"Routine" implies regularly...right? Not sporadic...not when I feel like it...not when the weather's nice...not when I actually feel as if I have a smidgen of energy...
And then , not just after a few days of doing something, but...after 2 weeks of consistency, maybe? Does this now qualify as routine?
I'm going out on a limb and answering that question with a big, fat (or hopefully skinny and fit) YES.
You see, in my golden (pre-kids) years, I was a fit little gal. I worked out 7 days/week, usually running between 3-5 miles/day, and in the rare occasion I "took the day off" that actually consisted of walking fast for an hour (which has been my "workout - at best - after having kids).
So 2 weeks ago, it hit me that I am well past birth-giving experiences (this is a good excuse people that I have milked!), am not pregnant (another fantastic excuse), nor have any intent of getting pregnant for a good long time. I did work out (walking) through pregnancies, but I'm talking my long lost love for running.
No more excuses.
Plus, I miss those days...I used to love running. And I finally realized I had lost heart because I wasn't nearly as good at it as I used to be (um - another excuse. we're up to 3).
So I decided, it's time.
You see, where we live, we're blessed with an awesome fitness facility a few houses up the road in our neighborhood that i have free access to - don't even have to join a costly gym. A few years back I would have already worn the place out.
My plan? To start out slow (so I don't get frustrated at myself). So a few weeks ago, I set my alarm every morning and went up to the treadmills and ran before Jason went to work. It's really not that early (7:30) so I found myself sticking to it quite well.
There are a few days he has to leave very early (they're random) and on those days, I pay $5 to go to the super nice gym down the street (that also provides child care) and work out there. I go there at least once/week and LOVE it. Don't love the monthly costs of joining but I've always been a sucker for gyms (especially those that watch your kids!)
So here we are - 2 weeks later - and I've totally stuck to it! I'm not doing the 7 days/week...but 5-6. And I have been running 2 miles straight this past week so I'm super pumped about that. My goal is three consistently. Regularly. Routinely. And I'm seriously having so much fun.
The payoff so far? Last night Jason and I had a date night. We went to Pinnacle to shop and enjoy the weather after dinner. I told him I wanted to try on clothes. I hadn't shopped since being pregnant and just wanted to try stuff on for fun (we had no money to shop). I found a super cute pair of jeans (so cute they are now in my top 2 favorites - I've only owned 3 favorites in my entire life so this was a HUGE deal). I explained to Jason how normal it is to have "good" pairs of jeans and how RARE it is to have favorites - big difference.
Then, before I knew it he had bought them for me! What?! I asked how he got the money and then I realized he used a gift card he had since his birthday that he hadn't used - for my jeans! Love him (for more reason than the jeans!).
An added bonus?? They were the size I had always worn before the kiddos.
Loving the running routine!!!!!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Night Night
Tonight the kids and I met Jason, the coaches (and Mrs. Beth!), and the team for an FCA meeting tonight. Rotney Clark came to speak and hang out with the kids which was super fun! I am excited for the next FCA meeting because the wonderful Mrs. Becky Patterson will be speaking about their recent journey through loss and faith - can't wait! Jason's job can been draining and trying with its demanding schedule, but I am thankful for the blessings of getting to be a part of fun things like tonight. It's a "family job" and I'm glad we get to share in so much of it with him!
Lincoln loves it, too. I get asked "Can I go shoot a ball?" frequently throughout every day (warms daddy's heart, of course) and he just enjoys being around all the coaches and the players - our little extrovert ham. :)
One thing's for sure - all the fun involvement with daddy's job leaves these rascals ready for bed when we get home.
Lincoln loves it, too. I get asked "Can I go shoot a ball?" frequently throughout every day (warms daddy's heart, of course) and he just enjoys being around all the coaches and the players - our little extrovert ham. :)
One thing's for sure - all the fun involvement with daddy's job leaves these rascals ready for bed when we get home.
On Childcare
I've been involved in a Women's Ministry class at Fellowship Bible for the past few months now. The class is 2 hours every week, with childcare provided, and a few different times throughout the semester of the course, they offer "extended childcare" where mothers can go out to eat and spend time with the other women for two additional hours - pretty remarkable!
We just had one of our extended days this past Wednesday and it was everything I was hoping it to be!
So now to the meat of this post: childcare.
When we transitioned churches, Lincoln went through a hard time on Sunday and Wednesday morning s(the class) when he would get left. He would scream terribly high pitched noises, tears would flow continually, and he would yell "Daddy!! Momma!!" which broke our hearts everytime. It didn't stop us from going to church or my class - but it was a dreaded moment that often distracted me twice a week.
I hated it.
I hated it for Lincoln, but I also felt bad for the workers having to deal with that kind of emotion!
But not once have I ever felt like I'm burdening those sweet workers.
They always greet with a smile and present this joy in what they volunteer to do.
Week after week, this same dreaded routine continued. And then, about 3 weeks in, Lincoln started talking about "church" at home, talking about the workers by name. He would get excited about it and run to the door asking if we could go to church. "Merle, Merle Merle!" he would exclaim with delight! Merle was his Sunday morning teacher (he and his wife were an older couple that volunteered their time).
Suddenly, Lincoln felt safe. HE loved church. HE loved the workers. And when we went Sunday of that week, he ran straight to his room, turned around and goes "Bye bye momma...bye bye daddy." like he was ready for us to get out of there!
Wednesdays were no different that week.
Did he get used to the routine? Maybe.
But what I am more convinced of are the dear, genuine joyous hearts of the people that work at Fellowship Sunday and Wednesday mornings. The two ladies that teach Lincoln Wed. genuinely love Lincoln and it is so evident in the way they get excited when he arrives and how he just hugs and kisses on them before we leave each week...and when I dropped Noah off this past week, the ladies in his room greeted him by name with big bright smiles and told me "thank you for letting us just love on him each week!!"
Thank me? Oh my! Thank YOU!
I have been on both sides of childcare. It's a hard job! I think it could be so easy - even if you are getting paid - to look at it as a merely a job (just like all of our jobs I guess) but miss the joy.
Through taking the kids to childcare at church twice a week, I have been humbled. Humbled to always be joyful in what I am doing. These ladies could still do an excellent job at caring for my children even if they weren't joyful...but oh my goodness how much that means to me to see how excited they are to be with these children! It's a great testimony and has touched my heart.
And Merle? Lincoln graduated form his class about a month ago, but Lincoln still asks about Merle DAILY. Seriously. So last Sunday I took Lincoln to visit Merle after church. Lincoln reached for him and gave him a kiss! Sweet little moments.
We just had one of our extended days this past Wednesday and it was everything I was hoping it to be!
So now to the meat of this post: childcare.
When we transitioned churches, Lincoln went through a hard time on Sunday and Wednesday morning s(the class) when he would get left. He would scream terribly high pitched noises, tears would flow continually, and he would yell "Daddy!! Momma!!" which broke our hearts everytime. It didn't stop us from going to church or my class - but it was a dreaded moment that often distracted me twice a week.
I hated it.
I hated it for Lincoln, but I also felt bad for the workers having to deal with that kind of emotion!
But not once have I ever felt like I'm burdening those sweet workers.
They always greet with a smile and present this joy in what they volunteer to do.
Week after week, this same dreaded routine continued. And then, about 3 weeks in, Lincoln started talking about "church" at home, talking about the workers by name. He would get excited about it and run to the door asking if we could go to church. "Merle, Merle Merle!" he would exclaim with delight! Merle was his Sunday morning teacher (he and his wife were an older couple that volunteered their time).
Suddenly, Lincoln felt safe. HE loved church. HE loved the workers. And when we went Sunday of that week, he ran straight to his room, turned around and goes "Bye bye momma...bye bye daddy." like he was ready for us to get out of there!
Wednesdays were no different that week.
Did he get used to the routine? Maybe.
But what I am more convinced of are the dear, genuine joyous hearts of the people that work at Fellowship Sunday and Wednesday mornings. The two ladies that teach Lincoln Wed. genuinely love Lincoln and it is so evident in the way they get excited when he arrives and how he just hugs and kisses on them before we leave each week...and when I dropped Noah off this past week, the ladies in his room greeted him by name with big bright smiles and told me "thank you for letting us just love on him each week!!"
Thank me? Oh my! Thank YOU!
I have been on both sides of childcare. It's a hard job! I think it could be so easy - even if you are getting paid - to look at it as a merely a job (just like all of our jobs I guess) but miss the joy.
Through taking the kids to childcare at church twice a week, I have been humbled. Humbled to always be joyful in what I am doing. These ladies could still do an excellent job at caring for my children even if they weren't joyful...but oh my goodness how much that means to me to see how excited they are to be with these children! It's a great testimony and has touched my heart.
And Merle? Lincoln graduated form his class about a month ago, but Lincoln still asks about Merle DAILY. Seriously. So last Sunday I took Lincoln to visit Merle after church. Lincoln reached for him and gave him a kiss! Sweet little moments.
Billy Graham at 90
Billy Graham's Prayer For Our NationTHIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare... We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.. We have abused power and called it politics... We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.. Amen!'
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over both our nations and wholeheartedly become our desire for our North American Continent.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Big T-W-O
It just hit me...
This little guy (that would be Lincoln) -
Is going to be this many...
In a few weeks! Oh.My.Word. Two years? Already? I guess this will mark the end of aging the darling in "months" and from now on he'll just be "2" - no clarifications necessary. I'm sure there will be much more to come on this transition, but for now, I just wanted to share this sudden realization.
This little guy (that would be Lincoln) -
Is going to be this many...
In a few weeks! Oh.My.Word. Two years? Already? I guess this will mark the end of aging the darling in "months" and from now on he'll just be "2" - no clarifications necessary. I'm sure there will be much more to come on this transition, but for now, I just wanted to share this sudden realization.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Pumpkin Fun
This one of three visits we have planned to area pumpkin patches. We went to one last year, but now that I stay home (it will be a full year in November!), we're planning more pumpkin patch visits during the day and I'm loving them so far. It satisfies Lincoln's latest obsession with pumpkins. His squeals can be heard in far off lands when he spots a pumpkin (and an airplane for that matter).
I'll admit though - the weather was way too warm for pumpkin patch festivities - not very festive, but still fun. We were suppose to go to one tomorrow and then a huge one (that I'm super excited about) this weekend with daddy, but I think we'll postpone these visits until the weather drops at least below 80 degrees - blah. I shouldn't even have to say that in October!
The one we went to today is in Centerton right across the street from our neighborhood - perfect. And it was free - even more perfect. Though we did buy a few pumpkins and some popcorn (all under $3 total - so not bad).
We will more than likely visit this one twice a week. :)
I'll admit though - the weather was way too warm for pumpkin patch festivities - not very festive, but still fun. We were suppose to go to one tomorrow and then a huge one (that I'm super excited about) this weekend with daddy, but I think we'll postpone these visits until the weather drops at least below 80 degrees - blah. I shouldn't even have to say that in October!
The one we went to today is in Centerton right across the street from our neighborhood - perfect. And it was free - even more perfect. Though we did buy a few pumpkins and some popcorn (all under $3 total - so not bad).
We will more than likely visit this one twice a week. :)
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