Confession: I am terrified of playdates!!!
Don't get me wrong, my kids have playdates and I love them and they love them...I am terrified of the playdates with kids that I don't know. One of MK's friends from school wants to have playdates. Her mom sent her phone number home with MK and I now have given her mine. I don't have a problem having the girls here. I am TERRIFIED of sending my baby over to someone else' house that I don't know...I don't know the mom or the dad or anything about them. how are you supposed to handle this as a mom? I really don't know how to work this...I don't want to offend them, but I want to look out for my daughter. Suggestions? Please...
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Control...
*Disclaimer: I am about to do some combination of rambling/ranting/soap boxing that may give you a little peek into the inner workings of my brain/heart...if you can't handle it or aren't interested, stop reading now*
Control...This word has been weighing heavy on my heart/mind lately. What is it? Do we really have it? Do we even understand it?
Society would tell us as women, as mothers, that we need to be the master of control.
Control your family's schedule
Control your household
Control your children
Control your destiny
Control what other people think of you
Control your job
Control your husband
We are told that we can work 40+ hours per week, have the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect body, that we can be the PTA mom, and the CEO, and the attentive trophy wife, and have a spotless house. We are not only told these things, we are expected to fit into this mold. CONTROL. And society doesn't handle it well if you don't. Look at the Duggar Family...They announced today that they are expecting their 20th child. The Bible explicitly states that children are a blessing from the LORD and yet even fellow Christians that I know would look down on them for their choice to trust God with their fertility. I truly think that most of the public outcry that is occurring right now has more to do with the expectation that we CONTROL our fertility. That we be "responsible" with how many children we have and when we have them, that to trust anyone other than yourself is foolish. We are told to make sure we use birth control so that we don't have kids until we are ready (ie: controlled circumstances). We are told that once we are ready to have kids that it should happen on our time table and if it doesn't we should go see a Dr. to make it happen (ie: controlled circumstances). I could go on and on about my views on Birth control and believe me, I have already typed and erased several paragraphs, but I want to get into the root of the problem: OUR INCESSANT NEED TO CONTROL EVERYTHING.
I said at the beginning of this post that this has been weighing on my heart and mind. Lately we have had a lot on our plates and I have been trying desperately to hold it all together. But as hard as I try, I can't. I have been confronted with so many situations that I simply cannot control.
-Mike is taking Turbo Hebrew which is a very fast paced intensive language class, and it is going to come down to Dec. to see if he is going to pass and graduate in Dec....I can't pass the class for him
-Mike is just starting to look for jobs as a pastor...I cannot control WHERE or WHEN we get a job
-Our Landlords are planning on putting our rental home on the market, this would be great for them to have it sold, but added stress for me with having all the kids I watch here making a mess everyday and having to leave for showings and all that that entails along with Mike's crazy work and school schedule...I have no control over any of this
-We are ready to have another child, but it hasn't happened yet, but we are committed to trusting God to give us children when he has planned for us and to trust in his plan for our family, I can't control this.
-My aunt died unexpectedly a month ago, age 53. I cannot control life and death.
These are just a few of the MANY MANY things that I have been dealing with the past month. But it all boils down to this:
THERE IS NOTHING, LITERALLY NOTHING I CAN DO TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES.
Except this:
Lamentations 3:25 "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him"
Isaiah 30:18 " Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him"
Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord"
AND HERE'S THE VERSES WHERE I KINDA SAY 'OUCH!'
Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. be not wise in your own eyes"
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 " And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers. to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you-with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant- and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery"
Just like the Isrealites who were given the promised land and everything in it were prone to forget God and get caught up in their own sense of control and provision, I think we (especially when things are going good) get caught up in all that God has given us and blessed us with and we take credit for it, we try to pretend that we were somehow capable of control. My friends, my life is living proof that you can't control everything or anything.
So where does this leave me...Well, God is good. He has been faithful to remind me daily through different scripture passages that he is trustworthy and faithful and that waiting on his timing and control is more peaceful and profitable than trying to control it myself. It is a daily struggle having to wake up and pray for God to take control of my life. One by one, I have to submit my concerns, worries, desires to him and let go. And Let me tell you, it is not easy. As soon as you tell God that He can have control, He will take it and push you to trust in Him. It is not fun. I teeter between peace and chaos most of the day. But I find as I trust him more, I am feeling less chaotic and more peaceful.
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let them be afraid"
If you have made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. I would love to hear your thoughts. What do you think about control? Societies view of it and what the Bible commands? Thoughts? I honestly don't even know if I pulled all of this together into a cohesive post, but it feels good to get some of this out.
Control...This word has been weighing heavy on my heart/mind lately. What is it? Do we really have it? Do we even understand it?
Society would tell us as women, as mothers, that we need to be the master of control.
Control your family's schedule
Control your household
Control your children
Control your destiny
Control what other people think of you
Control your job
Control your husband
We are told that we can work 40+ hours per week, have the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect body, that we can be the PTA mom, and the CEO, and the attentive trophy wife, and have a spotless house. We are not only told these things, we are expected to fit into this mold. CONTROL. And society doesn't handle it well if you don't. Look at the Duggar Family...They announced today that they are expecting their 20th child. The Bible explicitly states that children are a blessing from the LORD and yet even fellow Christians that I know would look down on them for their choice to trust God with their fertility. I truly think that most of the public outcry that is occurring right now has more to do with the expectation that we CONTROL our fertility. That we be "responsible" with how many children we have and when we have them, that to trust anyone other than yourself is foolish. We are told to make sure we use birth control so that we don't have kids until we are ready (ie: controlled circumstances). We are told that once we are ready to have kids that it should happen on our time table and if it doesn't we should go see a Dr. to make it happen (ie: controlled circumstances). I could go on and on about my views on Birth control and believe me, I have already typed and erased several paragraphs, but I want to get into the root of the problem: OUR INCESSANT NEED TO CONTROL EVERYTHING.
I said at the beginning of this post that this has been weighing on my heart and mind. Lately we have had a lot on our plates and I have been trying desperately to hold it all together. But as hard as I try, I can't. I have been confronted with so many situations that I simply cannot control.
-Mike is taking Turbo Hebrew which is a very fast paced intensive language class, and it is going to come down to Dec. to see if he is going to pass and graduate in Dec....I can't pass the class for him
-Mike is just starting to look for jobs as a pastor...I cannot control WHERE or WHEN we get a job
-Our Landlords are planning on putting our rental home on the market, this would be great for them to have it sold, but added stress for me with having all the kids I watch here making a mess everyday and having to leave for showings and all that that entails along with Mike's crazy work and school schedule...I have no control over any of this
-We are ready to have another child, but it hasn't happened yet, but we are committed to trusting God to give us children when he has planned for us and to trust in his plan for our family, I can't control this.
-My aunt died unexpectedly a month ago, age 53. I cannot control life and death.
These are just a few of the MANY MANY things that I have been dealing with the past month. But it all boils down to this:
THERE IS NOTHING, LITERALLY NOTHING I CAN DO TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES.
Except this:
Lamentations 3:25 "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him"
Isaiah 30:18 " Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him"
Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord"
AND HERE'S THE VERSES WHERE I KINDA SAY 'OUCH!'
Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. be not wise in your own eyes"
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 " And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers. to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you-with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant- and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery"
Just like the Isrealites who were given the promised land and everything in it were prone to forget God and get caught up in their own sense of control and provision, I think we (especially when things are going good) get caught up in all that God has given us and blessed us with and we take credit for it, we try to pretend that we were somehow capable of control. My friends, my life is living proof that you can't control everything or anything.
So where does this leave me...Well, God is good. He has been faithful to remind me daily through different scripture passages that he is trustworthy and faithful and that waiting on his timing and control is more peaceful and profitable than trying to control it myself. It is a daily struggle having to wake up and pray for God to take control of my life. One by one, I have to submit my concerns, worries, desires to him and let go. And Let me tell you, it is not easy. As soon as you tell God that He can have control, He will take it and push you to trust in Him. It is not fun. I teeter between peace and chaos most of the day. But I find as I trust him more, I am feeling less chaotic and more peaceful.
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let them be afraid"
If you have made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. I would love to hear your thoughts. What do you think about control? Societies view of it and what the Bible commands? Thoughts? I honestly don't even know if I pulled all of this together into a cohesive post, but it feels good to get some of this out.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Catch You Up: What we were up to in June
Here is a picture dump of our June/July since I was a horrible blogger and abandoned you all for the past 4 months:
I had the pleasure of taking my sweet baby to the American Girl store in Natick, MA with my mother in law and best friend Pam. She got her first American Girl doll and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Bistro! She is so grown up!
I will add July soon!
MK and I had the opportunity to go to the Ballet at Bass Hall in June, It was amazing!
We went to Massachusetts to visit Mike's family at the end of June. The girls had their faces painted for FREE at a local furniture store during their weekly kids night event!
Memie and Gaga (Mike's Parents) with the girls at the Jordan's Furniture. Going there is such an event! It is not your everyday furniture store!
We got to catch up with some of our best friends and meet their son David for the first time. Sam and Ashley live in Vermont so we definitely took advantage of being closer for a week to meet their sweet boy! As you can see the girls ADORE him!
I had the pleasure of taking my sweet baby to the American Girl store in Natick, MA with my mother in law and best friend Pam. She got her first American Girl doll and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Bistro! She is so grown up!
Me and my big girl at the American Girl Bistro. BTW, I love the booth we are sitting in! I want it for my house! LOL
I will add July soon!
Sick baby
Bria has the stomach bug that is going around...she has been sick now for almost three days. Today she has spent most of her day sleeping either on the living room floor or in her bed. She is looking very puny! Makes me sad :(
Sunday, October 23, 2011
That talk....
At what age do you need to start having "the talk" with your daughters? MK is still young, but I think we are going to have to do an abridged version to start giving her more of an explanation for our rules. MK is very innocent when it comes to boy girl stuff and I am so thankful for that, however, we are starting to notice that we are having to give more and more boundaries for boys and while those will still exist, I think it will make more sense to her and she will be able to use more common sense if she understands why we have these boundaries. I don't know if this makes sense, I ramble a lot in these types of blog posts. I am so hesitant to take away that innocence, honestly I am surprised that after 1 1/2 yrs in public (albeit charter, but still public) school she is still as innocent as she is, I thought she would have been exposed to much much more. I don't know. I am not thinking that she needs to know everything, but I think she needs to know something. What do you think? When did you start telling your daughter or son about "stuff"? I welcome feedback!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Yummy in the Tummy
Over the past month I have made several cakes. I love love love making cakes. It has really become a huge creative outlet for me. Check out some of the tasty treats I have had the pleasure of making.
My next cake will likely be Bria's birthday party coming up in December. As of right now, we will be having a candy themed birthday party and I am excited about some ideas I have seen for her cake.
This cake was made for a sweet friend's baby shower
A 5 year old's hot wheels/cars birthday party
A sweet 3 year old's Pinkalicious birthday party,
they match the cupcakes on the cover of the Pinkalicious book
they match the cupcakes on the cover of the Pinkalicious book
My next cake will likely be Bria's birthday party coming up in December. As of right now, we will be having a candy themed birthday party and I am excited about some ideas I have seen for her cake.
Its been a long time...
It has been a long time. Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y!!! I owe you a lot of posts. However I don't have time to do it today. Part of my lack of posting has been that I was sooooo over the blog design and needed to refresh it with new pics, well, we got new pics done and here is the new blog design. What do you think? I love it and I will do my best to catch you up on the massive amounts of things that have been happening since we last talked in June! For now I will leave you with an oh so lovely picture or two. I have been helping my mom scan in and digitize all of our pictures starting with 1981 or 2 and on up. Oh you know there are some beuts there in the 80's! Is there anyone who is not embarassed by their pictures of the 80's? Well, enjoy, try not to laugh at me too much, you know I could talk to your mom and get some of you!!! JK
Yeah...I am Trouble!
Yup...I am that cool! I find it funny that these sunglasses are coming back!
Don't hate me for Posting this Mom....Every Mom's hair looked like this in the 80's
Yeah...I am Trouble!
Yup...I am that cool! I find it funny that these sunglasses are coming back!
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