Cutting Back...

This blog is basically my hobby right now. Well, blogging and photography. As the weather warms up and Spring comes out to play, our family has spent more and more time outside. Spending more time outside means less gets done inside, which means more to do after the boys go to bed. You see where this is going right?

We have decided to spend our personal free time in different ways. Before I would blog late at night or during the boys' naptime or on weekends. But with grad school and more importantly, beautiful weather outside, my free time will go towards spending more time outdoors, with our friends, and with my husband. We've committed to blogging less, checking facebook on a limited basis, and giving up reading other blogs. This is just a personal choice. I was starting to question why I check facebook so much and why I read other blogs, when I could just call them or talk to them at work. I think conversations have become so impersonal these days. Some people think, "Why call someone or ask them how their day was when I can read their blog or text them?" This makes me sad and I'm going to do a trial period of changing how we do our blog.

I'm going to start out doing one update a week or two. Some weeks it might just be pictures, some weeks it will be an update on our lives, some weeks just a little note.

Thank you to those who have followed this blog so far! I love your encouragement and hope you can follow along with us in our new phase of life. Remember to live each day beautifully!

Too much fun and a really long post!

My husband and I and the kids left Friday around lunchtime after my classes for a weekend trip. We had set up the car to be "trip friendly" for the kids which means plenty of toys, books, and the DVD player as back-up. We stopped in Lincoln for a little lunch break. Then, the boys fell asleep right after we ate.

We didn't really stop much and arrived at my grandma's house around 7:00 p.m. My parents had just got there right before us and my brother/sister-in-law/niece had arrived a couple hours before that. We spent the evening relaxing and just spending time with my grandma. She really loves having us over and always cooks way too much food but my husband loves it. We put the boys in pajamas and then the kids (me, my husband, my brother, and sister-in-law) all took a late night trip to Barnes and Noble, probably our favorite place.

We got back and all got into our own pajamas and read and talked and just had an enjoyable family time. We stayed up way too late!

The "little" kids woke up early the next morning and we all had breakfast and talked some more. My parents were taking my grandma furniture shopping around 10:00 so the rest of us headed to Toys R Us. We picked up a couple items but I bought the best item of all! They had autographed copies of my favorite children's author, David Shannon. It just so happened that my youngest ripped the cover off of my favorite David Shannon book last week! So, I took the opportunity to pick up an autographed copy of it! How lucky is that!

At 11:00 a.m. we all met at the restaurant that my grandma picked. It was called Jade...something. It was our whole family, my aunt/uncle and their kids, and my mom's cousin. We ate and talked and my grandma opened her cards. It was so nice to be with family and share and talk and just enjoy each other.

Lunch took awhile since it was a celebration of her 80th birthday. After that, my brother and his family headed out since he had to work on Sunday. My grandma was crying because she was so happy everyone got together and spent time with each other.

We went back to my grandma's house and talked with my aunt/uncle/cousins. We packed up the car to head to our hotel in Kansas City. We said our goodbyes and the minute we got into the car, the boys fell asleep:)

The hotel was about 2 1/2 hours away so the boys slept the whole way (we timed our trip really well) which proved a nice time for my husband and I to talk. Those moments are the best when it is just us and we can share and talk and spend time with just us.

We checked in before dinner and ate at Panera Bread. We were staying at the Hampton Inn which is next to the Outdoor Mall "Legends" and next to the Great Wolf Lodge. If you've ever been there you know that "Legends" is a little overwhelming and very large. We hadn't planned on going shopping. We just wanted to stay in that hotel with the boys; however, we were walking around after dinner and realized they had a BabyGap Outlet....hmmm....how can you not go in! We convinced ourselves we had to go in since we forgot swim trunks for my oldest (for swimming at the hotel). Boy, do I kinda regret going in....

I don't think I'd ever been to an outlet for BabyGap. They had really good deals and the prices were unbelievable (they were doing a President's Week sale). Like shirts for $4 and spring shorts for $5, which if you shop at Gap, that is a good deal! So, we did a little shopping....(I'll save you the description of how awesome the Banana Republic outlet was) I gotta say that I didn't really like outlets before this weekend. I do feel kinda guilty because I shop for my oldest and we don't buy a lot for my youngest since they are both boys and so close together. My husband reminded me that he doesn't care, he is only 1:)

Back at the hotel, my oldest went swimming with daddy while I put our youngest to bed. We were smart and brought the travel crib this time which we forgot on the last trip....not good. We relaxed and spent a nice evening together. The next morning was pretty much the same. They had a good breakfast there and then we walked around Nebraska Furniture Mart. We aren't in the market for furniture and it was really big and very overwhelming, so we left!

My parents were driving through Kansas City on their way home right about then, so they stopped and said hi to the boys and walked around also. My husband wanted a burger for lunch and he suggested a place in that area called "Cheeseburger in Paradise". Okay, I know that you are thinking what I was thinking! It did not sound like a place I wanted to go; however, it was the BEST burger I've ever had. No joke! They even had a lady come around the your table and make animal balloons for the kids. My oldest asked for a dinosaur of course:)

We walked around the outdoor area/mall for a little bit longer to walk off lunch! The boys ran around and burned off some energy. We once again got in the car and they fell asleep on the way home. We ended up getting home around 7:00 p.m., we were sad to miss small group but glad to be home!

It was a such a wonderful weekend with family and some much needed time away. Happy 80th Birthday Grandma! I really loved spending time with everyone and having the boys see their extended family. They are truly loved!

Out without Internet

I got a little behind schedule with what I wanted to post this week and I thought I'd catch up over the weekend. But my husband reminded me that we're headed to the land of "no technology"......my grandma's house. Which means no internet:)

As I mentioned before we're heading to Missouri to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. I just got back from teaching my classes and we're throwing the last few things in the car.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you back here when we get back (I'm sure I'll have pictures:)

Just what I needed

Don't you find that sometimes things just fall into place. Sometimes someone or something comes into your life and you realize that is exactly what you need or what you needed at that moment to feel encouraged and blessed. I stayed up way to late last night thinking about this and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for friendship and support. I thought I'd share what I was thinking.

First, I'm blessed to have a husband that knows the importance of going to church. Not only for our family, to support my faith, to build the boys' faith, to fellowship, etc; but most importantly to improve and work on his own spiritual walk. I never put a whole lot of thought into it but I've begun to realize that there are spouses out there that aren't so lucky. I'm blessed to have a husband that wants to participate in church class, wants to fellowship with the church body, wants to serve within, and wants to learn/grow along with me. He rarely complains if church isn't as "fun" as it is other times. He doesn't complain about who is teaching class or what worship was like that day. He simply goes to church with an open mind and more importantly an open heart. I know too many wives (and even husbands) who have to go alone to worship or church class because their partner doesn't value it. I'm learning to be grateful for the kind of man that I married, and not forget what makes him a man of faith.....okay, I'm getting teary eyed so I'll move on. Note: I've been getting teary eyed all the time lately, not because I'm sad or upset, but because I'm overwhelmed by gratitude, peace, and joy. It literally brings me to tears.

I've also been reflecting on my friendships lately. A few months ago I used to hang out with some friends here and there that were very negative and critical of everyone. Over the holidays, I was determined to distance myself from all that and fill my friendships with more meaningful, spiritual bonds. I didn't want to alienate them, I just wanted to spend my time cultivating more connections with positive, faith-based friendships. In doing that, I naturally had to start saying "no" to what had turned out to be a weekly coffee gossip session I had been attending. Now, it wasn't easy saying no and relying more of the friendships in my life that built me up.

I was starting to think that I had made a mistake over the last few weeks and maybe God didn't have any other friendships in mind for me. Then after church one Wed, my husband and I got home kinda late because we had been talking with people after church. He made a comment that went something like this, "Wow, those girls you've started hanging out with really love you". And you know what, he was right. I started to spend more time with some friends that I already had for awhile but just didn't spend a lot of time with. Without even realizing it, God had been working and bringing some closer connections into my life. I'm so grateful to have these beautiful, positive friendships growing in my life. We are blessed to now be part of a group that is faith based and positive (even if they are a couple years older than us:) It is just what we needed to build our faith more. It is even getting to the point where we are planning vacations together with them. It is just amazing how when you surround yourself with encouraging, positive, faith-based people, it makes you want to become more positive and encouraging yourself. It wasn't easy over the last few months having to say no to some friends and building up other relationships, but I'm surprised and grateful everyday with how much God has blessed us with friendships and love. Okay....I'm getting teary eyed again...

That basically sums up the third thing I wanted to share. Last night at church, I was blessed to have several women thank me for speaking up in our church class. I didn't say anything really insightful or amazing during class. However, I had a handful of women come up to me after and thank me for my comments. Two of them actually said they wanted to say the same comment but were scared. Well, if you know me, I don't really care what people think or say about me so I don't get scared much in groups of people, especially women. A friend of mine told me that she is always worried what people will think of her after she speaks up in class. I can see how people can feel that way. I guess I just doesn't bother me what people say, I'm not sure if that is a blessing or a curse. But, I do know that I was both humbled and overwhelmed by the women who thanked me for speaking up during church class last night. You can always count on me to speak up....:)

Another totally unrelated thing is that we are planning our summer already because summers fill up fast! We have a work conference for my husband, my graduate classes in KS, my husband's grad classes, and church camp. Yes, we go to church camp:) Trying to figure it all out is like a puzzle sometimes. Anyway, I'm grateful that we are starting to plan vacations with friends (not just family). It is a tradition I hope to continue!

Well, that is all of what I was thinking last night. I know it's a lot but I wanted to share where I am at and what I've been thinking. Hopefully you can relate to something I've said.

Enjoy your day!

My Boys

What my 3 year old loves lately...
riding his bike (even indoors)
singing the same kids songs over and over
giving hugs instead of kisses lately:(
putting his shoes on alone
dancing around the ottoman with music every morning
wrestling with daddy and little brother
chewing a piece of gum as his dessert instead of candy
saying "I love you too" in his cute sweet little voice

What my 1 year old loves lately....
climbing on everything!
pushing chairs up to things and trying to climb on counters
climbing on his dresser....see a pattern!?
hugging his brother
chasing his brother around with toy golf clubs
never sitting still for one minute all day except for his 3 hour nap
eating 5 small meals during the day instead of 3 big ones (I'm trying to do the same:)
learning new words and saying "momma" a lot
waving hi and bye while smiling (cute as ever)

About Time!

Wow, you have a really fun weekend and then you realize it's Tuesday and you haven't updated your blog yet!!

Okay, I'm going to give you the quick summary...I'll try at least to be quick! Friday night we went to the college's basketball games. My oldest had fun chasing around another 3 year old and getting really sweaty and tired. He fell asleep within minutes of getting home. We had fun socializing and spending time chatting with friends.

Saturday was spent celebrating my husband's birthday. We went to Lincoln and did......shopping....you knew that was coming right? His birthday surprise was/is a new TV. We've been wanting one for our bedroom and there are just such great deals right now since the economy......enough said. We liked a certain kind that is 26 inches because it is for our bedroom so we wanted one that was small enough yet had a good enough size screen. We also wanted a flat screen for our wall since we live in a small space. If you've been inside our on campus housing, you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I love living for free and saving like crazy but it's small....

Anyway, apparently 26'' flat screens are super popular because Best Buy didn't have the kind we were wanting so we had to order it. But, in 5-7 business days, my husband will finally be able to really experience his present:)

We did some other stuff in Lincoln Saturday but I'm trying to be quick:) Sunday was of course church. It snowed about 6 inches on Friday so we were going to take the boys out to play in the snow. But, it was a little too cold for little boys, so we stayed indoors. Seeing as neither of them have been sick for a long time, I'm glad we don't chance it with the cold.

Sunday night was our usual small group get together. We had a Valentine's Day theme with candy and a girl in our group made us all take-home valentine bags with candy. I love our group!

We spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out our closet. I know that seems silly but our closet is a disaster. I took pictures to prove it! I'll post the before/after later in the week. We went through everything and got rid of 100, yes 100, pieces of clothing. It was time for it to go! We bagged it up to take to Goodwill..or Salvation Army...I can't remember which one is downtown:)

This week is probably one of the busiest weeks of the semester for us. I'm trying to wrap up a lot in my classes before mid-terms coming up shortly. Can you believe that mid-terms are already around the corner?!?!

Thursday night I'll be packing for the weekend. Friday after my classes, we'll be heading out of town for the weekend. My whole family (parents/brother/niece/sister-in-law/us) is going to Missouri to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday! It should be super fun. We're having a celebration with my family down there on Saturday. We're looking forward to seeing extended family and celebrating together. I only hope that when I'm 80, my whole family surrounds me with love and cherishes spending time together.

Alright, was that a long enough post or what! Tomorrow, I'll do an update on the boys and what they are up to lately. I'll be posting another ingredient in my "A Simple Change" series of posts. I'll also post this week the before/after pictures of our closet clean-out project. Then Friday around lunch-time, we're packing up the car and heading to MO. Last time we were there, it was 68-70 degrees, so it should be a fun warm weekend with family.

Enjoy your week!

Have a Great Weekend!!

I'm on break from blogging this weekend to celebrate my husband's 30th! See you back here after the weekend!

Turning 30!

My husband turned 30 last Saturday. As most of you know, we didn't get to see each other much last weekend since he was out of town on a school retreat. I did get to see him for about 2 hours on his actual birthday, so that was nice:)

We already celebrated with family but we wanted a separate celebration with just us. Since he was away from home last weekend, we are celebrating this weekend! We are going to a basketball game to see some friends Friday night, but Saturday we're taking the whole day to ourselves (with the boys of course). For those that know us, we don't usually take a whole day for just us. We are usually busy with work, getting together with family/friends, or going to college events on the weekend. I'll have to fill you in after the weekend on what we did.

People have asked me what I got my husband for turning 30....Well, since we aren't really celebrating till this weekend, it is still a surprise. I did buy him some new work clothes last weekend while he was gone and then gave them to him already. He really needed some more dress shirts and ties. This is an obvious statement, but my husband likes to try and look nice at work. Someone told me once that, "People should always dress two steps above their current job, so that your boss/co-workers can envision you in higher positions". You know...I think that's true sometimes.

Anyway, so I got him some nice shirts and ties and a pair of dress pants. That sounds boring! But, he needed them and hopefully he'll like his "real" gift this Saturday!

Happy 30th Birthday Babe!

Poem about a little Boy

Tonight I went to the Sigma Tau Delta Valentine Poetry Night on campus. I'm a member and sponsor of the English Honor Society along with the other teachers in the English department here. Anyway, the group was having a poetry night and being a sponsor meant me needing to attend. When I got there I was told to read something.....crap! I didn't bring anything, so I grabbed a pen and wrote a little funny poem on a napkin. Then read it during the "funny love poem" time. It is about my 3 year old.....again, I wrote it in 4 minutes on a napkin right before I had to read....

"I'm in Love with...."

I'm in love with how you confuse your I and E
and how you love to sing the alphabet song to me
I'm in love with how you hate to wear the color orange and eat bananas
and how you dance with your nanny Thana

I'm in love with how you're afraid of trains
and how when you eat milk products you have stomach pains
I love the way you like to play with your brother Finny
and how your in love with me.

The Boys' Schedule

I've been asked what our schedule is since my husband works very full-time, I work 3/4ths time, and we have a nanny come only a few hours a week. Well, here it is! It isn't fancy or pretty:) But, it works for us. I know I'm probably forgetting some things but this is the basic routine we have during the week.

The main thing that changes is nightly stuff, meaning Wed nights we go to church and Tuesday nights we take my oldest to gymnastics. (I have bible study on Thursday nights but that doesn't change the routine for the boys) It is basically the same most other days for them. Hopefully this answers the question(s) we get about our schedule. (note: I left out a lot of what we do since I figured that isn't what people want to know:)

7:00 a.m. Wake up
8:00 Eat Breakfast/Get Dressed
8:30-10:45 Play in Toy Room/help clean up/color/crafts
10:45-11:00 Transition Time (I come home from teaching classes, my husband heads off to work)
11:00/11:15 Make lunch/Eat/clean up from lunch

12:15 p.m. My 3-year old has Playtime while I put my youngest to sleep

12:30-1:15 Book time for my 3-year old 12:30-3:30 Naptime for my 1-year old

1:30-4:00 Naptime for my 3-year old 1:30/2:00-4:00 Nanny Thana comes
4:00 Snack time

5:00 Make Supper/Eat/Clean-up supper
6:00-7:00 Playtime
7:00 Bathtime/Pajamas/brush teeth 7:30 Bedtime (1 year old)
7:30-8:30 Color/Books/Alphabet Games for 3 year old
8:30 Storytime for 3 year old
9:00 Bedtime for 3 year old

This schedule only works for us for the following reasons:

• I set up their nap schedule last summer knowing that this would be our schedule. It took a couple weeks to get into the routine but now the boys fall asleep within minutes of naptime which helps us stick to a routine. I'm also blessed with sleepers, so they love to sleep 3 hours every afternoon.
• We live across the street from where we work, so it takes me 2 minutes to get to my office and 1 minute for my husband to get to his.
• My husband goes to work at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 for chapel, and 1:00-5:00 p.m. for office hours, then runs intramural sports at night from 6:30-9:30. So basically he is home all morning with the boys. I teach classes/work from 7:30-11:00 a.m. and then do my office hours from 1:30/2:00-4:00. Having a split schedule allows someone to be at home with the boys.
• We have Nanny Thana come in the afternoons while the boys sleep; therefore, only making us need a nanny a couple hours a week while the boys take their naps. That helps not having to do daycare, etc. As I've mentioned 20 times, we love Nanny Thana!
• We are also grateful that we live about 1 mile from my parents. Which means that if a meeting pops up or a class runs late, they are more than willing to stop by and spend some time with the boys to help us out.

Burrito Casserole turns out Great

With my husband out of town over the weekend and his 30th Birthday Celebration, I didn't have much time to cook for small group last night. Our small group divided up weeks at the beginning of the year so that each family only brings food once a month. Our week to bring food with our partner couple was last night. The theme was Mexican food. I found a recipe and changed some stuff around, mostly because of what ingredients I already had in my pantry/fridge. It turned out really great and everyone loved it!

Burrito Casserole Ingredients

• flour tortillas
• 1 large can refried beans
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can (10.5 ounce) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese
• some olives and cut up tomatoes
• salsa and/or green peppers (optional)
  

Burrito Casserole Directions

Make 6-7 burritos with the tortillas and refried beans. Line a greased pan with the burritos. Mix soup with sour cream and spread enough of the sour cream mixture to cover the burritos. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Garnish the Burrito Casserole with olives, peppers, chopped tomatoes, salsa and remaining sour cream.

Enjoy!

A Valentine from a Little Boy

There is nothing like getting a hand-made Valentine from your little boy. My 3 year old was spending part of Saturday at my sister-in-law's house. Apart from playing like crazy for hours, my niece and my little boy stopped to make Valentines (with my sister-in-law's help:) He was so excited to show me what he made for me. I will honestly keep this forever! I'll put it in the keepsake box along with his arm bracelet he wore home from the hospital. You just can't throw stuff like this away, it means the world to me!

Friday's Weekly Update

Last Sunday night was Mark's Super bowl party. Several people came and it was an all evening event! Monday and Tuesday were spent mostly inside due to the cold. The boys played and did their normal routine.

My oldest was able to spend some alone time with Nanny Thana on Wed while my youngest slept. Usually when Nanny Thana is here, he falls asleep right before I leave at 1:50/2:00 and wakes up after I get home at 4:00/4:15. (She comes Mon, Wed, and Friday afternoons for a few hours) It is kinda funny actually that most times she is here he doesn't even know it because he sleeps the whole time. I couldn't have planned it better:) This week I was grateful for Nanny Thana! I was able to get so much done at my office while she was here watching the boys sleep. It is working out well having her.

Wed night was honestly the highlight of my week. I was able to re-connect with some friends. Sometimes time goes by so fast and you forget that you haven't gone out with your friends or caught up with them in days..sometimes 2 weeks! I didn't realize how much I needed that till Wed night. I feel blessed to have friends I can really count on and talk to without having drama. (In a small town, that can be rare at times:)

My husband and I both registered for our grad classes this week. He starts his in March and mine are this summer. It is very exciting yet new, so there is a little nervousness along with that.

Thursday and Today were beautiful outside! I took the opportunity to practice taking pictures more. Man, I don't know much but I love doing it and learning! Today my husband and I only had about an hour together but I made us all go to the park and take some shots during lunch...he is really supportive and doesn't mind eating in a hurry.

He left last night to go to the college retreat (like a youth rally for college students). He doesn't get back till Sunday sometime. The boys already miss him! I'll be going out there tomorrow for a few hours. My brother/sister-in-law will be watching the boys.

Oh, and my husband turns 30 on Saturday!! (More on that later...)

A Simple Change: one ingredient at a time (Sorry I forgot the picture before:)

Okay, this post might be quick because I'm on my way to watch my husband play basketball and then I have to help him pack for the weekend. Here it goes....

Another simple ingredient to change is Sugar. Believe me...if you like as much sweet tea as I do, you might look into getting a healthier kind of sugar.

We buy Florida Crystals Organic Sugar for two main reasons. One, it is healthier than white sugar. It is made from pure sugar cane but it's less refined than traditional white sugar. Don't let the color weird you out! It is thicker and almost brown, unlike white sugar. Second, Florida Crystals brand is now certified Carbon free. Both really important to us. It is made from pure sun-sweetened sugar cane, FC is also the only source for organic cane sugar grown and harvested in the U.S.A. (also important to us).

We like FC products because their carbon emissions are rendered neutral by their own production of renewable energy, which powers their sugar mill and refining operations, as well as tens of thousands of homes. This helps reduce the use of fossil fuels, a major contributor to the increase of carbon emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere. Okay, I know that is a lot of information, especially if you aren't familiar with buying eco-friendly products. But, if you know us, then you know we value our environment and take it into consideration with products we buy.

Here are a couple other reasons why we buy this brand:

• Florida Crystals sugar and rice products are gluten free.


• All of their products are 100% suitable for vegans and vegetarians. There is no animal bone char or any other animal byproduct used in Florida Crystals' manufacturing.

Look into it and do your own research, it is very worth it! Tomorrow I'll be posting Friday's Weekly Update.

55 Degrees and Sunny!

It is 55 degrees out currently! I need some sunshine today!

I taught my morning class, had my office hours, and I'm headed out the office door in one minute. (I'm 3/4ths time so I don't work tues/thurs afternoons)

Goals for the afternoon:
Play ball with my oldest in the grass.
Go for a long walk with the boys.
Take some pictures of the boys outside.
Wear only a fleece and no coat.
Be grateful that is will be nice outside tomorrow also.
Look forward to spring.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the nice day.

Goals for the evening:
Go on a walk with my husband and the boys at 5:00 when he gets home from work.
Go to my women's bible study group at 7:00 (we're doing a Beth Moore study).
Watch my husband play basketball with his friends at 8:15.
Let the boys run around the gym while daddy plays basketball and runs intramural games.

Enjoy your Day!

In need of a little encouragement

Before I get to my ingredients post on Sugar...I had some things to mention.

First, I am very much needing some encouragement right now. My husband is going through a lot of changes at work. Not bad changes, good changes! Without really getting into it, some of his duties are changing and will be changing for next year. Don't get me wrong, they are changes that will help his career, move him up, and set the groundwork for his future....but it is still scary. Some people are probably thinking this is a blessing, which it is!! But blessings can still be stressful sometimes, right!?!?

I don't know about you but I get nervous and a little anxious at times like these. (I've taken Pepto probably 5 times so far this week because of it) For example, I know that my husband starting his Higher Education Masters in less than a month is a blessing. But I can't help but be nervous about it. (If you hate me for complaining about good things happening in our lives, stop reading now:)

I think it is the unknown part of it. He'll have the same job title and some parts will stay the same. But the parts that will change will shape our future.

It makes me think a little about what makes other people nervous or anxious. I don't get anxious about the pile of laundry that needs to be done. I don't worry about needing to register my new car by tomorrow and the fact that I keep forgetting to go down and license it. I'm probably the only one who has to take anti-nausea tablets (pepto again) because of how nerve racking it can be when your husband does well at work and therefore gets more responsibilities and therefore blessed in his career....okay, there has to be someone else who gets this way....

I guess we all get nervous about different things in life. This is mine. I rarely get anxious about anything else. Parenting doesn't even make me nervous. Hopefully someday I'll be able to simply rejoice in how blessed my husband has been this year at work. But for now, I'm working on it....

Don't let negative people get you down

I was at the store recently buying some cream cheese to make fruit dip. (The recipe we use is really simple, it calls for just cream cheese and powered sugar). Anyway, my husband saw some pre-packaged fruit dip and picked it up. I asked him what the ingredients were in it. Almost the first one was "high fructose corn syrup". If you remember my last ingredients post, that is one of the ingredients we are trying to steer clear from if we can. We were shopping with someone else that we'll call Judy. This was the conversation:

(My husband read the ingredients to the pre-packaged fruit dip.)

Me: Hmm...that is a major ingredient we are cutting out, so we should make it on our own with cream cheese and powered sugar.

(My husband then picked up the cream cheese and it didn't have any "bad" ingredients in it.)

Me: Does it have high fructose corn syrup in it?

Husband: No, that's good.

Judy: (with a sarcastic attitude and smirking) Well, that is basically what powered sugar is, lots of high fructose corn syrup so what does it matter?


Instead of getting really annoyed or calling her out or correcting her since she was wrong, I just walked away silent. She didn't take the time to ask what kind of powered sugar we use. She didn't take the time to think through what she was saying or about how little choices add up to a healthier life.

I prayed that second for people like that. I hope that they start to understand decisions we've made about what we try to eat. I hope they realize someday that it is important to us and for our children to try to eat healthier. Most importantly, I hope and pray that they understand the importance of supporting our decisions in a positive way.

There is negativity everywhere, I understand that. It is one thing to disagree with another person. Disagreements happen all the time. I disagree with friends and family sometimes but we still get along great and love each other. However, there is something wrong with a person going out of their way to make fun, be negative, put down, or make sarcastic comments about something you're doing simply because they don't agree or don't understand. Negativity doesn't bring people closer, it separates bonds.

Don't let people's negativity get you down. I was reminded of that lesson from this. Some people just have to be negative, or they feel bad about their own choices so they make fun of other peoples. There will always be people that want to criticize what you do. Just because you don't change everything you eat, the little differences you make DO matter. Surround yourself with people you can really talk to about decisions you make. Not just about ingredients....but decisions you make about your life, your goals, family, kids, everything. Follow what you think is right and what God has shown you through his word and don't let peoples' negativity change your decisions.

Okay, enough encouragement:) That story gives a good intro into tomorrow's post. I'll be highlighting another ingredient in my series "A Simple Change: one ingredient at a time". Tomorrow's ingredient: Sugar. Okay...one last comment....be proud of the changes you make toward a more healthy life, even if there are people who want to put down what you do.

The Alphabet can be Confusing

My oldest son turned 3 on Sunday. He is such a little boy now instead of a toddler (those of you who are parents know what I mean:) As I mentioned before, he reads a lot. He knows his alphabet, can write some letters, but has been having trouble with a couple of them.

For example, he writes his R and K but sometimes says the wrong one when you ask him what it is. He also confuses M and N. I was working with him early this morning with his letters and I came to the conclusion that the alphabet is kinda tricky. R and K are kinda the same when you write them. Now, I know what you're thinking, I'm just saying that because he confuses them....which is true. But still! Whoever made the alphabet really didn't have a 3 year old in mind who is trying to write his letters:)

I also love that the boys will sit and read together even at this age (3 and 1). Also, I can't believe I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old....if only they would stop growing up!

Pictures Finally and a Small Update

I'm finally able to post pictures again after several attempts!

My mother-in-law came to visit over the weekend. We had a birthday celebration on Saturday. We celebrated 3 family birthdays (my dads, my sons, and my husbands). We had a nice party and invited only family this time around since we were doing all three at the same time. My husband also had a big superbowl party last night, about 20-25 people were there. It was pretty much come and go which worked out better. A couple people stayed for the whole thing though so it was a fun full weekend.

We are gearing up for another week ahead of us. We have a retreat this weekend (kind of like a youth rally for college students). We're looking forward to that! We have become very grateful for our friends and being able to work with them, spend time with them, and have a common purpose with them. I'm humbled everyday to have such great friends and family!

Blog Trouble

I tried to post pictures both yesterday and today for my new posts, but I've having blog trouble. For some reason the pictures won't load onto blogger. So....stay tuned for new blog posts later on. I'll try it again in the morning!