My Beautiful Day

As you may have noticed my blog has lost a lot of its elements. This is because I have finally figured out how to make a three-column blog (which I am incredibly thrilled about, by the way)! So, please have patience with me as I build my blog up again - my free time is limited this weekend, so it may be awhile. But YAY for the three-column blog!! :)

My meeting yesterday (at my church with a wonderful woman named Monica) went far better than I anticipated it would! Granted, I completely understand the fact that God truly does have me in His arms and He is guiding me on my path of life - but in the midst of this very lonely period I've been going through (during the daytime when it's just me and Colin here), it's been really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. SO - Monica and I met and spent awhile talking about me and my upbringing, my Christian walk and what exactly brought me to the place I am. Then we talked about where I would best fit in what ministries. I expressed my desire to be able to be a part of serving as well as being served (as I just love to help in small groups - I always have!). She shared a vision with me that she believed I would be a very important part of. She said that our church is looking to start a small group for people in my situation - for blended families who are trying to...

No, it's not just because they have a contest going away that I'm posting about them - it's because I truly do LOVE their shirts! Wild Olive makes T-shirts that allow you to "Get Your Verse On" with a scripture verse on each shirt. They are all so uniquely made and uniquely beautiful - I just made my first order today and I can't WAIT to get them! :) Visit them here or click their banner in my sidebar. They are styling in the way they shine for God!

Today is supposed to be insane! I can't really complain about it, though I am trying to prepare myself and Colin for it. We have a meeting with the Director of Women's Ministries (Monica) at my church at 10am. Why am I meeting with her? Because a couple of months ago I tried to join the MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at our church and I was told that they are full and there is no room for Colin and I to join. That felt like a punch in the gut! It took me awhile to decide I really do still want to be a part of some ministry, and so I contacted my pastor who put me in touch with Monica - and today I'm meeting with her! I'm excited to see what doors God is opening for me through this meeting. After that, it's a quick trip to Target (my boys need socks) and then back home for lunch and naptime. Chris is coming over this afternoon to watch Colin, and I am heading out to Minneapolis to pick Monte up at work and then head down to Bloomington where we are meet...

As many of you know, for the last five and a half months (almost six, holy moly!) I have been in the midst of transitioning from single woman working in the corporate world to stay-at-home step-mom. As many of you also know, this transition has NOT been easy. I am by no means saying that staying home with my step-kids has been a drag, because it hasn't ... I'm just saying that it has been a huge moment of self discovery for me. I'm learning how to be a parent, which I think will come more naturally after awhile. I'm learning how to cook - and this is where I found myself getting stuck. When I was single, I had no problem cooking (by my definition) gourmet meals for myself - and grocery shopping happened only once every three to four weeks (with a stop in between to pick up some fresh produce). Now, I continually find myself grocery shopping at least once per week and I find myself frustrated with not being able to cook the great meals that I want to and not bein...

Right now, at this very moment, I am enjoying the sound of nothing but my fingers hitting the keys on my keyboard. My house is completely silent for the first time in four days. Let me correct myself - I have time to myself for the first time in four days. A girlfriend of mine came to stay with us for a few days, which is absolutely fine, but I've come to discover that having new (un-related) people in my house throws off my schedule more than I would care to admit. We were constantly busy with driving kids to soccer and baseball, picking them up from friend's houses, collecting rent at our apartment complex, buying groceries and returning clothes that just didn't quite fit correctly ... and that's not even half of it! The four days were quite busy - so busy that I did not have one day this week where I stayed in Mound all day. To be frank, I am exhausted! My hubby is out of town on a camping trip with my two brothers, Jeremy and Tory, and my brother-in-law, Marti...

What can I say? The trip was wonderful! It was such a sweet resting time for me - and the ironic thing about all that time in the sun is that I came back the same pasty white color that I left! :) My sunblock must've been more powerful than I was aware of! We enjoyed the beach, a day at Universal Studios and lots of time relaxing at our hotel and in one of the nine or ten pools at the hotel. It was a wonderful amount of down time with my husband - a retreat that will forever be cherished! :) Now I'm back to real life - a three year old who happily uses the potty chair (thank God for Papa and Grandma being willing to continue his potty training while we were gone) and three wonderful kiddos in school today. I've got groceries to buy and a lawn to mow .... life is great! :)

My house is out of control! Holy moly! I took Monte to the airport this morning and, when we left, it was already in desperate need of a deep DEEP cleaning. That being said, an entire day has gone by, the house has obtained more mess and far less clean and I feel like I'm in a swamp! I had intended on spending most of my day today cleaning and doing laundry, but my schedule got completely changed around when I realized that, in order to potty train my three-year-old, I would have to devote every waking moment to reminding him that it's time to go potty, and changing him every time he wets himself. Ugh. I was up to my ears in frustration, and that's the very moment that the Lord smiled at me because Colin went potty in the potty chair!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even tell you the relief that came with this, and because we praised him so highly (and even treated him to ice cream), he seems really excited to be a BIG BOY and make sure that he always potties in the toilet. ...

I did not get into a "fight" with my rosebush this week, only to get mad and turn around and try to push it out of the way - only to end up MORE scratched up. Not me. Today, in the midst of potty training my son, I did not get confused and ask the cashier at the grocery store if she had to go potty before we left, then proceed to be confused as to why I asked her that and have to explain myself. That would be too embarassing, I would never do that! I did not ask my son if he knows what it means to be quiet because he was asking too many questions and certainly did not get his response of "but God made me to ask so many questions." And to top it all off, I did not answer the phone by saying "hey lover!" because I thought it was my husband's number on the caller ID, only to find out it definitely was not my husband's number being displayed. No way!