As of Late

Lately, I’ve been realizing how little I truly love.  (doing Loving Well by Beth Moore with my wonderful small group from church.  suffices to stay started with a bit of pride, asked Him to show me my heart…and He very much did.)

Lately, I’ve been seeking to love better by receiving His love and not settling for ‘no’ as it regards if I will love another.  I must love…and not in indifference or numbness but in thought, word and deed.

Lately, I haven’t been enjoying my kids as I know is the life-giving path I need.  I’m praying to BE HERE. PRESENT. AND LOVE THEM BY SIMPLY BEING WITH THEM.

Lately, I’ve been learning about homeschooling through the homeschool pre-school my friend, Anita, and I have been doing.

Lately, I’ve been saved by beauty, in particular sunsets and glorious moons, but I’m praying it grows to seeing the beauty in the four walls where I live.

Lately, I’ve started writing a Twin Book with my…TWIN!  Very early and we may poke at it for years, but we’ve started and were raised, ‘you start something. you finish it!’  It will be a wonderful keeper of us as we move to being an ocean apart.

Lately, I’ve had the chance to bless my best friend and neighbor, Anita.  She has blessed me immeasurably since I moved to Florida…become family.  Been everything a friend (or sister) could be…I was able to nominate her and she won ‘Woman of the Week’ for our Christian radio station!  (funny aside, they announced it this morning, but played the pre-recorded message of another winner! oops! first time it’s happened.  They recorded me yesterday morning and I knew they’d have to edit, but joked, ‘it really was bad! they had to use someone else’s!’…they’ll run it next week, Thursday morning at 7:20am)

Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed with our overseas transition.

Lately, I’ve wondered if I should just let go of ‘order’ in this year of transition…

Lately, I’ve been so encouraged to walk more intimately with my husband as he’s joined the blogging world He’s my hero and I cannot wait to follow as he shares more intentionally the conversations he has with others about the Gospel.

Lately, I’ve been stressed about money/finances and been breathing in and out and feeding on Philippians 4:4-8 in particular.

Lately, I’ve been so blessed by these free sermons of Tim Keller’s that are all from the Story of the Prodigal Son and go with his book, ‘The Prodigal God’.

Lately, I’ve been seeing how inconveniences are preparing me for when I will not have some of things I have here…over there…in Eastern Europe.

Lately, I’ve been wondering what life will look like this same time next year.  Colder (for sure)…and so much more…different.

Lately, I’ve been carrying a beloved couple in my heart (our hearts) and tears have been close and praying Romans 8:26-39 for them as times are uncertain and the extent of cancer unknown…

Lately, I’ve wondered almost constantly if I’m a good mom.  I always feel like I’m falling short and this certainly doesn’t get me anywhere better.  The Gospel is hard to receive when you realize your failures are affecting little impressionable people.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about my Dad and have written several posts that include something about him, like how he has prayed with a Papa heart for me (and my husband, kids, siblings, spouses, and kids and many more) every day since either of us can remember

Lately, I’ve been wondering about my two blogs.  The one is my ‘family and ministry blog’, though very much just the family side and I’ve been posting less and missing more of bringing our friends and family far away into the life we live where we are. That’s because I noticed that a fire was so lost inside of me I was forgetting who I was in the doing and then watching (i.e. tv, movies, to ‘relax’ etc.) because I was tired and all of these thoughts of something more were there, I just didn’t do something about it until I started my ‘writing blog’.  But, lately, I’ve been longing to bring the two together. somehow.  Or at least feel like the friends and family I’ve lived near and we’ve shared life that are my reason for keeping up the family blog can share life as my new and dear bloggy friends do even though we’ve never met.  And, vice versa.  I want my blog friends to share more of my family’s life.

So, lately, I decided to make this my first post that I am posting exactly the same in both of my blogs.  Family and friends, I would love if we connected not only here, but there.  And blog/writing friends, I would love if we shared more of the daily stuff that I post here (with some of you, we do!)  And maybe someday I’ll figure out a way to have it all come together in one place. 

What have you been up to lately?

So thankful to find out about this monthly link up, ‘As of Late’, hosted by Christy at CrittyJoy, through my blog friends Natalie and Jen.

Also with Michelle at Lost in the Prairies for Caffeinated Randomness on Fridays

Join us?

Big Boy JJ

It seemed to both Jared and I that so much changed with both kids while he was away only a few days...another reminder of how quickly these little years go...
One change I made while Jared was away was to pack up the high chair (which will re-emerge with Susie in a few months) and introduce JJ to the BIG BOY chair. He loves his high chair, particularly lounging back (he's been very hard on it--a sign of things to come!), so I didn't know, but since he is all about being a BIG BOY, it went fine:)

It seems like he's grown years in just a few weeks with several of our friends here who see him regularly saying he seems inches taller and he's lost his belly! Oh my! I still have some giggly in the cheeks, but it's diminishing:( I joke about how I mourned his high school graduation the day he was born, but it is so true...and yet I find that I am needing to press through and embrace the essentials of his need to grow and inborn desire to do so. I also feel the need to take good hard looks at the detriments of babying him, even while giving into my heart to cuddle him close often. As my sister says, "parenting isn't for wimps", and honestly, this is the most challenging element for me--more than middle-of-the-night feedings, changing poopy diapers, discipline...it's the letting go that will undoubtedly mark every stage...and I am indeed learning to embrace it for all that it is teaching me of the parent heart of our God.

Parenting Advice

Two things have come up recently that I wanted to ask my fellow mama's and parents for advice.

1) After a spanking (which we really just began), JJ wants to hit himself. We tell him it's ok--he needs to be nice to himself, but I think he's confused about what we are doing. We know that in certain situations we do want to use this form of discipline, but we also want to make sure it's effective. So, is this normal? What can we do to clarify what we are doing to help his little 2 year-old brain understand better??

2) Picky eating: I would say JJ's been a pretty good eater--especially at dinner time where he'll eat almost anything I make. Recently, he's been refusing to eat dinner (I have made a couple of different things). We've disciplined him for it, but it doesn't seem to be too effective and of course we hate the thought of a two year-old growing boy not getting enough to eat. Any thoughts??

I know there's alot of wisdom and those who have gone through this age before, so please respond when you can.

Thanks:)