I gave up making New Year's resolutions MANY years ago. And yet, there are a lot of things that I want to work on in the year 2012. They are a continuation of what I have already begun in this journey called "life." I have become pretty tired of the way life has been and have been making changes. Part of it has been to have tighter boundaries and not just let people run all over me and part of it has been to look at WHO God wants me to be. In this, I am seeing myself as more valuable than I have previously.
My husband and I started Medifast in August. Of course, being a man, he lost his weight quite rapidly. I'm still plugging along. I have about half my weight off and took somewhat of a break over Christmas while we had the grown kids home. I'm going to get back on the plan tomorrow and one of my goals is to get better at exercising. I bought a Wii to help me with that and I have enjoyed my time on Wii Fit. Seeing the kids enjoying the Wii over Christmas was a HUGE boost for me!!!
I had been regular about reading my Bible but December kinda through a kink in my routine. I need to get back on track. I also need to read my Medifast and have some more things I want to go through to help me to grow. Search for Significance was recommended to me by our pastor and that is my first goal.
We discovered this last year that my husband has ADHD and this has been interesting. He has started medication and has been reading a book about it. I have started paying the bills now. This has been a bit of a challenge for me to take this on since I hadn't had anything to do with the finances for 25 years. PHEW!!! ONLINE BANKING?!?!?! But, I'm learning and figuring things out. I frequently ask my husband questions. One pay period I made a HUGE mistake and he had to transfer money from one bank to our checking to cover it. I had OVER paid the bills. But, I have NOW figured out how to avoid that. SIGH... I think I'm catching onto everything I have to look at now - lol.
Do I NEED resolutions??? I don't think so. Maybe some people do. For me, they just end up being pressure I place on myself and then I fail and feel defeated. I prefer to aim for goals that end up being growth I want to achieve. I think this fits better with who God created me to be. So, I'm going to go back to a small daily checklist like I've had most of our marriage. I don't have to get a TON of things done in a day to be successful. This is very important for me in not feeling overwhelmed and just quitting. I WILL succeed this way!!!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
God Wants Us TO GROW
Well, as seems to be par for the course in our household, we recently went through another time of stress. In that stress, I was fairly calm but VERY aware that God wanted some changes in perspective in the way we look at life. It wasn't an easy time. But, it was a growing time.
In thirty years of marriage, it has been, less than ideal. I finally put my foot down a few years back about some things and I haven't backed down. This hasn't been the norm for me in our relationship and it has caused MAJOR issues. I refuse to go back. We have discovered a few things through this. My husband has ADHD and is now on meds. WOW!!! This, along with him working on his relationship with God and reading a book by a spouse of an ADD person has made a difference. Are we close to where I'd like to be? NO!!! Thirty years takes a toll and there is a LOT to repair. But, on to what God did recently...
I had been sensing the need to do some things around our home. Organizing some, decluttering, etc. My husband just didn't see it as strongly as I did but was helping anyway. We had had many conversations on what my needs were in this regard. I didn't really say much about what I was sensing. That usually seemed to backfire on me. Then, we got a phone call from the home that Jonathan is in. Some things were going on there. We didn't know if we were going to need to bring him home immediately or not.
YIKES!!! His room is COMPLETELY filled with things that we moved in there when we fixed up the bedrooms for the older two kids. They now bring spouses home and the bedrooms needed a few changes. Jonathan doesn't even have a bed anymore; he broke his - SIGH!!! We talked about what needed to be done in the house to make it friendly for our son. There was still damage that he had done to our home that had not been repaired. It was EXTREMELY important that he NOT come home to see that!! We haven't had him home for a visit yet due to this. When he sees his home again for the first time, it needs to be with a fresh start.
My husband and I started a list and have been working on getting things done. We will spend most of our Thanksgiving holiday working on this. In this we have discussed what God is doing in our life. I told him what I had felt God pressing upon me. It took a couple of days of processing for me to see that God was REALLY impressing on me that we are to be READY at ALL TIMES for WHATEVER HE MAY bring into our life. We are NOT to sit idle when we KNOW that there are things that need to be worked on in ourselves, our home, etc. We still don't know if Jonathan will need to come home or not. But it doesn't matter. What matters is, that we are to BE PREPARED for God to MOVE in us.
Soooo, we have been busy. We are almost done with phase one of project one. It is a BIG project!!! I'm hoping to finish phase one really soon and move on to phase two. Meanwhile, we have emptied some bookshelves in a little room we have and those will get loaded up with art supplies. I have also looked at homeschool needs in case Jonathan does need to come home. One of the interesting things in all of this, is that I had brought up some things with my husband about how to deal with some things with Jonathan. We had already talked through what we should do about schooling when he comes home. We had already started discussing things regarding how things should be when he comes home. I had been feeling the need to get this out on the table too and he was open. God works to prepare our hearts and prepare us for the future even when we don't what the future holds. But HE DOES!!! And we CAN TRUST HIM WITH IT!!!
In thirty years of marriage, it has been, less than ideal. I finally put my foot down a few years back about some things and I haven't backed down. This hasn't been the norm for me in our relationship and it has caused MAJOR issues. I refuse to go back. We have discovered a few things through this. My husband has ADHD and is now on meds. WOW!!! This, along with him working on his relationship with God and reading a book by a spouse of an ADD person has made a difference. Are we close to where I'd like to be? NO!!! Thirty years takes a toll and there is a LOT to repair. But, on to what God did recently...
I had been sensing the need to do some things around our home. Organizing some, decluttering, etc. My husband just didn't see it as strongly as I did but was helping anyway. We had had many conversations on what my needs were in this regard. I didn't really say much about what I was sensing. That usually seemed to backfire on me. Then, we got a phone call from the home that Jonathan is in. Some things were going on there. We didn't know if we were going to need to bring him home immediately or not.
YIKES!!! His room is COMPLETELY filled with things that we moved in there when we fixed up the bedrooms for the older two kids. They now bring spouses home and the bedrooms needed a few changes. Jonathan doesn't even have a bed anymore; he broke his - SIGH!!! We talked about what needed to be done in the house to make it friendly for our son. There was still damage that he had done to our home that had not been repaired. It was EXTREMELY important that he NOT come home to see that!! We haven't had him home for a visit yet due to this. When he sees his home again for the first time, it needs to be with a fresh start.
My husband and I started a list and have been working on getting things done. We will spend most of our Thanksgiving holiday working on this. In this we have discussed what God is doing in our life. I told him what I had felt God pressing upon me. It took a couple of days of processing for me to see that God was REALLY impressing on me that we are to be READY at ALL TIMES for WHATEVER HE MAY bring into our life. We are NOT to sit idle when we KNOW that there are things that need to be worked on in ourselves, our home, etc. We still don't know if Jonathan will need to come home or not. But it doesn't matter. What matters is, that we are to BE PREPARED for God to MOVE in us.
Soooo, we have been busy. We are almost done with phase one of project one. It is a BIG project!!! I'm hoping to finish phase one really soon and move on to phase two. Meanwhile, we have emptied some bookshelves in a little room we have and those will get loaded up with art supplies. I have also looked at homeschool needs in case Jonathan does need to come home. One of the interesting things in all of this, is that I had brought up some things with my husband about how to deal with some things with Jonathan. We had already talked through what we should do about schooling when he comes home. We had already started discussing things regarding how things should be when he comes home. I had been feeling the need to get this out on the table too and he was open. God works to prepare our hearts and prepare us for the future even when we don't what the future holds. But HE DOES!!! And we CAN TRUST HIM WITH IT!!!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Afton
We have a new granddaughter. She was born yesterday. Eva, who is 2 years old got to tell us that she had a sister - it was SO CUTE!!! We have all been anxiously waiting for the baby to arrive. We didn't know if she was going to be a boy or a girl and she dropped about 3 weeks ago. Sarah was also dilated to 2cm and 90% effaced for about 3 weeks. So, we have been expecting this baby for a LONG time; even though she was due on the 13th.
We will probably to to see them on Friday. We are waiting to see when a funeral is. One of my husband's co-workers was riding his bike home from work this last Friday and was hit by a car. He rode out in front of the car. I'm guessing he didn't see it. Sad thing is that he was going to retire in about 10 months. But we have known them for over 20 years, so the funeral is important to us.
We plan to take our trailer to the camp so we can stay for few days. We thought we might do a photo shoot on the way home too. Just stop and take pictures where we see the opportunity.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Afton and snuggling her. And of course, I always enjoy taking Eva out to the swings and doing things with her. She is at a FUN age. We are BLESSED!!!!
We will probably to to see them on Friday. We are waiting to see when a funeral is. One of my husband's co-workers was riding his bike home from work this last Friday and was hit by a car. He rode out in front of the car. I'm guessing he didn't see it. Sad thing is that he was going to retire in about 10 months. But we have known them for over 20 years, so the funeral is important to us.
We plan to take our trailer to the camp so we can stay for few days. We thought we might do a photo shoot on the way home too. Just stop and take pictures where we see the opportunity.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Afton and snuggling her. And of course, I always enjoy taking Eva out to the swings and doing things with her. She is at a FUN age. We are BLESSED!!!!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Progress
My laptop died and I haven't had a computer that worked well for a LONG time. I finally bought an Apple laptop for myself. I'm learning how to use it - lol. It is going to take me awhile.
We have visited Jonathan a number of times and even brought him to Montana to see his brother and his family. He is making good progress in becoming more honest with us and trying harder to be respectful. We are pleased with how he is doing. He is definitely still not ready to come home but it has been SO NEAT to see the changes in him. We have been told he will always have quirks but I see the tender heart in my boy.
I'd like to post more later when I figure the photos out more on the Apple. I think it is supposed to be easy but I am kinda dumb right now. I paid for One to One classes at Apple for a year. So I get a whole year of training with personal help and then I should be able to go to a table with a trainer that rotates among 3-5 people helping them.
I'm actually trying to make a lot of changes in my life during this time. I have written down some goals for myself. I want to work on becoming the person God created me to be.
We have visited Jonathan a number of times and even brought him to Montana to see his brother and his family. He is making good progress in becoming more honest with us and trying harder to be respectful. We are pleased with how he is doing. He is definitely still not ready to come home but it has been SO NEAT to see the changes in him. We have been told he will always have quirks but I see the tender heart in my boy.
I'd like to post more later when I figure the photos out more on the Apple. I think it is supposed to be easy but I am kinda dumb right now. I paid for One to One classes at Apple for a year. So I get a whole year of training with personal help and then I should be able to go to a table with a trainer that rotates among 3-5 people helping them.
I'm actually trying to make a lot of changes in my life during this time. I have written down some goals for myself. I want to work on becoming the person God created me to be.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Changes
I haven't written for a long time. I had a hard time seeing the humor for the last year. We placed our daughter back into the foster care system since it wasn't safe for our son for her to be here. We have since reliinquished our rights. Our son became pretty unsafe at home even with her gone and too much for me to handle when I was alone. In early December we took him to a boys home that our therapist recommended in Kentucky. He has made very slow but steady progress. He has been fairly honest with us on the phone. The home is VERY structured and they attend school there. We will go for our first visit in a few weeks. They have a strict policy about how and when and how long for phone calls and visits too. Everything is planned to give the child and parents gradual steps. It is expected that Jonathan will talk with us about how he behaved at home before he returns home.
Our trip to take him was kinda interesting. He had been VERY out of control at home and we took him to respite for a few days after a therapy appointment. We had hoped that it would all work out when we took him to therapy, which was the day after his incident. The therapist called the respite provider and she agreed to take him and we arranged to pick him up in a few days and we flew him to the home. He acted like we were on a vacation the whole time. The respite provider advised us not to tell him until we were on the property. I certainly didn't want to tell him until we were off all flights. I was sure he would've made GREAT use of his captive audience - LOL!!!
We got to Nashville and no luggage arrived. We took him to the home anyway and they had things to get by for him. He was thrilled with all our driving until we drove up a road and that had a very large house. Then he says, "what have I gotten myself into?" Hmmm - I wonder? We got inside and I took him in my lap and explained what was happening. We went into the office and rules were discussed and Jonathan was taken by an older boy to get some clothes and then the goodbyes came. It was still hard even though we knew it was the best thing for him.
We have heard maturity in his voice as he talks to us on the phone over time. He isn't whining and he sounds much more grown up. Usually very serious. One time he told us he was working to come home. He said he didn't want to see the therapist anymore. I let him know that he would still need to work on things once he came home and would need to see him. He accepted that with, "yes Mom."
The next phone call was a much lighter tone of voice. He was still respectful but just sounded like he was settling in better. Then we called from Canada when we visited the older kids. He got to talk to his big brother. He knew that we were with everyone. He was sad when it was time to hang up. Hard things to face at ten. But, my little boy has a tender heart in there. I have seen it many times. I'm looking forward to seeing him and hugging him in a few weeks. To seeing what he's been doing. To seeing what changes have occured in him. I know he still has a long way to go. We've been told to expect this to take a year or two. It will just be nice to spend some time seeing what his life is like right now and getting a feel so we will be in touch with what he will need when he does come home.
I know - not as much of my humorous side or fun stuff in this post. I haven't blogged much on any of my sites. Just trying to kinda get back into it a bit.
Our trip to take him was kinda interesting. He had been VERY out of control at home and we took him to respite for a few days after a therapy appointment. We had hoped that it would all work out when we took him to therapy, which was the day after his incident. The therapist called the respite provider and she agreed to take him and we arranged to pick him up in a few days and we flew him to the home. He acted like we were on a vacation the whole time. The respite provider advised us not to tell him until we were on the property. I certainly didn't want to tell him until we were off all flights. I was sure he would've made GREAT use of his captive audience - LOL!!!
We got to Nashville and no luggage arrived. We took him to the home anyway and they had things to get by for him. He was thrilled with all our driving until we drove up a road and that had a very large house. Then he says, "what have I gotten myself into?" Hmmm - I wonder? We got inside and I took him in my lap and explained what was happening. We went into the office and rules were discussed and Jonathan was taken by an older boy to get some clothes and then the goodbyes came. It was still hard even though we knew it was the best thing for him.
We have heard maturity in his voice as he talks to us on the phone over time. He isn't whining and he sounds much more grown up. Usually very serious. One time he told us he was working to come home. He said he didn't want to see the therapist anymore. I let him know that he would still need to work on things once he came home and would need to see him. He accepted that with, "yes Mom."
The next phone call was a much lighter tone of voice. He was still respectful but just sounded like he was settling in better. Then we called from Canada when we visited the older kids. He got to talk to his big brother. He knew that we were with everyone. He was sad when it was time to hang up. Hard things to face at ten. But, my little boy has a tender heart in there. I have seen it many times. I'm looking forward to seeing him and hugging him in a few weeks. To seeing what he's been doing. To seeing what changes have occured in him. I know he still has a long way to go. We've been told to expect this to take a year or two. It will just be nice to spend some time seeing what his life is like right now and getting a feel so we will be in touch with what he will need when he does come home.
I know - not as much of my humorous side or fun stuff in this post. I haven't blogged much on any of my sites. Just trying to kinda get back into it a bit.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Another Rainbow
Your rainbow is intensely shaded yellow, blue, and brown.
What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate the roughness of nature. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate the roughness of nature. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
Another Rainbow
Your rainbow is intensely shaded yellow, blue, and brown.
What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate the roughness of nature. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate the roughness of nature. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
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