Forgiveness

I have had a lot of time this summer to reflect on my life. I always thought that I would marry a fellow Christian, someone who believed in and loved God as much as I did. That didn't happen. Instead, I married a man who disagrees with everything written in the Bible and questions God's existence. It definitely makes our relationship more challenging. When I met him, he had been abandoned by every Christian that he met because he wasn't a believer. I said to myself that I would not do the same because I knew that he needed someone to guide him, not abandon him. When we met, I was working in a church and struggling with my own relationship with God. I felt like I had been betrayed by those who worked in a church and I felt it difficult to continue being a part of that church. So I quit going. Then, I had accepted the idea that it wasn't necessary to go to church to believe in God. True. It isn't. However, it does make it easier as long as you find the right church. Looking back on it, I have been betrayed by at least one person at every church I have gone to. Churches are made by people and people sin. We need to not let it interfere with our own growth and forgive them. This smacked me in the face last week when there was a discussion of baptism and homosexuality. I won't get into details, but it woke me up to forgiveness.

K and I moved in together about a year before we got married. I wasn't working at the time because I was going back to school. I kept turning towards teaching, so I went that direction. I quickly got a job as a Para at a middle school in 2006. We got married in Vegas just a few months later. Three months later, I wrote a letter to our local newspaper about the problems in our development, which led to us getting sued by the HOA and the builder of our house. We are still in the lawsuit with the builder but we won against the HOA. The next year, I stepped in as a science teacher and I've been there since. Teaching is not the direction I had intended to go. The Lord had his own plans.

Exactly three years after our wedding, we got pregnant. I always had the feeling that I would have twins, and one of each. That is exactly what we got. My plan lined up with His. Wow! Since their birth, K1 and I have been through some major ups and downs; many of them we thought would send us to the courthouse. Since B and K were born, I realized how important family was. I started praying and reading the Bible to the kids. I felt the need to get back into church and take the kids along with me. Although this has been the root of most of our arguments, he has still gone to church with me and the kids a few times (and then he comes home and watches his shows about aliens.)

I wasn't raised going to church. The times that I did go as a child were my choice. Occasionally, my parents went along. We did spend a little time going as a family, but it didn't last. My parents felt betrayed by the people in the church, as well, and stopped going. I want to do things differently for B and K. I want them to grow up knowing and loving Jesus. I want us all to have a church family to guide us along the way. I want my children to know how to forgive others, even when it is tough to forget the mean ways they have treated us. Sometimes, a church congregation can get so caught up with doing right that they start judging others. This is where the "holier-than-thou" attitude comes along. Sadly, they don't realize it until they have pushed good people away.

Despite having an alien-believer husband, I love him. He does whatever he can to make the kids and I happy and puts himself last in order to do so. This is what a Christian marriage should look like. You put your spouse first and both needs are met. He behaves like a Christian, but doesn't call himself so. I pray that one day he will.

Can We Slow Down Time Please?

I can't believe today is the last day that my babies will spend as 10 month olds. This time has gone by so fast. Sometimes, I wish that I could just slow down time.

B, aka little monkey, has figured out how to get on the fireplace by himself. He has also found out that he can get to the couch from there too. This is where I found him on Thursday morning while I was getting stuff taken out to the car.

K didn't like it when I was out of the room so I put her in the high chair so she could watch me in the kitchen. She was having a lot of fun playing with her Cheerios. She has been really clingy this week, so I took her into the doctor to rule out an ear infection (she had been pulling on her ears.) He said she was in perfect health and didn't find an infection. He did say that her gums were swollen around four teeth buds and it looks like she'll sprout four teeth here in the next couple of weeks. No wonder she's been fussy. Poor baby! Her weight at the doctor was 18 lbs., 8 oz. with diaper and clothes on. She's right on track.

We went to church today; baby Sabbath School first and then worship. I made the decision to transfer my membership over to this church from the one I was baptized in because this one is closer to home and I have friends here. We will probably do a baby dedication, too.

Online Shopping, Diapers, and Great Tortillas!

As we gear up for the kids' first birthday gathering, I've been searching for deals online and in the stores for party supplies and gifts for the kids. I found a really cool website: www. zulily.com. They have some really cute and inexpensive clothes. They send me emails with new daily deals. I got an email last week and it peaked my interest because some of the clothes were Mary Engelbreit baby clothes. I had remembered that my grandmother loves ME stuff so I called her and we both ordered some cute ladybug outfits for K2. B got some things as well. Today, I ssaw the most adorable outfit so I added it to my cart and continued shopping. When I clicked to check out, it said the item was "unavailable". How does that work? Not so happy with that right now. :(

This morning, I was on the phone with Grams when I looked down and saw B holding a diaper. I thought, "Where did he get that?" I realized that he was naked. The child took his own diaper off. Yesterday, he got a Cheerio stuck to his nose. *sigh* (I love my camera phone!)

On a different note, I've been craving Rosa's Cafe lately. Not sure why. Great tortillas, maybe? Although, I am afraid of going there with the kids now. The only three times we've been, I have left covered with some kind of food, drink, or baby fluids...usually because of K2. Maybe she doesn't like Rosa's or maybe I just need to take along a pancho.

Allergies

Since B has been through quite a few coughing spells and ear infections, I took him to the allergy doctor today. He recommended nasal spray once a day for a couple of weeks, then every other day, and then a maintenance dose every 3-4 days after that. Hopefully this helps with the drainage. If it doesn't work, we'll go from there.

He was about 27 inches long (I say about because the nurse didn't get an exact measurement because he wouldn't stand.) He was 18 pounds (their scale didn't do ounces.)

No Blender for B

Between here and facebook, I'm sure I have offended a few people, so let's change the subject and talk babies, shall we?
I thought, surely, that I would have to send B to college with a blender in hand...until today. His first tooth (#25) started coming in today. Hooray! He has been crankier and sleeping a lot more, so this explains why.

We had our first excursion at Benbrook Lake on July 4th. The kids liked it, but since taking Microbiology in college, I don't care much for lakes. It freaked me out, but I wanted to go swimming on July 4th. We left after about an hour...just long enough for the drunks to utterly get on my nerves.

Our first trip to Burgers Lake was on Friday, July 8th. The kids had a ton of fun. They played around in their floaties for a while. K2 liked being closer to the edge so that she could stand and splash around. K and my cousin, A watched them for a while so I could go down the slides and diving with KN. We brought a tent that we purchased at Ikea so they napped in there for a while. Eating solids was completely out of the question while we were out there. Neither of them were having it.

I got a picture of B and KN laying cheek to cheek.

K is watching on the sidelines.

B knows how to entertain aunt A.

So much swimming makes you tired!

Good night :)

Deep Thoughts: Careers, Family, Health, and Money

I've been thinking about this for a while and I needed to get it written down because it was driving me nuts.

Since I had kids, I've been drawn to family, career, and health stories here in the U.S. A lot of people here suffer from major health conditions: heart disease, cancer, obesity...and the list goes on. I find it no coincidence that the people in the Mediterranean and European cultures live longer and have less stress. If you take a look at their daily routine, they walk more, work less, take more naps throughout the day, and spend more time with family and friends. Many of us here in the States forego time with our families and taking care of ourselves because we spend more time working so that we can pay our bills. We're rushing to get to work on time so we stop off at the nearest fast food place to get something to eat. We work late to meet the needs of our job, which means less time with our spouses and kids.

I am on a quest to lead a more simplified life. The most important parts of my life are quality time with my family/friends and our health. Notice that money and things are not anywhere on that list. We have the tendency to get wrapped up in money and things. In the end, is working late to have extra things really worth it? I am the first to admit that I cannot decorate a home to save my life and I hate clutter. My new self-quiz when I am considering a purchase at the store is, "What is its purpose? Do I really need it?" If I answer no, then I don't buy it. I have finally realized that if it serves no purpose, then it goes back on the shelf. In general, decorations serve no purpose; we should be spending time with family and friends rather than looking at things on the wall or shelf.

I just read an article tonight that mentions that that the average work week for highly qualified professionals is 50-60 hours a week. The website here shows a drastic increase in work hours. Many companies are hiring more part-time employees instead of full-time because they think it will save them money. Sadly, this money-saving technique is at the expense of the employees, including the managers who have to pull extra shifts to pick up the slack. I am really saddened by this.

What is wrong with this picture? When did a father have to decide between working long hours in order to keep his job and spending time with his kids? When did a mother start having to debate whether to stay at home with her children after giving birth? In several European countries, new moms receive 6 months to a year or two full paid maternity leave. In the U.S., we receive 12 weeks, unpaid. Why is there such a difference? Are we that money-hungry that we care more about keeping money in our pockets than allowing a reasonable bonding period of a mother and child? 50 years ago, women did not have to work in order for the bills to get paid. Although, they could if they wanted to. All necessary bills could be paid off of one salary. When did it become the norm to need two salaries just to slide by?

Technology can be amazing, but it can also be detremental. I've seen some pretty explosive temper tantrums in public from children. Since I became a mother, I've started observing the reactions from the parents. What I've noticed is that the kids who had the biggest tantrums were the ones whose parents were basically ignoring them. One mother stood in the isle of a grocery store texting on her cell phone while asking her child if she was ready to go. She was not looking at her daughter, but her daughter was grabbing her mother's arm, trying to get her attention by screaming. I couldn't help but wonder if this could have been prevented by spending more quality time with and valuing what her daughter said.

We complain that we're obese and we complain that our cholesterol or blood pressure is high. Once again, the Mediterranean and several European countries walk...a lot! These countries also eat smaller portions and they have time to make their meals because they're not spending every waking hour stuck in a chair - either at home watching TV or at work. I'm sure the fact that some of these countries have afternoon naps helps too. My theory is: Based on research, working too much and meeting deadlines can cause sleep deprivation and stress. Both of these can lead to poor eating habits. When you're eating bad, not sleeping enough, and working too much, you probably don't have the energy or the time to work out. Thus, leading to obesity and health problems.

Our priorities have greatly shifted in this country, and sadly at the expense of many families' health and stability. Maybe these Mediterranean and European countries are on to something here. The U.S. companies could learn some things from them. More companies should allow more schedule flexibility so that people can spend more time with family and working on their own health. The happier and healthier a person is, the better their performance will be at work.