dare to live

i'm currently reading a book - one thousand gifts by ann voskamp. wow. i mean, wow. this book has given me a whole new perspective on life. on eucharisteo. on the fact that every 'horrible' thing we are dished out can be turned into praise and thanksgiving. the terrible two's that my not yet 2 year old is going through is an item of thanks- thanks that i am blessed with him and his temper. thanks for the teaching moments. thankful because Jesus is the same no matter what is changing.

thankful that Monday-april 11th, 2011- my 6 year old asked Jesus to live in his heart. eucharisteo- i am thankful.

so here's the dare: live fully right where you. as the high powered executive at a top law firm. as a stay at home mom- longing for a 30 minute nap in between the endless poopy diapers, snotty noses, and constant "don't touch that's." live fully.

part of the book is making your own list- one thousand (and beyond) things to be thankful for. things you don't even think are worth making the list, but they are.
1) the smell of clean laundry
2)watching my boys hug
3)a clean house
4)my husband's patience with me
5)watching Daniel read Elijah a book
......

allowed to be proud

this man:





may just kill me.

i've really been trying to do more exercise here lately. we have a treadmill in our house, so i really have no excuse not to. there's just one problem. i hate doing the treadmill lately. it's just getting plain old, and i'm kind of over it. :-/ unfortunately though, that "reasoning" doesn't take away the fact that i need to exercise. so, i have gone back to my billy blanks workouts. i have 3 or 4 of his workout (boot camps is really a more fitting description) dvd's. suprisingly, in betwenn the intense pain, i'm really enjoying them! the time goes by so much faster than the treadmill. i've been doing them pretty much every night (except yesterday since we walked a gazillion miles around the zoo- more details on that trip later.) so even though it's never good to be prideful, i think i'm allowed to be proud about this. :)

keep it up, amanda, keep it up. (yes, i am talking to myself.)

date night

We are very blessed to be able to have a good amount of date nights. I know for some couples this is a twice/year occurrence. For some, never. So, I don't take for granted that we are able to go 'kid-less' about once a month. I have to say though, it. is. vital! Marriage can quickly spiral into only being parents.

Well, this weekend I had an extra special date night- with another guy. (Yep, Abe knew.) He held my door each time. He let me pick the restaurant. He let me sit down first. And, he kissed me. It was one of the best dates I've ever had (ONE of.)








I told Daniel last week that we were going to have a Mommy/Daniel date night, and he was so excited. He told Abe many times "Daddy, you are not going on this date. It's just for me and Mommy!" We went to Red Lobster for dinner and had a great meal and dessert. It was so nice to have an uninterrupted conversation with Daniel; and for him to know he had my full attention. I think it meant a lot to him, and I KNOW it meant a lot to me! We then rented "despicable me" to close out the night. Had a great time laughing with him to finish out our date night. He was such a gentleman (just like his daddy) on the date. I could just bottle this kid and keep him forever!

Some highlights of the evening:

Daniel: "Date night is hard- especially for the boy."

Mommy: "So Daniel, what kind of girl do you think you want to marry?"
Daniel: "Hmm....I know I can't marry you, but what {who} would be the closest thing to you?"

Daniel at dinner: "I will have the popcorn shrimp with fries on the side." (When did this kid get old enough to order for himself??"

a first

I have an almost six year old. SIX. SIX! I say it time and time again, but where in the world does the time go?? All these "firsts" are flying by. First time they say your name. First step. First day of preschool. First day of Kindergarten. And this past Friday, his first sleep over. It wasn't totally traumatic for me because it was at our house. Still totally weird to know I have a child old enough to have a sleep over. Daniel and Vic had such a great time playing together. I love 'em both!

*It's his cousin for everyone wondering why a girl would be sleeping over. :)

I cannot put into words how much I love Daniel and how proud I am of him. He is such a kind hearted, sweet boy. (And smart to boot! ;) ) Daniel, I love you more than you know. No matter how old you get, you are always my sweet little boy!

Valentine's Day

this Valentine's day, I'm thankful for:

these two boys that I am head over heels in love with

I'm also thankful:

to be married to my best friend

but most of all, I'm thankful:

that the ultimate sacrifice was made for me....because of His great love!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw6Gj6FdGUk

if up chuck, throw up, or vomit bother you: stop reading

It's been an interesting weekend/week thus far. Elijah got sick Sunday morning while we were getting ready for church and we thought he had over-eaten at breakfast. No fever. Acting like a little monkey as usual. Just a fluke. Wrong! Almost to church, and the vomiting commenced. Needless to say, we turned around; but didn't make it home w/out another bout of up chuck. I would say that in a 12 hour period, that poor kid threw up about 15 times. Keep in mind, he isn't quite old enough to do this in a toilet, bucket, or even hard floor. Wherever he was standing, there it came. Monday came, and we thought we were in the clear. E was feeling good.

Tuesday morning:4 a.m. Elijah gave us his final throw up- at least I hope so! As we were getting everything cleaned up at that ungodly hour, I started feeling really queasy. I thought it was due to what we were doing. I bailed on Abe and laid down. Again, I was wrong. I had caught the nasty stuff. My amazing husband stayed home to take care of the kiddos and me on Tuesday considering I couldn't even get out of bed. He cleaned, took care of kids, did laundry, and took care of me while I felt {and looked} like death. It is some nasty stuff and I pray it is gone from our house now!

I picked up my phone yesterday evening to get on face book as I hadn't done much else that day. As I was feeling sorry for myself and how crappy I felt, I stumbled on a friend's page. A friend battling an illness that they still haven't even identified, basically fighting for her life. I felt pretty small. Our problems or issues seem so big sometimes until we really put them in perspective. They are not. I am thankful that I had a 12 hour illness. I am thankful my sweet little man only had a 12 hour illness. However, if that friend were to be me one day I would hope I would still be thankful. Thankful because God is the same no matter what we are going through. He stays the same- faithful, loving, merciful, just, and the list goes one. I hope I will forever be thankful for that, not matter what life throws at me.

On a much lighter and happier note, my hubs let me get an awesome new toy. I heart it {he does too.} =)

Friday night fun

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night? The time to unwind from the week and breathe; the day I realize I will not be changing a poopy diaper for the next 48 hours. Well, here's my idea of a nearly perfect Friday night:

takeout for dinner

game night with my favorite 5 year old and hubby

and movie with my honey....

Ahhhh...Fridays! :)