All Things Chic

Remember when I used to blog for Chic Critique?  That was a fun gig talking about girly stuff all the time.

Anyway, Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife  creator of Chic Critique and Girlymama have merged their style blogs to create  All Things Chic!  Check it out!

Keep Dancing

Some of you know what my job is because I go to church with you and I work on Sundays at church.  For those of you that don't - I work on Sundays at my church.   My job is to work with an amazing team of volunteers that are there to make our church the welcoming and warm place that it is.  It may look like we are just parking cars and handing out bulletins when in fact, we are so much more!

There is a lot to remember, a lot to do and the day just flies by as I work with the different teams, welcome guests and spend time with volunteers.   It is an energizing day for me actually.  

I have to admit something, though -  just between you and me. 

I often feel like I didn't do enough.   Sometimes I even feel like I failed at my job.  I look back on the day and I think, "I could have done that better." Or "I missed that!"

It didn't really occur to me that I thought this way until I was having a conversation with my B.  She's getting ready for a talent show and has choreographed a 3 minute dance routine.   She dances all the time and is in several recitals a year.   She's a pro! 

Anyway, she was rehearsing for me and after she finished she became very critical of her performance.  She was saying things like, "I could have done that better."  And,  "I missed that!"

It hurts me because all I see is this amazing dance!  I don't even notice the one thing she missed or the move that she needs to work on.  I see my beautiful child who prepared for and remembered 3 minutes of choreographed moves! I am almost always moved to tears as I watch her dance. Even when she was just 3 years old!   She has grown into this beautiful young dancer who finds so much pleasure in doing it.

You know, I'm pretty sure God feels the same way about me on a Sunday.  I bet he doesn't even notice the things I missed or could have done better.  I'll bet he is so excited at how I prepare and dance through the whole day.

It probably hurts him to hear me criticize myself so much.  And when you get right down to it -  I'm focusing on my own performance and not Him.  I'm pretty sure that's a little thing called Pride.  It comes in  many forms doesn't it?

Look What I Found In My Bathroom Sink Today

Boys. I'm so glad I get to raise two of them. :)


Apparently, this alligator is going to grow.  We have now found him a new home so that we can use the bathroom sink again.  

Favorite Apps

Well, I finally got the iPhone for Christmas! Yay! I love this phone. I think I've been waiting my whole life for a phone like this. :)

So, I've started downloading some apps

I love this new one called Momento - I can record moments like Baby T rolling over and my daughter doing the splits on both legs in dance class or Bubby getting a new belt in TKD. A special date night -whatever. It's like a diary in my phone and I can tag it and catagorize it just like my blog except it's private. Unless I want it to be on Facebook or Twitter and then I can link it. Or even download it to another place on my computer. It's not free but it is cool!

I also downloaded The Holy Bible, Angry Birds, Weather Channel, the Dictionary, Pandora, some talking cat, google calendar, my local news station, All Recipes, Facebook and Twitter. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pandora. It's my #1 favorite. Oh well, Facebook is but I still have some quirk with downloading photos to Facebook through my phone. Dislike.

So, what is your favorite? Free would be best, but I'm willing to pay a small fee. :)

Thanks!

Wait For It...

 
This word of the year is getting to be trendy now.  But I'm still picking one. Actually, this will be the third year that I have picked a word to represent my upcoming year.   

Last year was Surrender and, boy howdy, was it a year of surrendering - absolutely positively a year of turning my life over to God and just accepting MUCH change.

Since I cannot do my life without Jesus and the last year solidified that, I thought this year that I would see what God has to say about my word of the year.  Novel idea, huh?

So, this year's word has a verse attached.    A word backed up with a verse for the year -  I'm changing the trend.  :)

I felt a strong pull to the word WAIT this year.  I can tell you that on the heels of SURRENDER, I was not thrilled.    I like DO, GO, CONTROL.  Surrendering and waiting seem kinda passive when you first think about them.

But they really aren't passive at all.   Surrendering your own plan and yielding to God's does not come without difficulty.  It's not easy to let go.  It takes great strength to surrender and wait.    And I'm pretty sure you gotta learn to surrender control over your life to wait and see what God has planned for it.  So, it's perfect timing that I would learn about surrendering so I could learn about waiting.   Don't you just love our God!?!?

This year our family has some big stuff coming up.  Some of it is not so pleasant and much of it requiring ultimate change in our life.   In thinking through our upcoming year, I jokingly thought about my word being RUN or HIDE.  :)   Really though,  it's difficult to look at these upcoming events all at once and not want to just take control right now.   And while I want to do that, God has clearly instructed me not to.   He is working in our life and I just need to be patient.  

As I thought over my word the first couple days of 2011,  this scripture came up in one of my morning devotions.   January 2 to be exact. 

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you.  Psalm 5:3

What the heck does that have to do with waiting, Janel?

A lot actually.
It's about me praying instead of acting.    WAITING to see God's hand in our life.  WAITING in faith until the answer to my prayers come...or doesn't come. 

And maybe in waiting on God's answer, he will tell me to MOVE or GO.   Like the picture above of my son waiting for the wave so he can jump on it and ride it out.  But until then...

...I WAIT.

So that's it!  I'd love to hear yours. 

Getting So Big!

My kids have been off of school for 4 weeks now!  These long track-outs are fun until about this time and we have one more week!  They get bored and fight a lot.    I do love not having to pack lunches and homework every night.    It's nice to have the break in our routine, but I'm ready now to have a little more structure again.

Anyway, here are some recent photos of the kids from B's birthday in November and Christmas time.   They are getting too big! 

I guess a little recap of the year would be a nice addition for those that are not on Facebook with me.   So if you are interested - read on, otherwise just enjoy the pictures! 

The kids stay busy busy.  B is in 4 dance classes and made the Apprentice Dance team this year.  She dances almost every day and really enjoys it.  When Baby T was born we moved her room into what was our play room.   It's had a complete transformation into a dream bedroom for a girl.  We even added a very large mirror for her to dance in front of.   She spends a lot of time choreographing her own routines.  Her favorite dance seems to be tap and jazz although she likes the structure of ballet and is starting to enjoy the movements of modern.   She continues to excel in school and this year has made chorus, student council and received a Spotlight On Student award.    That was a great honor as she was presented that award in front of the school board for our county.   She is an AMAZING help to me with the baby.  I'm very thankful for that.

Bubby continues to enjoy Tae Kwon Do and is now an orange belt.  He is requesting that we start letting him go to the sparring and board breaking classes so I think we will see him grow in this area a lot more this year.  So far, it's been the only sport he shows great interest in, although we plan to try out basketball this year.  He does want to play t-ball again in the Spring. He told me last year he really enjoyed playing right field - too funny!   He also got a re-vamp on his room with the arrival of Baby T.  My sister in law came and painted all of the kids rooms with murals.  They are awesome.  She posted pictures on her website - A Color Affair.
Bubby also does really well in school - especially math.  He loves to socialize and often gets fussed at for that - I have no idea where it comes from!  :) His favorite thing to do is just play outside with friends.  I think he would do nothing else, including eat, if I'd let him. 

Baby T continues to thrive and bring much joy to our lives.    We have started to fall into a good routine of having 3 kids although it is pure craziness some days.   Crazy joyful bliss!   He's rolling over and eating cereal now.  I can't believe how fast it goes.  He laughs all the time and is really just an easy, go with the flow baby.  He has to be!

Hubby is still running our business which we hope will improve as the economy improves.  We have several new salespeople that are working hard and he enjoys training with them.  He recently started a new bible study with some great guys from church - he is really enjoying that.  Golfing is still his favorite past time although, we've had a cold winter and that prevents him from doing that much. 

I'm still working part-time at our church as a Volunteer Coordinator for the campus in our community (we have two).  It is both demanding and rewarding.  I do love it and feel so thankful to be a part of what God is doing with our church.   It's great that I can take Baby T to work with me and also have flexibility for my family.   It's been a big transition for our family but has blessed us in many ways.    Mostly, by working outside the home, it has encouraged me to put things in perspective and prioritize my life.   There just is not time to take on more than you can handle, so I let a lot of things go.   I needed to do that.  

Anyway - that is what's happening here!  We'd love to hear from you and appreciate the recaps we get in the Christmas cards.  It's nice to stay updated.  I'm on Facebook and update a lot there, too.  Friend me!

This is my favorite picture of Baby T over the holidays. This is truly his little smile - such a joy!

My Bubby - oh, how he melts my heart with those eyes!

My B - getting so big.  We have some great conversations lately.  She is an amazing helper for me.

Always a silly boy - he hates pictures so he acts up for most of them. 

B turning 10!  Getting ready to enjoy some homemade cheesecake - her favorite!

Baby T is 5 1/2 months old! Hard to believe.  He's rolling over all over the place.