Dull Moments

Someone recently told me, "If you struggle with boldness, there is no hope for any of us." to which someone else said, "You are probably the boldest person I've ever met." This is not a blog about me, though. This is a post about becoming the boldest person you've ever met, and how I am just a normal girl from Wisconsin. I joke the greatest disservice my parents did to me growing up was to forgetting to tell me there are limits to what I can do. Now, don't get me wrong - my parents were not supporters of the "you can be anything you want to be in life" mantra. I suck at lots of things, and it was pretty evident to them and to me that if I had tried to pursue after any of them, it was not going to go well for me. However, as far as things I had aptitude for and interest in, there was no limit. Enter YWAM. End game. Friends, I am not even kidding here, but if you think for two seconds YWAM leaves you when you leave YWAM, it's not tr...

So, we finished phase one of the challenge! How's it going? -Shakes: I really struggled to like the shakes. Turns out, it just needed unsweetened, vanilla almond milk. Hardly adds anything nutrition wise but way improves the taste. Since the challenge pack only comes with 14 shakes, I went ahead and ordered more in the chocolate mocha. Yum! The chocolate was good, too, but I liked the mocha better! -Energy: Before I started the challenge, I said that if I wasn't feeling better in one week, I was going to call my primary doctor and have a check up and get a blood panel drawn. I was tired, struggling to sleep, and just not feeling great. The first 2 days of the challenge I did not feel better. By the 4th day, I felt totally different. I had energy, I could think clearly, I slept better. I know good food is good medicine... some times we just need help hitting that reset button! -Appetite: I was hungry the first 2 days. I haven't been hungry since day 2. In fact, I have ...

So, I agreed to do an Advocare 24 Day Challenge because I really care about my health, want to be intentional with my eating, and struggle to find the time to eat well as a stay at home mom. That is all a lie. I agreed to do it because I want to wear my pre-pregnancy jeans this fall. Either way, I am motivated.... and I promised to blog about it, so here I am. Yesterday was the day of all meal prep. I made zucchini noodles, chicken fajita bowls, and egg and veggie "muffins". I used the zucchini noodles today for some fake Italian for lunch, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. This morning started off with Day 1 of the challenge. Since I am a type A person to the core, I love the packets of supplements and check list. I get to CHECK it off? Done. In the kit is a seemingly innocent box labeled "fiber drink". Since it was on the check list, I dutifully drank it this morning. It was not my favorite experience, but I got it down. I may put in a small sp...

friends, it's no secret that clothes shopping for boys is way inferior to clothes shopping for girls. is it easier? yes. cheaper? probably. simpler to put outfit togethers? yes, thank goodness. but the girl's stuff is just so... i don't know. addicting?  the exception?  little boy winter sweaters & jackets. i cannot even look at a crisp denim jacket for joe without somehow justifying that he needs this james dean inspired look.  a wool pea coat? i die.  a thick cable knit sweater with toggle buttons? i'll take one in each color. a brightly colored fleece? yes, bring some cheer to those dreary winter days. before long, it looks like i'm stocking up an LL Bean catalog in our hall closet... just in kid's size.  AND IT'S ONLY SEPTEMBER.

"Do you want more kids?" I pause. The question. Do I want more kids? Joe is that age. That age where many people add their second child. I have no easy answer to that question. We love Joe with our hearts and souls and love being his parents. I love being at home with him (most days ;) ), and I love our little life together. We watch him get bigger and better and wish for all things baby. " Of course  we want another baby!" I want to say. Hyperemsis gravidum is a weird thing. You are totally fine, and then you get pregnant, and you are totally not fine . Then, after 9 long months, you get a newborn, which requires all your energy and work after you already gave all your energy and work just to stay out of the hospital while pregnant, and then, 18 months into motherhood, you are totally fine again. So I should do it again, right? After all, how cute is my kid? I hold my friends' babies and my heart aches. A baby . I look at my sister and brother and thi...

While it's no secret that (one day, when they cure severe morning sickness) we would like more children, I am sorta loving the just having one stage. I can do things like take my one year old to the beach. Friends, keeping up with a crazy toddler at the beach is no joke , and if I had a baby or another kid under the age of, like, 6, it would not be happening. So I took Joe to our small, dinky, very-Indiana beach. What it lacks in views (seriously, you are looking at a highway, townhouse construction, and a hospital... so I guess it may not be that hard to pretend it's California), it makes up for in accessibility and in our son's joy of being there. Joe loves the water (he always has). Joe did a Baywatch reenactment the first time we took him to the beach. Full force, unbridled, he ran straight to the shore and dove face-first into the water. He giggles and giggles as he splashes. He digs and digs in the "sand". He runs around. The sun makes his hair more...

A year ago today we lost my father-in-law. Shock doesn't even describe the feeling I got when I got that phone call. Today we will celebrate. We will celebrate his love, his life. We will probably fight back (or not fight back) tears. We will smile when we see Don's face in little Joe's eyes and expressions. Today, we will give thanks for the gift of having Don in our lives, and for the promise of eternal life through Jesus. There's a really great blog post being shared on Facebook about what to do when someone in your life is grieving. It's good - read it, do it. My advice on what to do when someone in your life experiences tragedy? Show up. You don't have to know the right words (and, as that blog points out, saying the wrong thing or admitting you don't know what to say is better than not saying anything). You don't have to know what to do. Just show up.  That night, a year ago today, my mom quickly rearranged everything (she was watching my s...