Time to Relax and Enjoy Some Simplicity

Today is Ash Wednesday.  The marks the beginning of the Lenten season. It's a season of repentance, reflection, and fasting... a spring cleaning of sorts... ...a cleaning that purifies the clutter that has accumulated in our souls.   I grew up loving the season of Lent as a child in the Catholic Church.  I got away from the traditions and rituals for the past  few years since I became a member of a Protestant Church.  I realized last year....I miss the Lenten traditions I grew up partaking in!  

Therefore, this year I am going to be engaging more in the preparatory season of Lent. Fasting is one of  the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith.  It is the practice of self-denial. I will be practicing self-denial by  not watching Television (all forms) & stalking on Facebook.  Two huge time wasters in my life!  I am looking forward to all the things I hope to embark on and accomplish with this extra time; as well as,the ability to declutter my brain from all the media.  I am going to be reading a couple of good books: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp & The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson.  Also, I want to organize areas of my life, like our office.  Additionally, I am training to run the Resurrection Run 5K the day before Easter.  

All in all, I think it is a great success so far.  It got me to start blogging again!  

As for a little life update, Ella is 19 1/2 months old.  She has her first cold.  Boo:(  However, this does make my very active little girl a bit slower and more snuggly. She is such a delight and joy.  She is talking up a storm.  She love to be outside playing and has recently started to sings songs.  Right now, her only song consists of singing the momma and daddy song while strumming Shea's guitar.  Side-note, she closes her eyes while singing.  It has got to be one of the cutest things we have even seen!

 I am 14wks pregnant with our second baby.  I am now ending the dreadful first trimester and beginning to feel like myself again. Thank you Lord!  My energy and appetite are returning slowly.  I am so much more aware of what is happening to my body this time.  I believe I am starting to feel little flutters all ready with this little one! 

I am still able to stay home full time with Ella!  Thank you Lord!  It has been such a joy and delight.  I have been privileged to be able to help out one or two days a week with the wonderful Neff family.  I get to help them with their homeschooling and make sure they eat lunch.  Ella benefits greatly from this situation; she has become their younger sibling....or so she thinks.  She loves and adores them!  She would move in with them.  

Shea is wrapping up his second full year of Youth Ministry!  He is great at what he does!  He challenges the students to live real authentic lives of faith and to make their faith their own.  I am so proud of him! 

Fun on the Farm!

Last week, Ella and I traveled to Ohio & Michigan to visit my family. We were able to be there to celebrate both my brother and mom's birthdays! We asked mom what she wanted to do on her birthday. she wanted to plant her new raised garden. Dee, Ella and I were very excited to get to do this with mom. So we headed outside, got all our shovels, spades, and seeds and set to work.

All of a sudden, Gramma Ruthie starts laughing. Ella had been eating the dirt from the garden. she thought it was pretty funny too! we got some pictures of her covered in dirt! Enjoy!

i so feel like a mom....

I have taken a long break from blogging, but i am starting to feel settled in to our new life! I could not miss this opportunity to share with everyone my day. Ella is developing quickly and hitting all the milestones such as rolling front to back and back to front, smiling & laughing. however, I officially feel like a mom today:) We are currently on outfit number 3 for the day! i went in to Ella's room at noon after her morning nap, got her out of her crib only to find that her and the crib were soaked. her diaper had leaked and everything was covered in pee. I got her cleaned up, changed her sheets and nursed her. maybe you other mom's out there have suggestions, but changing the sheet and mattress pad is close to impossible. i am breathing heavy and feel like i ran three mile after i accomplish this task!

I put her in her exersaucer while i ate lunch. after lunch, i decided the sun was shining and we need to go for a walk. I got my keys, phone and jack's leash and put them in the stroller. which if you have ever met my dog, he goes nuts when he sees his leash!!! so now i have a wild dog running circles around the house. i got Ella out of her exersaucer and started to put her jacket on.....at which point, i smelled a poopy:( I flipped her over to find it all the way up her back to her shoulder blades. how this child managed to get poop up to her shoulder blades while sitting straight up in the exersaucer is beyond me. at this point, her exersaucer, my pants, her jacket are all covered in poop. i took her into her changing table to begin the clean up process. i take off the pants...spray down with totally toddler stain remover. i unleashed the diaper and pulled out a wipe.....the last wipe......no free hands....one totally covered wipe. what to do? I aborted clean up on the table and went straight to the bath tub. I gave Ella a bath and dressed her in her third outfit of the day.

I was determined to go on our walk and so was the dog....he was dragging his leash around the house. I got Ella in the stroller only to see a big patch of poop in her hair:) I got a baby wipe out of the diaper bag and off we went on our walk!! Oh the fun adventures of motherhood:) I am loving them!