How?

How does the time slip away so quickly? I don't mean 'slip away' because we have been strongly planted in the weeks that have passed since my last post, it's just that in a blink of an eye, you have lived 4 weeks (or more!) without telling anyone what's been going on in your lives! Crazy.

I'm so happy with the seasons changing and the holidays approaching! One thing that I used to love in our tiny little house on Louisiana was the holidays. The house was so cozy and felt so full of love that time of year! This year I can feel the transformation beginning in our new home. We've put one of the artificial trees out on the porch in anticipation of this weekend's decoration extravaganza, I can feel the heat moving through the house during the night when things get chilly and that wonderful sense of peace and contentment is settling over me. Sometimes I think this time of year can cure pretty much all that ails you.

I feel like our family is headed in the right direction - MOST of the time. We have attitudes and disobedience and laziness and lying, but we work through it together and somehow manage to end up on the right side of things. MOST of the time.

So as we begin our journey into this holiday season, I am hopeful. Hopeful that our family will bless those around us and each other with kindness and Christ-centered service, that John & I will fall deeper in love with each other and really appreciate each other, that the girls will continue to reach for us & God for guidance and direction and that Nate will continue to grow and learn and be joyful!! Oh yeah - and that Koda will stop drooling and every surface in our house!! Love ya Koda!

This holiday season, bless someone, serve someone, GIVE. Let the love of the season engulf you and change you.

God Bless!

Perspective is a beautiful thing

John & I attended our first "The Smart Stepfamily" class on Sunday. Wow. There were only about 6 couples that attended, but man was it nice to be in the company of others who have walked or are walking a similar path!

We watched an introductory video explaining the nuts and bolts of a stepfamily and the goals of the course. It was like having a disease that no one else understood, and then suddenly walking into a room of 20 people who all share this disease! Including a couple doctors who specialize in it! What a wonderful thing! John & I are probably the youngest couple in the class, but I think that will enable us to gleen valuable insite and perspective from those who have been exactly where we are.

In other news, our toddler is sleeping again, our 9 year old is doing a MARVELOUS job in school and our 7 year old is acting up a bit. Sunday gave me such a refreshing perspective on our family - such a renewed sense of purpose & resolve.

I wake up with a refreshed perspective each morning - and I am so thankful for the prespective I've been granted - the view is SPECTACULAR from here!!

The flip of a switch

I am a woman who schemes in epic fashion. It's not good enough for our family to find a new church. We need to enroll the girls in AWANA and take the kids to Sunday School & enroll in a class for adults and I need to teach AWANA. It's not good enough for us to simply move to an awesome new neighborhood, I need to enroll the girls in dance and basketball and COACH basketball and become great friends with our next door neighbor and then make plans for her to watch our kids after school and then.... you get the idea. It's an achilles heal if ever there was one. It drives my husband crazy.

Well, tonight a switch was flipped in my brain. It happened as my 7 year old and I walked into our 6:00 basketball game at 7:15. Me - the coach - walked into our game as the two teams were shaking hands. My assistant coach had to coach all by herself (I'm fairly certain she has been traumatized) and my players were looking at me with this look on their face. Astonishment? Surprise? JUDGEMENT?!! No.

It was right then and there - looking at the faces of my players - that I realized what a disservice I am doing to those I serve on this earth. Rather than giving 100% of myself to a few select things that I am passionate about, I am throwing small pieces of myself all over the place in an effort to cover as much ground as possible. Quantity over Quality. More is more.

I am so thankful for having learned this lesson tonight! It has shown me where I need to pare back my life and what things are truly worthy of my entire being. Now the hard part of separating from the things that are NOT going to make the cut. Ew.