Of all the things...

Of all the things in the world to be anal about...

WHY am I anal about THIS?



I can't stand it when I put the shopping cart back and the rest of the carts are really unorganized!

LIKE THIS:






Seriously, People. How much extra effort does it take to push your cart into the one in front of you?


Kind of like when you're at a fast food restaurant and you put your tray away. Is there anybody else out there who can't stand it when the trays look like

THIS:



I can't just walk away when they look like that! Something inside of me MAKES me fix it!
Why?

If only I were that anal about my house!

Goodbye Baby Tooth

My sweet boy finally did it. He lost his first tooth. Most of his friends lost their first teeth long ago-- they're on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th... not my buddy. Took forever, but it's finally gone.



I knew it was time for it to come out last night, but Cade's gums were really hurting, so he was not in the mood to let Mommy play around in there. The hubs had a great idea though: Ambosol! We have some for Tiegan, so he put it on Cade's gums, fidgited with his tooth for a minute, and POOF! Out it came. Cade didn't even feel it.

Why didn't my parents ever put Ambosol on my gums? I sure felt it when mine came out!

She Who Toots Own Horn

I just have to say... not too shabby.

My machine was being naughty tonight, so please ignore the pins still in the ruffles. But it was so darn cute that I had to share. Wouldn't this be so much cuter to give as a gift than some generic outfit from Target? I'm willing and able people. Willing and able.

I don't have time to maintain these regrets

Much of my adult life has been spent wishing.
Wishing my baby weight was gone. Wishing I was more organized. Wishing I was more disciplined. Wishing that I wasn't such a sucker for chocolate. Wishing I was more creative and better at doing more activities with the boys. Wishing I wasn't so lazy when it comes to my laundry. Or making my bed. Wishing I was better about having time alone with HIM everyday.

Wishing I was better.


I have a lot of pet peeves.I guess you could say that I'm a difficult person to live with. When I was dating in high school, it didn't take very long for me to realize that the guys I dated were not "the one". I couldn't stand to be around them after the first month or so. The way I knew without a doubt that Chris was mine is that I couldn't get enough of him! We were two peas in a pod, and I never wanted that to end. (pet peeves can develop over time though...hehe!)


One of my biggest pet peeves is when people have so much pride that they think their purpose for being on earth is to teach other people to be like them. You know the type. Everyone else is stupid, because they do things the wrong way, but they do everything the right way. I knew people like this in high school. I knew people like this in college. And then some. I know people like this now. Most of the time they enjoy putting other people down and making them feel dumb. In my resolve to not be like those people, I've always been the type to be very accommodating to other people. I can't stand it if others think that they're not accepted or loved by me. I take it to heart when the scripture says "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." Even when I disagree with people, I try to choose my words carefully so as to not come across as haughty or self-righteous.

I've always been quite aware of my shortcomings, so I certainly would hate to come across like I have everything together.

stay with me here.

So...I've been on a journey for a very long time to correct myself. To see the parts of me that I've never wanted to see. You know...the dark corners covered with cob webs. There's something so healthy and therapeutic in seeing those nasty parts that that need to be cleaned-out, worked-out or tossed-out.

but here's the problem.

I don't think I've ever really cleaned any of it out. I'm not sure that I've ever worked-out any of it. And I'm pretty darn sure that I've never tossed anything out, because I'm a pack rat. I save everything, so I would have remembered that.

So, what happens when you just sweep those cob webs to the middle of the floor, but don't clean up the mess? Your feet get all nasty and dirty. You track those nasty things all over the rest of your house and end up making an even bigger mess than if you had just left them alone.

Still following me?

Sooooo. Here I am. Trying to be a better person. A more effective person, but I've just made a huge mess of things.

In trying to explain things to a friend recently, I could only equate it to a race horse stuck behind the gate. He's ready. He knows what he wants. He wants to get there fast. But he can't. Ooh. Ooh. Maybe I'm more like a race car at the starting line. I'm revving my engine, but the car isn't in drive. Yeah that's it. Never mind about the race horse thing. I'm a car. I'm spinning my wheels and going nowhere. Yeah. Much better.

At any rate, I've been going nowhere fast. I still think it's very healthy for us all to turn the mirror back at ourselves every now and then. It's a good thing when we realize that we are all flawed and that we certainly don't have it all together. But, when that becomes our focus, rather than HIM, then it becomes about us, rather than about Him. It can also easily become a foothold for Satan to paralyze us---> "You can't do that...you're not good at that, remember? Don't even try." It can fill you with self-doubt, fear, confusion, etc.

I'm done with that cycle.

So, here it is: I'm flawed. I don't have it together. But so are you. Give me a break when I mess up...and I'll give you a break when you mess up. The one thing I know is that He reigns. He is NOT flawed. He will work these things out for HIS good. In the meantime, I focus on him. When he brings things to mind that I need to change about myself, I'm going to do my best to respond. But bettering myself or becoming a better person doesn't lead me closer to him. SEEKING HIM leads me closer to him.


He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us, oh (repeat from top)

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us, oh

max & lulu

I've had so many friends to buy baby gifts for. Only problem is that I couldn't find what I was looking for in the shops I was visiting.

max & lulu. Problem solved.

It's quite a work in progress, but it's up and running!




check me out @ www.tracir.etsy.com.