Enslaved

While the primary purpose of this blog has been to keep you all up-to-date with our family, I'm starting to feel the pull to share a little something more.  Motivational speaker, Priscilla Shirer (Going Beyond Ministries), talks about how we become enslaved to things in our life - "Are we so addicted with chaos that we can't even enjoy a break when it's thrust upon us? .... Because anything we've been given to enjoy outside of the boundaries in which it was designed to flourish will cause chaos, catastrophe, disaster and destruction in our lives."

Seriously, let those thoughts soak in for a few minutes.

She challenges us all to think about things in our life that are have taken over in place of God (anything from shopping, eating, social media,work, home improvements, marriage, children, relaxing, hobbies, exercise, appearance, etc.). The list could go on and on and each affects us different based on our personalities and interests. If we can't let God be God in our lives, then we're losing sight of his intentions for us while we're in this world. I'm just as guilty as the next, but in today's society, if we're not "busy," we're not happy.  It seems anymore that when you ask someone, "What have you been up to?" The response, in some form or another, comes with the answer of 'I've been so busy with ...'  Does a full schedule give us a sense of significance or worth? Ultimately I wonder if the these 'things' in our life provide a sense of false self-fulfillment.  Are we just keeping up with the Joneses' because that's what we do in today's world? Who are we trying to impress? Is there ever an end to finding self-satisfaction? She states, "Our tendency toward too-full lives often expresses itself most tangibly in our over-crowded closets, unmanageable table surfaces and cluttered desks as we cram them full of far more than we need.  Even our children fall prey to the chaos of overcrowded living as their toy boxes and bookshelves overflow with more than they ever manage. In the meantime they sit, chin in hand, complaining of boredom."  AMEN! Those words hit home as I have reflected for quite some time about how we {as a family} manage our possessions, time and communication. I've threatened more than once, upon hearing "Mom, I'm bored," that I'm going to pack up all of the untouched toys and give them to children who have none. Empty threats, but I'm feeling like there's more to that idea of getting rid of, or de-cluttering, our lives. My children crave personal time with their family and friends and are always much happier, in the end, with personal interaction than with a toy or electronic device.

I don't know what God as in store for me; but, I want more than THINGS in my life. I want meaningful relationships and self-love. We get one shot at life on Earth and I'm ready to improve myself and hopefully the lives of those around me.

Easter to N.O.W.?!

Saaay Whaaat?!  I'm slightly embarrassed that my last post was from Easter!  If you missed seeing all of our pictures this Spring and Summer on Facebook, then I recommend you go and check out how it all shook out for us!  It was busy, fun and exhausting all at the same time. THIS was going to be the summer that I played SUPER-MOM!  That's right - I had planned to have "summer school" activities that correlated with the topic of the week at Kailer's summer camp.  With all good intentions in place, the pins still sit nicely on my Pinterest board. It's the thought that counts, right?!  Of course it {summer} flew by - not a blink of an eye after we said our 'good-bye's' to Kailer's kindergarten teacher, we were headed into the school to start 1st Grade! Impossible.  I always have lots of fun thoughts for posts running through my head, but I never seem to make the time to sit down and get them on my blog.  I'd like to promise I'll do better, but that's a stretch!  So, I'll do my best - how's that for effort?! :)

Sit back and enjoy any upcoming posts - but please, please, don't hold your breath waiting .... my track record holds little to be desired!

A successful wrestling season for Kailer!

So, so much fun - something the whole family loves!

Kailer: "I was a little bit scared, but, Aylah, she wasn't one bit scared!"

Exploring caves

So peaceful!

1st day of First Grade!

Chirp-Chirp

I used to say, "I do my best work at night," but I can't really claim that tonight.

What is wrong with this picture, look closely!?

It may be difficult to see, so I'll help you out - neither of the wine bottles are empty. And why does that matter?  It matters because somewhere in the past 5 years, Pinterest has managed to convince me that in my former life I was Martha Stewart (Sans the legal problems) and can bust out a late-night Easter treat with no problems. HA! The way I see it, I needed the contents of those bottles to get through this project and that didn't happen either.

Pinterest and I have a love/hate relationship and quite honestly I shouldn't attempt to complete any pins that involve more than involuntary breathing on my part!  Seriously, what kind of Betty Crocker is able to make such beautiful creations? But I'm stubborn enough that I continue to try and tonight was no different.  I set out to make "just a few" Nutter Butter Easter chicks for the kids, some of their friends and neighbors.  I should have known it wasn't going to go well when the sticks wouldn't stay in the cookies and I burnt my fingers several times fishing them out of the melted chocolate.  Upon completing my first chick (and giving up on the sticks all together), it became blatantly obvious that I needed the regular sized Reeces Pieces (not the minis), as my chicks looks like little mutants with their tiny feet and wings!

Why stop "at just a few" though - I had a whole 'lotta melted chocolate and I was determined to make at least one chick that looked halfway descent.  I can't say as I really succeed in making a normal looking one and now I'm left to ponder what to do with 23 chocolate dipped cookies!  I'll ask Kailer in the morning if he wants to take them to school for his classroom friends .... and I'll keep my fingers crossed that there isn't the Betty Crocker Mom of Saddle Peak in his room tomorrow to see them... OR worse yet (*Gasp*) another mom who made the same treats that turned out!

I think it might be best to stick to my day job!

Easter 2015 -

Pinterest 1 :  Shey 0

Bunnies...of ALL Types!

Wow!  I cannot believe that it's nearly Easter - and already April.  The "old folks" were right, yet again: time does go by faster and faster as you get older (and have children).  I'm no more prepared for the arrival of the Easter bunny than I was for the birth of my first child, but somehow I'll pull it together and it will all work out.

Last week I ended up with flu that left me virtually sleeping for 3 days and feeling like I was living in a fog; the weirdest feeling I've ever experienced and nothing I want to go through again any time soon.  The kids benefited though.  Dad was 'in charge' and they were able to enjoy PB&J for dinner .... now that's SPECIAL! :)

It's back to reality for their dinnertime pleasures and our regular routine is in check.  We have been fortunate to enjoy some truly beautiful Spring weather this year.  The kids and I got to enjoy time together while Daddy was called out to work last Sunday.

I tucked my babies into bed and as I was going down the stairs, I noticed that our family picture was crooked in the floating frame - again - after I had fixed it last weekend.  I laughed to myself because this is now the life I lead...crooked pictures, dust bunnies, sticky-finger smeared windows, scattered toys....and somehow I've been given the grace to let go of what I once thought was important. (In the infamous words of Elsa from Frozen - and now Aylah who loves the song - "Let It Go.")  I used to clean my house, religiously - Every.Single.Weekend! It's not like that anymore, not at all.  While our house is not a disaster, it's also not spotless and I'm okay with that.  My children do not want to spend their Saturday cleaning, or waiting for Mom to clean.  It's just not that important to me, not to mention that the tidiness doesn't ever last long!  Too many lives are spent fulfilling expectations that really don't matter - it's time to LIVE life, not just reside in it.

Odds and Ends

I'm not going to lie, wrestling has consumed our lives since it started and on top of that, I decided to put Aylah in swim lessons on Wednesdays.  Why not add something to the schedule?!

This week was Kailer's spring break and we did something 'fun' yesterday and he had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears.  Poor little guy got a nasty ear infection in January that left him with thick fluid in his ears that wouldn't clear itself and a fairly significant hearing loss.  He took surgery and recovery like a champ!  We're beyond blessed with these two children.

Copy and paste to see one of Kailer's wrestling pins!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qDfIu0I5lg&feature=youtu.be

Our Little Grappler

This post was on Dan's Facebook page.  His pride shines through and I wanted to share it with those who do not spend time on social media!

I am one proud daddy today. My little man had his first ever wrestling tournament. He lost his first match but lasted all three rounds and then went on to win his second match 12-1 and pin his opponent for the third place win in his last match! Such an amazing feeling to experience your son's first wrestling match, his first win and his first pin all in one day!

This was our conversation tonight as we were waiting for practice to start:

Me: Kailer, how are your muscles, are they growing?
Kailer: No
Me: Why not?
Kailer: I don't know....I just need someone to beat me up and then I'll get stronger!

Dr. Seuss Week!

Once again, credit to Kailer's teacher for having pictures for me to post ....

Oobleck!

Reading With Third Graders

Green Eggs and Ham (and apparently multi-colored goldfish)0