Feeling Blessed

3 years ago, Jon and I packed familiar surroundings and moved to a new town for new jobs. We were very unsure of this town, it didn't feel like home, we missed our family, we were working a lot, and did not have many friends in town.

It took about a year to get adjusted. That is A LONG time to feel alone in a strange new town.

We have definitely found our place. We have a great house, with great neighbors, neighbors who feel more like family,

We are part of the community, from rec events, to a mom's group, to making sure our money stays in our community in where we shop and eat,

We are part of a great church.....

A church family that loves us and cares for us well. A church family that has mourned and rejoiced with us. A church family that has lifted us in prayer, given us words of encouragement and has stood by our side.

A church family who has fallen in love with our son,

So much so, that they threw us an AMAZING shower! I was so incredibly blessed by this shower. I felt loved and cared for and had some material needs met.

I am grateful that Caleb is going to grow up in a church that cares so much for him already. I am excited to share with him the ways that these people have been a part of his mom and dad's life. During the shower, folks were able to write down prayers/blessings/advice, etc for myself and Caleb. I am so excited to put those in a scrapbook and share them with him as he grows up.

It was great to merge two worlds--my mom and my sister were able to attend. It was fun to have them meet these dear people and be a part of this special day.

As you can see from the photo, this day tuckered my lil' man right out:)

So glad I pushed through

I am working towards shedding pounds, getting in shape and being healthier

I have been eating fairly healthy,

Have resisted some huge temptations,

Found healthy substitutes,

And many cravings have been eliminated.

I have been exercising 5-6 days a week,

Working on running, on W2D3 of The Couch to 5K,

Working on my arms and abs,

Moving around more,

Cutting out pop,

Pushing through the pain,

lots of pain this week with running,

pain in my feet and legs,

and pain from running in the sun.

For what? LOSING 6LBS!! I am so excited. There is still a long way to go, but I am getting started, seeing results, and I am going to push through!

Guess what I did today?

I was supposed to drop off the boy I babysit for at "pretty school" (pre-school) for his class field trip,

but...we were late.....really late. So late that we missed the caravan to the farm.

I managed to get a set of bad directions and drove around trying to find a farm (I was willing to stop at any farm and walk up on it and ask if we could pet their animals)

WE FOUND IT!!! SUCCESS!!! His class was there, and we were all re-united!

Caleb did not sleep all day. I am pretty sure it was because he was utterly fascinated by his buddy.

I babysat 2 pre-schoolers, planted some plants, watched a friend plant some of my plants, made lunches, cleaned the house, snuggled with my baby, 2 meetings at church and....

finished Week2Day2 of the Couch-2-5K running program!

I need a massage.

Did you know?

That born-again Christians spend 7 more hours a week in front of the television or computer screen more than they do in Bible reading or prayer?

Wow.

No wonder we don't look like the Jesus we claim to follow. We will never look like Him if we don't know Him and we can never know Him if we don't spend time in His word and communing in prayer.

It is time for me to turn off this screen and enter into the presence of the Lord.

Peace out.

OSU Price of Life

OSU Price of Life Invitational from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

When I watch this video
I am
proud (of my staff team and their students)
wanting justice
heart broken
angry
hopeful (that Jesus can use these students of this generation to stop modern day slavery)
broken
saddened
aware of my own sin and brokenness
reminded of why I love my job
reminded of why we need a Redeemer in this world

I will, I will, I will.

I will accomplish these summer time goals, I will.


*Work on raising $30,000. ( I work for a non-profit and raise my own budget each year.)

*Lose 30lbs.

*Successfully finish the Couch to 5K Running plan

*Finish Caleb's nursery

*Re-organize my office

*Make my yard look like....planting, weeding....

*Scrapbook

*Be involved in church

*Lead a women's Bible Study

*Pursue a plan to open a coffee shop

*Work on my photography

*Spend lots of time cuddling with my baby boy

*Spend time with friends

*Paint the laundry room

*Spend time at the lake

*Daily spend time with God

What will you be doing this summer?

a little update

• I have been out of town for a week working with college students in Northern Michigan. It was an incredible week training students on how to lead small group Bible Studies on campus.
  
• Jon was left as a stay-at-home dad, and did a WONDERFUL job!
  
• I have great friends who will help me watch the boy!
• Caleb is having trouble sleeping at night. He may or may not be sick.
  
• Tomorrow....kicking it into high gear. I am officially on summer break, and have a lot of things to do to make it a productive time off.
  
• I am dying to take some pictures
  
• I want to open a coffee shop
  
• I am loving studying the Book of Ruth
• I have two baby showers coming up soon:)
• Isn't Caleb, just the cutest?
  
• I have so many blog topic ideas, I cannot pick one! So tell me, what would you like to read about?
  

ADOPTION INVITE

Hey all adoptive moms out there, and those who know about good adoption resources

My mom and sisters, and mother-in-law are throwing a "Meet and Greet with Caleb/Baby Shower."

Do you know of any good wordings for invitations? Something that says you can come and meet Caleb, you can bring a gift, but don't have to, that it is both a shower and a meet and greet, and where I am registered? HELP!

A Mom Moment

This week I have had 4 firsts as a mom:

1) Baby stroller blew away in the parking lot as I was getting Caleb into the car seat.

2)At Walmart, Caleb, puked ALL OVER. I didn't bring in a diaper bag, because seriously, what would I need in the 30 minutes that I was there? So I searched my purse and pulled out a kleenex. I swear Caleb was mocking me thinking, "You think that small piece of material is going to clean up this mess? Good luck with that." We headed over to the baby section, picked out a shirt, went through the check out line to purchase the shirt and then promptly had a cleaning session in the car.

3) I vowed that I would never be the mom that let's her child out of the house with a messy face, let alone in public. Last night our neighbor called and reminded us that we had 5 minutes to get to the polls to vote on the school board election. Caleb was in the middle of eating his cereal dinner, so we got up, ran across the street, messy face and all, handed him to said neighbor and ran to the polls. When we left the neighbor's house, another neighbor wanted to see "Little C" (this neighbor cannot remember how to pronounce Caleb")) so we brought him over. The best part? His adult daughter was visiting and wanting to see Caleb. Oh boy, did I ever eat my humble pie that evening.

4) Explosive poop diaper up the back and all over the body.

And, it's only Wednesday.

Wouldn't it be cool if I was the winner of these books? Hop on over to Allen and Kayla's blog and see their sweet adoption story!

Just so you know...

• The adoption is not finalized. There is actually at least another 6 months of our supervisory period....AND we are still in the midst of the "grace" period where the birth parents could change their mind
  
• I am addicted to taking pictures....and now....scrap booking
  
• I cannot wait for the next week and half to be done. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job, but I am in such a need of a break! I will be working roughly 1 day a week this summer working on raising thousands of dollars to support the ministry I work with.
  
• I am overweight....and need to lose some weight...this summer, it's on. I have officially committed to the Couch to 5K plan. Shoot me now.
  
• I love my boys more than any other people in the world
  
• I have so many blog ideas, I simply cannot put them into words...yet
  
• By the time 9p rolls around, I am so tired, but I am so excited to have the house all to myself, I don't go to sleep until midnight....
  
• I get to see one of my closest friends in June:)
  
• I am hungry for more of God's word

Question of the Day: What would you like to read about on this blog?

Sneak Peak

Can you guess what we did this weekend? You have 24 hours to send your best guesses! Simply guess in the comment section!