The number one rule of womanhood

 The number one rule of womanhood is you never ever ever ask a woman if she's pregnant.  NEVER.  I mean, even if the baby is coming out...don't even hint at it!

We were hiking yesterday and I let this lady ahead of me.  I said "Go ahead, I'm slower".  She said "You're pregnant right?"  

😕😟😠😭😡😢😱

Larry quickly said, no but we have 4 grandkids!  HA!

So the rest of the hike, that's all I could think about.   I eat really good, I exercise every stinking day.  I close all my rings on my apple watch so faithfully.  I guess I could use the excuse everyone else is using right now...pandemic??  I really don't know. I've gained a few pounds but geezzzzzz.

You see, I've birthed 3 kids (granted it was 24 years ago-but still).  That poochy belly is my badge of honor.  It reminds me of the amazing body that God has created.  My body stretched to an enormous size.  And out of that misshapen body, I now have my 3 beautiful grown adult kids now and now my grandkids!

That pooch shows me that I'm not perfect.  I still have work to do.

That pooch reminds me to watch what I eat and to keep on exercising.

But this is my body.  

Words hurt.  I've dealt with hurtful words my whole life.

Words can also change someone's life for the better.

So women,  if you feel the need to say something to another woman, please just say "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!"

Or "I Love your hair today!"

Or anything along those lines.   You have no idea where someone is in their journey.  Having babies makes crazy bodies.  But they are beautiful.

Let's be an encouragement to one another at all times.  But especially now.

Kitchen, Bath and floors!

 So I'm a little late posting this but all the condo is DONE!!  It took them about 3 weeks to do it all!  All new kitchen/bathroom cabinets, new backsplash, new quartz countertops, all new floors! The appliances we've replaced over the last few years, as well as all the fixtures.  Our closets were done the first year we moved in (California Closets!!  highly recommend!) 

So we basically have an ALL NEW CONDO!!!  

It's so exciting!  I love it so much and look forward to enjoying it in the coming years!!

If you are looking for a remodel job Home Front Renovations is the place!!  Super personal service, quality craftmanship, great pricing.  Really happy with how everything turned out!  

Something good outta 2020 after all! :)

Your Positive Vibes for the Day!

 The Sun is out!

I'm breathing fresh air.

My heart is beating.

The Lord above is near.

It's cooler outside.

I have life and love.

God's Word is available to me.

It's the weekend.

His mercies are new every morning.

Getting together with friends and family this weekend.

God is good all the time.

My kitchen and bath are all done and things are back in place.

What are you grateful for today?

Dance Dance Dance

Having fun in a marriage is KEY!  It's so easy to get wrapped up in the honey do's, the kid raising, the chores etc.  But how often do you and your honey just go have a fun time?   Just enjoying the moment and each other's company.

Something we do almost every weekend is go out and listen to live music.  Talk about FUN!!  We know a lot of local bands from going around the metroplex every weekend. Just getting out and hearing live music (finally it's back!!)  and then dancing is just so much fun!!!  

Last nite was just such a nite.  As we sat outside, the moon rising over the lake, the band began to play all our favorite Fleetwood Mac songs and we just boogied and grooved.  I hooped, Larry danced, I danced, we danced together. 

Everyone else just sat on the grass in their social distanced circles but here were Larry and I just hooping it up and having a blast!  

There's an old saying, dance like no one's watching--and that's what we did last nite.  The band was playing just for us.  The moon was rising over the lake just for us.  

Life's too short to wait for the next song.

Life's too short to care what other people are going to think about us.

Have a blast together.  

Enjoy each other's company.

Get into the groove.

It'll bring out the kid in ya.  It's good exercise.  It'll relax ya.  It'll bring you both closer together.

It may even bring a smile to someone else's face and inspire them to get up and dance too. 😉

Remodel in progress!

So we've never really lived through a remodel before.  We've remodeled houses before but we haven't lived there when it was being remodeled.

This time, we are actually living in the 800 square feet AS it is being remodeled.  Now that is crazy.

I like order, organization, everything in it's place.

And right now -- everything is NOT in it's place.  It's pretty much a big dusty mess. 

But that's ok, because I know when it's all done--it's gonna look amazing!!

It's kind of like life really.

Life isn't always neat and tidy.  There's problems, broken relationships, hard decisions, fights, arguments and sadness.  It's a big mess at times.  

But we don't just live in that mess.  

There is construction going on.  

There are things being torn down, and things being rebuilt.

New features being added!

And if we can just get through the process...it'll be a beautiful when it's done!  

We work on ourselves, we let God work in and through us.  It's not pretty, it's a little messy and kind of cramped.  But imagine the finished product!

Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Yay!!!  I don't know about you but I need to be made new....

And I can't wait to see my new condo!!  (and put everything back in it's place! hahaha!)

 

Homeschooling Adventures!

There's a whole bunch of  new people doing virtual school at home now.  I just want to encourage you all that you can do this!  We homeschooled all three of our kids for many many years.  Two of them all they way through and one all but about 2 years.  

We used every type of curriculum over the years.  From structured, to workbooks, to computer classes, to unit studies, to unschooling.

First of all, every kid is different.  That is the first thing that I learned homeschooling!  Everyone does not learn like me!  Some of my kids liked structure, some liked more freedom.  Some needed a desk, some needed to be outside. Some liked to do the pages in order, some liked to randomly open the book and do that page! 

Our homeschooling definitely evolved over the years. At first, all I knew to do was what I knew as "school" at home.  I tried to recreate it.  That didn't go over so well.  Then I realized we had the freedom to do so much more at home!  We could learn here or there!  We could learn everywhere!

We utilized the library, and games, and outside, and loads of free play.  Some of the best learning was random questions as we were flying kites at the park.

Now I know, you all doing the "virtual learning" at home won't have quite as much freedom.  But take this time to get to know your kids.  How do they learn?  Visual, auditory, tactile?  By rote, by memorizing? By singing?   Take this time to get to know yourself!  How's your patience?  How's your attitude? Take this time to listen to what they are learning.  Listen to what's going on in the classroom.

And really, it might be easier just to homeschool yourself! Ha!  I know it's not for everyone, but you'd be surprised what you are capable of!

My biggest thing is you don't have to make sure they know "everything"!  You don't have to stuff every fact into their head before they are 18.  But give them a love of learning.  Teach them how to learn.  How to find the answers.  Find what their passion is and hone in on that! 

Take this time to get to know yourself and build that relationship with your kids.  

It truly is a blessing!

Don't worry be Happy!

This year has been weird.  I'll admit, I have fought some depression at times.  Sometimes the heaviness of everything going on around us is hard to bear.

So what do you do when the sadness sets in?

Things to avoid:

Social media- sometimes the arguments are just too much. take a break or limit your time on it.

Sugary foods- I know it feels like you need "comfort food" at this time, but the sugar will just leave you with empty calories, more weight and an unfulfilled need for more.

Negative people- limit your time around the people that drag ya down or are always negative (this coming from an Eeyore-too! Yikes-gotta work on it so much!)  You can be an encouragement to them (and they probably need it!) but it's easy to slip into their negativity.

Being inside-Get out and get that Vitamin D!  Sometimes, just sitting by the pool, or taking a walk around the block will really boost your spirits.

Laying around-the more we lay around, the more we want to lay around!  Getting moving can get your blood flowing and get your mind in a better place. 

Things to do:

Get up and dance!

Sing loudly!

Hoop! or do your favorite hobby!

Yoga! or stretching or moving or walking or Aerial yoga even! (my sister teaches it!!!!)

Smile, even when your face doesn't feel like it. 😁

Eat well.  

Self care.

Read the Scriptures!!

Take a shower, change the sheets, make the bed.

Start a grateful list and put it where you can see it everyday.

Call someone.

Do something for someone else.

Take vitamin c, magnesium, good multivitamin, probiotic, cod liver oil  DAILY!

His Mercies are new EVERY MORNING!!  Thank you Lord!  Every day the sun comes up, it's a new day.  There's much to be thankful for!  Just look around you!!