To my ONE year old

My dear sweet, sweet Violet,
Today you are one.  A marvelous one, and my how the year has flown.  I want to say it's gone by faster with you than it had with your sister.  It doesn't help that you turned one at the busiest time of the year.  But it's been a great year. A fun year at that.
To start off, you officially have 8 teeth!  Yes, another one just in time for your 1st birthday.  Four on top and now four on the bottom.
You haven't started crawling yet, but your interest in it has begun.  You do love to pull yourself up to a standing position though, and that seems good enough for you at the moment.
One of your favorite activities is to push things around the house.  Anything really but your favorite is a wicker basket from the bathroom.  You'll get up on your knees with your hands on the basket and do a half crawl/push thing.  You love it!  That is, until you get the object you're pushing stuck against a wall.
You don't say much, just a lot of yaya's, da's, ma's, zaza's, and ssssss's sounds like a snake.
You love cheese and to push pureed foods out through your front teeth.
We're still nursing like champs.  You love every minute (and so do I).  So much in fact, that it's hard for me to get you to let go even after you've fallen asleep.
You're not a great stay-asleep-er.  Nap time only lasts about an hour and you'll still wake up every two to four hours at night.  Sometime (but rarely) six if I'm lucky.  But that's a blue moon kind of deal.
You've just recently learned how to get up to sit up from a laying position.  It was nice that way.  I could change your diaper without much of a fight.  But now you are a squirmy wormy and will take off as soon as I lie you down.  You think it's HILARIOUS to take off naked.  You'll even turn around a strike this funny pose as if you want me to chase you.  And I do.  You're too funny to not chase down.
Your first birthday wasn't a huge extravaganza.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go with Christmas and all.  Plus we weren't at our house for that day. But next year I'm sure I'll have a better plan and we'll have a little more of a party for you.  However, do know that you did have three parties and lots of gifs, hugs, loves, and kisses.  You didn't go unspoiled.
And just a couple of weeks before you turned one, you gained a new cousin.  And once you met him you LOVED him.  Kisses galore. You also got mad when we took him from you so Amelia could have a turn.  Good thing we'll be spending a few more days with him in a week!
That's another thing, you love giving kisses.  And it's the sweetest!
We're also working on sign language so until you can tell us what you want/need, you can just sign it to us.  We're first working on "please".  That one is take a bit, however, after just a few times of showing you "all done" you've got it! So now I'm starting to think you don't want to do "please" just because.
Sometimes you'll still get mistaken for a boy since you still have hardly any hair.  Even when I dress you in pink and purple!  People are so funny sometimes.
You have a great laugh and will laugh at the funniest times.
You love to rock baby dolls and sing them songs.
You also love to sing at worship time while daddy is up on stage leading it, or in the car while we listen to music.  You've loved the Christmas songs.
You're beautiful, and charming, funny, sweet, loving.  Oh, how you love to give hugs!!  Especially to your aunt Emily.
I just love you, sweet Violet.  I am forever changed since you've come into our lives.  And I'm so ever grateful to God for blessing my life with precious you.

Love, love, love you,
Momma

24/30 Things: Childhood and Family

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


24. Describe the family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.

Well, when I was a kid, our family was kinda small.  And when I say "family" I mean, my mom, my sisters, my mom's parents, my mom's sister and husband, and my mom's brother.  We'd all get together for every event, do everything together. My grandparents were younger so things were much easier for them to get around and such.   We were small and compact so activities were simpler, like going to the amusement park, the rodeo, birthdays, holidays.  
Now, two of us three girls are married.  And the two of us have 3 kids between us.  My aunt and her hubby have two kids. My other uncle passed away.  My mom is remarried and he has three boys.  My grandparents are a bit older and a little slower moving but still up and at 'em.
That's a lot of people.  When we were a small family, we'd invite people to holidays and events.  That was easy. We still do invite people to our holidays and events, just not as many people.  
We still play games, we still go places, we still get together for everything.  We're just bigger.  And I love it.  I love my family.

23/30 Things: My 5 Hobbies

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


23.  List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.


Art
It helps me to create what I'm feeling. 
Feel a sense of accomplishment. 
Bring beauty on canvas into my home.

Photography
I love capturing moments.  
To create something beautiful from a glimpse in time.
To have these precious memories to look back on when the moments has passed.

Baking
It's delicious.
And fun.
And delicious.

Crafting
I can make adorableness in the form of a card or scrapbook.
They make great gifts.

Organizing
I love the cleanliness it brings.
I know I can find things when I need them.  
And easily.

11 Months and My Oldest

Nothing like running late in real life and on this blog.

Miss V turned 11 months on the 24 of November!  She's getting so big and will be ONE in only 21 days.  Wow.  I will have a 4 year old and a 1 year old.  Why do my babies get so big so fast?

So here's my update on my littlest one:

• Her words consist of "zazazaza", "vavava", and "yaya" (which I do believe is dada).
• She will go to the bottom of our staircase and yell up "yaya" to her daddy knowing he's up there working.
• She likes to whisper and scream right along with you.  It's her way of talking with you.
• She's feisty and a temper tantrum thrower.  Yay. (ha)
• She's getting faster and faster at crawling.
• She's attempted a stair.  She can do it at the church where there is only two stairs that lead to the stage but hasn't yet attempted it at home.  Where there are lots.  Lots of steep stairs.
• She's gotten yet another tooth.  She now has a total of 7!
• She likes to walk if someone is holding her hands.  She's not terribly interested in it, especially when A "helps" her.  But if Bryan or I'm helping her she'll do it for a bit and then get bored because she knows she can go faster if she crawls.  She does like it when she does it though!
• She celebrated her first Thanksgiving last month.  On the same day she turned 11 months!  She enjoyed a bit of the food.  I'm kinda slow going on getting her more and more on solids but the last months she has been enjoying it a bit more.  
• She loves to be snuggled.  She's been giving tons of hugs.  
• She's so smiley.
• And when she gets excited she'll throw her hands in her lap, curl her back, straighten her legs and toes, and give us a huge grin.  It's flippin ADORABLE!!
• She's so charming.  People will actually stop in the store just to talk to her, make her laugh or talk to them, or just to see her smile.  I know this happened with A and I'm sure this happens to other babies, it just always makes me grin to see them want to talk to V.  And sweet A will tell them that her name is Violet and she is her baby sister and that her own name is Amelia. It's so sweet. 
• Her eyes are getting darker all them time.  She no longer has blue eyes but a hazel of some sort.  
• She does this adorable face (that she's done forever but still does) where she makes an "ooooh" sound and makes it look like she sucking on a straw while her eyes get really big.
• She pulls herself up onto things into a standing position.  
• We're working on getting her to sign "please".  I was late on teaching this to her too but we're working on it. 
• She's getting better at sleeping at night.  I have a noise machine that I turn on to drown out all the other "surprising" noises.  It seems to help.  
• She's also still down to one nap a day.  That'll last anywhere from 1 hour to two but it's usually the former.
• She's always busy and loves to play, but if Sesame Street or Veggie Tales are on, she'll play in front of that and watch in awe.  
• She loves to dance and bounce and toss her arms around to music.  She loves music.

As for my oldest one:

• She is enjoying school.  Loves it!
• We're doing 24 days of Christmas.  It's kind of like an advent calendar but with activities to do every day.  We have a lot of random acts of kindness and buying/giving away/making gifts for others, and then fun events to attend. Plus things like camping out with daddy, movie night, and ice cream with a friend.  She even remembered this from last year.  I was surprised that she did! (If you follow me on facebook you'll see pictures of the activities we have every day.)
• She's learning to write her name.  At the beginning of the year it was just scribbles but now I can make out the A the M and the I.  Super impressive.  
• She had a Thanksgiving program for her school and it was adorable.  She definitely likes to be in the limelight.  
• She's become quite the storyteller, she'll read us books and make up stories to go along with it.  
• She's also become a very good artist.  She can draw houses and people and they actually resemble them so that you know what they are.  

Anyway, there's my update.  Hopefully I can actually write a blog post that doesn't involve once a month updates.  Ha!

10 months (although late)

I completely missed an update for Miss V turning 10 months!!

She is amazing!  She's crawling like a fiend! She's getting faster and faster everyday.  A lot of practicing.  Getting into the dog's water bowl in the kitchen, playing with the toilet with the bathroom, pulling clothes out of the laundry baskets in the bedrooms, oh yes, lots of practice!

She growls, and babbles, "talking" like crazy!

She also gives kisses now.  They're opened mouthed and slobbery but it's still sweet.

She's in a biting faze.. that is not so sweet.

She sits on her her knees now which is adorable.  And she's trying to figure out standing but that's coming along a little slower.  I'm okay with that, don't want to rush growing up to quickly.

She's still very serious towards strangers but is a little more generous with a smile.

Her laugh is so contagious.  She's ticklish and will burst with laughter!

Her toes are so animated that they are only still when she sleeps.  They're usually curled with her big toe stretched out and up.  It's weird, and yet charming, and it's exactly the same thing that Bryan will do.

She's still bald but now with a little tuft of hair on the top.  It isn't much but it's so very cute.

Oh, and she has a lovey.  It's a crocheted giraffe that we've affectionately named Maggie after the lady who made it.  She adores this thing.  She'll snuggle it by it's neck, hugging it whenever we hand it to her.  She loves this thing.  I'm so glad I found it and bought it for her.

22/30 Things: The Next 5-15 Years

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}

22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

...I have a feeling this one is gonna be a tough one...

In 5 years, that'll make A 9 years old and V nearly 6.  I hope to have one if not two more kiddos (around 3 and newborn) running around the house.  That would mean I'd still (happily) be a homemaker with babes underfoot and Bryan will (hopefully) still be doing all that he loves with computer programming.
I'll be 33 and Bryan will be 35 but nothing should be too different from now, expect hopefully more wisdom with that age!
Hopefully we'll have a little bit bigger of a house, but I have no idea where we'll be living!  I don't even know where we'll be living in the next year.

10 years, that'll make A 14 years old (I won't cry!), V almost 11(*sniff sniff*),  and (maybe) baby #3 around 8 and (maybe) baby #4 around 3 {these are just guesses people!! Don't get all excited here!! ;) }  I'll still be a homemaker if there's a baby #4 which will be just grand by me!
I'll be 38 by then and Bryan will be 40!!!  Wowza.  And I'm hoping by this point I will have a photography career by then.  Hopefully!  There are so many fabulous photographers out there I don't know if I can even begin to compete.  But we'll see.

15 years, that'll make A 19 years old (not gonna cry!!), V almost 16 (ack!!), (maybe) baby #3 around 13, and (maybe) baby #4 around 8.  That all means that A will have graduated and will now be at college, V will be driving, baby 3 starting the teenage years, and baby 4 will no longer be a baby.  Ack!
Plus this all means that I'll be old.  Haha! I'll will now be 43 and Bryan will be 45.  He'll be awesome at his computeringness and I'll be well established in a photography career.
Our kids will all be awesome, we'll probably be living closer to my family by now but in a lovely not too big not too small house, and the Forbitts will have been friends for 20 years!!!  Huzzah!

21/30 Things: Superpowers

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}

21.  If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?

If I could have any superpower it would totally be telekinesis.  There's always a moment when I just lay down for bed and forgot to shut off a light, or sat down for supper but forgot to grab the water pitcher.  It would just be nice to be able to make something come to me without me having to get back up to get it.  The only problem there would be laziness!  Because I wouldn't want that to happen.  I don't want to use it to be lazy, just for those times when I was just there to do it but forgot because of my mommy brain.  Gotta love the mommy brain.

20/30 Things: Childhood Memories

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

I wanted to write a book when I was 8

So I had an idea for a book .  I wanted to write about how adults don't think we understand things at certain ages but that we totally did.  I felt like they didn't realize that we understood things even though we did.  I probably would've made mega bucks.

The Christmas when I found out Santa wasn't real

I think I was 5 at the time but I came down the stairs after bed for whatever reason, I'm not sure, and saw my dad writing on a tag and then placing it on a present so I snuck back upstairs.  The next morning when we opened presents I saw that the same present my dad was writing on the night before read, "To September From Santa".  But it was a Strawberry Shortcake doll that turned into a cupcake when you flipped her dress up and put her cupcake top hat on her head.  It was way cool.  And it smelled like strawberries.

My Baptism

I got baptized in '95.  I believe it was June that I made the decision at camp.  10 years old and I wasn't paying attention (imagine that) and during worship I saw a bunch of people go up on stage.  A couple of them were my friends and they were crying so I went up to hug them.  

Turned out it was a time to make a decision for Christ and to get baptized.  The guy I got to talk to actually went to college with my parents so he knew who I was immediately.  We talked and I decided I really did want to get baptized, but not at camp.

I went home and on a Sunday after church, my whole family (grandparents, uncles, aunt, mom, and sisters) got to watch as my Uncle Jon baptized me.  And the coolest thing, when I went under the water I saw a light.  I thought maybe it was a light bulb above me but nope!, I believe it was a God moment.

I'm thankful that's when I decided to do it because just a month and some later my other uncle was killed in a car accident.  I'm glad he got to be there for that.  It meant still means a lot to me.

19/30 Things: Where I want to live

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Uh.. Right where I am!! Ha! But that's because all of my family is within the state or right next to it so they're close which means frequent visits and lots of family time. Plus it's beautiful, and I grew up here, and I love it, blah, blah, blah.
But!
But... if I didn't have to worry about traveling to see family (i.e. could take my family with me or had my own private plane and didn't have to worry about gas or money!) I think I would want to live in Scotland.  Or maybe Ireland.  They both have people with really awesome accents, the places are gorgeous, and the history is very cool.  Uh.. can you say CASTLES!??  Not to say that America isn't cool, cause it totally is, but castles, guys.  Castles.  

18/30 Things: Forgivness

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}

18.  What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?


Wow.  Yes.  I've put this one off.  It's a hard one for me.  A daily thing.  But here I go.  I'll just jump into it.  The most difficult thing for me to forgive is my dad and all he's done.. or hasn't done. 

It's been 8 years since I've talked to him.  Since then he's disowned both my sisters and me.  But I don't want to go into all the details.  There's just too much.  So very much.  
But the basics.  The basics are that my dad left my mom and us girls when I was just 6.  He never really made the time for us.  He was in the military while we were very young but that's no excuse.  We only ever heard from him once every other month while his parents heard from him every week.  He was suppose to have us every other holiday and a month out of the summer but we only saw him for a week out of the summer.  

There's just so much that I can't.  What I've mentioned was only the beginning.  There's so much more but it's just too hard, too much to put on paper.  Plus it's so personal.  Not that I don't mind talking about it, but I only talk about the pieces that come up in conversation that are relavent to the topic.  Or parts that I discuss with my mom.  
But I do want to say that my mom, my mom is great.  She's always taught us to love him and forgive him.  I think that's why we held on for so long.  Kept trying and having to move past the hurts that kept coming.  I think without her we be so much more bitter, resentful, hardened.  A part of me still is, but so much less than it could be.  
Every day, I choose to forgive.  I have to.  If I didn't it would eat me alive.  Consume me.  Every day I'm thankful that my two beautiful girls know their daddy, that he's here, that he loves and dotes on them.  Every day I thank my God that he has brought us through in love even though there's pain, instead of residing in anger and hate.
It's still hard.  I still miss what I've never known.  I'm still sad that he missed out on me, that I missed out on a having a daddy.
But God is good.  Because where I am weak, He is strong.  And I'm thankful for that.

2 Corinthians 12:9 
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. "Therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

9 Month Beauty

I'm a little late on this one but my baby, my sweet little girl, is now nine months.  So here's the scoop on this girlie:

-She now has 6 teeth! The front two came in a while ago then the top two decided to make an appearance.  Except the left front came in first, then that was it.  The other one seemed a little shy so she looked like the most adorable pumpkin ever.
Then about two weeks later the right front and the two lateral incisors decided to come in all at once!  She is so cute it is ridiculous.  Her smiled completely changed with those teeth though but it was worth it.  The cuteness is extreme.

-She loves to growl.  And this is how she loves to communicate.  Not necessarily anything in particular but just for fun.  She can even get complete strangers, grown ups!, to growl back at her.  She's such a charmer.
She's also a screamer.  She loves to scream for fun.  I think she likes to hear her own voice so it makes it even more fun.  And it's ear piercing.

-She's so incredibly close to crawling.  She can get to her belly from sitting and back up again.  She can also get up on her hands and knees and she's figured out how to scootch by using all of that together.

-I had to put her in 9-12 month clothing just a wee bit early because that's the only size I had with cooler weather clothing but it fits her.  She's a little bit of a chubbs but healthy!

-She's still nursing like a champ!  So much in fact that she isn't always terribly interested in the baby food we're offering her.  She'll chomp on puffs here and there but when we go to feed her baby food she only wants a handful of small bites.  We need to work on this.

-I love her little toes.  They are such a combo between mine and Bryan's and the only time I see them stay still is when she's asleep.  Otherwise they are always on the move.

-She's more and more fun every day.  I love this girl.  And she's feisty.  I didn't realize just how feisty she is until I compared her to how A was at her age.  A was not feisty at all.  She was calm, easy going, slept whenever/wherever.  Not V.  She has an opinion and she's gonna let you know.  But I love and appreciate it all.

My feisty teeny tiny.

To My Girl on her Fourth Birthday

My sweet, sweet girl,

Today you are four.  And my how time does fly.  It feels like it was only a few months ago that I gave birth to you, last week you were learning to walk, and yesterday you were two.  But here you are-  a big girl.

You started preschool this fall.  You love it.  You love your teacher, your friends, Shelly the Turtle.  You ask to go to school on the off days.  Sometimes you even ask to go a few hours after I've just picked you up from there!  But I'm so happy you love it and that you're learning so much.

You are as sweet as pie and as sassy as molassess.  I have no idea what that means other than that I think you're great.  Just as you are.  

I think you are beautiful.  Not only on the outside, which, I swear, becomes more beautiful everyday, but also on the inside.  You're sweet and kind, gracious, funny, happy, joyful, loving.  Everything I could want in a kiddo.  Of course you act your age too.  Sometimes more than I'd like, but I know the good outweighs the naughty.  

You love to sing.  Since you go with Daddy to worship practice, you get to learn all the songs and then you come home and sing them for me.  I'll catch you in front of the mirror singing, or in the car when you think I'm not paying any attention.  You're joyful heart makes my own swell with joy.  

You're a girly girl through and through.  You love jewelry and dresses, nail polish and "tap" shoes, make-up (which I don't let you put anything on other than chapstick and the lightest pink eyeshadow possible) and nail polish.  

You love anything Disney Princess.  And you even act out the movies as you watch them.  Speaking of,  you're a little bit of a couch potato (which is partly my fault) but you love movies.  I've even gotten you to watch (and enjoy!) The Princess Bride, although there is a couple parts we have to avoid for now.  

And lastly, today you got your ears pierced.  You have been asking Daddy and Me for a little over a week.  We said we had to talk about it but that was mostly to see if you'd forget about it.  You didn't.  We had always said that whenever you wanted to get it done that it would be your choice.  Well here it was and you were not letting up.  

Every day you would ask. We finally said "yes" but had to let you know that it would hurt, even if only for a moment.  You were on the fence after that but quickly went back to wanting it done one your BFF Chloe wanted to get hers done with you.  It was final.  

So us mommas took you two girls out to get it done.  You went first and picked Hello Kitty earrings.  I didn't want to remind you that it would hurt because I was afraid you would chicken out.  You sat there so calmly, not knowing what was coming.  I felt so bad because I did.  But you did it.  You only cried for a few moments.  I held you and we hugged until the pain subsided.  Then you loved your newly pierced ears.  

My sweet girl.  You're getting so big.  And I'm loving every moment of every day.  No matter how you're acting that day, if you're being good or naughty, helpful or crazy (said: cArAzy!).  And even though it's going oh so very fast.  I love you.  Even more than the day you were born, if that's even possible.

Keep growing.  Keep learning.  Keep becoming who God has made you to be.  Keep being your amazing self.

I love you so, so much.

Momma.

17/30 Things: I wish I was great

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

The first thing that came to my mind was to be a great mom.  Sure, I still hope and pray that I am/will be a great mom as I go along.  I hope that one day my kids will look at me like I look at my own mom and find themselves blessed to have me as their momma.  I hope and pray.  But I think the thing that I want to be the greatest at is to be an excellent example of God's love and grace.
I want to love like he loves, forgive like he forgives, give grace, show compassion, give like he does.  When people see my, I want them to see past me and to see Christ.  I want them to know Christ through me in the way I live.  
A couple of things I need to really work on so that I am more Christ-like is in the area of grace and forgiveness.  Sometimes it's easier than others, like when others ask for forgiveness but it's when they don't, that's where I have the trouble.  To give forgiveness when they don't ask, when they continue on as they are, doing what they're doing, acting as they shouldn't. Continuing on with life as though they haven't hurt me when they clearly did and I'm still hurting and holding onto it even though they've clearly moved on!  
sigh
That's when I need to forgive just as Christ has forgiven me. Forgive the unforgivable.  Love the unlovable.  Be kind to those who are unkind.  
I feel that when I can do these things, be like Christ, show Christ through my life and actions, then I will be a great mom.  But being more like Christ must come first.  

An August Sum Up

I need to do a catch up!!  I'm so far behind... ugh.

August 3 Bryan and I celebrated our EIGHTH anniversary!  Huzzah!!  Since we were down at my mom's we celebrated by leaving the girls behind with gramma and going out for some BBQ.  And oh my word was it ever the most delicious amazingness.  In fact, it was so good that we went there again for lunch the next day.  Fan. Tast. Ic.

August 20 preschool started for Miss A.  They went ahead and put her with the 4 year olds even though she hasn't turned four yet.
If we were to stay here she would have to stay in this class for two years because she missed the cut off day by three hours.  That's alright though I suppose.  I'd rather her go three days a week for two years than two days a week for two years.
She's already loving it, and has already had a sick day.  She's learning so much and is making friends, which makes this mama happy.

August 24 Miss V turned 8 months!  EIGHT!!
She is only a little closer to crawling.  She's learned that she can move a foot underneath of her but doesn't really know what to do from there.  I'll lay her on her tummy, for the much needed tummy time that I neglected to give her sooner, and she will push herself backwards or in a circle but not forward, yet.
She's a champion circle maker!  She'll sit  and spin herself in circles with her feet.  Every now and again she will move backwards a bit but I don't think she'll do it on purpose.
And I think she's toying with the idea of pulling herself up to a standing position. She's not sure quite how to pull it off but she's definitely curious about it.
She'll also blow raspberries and is learning how to give kisses.
I think she's trying to add to her vocabulary of "dada" with "mama" but it's more of a "vava" since she's pulls her bottom lip while saying it.
Oh, and she's becoming a daddy's girl. Sweet thing,can't get enough of her daddy once she spots him. If he come downstairs for a quick bite or to use the restroom. He'll have to stop and spend a moment with her otherwise tears will ensue.
I don't need two daddy's girls though. One of them has to be a mama's girl!

16/30 Things: Greatest Accomplishments

{To know what I'm talking about, and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?


-Becoming a mom to my sweet baby girls. 

Growing as a person from a c-section with my first and then being able to do a vbac with my second.

-Graduating college. 

 I had to finish highschool with a GED and was determined to go to college and finish.  When I went to a Christian college, I didn't know what I wanted to gain from it and ended up giving up on it to get married to my sweetie.  I finally figured out what I wanted to do (ART!!) and went back to school and got my associates in Art.  I'm not sure what I want to do with it, if anything, but I got it, just like I wanted.

-Being able to get and stay out of debt.

Well, at least for the most part.  We still have our car and our house but other than that we are pretty well debt free.  Every now and again we'll have to put a little bit on our credit card but we are able to pay it off with only one or two payments.  It's nice.  We still need to become better at saving money but we'll get there.

-Going to Ecuador on a missions trip.

This was way out of my comfort zone.  To leave my (almost) 3 year old, while pregnant, and to go out of the counrty was frightening.  But I did it because I felt like that was what God was calling me to do.  And at least I had Bryan with me.  And I learned from it- who I am, who God wants me to be, and that I can do things I'm not entirely comfortable with and survive!  Huzzah.

-Being able to grow spiritually by forgiving past hurts and learning from them.
See number 6, as well as my own father, friendships, and even the family I'm close to.  Life it hard but you must learn from it and grow or you can wither and die.  It's a choice, your own choice, but God is good to teach you in love.  And that's what I choose.

{Btw- Sorry for the long haitus.  The month slowly and yet quickly got away from me.  I'll recap here when I get the chance.}

15/30 Things: Animal

{To know what I'm talking about and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}




15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?


This is easy! I'd be a polar bear, my favorite animal.  I  l o v e  these creatures!  They're beautiful, graceful, strong, courageous, protective, and determined.  When we go to the zoo I have to see these bears.  I love to watch them play and swim.  Their huge paws as they push off the glass.  I also love to see photos of them as they care for their young, hunt, play.  They rock.

14/30 Things: 5 Strengths

{To know what I'm talking about and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}



14.  Describe 5 strengths that you have.

I'm intimidating.

At least I look like I am.  Sometimes I can actually be intimidating but the looking part is definitly to my advantage at times.  Especially when I need to be intimidating.

I'm a good listener.

I'm still working on the not talking as much as I should be listening part but I'm getting there.  And I'm a good ear to just sit and be there for someone whenever they need.

I see good in others

For some reason I tend to see everyone as good.  Then, when they show their human side, I don't understand why they would do that when it's obvious not good.  For example, how could one man steal from another?  Don't they see that the man they're stealing from is working hard and trying to provide for his family?  But then on the flip side, how can one man walk past another when there is obviously a need?  Don't they see that this man is hungry?  Or in need of clothing? 

But this also applies to people I'm close to.  I tend to forgive too many times placing that person back into my life when I should just love them from a distance.  They've wronged me once, why on earth would they do it again knowing they hurt me before?

Gift of discernment

When I was in college I discovered I have the gift of discernment.  I get feelings or vibes about people. I can usually tell pretty quickly whether I can trust someone or not, if they're dangerous and I should run!,  or if they're a good person and worth being around, and the like.  I can also usually tell if something is going on and they need to talk, if problems are arising between people, or if someone needs to be left alone.  But the beauty of it is that I can tell these things when others can't. 

I love to Give

If I see a need I want to help.  When I see people on the street, if I get a feeling, I want need to help.  If someone around me needs something, I want to do something.  I love to give when it's truly needed.

13/30 Things: 5 Weaknesses

{To know what I'm talking about and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}


13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have.

Chocolate

I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there.  I love chocolate.  There.  I said it.  Whew!  But sometimes I turn to chocolate in times of stress instead of praying.  I'll take my frustrations to Toblerone instead of God.  Chocolate and I just need to find a respectful middle ground.

Sleep

I like to sleep.  I blame this on my hypothyroid because before that happened I didn't need as much sleep.  But now I feel like I need tons and I don't balance it well.  I'm a night owl so I want to stay up with my hubby after the girls go to bed.  That's also when I feel most productive for cleaning, art, and exercising.  It's like it takes all day for my body to wake up and want to do stuff.  Silly thyroid.

Making New Friends

I'm not really good at making new friends, or small talk with people I don't know in general.  It's hard. It's awkward.  It's uncomfortable.  I think this is in part because I'm afraid of the first impression that I'm going to make.  I'm terrified that people won't like me because it feels like people have to warm up to me anyway.  And until they do I'm kind of a question mark as to whether or not they want to get to know me.  Ugh.. but I keep trying because I like folks.  I just don't know if the folks like me.

Unsolicited Advice

Sometimes I have a habit of giving advice when someone doesn't ask for it.  Sometimes they're just venting and just need a listening ear.  But I want to help!  However, they don't always want the help, just the ear.  I'm working on it though.

My Sharp Tongue

I have always had a sharp tongue and a temper.  My gramma always taught me James 1:19 - Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.  For a man's anger does not bring out the righteous life that God desires.  Ouch.  So I had to learn to think before I spoke.  Not an easy task but I got better at it.  I'm still working on it but I'm miles from where I started.  I do still have a tendency to turn arguments around on someone else placing them at fault (Sorry Bryan) but I'm working on that too.

12/30 Things: A Typical Day

{To know what I'm talking about and to see previous 30 Things posts, start here}

12.Describe a typical day in your current life.

Well, this is pretty easy seeing as how my life is boring!!  Ok, not really, just routine because that's what my kiddos like and enjoy.  So here we go.

7:30-9:00  am

This is the time frame in which we all wake up.  It varies, depends on how busy we were the night before, how the night went, and what we have going on that day.

9:00 am -12:00 pm

In this time we have breakfast, get dressed for the day, do our chores.  We'll also run errands and do any crafts in this time as well. Get it all done before the big nap.  

12:00 pm 

Lunch time!

1:00 pm

This is V's nap time.  She will probably have had a little snooze in the car if we were out and about but this is the big one.  She'll lie down for about 2-3 hours.  Sometimes I'll lie down with her and A will watch a movie.  It doesn't always work out this nicely but sometimes. 

3:00 -4:00 pm

Hang out time.  Watch a movie if it hasn't already been done, run to the grocery store if need be, hang out.

4:00 pm 

Time to make supper

5:00 - 5:30 pm

Supper time

5:30 -8:00 pm

Depending on the night and what's going on, but this is usually our family time and bath time if it's needed.

8:00 - 8:30 pm 

Time for the girls to get ready for bed and then it's their bed time.  We'll read Bible stories, have a snack of milk and bunny grahams, and snuggle for Miss A. For Miss V, it's rocking, nursing, and snuggling.  

9:30ish pm

Momma and Daddy time.  This is where we'll actually get to just relax and hang out, have adult conversation that doesn't involve Tangled or arguing over snacktime.

Anywhere from 10:00 to 11:30 pm 

Is bed time for us grownups.  Gotta get our beauty rest for another typical day.

11/30 Things: Pet Peeves

{To know what I'm talking about and to see previous 30 Things, start here}

11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

1. When I can hear people chew.  Open mouths, chomping, the sound of food squishing as it's being chewed up.  Ugh.. 

2. Wet, loose hair.  In clumps, loose, whatever.  It's gross.

3. Bad drivers.  Those who don't use their blinkers, wait until the last minute to get over when their lane is closing, people who get in front of you just to slow down and turn.  

4. People who expect the world out of you and then do nothing in return.  

5. When people talk whine about things in their lives and then don't want to hear advice of how to fix the problem.

6. Or when people think the world revolves around them.  

7. When someone says "Oh my God"  it pains me.  Or "OMG".  That's just annoying.  Swear words fall into this category too. I just don't want to hear it.

8. When a mess is made RIGHT AFTER I CLEANED THAT VERY SAME ROOM.

9. How there is sexuality everywhere.  Half naked people, sexual suggestions or the way people talk.  Let's have a little more respect for ourselves and each other.  Goodness.

10. When I forget to trim V's nails and she scratches and or pinches me as she nurses.  OUCHIE!!