For Today....Jan 5, 2010

FOR TODAY
January 5, 2010

Outside my window... Brown leaves are blown up against both doors by this ruthless wind. The wind chill will be around 0 this week. It's coat weather. I usually only wear a coat one day a year, and that day was Friday. So the only thing left to do is stay inside. =0)

I am thinking... that if I toned up my stomach muscles, my back would not hurt so bad when I do things like move the treadmill, move 10 shelves of books from one part of the house to the other, etc.

I am thankful for...gracious thoughts toward me. I am also HUGELY thankful for after-Christmas clearance sales. We have had a blue/silver theme in our Christmas decorations for almost a decade. And Hannah (because she is her grandmother Joyce--born on the 4th of July and very, very festive) has been asking me to change the decorations to all colors. So yesterday, casually in wal-mart, I noticed everything was 75-90% off in the Christmas section. I bought a slew of ornaments and bows for (get this)...$4.50. Yes, FOUR FIFTY! Thank you clearance. You always make momma so happy. I am going to donate the silver/blue decorations to goodwill. Now our tree will be traditional colors to signify Christ's work (red for the blood of Jesus, green for eternal life, gold for treasures in heaven, etc.) I'm excited! I have this brilliant idea to make a nativity tree skirt in the same colors. Brilliant ideas never turn out well for me.

From the learning rooms...this week is a week of play for the littles, and cleaning for Mommy and the teenagers. What we are learning is that I should not be a packrat. I am embracing this wholeheartedly: if I have not hung it, used it, worn it, or utilized it in the past 6 months AND if it is not a family "treasure", it goes to goodwill....period. There is way too much need out there for us to be hoarding blessings "in case we need it later."

From the kitchen... My family in NC sent me the cutest little apron for Christmas, and the teens were so enamored by it, I decided to share. So whoever cooks or bakes gets to don the apron. Since Hannah is now the family cook, she has been the first to wear it. Last night she made amazing chili. Everything tastes better when someone who loves to cook cooks. Mmmmmm.

I am wearing...The pants I wear 4-5 days a week: gray mens sweatpants, horribly unflattering, Plus a faded and bleached humongous long-sleeved t-shirt (shocked it fit me a year ago...how big WAS I?)

I am creating... mayhem. I have TONS of creative ideas right now, and very little follow through. Who would have ever thought the work-a-holic would ever say that?

I am going... to get my rear in gear tomorrow and finish the last two rooms I need to organize and purge in: the office and the toddler's room. This is no easy feat, especially in the toddler's room. I have to keep a clothing inventory from preemie through toddler so we can accomodate whatever size kiddo we get to temporarily parent through foster care. I have gotten some bigger sized girls clothes from a friend that I need to sort and box up, and I just realized that when Gabey's birth grandma brought 3 garbage bags full of newborn clothing, it really overwhelmed my supply. Do I need to hoard 40 newborn hats, receiving blankets, bibs, booties, onesies? No. So I am going to keep a week's supply of those newborn things and donate the rest, and hopefully mommies out there will be blessed by what has been given to us.

I am reading...Freakonomics....slowly.

I am hoping...this year I can be a better person in general. I am really putting a guard on my mouth/finger tips (typing) so maybe I will not be hurtful. Maybe I can keep from gossiping and having such a critical tongue. I was in a situation recently where I was in the presence of a really critical tongue, and it drove me to prayer...that is not how I want to be. I want to bless and not curse. I want to have full control over the tongue and guide it, instead of it guiding me. And foremost, I want to focus on positive things, to not give negativity a foothold. I'm not talking about being in denial about problems or issues that need work or mourning tragedies. I'm talking about not focusing on the lady who pulls out in front of me on the tollway, the cashier who rolled her eyes at me, that my daughter routinely runs over the back of my foot with the grocery cart. Why focus on the little negative things and then enlarge them to others (or even in my own mind) so that I feel like I am being picked on by the gods, or what people hear from me is complaining/venting. I want my friends and family to find me to be a person who makes them feel better, who doesn't focus on life's petty speed bumps and the mean librarian. I don't want to complain with a smile and call it positive. I want to stop complaining at all.

Have you ever noticed that when people tend to complain much about the small things (traffic, tardiness, messes, spills, mean people, runny noses, etc), that when something really tangible happens, they get sort of disregarded? I was like this as a teen. I was pretty darn negative and so when I had a real problem, my mom totally blew me off. She couldn't differentiate when I had a cold I was making into malaria and cramps I made out to be childbirth, so when I really had a broken arm, she said, "That's too bad. Go take some Tylenol." Can I blame her?

I SO do not want to be that person ever, ever again.

I am hearing...Ella and Gabey jump and laugh hysterically in their cribs.

Around the house...disinfected toys, clean cabinets and closets, and the smell of bleach. Oh goodness. I might cry. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Heather! I LOVE CLEAN!

One of my favorite things... weirdly, I look forward to getting mail. Usually it is bills, but when I get a goodie in the mail, like a card or a "thinking of you," it just lights me up. I have kept every encouraging note for over 10 years and put it in a notebook I call my "encouragement" notebook. So when I feel like the scum of the earth and a complete failure, I pull it out and my spirits have no choice but to be lifted. Most of the goodies in the notebook are notes from kids I used to teach. They didn't care if I was perfect, in fact they loved my goofiness. It was that I was consistently there with a smile and pat on the shoulder that mattered.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Get R Done

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...actually, I have no pict

NOW GO HERE to participate. It is great for putting thoughts into perspective.

ure to share. My husband has asked me nicely to upload photos from Thanksgiving to present, and I am trying to do so and publish to facebook sometime...maybe by the end of January???? LOL

Now go here to participate. It is very helpful to take a few minutes to sort out my thoughts.