The Thing That Carries Me

"I can't imagine what you've been through."

"I'm so sorry for all that you've had to endure."

"How are you dealing with all of this?"

These are some of the statements/questions I deal with on a daily basis.

Our community is large, but still small enough that lots of people know about the year I've had.

(Or maybe I just know A LOT of people...)

Sometimes, I think I don't know how to answer that question.

How do you deal with losing both parents, unexpectedly, within three months of each other?

But I know it's not a question of "how".

It's a "who".

Jesus.

Now before you think I'm getting all spiritual on you, and you click away, I want to encourage you to keep reading.

This post may look different than you think.

You see, I know a lot of people don't want to hear people talking about Jesus.

It makes them uncomfortable.

Because maybe they've had a bad experience with 'Christians' before.

Or maybe they assume we think we're perfect or better than everyone else.

(Which, let me clarify, isn't true!)

There could be lots of reasons.

But let me tell you about the Jesus I know.

The Jesus I know is solid as a rock.

When everything else was crazy, He was constant.

He was the One that never left.

His love never failed me.  Not even once.

It's like an ocean that never goes dry.  I could swim in it the rest of my life and I'll never run out of His love.

That's what True Love looks like.

Because at some time, everyone and everything will disappoint me.  My husband, my kids, my friends...life.

But not Him.

His love is the *only* thing that I can count on forever.

And that's what has carried me, (literally), through this past year.

Another thing about Jesus,

The Jesus I know loves you.

He loves you just the way you are.  Right now.  Without changing one thing about yourself.

He is wide open.

He is ready to catch anything you can throw at Him.

Doubt?  He's got it.

Insecurity?  No sweat!

Anything else?  Already covered.

You see, the things that keep us from Jesus is our stuff.  It has nothing to do with Him.  

He doesn't ask you for anything.

The only thing you need to do, is fall into Him.

He'll take care of the rest.

If there's something in you that needs to change, He'll do that.  

No need to wait until you're perfect or until you've got it together.  

Because you never will.

That's what He is for.

But I can promise you that once you do Fall into Him, you will fall in love with Him.

You will be so carried away that you can't imagine life without Him.

You will know a joy that you never imagined.

Even in the most horrific of times.

Because His love trumps all of that.

If you don't know His love in this way, then you don't know the real Jesus.

And if you don't know the real Jesus, then why not?

What are you waiting for?

Don't let another day go by without experiencing True Love.

Talk to Him.

Tell Him you want to know that kind of love.

His love.

He'll take care of the rest.

I'm Still Here

I know...it's been a while.

But seriously, life has been hectic.

I feel like cheer and football rule my world right now.

Well, that and sick kids, doctors appointments, and teacher conferences.

And by the way, my girls are ROCK STARS!

(In school anyway...)

They both had great reports and I couldn't be more proud.

But things at home are a little less....well...easy.

We are going through some discipline issues and it's hard.

For all of us.

I am glad my girls are so polite at school and respect their teachers etc.

But at home, it's another story.

Fighting, yelling, throwing things on the ground...it's like I live with 2 teenage girls.

But they're only 8 and 6.

I'm not ready for this.

And sometimes I feel like I'm doing a horrible job at raising them to be self sufficient, respectful, appreciative adults.

I think if there were report cards for moms, I'd be getting a D... (okay, maybe a C.  But definitely not above a C).

Anyone else have this issue?

I'm at a loss.

Grounding them is what gets to them most.  But even that is wearing off.

And I feel like I'm the one who is punished, too, because I have to miss all of my fun.

Any advice?

Annual Leaf Jump

Every year, my in-laws have the girls over to do a leaf jump in their yard.

The girls LOVE it!

{Aren't they the BEST grandparents??}

Quote of the day: When I said that it sounded like their lucky day (because they had gotten the girls ice cream earlier in the day), Addy's reply was, "Every day is a lucky day when we're with Granny!"

It melted my heart to hear, in her own words, just how much she loves being with her....and I'm pretty sure she guaranteed herself ice cream for life with granny after that comment :)

This year, we also combined it with celebrating my (Wonderful) husband's birthday with dinner and an ice cream cake.

Here are some pics from the fun afternoon:

I WON!!!

I mentioned before that I was going to my friend's annual Halloween/Costume party and that I couldn't think of costumes for us.

The theme was 'A Night at The Movies'.

But last Monday, (kind of last minute since the party was Friday), I came up with an idea.

Thanks to Ebay and fast shipping, we were able to get what we needed.

And so, we went as The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who.

Braids by me :)

And guess what?

I WON the Best Costume prize for the girls!!!!

Now, if you had read my previous post, you would know that this is a big deal because Amy For Him ALWAYS wins this prize.

{And BTW, her husband won for the men this year, AGAIN, so we didn't completely take them over}

{And actually, their costumes were once again, AH-MAZ-ING!  So, they kind of deserve to win}

Frodo and Gandolph....see what I mean??  Crazy Good!!

It seriously was such a fun party!  A scavenger hunt (yes, we all went to Wal-greens in costume), games, snacks, and even movie themed prizes.

The hostess with the mostest! Love this girl...and her parties!!

I can't wait to see what next years theme will be!

What are you going as for Halloween this year??

Here's What I Have To Say

As you all know, I am on a journey towards a healthier, fitter, skinnier me.

And I am succeeding!!

It almost feels wrong to write that.

Why?

Because I have failed so many times in the past.

And because it sounds like bragging.

But it should be okay to brag about that.  Right?

I think, like lots of women, I have gotten use to putting myself last.

'The kids need things for school and activities, so I'll just put off buying those gym shoes I need.'

Or, 'I need to be home to help my family in the evening, so I don't have time to go walking.'

Or, 'I feel bad for making my family eat the way I need to to be healthy, so I'll just eat what they like.'

Basically, we find all the reasons in the world to put others in front of our own needs.

We may have even meant to get back to us one day, but that day just kept getting pushed further and further away.

And then finally, we forgot about our needs altogether.

But not anymore!

I have decided that I am just as important as everyone else.

My health matters.

Just as much as my kids cheer leading, or the Christmas gifts they want, or my husbands new CD's.

It matters just as much as the way they want to eat, or the way that they want to spend our time.

It matters.

And so, I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

Not about spending the money on myself, or about taking the time I need to focus on me, or choosing to cook the food that I think is best for me.

And it feels good!

I feels freeing.

And I think, it's why I finally feel like I'm succeeding.

Because I'm not trying to get healthy working around everyone else's schedule, or needs or on anyone else's terms.

This is about ME!

And I'm not just okay with that.

I'm GREAT with that!

Tell me, have you struggled with this?  Or DO you struggle with this?

A (Homemade) Cough Remedy That Actually Works!

So I mentioned yesterday that I have bronchitis along with a sinus infection.

Good times.

But since I HATE to take OTC meds for that kind of stuff, because they never seem to help anyway, I was just kind of dealing with it until I could get to the doctor.

But I came across this home remedy on Pinterest and I happened to have all the stuff already in the pantry.

So I gave it a try.

And By Golly IT WORKED!

Let me warn you that it's pretty nasty.

I just held my nose and drank it down.  (Remember to only take 1 TBSP at a time!)

And I wouldn't give it to my kids (because of the Cayenne Pepper.  But if your kids like hot stuff...go for it!)

But it totally did the job, and WAY better than those OTC meds.

Plus, no side effects like drowsiness or hyper activity.

So next time you feel a sore throat or cough coming on, give this a try first!



I'll be linking up with WFMW at We Are THAT Family, too!

What's On Your To-Do List?

My To-Do list is approximately 7 miles long right now.

I just keep adding and adding, but not much is getting done.

{Including Blog posts, which I am waaaaay behind on.  Sorry!}

At the top of my list right now are:

Get stuff for my daughter to make football signs tonight, (probably should get on that...)
Pick up and take my prescriptions (I have bronchitis..yay.)
Clean my house (who am I kidding?)
Purchase a camera and laptop (I have been procrastinating on this for months)
Fill out and mail in Red Tape paper work kind of stuff (HATE this!)
Decide what I'm making and then make something for a Football/Cheer Bonfire this weekend (which will probably end up being something pre-made and purchased at the grocery five minutes before we go)
Replace the light that went out in our bathroom a week ago (did someone say my make-up looks weird?)
Call and cancel the Netflix that we planned to only have for the free trial month that we have now paid for for  6 months (my bad...)
Figure out what my husband and I are going to be for the Halloween party we are going to next week (does it even matter??  We all know Amy For Him and her hubby are going to win the prize anyway!)
Take the junk that is left over from my garage sale, IN JULY, to Goodwill (so I can put more junk that is currently *inside* my house out there)
And a ton of other random things that will probably still be on the list in 2 months.

But while I haven't been doing those things, here are the things I have been doing:

Snuggling with my kiddo's while we all take turns getting sick (it's that time of year!)
Exercising (and I'm not even lying!!)
Spending time with friends and family who need it (because I have been so blessed by others when I have needed it!)
Having fun with my kids and all of their 101 activities (they will only want me around for so long...)
Making healthy meals and feeding my body the way it is meant to be fed (down 20 pounds so far!  Ask me how if you want to know!)
Enjoying all the new fall TV shows (if you know me, you know how excited I am about this!)


So while I know I have lots to get done, I think my list of things I have been doing is pretty awesome.  And the truth is, I'd much rather be doing all of that!

So tell me, what's on your To-Do list?  And what are you doing instead of doing it?