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!!

Under Pressure

Pregnancy is a blessing - and don't let anyone tell you differently! To form a life inside you and feel the little person moving inside is the most wonderful feeling in the world. I will not ask to trade it for anything. Along side the joys and blessings resides this underlying pressure that comes with being pregnant. My question is... was it always like this?

To me there are two different pressures that come along with having a baby: Not gaining weight and what to do about working after the baby. These are not given pressures of pregnancy, but pressures that, believe it or not, come from other mothers.

Number one thing I've heard since being pregnant revolves around the amount of weight gained during pregnancy. Whether it is from other women who say, "that's the number one thing I'm worried about when I'm pregnant," or moms who have had babies that say either, "You know... you're only supposed to eat an extra 200 calories each day," or "I got up to 200 pounds and never lost the weight." The question is this: How is your little bundle of joy? Isn't it wonderful loving someone so much it hurts? What was the best thing about squeezing your little one for the first time?

I am not a skinny woman. I will never be a skinny woman. And it is my firm belief that pregnancy is about the gift that God has given you to become a MOMMY to someone else and teach this little creature to love and fear the Lord - NOT about how I look. As I sit here and write this I am crying about how awful other woman have made me feel. My time being pregnant has been taken up by worrying about what other woman perceive me to be. Fat? Probably. But what I want my time to be taken up with is the joy of knowing that I will have child to call my own after all the pregnancy part is said and done.

So what to make of this? Well, I'm over 8 months pregnant and I want to focus on the birth of my baby. I'm SO EXCITED to become a mommy. No one should take that away from me. So to all those women out there that have EVER said anything about weight during pregnancy: SHAME ON YOU. And you have troubled my thoughts with feelings of inadequacy. You ruin the experience and joy of caring a life inside you for other women out there and you are just down right SELFISH.

Whew. Its good to get that off my chest.

The second pressure that creeps up on women who are pregnant is the question of what to do about your job after you have your baby. I have been a teacher for 3 years now, and love it. There are days and sometimes even years that are not the easiest. But when you make a connection with a student and give them the confidence to try something and learn new things it is on of the best feelings in the world. I can only imagine the joy of feeling that over a lifetime of teaching your own child. The hard part is - what if financially you are not really capable of having one solitary income?

I've asked a few women in my life what to do when next year rolls around. The major female influences in my life say stay home. My friends (women in the same type of situation as me), are encouraging and let me know that if I have to work, God will bless my kiddo no matter what.

Maybe its only an issue because I am supposed to stay home and the world is pressuring me to work. I don't know. One thing I do know is that God is working in me to do the right thing for our family - and he knows what is best for EVERY family. It is somewhat hard to hear the critics, but God is ultimately the one who knows what to do, and will bless us if we follow him.

I don't write this to get sympathy. I don't write this to really point fingers or make an excuse for my thoughts. I write this to clear my head and really reveal to (probably no one) my fears and struggles. I hope that other women out there who are expecting are overjoyed at what is to come - minus all the pressures. I know I cannot wait until that little baby gets here!

Time, who side is it on anyway?

One of my MANY faults is that I really am a procrastinator. I think this skill developed in college when I spent time with friends and Simeon rather that working hard on projects and things. Don't get me wrong I am a hard worker, but its usually in the eleventh hour and I am stressed beyond belief.

School has started and every year I try to make a goal of something I change from the previous year to this year so that I become a better teacher. This year my goal is to become less of a procrastinator with planning (obviously since I just talked about it). I have to say that it is a weird kind of non-procrastination that I've started, but it isn't as inefficient as I was last year. So far so good.

HOWEVER... today is labor day and I don't want to work on school at all! Here's the moment where goals can either become a reality or a big joke. What to do, what to do. Well, instead of doing work I'm writing a blog. In a few minutes instead of doing work I'm going to make some really good chili. Like I said, its not a BAD system - I'm getting stuff done, but is it what I should be getting done?

Well, wish me luck after supper - I am going to attempt to do my work. I'll let you know how it goes!