Curious Curiosity

I've been watching Jonah and his curiosity the last week or so. He is so interested in everything. Sometimes it is a toy. Sometimes it is a cat walking across the dining room floor. Sometimes it is the construction area in the back of our house. His curiosity takes him ALL OVER. The places where the safety is question I've been trying to teach him "no" or "icky" when he reaches for things that are not good. His curiosity spikes and he tests my authority. What will mommy do if I reach ONE more time. What will she do if I get close to it, but not touch it.

So I've been thinking... where has my curiosity taken me over the years? Have I had safe curiosity or have I been careless and risked things in order to just know? Curiosity is not a bad, thing, but there are times when it is not a good thing (especially for cats).

As I go on teaching Jonah things, I am going to try to keep in mind his curious curiosity. He is only exploring and it is my job to teach him that some things are dangerous and it is also my job to help him stay curious and explore things that are good for him. Isn't curiosity curious? :)

Sturggle

Today I spelled the word "struggle" as "sturggle" and it made me think of what this word means - clearly I even struggle with spelling! But really, what does it mean?

I like to have pity parties for myself every once and a while. If you ask Simeon, he would correct me and say, "all the time." I really feel like I struggle with many areas of my life - my faith and consistency in it, my wife-dom and its DAILY duties, my ability to do some tough love so that Jonah knows what the word no means, my weight and how I feel about my body, my friendships and how strong I think they are... Do I need to keep going, because I can!

EVERYONE struggles with something. The song "Someone worth Dying For" comes to mind. "You might be the wife, waiting up at night. You might be the man, struggling to provide. Feeling like its hopeless." Which somedays I do feel like its hopeless. Why do we feel hopeless?

So I looked it up. Struggle: Make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction. Wow. Yes. We are fighting against the evil of the world and the impressions it puts upon us. "You need to have it all together." "You need to have enough money for nice things." "You need to be the center of a friendship circle." We are making a FORCEFUL effort to break free from the constraints of the world. Of course we feel hopeless - its a HUGE task.

So, even though we feel hopeless, we certainly are NOT hopeless. We should be hopeful. We are "someone worth dying for" and that speaks VOLUMES. WE are important. WE are special. WE are doing a good job. WE are loved.

So next time you feel like your struggling, maybe you should "sturggle" and break free from the "struggles" of you fight. Win one for Him - become hopeful.

For the love of...

School started. Hence the reason I do not blog as much any more. It is hard for me to explain how busy and crazy life is with a kid, a husband, and a job away from home. Imagine, you are making supper and every beeper is going off - the microwave is done, the pot on the stove is overflowing, the dish in the oven is done and the timer keeps beeping, and beeping, and BEEPING! Where do you even begin?

On one hand, I feel the most productive I have ever been. I eat lunch, pump breast milk, grade papers and reply to emails all at the same time. Super woman, you say? Yes. The productivity stops as soon as I get home from school. That's when time slows down and I get a moment or several hours with my baby and my husband. Is my house clean? No. (not in any sense of the word "clean") Do we always eat dinner before Jonah has gone to bed? No. Do I care? No. My life and time with my family is my priority.

So why do I do all this? Why do I pump, make my lunch, take a shower, do laundry and do some dishes before I go to bed EACH NIGHT?

For the love of...

Jonah
Simeon
God

In no particular order. I do it for them. I might be going crazy, but I wouldn't want it any other way. The investment now will make payments in FULL later. That's why you have kids when you're young, people!

Two for Tuesday

1. Here's a quote for you today. It is in honor of Jonah eating his awesome solid food.

I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food. ~ Robert Orben

2. The next quote is logical to me and so I say bring on the kiddos - but not right now :)

My mom used to say it doesn't matter how many kids you have... because one kid'll take up 100% of your time so more kids can't possibly take up more than 100% of your time. ~ Karen Brown

Two for Tuesday

1. Note to self: do not compare your knowledge of babies to those with multiple kiddos. You will just feel like the dumbest person there could ever be. Do I know what I'm doing? NO. Will I figure it out just like they did? YES. Thank you for listening self.

2. Next week = August. This cannot be. I will be leaving my kiddo every day to go "mold the minds of youth" every day. More like pull my hair out trying to pass on the idea of subtracting to high schoolers that cannot even add without a graphing calculator. I am NOT ready to go to school. I am ready to spend one more AWESOME month with Jonah :)

Wordless Wednesday

Our morning yoga pose. Just kidding... he's in mid-rollover!

Thoughtful Thursday: Feeling Full

Family is the most fulfilling thing to me. A sweet kiss from my husband. A big hug from my baby boy. A word of encouragement from my parents. I could go on. They bring me SUCH joy!!

With that said, lately I've been examining my friendships beyond my family. The people on a daily basis that I fellowship with and build community with in this life. I think about how much I absolutely LOVE my family and how with friendships I desire to feel that full. That sense of belonging no matter what. When I do this, I find that some of my friendships I have now do not always feel this way. We moved to Reedsburg following God and waiting for Him to show us what he wants us to do. We desire meet a group of people that want to share God with one another and others with fun and a sense of adventure and urgency.

Lately I feel like I'm searching for this connection with other women here in Reedsburg. My mom always said that I'd find it when I had children. Well, I have a kid and I haven't found it. Now they say that its when my kids are in school. Okay. I'll be ready then. I'm not sure if its because I'm not from the area, and I haven't found others not from the area, but I feel left out of this infamous loop of women that have magically found an amazing connection. Is it me? Should I be doing or saying something else?

I know its just not God's time yet. There is a beautiful song out right now that helps me to refocus and wait for God's lead just like he did with meeting my husband, with giving us a beautiful little baby, with coming to Reedsburg. The song says,

"What if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?

And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?"

God's mercies are new every morning and I wait each day to find out how God will lead me that day. God had big things in store for me. That's why He gave me family to encourage me, love me and help me along my path. That is why I feel full right now and every day. Thank you Lord.

Monday Funday!

Two Illinois tourists were driving through Wisconsin. As they approached Oconomowoc they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town. This went on until they stopped for lunch. As they stood at the counter, one tourist said to the cute blonde behind the counter "Can you settle an argument for us? Would you pronounce where we are, very slowly?"

The blonde leaned forward and said "Burrrr-gerrrr Kiiiing".

Happy laughing :)

Five-a-Day Friday

Top Five Places I LOVE to Shop for Clothes (for me or my family):

5. Carters
4. Kohls
3. Target
2. Gap
1. Old Navy

Wordless Wednesday

Finally... the right day :)


Do you ever feel like this? On the edge just too scared to step out? True definition of a scaredy cat.

Two for Tuesday

1. Why are certain words more difficult to type on a keyboard than others? I think they are different for each person. The word "quadratic" is very difficult for me to type. Maybe not a word most of you type often... but as a math teacher, I use it often. Are my fingers just slow to those keys? What is YOUR word that is hard to type??

2. Blogs vs prayer. When you type out a blog its like a prayer in that it sends your thoughts and questions out into the open. You can release some tension or hidden fears when typing away for others (or nobody) to read. So why do we do it? Prayer is much more effective. We also send out our thoughts and fears into the open for God to take and do something with. So my new goal: every time I blog - I pray first.

Monday Funday

Oops. I know its Wednesday, but it was a holiday! So here's my joke, and its actually happened to me!

Teacher: "Who can tell me what 7 times 6 is?"
Student: "It's 42!"
Teacher: "Very good! - And who can tell me what 6 times 7 is?"
Same student: "It's 24!"

Thoughtful Thursday

Someone once asked me what my favorite thing is about being a mom. Where do I start?? The smiles. The cuddling. The comforting. The new experiences. The BIG eyes. The funny noises. The giggles. Everything about Jonah is what I LOVE about being a mom.

Maybe the better question is what will I love best about being a mom? As in, I maybe it hasn’t happened yet. 3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” My sister told me the story of how at Easter time her eldest daughter Ella prayed with Katy and asked Jesus to live in her heart. She got to help lead her daughter to start a relationship with Jesus. I cry every time I think about this story because I cannot wait to help lead my children to start the greatest journey with Christ.

Every day with Jonah is the reason I love being a mommy. I just can’t wait to see Jonah walking in the truth. It will bring me greater joy than I have ever experienced.

Wordless Wednesday

Two for you today. Enjoy!


There is a little doggie on his jumper saucer, and he is sometimes afraid of it. Its funny...


Jonah likes to go on runs with mommy :)

Two for Tuesday

As promised:

1. Why is HGTV so addicting? Simeon absolutely hates it. To me, it is the only reason to have cable TV. When Jonah goes to bed and its a TV night, what to watch? HGTV. Why did we get cable....?

2. Parenting is not easy. I'm amazed that my sister turned out alright. I mean, she is the oldest, and the first of the kiddos. My parents had NO IDEA what they were doing when they had her. But she's awesome. So... it can't be that hard, right? I guess its a lot of communication with the spouse, on the spot thinking and PRAYER! Goodness... Jonah's gonna have some FUN stories to tell when he's older :)

Monday Funday!

Tom, Dick and Harry went to a party. After the party they returned to the hotel. The hotel was 600 stories high.

Unfortunately for them, the elevator was not working. They made a plan for the first 200 stories, Tom will crack jokes.

The second 200 stories Dick will tell a happy story and lastly Harry will tell a sad story.They then started up the steps

After 2 hours it was Harry's turn. He turned to the other two and said "Ok guys, here's my sad story. I forgot the keys downstairs.

Five-a-day Friday!

I know, I know... I missed Thursday. Thursday will be "Thoughtful Thursday", but I didn't have time to be thoughtful yesterday, so I will do better next week.

Onto Friday! On Fridays, I will list a top five of a category in a ranked order (like Letterman's). Today's top five: Top five Disney movies (in my opinion) from least favorite (still good) to favorite!

5. Emperors New Groove
4. Beauty and the Beast
3. Lion King
2. Little Mermaid
1. Sleeping Beauty

What are your favorites?

Wordless Wednesday

A friend does this on her blog, and I thought it was neat. Just a picture or pictures to tell the story of your day. LOVE IT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Two for Tuesday

Although it is Wednesday, I'm going to catch up on my Tuesday blog. It is going to be two thoughts, quotes, random ideas, questions, etc. for you to ponder on a Tuesday. So here we go:

1. My NEXT dream travel destination would be: Hawaii. Its gorgeous, its warm, its interesting, its got things to do and its within reasonable budget (not ours mind you, but it could be a reachable goal).

2. I have never died my hair. But... I have found grey hairs. When is the golden time to start? I like not dying it. How long do you think I can last??

Monday Funday

I'm going to try to update my blog more each day this summer. Its my summer goal and project. I've been inspired by some of your blogs :) So Monday is a fun day = jokes! So here is the joke I found today:


Two women were arguing about which of their dogs was the smartest.

“My dog is so smart,” the first woman said, “that every morning he waits for the paperboy to arrive, and then he takes the newspaper and brings it to me in bed.”

The second woman replied, “I know. My dog told me.”


Enjoy the laugh, we'll see what becomes of Tuesday's post!

Who's got the hype?

Before having Jonah there was a lot to think about. Breast-feed or not breast-feed. Pacifier or no pacifier. How long to sleep in our bedroom. How much weight to lose. I thought to myself, "I can't wait until I have my little darling in my arms and things will ease up." I absolutely LOVE my little boy with all my heart! He's four months old, and things still haven't eased up, the pressures are greater than ever!

So here's my question: Who's got the hype? Is it our culture that infiltrates these ideas of inadequacy and motherhood into our psyche, or is it ourselves? Who's doing this to us? It would be nice to blame it on someone or something else. "Well, the women at church pressure me into staying home." "You know, it really is the best thing to make your own baby food, and if you don't then you're not doing all you can for your baby." "A happy and thin mommy is a good mommy."

To some degree this is true. Society does like to give its opinions on what is the right way to do things. There are people out there that like to impose their experiences on you as if they are the only way to do things. It makes it easy to blame them for yourself pity parties.

But here's another take: You trust that God takes care of you, so you shouldn't worry. So why do we fret over these petty little things? God blesses us daily with strength and courage to do the things we must. So we do what we must with thanks and praise. Not keeping it to ourselves.

10 to 15 percent of new moms have postpartum depression. To me this is astonishing. Having a baby is one of the most wonderful things you can experience in your lifetime. It should fill you with joy to see your baby happy and healthy and full of life. So why are 1 in 10 women struggling with depression?

I believe it is the hype and pressures of motherhood. We all want to be the perfect mother. cloth diapers, home-made baby food, staying at home. In my opinion, what makes a mother closer to perfection is to show Christ's love to her children so that her children feel loved and someday build a relationship with Christ. that is what builds a perfect mother. Breast-feeding? Give your children the Lord and you give them the world.

So next time you feel like sharing your opinion, share Christ instead and see how it works out.

Try a Little Tenderness

One thing I've learned over the years is that people want to be heard. They want to feel like someone is listening and offering a little "tenderness" towards the situation. This is very true in teaching. I've found that most high school students just want to know that what they are saying and going through is understood.

Now, you can hear them, and "understand" them, but it does not justify their behavior. That is the key, and also the hard part of the whole situation. You understand what they are going through, but it does not make it okay for them to act the way they do. I often have to remind myself of that while teaching. It is easy to get caught in "understanding" them, but hard to go against them to help them. It is for the better, and you know that - they will get over it. If they don't, then there is still more learning to do on their part, and someday it will sink in.

I'm looking at teaching differently these days. Parenting is becoming a reality and its hard to look at those situations at school differently when you are going to have a kid.

20 more days until little VZ is here - can't wait!!