My Beautiful Days

Recently on Facebook my friend, Yolonda, posted this picture: After reading through this list, it stirred up a lot of thoughts within me.  You see, I am an extrovert - and quite an extreme extrovert at that!  I have always thought of my extroversion as a great thing, almost as if I was given a gift, but it wasn't until I married Monte that I realized my extroverted personality can also be the very thing that made me a bully. A bully.  Wow, it hurts just to type that. It's true, though.  The more I learned about Monte and his introverted personality, the more I realized that I have not at all been accommodating or understanding of the introverts in my life.  One of the things I realized I have always  done, but maybe never saw that I was doing it, was that I misinterpreted an introvert's need for down-time and quiet as them being sad or sullen.  I was bound and determined to cheer them up, when in reality the very thing they needed from me was ...

No, I don't mean a conversation with myself.  I mean a conversation with Kelley.  She was my four oldest children's mother (so, if I were being technical, my step-children's mom).  She was killed in a snowmobiling accident when my oldest was 10 and my youngest was 2.  She was a phenomenal woman - a loving wife, sister, daughter, friend - and most of all, an incredibly devoted mother.  I often wonder what a conversation with her would be like. Kelley had one very beautiful smile, and my kids tell me she loved hats! I imagine that we would sit down with our cups of coffee and, all jealousy aside over both of us so dearly loving Monte, I think we would have a great conversation.   Kelley and the kids (from left to right) Iain, Colin, Ellis and Claire on the day of Colin's baptism. There are a lot of questions that I would love to ask her.  I would love to know what her dreams were for her children.  I would love to know where she e...

As of late, this is a theme that has been replaying in my life over and over and over and over, and I don't understand the reason.  It seems that 28 is the new 15 when it comes to receiving advice from me.  Granted, this isn't the case in all situations, but in many it truly is.  I can't help but wonder why.  It seems that it is the same few people who continue to talk down to me in the "you have no idea what this is like" stance. Really?  Would I be offering up my opinion or ANY amount of advice if I didn't understand where you were coming from? No.  I truly would not. I find myself feeling frustrated at the fact that people look at me as being younger.  Let's be honest - there are not many women who are near my own age who are in the place of life where I am.  A few, yes, but not many.  A majority of my friends are about 10 years older than I am, and when I am with them, they don't point out my age difference or make me feel any less ...

This is something that has been on my heart for about a month.  I had the privilege of sharing it with my MOPS group yesterday, and now I want to share it with you.  Looking back over the past (almost) four years, I have found that there were so many times I felt I didn't measure up.  It started out with motherhood. Jumping in head-first to being a step-mom to four kids is one of the best blessings I've ever been given, but it also is one of the most frustrating learning journeys that I've been on.  You see, I really thought I was doing a good job - I was staying on top of our housework and laundry (which I now realize was truly a miracle!), I was making dinners, I was playing with the kids and helping with homework.  Sure, we had a hiccup every now and then, but life really seemed to be going smoothly. Then I started following mommy blogs. There are few things in the world that tear me down the way that reading a mommy blog can.  Those bl...

Picture courtesy of Google Images It's 4:40am and suddenly I am awakened by the sounds of KTIS on my radio.  I stumble over all of the buttons on the clock until I find "Snooze" and push it quickly, the relief of silence my immediate reward.  Then the internal battle starts, "I need to get up.  I really need to get out of bed and go.  I don't want Monte to wake up.  I will feel better if I do" vs. "If I just shut off the alarm I can sleep for two more glorious hours.  I don't think I can work out very well if my body is so exhausted.  Who needs to work out?  Oh yeah, I do.  Ugh!" If it weren't for my husband and his sweet way of rolling over and kissing my cheek to let me know he's awake (which I much prefer to being shaken, kicked or told to get out of bed!), I don't think I would have the motivation to get up.  However, knowing that he can enjoy one more blissful hour of sleep usually gets my butt up and moving pretty quickly,...

This past weekend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend the Women of Faith Imagine Tour with friends and family, and it truly was a transforming weekend!  We were awesomely blessed to have great seats on the floor, which was a surprise that came only a week before the conference when someone from WOF called to tell me that they had changed my seats from the second deck (can anybody say "nosebleeds"?!) to floor seating.  Thank You God! :) This is their jumbo-tron that hung directly above the stage. The best thing about this Women of Faith conference is that I had the privilege of sharing it with people that I love!  I was joined by my mom (Sharon), my step-sister (Angela), my sister (Tanya), my friend (Trish) and my sweet blogging friend (Kristin) and her mom (Kathy) who I was able to meet for the very first time in real life this weekend! From left to right: Angela, mom (Sharon), Tanya, me, Trish, Kristin and Kathy. The event started out with Sheila Walsh, ...

We planned it on Monday.  Or maybe it was Tuesday.  Regardless, we planned this trip earlier in the week and somehow managed to keep it a secret from most of our family and friends.  We lined up a babysitter.  We lined up a flight.  We finally found what we've been slowly searching for and made the decision to pursue. Saturday morning my alarm went off at 3:30am.  Considering the fact that the prior night was a night of interrupted sleep for me (due to my sweet baby deciding that the middle of the night was a good time to want to eat and play!), I was not too thrilled with the timing of my waking. I dragged my tired butt out of bed and got ready for the day.  At 4:30am, completely ready to go, I went and woke baby (since he had already been "complaining" a little bit for the past hour).  Changed his diaper.  Fed him a bottle.  Cuddled him back to sleep.  I was still holding him when Holly (our babysitter) arrived at our house at...

I just tried to log into Blogger, as I haven’t posted an update to my blog in awhile.   Upon clicking the link, I received a message stating “Blogger is currently unavailable.   We apologize for this interruption in service.” So, here I am, writing out this blog post in Word with the intent to post it when Blogger becomes available again.   The irony of Blogger's unavailability is the fact that I feel like that could be MY status message lately. “Kami is currently unavailable.   She apologizes for the interruption in one-on-one time.” Life has been BUSY.   In a home with five children, this is never a new thing.   In the spring, however, our normal busy takes on a whole new level.   This spring Claire has been in softball, Iain has been in baseball and soccer, and Ellis has been in soccer.   To say that keeping up with our sports schedule can be overwhelming is a huge UNDERstatement.   Getting our kids to and from practices and games, arra...

It's no joke that I've been walking around my house singing the chorus to Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It".  That's how I feel.  I'm done with this and I'm not taking it anymore.  Yesterday morning I was feeling incredibly defeated.  I was congested, I could feel the fluid in my lungs, my cough was awful and I hardly had a voice.  I was certain that this was going to take over my life for the rest of the week.  It already has consumed Ethan, Colin, Monte and myself, and I was allowing it to do so.   The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't even like my attitude!  I'm a fighter and I don't have to take this sickness trying to consume me.  So, I have prayed about it and in faith am believing God is healing our family.  You know what?  I truly do feel MUCH better today and I believe that a lot of it is because of my choice to change my perspective.  Yes, I'm still coughing and have the occasion...

Last night there was an elephant in the room ... and it was perched right on top of my chest. After already having an emotional day (because, let's face it, women have those now and then) I made the decision to go to my belly dancing class .  I won't lie, I really didn't want to go, I didn't want to AT ALL.  Maybe it was the thought of the shimmy circle and how completely exhausting it is.  Maybe it was just the thought of working out.  I really don't know, exactly, all I know is that I didn't want to go. I went anyway. The beginning of the class was truly enjoyable.  I was having a great time.  I was moving and shimmying and lifting my hips and trying so incredibly hard to get these moves down.  Something wasn't right.  I couldn't make myself move in the ways that I wanted to.  It was too hard to move my feet and my hips at the same time.  This was a very unusual feeling. Then it happened.  An asthma attack. I was totally...

There are some days when I feel like a headless chicken, running from here to there trying to get everything on my list accomplished.  Today is not one of them.  Today is a day that I am choosing to stay at home and do nothing but play games with Colin, love on Ethan and enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. Lately I have found that my "To-Do List" is often overwhelming.  Thankfully, my husband and my family don't see the list in the same light.  You see, Monte often tells me that it's okay that the house doesn't get cleaned today, or if he sees that I'm bound and determined to get it done at all costs, he will take care of the kids while I clean or he will ask me how he can help me to get it done.  We work wonderfully as a team, my husband and me! :)  Truth be told, I don't mind it when my "To Do's" are filled with stuff to do around the house.  I more mind it when they involve running from here to Timbuktu (figuratively speaking of course!) in ...

"Come on, SHIMMY!" "Keep those arms up - I don't want to see you put them down!" "I want to see pretty hands." "This part is called seduction, I want to see seduction on your face, not exhaustion ... but not too much seduction either!" These are some of the many quotes I have heard over the past month on Monday evenings and Saturday afternoons.  You see, this is the time that I turn our household over to Monte, load up my gym bag and hit the road to go to the gym and take in a belly dancing class. Belly dancing?  Are you serious?!  Yes.  Completely, totally serious.  I was definitely skeptical of it initially, as my sweet friend, Trish , had invited me to join her in the classes.  I had mentioned to her how I am starting to spend more time working out in effort to rid myself of some of this extra baby weight, and she told me that these classes were an excellent workout.  So I decided to give it a try. The first class was a little bit ha...

As my husband and I sit here chatting, I'm realizing that it is now 10:05pm and this is truly the first time today that I have had down time to do as I please.  I just finished ordering our groceries (yes, with a 10-week-old baby and a five-year-old son who must come with me, I choose to grocery shop online!) after figuring our our extensive meal plan for the week.  I must admit that I wish I could contain all of my grocery shopping to online only, but alas with a family of seven people, we go through food much too quickly for me to make a once-a-week online order.  It's not uncommon for me to also stop by the grocery store several times a week amidst picking up my daughter from her after-school activity. Maybe I should rewind a little bit and let you know what a typical day in our house now looks like.  I wake up anywhere between 4:00am and 4:30am when Ethan first wakes for his bottle.  I feed him and do my best to stay awake myself during this time, as he us...

This morning I spent some time in reflection of the blessings that God has given to me.  It is so hard for me to believe that only three years ago I was single and living in the basement of my brother's home.  I was working full time and spending my free time with family and friends.  Only a mere year after that my life took a huge turn when I married my sweet Monte, the most amazing man I have ever met and the love of my life.  On that day, I also was married to the four most wonderful children I could have asked for.  Oh how my life had changed!  Now, fast forward two more years, and we are a family of seven.   Our precious little Ethan has only been in our lives for six weeks, yet it seems completely as if he was in the plans from day one.  God has directed the plans He had for my life, and though they didn't always go exactly as I had wanted them to go, in the end it turned out perfectly.  I can't imagine a Christmas filled with more...

I used to be in love with Twitter.  No joke.  I loved that I could instantly pick up my phone and use the browser to see what everybody I love was doing.  I loved that I could put my computer next to me on my dresser while I was folding clothes on my bed and have long conversations with friends via tweets, only feeling frustrated that I had a character limit that I could use per tweet!  I used to love to update my Twitter status and let the entire world know what I was doing. Used to.  I definitely used to. Now, however, I have deleted my Twitter account and am likely to never sign up again.  You see, I never went so far as to have everybody's Twitter updates sent to my phone via SMS text messages, as the texting plan I have for my phone is very  minimal and I would have exceeded my allowed number of monthly messages in just one day had I linked my Twitter account to my phone!  Due to that, I was resorting to continually checking the computer ...

"I am by no means a morning person." This is a quote that I have been known to say quite frequently.  I don't enjoy waking up early.  I'm typically still rather tired and don't want to chat with people or have to do anything but crawl back into bed.  I've always assumed that I was not, in any way, a morning person ... until recently.  You see, on Tuesday of this past week I got up around 6:30am, got ready and started my day by 7:30.  We were having someone stop by the house early in the morning, thus the reasoning for me getting up early.  The catch is that Tuesday was quite a productive day for me, which is surprising! Fast forward to this morning.  My eyes opened at 5:20am.  Once again, I decided it made more sense to get up and get ready for the day since I was already awake then to try and make myself fall back asleep and risk having a groggy day.  So, after allowing myself some time to truly wake up, I got out of bed and was ready fo...

By definition, I am: - A child of God, saved by grace and growing in faith each and every day. - A wife to the most amazing man I have ever known. - A step-mother to four absolutely fantastic kids. - A mother-to-be to one little boy who loves to kick! - A daughter. - A sister. - A step-sister. - A friend (thanks for the reminder Shawn!) :) - A homemaker. These are things that I know are facts about myself - these are the things that help to define my identity.  While there are many other things that I know about myself, they are not necessarily as defining of who I am as they are potential character traits.  Those things include: - Quick to love unconditionally. - Quick to forgive. - Overly anal about (oftentimes very stupid) things. - A perfectionist, though nowhere near perfect. - Occasionally too hard on my kids, forgetting that they, too, are not perfect and sometimes forgetting to allow them to just enjoy being kids. - A lover of laughter. It is these...

I have learned that noises truly annoy me.  Not the little noises that go bump in the night ... not even the noises of my kids fighting with each other, or one of them crying.  The noises that annoy me are the white noises - the ones that are a constant background.  Even music, after awhile, becomes white noise that annoys me.  I've learned this more and more about myself recently and I have discovered just how much I love the quiet.  The problem?  My husband is just the opposite.  When he gets home from work the first thing he does (after he kisses me hello!) is to go and turn the radio on.  He LOVES music .. and noise doesn't really bother him all that much.  I'm one of those people who want the radio off in the car if we've been on the road for a long time and it's been going the entire time.  Thankfully, though, I am not the control freak who turns it off and tells my husband to deal with it!  He is respectful of me as well, so ...

What an odd morning it has been for me.  You see, my eyes popped open just before 5:00am, and they haven't closed since!  I knew that I needed to get up early today, as my kids are going to the zoo with two of their aunts and they are leaving shortly after 8:00am ... and I need to finish the boys' laundry before they leave.  Maybe that's what caused me to wake up on  my own at the crack of dawn, maybe not, who knows.  Regardless, it is now 6:57am, I have already showered, done two loads of laundry, made breakfast for my husband, ate my own breakfast and now I am just sitting here amazed at the fact that I'm awake.  You see, normally I don't get up until about 7:30am (well, at least when the kids are on summer vacation), so to be awake this early is just crazy! I know I've been away from the blogging world for a few days, but life has once again become extremely busy!  The kids are now officially on summer break from school, sports are keeping us insa...

Have you ever felt like you have too much on your plate, but yet it's all stuff that you put there, so you just have to work through it and make it all happen?  I'm there!  You see, this weekend my dear Claire is competing in the regional spelling bee (which is confusing to me why it's not called the state spelling bee, entirely because if you win you move on to compete in nationals.  I digress ...).  Unfortunately, I won't be attending, as I will be out of town.  My reasoning for being out of town, however, is not unfortunate.  You see, my mom, my sisters-in-law and myself are throwing an adoption shower for my sister before she heads to pick up her beautiful little girl.  The shower is at my mom's house this weekend.  The preparation for it has been insane!  I'm not complaining, though, as I truly am an organizational nut and I really enjoy planning events!  Today I have to work in the MOPPETS room at church (the place where your kids ...