What'd you expect?

When we repeat the same habits over and over again, what do we expect? Things to change? They won't. They can't. We are doing the same actions/thoughts/reactions repeatedly. We aren't changing. I guess we expect others to change or the environment to change or magic to happen. But magic isn't real. It's an illusion.

Don't you think we all do that? We all expect things to change without changing ourselves. WE have to be the ones to produce change.

I'm seeing this play out in my everyday life. My marriage, my relationship with my sons, my work, and my family. I am seeing beautiful, wonderful changes. I'm the one who is making it happen. I see that when I change, I make my life happier. And I mean change for the better.

Change, for me, came in the form of REprioritizing and really embracing the Holy Spirit within me. If I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me then I can't go wrong.

I am also talking about health changes. I am still not doing so hot in that department but I'm not awful either. How do I actually get to the point where change is manageable? I am still trying to figure that out. I'm obviously not there yet. I hope to get there one day but until then I will continue to seek changes where needed.

Any change in the right direction deserves celebration. CELEBRATE the little things. Don't overlook them. We, as women, so often overlook the minor things.

Lovely

It has been such a lovely week. I know it's only Monday but I'm talking about a lovely week since last Monday.

Julian and I have been in such great moods with each other and because we are going through an intense, thought provoking series at church we have been in conversation all week. Literally, all week. We have NEVER done that before (unless we were fighting and the fight kept going on and on and on). I love it. We are learning about each other. We are learning about our kids. We are loving each other deeper than ever. It truly is amazing what God can do for husbands and wives. He is the center of it all and we revolve around Him.

I have a new, profound love for my babies. I was getting really irritated with them recently and now I have a new sense of patience and respect for them. They are my blessings and I should treat them as such. They are the tangible evidence of my love for Julian. They are so incredibly wonderful.

The power of prayer and trust does wonders. Respect and love go hand in hand. Thank you Jesus for showing me how to love Julian and Tristan & Aiden. Thank you for loving me JUST AS I AM!

What Happened?!

to my sweet boys eating habits? Tristan used to eat anything and everything. Aiden has always been a bit picky. Now both of them are the pickiest eaters. Aiden is actually not that bad, he just wants to be the one feeding himself. He doesn't like green things though. But if I put something on a plate and let him feed himself (and make a big mess along the way) then he is okay. Tristan on the other hand, is not. He is in the phase/stage where everything is "Ewww". It doesn't get a nasty look as long as it is covered in sugar or is crispy like a cracker or chip.

It's very hard to make a menu. I get very sad when I make something and they both turn their noses up to it. I am trying my best though.

What's a Mom to do?

On the Mend

FINALLY we are getting normal again. We have had some sort of funky germs in our presence for three or more weeks now. That is a very long time folks. I was sick for a week and a half. Julian was sick for only a few days and Tristan was sick off and on for about two weeks. Aiden has been fine.

I finally was getting over my ick (Tristan was fine now minus a bit of a cough and Aiden's nose was a bit runny but I think this weird weather caused that) when Julian came down with flu. THE FLU! This was Monday. Today is Thursday. I went to work on Monday and when I got there I saw how bad Julian was doing. Yes, we work together. He went home right away. When I got home later that day, I immediately made sure he was okay and then left the house with the boys. I didn't want to get the flu. We didn't get flu shots this year. Well, Tristan got one of two shots and Aiden didn't any, neither did I. I had a surgical mask I wore and I even slept on the couch. I was staying as far away from those flu germs as possible.

I am very happy to report that Julian is MUCH better (he went back to work today) and the boys and I managed to avoid the ick. We are all doing good. Tristan still has a cough, not sure what that's all about, and Aiden is doing great as usual.

Praise God! Thank you for your prayers.

is this typical?

It's 6:36 p.m. right now. My family of four sat down for dinner at probably 6:15. The protesting of dinner began at 6:14. Aiden cried almost the whole time and we ended up turning his high chair towards the wall in the corner because we aren't supposed to cry at dinner. Mean, maybe. Do I care? NO. Did he eventually stop crying? Yes. Did he start up again? Duh.

Tristan finally ate all his food. Yay. Aiden ended having three bites and that was it. The whining hasn't stopped. Aiden is still crying. Why you might ask. Well, he wants to play with his fork to play with his food. Not eat it. We don't play with forks. We eat with forks. So no fork for Aiden. Hence the whining still.

Julian is in Aiden's room getting him ready for bed because I am about ready to explode if I have to listen to his whining/crying any more today. I'm done.

So overall here how it went: Four sat down for dinner. Two people ate, two people cried. One faced the wall for part of dinner. Dinner was quick because it was miserable and trying to talk to one another was a joke. One child is now watching a movie while the other is *hopefully* going to bed. Mommy is blogging because she might explode otherwise. She doesn't want to yell and complain so she writes it down instead this time.

This all happened in 21 minutes.