State of Mind

If you have read my blog you will have noticed how incredibly busy my summer was with guests coming and going. Matt and I constantly had people at our house for about 3 months. The most time we had without guests was about 4 days at one time, I think. You know, I prayed and asked God for help in being more hospitable. And help He did! I got more opportunities than I dreamed! :) Unfortunately, during that process I forgot the one who I had asked for help from. And it showed. I got more and more drained spiritually and emotionally. At the end of it all, after everyone had left, I felt so empty inside. I had absolutely nothing else to give. And yet, my children still expected me to give. It was tough. For awhile I couldn't pinpoint the problem. I thought I was too busy (and I was!) and that if I lightened the load I would feel fabulous. And I did lighten the load and it helped some. I thought if Matt would stop working 80 hour weeks then I would feel better. It did help a lot, but there was still something not right. There were other things I thought were the problem, but they weren't. It finally dawned on me when I was at church (which I hadn't been to consistently since before Anna was born...so at least 9 mos) 2 weeks ago. The sermon was about our "Now Season" and my tears just started flowing and I couldn't stop them. I wasn't crying out loud, but the tears just flowed. I wasn't enjoying my "Now Season". I was burned out. I don't remember being burned out like this before. Utterly tired. And I never saw it coming. Ha ha ha! I'm sure others did as they witnessed my intense summer schedule. :) So the next week I was thinking a lot on that. Then we went to church this past week. I kind of remember what the sermon was about...ok, not really. But that's not why I was there. :) I was there to invite God back into the lead position of my life again. I asked Him to make Himself known to me right then and I finally...finally sensed Him again. I missed Him. I always do when this happens. Because this is a particularly poor habit of mine. I hate the cycle but don't know what to do to stop it. Anyways, I begged Him not to leave, to stay with me and make Himself known even when there is so much else going on and it's so noisy in my house that I can't think. Because that's what happens. Ah, and I sense Him right now as I'm writing this. I miss Him when He's not there. But it's amazing how in the busyness of life I get so distracted that I don't even notice He's quiet until it's too late and I am far from Him and then I struggle to get right with Him and come back. It's a struggle every day to keep my priorities right. To keep my mind quiet so that I can hear Him. But oh, thank you Lord, for not giving up on me and being ever so patient. Maybe one day I will learn my lesson and stop being so cyclical. Maybe not. I have had many other times where You were quiet. I am thinking that it is during those times when You are watching to see which way I turn. And You wait patiently until I finally turn to You. Thank you for always bringing me back.

Not Sure What to Blog About

I'll be honest, there is so much going on, not only in my head but in life itself, that I am not sure where to begin. I don't even know what to blog about! Maybe if I list things out that will help clear my head and give you an update...let's give it a try.

• Anna got another tooth! This time it's one of her top ones. That's a grand total of 3 teeth.


• Anna is also cruising along the furniture and every so often let's go to practice balancing.


• She is now 9 mos old and I still need to get her pictures taken....but her hair is crazy! I don't know what to do with it. It won't stay down! Sticks up all over. Any suggestions??
  


• I am in serious potty-training mode with Austin. I put underwear on him the other day and decided not to go back. Pull-ups only for sleeping. He is doing pretty well...providing I tell him to pee in the potty every 30 minutes. :) Gotta start somewhere!


• Anna needs to be trained to sleep through the night. I am tired and really can't afford to be.


• I got help with leading my unit for American Heritage Girls. Yay! The pressure is off and I can relax a bit with that now.
  

• Linda and I are also going to swap off driving the kids around to their classes again. Every little bit that my schedule lightens up really helps. :) Thank you Linda!! I am looking forward to some quiet time at home with Austin during those days that I am not driving.
  


• Emma is really enjoying American Heritage Girls. All the girls are very good and are easy to please. We are going on a campout in 2 weekends to Dinosaur Valley with the Boy Scouts Troop. Ethan is a Tiger Cub with the Scouts. He is loving it! He of course loves the uniform and earning badges. Ethan is a very concrete boy. If he has something tangible he can earn then he is gung-ho about it! Of course with scouts comes fundraising....popcorn anyone??
  

• My friend, Stephanie, and I co-teach two preschool classes at our co-op, The Cube. We teach a music class and a bible class. There have been a few challenges since we started, but I think we have gotten things worked out. We have rearranged our classes, the snack time, the activities, and I think we've finally got it working well. yay! I am not worried about it at all with Stephanie by my side. I love working with Type A personalities! Especially since I am not one of them. ;) Stephanie is great. She is always thinking of new things to keep the kids busy during class. We've figured out that we have to fill most every minute of the kids's class time. That way they don't have time to get into trouble...or horse around and hurt other children.....

• Matt will be starting his new job next week. He is very excited! Of course he is! It will be a good change of pace for him.

• We painted (I mean, Matt painted) the living room and upstairs bathroom. They look great! I will try and get pictures up soon.

• I have discovered that I am going to need to actually write out a schedule for my life if I want to get things done. There is alot to do. I need to write out a schedule for the kids too so that they know what is expected of them and when, so that I am not always telling them.
  

• I am getting most school work done with the kids...but why is it that it takes all day?? Oh yeah! Because I have a 3 yr old and a 9 mos old that I have to entertain and take care of as well. I can honestly say that I am wondering if I should put the kids in public school instead of school them at home. It's a tough decision.
  

Well, I am not finished writing, but I am falling asleep at my laptop. Oh yeah, I got a laptop. :)
Off I go to bed. I will try and finish my thoughts tomorrow.

Tired

Matt and I got to go on a date! I am excited that we will be able to do that more often in the coming future. I am watching a friend's little girl for 1.5 hrs during the week. Payment will be Matt and I going out on a date every couple of weeks. Yay! We have needed this for a long time. We went to Rockfish tonight. Very tastey Mahi mahi and Blow Pop Martini's. mmmm!

We also started our homeschool co-op today. The Cube! The kids had a great time and made some new friends. The classes that I co-taught went pretty well. There is some tweaking to be made, but I think it will all get worked out and the kids will have some fun in the process. :)

I will put up a picture of the kiddos soon. Right now I am quite tired and ready for bed.

School

Ok, well we have finished 2 days of school with the 3 oldest children. So far, it is going pretty well I would say. There are a few things to iron out, but it looks like they are all enjoying it. And I think the structure of it all is good for all of us. The kids all get ready and do their chores for the day after breakfast. Then Ethan practices piano. I am doing all the reading portions with all 3 kids, then Emma and Ethan do some handwriting and language arts. By then it is usually lunchtime and after that we do math. And admist all of this I am constantly checking on Austin to try to get him to poop in the potty. He is doing ok with it. I am toying with the idea of taking him out of the pullups and just putting underwear on him. I did that at the beginning of the summer and he did not get it at all. Wet his pants every time. But now he's a couple of months older. I think I'll give it a shot...this weekend....when Matt is home to help. :)

Statement of Truth

So, I was combing my daughter's hair after she had her bath when she casually mentions something about her 'baby hole'. !!! As my eyebrows fly up to the top of my head, I try to casually ask, "WHAT?". I hear more mumbling about a 'baby hole' and I have a feeling I know who came up with this. So, I ask and sure enough her buddy, Alyssa, coined this latest and greatest terminology. Alyssa cracks me up. Of course that word makes complete obvious sense, after all it is where the baby comes out. So, I proceed to tell Emma the correct terminology, but really thinking that I'm ok with her saying 'baby hole' as opposed to it's correct terminology. I just can't go there yet with my daughter. She's only 5! These kids are funny tho. I love 'em.

Xanadu Revisited

So, we're travelling further back on the timeline....the weekend before Penny and Olivia visited, our college buddies all came to our place. Specifically the buddies that make up Xanadu. Ask Matt. It's all the boys. Kyle, Blossom and Karan were here from Sri Lanka; the newly married Mike Pavlik was here; Dave and Lisa Bonnet and boys; Brent and Angie Buchanan with kids in tow; and of course, the Martinez's who were already staying with us. Lots of food, fun, and Rock Band was had by all.





v>

Aunt Penny and Olivia Visit

We had Aunt Penny and Olivia visit the weekend before Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Stan were here. All the girls went out on a Girl Date for ice cream one day. We even managed to go to the park one day. Pretty humid out, but we played for a bit. The rest of the time we spent playing inside or in the pool. Olivia improved her swimming so much in a short 5 days! Way to go Olivia! It was great to spend time with her and my sister.

Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Stan Visit

Matt just left to drive them to the airport. We were sad to see them go. The kids had a great time playing with grandma and grandpa. They all played in the pool and played games. I LOVED the 'Silent Game'. Yes, that one was my personal favorite. Ok, look at Austin and grandma Debbie...I've always wondered whose eyes Austin's looked like. Now we know. :)