Little things

There's nothing quite like a cozy bed...and hopping in at 9. I gotta savor these early nights, because soon enough I'll see 2am {and 3 & 4...} for reasons other than a quick bathroom run. Seriously, March will be here before we even know it!

Which reminds me... I'm preggers. 27 weeks preggers to be exact. Do you believe me? I was all over the blog when I was pregnant with Jude; posting about every little detail and a pic to go along with it. I sorta feel bad that this pregnancy is flying by and I haven't paid very close attention. I guess that's what happens to those poor second children {I would know. I'm one of them}. I haven't even taken one belly bump pic. I should really get on that...

Until then, I want to just show you my adventurous firstborn as he 'kick kicks' in the 'wa wa'. This child needs to get in swimming lessons ASAP. He has no fear of the water whatsoever, and instead does everything he can to freak out his mama as he dunks his head in all the way under {and pops up with a smirk}. Get a good look folks, you just might be seeing the next Michael Phelps.

Nighty night!

Christmas

We are home. Jude is asleep in his own bed and we are about to do the same.

I gotta say, there's nothing like being together with family for the holidays, even if you have a feisty, way-past-tired toddler most of the time. We love our families for loving us and dealing with the craziness we bring {in the form of a small child--next year it will be 2, get excited!}

Consider yourself lucky, dear readers, because this is the one and only family photo we got of ourselves the whole trip. Yep. You heard it right. Nothing like a quick 'heading out the door, let's snap a pic of our unshowered selves just so we have one' shot. Cause that's what we got here. And although it's not our finest of photos, it's us in all our Christmas glory.

So from us to you, Merry, merry, merry Christmas!

Be Merry

Just a little something to make you merry. 

Sometimes I wish Christmastime could last all year long!

I can't even imagine

I'm not going to write a lot about what happened at Sandy Hook, mostly because I don't even know where to begin and at this point, I'm not sure I can clearly articulate how I feel.

But there are a few things I do know. 

I know that I'm a mom, and to lose a child would be the absolute worst thing in the entire world.

I know that I'm a teacher.  I taught elementary school for 5 years.  I know that when we practiced lockdown situations, the kids were even scared then.  And it was practice.  They had a zillion questions and 'what ifs'.  I can't even imagine what the kids would be like in a real situation, or how I would be, and how I would begin to calm them down.

I know that when you're a teacher, those kids aren't just your students.  They're your kids.  And you love them.  And sometimes they even love you.  And that classroom is sacred.  It's beautiful.  It's full of love and learning and the thought of otherwise makes me literally sick to my stomach.

I know that one thing we need to do in all of this is forgot about the killer.  I don't want to know 'why' he did it, or what was going on in his life.  I don't want to spend hours on TV concocting an excuse for his behavior.  I want him out of my mind.  We should all want him out of our minds.  NO MORE TALK OF HIM.  Because that's exactly what he wants.  And we've gotta stop giving it to him.

I know that we need to talk about the heroes in this.  They NEED to be household names.  The teachers and staff who gave their lives protecting their students.......we need to know who they are, what they did and we need to figure out how our lives can benefit from their example.  They need to be on every news channel, their actions praised up and down.  We need to make this about them.

I know that there are 20 little angels who didn't need to go to heaven so soon.  However, I also know they're not sad.  I know they're not hurting.  I know they will still have the BEST Christmas ever this year.  I know they're experiencing the most joy right now, joy we can't even imagine because it's heaven, and we can't comprehend it yet. 

I know that this is a situation of Good vs. Evil.  There has always been evil in this world.  Unfortunately, there always will be.  Because of this, we NEED God in our lives.

I know that our society and culture needs to start putting God first.  We need to stop worrying about political correctness and 'offending' those who don't believe.  You know who's offended when you act like He's not there?  God.

I know that in the end, Good always defeats Evil.


God Bless us all.

Hubby's birthday

Well, for the next 11 days I am not a cougar. Welcome to 27, love!

I can't believe I snagged such a good catch.

Jude says he's lucky to have the most awesome truh playing dada.

And Baby Girl loves you for letting momma buy all those cute clothes for her.

Happy birthday! You are our everything!

On having it all

I get like this during the holiday season.  I want to have it all.  I want to buy everything.  I want to shop, shop and then shop some more.  I want to get people gifts, expensive ones, even if we can't afford it.  My jealousy starts to come out.  I see people buying things and think, why can't I have that?  If they can afford it, then so can I!

But in reality, I know I can't.  I know that we have a budget, and that we're really good at sticking to it.  Maybe the people who are buying things are in debt.  Maybe they can't afford it either, but are adding it to their credit card and 'worrying about it later.'  After all, that's what our society teaches, and heck, that's what our government is doing, so what's the big deal?  If they're not accountable, then why do I have to be?

The big deal, in my personal opinion, is that it's important to be smart with your money. To be proud that you have no credit card debt, and that you're able to pay off each bill in full, each month.  That's important to us, and that's how we live our life.  Our parents instilled in us the ability to shop sales, to look for deals and to understand that even if you have the money, you don't have to have it all, to have it all.

Growing up, I literally thought we were poor.  And during parts of it, we probably were.  Now that I understand a little more closely how the medical field works..... (aka you acquire tons of student loan debt while going to school for a zillion years, then get paid less than minimum wage for the hours you put in during residency (4 years at least for my dad and Chris), then continue that trend for a few more years while you work on your fellowship, only to come out like 10 years later to hopefully find a job in a decent city that might actually pay a salary you completely deserve - did you hear all that?  Sidenote: don't EVER complain about any doctors to me ever because I happen to respect the guts out of ALL of them.} .......I'm able to look back and see that although my parents could afford most of what they wanted, they never let us think that we could have everything we wanted.  Whether they knew it or not, they instilled in us the mindset that having money to buy it all, won't bring you the all you're really looking for.  That true happiness comes from appreciating what you've got now and not worrying about 'the all' you don't have.

I always ask Chris, who's more money conscience than anyone I know, if we'll splurge on things when we're able to.  Naturally, it excites me to think of the day when we won't have to be as restricted with our budget.  He agrees to a certain point that we might buy nicer things, but in all honesty, I think our mindset will always be the same.  I think we'll still go to Target for fun, just to look at what's on clearance.  I think we'll always be patient enough to wait til it's on sale or find the best deal online.  And clearly we're more than ok with that.

I find this mindset to be the biggest blessing because in reality you never know what could happen tomorrow.   What if for some reason we never make it to the time when our budget is bigger?  What if Obama screws doctors and healthcare like he's planning to and Chris will never see the monetary benefits of all his hard work?  What if Chris's health makes him unable to work and provide for us the way he's hoped?  What if, what if, what iffffff? 

I'll tell you what if.....if those things happen, we'll be fine.  We'll be fine because we realize life isn't all about things.  It's not about having quantity, but quality.  There was a billboard in Omaha that simply read, "The best things in life aren't things."  Um, hello, did you hear that?  Leave it to Omaha for those good old life lessons.  Life isn't about things.  It's not about how much stuff you have or how many gifts you can buy people.  It's about the little moments that bring you joy.  It's about finding what's important to you and appreciating it. 

For me, I have it all because I'm able to stay home with Jude; I have a roof over my head that just so happens to be perfect for us; I have a husband who is the strongest, most genuine, caring, loving person I have ever met; I have a baby on the way who I already love; I have siblings that I not only get along with, but that I'm proud to say are related to me; I have parents that gave me the world and continue to support and love me; and last, but not least, I have faith that gives me the comfort to know that everything will always be ok if you just trust in word and action. 

Guys, good news, don't let the world fool you,  you most certainly can have it all, without having it all! 

You know, just in case you needed the reminder.



Our morning

Snippets of our morning during Christmastime:

• wake up around 7:20
• turn on Curious George
• grab milk for Jude & coffee for me {yep, I'm drinking it this pregnancy}
• kiss daddy goodbye if he hasn't already left {make sure he has coffee in hand}
• admire the view aka tree and mantel
• watch The Cat in the Hat
• eat breakfast
• change out of pjs

I've never been a morning person, and I don't think there's hope I'll ever be one, but starting my day like this makes it so much easier!