I just realized that it's been well over a month since my last post. I've gotten lots of requests for new posts... but I always respond that I only post when I'm inspired. This blog has, since the beginning, been about transparency and honesty. And I simply can't write when it doesn't feel right.
But just because I've been away does not mean life has been quiet. I feel more busy and a whole lot more overwhelmed than I have in months. But it's a good overwhelmed - Grace is on break from school, we've been on vacation for the past several weeks and we have lots of projects brewing-away.
Now that vacations are over, I have some posts I'd like to do soon. So, I'll be back - sooner than later, I hope!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Proud Mommy Moments: She's Ready!
I'm linking up this week with Emmy Mom for Proud Mommy Moments - a fun and easy post where I get to share what moments tickled my heart or made me turn red in embarrassment from my kids. This week, I'm pretty darn tickled.
Two weeks ago, Grace went through some testing to evaluate her readiness for 1st grade. In normal Jill-fashion, I stressed out about this test and began quizzing Grace nightly on things that she would be tested on. Joel kept reminding me that it was just Kindergarten, and that I needed to chill. But that's just not me.
Yesterday the results came home, and I ripped the envelope open as soon as Grace handed it to me. And wouldn't you know, she did great! She tested perfectly in letter identification and comprehension and interpretation. She also tested near-perfect in phonemic awareness and mathematical knowledge.
Again, I realize this is Kindergarten... but when it's your kid, you're proud! She's grown so much this year... she loves to figure out how to spell words and she loves "quizzing" Joel and I in math while we're driving around in the car.
I can't wait to see how her mind and heart continue to grow... 1st Grade is coming up way to fast!
Two weeks ago, Grace went through some testing to evaluate her readiness for 1st grade. In normal Jill-fashion, I stressed out about this test and began quizzing Grace nightly on things that she would be tested on. Joel kept reminding me that it was just Kindergarten, and that I needed to chill. But that's just not me.
Yesterday the results came home, and I ripped the envelope open as soon as Grace handed it to me. And wouldn't you know, she did great! She tested perfectly in letter identification and comprehension and interpretation. She also tested near-perfect in phonemic awareness and mathematical knowledge.
Again, I realize this is Kindergarten... but when it's your kid, you're proud! She's grown so much this year... she loves to figure out how to spell words and she loves "quizzing" Joel and I in math while we're driving around in the car.
I can't wait to see how her mind and heart continue to grow... 1st Grade is coming up way to fast!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Me in the Mirror
I know it's been a while since I wrote a legitimate post. Sorry for the hiatus - it wasn't planned, but I needed it.
The last two months has been both equally great and difficult. In so many ways, God has shown up and provided me with abundantly more than I've asked of Him. In other ways, He has allowed me to go through some pretty muddy times. Hard times. And that's what this is all about.
For those who are Christians, you know there are too many times in our walk that we feel that everything is going pretty well. There are no obvious tribulations. Relationships are good. We're pretty happy, and maybe even joyful at times. There are no obvious sins in our life. We're basically coasting through.
That's been me for the last while. Joel and I are doing pretty well - no major problems or fights but we're not really growing a whole lot. My friendships are good, but they could be better. I'm pretty content most of the time, but still have moments when I want more out of life than what God has given me. I don't have any major sins that I'm dealing with. My relationship with God is good. Steady.
But if you're mature in your faith, you know that our relationships should be moving forward. Our relationship with Christ should be growing. We should always be aware of areas in our life where God is pushing us to grow - convicting us. We are to also be content all of the time with what God has given us now - knowing that God gives us what we need today, and we don't need to worry about the next day, month or year.
Last month, I went with a group from our church to a church conference in Chicago. It was amazing - our group really grew together and God showed up in big ways. Lives were changed. The first night of the conference, we started with worship. I mean amazing worship. In normal Jill-form, I started crying pretty heavily. A friend turned to me, gave me a hug and asked if God was peeling away some layers. I told her, no, that I am just a crier. But the truth was He was. He was beginning the process of peeling back some areas in my life - bitterness, hurt, loneliness, pride... Throughout the next few days, God continued to show me where I've put up walls and He was tearing them down.
See, during the last few months, I haven't seen obvious sin in my life. I don't cheat, steal, lust... you know, Ten Commandment-type sins. I haven't been dealing with the big ones. But God has revealed so many areas in my where I am living apart from Him - apart from His perfection.
During times of conviction, I have found that you either flee from God or run to Him. Well, I've been running toward Him. My quiet times have been more consistent and meaningful then they've been in a long time. And while it feels good to be in His arms and under the Spirit, it is hard. The peeling back of those layers is hard. It hurts.
In the mornings, I've taken a break from listening to my iPod in the bathroom and have instead started listening to sermons. I listen to James MacDonald with the Walk in the Word app on my phone. In the past few weeks, I've listened to sermons about guilt, fear, people pleasing, and living for futility. Sometimes at church it's easy to space-out during a sermon and not allow the pastor's words to penetrate your heart. But I've found that during my 25-minute routine in front of the mirror every morning, that it's impossible to look myself in the face - look at my reflection, while listening to God's Word be preached - and not be convicted. And it's during those mornings that God has pushed on my heart the hardest.
So, that's where I am today. God is pushing on my heart - hard. He is showing me the areas in my life that I've chosen to live, apart from Him.
I'll write about those areas more. I'm still trying to process through it all. But there are some things that I've blogged about struggling with before, that God has shown me that I'm still struggling with.
If you want to know where my heart is right now, read Psalm 139.
The last two months has been both equally great and difficult. In so many ways, God has shown up and provided me with abundantly more than I've asked of Him. In other ways, He has allowed me to go through some pretty muddy times. Hard times. And that's what this is all about.
For those who are Christians, you know there are too many times in our walk that we feel that everything is going pretty well. There are no obvious tribulations. Relationships are good. We're pretty happy, and maybe even joyful at times. There are no obvious sins in our life. We're basically coasting through.
That's been me for the last while. Joel and I are doing pretty well - no major problems or fights but we're not really growing a whole lot. My friendships are good, but they could be better. I'm pretty content most of the time, but still have moments when I want more out of life than what God has given me. I don't have any major sins that I'm dealing with. My relationship with God is good. Steady.
But if you're mature in your faith, you know that our relationships should be moving forward. Our relationship with Christ should be growing. We should always be aware of areas in our life where God is pushing us to grow - convicting us. We are to also be content all of the time with what God has given us now - knowing that God gives us what we need today, and we don't need to worry about the next day, month or year.
Last month, I went with a group from our church to a church conference in Chicago. It was amazing - our group really grew together and God showed up in big ways. Lives were changed. The first night of the conference, we started with worship. I mean amazing worship. In normal Jill-form, I started crying pretty heavily. A friend turned to me, gave me a hug and asked if God was peeling away some layers. I told her, no, that I am just a crier. But the truth was He was. He was beginning the process of peeling back some areas in my life - bitterness, hurt, loneliness, pride... Throughout the next few days, God continued to show me where I've put up walls and He was tearing them down.
See, during the last few months, I haven't seen obvious sin in my life. I don't cheat, steal, lust... you know, Ten Commandment-type sins. I haven't been dealing with the big ones. But God has revealed so many areas in my where I am living apart from Him - apart from His perfection.
During times of conviction, I have found that you either flee from God or run to Him. Well, I've been running toward Him. My quiet times have been more consistent and meaningful then they've been in a long time. And while it feels good to be in His arms and under the Spirit, it is hard. The peeling back of those layers is hard. It hurts.
In the mornings, I've taken a break from listening to my iPod in the bathroom and have instead started listening to sermons. I listen to James MacDonald with the Walk in the Word app on my phone. In the past few weeks, I've listened to sermons about guilt, fear, people pleasing, and living for futility. Sometimes at church it's easy to space-out during a sermon and not allow the pastor's words to penetrate your heart. But I've found that during my 25-minute routine in front of the mirror every morning, that it's impossible to look myself in the face - look at my reflection, while listening to God's Word be preached - and not be convicted. And it's during those mornings that God has pushed on my heart the hardest.
So, that's where I am today. God is pushing on my heart - hard. He is showing me the areas in my life that I've chosen to live, apart from Him.
I'll write about those areas more. I'm still trying to process through it all. But there are some things that I've blogged about struggling with before, that God has shown me that I'm still struggling with.
If you want to know where my heart is right now, read Psalm 139.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
10 Things to Smile About: April
Wow! April is over - how in the world did that happen? It was a crazy month around here - a good month, but a bit of a blur. So here are 10 things that made me smile last month...
1. Grace continuing to grow in knowledge and in her heart. She came home with this handwriting work from school - this made my heart so happy. God is growing her.
2. Easter. We had a lovely brunch with my parents, followed by an Easter egg hunt. With all that's been going on in life, this was a truly sweet day.
3. Lots and lots of time with new friends. I'm amazed how quickly I've grown to love a group of people, I've only known for a short time.
5. Continued success with our journey to become debt free. Our grand total since September 2011 is $10,900. Lots of hard work to do still. But we've made a ton of progress and I can't wait to know how it feels to be able to say "we are debt free".
6. A new workout routine that I'm incorporating with my workouts at the YMCA. The workouts are hard, sweaty, but somehow super fun. I'm seeing some good progress in just one month... can't wait to finally be ok with swimsuit season.
7. Going to Harvest University in Chicagoland with my new church... wonderful teaching, inspiring ministry and God-glorifying worship. It was truly amazing.
8. A sleepover with 3 Kindergartners. It was crazy. It was loud. It was exhausting. It was fun. Oh, and thanks Mom, for putting up with all my sleepovers. I had no idea!
9. Our first trip to the zoo this season.
10. With only a month of school left, we are making fun plans for the summer - a trip to the East coast, a trip to Seattle and some horse riding lessons for Miss Grace.
Friday, April 20, 2012
She's 2 & I'm Sad About It
If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, then you are well aware that Autumn turned 2 today. I'm sorry, but I'm one of those moms who is so in love with my kids that I expect you to be, too. And you should. Because they're pretty awesome kids and super cute, too.
Anyway, we celebrated Autumn's birthday the same way we did with Grace when she turned 2 - with a trip to Build-a-Bear and then lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese. The trip to Build-a-Bear was hysterical - she went crazy and ran from one thing to the next... free from her stroller and with so much stimuli. It was fun and she now has a bear named Crissy. We were then off to a heartburn-inducing lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese. It was fun. And I'm pretty sure Joel and I had as much fun as Autumn did, because skee ball is awesome.
At the end the day, a dear friend came over and had dinner with us and helped to celebrate Autumn's special day. While the kids were playing, I confessed to my friend that although we had a lot of fun today, I felt like I was mourning Autumn turning 2. As a mom, you always want your kids to grow. There would be something wrong if you never wanted your kids to grow in age, knowledge and understanding. That is your job as a mom - to make sure they get from being a newborn to a thriving adult.
But I'm having a hard time with it. Something about 2 says that I need to say goodbye to Autumn as a baby. And I'm not quite ready to do that. But she is - as evidenced with two new Autumn words today: "mall" and "pizza". My baby isn't quite a baby anymore.
Happy birthday, my sweet, funny little girl!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Watch Your Own Kids, Pretty Please
Every once in a while, I like to get my soapbox out and stand on it for a bit. Today is one of those days...
It was a gorgeous day yesterday, so I decided to take the girls to the park after I picked Grace up from school. We picked up some drinks at Wendy's and were on our way to play until dinnertime. When I got there, there was only one other child, a 4-year old girl who played while her grandmother sat on a bench with her face buried in a newspaper.
About 10 minutes after we got there, the grandmother packed up her newspaper, got up from her bench, and walked to her car. She didn't say ANYTHING to her granddaughter. She just left. Her granddaughter ran after her, probably worried that she was going to be left behind. After a while, the little girl came back to the play area, while her grandmother sat in her car.
Now the parking lot is probably 70-100 yards away from the play area. Not really all that close. So for the next 20 minutes, I am left to watch and play with my girls, and now this other kid... It came to a point when I realized that I didn't want to be responsible for someone else's child. I shouldn't be. But I was left responsible. Because obviously a 60+ year old lady can't watch her own granddaughter.
Two things made me upset... 1- I was left to watch a kid who wasn't mine. Not to mention I didn't know her at all. 2- The grandmother made a choice not to be involved with her granddaugther's play. Seems awful selfish and unloving to me.
So I left with my girls... with the other little girl trailing behind us to our car. As I walked by the grandmother, who was now yelling at the little girl to get in the car, I did say something... something to the effect "you can't just leave her like that". Of course she said she was watching. Whatever.
We used to go to a park closer to our house. But I haven't been there in 2 years, because every time I would go, I would end up "watching" every one's children while they sat in a pavilion and hung out with their friends. Now it's one thing if you have a 8, 9, or 10 year old... but don't leave your toddlers alone. And don't expect another adult to watch them.
I'm kinda thinking it would be a good, yet passive aggressive idea to get a sweatshirt just for park trips... it could read on the back I'm watching my own kids. I don't want to watch yours. Any betther ideas?
It was a gorgeous day yesterday, so I decided to take the girls to the park after I picked Grace up from school. We picked up some drinks at Wendy's and were on our way to play until dinnertime. When I got there, there was only one other child, a 4-year old girl who played while her grandmother sat on a bench with her face buried in a newspaper.
About 10 minutes after we got there, the grandmother packed up her newspaper, got up from her bench, and walked to her car. She didn't say ANYTHING to her granddaughter. She just left. Her granddaughter ran after her, probably worried that she was going to be left behind. After a while, the little girl came back to the play area, while her grandmother sat in her car.
Now the parking lot is probably 70-100 yards away from the play area. Not really all that close. So for the next 20 minutes, I am left to watch and play with my girls, and now this other kid... It came to a point when I realized that I didn't want to be responsible for someone else's child. I shouldn't be. But I was left responsible. Because obviously a 60+ year old lady can't watch her own granddaughter.
Two things made me upset... 1- I was left to watch a kid who wasn't mine. Not to mention I didn't know her at all. 2- The grandmother made a choice not to be involved with her granddaugther's play. Seems awful selfish and unloving to me.
So I left with my girls... with the other little girl trailing behind us to our car. As I walked by the grandmother, who was now yelling at the little girl to get in the car, I did say something... something to the effect "you can't just leave her like that". Of course she said she was watching. Whatever.
We used to go to a park closer to our house. But I haven't been there in 2 years, because every time I would go, I would end up "watching" every one's children while they sat in a pavilion and hung out with their friends. Now it's one thing if you have a 8, 9, or 10 year old... but don't leave your toddlers alone. And don't expect another adult to watch them.
I'm kinda thinking it would be a good, yet passive aggressive idea to get a sweatshirt just for park trips... it could read on the back I'm watching my own kids. I don't want to watch yours. Any betther ideas?
Monday, April 2, 2012
Guest Post: Exercise Your Pallet
How “ugly” wood can add beauty to your home...
Stress and depression are common ailments these days. Whether it be you job, money, or even having a loved one in the military, avoiding stress can be a daunting task. Though doctors prescribe pills and therapists prescribe sessions, sometimes those things don’t cut it. Some turn to exercise, vacations, long distance phone calls to family members or their man/woman overseas, but who would have thought DYI projects could help lend a hand?
The truth is, adding a little something of your own to your house, gardening, or writing can help take you mind of things for awhile and reduce stress. The confidence boost that comes of completing a project is what enables this. For this article I have decided to talk about making items out of palette wood. It is something I enjoy and is a free way to make some cool things.
Finding raw materials can often be the most expensive part of a new project. A growing trend among the do-it-yourself crowd has been to salvage and reuse materials that have been discarded after their initial use. One of the most popular items over the last few years has been the wooden shipping pallet.
It is estimated that ¼ of the wood harvested in the United States is used for constructing shipping pallets. Used by companies to package and secure large amounts of items, these wooden pieces are forgotten once the shipments are received and the products stored away. Often they are used only once before being stacked in an ally or shipped off to take up space in a landfill.
The solution to the problem is simple and easy. Recycle the wood from the pallets for projects around the house! The Internet is filled with blueprints and instructions on crafting anything from a birdhouse to a bed platform using the wood from recycled pallets. There are endless examples of end tables, swinging outdoor chairs, coffee tables and computer desks that are easy to make and require nothing but the pallets, some screws or nails and a little bit of paint.
Enterprising green thumbs have found plenty of uses for pallets in their backyards. From using them to build compost bins or hanging gardens, the pallets provide an inexpensive way to build an environmentally-friendly garden. Some ambitious builders have even gone so far as to build cabins and storage sheds using nothing but recycled shipping pallets!
Reusing wooden shipping pallets is a fun, inexpensive way to help the environment and create one-of-a-kind projects that can be used for years to come.
About My Guest Blogger:
My name is Allison and I am a fun-loving, adventurous being. When my job doesn’t have me traveling I normally guest blog, ride my horse, or hang out with friends. I normally write about natural health and healing, but I Love writing about projects and eco friendly DYI projects.
Allison can be reached through her blog, Musings of a Curious Mind
Stress and depression are common ailments these days. Whether it be you job, money, or even having a loved one in the military, avoiding stress can be a daunting task. Though doctors prescribe pills and therapists prescribe sessions, sometimes those things don’t cut it. Some turn to exercise, vacations, long distance phone calls to family members or their man/woman overseas, but who would have thought DYI projects could help lend a hand?
The truth is, adding a little something of your own to your house, gardening, or writing can help take you mind of things for awhile and reduce stress. The confidence boost that comes of completing a project is what enables this. For this article I have decided to talk about making items out of palette wood. It is something I enjoy and is a free way to make some cool things.
Finding raw materials can often be the most expensive part of a new project. A growing trend among the do-it-yourself crowd has been to salvage and reuse materials that have been discarded after their initial use. One of the most popular items over the last few years has been the wooden shipping pallet.
It is estimated that ¼ of the wood harvested in the United States is used for constructing shipping pallets. Used by companies to package and secure large amounts of items, these wooden pieces are forgotten once the shipments are received and the products stored away. Often they are used only once before being stacked in an ally or shipped off to take up space in a landfill.
The solution to the problem is simple and easy. Recycle the wood from the pallets for projects around the house! The Internet is filled with blueprints and instructions on crafting anything from a birdhouse to a bed platform using the wood from recycled pallets. There are endless examples of end tables, swinging outdoor chairs, coffee tables and computer desks that are easy to make and require nothing but the pallets, some screws or nails and a little bit of paint.
Enterprising green thumbs have found plenty of uses for pallets in their backyards. From using them to build compost bins or hanging gardens, the pallets provide an inexpensive way to build an environmentally-friendly garden. Some ambitious builders have even gone so far as to build cabins and storage sheds using nothing but recycled shipping pallets!
Reusing wooden shipping pallets is a fun, inexpensive way to help the environment and create one-of-a-kind projects that can be used for years to come.
About My Guest Blogger:
My name is Allison and I am a fun-loving, adventurous being. When my job doesn’t have me traveling I normally guest blog, ride my horse, or hang out with friends. I normally write about natural health and healing, but I Love writing about projects and eco friendly DYI projects.
Allison can be reached through her blog, Musings of a Curious Mind
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