My boy

Something I've thought about lots when I consider what to write in this blog is what to write about. Ha, ok that is a "duh" sentence if I've ever heard one, but let me explain. I think it's important when you have kids to remember yourself. I don't know if I can fully expand on this, but I'll try...

I think in order to give my kids the best parenting possible, it's important to give them the best of me. Remembering my dreams and passions, and indulging in what I enjoy every now and then. I do not mean doing these things at the expense of my son, but instead in the times that allow so that I can continue to grow personally and offer the best of myself back. Does that make sense?

That being said, I'm not always sure what to blog about...do I write updates about Tyler every week? Do I keep him out of it and maintain this as "my" space? I really don't think either one of those options are wrong...but I've decided that when I write here, it's more of a place for me to process and write my thoughts.

Does what I'm trying to tie together make any sense? Anyway, I digress...

What I really do want to do today is reflect on Tyler. He is...the best part of my day. Every day. He mimics everything these days. I am constantly surprised by which of my actions he picks up on and attempts to replicate - for example, trying to put toothpaste on a toothbrush. Or the other day when he grabbed Mitch's lunch bag and his keys, dragged them both to the front door, and waved goodbye to us as if he was going to work. He gives me kisses almost every time I ask for them, and even sometimes when I don't. And he has turned into a snuggler! I can't express how happy this makes me. When it's nap time or bed time I will pick him up and he wraps his little arms around my neck and puts his head on my shoulders. Pure bliss.

He points at absolutely everything and asks "DAT?!", and will ask this over and over again as we attempt to name everything he points at. He is working hard at matching my determined side and is becoming quite the finicky eater. He will pick up whatever he doesn't want, look me square in the eye, hold the food hostage over the side of his high chair, aaaand....drop. So intentional and SO irritating. In a cute way.

His favorite way of playing is to be chased and will giggle incessantly as we run around the house. He always wants to get caught though and will often run right at me, waiting to be tickled. He has developed such a special bond with our family members, and each one is different and significant in their own ways. He kisses my computer screen over and over when he sees his Auntie Jeana via skype. He growls "papa" as the name for both of his grandpas, and throws a temper tantrum if we try to take him away from his uncles (who he refers to as ca-ca). From the moment he gets up in the morning to when we go to bed he asks over and over for doo-wamma (grandmas) and always wants to look out the window just in case they might be coming over to play. He runs to his Auntie Holly when he sees her and refuses to let go. He has so many wonderful people in his life who love him.

I just could not have imagined myself happier than I am now as a mother. Tyler blesses me daily by his sweetness. Praise the Lord for his goodness and faithfulness, and for knowing the desires of our hearts.

Spinning Positive

Haven't said much about the house lately...mostly because I really don't even know where to start. If you ever build, I will give you one piece of advice: get. a. good. draftsperson. We did not, and have been dealing with consequences on a daily basis. This whole process has been a rollercoaster of stress and excitement. Thankfully our framing is almost finished which means that most of our structural stress will be over and we can now just work on finishing the interior. I look forward to the day I stop hearing "Who did these plans? Are you sure they knew what they were doing?".

We walked through the house again last night and I am starting to get SO excited about the potential. We have craaaaazy high ceilings (which we didn't mean to, but it's never a bad thing!) so the house feels huge-er than it already is. We ended up with a very large entry way (which we also didn't mean to) and will have really wide stairs going up and down (building a bi level). While this is somewhat of a waste of space, it will really make the entry way look nice. I'm so excited about my kitchen I can hardly stand it. I look at our cabinet drawings almost every single day.

I love thinking about the potential and the future of this house. I love looking at it knowing that, Lord willing, this is where we will raise our kids. The park across the street is where they'll play and skin their knees and learn how to ride bikes. I love knowing that good friends are close enough to walk over to when I need a cup of sugar or a cup of coffee. I love knowing that at the end of this, our hard work WILL pay off and we will have a beautiful home.

On a slightly different, but very related topic, something that has changed our lives significantly is Mitch's job. Wow. The value of having a husband who love his job is indescribable. He comes home happy almost every day, and it's so cool watching him become empowered and able to accomplish things he never thought he could. It's been pretty awesome timing having him start apprenticing as an electrician as we're building our house because he is learning tons about building processes and coming home with tips and ideas all the time. I honestly think that this job factor is part of the reason we've been surviving our house endeavor. I watch my husband grow in confidence and assurance and is become a man who is handier than I ever dreamed. He feels capable of attempting tasks he wouldn't have before, and has an "I could totally figure this out" attitude. While he did have some of this before, this new job has encouraged him to step out in so many more ways. Praise God for a place that makes my husband happy.

Sign my waiver?

So my sister blogged the other day about how it would be such a good idea to have someone sign a waiver before travelling with her. This way there would be no surprises, you could avoid conflict, and have a signature to promise that this they'll stick with you. It may be said in jest, but I love it!

It got me to thinking...if I had a waiver form that had to be signed in order to become one of my good friends, it would probably say something like this:

"I, ________, being of sound mind, though not required to be so, especially since Josie is not always as such, do agree to friendship under the following terms:
I will answer my phone as many times as she calls, and happily answer the same question she just asked me half an hour ago and has forgotten the answer to. I will overlook the messy house, believing in good faith that the kitchen may be a disaster, but the cookies baking will taste great. I will eat her cooking confidently, knowing that she would never have put that sticky tack in the soup on purpose and will never do it again. I will encourage her in what she is passionate about, even though this may seem to be every single little small thing at any given time. I will be okay with it when she changes her mind up to six times in one day, though anything over and above that number can be either laughed at or challenged. I will hold her accountable to unnecessary stress and remind her to be nice. I will let her son marry my daughter if I have one I will love her children.

I think that about covers it! What would your waiver say?

July Long

Possibly my favorite tradition of all time is our July long weekend tradition of going up with our good friends to their cabin on the lake. We go up there for other weekends as well, but there's something special about our July long trip. As Dom and I carried our boys to the boat on Saturday I couldn't help thinking back to our previous trips and how things have changed. Our first year was completely childless. Our second year I was barely pregnant and told our friends our news that very weekend. The third year Dom and Jen were both pregnant and I had a baby with me. This year, Tyler has a buddy to play with at the lake. We have two mobile boys that we get to share this experience with and it is SO much fun.

A thought went through my mind fleetingly as we drove up to the cabin this year that I was slightly worried about now that we have kids, it might not be as much fun up there. What a lame thing for me to think...it just gets better with kids. Watching Tyler experience the lake, the boat, the bugs, the sand...so cool. Just for fun, here's a look back at the last 4 years and how things have changed.

2008:


2009:


2010:



2011:

Decorator blog fail

I am not a home decorator. I actually would classify myself as the opposite: a home clutterer. I have very little concept of what looks good where, what matches, or what "works". Thankfully I married into a family where both my mother in law and sister in law are excellent decorators and have somewhat done my house for me.

Moving into a new house and designing the whole thing from scratch scaaaaares me. Don't get be wrong, I fully recognize how blessed I am to even have this opportunity. It's incredibly exciting to start with a blank slate and make our home our own. But...what if I make it ugly? I am legitimately afraid.

SO. I am enlisting your help, whoever "you" is. The following are some ideas we're going with. I would welcome ideas, opinions, pictures seen in magazines, etc. This is the exact opposite of those fun design blogs where you get all kinds of inspiring ideas. Now you have to give them :)

First of all, the kitchen. The shelving built into the counter is a concept we're working with. The shelving will face the living room and be divided into three sections: bookshelves on either end with a cupboard in the middle. Opinion question #1: Go with a white (or contrasting color) as in the picture, or stick to the same color as the cabinets?



Since the floorplan of our home is pretty open, I'm thinking of doing dark cabinets...possibly this color. Question #2 In your opinion, do you prefer dark flooring with dark cabinets, or light flooring? Here are two pictures of dark cabinets, one with each option:



Question #3: Are there any unconventional places you would suggest having an outlet? It was suggested to me to put at least one on top of my cabinets so that I can plug in christmas lights which I think is an awesome idea. Any others?

Those are just a few of the decisions I'm thinking about. I know that this is a matter of personal taste, but I'd still love to know what YOU would do.

Show a little love

I've spoken a few times on here about one of the pastors in our church and how much I enjoy his sermons. They are thought provoking, challenging, and theologically "full". This has been another one of those weeks where I've been thinking about a particular sermon since I heard it this past Sunday.

He spoke on love, both between spouses and also between us and Jesus. He discussed how a marriage in the first few months looks much different than a marriage after 10 years. There is often less passion, less "butterflies", but still a solid level of commitment and stability (hopefully, anyway). He brought forth this scenario: what if, after 10 years of marriage, your spouse walked in the door and said to you "I need to let you know that I'm not in love with you anymore. I'm not saying that anything will change though! I will still come home to this house every day. I will care for our children, provide for the family, and sit down to supper with you. I just...don't love you."

Ok...devastating, right? But. How many of us treat our Father the same way? We forget to maintain the passion of our relationship. We read our bible, attend church, sing songs of worship, tithe...but we don't actively love.

Just as we need to explore love languages in our marriages, we also need to explore those in our relationship with God. If you feel most close to God when you step outside into his creation, get outside!! If you draw near to him by worshiping through music, sing! Find ways to connect with Jesus in ways that you are most passionate about.

This challenge has affected me in a few ways. First of all, it makes me so incredibly thankful for my job at camp. I feel renewed passion for Christ every time I step onto camp grounds. We meet for staff meetings in the mornings and I am immediately renewed. I get to explore my passion at my workplace and this is such a blessing. I am also trying to be more aware of how I show love to my spouse. Often how we attempt to show love is not the same as how love is perceived. I need to remember to speak his love languages.

Anyway...just my thoughts of the week. You don't have you answer this on here, but think about it this week...how do you express your love and passion to Jesus?

Blessed

Time for a list...just to remind myself of the goodness of life:

My family. I watch my husband and wonder daily how I got so lucky. Not only is he exceedingly good looking, strong, and handy, but he also loves me unconditionally. He puts up with my severe mood swings, lets me buy multiple pairs of shoes, and buys me my favorite boards games, knowing full well that he will actually have to play them with me (board games are not his favorite things...haha)

I hold my baby boy and just sigh in contentment. Oh wait...rephrase. I hold my toddler. My little man. My ever growing, changing, wonderful little boy. He gives me kisses, holds tight to my finger while running through sprinklers, and laughs every single time I pop around the corner to "surprise" him. It's so nice to have someone who always thinks I'm funny.

My job. It's been 6 months now and I am still loving it. We are working out at camp now andw it is so. good. I get to go to camp and get paid for it! SO good! The staff there right now is awesome and I love the people I work with. And I get to go horseback riding. Can you do that at YOUR job?

BBQing. I don't do it MYSELF, but I do love it when Mitch does. Just thought it deserved mention.

Ok so this is not a new list...I mention these same things every time I make a list of thankfulness. At least PART of my life is consistant! :)