6 Years

A few weeks ago my Husband and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary. We had an romantic candle light picnic on our living room floor while the kids watched a movie upstairs ( plan B when there are no available babysitters). It was a lovely evening and we spent sometime talking about were we started and where we are now and how unexpected things can get. Since then  I have thought about how what things I have learned so far in our adventure in marriage and parenting. Here is a list of what I have come up with, ENJOY!

1. You make plans and God laughs.
2. You can love someone more than life it self
3. I would be able to speak Army speak fluently. 
4. Never say never
5. Being a stay at home Mom is the most rewarding job on the face of the planet
6. Home is where you make it
7. Looking for a new church is the hardest part of moving
8. Family isn't just those who share your DNA
9. It only takes one afternoon for movers to pack up your entire life
10. No matter the distance there are friends who will be there no matter what.
11. When you have to you can make it through anything.
12. Mom's don't get sick days.
13. God puts you in the right places at the right time. 
14. Even if you can't see it at the time God is using everything for your benefit. 
15. Marriage is the most wonderful thing, even though your spouse can drive you up the wall at times.
16. I can teach my kids.
17. Technology is wonderful.
18. No one will agree with everything you decide, or what you do for your kids, but that is okay as long as you are okay with it.
19. Don't count on anything till it is actually happening.
20. When you husband is gone your phone is never out of site.
21. Kids are resilient.
22. You do the best you can, and that just has to be enough some days.
23. Having kids changes everything, in a good way.
24. Marriage is hard work, but more than worth it.
25. you can miss the dirty clothes on the bathroom floor
26. It doesn't matter how long you have been Married, you need to make the effort to date.
27. A good babysitter is worth her weight in Gold.
28. After 13 months of deployment a dirty stinky uniform is the best thing you  have ever smelt.
29. Doesn't matter how many times you have said Good bye it doesn't get any easier. 
30. At first you think it is going to take awhile to get used to sharing a bed, then at some point you can't sleep in an empty bed. 
31. You can still get butterflies when you see him for the first time in weeks or months
32. No matter how bad your day is " I love you mommy" and a hug can make it better :)

I hope you enjoyed my list, leave some of things you have learned in this crazy journey of love in my comments.
Until next time

Fear

Fear is something everyone has at one point or another in their life. The problem with fear is that it can become a driving force in your life and every decision you make is out of fear. Fear shows a lack of trust, you can fear your husband is going to leave, because you don't trust he would stick with you no matter what happens. When fear becomes a driving force in your life, as a Christian, you are not trusting God.

Absence of fear doesn't mean you think nothing bad will ever happen, it means that you trust that God is sovereign and he will use all things to help grow you and has a different plan than you thought. Everyone goes through tough times, it is all how you choose to deal with them and let them impact your future decisions. Learning to give all things to God is hard, even harder is leaving them there. It is like we take the ball from him and play with it a while, when we have no business playing with it in the first place. He is the only one qualified to take care of the things in our life.

Learn to give to God with an open hand, and let go of fear, for God is not a God of fear.

Getting ready for School

Well my plan today was to go grocery shopping, that got waylaid because my 5 year old got really sick. So I decided to organize my book shelf for the upcoming school year, being as it starts here in 2 weeks. We use Sonlight for our core ciriculum, which is a literacy based program, so we have a lot of books. I went through and stored away the books we won't need this year, and sorted through the work books we have and my bookshelf is ready for the school year. The rest of the homeschool area, well that is a different story.
 We moved here a year ago and have this nice size space for all the things we have for schooling, colored paper, paint, stamps, beads, games, Ect. I just can 't seem to figure out how to get it all organize and keep it that way, I try and keep things accesable for my 5 year old and out of reach of my 1 year old. Something has got to change over there and I hope I figure it out soon.
 However I am very excited for the school year, keeping my 5 year old challenged is hard work but I think we have a fun, interesting challenging year ahead of us. This summer we did some unit studies and discovered Lapbooking, it is so much fun. You can check out a list of free lapbooks and templates on this site, they have some great simple ones to get started. I also discovered my son loves them and learns alot from them  so I am going to try and tie them in to what we are doing when I can this year. Also we are doing a science with lots of fun experiments :)
We are going to finish up our unit study on Mars then jump into the year. So exciting. What are you looking forward to this school year?

Blogging

Blogging... I am not very good at it as you can probably tell by how long it has been since I last posted. I guess I just never feel I have things worth sharing or that anyone else would want to read. I don't really have a direction for this blog, mostly just the randomness that happens in my life.

I am a Army wife living in beautiful Hawaii. I have an amazing husband and to very energetic boys that are 5 and 1. I am a stay at home mom and homeschooler. I love sewing and spending time with my family.

I think I will try and do this blogging thing again, there are always interesting things going on in this house, what else can you expect with 2 boys who are full of mischief. Hmmm... now what to write :)

New Year's Resoultions

I don't do New Year's Resolutions, to put it plainly because by February I have failed and they never  bring about real change. I do take time at the end of the year to reflect. Reflect on how I have been as a Christan, Wife, Mom and Friend. Then set realistic goals to change my behavior so I  can do better in these aspects of my life.

This past year has been good and hectic for us , last January my husband was half way through a year long school that was high stress, he graduated and that meant another move this time to Hawaii. We also welcomed a new member to our family while he was in school. We made a trip home for a month while we were moving, and lived in a hotel while we waited on a house. That was a challenging time but we made the best of it and can laugh about it now.  Our oldest has turned in to a  little boy right before our eyes, this year he will be 5, where has the time gone. He is so smart and can learn and retain things so fast.

It was a good year full of fond memories and good times. Along with all the good there is one big bad I was diagnosed with fibromialgia and since we have arrived that have been our rain cloud. It seems like that colors everything we do. It is looming in the corner, my husband is concerned I am overexerting myself and one minute I can be fine and the next I am done for the day. We are coping well and are blessed to have some amazing Dr's here who are helping me make the best of this diagnosis.

My goals as a Christan be in the word more. Pray more. Stand out more.

My goals as a wife this year are to meet my husbands needs better. He doesn't always make them known, so I am going to commit to pray specifically that God will show me what he needs so I can meet his needs. He takes care of me fully I want to be able to do the same.

As a mother make sure I am doing what I can to give my children the best I can to help them be the best they can be even if it makes no sense to anyone else.

As a friend, check in more. Call, e mail, text, just keep in contact and encourage.

I hope you all had a wonderful 2010 and wish you a blessed 2011!

Priorities

Priorities funny how different people place different value on the different things and people in their life. Not all people have the same family values, enjoy a good book, listen to music ect. However, the bible makes it clear how we as Christians are supposed to prioritize our lives.
1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. Home
5. Yourself
6. Outside the home

Starting with God is the only place to start the bible is filled with examples of "rising early" or having "quiet time" with the Lord. We need to make sure our spiritual tank is full before we try and take care of anyone or we will fall flat on our face. God is the only one who is able to help us love in the most pure unadulterated way. If we don't meet God first and keep our relationship right with him then we are pretty much at a lost.

Second is to our spouse we were created to be his help meet. There to pick up the extra slack, meet his needs and take care of him. Our husbands need to be made to feel special and we are the only ones who should be doing it.

Third your Children we are commanded to raise up our children in the way that they should go. They are gifts from God and entrusted to us no one else. It is our job as parents to make sure they have what they need.

Fourth the home, we as women are the climate of the home. If the husband comes home to a frantic house, everything is turned upside down, kids are running around, wife is yelling he is going to get all riled up too. The opposite is also true, we can make or break the evening in our homes, amazing how much power we can hold over the moods in our home.

Fifth yourself, I guess you were wondering were you fit in on this list. Well now you know. Being last doesn't mean you get forgotten, I have found in taking care of my time with God and my husband, my kids and my home I am taking care of me. That is who God created me to be. This is the season where I rock crying babies, kiss boo boos, wonder what mess I am coming to when I hear " mommy come look what I did''. One day there will be no need for kisses, or checking for monsters under the bed. So I don't want to miss it.

Lastly is the outside world, we are called to go and be disciples of every nation baptising them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. So go, but take care of your family and your self first because God gave you them first and in time you can go forth and conquer the world.

Chivalry is not Dead

At least not in my house. My husband reminded me tonight that he is a rare breed of man and that I am a very lucky woman. He may not be the most romantic, sweep you off your feet kind of guy but it is the little everyday things that count. He takes care of me, wholly and fully and puts my needs and safety first which is hard to come by in a man these days.

While we are out walking he always walks on the street side, if we cannot walk side by side he will walk behind so he can " keep an eye on me". He still opens my door, dishes up my plate when we are out places ( sometimes even at home) pulls out my chair for me. No I do live in a fairy tale, he is just this wonderful.

The icing on the cake is the simple thoughtfulness of the little things like not making me get up to take him into work( we have only one car), he will just ride his bike since I am not used to getting up that early and really need my sleep. He goes above and beyond and is truly amazing and reminds me that chivalry is not dead.

When I mention this to him he just says this is how a husband is supposed to act. Be jealous, I am blessed, I know.