Needy...

Wow I can hardly believe it is already 2009....I remember where I was at midnight NINE years ago when we were wondering what would happen when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. Crazy time.

It seems like time goes so fast these days. With a toddler running around, things get kinda hairy some days. I have really needed to find time for myself...whether that is working out downstairs as Caleb enjoys a Baby Einstein movie in his pack-n-play or reading a book while Caleb naps. I have needed to stop doing the "things" that need to get done (yes, the never ending list) and just take time for ME. I find that I am a much better mom and wife when I take those times.

The other day, I had not felt like I could take time out for myself...I had things to return in the morning, came home, made lunch for Caleb and myself, put Caleb down for a nap, unloaded AND loaded the dishwasher, shoveled the driveway, finished my 4 loads of laundry that I started that morning, got Caleb up, gave him a snack, started dinner.......and before I knew it, my husband was home and wanting some of my time as well. UGH! It was a crazy day. Then I started wondering why I was in such a crappy mood. Most of the time when I am "busy" it helps my day go by faster so I can enjoy the evening with Caleb and Kirk....not this day. I didn't take the time for myself that I SO DESPERATELY needed.

So anyway, some of the things I look forward to this year are: Caleb's SECOND birthday (wow!), running my second 5K in May (the training is part of my ME time), possibly a new baby?!?!?! (we will see what God has in store for us there), finding more time for JUST my husband and I, and simply finding time for myself.

God is so good and as I look over the past year, I can see how His hand has guided me through hard days and protected me from many dangers. I look forward to 2009 in many ways but most of all just another year to dive deeper into my relationships....God, my husband, my son, and my family!

Here are also some recent pics of Caleb....enjoy :)

Caleb and Uncle Jeff

Caleb on the way to church

Just chillin'

Playing outside...didn't like it much because he couldn't walk well :)

Caleb and all his (Reid) cousins

MY reason for the season...

As Christmas draws closer, I have really been thinking about what CHRISTmas really means. This Christmas will be different for my family as some have been laid off their jobs and others are just trying to make their dollars stretch as far a possible. That's okay with me. There will be less gifts but for some reason I feel that this is going to be a very memorable Christmas. The reason is that we have all been forced to ponder the REAL reason for the season...our Savior's birth. That is the real reason we celebrate. It's not Santa, gifts, cookies and sweets, big meals, or anything else that is "typical" for others. Our reason is JESUS.

Our family has started a tradition since grandkids have arrived...my dad always makes a birthday cake on Christmas Eve and we decorate it just like a birthday cake. The kids LOVE to see the cake all decorated because they KNOW what it means...JESUS' BIRTHDAY IS HERE! They LOVE singing Happy Birthday to Jesus! It is so cute. I can't wait until Caleb can join in the fun and actually SING! What a great thing to teach your kids.....Christmas is NOT the gifts but the birthday of Jesus our Savior. I hope Caleb learns that well and knows at a very young age that Jesus is the reason we celebrate the Christmas season.

As I think now where my family is in preperation to all be home...my dad is in Detroit waiting for a plane to arrive from Arizona, my mom is in Arizona helping my sis-in-law pack up her home of 2 years to move back to MI with an unsure future, my two oldest brothers are DRIVING a moving truck back from Arizona all the way to MI (yes, all the way across the country!), my other brother and his wife are at home job hunting from a lay off just before Christmas, and we are here my Mt. Pleasant awaiting the arrival of all of them!

Lord keep them safe! Bring us all together soon to celebrate Christmas as a family. Help us to focus on the real reason of Christmas! Help us to feel your presence and know your love. Heal any hurt from lost jobs, goodbyes, and pains from this past year. Help us all to be "healing balm" for each other as we come together this Christmas. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to come to earth as a baby and die on the cross to ransom us from our sin! We will serve you forever God as you continue to move and work through our family! We love you!

Amen and Amen!

Merry Christmas! I pray your know and celebrate the TRUE meaning of Christmas this year and in the New Year to come!

Some random thoughts on Christmas etc.

In these very unceratin times, it is so comforting to know that God has our very best interests in mind. At times it seems all we know is slipping out from under us, but knowing that God is MY rock and my salvation calms the "storms" around me.

As Christmas time approaches and I think of what this Christmas in particular is going to bring, it kinda gets me down. I think of all the people whose families are out of jobs (including some of my family), whose kids will not get gifts under their tree, whose families will not have a "Christmas dinner" on their table, whose kids might not have a HOME to celebrate Christmas morning in. Our country and economy right now are in rough shape! It makes me sad that this is what some will experience this Christmas.

Christmas should be a time filled with laughs, hugs, joy, peace, colors, lights, trees, food, smiles, warm fires, and most of all FAMILY! I can say that I am MOST OF ALL looking forward to being with my family this Christmas! I could care less about the gifts (although I LOVE to give them). I could care less about all the food I am going to eat (and I probably will eat way too much). I just want to be HOME with FAMILY around me!

I consider myself blessed just to have that!

Anyway, back to where I started this blog....I hope that Christmas this year means more to you then gifts under the tree. I hope this year, you find the room in your heart for the VERY BEST GIFT EVER....Jesus. He is the reason I celebrate Christmas and my only TRUE hope for this very uncertain future!

Thank you God for sending your Son as a baby! Peace on earth and good will toward men! AMEN!

A Reality Check...

We had an interesting wake up call the other night. We had a person hit the power poll that delivers power to all the houses around us (including ours) and it cut off power to our whole street and more. At first, we called the power company and they estimated the power would be off for about 2 hours. Of course, this happened just as we were putting Caleb down for bed (about 7:30pm). We thought "Okay, this shouldn't be too bad". We played some games by candle light and thought it was pretty neat for a while. THEN, once the two hours went by, and the house was getting slightly cooler, we wondered when it would come back on. We didn't want to go to bed without having it on because all the lights and TV and all that were still on and would need to be shut off. So, as we waited.....one, two, three, FOUR hours, the house got pretty cold. The temp was supposed to get down to 18 degrees that night.

We were starting to get worried.....the thermostat said it was 64 degrees in the house but it sure felt cooler than that. We were worried that Caleb would be too cold.....and what if the power didn't come back on......it would be REALLY cold then!

It got us thinking about the "everyday" things that we take for granted.....like heat! Yes we do pay our heating bill but it got us thinking about people who can't afford to pay their heating bill. Many are parents with kids.....we got a glimps of how it might feel to know your baby is cold at night and there is nothing you can do about it! What an aweful feeling!

Our heat DID end up coming on after 5 hours and 15 minutes without heat! Caleb did wake up but thankfully went back to bed.....his room is the warmest in the house! Praise God!

Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone to NEVER take the little things for granted....food on the table, heat in your house, warm clothes to wear outside, shoes to put on.....it is all a blessing!

We learned that once again just the other night!

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures done in October and I just thought I would post them all up here for all to see. We had some cute ones done of Caleb and I LOVE them! Enjoy!

A Child's Love...

I have been considering and pondering lately how great it is to be a parent. You have a little one (or maybe two or three or more) that love you no matter what....even if you havent' showered, done your hair, put on make-up....they love you! They love you for who you are and not for what you "might be". They love you just for being you. There isn't many people in the world today that can say that.

It seems that most people in our lives expect so much out of us...they value us because of our work ability, our ability to make money, our looks, our capabilities. Not our kids....they pretty much love us because we are THERE!

They love us because we wake them up with a smile, we give them food to eat, we cuddle with them, we give them little kisses throughout the day, we say "I love you" as much as we possibly can, we SHOW them our love in every action we do towards them. I think that is pretty special.

What an honor it is to be a parent. It doesn't come without hard days and struggles, but it is so rewarding.

Don't forget to cuddle your little one close today and tell them how much you love them....I am going to go do that right now! :)

Some pictures to enjoy....isn't he just the cutest boy ever!! I think so! :)

Tags and challenges...

Okay so one of my friends did this challenge on her blog and I thought it would be pretty fun....

Here is how it works: You go into your "my photos" folder and pull up the fourth picture of the fourth folder, and then explain what it's about.

The picture to the left is of my son Caleb and it was of our recent trip to Arizona to see my brother and his family. Caleb hadn't slept AT ALL during the plane rides so he zonked out SOO fast in the car! He was so cute.

I also decided to do her tag challenge. She didn't actually "tag" me but I thought since I talked about my WONDERFUL husband on here a lot, I would let you all know a little bit about him. Here is goes:

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet your husband? I actually met Kirk the very first day I started school. I was homeschooled until 3rd grade and he just happened to be in my 3rd grade class. The rest is history :)

2. How long did you date before you were married? We started dating in the fall of our sophomore year (2000) in high school, got engaged just before our sophomore year in college (2003), got married August of 2004....4 years altogether.
3. How long have you been married? 4 years and 3 months
4. What does he do that surprises you? He will occationally set up a babysitter and take me out for dinner and a movie....that's my favorite!

5. What is his best feature? I love his stomach....weird but I do!
6. What is his best quality? His humility....that is what I have ALWAYS loved about him.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Not really....he calls me Ames sometimes but so does everyone else.
8. What is his favorite food? He likes a lot of food but I would say his favorite food might be steak.

9. What is his favorite sport? He loves a lot of sports but the favorite to play has to be basketball hands down!
10. When and where was your first kiss? I believe it was in September of 2001 at his parents house.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Probably just be home watching a movie on the couch.
12. Do you have any children? Yes, Caleb is now 16 months.
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He has very stretchy skin....he would be embarrased if he knew I was putting that on here :)

14. How old is he? 25.
15. Who said I love you first? I think we both said it on the same night.
16. What is his favorite music? He loves LOTS of music but probably something like Jack Johnson or that kind of music.

17. What do you admire most about him? His ablility to share his heart with a humble attitude.
18. What is his favorite color? Gosh, probably green.
19. Will he read this? Probably not.