Winter Storm
January 17, 2012
A Trip To The Park
January 12, 2012
We are a one car family. That means we don’t take very many adventures away from our neighborhood. (And our neighborhood isn’t that exciting to a almost 2 year old.) We don’t have any parks within walking distance of us that aren’t on school property, and you can’t go on school property while school is in session, so we don’t make it to the park very often either.
Today, grandma came to visit and took us to the park.
He was like a bird let out of his cage. He was free to run and play. His smile was ear to ear.
It was cold and wet, but I didn’t care. I just wanted him to have fun. So he climbed through damp tunnels and slid down wet slides.
It was hard to get a picture of him because he was just on the move the whole time.
He chased the ducks and didn’t bother to stop at the edge of the water. He just went right on in to his calves. Grandma had to go in after him.
No worries. We just tossed him in the bath when we got home, fed him a good lunch, and now he’s down for the count.
Negative Self-Talk
January 11, 2012
I came across this post the other day and she just so simply stated what has been on my mind lately. I was again reminded of how I can let my negative self-talk take up residence in my mind. Not only do we sometimes let others infect our minds with their hurtful words, but we can allow the flood waters of our own hurtful words wash over us within the four walls of our own home.
I tend to do this often. I make a mistake, catch my reflection in a mirror, or forget something important and instantly I start tacking up 4 x 6 cards on a cork board in my brain with words like stupid, idiot, fat, and ugly on them. Let me tell you, I’m running out of room on my board. Granted, I’m just repeating the same words over and over again and they’re just overlapping each other, but still, that’s far from the point.
The point is, these are all lies the enemy wants me to believe about myself. And the more I tack up those cards, the more I actually start to believe them. Lately, I’ve just been sick and tired of beating myself over the head with these lies. (Here would be a window of opportunity to tack up anther card, but I’m refraining.) Even though it’s going to take a lot of work and discipline, and I will fail at times, I want to stop thinking negatively about myself. I want to start tacking up cards with truths on them.
So, here I go. I’m taking down the old cards and tacking up some new ones.
Chosen. Beloved. New Creation. Forgiven. Loved. A Treasure. Daughter to The King.
I challenge you to do the same because we are all guilty of this from time to time. And, if you catch a friend of yours doing this to themselves…why not gently give them a word of truth to replace the card of negativity that they are trying to hang up. Friends don’t let friends believe the lies the enemy is trying to force feed them.
A good study that I started (and never finished, but hope to) a few summers ago is Me, Myself & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild.
Dreaming Of Warmer Places
January 9, 2012
I am so cold. Like cold to the bone. I’m not typically someone who gets cold. I always joke that I’m going through early menopause at the ripe young age of 29 because I can have serious hot flashes and when I’m hot, everyone is almost always not.
It’s not even freezing temperatures here in the Seattle area. It’s cold, but not freezing cold. We had a very mild summer, fall, and we are even having a mild winter. Because of the mild summer last year, we only had about 1 or 2 weeks in a row of real summer sunshine with temperatures reaching the 80′s, with a few days here and there in between. Because of that, it felt like summer just never arrived.
I am dying for some sunshine and warm weather. More specifically, I want to be somewhere where there are sandy beaches to bury my toes, rolling waves the temperature of bath water, towering palm trees to shade my eyes, and where it rarely dips below 70. So basically, California, Florida, or better yet Hawaii!
Anyone want to adopt me for a while?
Crib
January 5, 2012
I had just returned to the kitchen after rummaging around in the spare room for some crafting supplies, when I heard this crash/thud from down the hall. My first thought was something had fallen in the spare room after my scavengering. But as I made my way down the hall, I stopped at Liam’s door, who had just been put down for a nap, wondering if maybe the noise had come from his room, as it had sounded closer than the back bedroom at the end of the hall. So I peaked in his room. To my surprise, I found him on the floor by his crib. The kid had scaled the railing of his crib and fell to the floor below in a heap. A wave of shock washed over me and I just stood there looking at him as he got up and, with his proud little face, walked right past me stating that he had gotten out of his crib.
To this point, he has not tried to climb out of his crib. Pack-n-play, yes. Crib, no. I’m thankful that, as far as I know, his only battle wound is a scratch on his face. Time will only tell. The only tears shed, were the ones accompanied by the realization that punishment was to follow.
I was hoping that we had a little more time before we needed to make the move to a big boy bed. Mostly because I’m not looking forward to the training that will go along with it (i.e. getting up multiple times after being put down, playing with toys instead of in bed, or waking up to little eyeballs staring back at me before I’m ready to get my lazy butt out of bed).
I knew this day would come, but I’m not ready for my baby to be old enough for a real bed. I still want to be greeted by his blue eyes and smiling face peering over the railing as I come in to get him in the morning. Instead, it will be my sleepy eyes trying to adjust to the enthusiasm of a little boy who is so proud of the fact that our roles have now reversed.
