A Must-Follow Blog

I love to share things I find useful, interesting, and fun. This blog is no different. The author, someone I am proud to know, is so full of wisdom and grace and that shows in her writtings which are about her parenting style and techniques. Not only is she a great mom, but she is a trained educator and counselor so she knows her stuff. Her blog is new so it will not take you long to get caught up. After reading her 4 entries, I am so energized and pumped up about being a better parent to my kids! Check it out and let her (and me) know what you think!

Parenting What I Preach

Happy Blogging!

Today was a normal day until...

the sky fell.

OK so not really but I, or rather my van, was abused by objects falling or from the sky courtesy of a very strong gust of wind today.

That missing piece of the sign is what fell/flew into my van. I was surprised by how heavy those things are and very thankful no body got hit by it.

Moral of the story - Upfront parking has its price.

Update

At least once a day I think about something I would like to blog about. So why does it never come to fruition? Too busy? Too tired? Too forgetful? Yes Yes and Yes. But to be honest with you and myself I think the biggest reason is a theme that seems to be weaving itself throughout many areas of my life. I can sum it up in one word.

Inadequate.

I cannot pinpoint where or when this became such a huge part of my life and I am sure it is something that always was lurking. Now it has become a headliner. In talking with my friends, I know I am not alone in this. I have been praying a lot that the constant recording of "You are not *insert adjective like good, smart, talented * enough" would be replaced with the Truth. So bear with me as I struggle through this.

Fortunately our God is a gracious and loving God and has faithfully placed people and opportunities for me to work through this. The Bible Study I just finished (Taking Charge by Andy Stanley) was great and the one we are about to start sounds like it was written for me! (Amber I will get that DVD back to you soon, I promise!) I keep trying to remember what I tell my kids which is this. God made you and God does not make mistakes.

Other highlights and happenings (in bullet form because I [heart] bullet points!)

• I am done homeschooling. As you may remember I was not exactly confident when we began this journey last August and so I am quite relieved it is over. The sad thing is that the rest of my family was really OK with it all. I however hated every minute of it. We got Z into a Charter School which is quite a drive from us. Z loves it so much and is so happy to be in school again and is doing really well. It has been a trick arranging how to get Z and K from school because they get out of school 5 minutes apart and are 30 miles away from each other. Since Scotty is not getting my calls to be beamed up, Steve is getting K and I am getting Z and we have a few lovely friends who offered to be back-up if we need it. This is only for the remainder of this year. Next year they will be in the same school - just not sure which school that will be. Stay tuned!
• Because of our new school situation I am back on a schedule. I personally do well with the structure a schedule brings. Because Z has to be at school in the morning now, I have to get up to get him there! I set my alarm an hour before the kids need to get up so that I can have some time to myself. I LOVE being up when the rest of the world is asleep! Those who knew me in high school and college will likely question that but I swear it is the truth. I treasure that hour to sit in the pre-dawn quiet of my house to read, pray, work-out or just drink my coffee. With the rest of my day filled with chores focused on the needs of others, this time for me is precious! And I love seeing the sun-rise. I get to witness the opening of the gift of each new day! Cheesy yes but hey, that's me! I do still struggle to get to bed early though. Gotta work on that.
• I have lost 8 pounds. Not many knew I was trying to loose weight and honestly I am not one for the formality of starting a diet so I didn't. What did I do? Just a few small things like not snacking before bed, paying attention to what I eat, getting more protein in my diet and working out more often. I have no set weight or size I am striving for, but I do want to be able to run a 5k and I want to fit into this cute dress I got for my cousin's wedding. I got it at a thrift store and it does not have any tags in it so I do not know the size which works with my non-goal non-diet. I'll post pictures sometime.

I think that is about it.

Mid-Week Pick-Me-Up

My cousin sent this to me and it is so cute I had to share. It is only a little over a minute long. I hope you have a great day!

Yee-Haw!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the National Western Stock Show with my kids. After a suprise snow storm (see above!), my hubby's rushed trip to buy chains for the van, figuring out how to put them on, returning home to take them off because the roads were only wet (total I-told-you-so opportunity, which I resisted), and a very slow drive to the complex - we made it! The storm turned out to work in our favor because it seemed to have kept many people home. I hate crowds when I am with my kids. Serious anxiety attacks. But that is a blog for a different day.

Back to the four-legged fun!

Instead of giving you a play by play, I will just share a few of my many pictures.

Back-Stage with a Professional Rodeo Clown:

There is more room in there than in my old apartment!

Watching the Cowboys:

I loved the lightning bolt mark on this horse.

Petting Farm:Happy was very popular after she spilled their food in her coat and hood.

I know it doesn't look like it, but she really loved this over-sized rocking horse. I think it was me she was getting annoyed with! :)