Catching Up

I know I need to post part two of my summer vacation - and I will. I promise.

But, today I thought I would just play a little catch up ... and since Blogger is being funk-a-delic with it's picture posting issues, looks like it's a good time to do just that.

So, while I was in Canada, the girls and hubby stayed home and forged on without me. Of course, they had a little help (thank you Mary & Cheryl!!), but Hubbs is a great dad and can hold down the fort with the best of 'em! He got up every morning and got them both ready for VBS and dropped them off on his way to work. Then he would pick em up on the way home or come home and set miss Sheriff (AKA Cheryl) free if it was her day to keep them. He also managed to keep the house clean (that may have been a product of a speed clean session on the last day I was gone!!) and even got some laundry done.

Yeah, my man is a better mom than I am :-)

The girls LOVED being with their friends at church for VBS. And I love that they were surrounded by people who took the time to love on them while I was away ... and loved on them in HIS name. THAT is the best! They have been teaching me all the moves to the songs that they learned while they were there and it is obvious that they had a blast! Mrs. Lezlie even took the time each day to take pictures of them to send to my cell phone so I could know they were doing well. I LOVE my church family so stinkin much!

After I got home, Hattie had a couple more weeks off of school (she is doing a summer program that will enable her to keep up with her therapies and such). Try as I might to keep them busy and occupied, these poor girls were bored out of their MINDS. And that boredom led them to bug the ever lovin snot out of each other and, by association, the hubbs and I too. Sophie can push her sister's buttons faster than anything and Hattie NEVER fails to react. Which only eggs her sister on.

Yeah, it's great.

Hattie FINALLY got to go back to school this week. On Monday she had finished her breakfast, brushed her teeth and gotten dressed all before 8AM ... and the bus doesn't come til 8:30. But she wore that big ol backpack the entire time and watched diligently out the window for the bus. When that thing came around the corner she actually squealed with delight. LOVE it!

She is doing GREAT in school and we are actually planning to start mainstreaming her into a regular class this coming school year. I am a nervous wreck, but a very proud and excited nervous wreck! She met all of her goals for last year (very rare in her program) so they are planning to set the bar VERY high this year. I am constantly amazed by her ability to adapt, but this year is gonna be a stretch. And it is just what she needs!

Sophie is a talk-a-holic these days - seriously, she even talks in her sleep. She decided the other day that she is done with the booster seat at the table. She now refuses to sit in anything but a regular chair - makes for some messy moments at meal time, but she is so proud. She is also completely over sippy cups. She only wants to drink from a regular cup - this also makes for messy moments, but we are learning to cope with that. She was introduced to the napkin this week - they are fast and furious friends.

As much as Sophie likes to push Hattie's buttons, they really are very close. And S can "read" H's moods better than even the Hubbs and I on some days. I love to listen to them chat with each other - it is very simple language, but it is all from the heart. I can tell that Sophie and her "chattiness" is going to be a BIG tool in helping Hattie with her language goals and skills. God is soooo good to give her such a great little sister. I think they would be lost without each other and I love that we were used as the tools to make them sisters. LOVE it.

I have a couple stories to share ... but they involve pictures. And, well, with blogger and her issues today, they will just have to wait a tad bit longer. I mean, come on, if I'm gonna brag on my peeps, I gotta do it right, don't I?!

(I just read over this post and realized that it is all over the place. Probably should have used the bullet point system, but going back to fix it would take forever and Sesame Street is ending, so ... well, there ya go!)

You've Lost That Bloggy Feeling

Well, OK, truth be told I'VE lost the bloggy feeling.

Not really "lost" it. I mean, I still want to blog.

I still LOVE to blog.

I still crave the emotional, artistic and creative release that comes from writing. I still enjoy the process of putting words and pictures together to tell a story and make it come to life. And I do NOT want to stop that process.

Maybe it's writer's block ... but I still have alot to say.

Maybe it's lack of time ... but I sit here and stare at the blank screen on a frightening regular basis.

Maybe it's lack of material ... but my kids are as cute as ever, my life as full as ever and my God as ginormously magnificent as ever.

So ... what could it be.

I think it might be like everything else in life that requires will power. I have to actually EMPLOY the will power to get the job done. And, I am starting to see that I seem to put ALL my will power into one thing at a time. I need to work on that.

Yeah, I need to work on that ALOT.

So, here is where that process begins.

Lately my will has gone into my fitness goals. I am down just under 33 pounds, I am on my way to finishing a Couch-2-5K program (umm, did ya hear that ... FINISHING!! Yes, I WILL finish it!), I workout at least 5 times a week, usually six and I am REALLY watching what I eat. Almost to the point of obsession. Even my mom and my hubbs have chided me on not getting so focused on the what and how much that I forget to enjoy it.

Now, I realize that the main point of food is to act as fuel for our bodies. I get that. But, I'm just thinkin that there is a REASON that God made it taste so good. I mean, come on now, am I right?

So, I really think that, while these goals are a GREAT thing, there are other things that deserve attention too. Other avenues for my will power to take me down.

Now, I love y'all and you have been soooo amazing at holding me accountable in SO many things (fitness being a HUGE one!), that I am gonna count on you for one more...

I need to get back to this. So, if you don't see me on here, call me on it. I need my friends that see me on a regular basis to whack me upside the head and my far away friends to - literally - call me on it. Pick up the phone - text, message, email, CALL ... whatever it takes. Keep me on task.

But, more than ANYTHING, I need to get back to HIM. My Bloggy friends keep me focused on Him and my church friends and FAMILY - well, there is so much to be said for small groups, Bible studies and PRAYING together. I need to DIVE back into the word - and I am. I am doing the Ruth study with the LPM girls. Even if I go it alone, I WILL finish it this time. I am going to read the Word more, start back up on my one year plan for the Bible and I am going to get back into my prayer journal. THAT is my own personal accountability and I have really let it slide.

So, these are my plans - expand my will power and focus to make a healthier me. A better mom to my kids. A more loving and happy wife to my man. And a more devoted and loving child to my King.

Well, lookey there ... that just might be that bloggy feeling comin back.

And, ya know, I think I like it.