Our latest "challenge"...

Okay so just last week I decided to buy Caleb a potty chair. I did this with very little expectation of him even wanting to sit on the potty for any length of time. Well, much to my surpirse, HE LOVED IT! He sat there for a good 10 minutes (reading books mind you) the very first time he sat on the potty!

SOOOOO, I have decided to take a stab at potty training. I know, I may be crazy since he is only 19 months, but I figure, what the heck.....I am a stay-at-home mom with ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD! :) Right......

It has been going pretty well so far. He doesn't ever really put up a fuss when I put him on it, but it does get a little wearing on me....we sit on the potty once every hour! Wow, that is a lot of time sitting on the bathroom floor :)

I am trying to enjoy it, though, and take it with it's ups and downs. I still have him in diapers and we are going to move to pull-ups (the ones that get cold when he pees) in a day or so. We'll see how he does with that. I still am unsure if he actually KNOWS when he goes to the bathroom (even on the potty), but that can be worked on....I think right now the consistancy is KEY!

So, keep me in your prayers and I will keep you updated. Since we started on Saturday (Jan 24th) he has gone pee-pee on the big potty about 5 times. I am just going to keep on keepin on! :)

I enclosed a picture of our "challenge"...... :) hehe.

Enjoy :)

Loss vs. Prosperity

Just a thought to ponder....as I have been pondering it these last few days. May it challenge you and stretch your faith and trust in God...

"God is glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him in the midst of LOSS not in Prosperity."

This is kinda a hard thing to grasp. What does this mean? To me, this means that we are not to show others that the THINGS we have are "gospel". For example....I have this great car because Jesus gave it to me. Or I have this wonderful job because Jesus gave it to me. That sure would make the world want Jesus huh? Well we need to show others that even through the midst of suffering, heartache, hard times, loss, struggles, and pain GOD IS STILL GOD. He is still the only one that is ENOUGH for all the circumstances we go through. He is enough even when we feel the oceans rage around us....when we feel the world cave in on us....when we lose everything.

No, I have not experienced this kind of pain or suffering lately, but I know some who have. It is a true testimony when you see those experiencing loss and pain turn their eyes to Christ. That they can see the handiwork of God through the deepest of pain. They can point their hands to heaven and says "Your will be done God, not my own....in Your timing not mine". WOW, that is faith! That is trust!

Oh God, may my heart turn toward You in good times and bad, happiness and sorrow, prosperity and loss! May my actions and LIFE reflect Your glory in whatever circumstance I am given. That my life here on earth would be a total reflection of Your grace and mercy. May Your name alone be glorified!!!

Amen and Amen

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!