Growth barometer

I am usually not a big fan of the 'New Year Resolutions' lists as it usually turns to disappointment over a list of 'improvements to self' that ends up broken/unfulfilled/failed.

I do choose to look at my new year in the light of what are some things/areas about myself that I would like to see growth in, which doesn't always mean it will happen, but at least there was an attempt to accomplish.

Yet...January 3rd comes and goes. January 12th moves by without notice. January 20th slips in and out without a whisper of hello and here we are January 26th, 2010 and it struck me...Have I been concentrating/focusing on any of the hopes I had for this new year? Or like each and every year, after the 1st passes I dare not give another thought to how/what my growth has been until the next new rolls around and once again I put the same hopes/wishes into place for that new year?

Here is a little excerpt of what I wrote this January about my upcoming year:

My Hope for this new year is that I will grow more and more healthy ~ physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly SPIRITUALLY ~ with each and every new day...starting yesterday (since of course this is January 2nd). I want to follow Christ like I have never followed Him before.

So I ask myself:
1. what have I been doing to grow more healthy physically? I am taking a class to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle with my eating & exercising.
2. what have I been doing to grow more healthy mentally? I can honestly say I am really not sure what this one looks like. The class I am taking will also touch on all of those mental thoughts/ideas/lies we have playing over and over in our head in relation to eating & exercise (i.e. I can't lose weight because my metabolism is poor)
3. what have I been doing to grow more healthy emotionally? Wow, this one will be challenging and I'm not sure how to do this right now. I actually believe this will manifest itself in the growth I will experience with the other 3 areas.
4. what have I been doing to grow more healthy SPIRITUALLY? Easy right?!? Wrong! This one actually will be the most difficult for me as between the "guilt & supposed to" messages playing in my head, it will require a TON of self discipline, perseverance, commitment and determination! I was struck by something our pastor said on Sunday that basically the gist of it was 'if you aren't reading your bible (the ultimate Life manual) then you can't really call yourself a Christian'! It made me think how often I will quickly without thinking pick up a novel and spend 2 hours reading or sit at my computer spending 2 hours surfing/blogging, etc and yet it's all I can do to pick up my bible for 5 minutes and read it! ~ There, I've been found out! Honesty to the core ~TODAY I will sit in the Word and spend time with the One who gave me LIFE!

I figure if I make the commitment to monthly check myself for growth, it will be a whole lot easier to motivate myself rather than missing 6+ months and finding it just to hard to compete with the time that has passed.

So...I have to ask ~ how are You doing with your New Year's List; how's Your growth?

Memory Lane

I guess I was feeling a bit nostalgic this morning and found myself going through my pictures files on my computer and decided I would do a little "see how they've grown" post.

2001

Summer/early Fall 2002

2003

2004

2005

Winter/Summer 2006

2007

2008

2009

Brotherly love, playdates and Princess Parties

Nothing better than a little brotherly lovin'

Spending a little quality time with Mr. T

Little Miss A and Princess Abigail having a playdate. Little Miss A just became a new Big Sister so we were giving Mom a bit of R & R time with the new baby!

Mr. T trying to get in on the fun

What's a playdate without having mid-morning tea?

Looks like baby-cakes is getting the hang of this 'tea' thing. She calls it her 'special china tea cup'

Little Miss A watching closely to see how this whole 'tea' thing is done.


Abigail was invited to her first "Princess Party" for Miss A's birthday. She was so excited to put on her special party dress. They got to decorate their own travel mug with stickers and color markers (way cool).

Waiting patiently for the next activity.

Group photo op - say "CHHEEEZZZ!"

Over the meadow and through the woods...

to Grandmother's house I did NOT go,

but rather across the ferry and over the bridge to Sequim I indeed did go!

Here we go a wassailing I surely did not do,
but rather there I went a wrestling to the tournament or two!

Thou doth watch thy eldest battle
Who like a good and hardy soldier fought
From dawns light till stars hath appeared
Took thy place upon thee 2nd throne.

Err, wait a minute.
Did thou really write Shakespearean?
I must be losing my mind...

Okay, not really. Tanner and Noah are in an upcoming Shakespeare play "A Comedy of Errors" and most of the language I am hearing around the house these days is Shakespearean. Couple that with wrestling tournaments, practice and matches and the 'above' is what you get.

I did get the chance to attend yet another tournament for Dalton this past weekend. I was blessed to have my mom go along and share the drive, hotel room, long hours sitting on the wooden bleachers (way to go mom - you're a trooper), of course a few trip to Starbucks and a stop into this lovely little lavender shop, where I have found the only lavender 'dog shampoo' that actually cleans and keeps our dog smelling good for a loooooong time.
[sidenote: lavender is a natural flea repellant - it won't kill them but you use it as a preventative to keep them away]


And of course, what would a post be without something from our sweet baby-cakes? Princess Abigail LOVES tea! She loves the taste, the experience of having tea with mommy, the whole sha-bang. She does not want tea in her cup as that is NOT the way you drink tea. She wants it from one of my coffee cups - like mommy/daddy. Yet, my coffee cups are pretty substantial and a bit heavy. So I have recently introduced her to my 'special China tea cups' that I have collected through either gifts and/or hand downs from my grandmother. They are light and easy to hold and Princess knows she's all that and then some by using it.


What does one do when they want to get ALL of the stew out of their bowl and their hair is in the way???

Problem solved!!!

It's about time!!!

Can anyone tell me why whenever a blog post formulates inside my head I am either away from my computer, not near pen/paper or anything else to record the data on. It just widely runs through my brain at speeds I don't even recognize!

{January 2009}

It was New Year's Eve evening and we were driving to our friends house for dinner and it started! I said to Brian, "I feel a blog post brewing" and sadly in my age-ed state do you think I could remember all the details??? But, if I am not mistaken it had something to do with the ending of an old year and the beginning of another.

{February 2009}

The easy thing to do would be to go back over the past year of blog posts and Wah-La I would have a beautiful blog post of review high-lights. But what fun would that be.

The reality is this...2009 was a year that we Lived, Loved, Laughed!

{March 2009}

There were many of those days that we Lived well and others that we did not. There were days were we Loved to the fullest and days where we had to reach deep down into the Father's resources because it did not come naturally. There were months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and even seconds where we Laughed so hard our sides ached and then there were those times when we didn't feel like laughing as it was just too hard!

{April 2009 - even though the date on picture says otherwise}

We Lived, Loved, Laughed through depression, job loss, financial un-rest, birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, school year, employment, flooding, displacement, flu/crud, remodeling, so much more and GOD was there through it all guiding, protecting, caring, loving... YET, did we LIVE for God? LOVE God with all that we are? Laugh with GOD through the good & bad?

{May 2009}

Will 2010 be different? Yes it has a different number. Yes, we will all grow a year older, a year wiser (hopefully, right?), a little grey-er, but I am not talking about the physical "things" around us that will change rather I am talking about the internal stuff...heart stuff...the stuff that really matters!

{June 2009}

My Hope for this new year is that I will grow more and more healthy ~ physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly SPIRITUALLY ~ with each and every new day...starting yesterday (since of course this is January 2nd). I want to follow Christ like I have never followed Him before.

{July 2009}

I am going to Live life...LOVING to the fullest!!!

{August 2009}

{September 2009}

{October 2009}


{November 2009}

{December 2009 ~ Blah, Blah, Blah...let's get on with 2010 why don't we}