January wrap-up

Well 31 days into the year and I already have a better blog record than all of last year. Feeling good about that! Guess that means that I am giving a little attention to at least one of my big rocks, my Happiness Creativity and Exercise rock. In reality this last week has been a little slim in the writing category but that is because other important things have been prioritized naturally through LIFE. So another lesson in living with INTENTION. Even my best INTENTIONS can get disrupted by LIFE!

So, an update on my BIG 5!

1) Marriage - It has been an interesting month. Some arguments, some dates, some discussion and we are reading a book simultaneously. That is HUGE! Fred is not a book reader but we found a book that peaked his interests so we are reading it together. I think he has taken the lead. But I'll catch up soon. It is a relationship book. Good to get another perspective on some things. Not sure if we both "buy" in 100% but we'll have something to talk about that's for sure.

2) Boys - My boys are amazing. I have tried to do some stuff with each boy this month. Nothing major but something that allows us to spend some time together. Will and I went to Sam's one day and saw a movie another night. Nic and I often have alone time on the way home from play practice. We did some volunteering together this month. Things are good here!

Got the people idea from Pinterest and made it my own.

3) Happiness, Exercise and Creativity - Well, I am pretty happy right this second. I have been exercising a bit this month. Not as much as I should or could but my pal Susan and I have walked and laughed and done some good moving "therapy" and I am pleased with that. I have taken some time this month to create a few things. I made a map family that shows where each of us was born. I also made a map of all of the major cities Fred and I have lived since we were married. It doesn't show all of the addresses but just the cities and states.  I have also been working on filling in a scrapbook album that I assembled a while ago. It was a kit and was 10 Things That Define Me. It have some stuff as surface as my 4 favorite movies and as deep as my 2 greatest fears. I am jumping around a bit and piecing it all together. It'll be cool when I'm done.

Picked up the cork page in Indiana last summer and embellished with my new favorite, paper rosettes.

4) Relationships with close friends and family - The friend stuff is going well. I am fostering them as much as I can considering my schedule. Working a bunch recently has limited my access to some friends but if I work hard enough I can squeeze in time. I grabbed a friend last week and we went to a movie late. We missed all of the previews, I NEVER do that, and had to RUN out at the end to get home in time to get her daughter. We both needed to escape. It was worth the effort.

5) Faith - Well, I am happy to say that I have working on this enough this month. I could spend more time in quiet contemplation, many people could, but the fact that we went to church TWICE in one month made my heart happy. The fact that my prayer journal pages are filling quickly and I am seeing results from my prayers is amazing. I have always prayed and have listed special intentions for as long as I can remember but only recently have I begun WRITING them in black and white. It is powerful and shows my INTENTION in not only saying "I'm praying for you." but actually doing it! I will probably have a few volumes for the year but that is okay. I have plenty of blank books and note pages around here to fill with every little request and praise for HIM.

So looking back at 31 days I am pleased. 2012 is going well. I am juggling my big rocks, little rocks and keeping the sand to a minimum. I do lose myself in DVR'd shows on occasion but that is okay. I am allowed to do that. I give myself permission to escape. It is good for the soul.

Looking ahead to February. I am thinking about special ways that I can express my LOVE for my family. I am thinking about special menu choices and maybe some poetry. Maybe. I do have every INTENTION of getting my New Years Cards in the mail. The envelopes are addressed, cards are signed, the letter is written but needs to be copied and I need to print the photos. I spoke a deadline to my pal Denise of Valentine's Day. Still completely doable.

I'm still around...

I plan to do a little first month wrap up tomorrow of my life of INTENTION. I've been subbing a bunch lately and working on my BIG rocks. Tomorrow, I promise!

Wiped out on a Wednesday. (Warning, it's wordy!)

What a week and we are only 1/2 way through. Sunday  morning I got a call to sub 1/2 on Monday afternoon and accepted. I love 1/2 day sub jobs and I love advanced notice. Well. Monday afternoon turned into Tuesday afternoon and also Wednesday afternoon. I had a great three days with my first grade friends. I am helping host some popcorn parties for classrooms that won our Box Top and Labels for Education campaigns for collecting the most. After the popcorn gets bagged I'm thrilled to have lunch with some girl friends then home to clean off the dining room table AGAIN. Friday I am subbing at a different school all day. It's a g$$d week for working!

Fred has been working long hours and weekends for a bit taking care of a BIG presentation at work. Today was D-day and he reports that it went well. Since he was up making improvements till 1AM this morning I would expect nothing less than greatness! This is Fred we are talking about.

Over the weekend I spent a little extra time with William. I dragged him away from the Xbox to join me at Sam's Club on Saturday then he and I went to see War Horse on Sunday. Nic was meeting some friends to see Hugo and rather than drop him off and leave him completely unattended at the mall, Will and I stuck around, grabbed him some baseball gear then caught the movie.

Funny story about War Horse. Will had mentioned at some point that he had read the book. He told me this last year. Before its release I planned on seeing the movie with him. Thinking that he would enjoy seeing the book adapted to the big screen.  So on the way out of the show he fessed up. Nic was talking about having read the book and Will copped to the reality that he had only read two pages. I was duped! He liked the movie very much but so much for the adaptation lesson.

Will did recently read The Hunger Games. Nic and I read the series a year or two ago and have been planning to see the first movie at whatever midnight premier we can get tickets to. I told Will that he couldn't join us unless he had read the book. The good news is that he liked the book and devoured the second in the series and started the third without delay. I always hoped that Will would love reading as much as Nic and I but we just hadn't seen that spark yet. Maybe, with the right subject matter he can become engaged. Finger crossed! So now we are all going to the premier on a school night and they think that is PRETTY DARN COOL!

Getting late. Time to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow!

I missed a few...

I slipped but I'm back. I thought about blogging about SOPA/PIPA on Wednesday but I couldn't figure out how to block out my banner so I just said skip it. Another day perhaps.

Yesterday I just had too good a day to stop and blog. I think that is a good thing. Today is going gang busters too but I'm going to pause while I wait for my lunch to be delivered.

Yep, lunch. delivered. My pal Jeanne called on her way out to get herself  lunch and she offered to get me something too. Just a baked potato but it sounded good and hey FREE delivery can't be beat.

My day started off choppy. Got the kids up and moving. Sent them and Fred out the door and headed back to bed. I slept poorly last night and the sub calls started coming at 5AM! There were MANY sub calls and they were all on the west side or at the middle or high school level. Nothing I felt motivated to respond to in the positive. So, I slept a little longer then had planned to meet my pal Susan at 10 to walk. Well, Griffin came a snuggled at 9:55. A sure sign that I wasn't supposed to walk today. I texted Susan a picture and she wasn't buying what I was selling. Damn. I dragged myself out of bed and we walked. We ran into neighbors, dropped off dry cleaning and had a great 3 mile walk. It was worth the effort. Thank you Susan. Sorry kitty.

Once I got home and cooled down I took care of some lingering PTA business. I have a few more things on my PTA to do list but after lunch. I'll still get them done today. Lots of time.

I also have laundry going and I have a dinner plan! It is shaping up to be a banner day. I hope the boys have a good day at school. Nic is having to say goodbye to a friend who is moving to NV. She has been his buddy for 3.5 year and we will miss BonBon as she moves along on her life adventure. They wanted to have a party at lunch today but the school said no. So, they are gathering in a teacher's classroom after school to hang and snack and linger just a bit longer. I think it is sweet. They come up with the plan all on their own and with just a little prodding got the details worked out. Good stuff.

The weather here in Frisco is AMAZING today. The sun is shining. There is a slight breeze and the sky is BLUE BLUE BLUE. My life is good. No, actually it is AMAZING! And I am so thankful for all of the blessings I have received and hope to continue to receive.

Today is Tuesday.

This kid is cooler than anyone knows. This boy knows how to scare his mother but also knows the way to my heart.. hugs and puppy dog eyes. Sweet sweet William. Always ready to offer up a well played sarcastic comment. His timing is amazing, which I consider genetic of course, and his smile is endearing. What more could a mom ask for?

Working at the quarry on my BIG rocks.

So I was working on my big rocks yesterday when I gathered my family and we attended church. Together. We haven't been too regular in the feeding our faith department in the last 8 month or so. It was time. We went to church on Christmas eve because it wouldn't be Christmas without going to church but hadn't been in quite some time before that.

I have been a BELIEVER my whole life. I have never questioned the existence of God. I have never considered the story of Jesus to be anything but historic and true. I was born into the Catholic religion and served and worshipped that way faithfully for about... 37 years. I have left and returned. I was even once called a heretic during a speech contest at my Catholic college but still was allowed to participate. I have gone so far as to long to be a nun, or better yet a priest, at the minimum I wanted to be an alter server. I have professed my faith in the blood and body of Christ. But my longing to be a mother won out over church doctrine and I married Fred. The ceremony was blessed by the church and we eventually started a family. From there I served in the church where and when I could. I was a lector, a communion minister, I subbed in religious education classes, and helped raise money for the needy.  More recently I have looked more closely at my beliefs and I do not see myself aligning completely with the Catholic church. Truth be told it has been a long time since I blindly accepted what they were telling me.  My boys were baptized in the Catholic church and have each taken part in the sacraments of reconciliation and Eucharist. Fred the same. But all those sacraments don't make us any more christian than our own personal beliefs do. As the spiritual leader of my family, not necessarily by choice, I am feeling the need to replant ourselves at a new church this year. To get back to GOD. We could have stayed put and been "cafeteria Catholics" that pick and chose what we agree with and what we don't. I have been in that group for a while but never felt good about it. Never felt pure of spirit. The guilt over the guilt was just too much.


The church we attended yesterday was called Crosspoint. It is a nice church, not too far from our home. We know a few families that attend there. It is VERY contemporary compared to what we are used to. However, since the majority of what I listen on the radio in the car is Christian music we were all pretty much able to sing along. The service started with 4-5 songs. Then a bit of prayer, another song and then the meat of the service, a sermon from Pastor Mark. He had a little help from some members of the church who were encouraging people to consider giving of their time and talents to the children's ministry. A common plea no matter what church you attend right? Pastor Mark preached about Luke 22: 24-38 and spent about 25 minutes explaining to me the significance of  14 verses from an AMAZING book full of significant verses. The boys did great at engaging and paying attention and a conversation later in the evening showed direct application of the messages of the sermon. I was so thrilled. Most days that we went to the Catholic church the boys could not even tell me what the reading was, let alone what the homily topic was. My heart filled with joy.

I am not fully satisfied the Crosspoint is where we will stay and worship. I need to learn more about them and they need to learn more about us. They may not want us. I'm not sure I want to participate in early childhood ministry. 

Today I am grateful for the choices that we have as a family. We will continue to search for a faith community that feels welcoming. A church where we can worship and serve, yes I heard you Pastor Mark!, and join in christian fellowship with other believers. I am looking forward to the next portion of this faith journey that we will take part in together. The boys' opinion count and I want them to feel comfortable wherever we land.

New signage

I have a No Soliciting sign on my front window. It works pretty well. I need to update it though. I want it to read...

No Soliciting unless... you are a Girl Scout selling cookies.

Then after cookie sales are over I want to change it to...

No Soliciting.... even if you are giving away GOD for FREE!