A good day

I just wanted to take a minute to write about the good day I am having. I feel like I have been experiencing a lot of negative things lately and I want to remember that I had a good day today. It was not a particularly special day in any way. I stayed home mostly and went out for an hour at lunch time to go grocery shopping by myself while Mike stayed home with the kids. It is very exhausting to take both kids with me to shop right now. What has made this day good is very simple. I have been able to keep a good attitude and felt good about the things I have done. My 2 year old daughter has been pretty good and obedient overall, that is great in itself! My 4 month old has been on a great schedule and been happy all day! I cleaned up an area of my home that has been neglected for awhile now. It has been a normal day at home, and it has been great! I have been feeling really stressed lately and have been thinking alot about what to do about it and how to reduce the stress in my life. I have decided that for right now I need to cut out some things that I am involved in and responsible for. I have reached a point where I have too much on my plate. I was handling it all just fine before I had Jordan this summer. After that I started having a hard time keeping up and my 2 year old started acting like a 2 year old which meant I had more work on my hands too. I think that I feel better now that I have made some decisions to give up some things. I need to put my family first. I need to focus on my marriage, my children, and my home for awhile until I feel like I have more balance in my life. I hope I can do this without feeling too guilty about the things I have to say no to. I feel like I am already getting over that part though.

Does ministry isolate?

I love working in ministry. I love helping others, and especially love being involved with teens and helping them grow spiritually. One part of being in ministry with teens is that it is hard to balance your own spiritual and social needs. I am feeling very isolated from the rest of the adults in the church right now because we don't have many opportunities to be around them and involved in programs that are designed for the adults. Our adult small groups are one of the main places where people connect with each other and get to know each other better. We have not been in a small group for almost a year now and that is taking its toll. If we are always with the teens because that is the "job" we are here to do, then when do we ever connect with the adults? Life is so hectic and busy right now that it is very hard to find time to get together with people outside of scheduled church activities. Hopefully we will be able to find some balance soon!

Friends are Forever

Remember the song "Friends are Friends Forever" by Michael W. Smith. I remember singing it on the last night of camp and crying when I was a teenager. But the words are so true. I have been so blessed in my 29 years of life to have made a few really good friends that really do last forever. We may not be able to talk every day or do things together all the time, but we remain close in our hearts. I used to think that I could only have one best friend, and I was constantly striving to have that one close friendship that I would be able to talk to about anything and everything. Well, I have learned alot about friendships and am coming to realize that God puts people in my life at the right time for awhile and they may not remain in my day to day life forever, but they remain a close friend forever. There have been times in my recent past when I did not have a close friend that I could talk to and see on a regular basis because I moved away or they moved. Those are hard times, but I have learned from it. I have been blessed so many times with friends that God put in my life and I have grown from their friendships. I thank God for those times especially. I know that even though I am going through a difficult time right now with having a good friend move away, God will continue to bless me with friends in the future and I now have even more friends that will last throughout my life and into eternity.

Buried in laundry!

The addition of a baby to our household seems to have doubled the amount of laundry in the house. Why is it that the smallest person in the home makes the biggest messes? Jordan is almost 4 months old now. He is such a good baby, and he is happy most of the time. One of the things that has been different with him is that he spits up all the time. He probably goes through 3 or 4 sets of clothes every day. I have gotten to the point where if we are just staying home during the day I will wait until he spits up at least 3 times on his clothes before he gets clean ones. On most days I even have to change my clothes at least one time. And the same rule applies to me, I have to have been spit up on more than one time to constitute a clean set of clothes. I remember one day when in a matter of 15 minutes he spit up all over my shirt and then peed on my pants when I was changing him. I can't wait to get my next water bill to see how much all this extra laundry is costing me! I think that things will start to slow down in a couple of months. I hope so! For now I will continue to try to keep up with all the washing, drying, folding, and putting clothes away. It is so tiring when you feel like you never get anything accomplished. As soon as you get a few loads done, there are more piles to wash.

Even with all the extra work involved, I am having a great time with my kids. I am so blessed to have 2 beautiful children and to be able to stay home and take care of them.