Lake Powell 2012

We just got back from a week at Lake Powell in Utah. We rented a houseboat and, including the kiddos, there were 18 people on this houseboat for a week. It was so much fun and I LOVE this vacation! Levi did so great while we were there, especially considering he was teething and had terrible diaper rash because of it. He is such a trooper! He really enjoyed playing in the water and even swam with me a few times. Most of the week was spent eating, playing games, and swimming. Talk about relaxing! I didn't think about school at all (gotta love summer!) and I only thought about Premier a little bit while I was in cell phone range. However, most of the week we were out or range and it was so nice to not worry about emails, phone calls, texts, etc. The hardest part of the vacation was not getting enough sleep because of the crazy heat. It was at least 100 degrees every day we were there. The lows were in the 70s. I love hot weather, except for when sleeping is involved. It was not miserable, though, and I'm so glad we went so that Levi could experience his parents' favorite vacation. Who knows when we will get to do it again, but this past week was definitely a good one!

I now have a one-year-old

My baby turned ONE last week! I can't believe how time is flying. I got online the other day to update the blog but I got distracted by reading all of the posts I wrote when he was first born. I probably sat reading for a good hour and I simply can not fathom how things have changed since then. He has such a personality and can light up a room. He is bossy, funny, and affectionate. He loves to cuddle with me when he is tired. He loves playing with Jason and Grandpa Ken. He likes bossing around Grammie, Nana, and Grandpa. He loves eating. Anything and everything. He will basically eat anything that is put in front of him. He has started drinking regular milk instead of formula and he LOVES milk. He enjoys drinking out of a cup and would rather have food smeared all over him than let us feed him. He chases the cat all over the house and enjoys Abby licking him on the hands and feet. He always makes a bee-line for Abby's water dish when he is on the floor, and he is becoming an expert at throwing a ball. His first lake trip is coming up and we are really interested to see how he is going to do. He loves hanging out with his cousins, especially Shelby. It will be really interesting to see how he does with this new baby cousin he is going to have in October. Watching him change and grow more and more every day is so exciting for me. Many people say that they miss the times when they are tiny babies, but I have to say that I REALLY enjoy watching his growth and development change as often as it has. I know I will miss cuddling with him when he is done with that, but for right now I will enjoy it and just keep trying to teach him as much as possible now instead of trying to catch up later. I love my little boy and I can't wait to see what this year will bring!

Shining light

I'll be the first to admit it... I can sometimes be a downer. When things are not going well for me, I tend to take it personally and let it ruin my day/week/month. I try so hard to be happy on the outside because I don't like drawing attention to myself, but on the inside I'm being eaten up by things that are normally completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things. For example, I've had a couple of things come up at work that I know, in the bigger picture, aren't big deals, butI let them eat at me and I'm miserable on the inside. I have a very hard time letting things go and I tend to let them tear me up on the inside. I have to move on or I know my teaching is going to start suffering, and I pray God just takes my anxiety about these things. I want to be a positive influence on the people I am around daily, and I don't like to be fake about it. I want to shine God's light and not cloud it with my own human emotions. Just trying to make sure I am not doing damage to my witness through my trials. I read a blog just a few minutes ago written by a dear friend whom I haven't seen in many months. Her blog tonight was about thankfullness. She wrote that we are supposed to be thankful IN every situation, not necessarily FOR every situation. She has no idea how badly I needed to hear (read) that. I'm counting my blessings today and being thankful for many things. Jason made it home safely from his fishing trip that he was on this weekend. I got to spend two full days with my baby just playing and bonding. I was able to bring in a new jeweler to Premier whom I know will do great! And, she will be able to stay home with her babies while still bringing in a good income. My family is healthy. We have a beautiful home in which to build memories and grow. I have amazing friends. I could go on and on... I will continue to pray for God to show me how to be thankful in every situation. I will continue to pray that He will use me to shine His light always.

Pulling up

Levi is now pulling up like a pro! In fact, last night was a battle trying to get him to go to bed because as soon as I would put him in his crib he would roll over, sit up, then stand up. Little twerp! He is moving like crazy these days and he is hard to keep up with. It is nice being able to set him down, though, and he can entertain himself while we get things done, like cook or clean. That is relatively new and I'm glad he has made that transition.

We had his pictures taken this past Friday afternoon. He was super cranky so I'm not sure how many good pictures we got, but hopefully a few! I will post the ones I get, as long as they are cute.

I hope everyone had a great Easter!

Prayer Request

Actually, I have several prayer requests.

The first is for my sister. She is having some complications with her pregnancy that are really scary. She is about 12 weeks right now. I know everything is in God's hands but she is a bit of a tizzy over everything. Please just pray for peace and for the Lord to comfort her in every way possible.

The second is for my brother. I can't go into details but just pray for him. It is a terrible situation that will only get worse before it can get better and we just really need the Lord's guidance through all of this, especially my other family members. And my brother REALLY needs the Lord.

And finally, for me. I was convinced that I was going to be able to work part time next year because of my new jewelry business. I thought I had found someone to work with that would be a great partner-in-crime and we would split all of the teaching responsibilities. Well, it fell through and I turned in my form to my principal yesterday stating that I would be working full time next year. It is a bit of a heart-breaker because I really wanted to stay home much more with Levi next year. It is frustrating not being able to be with him more. I praying that God would guide my decision making process and let me know what His plans are for my teaching career and my Premier jewelry career. I'd love to be able to stay home full-time, but I must get my level II teaching license before I do that (it never expires, unlike the one I have right now that expires in 2 more years) so I can come back to work in the future if I need to. I'm having a hard time figuring out where my priorities should be, beyond God and my family.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It is hard having so many tough things come at me all at once, but I know God will use me through all of this and help me stay focused on Him, as long as I ask. Thanks again and many blessings to you and your family!

Dedication

Just a quick post:

We had Levi dedicated at church this morning. It was wonderful and so empowering to know that our whole church is standing behind us as we raise Levi. Jason did a great job saying a few words in front of those thousands of people and then Skip prayed for us and for Levi. It was a great time. And we had a ton of family and friends there with us, which was wonderful! Praise God for church families!

Confused, frustrated, and ambivalent?

I am not exactly sure what to write... I just know that I need to write. My sister is going to have another baby in October with her current boyfriend. They are also planning to get married at the end of April. This makes number three. The reason I don't know what to say is because I don't even know what to feel about it. I am angry, but not nearly as angry as I was about the others. I am frustrated, but part of me just thinks, "well, this is what she does." I love her and I love her kiddos, and I think her boyfriend is a swell guy, but I just don't understand how this keeps happening. I don't want to go into too much detail about her personal life, so I'm only going to share what she has shared with me... but it's just so confusing and frustrating trying to understand the situation and make sense of how I feel about it. I do not think her getting married is the best idea, mostly because of her history with her boyfriend. Like I said, he is a good guy, but I don't even think they know what they feel about each other at the moment. Like I said, I'm just confused. I don't know if I am just used to her having kids with every guy she meets (how sad, I know) or if I just don't have the energy to get worked up about this? The last two times this happened I was a wreck. I was obsessing about the future children, her relationship status, what my parents were going to do about it, how the kids were going to make it. I was making judgements and assumptions about her and letting my imagination run wild. This time, I think I am just not going to think about it. that might get a little tricky on her wedding day, but I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to express my disapproval without being hurtful or unloving. I don't know how to show her how I feel without her getting defensive and shutting down. I know God is going to work on me through this situation, and I am praying He will also work on her heart, and her boyfriend's heart. They need Him, just like I do, only they don't realize it yet. Please continue to pray for her and her growing family. I guess I should start embracing the fact that I am going to be an auntie again.