Bread is rising :)

Poor Becca is sick again. She has not had the healthiest of winters. She made it almost 2 and a half years with only 1 ear infection and now had 2 within 2 months. Now she has a horrible cough and laryngytis (no idea how to spell that, but she totally lost her voice!). As Josh pointed out though, it does limit the whining...somewhat. Henry is still not conventionally crawling, but he is definately a mobile little man. He pulls himself (we call it slithering) all over the place FAST and of course is still rolling everywhere as fast as he can.

We went to Charleston, SC for the weekend and got back on Sunday. We met Andrea there which was fantastic...I wish we could see her more. But I'm grateful for the time that we had. She and I ran a half marathon, which was painful but satisfying. I'd like to do another one in the spring and see how I can improve my time. I would really like to do another full marathon at some point; I just don't have the time to train for one. It was difficult enough finding the time to train for a half marathon! I suppose we'll see what happens.

I've been thinking lately about my attitude towards my children sometimes. They are my greatest blessing in life and I love staying home with them. Sometimes when I talk to other people though I realize that I sound like I don't enjoy it like I do. I say things like how much I love nap time (though what stay at home mom doesn't) and have a negative tone of voice when I mention it's time for them to wake up. I'm not sure why I do this, but I really need to be careful of my tone. Not only does it give a misconception of how I feel about staying home with them, but eventually they will pick up on my tone and hear me say something like that. How could I bear hurting them by saying something I don't even mean? If you've heard me say something negative about how I spend my days, please know I love being here with them day after day. I wouldn't trade my days with Becca and Henry for any job or income I could ever be offered.
Becca has transitioned her favorite movie to "Charlotte's Web"...an excellent choice, I think. Not the cartoon version, but the 2007 live-action version. Dakota Fanning is Fern, Julia Roberts is the voice of Charlotte, and many other celebrities are the other animal's voices. Having watched it countless times, it's rubbing off on me I guess. Fern's mother and aunt are inspiring!! Yes, I realize they are fictional characters so let me explain! Their characters are similar to the stories my mom has told me of her grandma...a farm wife. Farm wives (at least what I've learned of "olden days" women, I know nothing of current ones...) had so much work to do, but they were always baking and cooking and sewing and creating and caring for others. I'd like to learn how to be more creative and most of all, motivated! I need to continue exploring the gifts God has given me and learn how to apply them to the circumstances I'm given.

(Early) Spring Cleaning

We were in Michigan for 2 weeks for Christmas. It was soooooooo BUSY, but so wonderful to spend some much needed time with our families and friends. It was strange though being away from home for so long. That's the longest we've gone on "vacation" since moving out of Michigan almost 2 years ago (has it really been that long?!). Needless to say, although we greatly enjoyed our long visit, it was nice to be back home. Since returning we've been working hard at clearing out the clutter. I really didn't think there could be any left because I've done it every time we moved, 3 times in 2 years, but I keep finding things we don't need or use anymore. I'm grateful that we have so much excess that I have to get rid of things. It's sometimes hard to remember to look at our excess as a blessing and not a burden.

I've been working on potty training with Becca this week. She pretty much always tells me when she has to go, but is scared to actually "go" on the potty. She has no problem sitting on it, but when it comes to the actual act, she won't do it. Which is frustrating, because she used to do it! So I'm just trying to be patient with her; she'll figure it out when she's ready. (Sometimes easier said than done!)

We're going to Charleston, SC this weekend. Andrea and I are doing a half marathon which I'm pretty excited about. I'd like to do another full marathon eventually, but I just don't have the time for training right now.