Just the Little Things......

I don't really have anything in particular to blog about tonight. Life has been pretty normal. We did have some fun last weekend but I will save that for the other blog. It's been a quiet week around here. I am planning and preparing for Ian's party this weekend. It should be lots of fun. It is so hard to believe my last baby is going to be five years old. I really love this stage in my life. Don't get me wrong, I loved having little babies and I loved the toddler stage as well. I am just loving the present stage too. It still amazes me how unique and special God has made each day of our lives, and how intricately he weaves all our days together to create the life He has planned for us.....simply amazing. I look forward to every new day and the special blessings that come with it. It is so easy to overlook the things that make life seem mundane or monotonous, but those are more often than not, the things that we should be most thankful for. Some of the things that have made today special are the time I was able to spend out and about with my hubby including the fact we were able to do this while my older kids babysat the younger ones. While babysitting, they even cooked a yummy meal and had the house straightened up when we got home. Another special blessing today was going to get a pedicure with the big kids and being able to act silly and laugh with them. What's even more special, even though they are teenagers they still ask me to hang out with them! That in itself is such a blessing! Last but not least, to end my day, Ian sweetly asked me if we could just go snuggle for a minute.....what could be sweeter than that. Thank you God for the special little things that are so easily overlooked. Thank you for blessing me each and every day.

Friday Night.....

Well, I didn't get to blog while I was on my trip at the beginning of the week. It was pretty fast paced and by the time we got back to the room at night, I was wiped out. Anyhow, the trip was great! I really enjoyed myself and it was very refreshing. The speakers on Monday were all interesting and then afterwards we had a blast at Universal Studios. Tuesday was awesome as well. Instead of everyone being together for the speakers, we chose different sessions/speakers to go to. My friend, Emily, and I went to these together and they were amazing. I learned a lot and got some new ideas and also curriculum for my high school girls' small group. I am really excited about it. The biggest thing I took from the conference is that I really want to work harder to show God's love to the youth and really the ones that are hurting. I have been feeling God pushing me towards this for a couple months now, and even more since the trip. I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for this and would appreciate any prayers.

We got home Tuesday night and I was exhausted. Wednesday morning came bright and early as Aaron and I had an appointment for him to take his driving test for his license. He passed. I am very proud of him and excited for him but at the same time, this is very difficult for me. As I have mentioned in the past, I have a great fear about driving....well really, traveling in general. It includes me driving, other people driving and my family riding with anyone. Needless to say, the thought of Aaron out driving on the roads alone terrifies me.............really terrifies me. I know, I know, I should just have faith and pray and trust God for Aaron's safety and I am trying. It isn't easy though. Not in the least. I am trying not to be overly protective with this but seeing him drive out of the driveway this afternoon, alone, just felt like my heart was attached to the bumper of his truck and was being ripped out. I was on pins and needles all night until he was back home. I am excited for him....for the new opportunities this will bring for him. I am excited to see him growing into a young man. I am excited because he is so very excited. All of this doesn't change the fact that he is my baby and it hurts to see him needing me less and less as he begins to spread his wings and fly.

Thank you Lord for riding along with Aaron tonight. Thank you for keeping him safe. Thank you for blessing me with the most wonderful son I could have ever asked for or dreamed of. Thank you for the man he is becoming. Thank you for allowing me to be his mama.

In order not to fall off the blogging wagon only the second day of my attempt at being a regular blogger, here I am. I don't have anything significant to blog about tonight. I did have a good day, although, not nearly as productive as I had planned. My intentions were to get up and moving early and then get a lot accomplished today. I did wake up early when Kristen came in to let me know she was leaving to go to a ministry project she helps with. After she left, Milo was awake and was whining at our door for Maggie to come out to play with him. I tried to ignore it, but it wasn't so easy for Maggie to ignore and she was soon up and ready to go out. I finally couldn't ignore them anymore and got up. I made some coffee and thought I would get busy after drinking a cup or two. I did start some laundry and pick up a bit but then decided I should go ahead and shower and get ready to run to the library to return some overdue books and also pick some up that I had on hold. Momo and Ian went with me and we had fun together and had a neat conversation on the way. It makes me sad that Momo and Ian don't remember my mama and never met my daddy. I try hard to at least keep the memory of them alive for the kids and let them know that Grandma and Grandpa would love them so much. Anyway, back to the conversation....I love when the kids bring my parents up in conversation and that is what happened. They started asking questions about them, I don't really even remember what started it all but I answered the questions...which as is usually the case, brought more questions. They asked what my daddy's name was so I told them he would have been their Grandpa Bill. Momo asked if his name was Bill and I explained that he was called Bill but his real name was William. Well, when Ian heard this, he was quick to tell me that William was part of HIS name. I tried to explain to him, that he was named William after his Grandpa. He thought that was pretty neat so I went on to tell him that his Uncle John John also had William as a middle name. He got a funny look on his face and said, " You mean John John is copying me!!" I just had to giggle, it was so cute. I am sure there will be more snippets of my conversations with the kids here, or just cute things they say. I always say, I need to write some of the things they come up with down but never do. I am going to try to be better about that.

OK, back to my day. After the library, we stopped at Lowe's for just a second but they didn't have the firewood we were looking for so we headed to Walmart for a couple things. That of course ended with me leaving too much of our bank account there than I had intended to. We came home and Momo and Ian went out to play. Kristen went out to eat with some friends. Aaron and Heather wanted to play some games so we played Scrabble and UNO. That is always fun. Randy grilled some chicken and we all ate and just spent the rest of the night hanging out together. Kristen treated me to a pedicure when she got home. I am still trying to get that laundry finished but I think it is going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I am really excited about the youth leaders conference I am going to in Orlando. I have heard it is a great trip and I know we will have a great time. I am looking forward to it being a renewing time as well. There is just something about getting away and hearing someone new that seems to bring a spiritual renewing. It has been a rough week in some ways and I need to regroup and refocus, especially concerning some things with the youth. I am hopeful, this will come in the next couple days. I am sure I will update more about that as the conference happens.

This has gotten longer than I expected it would but I really wanted to share my day. Like I said, there was nothing really significant or exciting that happened but it was just an overall "happy" day. It is days like this that I love and am so thankful for. I feel so blessed for the life I have.

It is late and I am getting sleepy. I am heading to bed so we can get up in time for church in the morning. We will be hitting the road around 2PM tomorrow afternoon but I will try to post a quick update tomorrow night from the hotel.

Reminiscing and a New Beginning

WOW! I haven't posted here in forever. I occasionally click on this blog but quickly click away again...thinking, one day I will get back to it. As you can see, it hasn't happened. Until tonight that is. It is late and everyone is settled down and most of my family is sleeping. Ian is still up since he took a very late nap, but he is being quiet and watching T.V. I also took a nap this afternoon so I am not really ready to go to sleep yet. As I was going through all the blogs I normally read, I decided to look at this one. I went back to the very beginning, when I first started blogging here and I must say, I didn't think it had been that long ago. I ended up reading through all of my old posts. It turned into one of the times, when I just stop and reflect on my life......where I've been, what I've done, where I am now and what I have become and sadly I have to admit some things I haven't become. Some of these are good things, some are not so good....but all together, they make up my life and who I am. It also was a reminder of how things have changed but at the same time, how some things are still the same. I find myself falling into the rut of daily life, not really taking hold of every moment and in the end, missing out on life itself....the important things of life.

I am going to attempt to get back to blogging more, even if it is a simple note saying I am here and haven't disappeared again, I will post something. I doubt anyone even remembers I had/have this blog but I am doing this more for myself. I want to use this as a tool to keep myself accountable, a place to let my feelings and thoughts pour out, a place to vent, a place to rejoice, a place to think, a place to praise....really just a place to be whatever I need it to be on any particular day. I can't promise I will produce mind blowing or life changing posts, but I can promise I will be honest and real. I won't pretend to be something I am not, nor will I profess to have it all figured out. I will however.......promise to be Just Me............

I realize this is probably sounding like just a bunch of babble......but, I needed a new starting point and this is it. Here is to a new beginning........................