The Morning Mommy Challenge

      About a year ago, I read a blog post about this fantastic mamma. She was convicted to get up for her children, not get up to her children. I dreaded hearing the cries of my two year old waking me up, after I had a late night at work. I was beginning to resent my child....resent him for waking up.

     I had to change. I couldn't live a life where I was mad at my son for waking up. I knew that we would have more kids in our house, and my attitude and lifestyle was not going to cut it. Change was a' comin! I began waking up at 6:30. I would sip on some coffee, spend a few minutes with God through prayer and Bible Study, and get started on some work. Over the course of a year, I have gradually gotten up early. *GASP* Monday- Friday, my alarm goes off at 5:30am, and on the days where I am REALLY lucky Miss Chicky Baby wakes me up a 5am.
 
      I NEVER thought I would be the person to wake up so early, but I am realizing I need it. I crave my morning time with the Lord. If I am not filled by Him, how can I possibly give to my kids, to my community and to college students?  Once I hear "Mom!" from my preschoolers bedroom, I am ready to greet him with a big hug and kiss, telling him "Good Morning, I just spent some time praying for you my sweet boy! I am so glad you are awake. Let's do this day!"

 The Process:
1. Plan ahead. I lay things out that I will need the night before. (Bible Study tools, journal, planner, etc)
- Set up the coffee pot.
- Clean the house, so I don't wake up to a mess. Boy, how that can ruin a day quick.
-Go to bed on time. For real. I need a bed time. I need to stick to one! It's much easier to wake up when you are rested.
-Look at my planner? Do I need to do anything to plan for tomorrow?

2. Get out of bed.
-Hitting snooze feels so good, but you will be much more awake if you actually step out of bed. Sometimes I tell myself, "I am just going to walk to the bathroom and back to bed" Usually by the time I get to the bathroom, I am awake enough to go downstairs and turn on the coffee pot.

3. Time with the Lord 
-I spend time in Bible Study, prayer and journaling.

4. Check messages (Email and facebook) 

5. Look at my planner. What is on the agenda today? What do I need to prepare for? 

6. Shower. 
I would love for this to be the first thing I do, to wake me up, but I fear that it will also wake up my 4 year old. I wait to shower until I don't care whether or not he is awake (after 7am).

7. Work 
-If kids are still sleeping, I am able to get some work done. This may or may not happen each day:) The trials and joys of working from home.

The Challenge: This year of getting up early in the morning has been so refreshing and life changing for me. I want to invite all of you, even the non-mommies, or the mommies who don't have kids at home. Starting our day off right, makes a huge difference.

If you are interested in joining me, let me know. I'd love to create a facebook group for accountability and support. Looking forward to seeing more of my friends be changed by the Lord by spending time with Him in the morning hours:)

His Heart

        I am so thankful for my son's sensitive heart. I need to remind myself of that daily, because this kid is sensitive with a capital S. If you look at him wrong, he will burst into great big, uncontrollable tears. I can get frustrated pretty easily, but in the past few weeks, I have been able to see how his sensitive heart may be a great strength and a gift from God. 

       He is quick to ask to pray for someone or about a situation. If an emergency vehicle drives by, he asks, "Where's the fire? Is there an accident? Is someone hurt?" Once we convince him that mom and dad don't know the reason for every siren we hear, he wants to pray because, "If someone is hurt, that's not good. I wouldn't want to be hurt." 

      He is quick to get his feelings hurt, which makes it easier to help him be nice to others. This week he was talking about a kid and said, "I don't like him." We talked about what it would feel like if kids went around saying, "I don't like Caleb." He understood that words hurt. 

     He threw something at a baby on accident. Baby cried, and was quickly soothed. Caleb on the other hand, cried for a good 20 minutes,  hearing an "I'm sorry" through the sobs. 

     Yesterday he was one naughty 3.5 year old. Wow. Crazy naughty. I was sooo frustrated. I yelled a lot. Later in the afternoon we went to the park. I saw with him on a bench, and apologized for yelling at him. I said that what he did was still wrong, but mamma shouldn't have acted that way and I asked for his forgiveness. He put his face in his hands and said, "Can we just not talk about this, it really hurts my heart." 

"It really hurts my heart." 

That struck a chord with this mamma. I know what that feels like. I am a "feeler" vs a "thinker." I understand. It takes one to know one kid.  

And though his emotional side may some days be his greatest weakness, I am praying that God uses his sensitive heart for His glory. A heart that will quickly respond to the Spirit. A heart that will meet the needs of others. 

And for no other reason, except I like them, I leave you with pictures of Caleb and my niece Raegan riding a powerwheels vehicle in the house:) 

Things to Never Say to a Foster Parent

1. What happened to his parents? Why is he in foster care?
        First off, each story is different, and the story belongs to the child. Not you. And be careful how you are asking. There is a huge difference in asking about a baby and a 10 year old.  A 10 year old is already wrestling with why they are being taken away, why mom and dad are not able to care for them. They feel sometimes, like they are to blame. So let's do the kids a service and at the very least not ask those questions in front of them.

2. How long will you have her?
   We don't know. Actually no one knows. Only a judge can decide that, so unless we just went to court, nothing has changed. I'll give you a clue though....very rarely are kids in foster care for less than 6 months, and the hope is to have a permanency plan within a year. Obviously, this is the ideal situation, and doesn't always happen. Also, court hearings happen every 90 days. If there hasn't be a hearing, there is no new news. Just sayin.

3. I could never be a foster parent.
    Why do you say that? Sure, being a foster parent is hard. Totally hard. Lots of appointments, parent visits, loving on kids that may or may not love you back, having bio parents tell you how bad  you are at caring for their children, etc.....    
    There are the days where I think, "no more." I can't deal with the system. I'm done. And then I remember that God has called me to be here. I remember that God gives us strength for the things he calls us to do. It's not about what I have, it's not about what I can do, but it is all about leaning on Jesus and pressing in to Him.
    Is it going to be hard to let go? Sometimes. The baby we have now, will be extremely hard to say goodbye. Isn't that what we want though? If we are so quick to hand over kids and say goodbye, it probably means that we weren't that attached with to begin with. And don't these kids need all the love, attention and support they can get? I will do my best, with the strength of God, to love these kids well, to connect with them, and have them be a part of my family.

4. Those kids are so lucky to have you.
    Enough. This statement just makes foster parents sounds like heroes. We're not. We're broken, messy sinners.

5. I can't believe (foster agency) throws you around like that.
   I get it. I don't get to get frustrated for those things, I signed up for those things. I signed up to get thrown around. Side note: I wish that I didn't get frustrated...but I totally do.

6. Will you keep her?
    What do you mean? Like a puppy? Seriously? Why are you asking that? See #2........we don't know when a child will return home or if they return home. Our answer for this question asked right now of  Miss Chicky baby is "If we get the chance....yes."

I am so thankful that God has called me to be on the foster care road. It's hard, it's lonely, but it is so so worth it. Wanna join me?

Anniversary Week (Wedding!!!)

    So I am a little late on the wedding update......

    We were married on a beach on Lake Huron. It was beautiful, but  incredibly, incredibly, hot. Sooo hot.Whew.  We gave water bottles to every  guest, and had our programs made into fans.

   I love my husband more today than ever before. I could go on and on, but 7 years later, and I am more in love than I ever thought I could be. Here's to at least another 7!

  And for the photo version of our wedding......

After the ceremony there was a mad rush to jump in the lake to cool off. So glad I had a T-length dress on, so I could join them:) 

My sisters and I....all making the same face, that we always make, all the time, and unless someone points it out, we don't even know we are making it:) 

Celebrating Anniversary Week (The College Years and Engagement)

     Jon and I went to different colleges, he was at Oakland University, and I went to to the best school known to man, Central Michigan University. Being apart was so good and so needed. We had no intention of ever getting back together.

     We both loved college. InterVarsity was a huge part of both of our college experiences. We both grew a ton spiritually during college. We learned who we were apart from each other, and were able to start being the people God had created us to be. Our paths crossed a little bit in college. Because we were both a part of InterVarsity, we would see each other at conferences, and when we would be at home at church, but that's it. I thought we we were done forever.

     We don't have very many "college age" pictures together, because we were not together for most of college, but because it's fun to go back in the past, I will bring some out of the vault:)

Jon: In the red:) Guys from college.

   And some of me from college.....

Me and my college roommate...spring break trip to Florida. Also fun fact....this is the trip where I met my future brother in law (didn't know it at the time). 

Krista and Kristin!!! My very best friend!!! We spent LOTS of time together in college....... awww.... miss you 1/5. 

Part of my InterVarsity chapter...

Back Together 

   Basically because Facebook was invented, Jon and I got back together. You know, basically. That an AOL instant messenger. Remember that, friends? We started chatting online....I spent tons of time online in college. I worked the front desk of my dorm, and sometimes it was overnight hours, leaving me nothing to do but look at the computer in front of me.... We started sending messages back and forth.  

  One weekend, Jon decided to come to Mt. Pleasant , we would go out and catch up and go from there. And that was all folks. Once we saw each other again, it was like we were the same people, but totally different. We both had grown up, we matured, we spent time a part, and yet what attracted us to each other from the beginning was still there. And I was hooked on that man. 

Circa 2004: Jon and I with a bunch of mutal friends from church 

This picture cracks me up!!!  We took my baby sister and his little brother go carting, putt putt golfing and to the batting cages.. 

The Engagement  

     Remember my best friend Krista? Yah, she was conspiring with Jon on the proposal.....and my roommate (Tiffany pictured above) also had to be in on it...... 

     It was a yucky Sunday. I had stayed up the late the night before. Krista and I went to church on Sunday morning. We were supposed to get all dressed up and go out for a girls night that evening. I tried to get out of it. I so just wanted to have a night at home by myself in my apartment. I was so tired. And had so much homework to get done.  And seriously....a Sunday night....lets just plan for something the next week.  

    Somehow Krista convinced me that it was a good idea to go out. She told me to get ready and she called and said she would be by in a minute. There was a knock on my apartment door. I opened it, totally expected it to be Krista, and it was Jon, dressed in a suit, with flowers. I was shocked. He lives two hours away. It was Sunday night, he had class and work early on Monday morning. What was he doing here? 

  

    "Ready? We have reservations" he said, like I was expecting him. Alrighty....perfect. We went to a classy place for dinner. He had convinced me that this was not a proposal dinner, but simply an act to prove that he can indeed surprise me. I ordered lobster. The one and only time I have ever had lobster in my life:)  

    We went back to my apartment. When we walked in, there were flowers all over the place, candles going, and music playing. What in the world? How did he do that? Who had keys to my apartment??? While we were at dinner, Krista came and decorated:))) We were dancing to the cd he made for me. Our song came on....he sung it to me, dropped down to one knee and proposed. 

     To this day, he will not let me live this down. I told him "No," After all, he did convince me that this was not the proposal day, so he obviously was not really asking me to be his wife. Except he was. And I didn't believe him. I did say "yes" later:)  

    I got so excited that I knocked some candles  over. Luckily no fire, just lots of melted wax all over my carpet. Oops.    

   We were engaged for 9 months, about 6 months too long. It was a crazy hard time for us. To this day, I will encourage anyone I know that is engaged to not have a long engagement. I'll save my sob story for another post. I gave my ring back for a few days and I didn't think we would make it to the wedding.  Being engaged was soooo overrated. So glad we are past that:))  

Next up: WEDDING!!!!  Stay tuned. 

Celebrating Anniversary Week -- High School Years Edition

I know, the quality of picture is insanely bad......but, hopefully you can see it:) 

         This week, Jon and I are celebrating seven years of marriage. I am excited to share some of our story with you....and the subsequent pictures that go along with the story.

       My grandma says that our story started in 1992 when Jon was in third grade. My grandma was Jon's third grade teacher, and she swears to this day, that she talked with Jon's parents about marrying me when he was in her class. I don't remember that AT ALL. I don't remember meeting Jon until I was in 6th grade. Our families went to the same church, and we grew up in youth group together.

        Sometime during my freshman year in high school, Jon and I were interested in each other. My parents had a no dating rule until I was 16, and truthfully, I was grateful for that. I didn't really know what dating meant....I didn't know what to do. I would be out of town for my 16th birthday, so a few days before Jon showed up at my house with a birthday card. It was simple. And sweet. And still, we weren't dating. We started dating a month after my birthday.
 
        High school was rough. We were very interested in each other, and loved spending time together, but as teens, we were on again, and off again...a lot. I don't know how many times we broke up, and got back together.  We both had our own demons and struggles. This played a pretty huge role in our relationship. When I graduated high school, we broke up "for good." Actually, it was the day of my graduation open house. Good memory, huh? It was also the day Jon gave me my graduation gift: a beautiful tennis bracelet, that took me 2 seconds to lose.

       I'll get more into the college years in my next post, but breaking up after I graduated was absolutely needed. We both had some serious things we needed to work on, and we really were not loving each other well.

     

Jon and I went to two different high schools and were a year apart. Because of this, we went to A LOT of dances. My parents were so glad that I could wear those expensive dresses twice:)

- 5 homecomings
-4 proms
-3 Winterfests

Next up: College Edition

And out of nowhere, I have pneumonia

On Tuesday of last week, I was crazy busy from 10am-9pm with photo shoots. It was awesome. The day I dream for. Around 6pm I started getting a migraine. I thought it was from dehydration and not eating super well throughout the day. I kept feeling more and more sick.

Wednesday morning when I woke up, I was in so much pain, I couldn't take a breath without it feeling like someone was stabbing me. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Seriously? How did I not know that it was coming? And how does one get pneumonia in the middle of June?

The cure: Rest lots. Sleep a lot. Really?

Those medical people, they are pretty funny. Sleep seems like a rarity at our house. But my husband took those orders VERY seriously. He was my nurse, cook and took total care of the kids, and I slept. A LOT.

I am so grateful for a husband to let me sleep. I know that is the only reason why I am functioning as well as I am. I was so rested over the weekend. I want to still be able to get some rest during the day, because I don't want to relapse, but my amazing husband definitely set me up for success.

Just another reason why I love him!