It's a beautiful day!

I woke up, we'll actually, I got woken up today at about 6:30 by my sweet baby boy, Chase. I had a few minutes to snuggle on him until my sweet girl, Allie was up for the day. We all migrated to the kitchen where I plopped Chase in his bouncy seat, and Allie and I(she likes to sit on the counter and help me) made some scrambled eggs and toast, and then I got her situated in her booster seat for breakfast. We all sat at the table, where I nursed Chase and visited with Allie as she finished her breakfast. We got all cleaned up from breakfast, then Allie watched some Dora the Explorer, and Chase played by himself for a while on the play mat. I took a minute to eat breakfast and then clean up dishes from the morning.

After breakfast, we all moved in to Allie's room and spent about an hour doing our little quiet time/prayer time, reading books , and playing Allie's instruments, and having a tea party. Chase isn't quite sure what to do with the all this activity, but seems to be content with it. We went to Chase's room, and Allie and I played with Chase and his toys- Allie likes to play with him-it's cute! Then Chase had some tummy time, and Allie sat at the table and colored- while I got dressed for the day. Chase then took a nap, and I made out a grocery list, washed some diapers, and made my bed. I got Allie changed/dressed for the day, and then after Chase's nap I got him changed/dressed for the day. Allie had a quick snack of avacados and cheese, while I packed up the diaper bags for the day, and then we headed out the door to go run a few errands.

I went to Target, the cleaners, and Kroger. Home after my errands, unloaded the groceries from the car and then I made PB&J's and cut up carrots and bananas for lunch for me and my girl. Nursed Chase while Allie played for a little bit, then put Allie down for a nap. Chase played for a while and I was able to talk to our realtor about house stuff(we are selling our house and trying to buy another house)...checked my email, then put Chase down for a nap- and I took a 45 min nap. Ahhhhh! Chase woke me up from my nap, nursed him, Randy got home early- so we visited for a while about house stuff- then Allie was up. I cut up some grapes for Allie's snack and let her watch a Dora, while Randy and I continued to discuss house stuff, played with Chase, had a dance party with Allie and we played airplane for a while, then I started getting dinner ready. I got all ingredients together to make Beef Stroganoff, sliced some top sirloin into thin pieces, then cooked the meal. Allie and I set the table for dinner(she helps with napkins), then we all sat down to eat. After dinner, nursed Chase while Allie and Randy played, then I cleaned up the kitchen. At about 6:45, Randy and I started getting the kids ready for bed. He bathed Allie, while I was getting Chase in his jammies- Randy put Allie to bed and I got Chase to bed about the same time...then Randy and I looked at our budget to see if we could afford another house we are looking at to buy...ate some Blue Bell banana pudding ice cream, talked to my sis in law, Jen for about an hour, then watched tv in DVR mode(the Office, Outsourced and Grey's), made Randy's lunch, bed.

Now sprinkled throughout my day are many time outs for my 2yr old, and lots of diaper changing for both kids...but couldn't remember exactly when I did those things...

A Day in the Life

I decided to do my day in the life by video today. And by the end of the day, I don't have it in me to even watch it back or edit anything... Hopefully I didn't say anything I'll regret!! So here it is... totally unedited and choppy, just like my typical day. And a few things I left out... talked to my mom, Ashley, and Emily, did some laundry, dishes, went to the bathroom a couple of times, changed a few diapers... you know, the usual.

And an award should go to anyone who watches that entire thing. I really didn't think it would be this long when all was said and done!

Amelia

A day in the life of Beth Harris

This week each of us will describe our day!

So my day started about 6:30am. That's when my little munchkin Reagan woke up. So I got up and we ate breakfast (bananas and pancakes), I took our two pups out and then we watched Handy Manny. I seriously get into these shows. It's funny! Then I got Reagan dressed and then got myself dressed, which usually consists of saying No Reagan don't do this or don't do that in between putting on my makeup, doing my hair and getting dressed. I guess I could get up early and do this, but every moment of sleep is precious when you are a mom! Then Reagan and I headed to one of our favorite places, Target! Had to grab a few things and saw a couple of friends there. Home for a snack and playtime. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and then Reagan colored while I peeled apples for a dessert I was making for after dinner. At 1pm it was nap time so I laid Reagan down for her nap. I got busy doing laundry and then worked on my Daniel Bible study and then did some Greek homework (my husband is a Greek scholar and is teaching about 35 of us on Wednesday nights at our church). Reagan got up and we had a tea party and then played with baby dolls. We read some books and sang. We had an a afternoon snack and I started making a pot of Taco Soup for dinner. My husband John got home from school (he goes to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary every Monday for his PhD seminars). We ate dinner, I cleaned the kitchen and then we all played in the den. Reagan goes to bed at 8pm so at 7:30 I gave her a bath, we read Biscuit (Reagan calls it Beebee, it's a cute book series about a dog named Biscuit. I think I read it about 4 or 5 times everyday). Then John and I ate some Apple Brown Betty and watched the season premiers of our Monday night shows including the new remake of Hawaii 5-0. It was really good and all I can say is "book em Danno"! Now it's time for bed and then I get to do it all over again tomorrow! Good night blogland!


- Beth

Serve Others

We are all given various gifts/talents, and it is God's desire that we use those gifts/talents to reach out to those around us, whether it be in church or in our community. I encourage you to think about what you enjoying doing and then find something in your church or in your community and get involved. For example, I like working with younger kids, so I will help out on Sundays in my church's Preschool Ministry. I also recently started helping out in a program our church started up for 3-5 year olds called Faith Builders. I signed up to tell the Bible story to the 3-year-olds and also help our coordinator, but as God would have it, our coordinator had to move off and so now I am taking on that role. It fits my personality though, so I don't mind one bit.

I am also involved in my community, through the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I previously shared my experience with the Relay for Life in this blog before, which you can find here, so I won't go into detail. I just want to say that I got involved with this event because I wanted to find a way to honor my Grandad Moseley and Mema, who both died of cancer. The Relay was a way for me to remember them and also raise money in the fight against cancer. I'm excited as preparations are underway for the 2011 Relay and this year I'll have a more active role on the committee. If you're interested in participating in the Relay, let me know as I'd love to have you on my team...or you can form your own!

So really, serving is just finding something you're good at or finding a cause that's important to you and then getting involved in some way.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Cass

Playing Catch(up)

I've missed a few weeks due to...life, I guess. I know I'm tromping all over Staci's blog day (again), but maybe she'll forgive me once again! I have a spare minute or two and want to respond to the last few topics!!!

So, POST ONE: five things that annoy me. Strangely enough, I already covered this in my very first post:
1. Cursing
2. Bad drivers
3. Losing things
4. Soggy bread
5. People who talk in the theatre during movies

Five things about me that annoy others...let's see...
1. I roll my eyes a lot, so much so that I don't always realize when I do it. Usually it's in a joking way, but sometimes not so much (just ask my husband!).
2. I chew gum really loudly. Again, I usually don't realize it while I'm doing it unless someone points it out. I wonder if Cass has ever noticed it since she hates loud eating noises. Any comments on this one, C?
3. I'm not very good about returning phone calls, or even answering my phone, especially when I'm at home. My phone is usually in my purse, which inevitably is in a different room. Or the ring volume is too low and I don't hear it. I'm honestly working on this one. Since my cell phone is my ONLY phone, I know people need to be able to get in touch with me in case of an emergency or something. However, for the record, if it's an emergency and I don't answer the phone, call Adam! He's rarely far from his phone.
4. I sometimes tend to finish people's sentences in conversation. I had someone do this to me several times recently and realized how jarring it is, so I'm trying to be more mindful of it.
5. I correct people's grammar and vocabulary a lot. If I were using a word or phrase incorrectly, I would want someone to tell me, but I'm pretty sure not everyone is like that.
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POST TWO: Service
Even though I grew up in church, I was never really that plugged in to service opportunities. I remember a few times, like when our school choir would visit a retirement home around Christmas or something, but it wasn't an ongoing priority by any means. When Adam and I moved to Austin, we started going to our church, Immanuel (see this post). Immanuel places, rightly, a high degree of importance on service, both in the community and worldwide. A portion of the church's tithes is donated each month to blood:water mission, an organization that raises awareness and the necessary funds for the provision of clean blood and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa. For a long time, our church volunteered at a local food pantry called Micah 6 on Saturday mornings, but they were blessed enough to have so many people commit their time that they actually ended up with too many volunteers. So our church is currently researching new opportunities. One of the possibilities is Church Under the Bridge. The description on the website says: "Church Under the Bridge (CUB) takes place at 7th St and IH-35 on Sunday mornings. You will find live music, testimonies of changes lives, and a down-to-earth message for Austin's street population. Church Under the Bridge is a place where the Body of Christ in Austin can build relationships with those living on the streets. Volunteers at CUB tangibly demonstrate the love of God to others through a corporate worship time, the provision of hot meals, clothing, blankets and sleeping bags." We have a group planning to attend next Sunday, so I'll be sure to update about how it went! The experience of getting involved has been hard at times, and it's taken a little getting used to, but it's also been unbelievably rewarding. I am finding that to be true more and more as I strive to be obedient to God.

Erica

Just Do It

First - a rant:

Can someone please tell me why Blogger sucks so much?  It should not be this hard to make a post show up with correct formatting.  I kind of expect to just be able to type, format, and post, and then have it show up on the screen just like I did it in the editor.  Or maybe hit return, and actually have the cursor move down a line.  CALL ME CRAZY.  Seriously, Blogger, you. are. making. me. crazy.  And a little cranky.  Obviously.

And on to our topic.

Being something of a shy bird on the outside, I sometimes have trouble finding ways to serve.  I head up the Charitable Events Committee at work - but that's part of my job, so I don't really feel like it counts.  It's also kind of a beating (because of the whole work aspect of it) and that pretty much takes the right attitude out of the equation.  In spite of that, I have been lucky to work with several great organizations over the past few years (Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, JDRF, Habitat for Humanity), and it has opened my eyes and increased my gratitude.  It's crucial to look outside of yourself from time to time, and see that your particular set of problems may not be quite as challenging as you think.  To see people walking through a difficult set of circumstances with grace can be a great attitude adjuster.    

I've been giving a lot of thought to other ways I can serve outside of my required service at work. Mark & I joined a new church a few months ago, and I've been keeping an eye out for ways that I can get involved there.  It's hard for me to walk into a situation where I don't know anyone and offer to help.  That's probably true for a lot of people, but what I've realized is that I just need to get over myself.  I know I've already missed some great opportunities by second guessing myself.  The first time may be uncomfortable, but it's not going to kill me, and eventually, I may even get to know a few people that way.  What a novel idea.

As far as serving in the community, I've thought about volunteering at the new animal shelter by my house, but I decided that would be disastrous.  The types of things I'm drawn to do are often the things that would emotionally suck the life out of me.  We would end up with 8 dogs (minimum) if I started working with homeless animals.  Either that or I would come home crying every time I volunteered!  

So what's a girl to do?  I found a couple of great websites that just might have the answer to that question.  Volunteer Match, United We Serve, and the Volunteer Center of North Texas (for you local peeps), can help you find volunteer opportunities in your area.  I was amazed to see how many different ways I could get involved, all within 15 miles of my house.  Stay tuned, I'm excited to see where this takes me.  And I'd love to hear of ways our readers get involved too, so come out of the woodwork and comment!

Mary

Serving

When I found out what we were writing about this week, I was like hmmm. I could tell you about how I do all of the laundry, wash all of the dishes, cook (or at least heat up!) all of the food, clean the house (sometimes), etc... I do believe all of those things are very important, apparently so important that nobody else who lives here even knows how those things are done! Amazing. But I won't bore you with all of that. I do have to say, though, that all of those things can be done with many different attitudes (trust me, I have many different ones), but when I have an attitude of service, it is a much more pleasant "job."

I believe we are all called to serve in some form or fashion. Right now, although I am able to do small things here and there, I do not have the ability to serve outside my home in a steady (i.e. weekly) commitment. I worked with the student ministry at our church shortly after I graduated from college (2000 or 2001-ish), and that was probably the most rewarding "service" I have ever done. That wasn't the reason for doing it, but it turned out to be a pretty awesome thing for me in return. I started out with a small group of eighth graders, and now they have almost all graduated from college. Although this fact makes me feel quite old, it brings me so much joy to see these girls walking with the Lord and still striving to grow in their walks with Him. I admire these incredible women so much. This group grew from four to plenty more over the years, and I was able to lead that group up until we moved to Oklahoma City in 2005, right around the time most of them graduated high school. I learned so much from them, and hopefully they learned something from me. I believe the Lord knew exactly what He was doing (He is God and all - duh.) when He put our group together. I am blessed to still be tight with many of these girls, and I love that all of these friendships are a result of me saying, "Sure, God. I'll try that if you want me to." I would love to be able to serve with high school students or even college students in the near future. I pray that the Lord will show me His timing in this, because I really do miss it.

Here's the original gang...

And a couple others. I have a big group picture that has EVERYBODY in it, but I couldn't find it on my backup drive to post it. So if you're reading this and don't see your picture, just know that you are special enough to be on the wall in my house. :)

And now for my random note: It has been brought to my attention that those who subscribe to our RSS feeds (I say that like I actually understand how that works!?!) and view the blog on their iphone cannot see the label to know who actually wrote the post. So, for Courtney (and maybe two other people), we will start signing our posts again. You're welcome. :)

Ameeeeeeeeelia

Serving

And no I don't mean in tennis! I mean serving in our homes, community, or churches. Over the years I have served at church in many different capacities. I have found that it is so rewarding to serve others. Christ even spoke many times on service and He was the ultimate servant having laid down His life for us! Currently I am the MOPs coordinator at our church. What is MOPs you ask? MOPs stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. It is an amazing ministry that exists internationally! Moms of all nations are meeting together with other moms in their local church. We meet once a month and also have play dates, moms night out and craft nights. Being a mom is the hardest and most rewarding job their is and it helps to get together with other moms to bounce ideas off and just have support. Someone that knows exactly what we are going through. If you are a mother of a preschooler I encourage you to try and find a local MOPs group in your area!

www.mops.org

Overload

Lately I've been feeling a little twitchy.  The phone rings...twitch; a new email pops up on my screen...twitch, twitch; the television is a little too loud...twitch, twitch, twitch; a co-worker passes yet another project off on me...twitch, twitch, twitch, TWITCH. 

Work has been pretty unbearable lately, and its tentacles have worked their way around things I usually enjoy and squeezed the life right out of them.  For instance, I cannot seem to make myself respond to my personal emails this week.  I open my inbox, I read the emails from my favorite people and acquaint myself with what their days have been like.  I hit reply, and type maybe two words, then delete it and close my email.  It's like my brain is closed for business and it's too much effort to even try to explain it.  No more in, no more out, please.  I'm tired of saying "work is so busy" and complaining about the mundane.  Even I don't want to hear it anymore.  I mean, it's just work, right?

I've been functioning at maximum capacity for several weeks now, but even though my workload is finally beginning to ease up a little bit, I still can't relax.  I'm attacking the backlog, and it feels just as suffocating as everything that's been barreling down on me on a daily basis.  I even had a full-out breakdown in front of one of my bosses last Friday, complete with barely contained tears.  I had scheduled to leave a few hours early to kick off the three day weekend and give myself a break from the long hours I've been working, but from 7:01 a.m. everything had been going wrong.  So at 2:45 p.m. when I finally dragged out of the building an hour and 15 minutes early (though technically only 15 minutes early, since I hadn't even stopped to eat lunch - not that I was counting - ahem), I was undone.  The three day weekend helped, but it had it's own stresses.  So here I am a week post-breakdown and I'm still not right.

I think I need some time off work.  (Ladies and Gentlemen, I have provided you with the understatement of the year!)  Unfortunately, now is just not the time to take it.  I want to turn off the computer, the phone, the tv, the noise, the lights, and just have a little peace.  I want to get in my car and just keep driving; past home, past work, past the state line.  But I guess this little venting session is as good as it's going to get for awhile.  So readers, thanks for reading.  The outlet, though small, is much appreciated.