Resolutions

I have nothing against resolutions – I just have a terrible track record with them!

I always come out of the gate strong. January is an awesome month & I do a good job of sticking to my resolution. As soon as I pass my month celebration though, things start to taper off.

By mid March to early April I will sporadically do my resolution. By June I’m going, “oh no, I forgot to…” I hit the fall months & it’s all over.

As I was contemplating what resolution(s) I wanted to make this year, I kept coming back to the same question: 

What does it take to make a resolution stick?

Obviously, my success rate hasn’t been the greatest, so I decided to first examine why.

I discovered that throughout the years, I was lacking in one of the following areas:

• Doable
• Desire
• Discipline
• Dedication 

Doable

I’m a firm believer in setting yourself up to succeed – so choose something practical! For example, last year, my resolution was to drink eight glasses of water a day. Also, be realistic with your resolution – be careful with setting over-the-top expectations.

Desire

Sure, your resolution may sound nice, but do you really want it? Don’t make a resolution for the sake of making a resoluiton. Chances are, you’re just going to end up disappointing yourself.

Discipline 

I firmly believe you need this if you want to make something a part of your personal routine. You need to teach yourself self-control.

Dedication 

At first I thought this is pretty similar to discipline. However, discipline deals more with the action, while dedication is the heart behind it. You have to be completely & wholly commited to your resolution.

 

Happy New Year!!

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Time Together

Well, we’re getting closer to finishing our basement.

This week, my parents took the kids on Wednesday & kept them until Friday. This gave Adam & I the chance to work more efficiently, and the opportunity to enjoy some much needed time together!

Wednesday night, Adam & my mom met while I was at worship practice, to trade vehicles & cargo. Later that night, we went out for coffee (hot cocoa for me!) & dessert. I have to admit, it was so nice to enjoy conversation that wasn’t kid directed!

We spent the majority of Thursday working. We went out for breakfast – Panera of course! We then spent the day moving the kids playroom upstairs to their new room in the basement. We collected a lot of their older toys for donation & got rid of a lot of our clutter.

We listened to ABBA (yes, I like them), and laughed together a lot. I just love laughing with my husband. I have to tell you, he is the wittiest person I’ve ever met – it’s one of the things I love most about him!

That night, we did some light shopping & went out for dinner. Again, the time alone was so precious – it felt like we were dating again! I am often reminded in these moments how easy it is to take the little things in our relationship for granted. 

We headed into Rockford on Friday to pick up the kids & to update all of their pictures. The drive up was beautiful – I absolutely love snow-covered branches! As we got closer to Rockford, the snow started coming down quite heavily & we were afraid of getting snowed in. It let up by evening though, & we came home after a nice dinner with my parents & my brother.

Thank you so much Mom, Dad & Brandon for watching the kids for us!

Have you guys recovered yet? 🙂

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“A Christmas Story” Anyone?

 

My Mom got Grady this coat.

He looked absolutely adorable in it.

There was only one slight problem…

He couldn’t stand up!

He kept falling over & everyone kept laughing because he looked just like Randy from “A Christmas Story!”

Don’t worry, you’ll grow into your coat Graders!

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Way to Go Uncle B!

Uncle Brandon got Garrett a Brian Urlacher jersey.

Garrett loved it (and so did Daddy)!

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Her Favorite!

This was Ava’s favorite gift this year – she wanted Moon Sand so badly!

She & Garrett play with it all the time & so far, clean-up hasn’t been too bad.

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Someone Was a Good Girl…

My hubby got me a Mac!!!!

Adam, I can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to me. You are so incredibly wonderful & I love you very much!!!

I know I’m gushing…

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Our Christmas Eve “Service”

This year, our church had a Christmas Eve “Service.” Instead of having a service at church, we went out and served in our community.

My family brought cookies to a fire station to thank all the people there who faithfully serve us.

When I arrived, there was a sign that read:

“Ring-Bell For Service”

I paused and smiled. This was such a cool moment. Here, I was so supposed to ring a bell for someone to serve me. And instead, I stood on the other side of the door, wanting to serve them.

I had to take a picture of it!

This was such a joyful experience! There was a genuine look of appreciation on the man’s face when I gave him our box of cookies that I will never forget. Isn’t it amazing how small acts of kindness can mean so much to another person?

My prayer is that we go beyond serving during this Christmas season & continue to be a blessing to one another throughout the year.

Jesus was a servant. What better way to show His love to our world than to serve each other?

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Merry Christmas!

To all my wonderful family & friends,

Merry Christmas! I pray that your day is filled with joy and peace.

Today’s daily dose of sunshine is a quote by Michael Card:

“Christmas is the celebration of the keeping of a promise…A saving promise.”

My prayer is that you come to know Jesus, as your Savior & Lord. This is the best gift I hope you receive this year. And for those who have already received this priceless gift, I pray that you continue to rejoice in it every day.

It’s not a gift you can earn – it is freely given to all. It doesn’t matter how many good things you do or how much money you give.  You are accepted where you & for who you are.

Thank you all so much for blessing me in countless ways.

I love you! 

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It Made Me Laugh!

This was one of my favorite moments yesterday:

We were exchanging gifts with Adam’s family and it was Adam’s turn.

My little niece, Jaidyn, was watching him unwrap his gift & she excitedly said:

“Adam! Adam! You got a box!! Do you love it?!”

Well, he did love what was inside the box. But sorry sweetie, we ended up throwing the box itself, out. 

Too cute!!

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A Little Quiet

I took a couple of days off from blogging.

We’ve been battling the flu here.

Garrett was sick on Thursday.  I had the kids all dressed up to go see Santa.  We made it to the mall & then he threw up all over himself and the car.

Ava was sick on Friday.  She came into our room in the middle the night and threw up in our bed.

Adam was sick yesterday. I could tell while we were at church that something was up. We drove in to see his family and have our Christmas with them. He made it through lunch & then spent the rest of the day throwing up. Poor guy!

We were supposed to sing a duet for their Christmas Eve “Eve” service, but there was no way he was going to make it. I ended up singing a solo at the last minute instead. After the service we exchanged our gifts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even really enjoy watching the kids unwrap their presents.

So far, Grady & I are okay. But why do I have this sickening, sinking feeling that my turn is coming… 

Today, we are going to my aunt’s house to spend Christmas with my family.  It may end up just being me & the kids who go. We’ll see how the morning unfolds!

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Guess What Came in the Mail…

Honestly, I haven’t felt well today. Nothing serious – just a little tired.

I just checked the mail (its 5:00pm) & low & behold – what did I see before my eyes?

I’ll give you a hint…

It starts with the word “Emmet.”

Whoo-hoo! Guess who’s day just got brighter?!

I can’t wait to watch this!!!!

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The Tooth Fairy Didn’t Come, But Someone Else Did!

I hope to have footage up soon!

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Pulling a Fast One

We were finishing up dinner after an extremely hectic evening.  Honestly, I think we all ended up eating different meals at different times.

I was going through the mail, when out of the corner of my eye, I spied Ava going for her paint set. Now, she was in the middle of dinner & suddenly she wants to paint? 

Hmmmm…

I pretended to casually go through the ads while seeing what she was up to. Out came the white paint & the paint brush.

She then picked up a kernel of corn & started painting it.

I couldn’t resist.

“Ava, why are you painting your corn white?”

“Mommy, I’m going to play a joke on the tooth fairy. I’m going to pretend this is a real tooth & see if she leaves me a present.”

She gets this from her father.

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And Introducing…

Well, the tank is once again occupied.

Ava & I went shopping & she picked out a purple male beta crowntail fish. I found this image on Google – looks just like him!

His name is Rainbow.

🙂

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The “Leader of the Band” Singer is Gone

Dan Fogelberg died yesterday.

I have to tell you, he was one of my favorite artists.  His songs were so simple, yet conveyed so much emotion. He had a pure & soft vocal stlye & he told such beautful stories with his lyrics.  Its one of the reasons why I love “Same Old Lang Syne.”

Another one of my favorite songs is “Longer.”  It was actually the song Adam & I almost danced to at our wedding for our 1st Dance.  We ended up switching songs for that dance, but have always enjoyed dancing together to that song.

Goodbye Dan. Thanks so much for all the heart, so intimately shared in your music.

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