Honestly....

I was reading a friend's blog
today and she finished off her post with asking "What would make your life full?" That's a good question. She was also making some comparisons about doing things we are capable of rather than things we are passionate about. I feel as though these concepts are slapping me around a bit as of late.
As an aside before I get into what I mean, I've been told that I'm too honest, and I'm sure that's true. Blogging makes it possible to be too honest to billions of people, so I suppose that I must needs be careful with what I share sometimes. But I always appreciate the honesty of others, and I often benefit from it, so I'll always share what's on my heart. Anyways...
Currently, I have a job that I am capable at. It doesn't pay very well, nor is it overly stimulating from someone like myself, but I seem to be good at it. At care group this past week, I felt my passions stirring again to be in ministry. Ah, to share from God's word, to talk with, mentor and counsel people again. Even to be involved in music again, ohhhh, that would be grand. But it's the people that I miss.
At work we did this personality test thing called "colors". I am Blue. Blue people like other people. Not necessarily in the extrovert sense, but rather in the caring for people sense. One thing that the seminar dude said that stuck out to me was, "You can take a blue person and lock them up in the basement to do filing or something, and they may be the best filer you've ever had, but in a short while they will shrivel up and die because there is no one around for them to care about." I think that describes kind of where I see myself.
But then why did I just turn down a job at a church? Well, it wasn't full time, and it didn't pay very well for starters. It just wouldn't have been a good situation for us I don't think. But I still long for some sort of ministry position again. I know what they are like, and sometimes I wonder "why would I want to go through that sort of stuff again?" The only answer I can think of is that I am passionate about those things, and that I think they are a part of what gives me a "full life". That, and being able to play and create music. I rarely feel "fuller" than when I am being musical. Yes, the album is still in process, but honestly I'm pretty sure it should be done this summer.

Thanks for reading to the end... I appreciate it.

Peanut Butter and Milk

My husband has always like dipping his toasted peanut butter sandwiches in a little tea cup of milk. I think it was just something he started doing as a child. Our son has started to eat peanut butter sandwiches as well and guess what he does. He does exactly what daddy does. He gets a little tea cup of milk and dunks his sandwich in. It's pretty cute. It makes me wonder where most of our habits came from. I think that a lot of them came from watching our parents as children and then wanting to do exactly as they did and so we developed a habit. I see that especially with our son. He loves doing everything that daddy does. When daddy was out of a job and looking for work, almost everyday our son would pretend to go out and get a job. Now he pretends to go to work and fix things, just like daddy. It's pretty cool to watch him.
On another note. This weekend I am going to a craft weekend at our church. I am very excited about this. On Tuesday I went to the Scrapbooking store and spent 2 1/2 -3 hours picking out my paper. Sounds crazy and it is. Prior to that I've been searching the website http://twopeasinabucket.com for good layout ideas. It's a great website for any of you scrapbookers. So, hopefully I'll get lots done this weekend. I'm still just learning, but it's a lot of fun once I get going.

doughnuts's

Yesterday I had the idea to make doughnuts. The last time that I made them was 5 years ago and my mom used to make them when we were growing up. So, I made a batch, but it made way more than I remember. So, now I have a lot of doughnuts in my freezer and am going to give some away. It's a good excuse to give something away. I made plain ones and dipped them in a sugar icing and then I made a chocolate icing and dipped some into there. I think next time I make them I'm going to try one of those chocolate cake doughnut recipes.
Last night we had my brother over for supper. That was nice. The kids both like him and had fun with him. When our son went to bed he asked if uncle C was still around. I said he was leaving soon. He said that uncle should come over again and play and read stories. Sounds like a good plan! Maybe he could babysit sometime!! We had a nice time with you C, and hope you'll come over again soon.

Changes

To start off, the weather has been changing every day. One day it's freezing, the next melting, then snowing and in the same day as the snow it's melting and warm again. It's the strangest weather and I think it's just trying to figure out what time of year it actually is. I sure hope the warmer sticks.
Our son is starting to change one of the cute things he says. This week instead of saying mommy and daddy all the time he has been interchanging it with mom and dad. It's so sad. Every time he says it I feel like telling him that he should say mommy, but I guess he is just growing up. At least our daughter will still be saying mommy once she starts speaking. It's amazing how fast they grow up. I also can't believe that in 3 months is his 3rd birthday already. I guess I should start coming up with ideas since there will be a bit more to think of for this birthday.
Recently I was thinking how we didn't know too many people who were getting married and here, for this summer we have gotten 4 invitations to weddings. It's crazy. I don't know how many we'll be able to make it to, but it is exciting to have weddings to go to again.

Needles and Tears

Today we all got out of the house by 7:50am. That is probably a record for us, considering that usually the kids don't wake up until 7:15 or so. We drove my husband to work and then were off to get my daughters year immunizations. It was nice, we were the first appointment of the day so we got in right away. Things went well. She now weighs 18ibs 3 oz and is 29 inches. She is growing well in her regular growing curve. The immunizations themselves never bother me too much, because I know that the crying is going to stop as soon as we step out of the door. The thing that bothers me is the questions they ask and how I always walk out of there feeling worried of my child's health. Well not completely, because I know that they are growing and developing just fine. She asked a couple of questions as if expecting that my daughter should be a pro at them (walking and talking) and she has just turned one, so what do you expect. But, I'm glad it's done. I just miss my doctor back in N.V. She was so great, the best doctor I've ever had and wish so much that I could have her here. Really, I actually looked forward to my doctor appointments because she was so great. Here, I have to go to a nurse to get the immunizations and it's not as personal or laid back.
Our weekend flew by as usual. We had a family over from our life group. We had a great time with them and the kids seemed to have lots of fun playing with each other. It's always nice to visit one on one with people rather than in a group. We actually haven't done very much hosting here and so it was nice to do that for a change. On Sunday I got to go shopping with my sister and an exchange student from Germany. That was fun in many ways. I love shopping, had fun with my sister and the girl and it's always neat to talk with somebody from a different country.

Snow Again

Well, I guess they were right about the snow coming again. It snowed all day yesterday and has continued to snow today. From what I hear it is very cold out there. It's crazy how one day it can be +7 and the next day be -20. So much for those spring jackets. At least we got to wear them for a few days.
Last night we had our life group (bible study) at our place. It was nice to host it. We have a really great group and are really enjoying it. The people are so great and have a lot of things in common with us. It's great too, because all of the females scrapbook and so I have gotten to go scrapbooking with them a couple of times. It's a nice way to get to know the girls. It's also great because there are lots of kids so our kids instantly have a bunch of friends. Yesterday I told our son that the kids were coming and he was very excited. I think that was all he could think about and talk about. They had a lot of fun playing together. I also have been going to a mom's group on tuesday mornings and that is nice to have a place for the kids to play and interact with other children. It's nice too, for me, to get out of the house. They are a great group of women as well. I am very thankful for all of these women that surround me here. I didn't have a lot of that before and so it's a nice change.

In a Second...

I just heard some very sad news that I would like you to pray for. A young husband/father just died tragically in a snowmobile accident. He and his wife had a 3 year old son and are expecting their 2nd child in a month. I don't know their names, but I wanted to pass this on to anybody that felt led to pray for this family. His wife and family definitely need prayer during this time. I can not imagine going through something like this. I think of myself and don't know what I would've done or even would do if my husband were to ever die. It just shows you how life can slip away in a split second. There are so many times when I leave the house with just a quick goodbye, always expecting to see my family in a short while, but you really never know.

Thus ends the long harsh winter...

...On two fronts. First, I think this is my first post on this blog since before the snow, and second, speaking of snow, it's starting to melt away. It was nice to step outside this morning and be shocked by the warmth and not the bitter cold.
My work is going well, I suppose. It's pretty repetitive these days. paint... unclog sink... paint... fix something... paint... ad infinitum. One thing that's really nice is that I am able to come home for lunch. I really look forward to that time with my family each day, however brief it may be. It helps to break up my days, and I think it's nice for them, too.
My mom was just in town. She was here for a week. She got to help with our daughter's birthday party. We did a few fun things while she was here like go to an indoor playland and look at some fancy schmancy show homes. We enjoyed having my mom here and we are glad that she came. Anyone else is welcome to visit (nudge nudge).
On a musical note, having a job is making it hard to get much work done on my album, but it's still in the works. Actually, it's pretty close to being done if I could just get a couple solid chunks of time to work on it. Maybe for the summer you'll finally have it.
Well, that's about all for this quarter. Hopefully I'll post something again before June!

Children

This past Saturday we celebrated our daughters 1st birthday. It is exciting that she has hit this milestone in her life. We had a cupcake on her actual birthday and then on Saturday we had her birthday party. We had family and friends from our home group over. We had a great time just hanging out, since there isn't much else that you can do at a 1 year olds birthday. The one game we did is that we put pictures on the wall of each month of her life (out of order) and people had to figure out their order. Out of 13, the highest people got was 7. It was pretty tricky. We had tons of food. We made all sorts of tea party goodies which was fun. Our daughter is so precious. She is always full of smiles and brings many smiles to us. We love her so much.
Our son is 2 1/2. He is wonderful too. He just got his first pair of sunglasses and loves them. For some reason he keeps putting them on upside down and likes it better that way.
I read somebodies blog the other day and they were saying that the 2's should be called the terrific twos instead of the terrible twos. I agree that there are many more good times than bad ones, but the twos are definitely a challenge. He is a horrible eater and everyday, every meal is a challenge. I don't know what to do and would love some ideas. He has also gotten into hitting his little sister and being very rough with her. He never was jealous when she was born, but probably because he was too little, but maybe that is part of why he is acting this way now. Who knows. But he is wonderful and there are many terrific things about this age, but it also takes a lot out of a person.