserable, which I refuse to do.

I know that there are lessons in everything and that through this experience God is looking to teach me something. It is Him after all that put Candace and David and their family in my life. I prayed for it, I asked God to help me through a very hard and lonely time in my life and he put the most wonderful people in my path, the Peplowski's were some of those people. I have been blessed to be be able to call them friends, to call them family.

So I suppose that is where I find the strength to be a good friend, I know that they deserve God's blessings on their lives, that this move is them being obedient to what God has asked of them, and by being obedient they are in God's favor. I also find strength in the knowledge that although they are moving 1255 miles away, Candace is only really a phone call away. Yes, I won't be able to pop over to her house but with all the modern technology and my awesome Iphone, I can Skype with her and still see her beautiful face whenever I want. And heck, now I have a new place to go and visit! 

There is one more thing I would like to add: No matter how far they go, I will always consider the Peplowski's family! I love you Can and I will miss you dearly but you will never get rid of me!!

Thankful...

The year 2011 has ended and looking back I am bombarded with so many things that I am thankful for. I was in the car on my way home from returning a few things at the mall and I began to think of all of the wonderful blessings that I have been given so I thought that I would share some of them, so here I go.

First and foremost I am thankful for God, He is loving and forgiving, kind, gentle and always present in my life, He has given me more blessings than I could have ever asked for and even though I am far from perfect he loves me more that I can even fathom.

Next, I am thankful for my amazing husband, Dan. His love and support of me are truly a blessing, he works hard for our family every day and I couldn't be more proud of him. He provides for us and makes it possible for me to stay at home with our kids, which is important to both of us. He is the best father to our kids, he is playful and silly and his love for them is amazing to watch.

Alexis, my oldest child, I am so in awe of her. She is such an amazing little person and watching her grow up into a young lady is such a joy. She is smart and stubborn and sassy! She asks the most amazing questions and reads non-stop! She is my little helper, she loves to help her brother and sister and really anyone she can in whatever way they need her to. I love to see her give of herself and use the gifts that God has given her to benefit others. She loves the Lord with all of her heart and want's to reach out and tell everyone about Jesus and His love for them. I love watching her grow and can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.

Elijah, what a sweet soul my boy has. He loves people, being social, has a sensitive heart and the most contagious laugh I have ever heard. His imagination is awesome, I love to just sit and listen to him as he plays and imagines by himself (which is something he can spend hours doing all alone!). He loves to laugh and he loves to make other people laugh by being silly or telling jokes. He rarely ever stops moving but when he does he loves to sit quietly and spend time with Dan watching the discovery channel and learning new and interesting things. He also just discovered the joy of reading and the many adventures you can take as you immerse yourself in a good book.

My Baby, my Sunshine, my Keirah or (Kiki as we call her). Our resident Diva you could say! She is ALL GIRL and has the attitude to go with it. I am so thankful for what she brings to our family; princesses, pink dresses, anything sparkly, Barbie everything and the joy you get from twirling around in a frilly dress. Like I said, all girl! Kiki loves everything to do with getting dressed up, the dresses the shoes, getting her hair all curled and yes even the make-up, which to her disappointment she is not allowed to wear yet (at four years old, I'm sure that you would agree with me!). Except when she spends time with Grandma Mary, who, can never say no to her! Kiki loves art and everything that comes along with it, I guess that's a typical thing for a lefty though! She amazes me everyday with her artistic abilities and I look forward to seeing the way that God is going to use that for His benefit!

My family... Dan and I both come from large families, we are both blessed with amazing parents, wonderful siblings, nieces and nephews and large (very large!) extended families, most of whom are relatively close by. I love both sides of our families dearly. I love getting together and watching all of our kids spend time together and play and form such special relationships like I remember having when I was a little girl. It is an amazing thing to have such a large group of people who love you just for who you are, and a place to belong no matter what.

I am thankful for my children's school and teachers. Dan and I are blessed to be able to send our kids to an amazing school where they are loved and prayed for everyday. The teachers and staff are amazing, the parents that I am privileged to know are wonderful and my kids are making life-long friendships with awesome kids! I couldn't ask for anything better!       

I can't forget my friends, I am so thankful for each and every one of them, but if I listed them all separately I would surely run out of room. What I can say is that in the last year I have learned something new about myself through each one of my friends. I feel like I know better now who I am and who God has designed me to be through the experiences I have had with my friends. The sharing and the time spent. The many deep and sometimes not so deep conversations. The joy and even the sorrow I have gone through with my friends this year has been life changing. I am looking forward to more time and more learning with them all this year, God has placed each and everyone in my life for a reason and for that I am so very thankful.

There are so many other things that I can list that I am thankful for, but the people in my life are the most important!