Changes...

My little waterbabies.

In the past I've prided myself on not being a "type A" personality.

I'm laid back. I am not a natural leader & canNOT make a decision. Even though my lack of decision making, I think, stems from a fear of man & secretly wanting to make everyone happy (not necessarily a good thing). I don't schedule. I'm so not a scheduler, nor am I organized. I've always been pretty go-with-the-flow, wherever the day takes us, nap/no nap, whatever.......

So three kids & no schedule, let me tell you how that's going for me... it's not.

Can you excuse me for a minute while I scream:::

AAaaHhhhHHHhhhhHHHHhh

Ok. Thanks :)

Now, I'll clarify by saying I'm not swinging to the other end of the pendulum and going "Babywise" on Baby Girl or anything. Gary Ezzo & I aren't friends. However, my big girls need some structure. So last week, in the midst of this crazy little corner called *my life* I sat down and wrote out a *tentative* daily schedule. Can you picture this? It's after lunch, I still haven't showered for the day & am fashionably sporting my new daily do of "bed head". My house looks like the bottom of a toaster, I finally have the 2 younger girls down for a nap, Gabbi is bouncing off the walls & I'm scrounging for whatever pen & paper I find laying around. Determined to, one day, create order in this home!

My fear of schedules is deep-rooted though. I have such a tendency toward legalism that I've grown to fear schedules. I've feared making ourselves a daily list of "tasks" that have to be accomplished. If said things aren't accomplished, I've created an avenue of false guilt for myself. I've done this in the past. But sitting around in our jammies watching NickJr till 11:30 isn't the answer either. Which is the pattern a new baby + excruciating hot summer creates. So finding that balance is my goal!

I'm supposed to have 2 years until Gabbi starts school... we don't do Mother's Day Out, or preschool or anything like that, but I have been wanting to start some preschool at home with her. As much as she wants to anyway- I don't want to squash her love of learning by trying to fit her into a mold. So I've already decided if preschool becomes a struggle we're going to stop. She does love to learn, though, & has enjoyed the little "school" sessions we've done the past week. If she does well with preschool this year, I see myself going ahead and starting Kindergarten a year ahead, next year.

I'm getting ahead of myself though... I put our "tentative schedule" into practice last week and we did great!! The TV was consistently off after Gabbi watched her show of choice at 8:30. Catie got her one choice of TV show later in the morning. She had "alone play" time while Gabbi and I did little "school" sessions- which mainly consisted of practicing her Awana verses, learning the days of Creation, and letter writing. It's good enough for now to get us into a little routine until we actually purchase a preschool curriculum when she turns 4 in October. In the afternoon is Gabbi's alone play time while Catie and I have some much needed one-on-one play time. I've realized the past few months my sweet girl has gotten lost in the chaos. I get alone time with Gabbi because she gets up earlier than Catie. I get plenty of quality time with Ruthie between breastfeeding & babywearing. My Catie-bug is just always awake when someone else is. I've realized this is something I need to be intentional about doing. I think she *might* be enjoying our quality time as much as I am... but maybe not ;)

The schedule will need some tweaking as Ruthie gets bigger and works herself into a routine. And when it gets a little cooler out we'll have daily outside play time. Right now, however, it is just too hot for all of us. There is zero shade in our yard & we (I guess by "we" I really mean "Mommy") just can't bear the heat. So a couple times a week is all we get right now. I'm also trying to integrate a weekly (meaning, same time every week) trip to the grocery store & Farmer's Market. Right now it's just been "I'll take what I can get" (whether that's after Dustin gets home after 6, or sunday nights at 9, or when mom happens to have the girls)...and same as cooking. I love to cook... but all these things falling into place have not been happening since our Baby entered our family. She seriously has shaken my world!!! And I have just not bounced back yet & found our new normal.

So here you have it. Our new normal is organization!!! It's just desperately needed with 3 little ones under 4... I'm finding my way. Any of my organized Mommy friends, please feel free to share your daily schedules or a tip for creating order in your home!

A few more pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

*somebody rolled over!*

*she is getting so big*

*little sweet face*

Day 10

Person I've done the most *adventurous* things with.

The challenge actually said "messed up" things, but I'm not gonna go there. Another friend I saw put "adventurous" and I definitely like that better... I'm also going with "people" instead of one person:)

Derek & Kristin

Ok, let's face it, I'm not quite as adventurous as I'd like to be. It's not that I'm scared, or don't like the outdoors... Dustin & I absolutely love being outdoors. We love hiking, biking, camping, being on the lake- all those things. It's just that we don't do it so often. I guess just the planning aspect of it... We definitely would more often, and every year since we've been married we've gotten out a little bit more. But it's safe to say that almost every time we've done something, Derek & Kristin are the friends we do it with.

Mine and Kristin's friendship began an adventure on the other side of the world. We've walked through bush & villages, slept on top of a land rover, and had near-death road experiences in Kenya. (OK, maybe "near-death" is exaggerating, but it was quite terrifying) With Kristin & Derek we've camped, hiked, gone boating & tubing at the lake. We've had all-night games of monopoly, snuck into hotel swimming pools (something we were later convicted about, and wouldn't do again :-/), and always have a blast.

It's not always fun and games, as Derek & Kristin are probably the friends we've confided in the most since even before we were all married. We've shared our hearts, our struggles, our joys throughout marriage. With them we've laughed, prayed, & cried.

We are so thankful to God for the friendship He's given us through our brother & sister in Christ. They've been such an encouragement to us on our journey, and their friendship has truly pointed us more toward our Savior.

1000 Gifts

Thankfulness... #21-#36

:::days at the lake

:::family time

:::hot summer sun

:::farmer's tans

:::the Lord's gentle discipline

:::Psalm 119:71

:::how the Lord is moving in our church body

:::being back in choir

:::weekends

:::Interfaith clinic- who is going to pay for 90% of Dustin's knee surgery

:::AC

:::doing yard work

:::flowers :) the Lord is so very creative

:::watching my babies grow

:::the Lord's sovereignty

:::there is no pit so deep, that He is not deeper still (Corrie ten Boom)

A New Season

Memorial Day kicked off what is pretty much the "official" beginning of summer... not that that means a whole lot here with two little ones. Life pretty much stays the same. Aside from a couple vacations we're hoping to take this year. One will be up to Illinois with some family friends of ours. The other will be to Virginia. We've been wanting to go visit my aunt and uncle in Newport News for a few years now. Dustin has never even been there and we've been married for 3 and a half years! Hopefully near the end of the summer we'll be able to do that. We would also like to go camping at some point. Catie is kind of little but I'm sure mom wouldn't mind working out that problem for us :)

Then there are summer projects...

I'm really looking forward to the opportunity the ladies on the True Woman blog have given me and several other bloggers out there. Nancy Leigh DeMoss came out with a new book called Voices of th True Woman Movement. It's a compilation of several speakers/ authors who each have contributed a chapter in the book. Here's what the back says:

Which voices are you listening to?

In a world with so many contradictory and insistent messages, it's hard to know which ones are right, isn't it?

In recent decades, a powerful chorus has called out to women- urging us to choose the pathway of independence and self-reliance. Slick advertising and packaging have made the world's offer, like forbidden fruit in the Garden, appear to be "good... a delight to the eyes... [and] desired to make one wise."

In October 2008, over six thousand gathered for the first True Woman conference to hear God's Word and to affirm His mission and purpose to their lives. Voices of the True Woman Movement is a collection of messages presented at the conference. As you read, you'll be inspired to listen to the voice of the one who crafted you to uniquely bear His image as a woman.

Discover how a heart tuned to hear God's voice can be transformed to glorify Him and impact those around you for such a time as this.

I was fortunate enough to attend the conference a couple years ago, where I heard all these messages. Then, I was sent this book for free, with the promise to blog my thoughts on each chapter as I go through it. I'm looking forward to reading it, refreshing my mind and spirit on the things these Godly man and women spoke on a couple years ago. Maybe this time, with the Lord's help, these things will sink in! Be looking for my future postings on this book!

My next goal of the summer is to run a 5K. I've been doing the Couch-to-5K training plan. I'm at the end of week 5, which is exciting to be over halfway there! July 3rd is my end date! I'll be "racing" (Ha! Racing. I just want to finish the thing!) in the 26th Annual Pilot Fireball Moonlite Classic 5K. Wow, that's a mouthful! I ran cross country in high school, back in my "fit" days. It's encouraging though to be running again after two babies. I love to run... yes, I'm one of those crazy people who gets some kind of thrill out of pushing my body to its limits, going through intense moments of pain, exhaustion and thirst. I have run for as long as I can remember. My mom always loved running, and my dad was a marine. Running with my dad is one of my favorite memories from when I was young. He always pushed me... so now I have a tendency to push myself. Yes, I'm running again, with a life long goal to run a marathon. I'll keep you posted on that one! ;)

And now here's the thing I'm currently most excited about. My hair is long enough to donate!!! I cut it super short 2 years ago, cutting out the last of my highlights I'd been trying to grow for what seems like years. I've only cut it once since then (even though I probably should have been having it trimmed), with the intentions to grow it out to donate.

Dustin is out of town tonight and won't be home until tomorrow evening. He had to go to nashville for work. I hate when he's not home with us, but I started thinking last night that maybe I could surprise him with something. Then I realized this morning, I'll cut my hair! I don't know how he'll really respond... I'm pretty anxious about that part. He always says he likes my hair both ways- long and short- but we'll see. So I started researching donation organizations this morning. I don't really want to donate to Locks of Love, but was willing to donate to Pantene. I just didn't think my hair was long enough. So I found this smaller non-profit organization called Pink Heart Funds while I was searching for 6" hair donations. Then, realized they just increased the amount they'll accept from 6" to 8"... I was a little bummed. I really want to cut my hair but had convinced myself I will NOT cut all this hair off for nothing. I will only cut it if it's long enough to donate. So out of curiosity, I straightened a section of my hair, then pulled it back, and I have almost TEN inches!!! My hair will be short, pretty short, but I'm excited. I want it short, I want to surprise Dustin, and most importantly I want my hair to go to a "good cause". I'll post pictures later! Hopefully everything will fall into place tomorrow for me to be able to cut it!

Our Next Adventure

We're not going to plant our garden until next year, but we're going to go ahead and get a compost started. My grandma is going to come sometime this summer and help me get our flower beds looking nice. So I'll be able to have this compost to add to it this year, then to our garden next year. I'm quite excited about this! Flower beds and a garden are things I've really looked forward to about having our own home.