In our house, Caleb’s room contains a normal sized closet where he keeps his clothes. It also contains a huge closet where we keep/hide our junk. In the model house, this space was used for another bathroom, but I guess … Continue reading
I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. But last year, I joined Jon Acuff’s 30 Days of Hustle group with mainly one goal in mind: I would make some books for my 3-year-old twins. By about January 15th, I had that crossed off my list and was able to get a few other things crossed off my list for the year too:
I guess on this list, the certification paper has to go near the top.
But I’ve decided that my main goal for the year will be…drum roll, please!…
Have 100 people over for dinner during the year
The major introvert in me cringes at this. But the older I get, I realize just how important community is. And at just how awesome people are!
Now I need to plan my first dinner. And friends, if you want to come over, let me know! We’ll make it happen!
This year I hope to make new friends, enjoy old friends, eat good food, share tons of stories, play some games, and laugh a lot.
This idea isn’t about entertaining. For me, this is about community. Friends, when you come over, our house may not be the cleanest, most picked up or organized (I have 3 young kids and no time for that! 🙂 This is about getting to know others, being real and just enjoying each other.
Here’s to 2015! I hope you accomplish all your goals this year! I hope it’s your best year yet! But more than anything, I hope that we all learn to love and enjoy each other more this year!
Happy New Year!
– Stephanie
P.s. Oh, and I just signed up for a half marathon in a few months, so there’s that too! 🙂
Time with family is precious to me, and I eat it up! As we were hanging out, traveling between family Thanksgivings, and as the kids were getting banned to their rooms because they couldn’t play nice for the forty-fifth time, I found myself reflecting on some things last week:
1. My kids like to push on my belly. After being home with my kids a few days, I started noticing that my kids think it’s fun to press on my belly. I think they think it feels cool. All soft and squishy. Nice! But I kind of felt like the Pillsbury doughboy, so that madness had to stop! 🙂 In fact, the kids had just seen a video of the Pillsbury doughboy doing his laughing thing when poked so maybe they were trying to get a giggle out of mom. There were no giggles. 🙂
2. I forgot my swimsuit!!! We had reserved a room in a hotel one night for the sheer fact that it had an indoor pool. The kids were stoked! In packing for the trip, I made sure everyone else had their swimsuits. Then on the morning we were supposed to swim, I woke up and realized I didn’t pack my own swimsuit…or extra underwear, but we won’t talk about that! I did a great job packing for everyone else! The only thing I can think of was that I thought so much about swimsuits that I seriously thought I had packed mine. The kids still had a great time at the pool and got to climb all over dad. And I got to relax by the pool and smile at my family, so all wasn’t lost.
3. I never sleep well in a hotel. It seems so fun to go to a hotel. I always think I’m going to be so relaxed and rested. And then I can’t sleep. It’s such a bummer!
4. I feel the most vulnerable in life when one of my kids is sick. And I feel a million more times vulnerable when they are sick over holidays or weekends when it’s nearly impossible to get into a doctor. And really, those seem to be the only times my kids get sick. They’re gifted that way. 🙂
5. I don’t get embarrassed very easily anymore. As stated above, one of my kids got sick right before we sat down to eat lunch at my Grandmother’s house. Of course, my kiddo and I were a complete mess and I had not brought extra clothes. We typically can get through one meal without having to change clothes. Not this day! I stood in my Grandmother’s kitchen paralyzed in wondering what in the world we were going to do when my family started jumping into action. My Grandmother went to get me some of her clothes to wear. My dad ran home and got my son some pj’s they had at their house as well as some of my mom’s clothes for me. I went into the laundry room, changed clothes and emerged like this…
The teenage Stephanie would have been mortified to wear this. The adult Stephanie stood in the laundry room cracking up and couldn’t wait to show everyone…and take pictures…and post it to social media! I love this change in myself! I love that no matter what gets thrown my way, I can always find something to laugh at.
Life is pretty funny!
We try to teach our kids to be polite. To ask for things nicely. To be positive. Have good attitudes. To be thankful.
And then kids grow up and send emails! 🙂
Lately, I’ve noticed how words in emails affect me and how they have the power to so quickly change my attitude (for the good or the bad).
If the email comes across as a little pushy, it can kind of tick me off.
If an email is nice and polite, it endears me to the person.
Emails with even a hint of rudeness put me in a serious funk.
Words of thanks or encouragement go a long way and make me want to go above and beyond….
Except for all those thousands of thank you emails from vendors at Thanksgiving. Those kind of whip me. 🙂
Words matter.
But more importantly, people matter.
It’s scary to think about how much power just one email can have. And with every word we say and every email we send, we make a choice of how we will treat others. We can choose to leave a good impression or a make negative one.
Words matter. People matter. Emails matter. Choices matter.
Lately, I feel like my life is a series of periods of waiting on God. Waiting for an answer. Waiting for clarity. Waiting and listening. Gut wrenching, soul-searching, waiting.
Anybody with me on this?
Saturday morning, my mom sent me the Bible verse “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Ps. 27:14
I wrote about this not long ago.
Below is an excerpt from an email that I replied back to my mom:
“It seems like life is a series of times of waiting on God. Seems like we’re always waiting on something. Constantly waiting to hear what he wants us to do next. At least that’s how I feel. It’s nice to know he’s in control because I don’t feel like I’m in control of anything. So I wait. But the thing is, he is faithful and good in the bad times, in the good times and in the waiting.”
I’m not sure I’ll ever really like waiting. In fact, I know I won’t. I’m a girl who likes action. I like to have a plan in place. I like answers and certainty. But now, after being given so many chances to wait, it doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I have learned that God is truly with me. He’s always been there with me. I trust him. And things may not go how I want them to go. (They already haven’t time and time again.) But I know that no matter what, I will have God’s love and presence. And that makes the waiting more bearable.
I have also learned that there is beauty in the waiting. There is beauty in not having all the answers. Beauty in giving up control and realizing you have to rely on someone else.
There is a whole heck of a lot of beauty in the moments of stillness. In the quiet emptiness (however long it is) before God answers.
There is beauty in the searching. In the asking. In the pleading.
I believe God thinks times of waiting are beautiful too. They are some of the times that mold, shape and transform us the most in life. They are the times that I have clung to God and been close to him. They aren’t fun, but they are precious times.
Our church is about to start an Advent class, and I’m excited. The waiting of Advent gives me a renewed sense of hope. I’m excited to wait in anticipation. Wait with hope. With longing for the Son of God. That tiny baby who loves and saves us all.
Just wait.
Every family has at least one special dish that everyone loves for Thanksgiving, and they’ve got to have it every year! For my family, it’s Grandmother’s dressing! For years there really wasn’t a recipe. Grandmother just kind of throws it … Continue reading
School picture days sneak up on me every year. I imagine most moms out there have their children’s outfits picked out and ready weeks in advance. I don’t. I scramble around the night before running to a couple of stores … Continue reading
I try to take my oldest, Caleb, on a little overnight trip once a year. And someday, when the twins get a little bigger, I want to do the same with them. Chris and I see these little trips as … Continue reading
One of the biggest issues I’m facing with my kids right now is that my oldest son seems to think he’s a parent to the 2 three year olds. They’ll do something he thinks/knows is not right, and he feels the need to take care of the problem.
But the thing is…he’s 8 years old! And definitely not a parent!
Granted, he is a huge help with the younger kids. But still! Not their parent!
And more often than not, when he tries to act like the parent, things get worse.
After having a conversation with him the other day about this very thing, I thought to myself that it’s not just him. I’ve been known to do this too!
We think we know what’s best for others. We think we have the answers. We think we have a responsibility to step in and make things right. We just start talking when we really should keep listening (or not talk at all!). And often, we just make things worse.
So now that I’m thinking more about this, I’m trying to listen more, pray more, understand more, etc. before I act.
Oh the things we learn from our kids!
Stephanie Carroll 