New beginnings!

Today is Friday, August 24, 2012.

This means a few things:

1) The weekend is here!
2) This is our last full weekday of having Daddy home. Back to school on Monday!
3) In four short months, Jon will be graduating.

I am thankful for new beginnings. Last semester wasn't too bad- summer was slowly creeping up on us and things were warming up. We were able to get out of the house because of that and because Dawson was a little less mobile and a little less of a handful. This semester, however, will be drastically different- fall into winter, cold weather, stuck inside, not a ton to do. And let's face it- my kids, as beautiful and precious as they are, are NOT fun to take pretty much anywhere solo right now. 

Noah is three and a ball of energy (as kids his age should be). I've seen him "mature" over the past few months as he continues to become a lot more self-sufficient. Nevertheless, he still is not nice to his brother in the least and I can't leave the two of them alone for long. Tell-tale sign of your child getting into trouble= awkward silence. Calm before the storm. Silence before tears. Wait for it... it's coming. Here it comes! Yep, he did something awful to his brother. Dawson cries. I can almost pinpoint the action (pushing, hitting, laying on top of/crushing, smothering) depending on the time of day and what room they're in. It's getting ridiculous. I am excited for the day that Dawson can hold his own.

Speaking of which, Dawson, my little angel boy (although he still carries that title) is not a joy during most outings these days. He's still napping twice during the day, so trying to plan a family outing without running into a nap time is near impossible. He hates being in the car, a shopping cart, stroller, etc. The kid HATES to be constrained. 

I have learned a few things this summer- things I already knew, but things I didn't do or didn't do quite often enough. Let's just call this list my New Semester Resolutions. Nice ring.

1) Go grocery shopping (or any kind of shopping, for that matter) a-l-o-n-e. 

It's one thing to take the kids to a store to roam around aimlessly, but DO NOT DO IT if I need to get any sort of shopping done. Don't do it- unless I only need ONE thing, I can manage one thing. (Or can I? Story to follow...)

Before I get to point #2, here's a quick little story.

The other day, we head to Target (this is very typical for our family). We enter Starbucks (YES!) to get a pick-me-up. Dawson's in the cart, and Noah's with Jon. Jon tells me he's heading over to the bakery to get the boys cookies (yes, we bribe them when needed) and I thought for sure that he was taking Noah along. He comes back, cookies in hand and asks, "Where's Noah?" Feeling the panic start to settle in, I assume that the barista at Starbucks won't mind babysitting for Dawson as I frantically run around Target yelling for my child. We find him, not too far away, wandering. I swear... this kid would be just fine if we left him. You know the old, "Well, we're leaving, so you better come with us!" and-then-hide-so-he-thinks you're-gone trick? Yeah, well, that doesn't work on Noah. He'd be fine with that. I'm sure he'd spend hours in the toy department and then clear out the candy aisle before realizing we were no longer there. I thank the Starbucks girl for watching Dawson without any warning/consideration on my behalf. I jokingly tell her that I wish she could add a shot of Kahlua into that drink she's making for us... and then on a serious note, I ask her to at least add a shot of espresso. Grab the drink, good to go. We continue on, trying to get a few things that we need. Now- Jon and I are BOTH THERE. You would think this would be easy, right? One kid per parent. WRONG. After a few short minutes of Dawson's constant whining and having to talk Noah into getting up from his tantrum on the floor, we were out of there, empty-handed. Nothing at that point was worth enduring another second of how awful our kids were being. Nada.

2) I need a break.

At least a good four hour block of time, alone, every week to do whatever I want. We'll resume our "nights" this semester- we'll each take one night a week to go out for around four hours to do whatever we feel like doing. (I've had to come to terms with the fact that Jon DOES need a break, too, and although his really isn't from the kids (because he's gone all week at school), he really does still need the break.) Often, I would use my night to run errands or get some things done, but that is a bigggggggg, big no-no. This semester, I vow to use my night as time to do something FOR ME and for me only. Jon usually spends his time taking pictures. I spent a lot of my time getting groceries or other things, dropping this off here, picking this up there... and although it is okay to make a stop or two along the way, my whole time was spent doing things I needed to get done for the sake of our family, and I would return home feeling like I never really got the break I needed (so, so badly).

3) We thrive on a schedule. 

We spent our summer the way my husband is wired- flying by the seat of our pants. Yes, it was fun... it truly was, but I was just reminded of how badly our family needs structure. I have to plan meals. I have to stay on top of the bills and other paperwork. I need a cleaning schedule. My kids need a routine (naps/bedtime). We need scheduled date nights. 

A schedule, aside from being something I personally need, is something that helps our family thrive. Life is so much more organized and well-balanced when things get done on time and are maintained. This summer has been a whole lot of letting things go and trying to get caught up. And you know what that means, right? We're still not caught up. Now, I'm not expecting perfection- I know this is not realistic with a 3-year-old and 16-month-old. However, I do desire a schedule and being able to stay on top of things instead of drowning in  my to-do lists. 

4) I need God. Every day.

Quiet time has always been a struggle for me- even before kids. Quiet time now... forget it! My kids are my alarm clock every morning and keep me so busy all day that by the time I finally get them in bed, I want to do nothing more than sit somewhere and stare at a wall (or sit in a corner and rock back and forth... depends on the day, really). But in all seriousness, I have given up on expecting to have this amazing, peaceful, uninterrupted, scripture-centered time to start my day, every single day. That's not realistic at this point in my life, but that doesn't mean that I can't spend time with God. 

Here is how I will spend time with God this semester:

- Get kids situated, and turn on some praise & worship. There is nothing better for a stressed out mom than singing along with David Crowder while doing the dishes. (He's my fave.) It's like as I wash the dishes, I wash away anything ungodly. This doesn't mean that the rest of my day goes smoothly and perfectly, but I recognize this, and the fact that I need to either start my day off centered on Him or re-focus and re-center myself on Him throughout the day. 

- Find something for the kids to do and slip away for 5 minutes to read a devotion. Five minutes. That is totally doable.

- Pray. Pray, pray, pray. Give thanks. Give an abundance of thanks for the abundance of blessings in my life.

5) I need less time on Facebook/pinterest/the internet in general, and more time reading.

I have a long, long list of books I've been given, gifted, or books I've bought for myself. Amazing books... books that will change my life! I have not made time for them. I love to read, but I've realized that I can't do it before bed if I truly want to retain the contents. (Brain shuts down at about... 8pm.) And I've learned, time and time again, that these books are far more important & interesting than ANYTHING on Facebook. (Sorry guys, true story.)

And there you have it. The list goes on- there are always things I want to improve/change, but this is a good start. I am going to embrace this semester as time for us to grow as a family and individually. God is doing big things! I'm excited. And I'm ever thankful for new beginnings, especially the new beginnings (each and every day) found in Christ.



"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17