Marriage in the Now

It has been an incredible 6 days. On Saturday, January 24, 2009 Joshua and I attended a Dr. Gary Chapman marriage seminar. It's a one day 9-3 thing that goes through and touches on some important marriage issues. Biggies- Communication and Sex among other important issues.

Joshua has been THE MAN! He has been so freaking amazing. I mean, consistently amazing. I, on the other hand, have sucked. I've been moody and stressed, and anxious, and stressed and stressed. And I'm an outward sorta, girl. If I'm stressed, it's all out. He's been understanding and patient. Loving. UNDERSTANDING!!! He's rubbed my back during an almost panic attack, and he's done the dishes and cooked dinner when I was just too exhausted to peel my butt of the couch.

I'm praying that we can begin reading the book we bought at the seminar, and start using more of what we learned that afternoon. Joshua got it. I mean- he totally got it. I want to get it better and have both of us KEEP IT.

Thank You JESUS for working this miracle. I'm so humbled, and amazed that YOU thought so much of us that You would work this out in the way it has worked.

Step One, Step Two

Joshua and I have been working a lot with Leah; we try to encourage her to stand alone, and in the last few days, she has been getting more gutsy. She'll stay up for a few seconds and then sit herself down. Today!!!!! Today, she stood for, eh, I don't know, maybe 20 seconds (awesome!!). She was just kinda looking around. And I sort of coaxed her to try to move toward me. Typically, she'd have just flung herself forward, but TODAY she moved one little leg forward and then fell. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's not all. I'm all about pushing the limits, so I grabbed her paci (I know, terrible) and sort of used it as bait. After a few tries, she took a COMPLETE step. One foot forward, second foot forward, and then she flung herself at me. I could cry. I COULD JUST CRY!!! I know it's not, by most standards, a very huge deal, but I have been inwardly scared to death that there was something wrong with her. oh, I've been praying and praying and praying and Joshua has been Mr. Optimist and said that she just had no desire to stand or walk. I mean? Why would she need to, or want to? I guess she's ready to get in on the action a little with a little more mobility. Good news. Ahhhhh.

So, I'm beyond psyched. Had to share the 'proud mommy' news

Consistency

I have been busy, but I would like to try to be consistent in the " thanks" journal.

So, I'm just going to go through a list of things that I am thankful for from Fri-Sun.

1. The opportunity to go out for an entire afternoon with my husband.
2. The fact that God provided us with a financial ability to attend a somewhat pricey one day marriage conference with Dr. Gary Chapman
3. Leah sings.
4. Quick Shine
5. The fact that my husband applied Quick Shine to my living/dining room floors for me.
6. Coffee from Starbucks. I haven't had it in so long, it made me happy.
7. My sisters compliments and the fact that she shares the positive things other people say about me. It's always so nice to know when someone is talking good stuff about me "behind my back">
8. Compliments from my husband. ("I really enjoy the way you write")
9. Learning how to be a better mommy through Christ-Centered books and biblical principles.
10. So very thankful for another "pregnant-free" month.

Just WRONG!

So, during my butt-busting 3-4 days per week, 2 hours per day work outs, (Sept/Oct/Nov) I couldn't lose weight. I was being careful, watching what I ate, but I mean... the scales wouldn't budge! I ultimately lost a grand total of 5 or 6 pounds over that 3 month period. I got really really sick in November, around Thanksgiving, and have yet to get back into a routine because it took me a while to fully recover. ( I have gone to the gym- just not consistently. )

However- during the past month I have dropped an additional 2 pounds. We're talking not working out during the holiday food fest, being random in my cardio and weights routine, eating food I shouldn't be eating, and I lose 2 pounds??? I'm sure not complaining, but I am very confused. I'm slightly aware that it's possible to have replaced some fat with muscle, therefore, sort of making the weight loss unnoticeable on the scales during that time period, because I have dropped a "half" of a pants size. Basically, all the pants I own are too big, but I'm not small enough in the belly to go the next size down. IT is still confusing. I loved my work out routine, and miss it! But, wonder if it was necessary to put in all that hard work?

My birthday is in 2 weeks, and more than anything, I would LOVE to be able to drop the 12 pounds I need to drop in order to acheive my "20 pounds lost by my birthday". 6 pounds week isn't really likely, but it'd be cool if it did happen!

it's those little things: Joshua

This morning, before Joshua left for work, he hugged me, and said "Thanks, honey, for all you do. Thanks for taking care of our house and taking care of our kids." Sweet!

Joshua is the master fire-builder. Today, the wood that he put in the fire place early this morning, slowly burned through out the day, keeping our house warm and cozy. No wood needed to be added to the fire place until Joshua came home this evening (around 5:30)

He caught understood my frazzled state, and not only reminded me that I wanted to go to the tanning bed, he also put all 3 girls to bed by himself.

I love it when he remembers! This afternoon, I asked him to bring one of his dad's trucks home so that he could haul of a few unwanted items out of our yard. He didn't ask me for any help when he came home, (though I'd have been glad to do help), he just loaded everything we had talked about hauling off into the truck. On top of that, he also communicated to me that it was taken care of. I didn't have to give it a second thought!

Before going to bed, Joshua gave me a kiss good-night, and didn't even harass me about staying up later than him (again).

it's those little things

I saw this thing on this show about keeping a Journal of Thanks. And the author suggest that a person keep a journal, and through out the day, they MUST find 5 things with in that particular day to be thankful for. For example, you can't say "I'm thankful I have a house, a job, blah blah blah". It's about being thankful and pointing out the positive aspects of each day.

And, so... here I am. I have to log on to this blogger thing daily and name my 5 thanks for the day, but I added an extra bonus to this task, and I also have to name 5 reasons I am thankful for my husband each day. Here we go:

My day:
Leah helped me take the laundry out of the dryer and put it in the laundry basked. It was sweet, and adorable. She would pick up a sock, look at me, and then put it in the laundry basket, look back at me, and find something else to pick up. Once all the clothes were in the basket, she started pulling them OUT of the basket. Just one little piece at a time. I'm so thankful for the time I had to sit back and enjoy my 15 month old baby girl.

* On our white end table, to the left, there is a small black and white photo of Kyla at age 3 and Zoe age 1 framed in a square, cherry finished 8x8 frame, aside the frame, slightly centered on the table is a few long pieces of fresh eucalyptis in a slender vase that looks like a wine carafe, and on the right side of that is a tall, silver finished lamp with a bright satin white lamp shade. The table sits in front of a window that is treated with white wooden blinds and a plain white cotton tabbed curtain. The window sits on a smokey sort of charcoil blue wall, and it is framed with a bright white painted trim. For some reason, that table just looks so beautiful to me. Like it's a piece of art or something. I love it! I'm thankful that the Krogar floral department had that eucalyptis on sale for $2. Everything else on that table- we had already.

*On our kitchen table, in the center, there is a basket full of white napkins. Beside that basket, a large solid red cup, and in that cup, a bouquet of yellow and orange flowers. I am thankful that we have a big table to sit at when we eat dinner together as a family, and that today, that table looks so comfortable.

*After dinner this evening, Kyla began complaining. She continued to whine and complain when prompted to clean her mess from the table, saying that it wasn't fair that she had "chores" to do. (Cleaning her mess is a chore?) As a sort of reminder that she actually didn't have much to do, we told her she needed to clean up by herself. She walked away, sort of pouting, and started to look for the broom. Zoe followed Kyla and said "What's the matter, Kyla? Why are you sad?" Kyla responded with a grumpy "I have to clean the house", and Zoe said in a super cheery voice "Oh, OK, I - will - help - you- CLEAN -then!!!". I am so thankful that Zoe has a sweet love for her sister. It is actually often that Zoe is concerned for Kyla. Kyla refused Zoe's offer at first, because she thought she had to clean by herself, but we explained to Kyla that it was so sweet for her sister to want to help her, and that it would be perfectly fine. RIGHT after that, Kyla's demeanor changed. She was chipper, and thankful, and polite. I'm thankful that Kyla was able to see the importance of THANKS.

*The day was certainly long, and since I've been trying to get our house organized for the past few months, today was no exception. Actually, today was more of a "job" because I had to incorporate lots of cleaning to that organizing, since we'll be hosting our small group Bible Study this Sunday. All that to say- I was just ready for a break! I found a tanning salon close by that stayed open until 9:30pm, so I went for a 15 minute sunshine break, and it was awesome. I had my MP3 queued to some great worship music, and just soaked up some peace. I'm thankful for 15 minutes!

Kyla is making me crazy with her unwillingness to be respectful. She is me. I am learning what changes I need to make through her. Kyla has an extremely compassionate personality, and her ability to empathize with a person whether it's a tv character or her baby sister is beautiful. But her ability to obey, and her ability to show respect are in need of a makeover.

Talk about being blown away! She is reading so well now. After only 100 days of school, she has surpassed her kindergarten reading program. She reads everything! I'm amazed at how smart and eager to learn she is.

Kyla questions everything and everyone.... and as a parent that expects obedience, it gets difficult, but at the same time, as a parent that wants the best for her daughter; it makes me feel a bit relieved knowing that in her adult life she'll not allow anyone to walk all over her.

Basics

I lost my blogger info; so I haven't been keeping track. Very typical of me. I start something, with great intentions of making it fabulous; and then I get caught up in the everyday and forget about it.

It's 2009. What a crazy world we live in! The economy is compared often to that of The Great Depression in the 1930's. We are blessed, though, because we've been able to maintain a very comfortable life despite the economic blow. Our family is still making it. Joshua is working with his dad; he makes a varied paycheck per week, but it's always enough. (our Anderson's Roof Repair business was officially out of our hands in June 2008)

We still live in our comfortable 3 bedroom 1.5 bath 1100 sq ft. home. It's tiny, and it has it's quirks (such as no central heat or central air). I'm thankful for this house, though. As small, and cluttered as it is; this house has saved us from the bondage of renting and ultimately, this house will have been a great investment since we've already made $45k in equity. Not bad.. not bad at all.

Our vehicles are all 11 years old (a 98 Dodge Truck, 98 Toyota Camry, and a 98 Toyota Sienna) It's hilarious, the Camry was purchased while I was pregnant with Kyla, and it has over 200k miles on it. It is missing 3 of the 4 outer door handles, and comes complete with numerous "unique" qualities, but it's still going strong. WE called that car our gift from God car. It's been miraculously low maintenance. The Sienna is a good vehicle. Point A to Point B to transport this 5 member family, and I'm so thankful for it! Joshua's truck, it's basically a yard ornament right now. We need to sell it, because it was previously used for work, but haven't yet. What is the deal with 1998? Great year for car making because we've got some sturdy ones. The best thing about our hunks of metal is that they are paid for and have been for quite some time now.

God is taking care of us in such miraculous ways. He has allowed us to live a simple, minimum amount of financial obligations life, and has prepared us for these tough economic times by allowing us to go through periods of famin. During the times of famin, we learned that no matter what; God is going to provide. He will always show up. Always! There was never a time that our power was shut off, or that we were hungry. There were never times that we weren't able to pay our bills (eventually). We always had clothes to wear; God gave us this beautiful wisdom during those harsh times. Money is still a stressful thing. It's a vital part of our world. You have to have it! But God's grace has allowed us to be ok with the simple things. And, honestly, we're not JUST ok with simplicity- we love it!