One Day at a Time...: November 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

More simple things...

Here are a few things I'm thankful for today... :)
1. This morning, my sweet Rylie prayed before eating her breakfast and told God "I hope you have a great day".
2. Zoe, while playing peek-a-boo with me, said "Mommy, where's MEEEEE?"
3. This morning, like every morning for a long time now, Josh signed "I love you" as he left for school.

My life wouldn't be the same without these miracles. Today, I thank God that He gave them to me.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving - we did! Here are some pictures...

Pretty Thanksgiving table at my parents' house

Zoe, happily reading some books

Mini Cinnamon rolls - yummmmmm :)

I'm the luckiest girl in the world ;-)

My boys...

Can't believe I captured this!

Stirring the "Thank You Soup"

Getting ready to enjoy our Thank You Soup at home

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Simple Things That Make Me Smile

Today, I choose to enjoy the simple things that make me smile. For instance, Rylie's rendition of "All I want For Christmas"...er..."Chrismis".

And ladybug facepaint

And cupcake facepaint

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Shadows...

November seems to be flying by...a little too fast for my liking...but that's no different than any other month, really. Thanksgiving is coming up this week, and I'm looking forward to spending time with our families...I like that it's casual and more relaxed, no stress of choosing/buying/wrapping/lugging Christmas presents. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas, and everything that comes with it. But, I like Thanksgiving too...and can't wait for a couple days off of work to enjoy it.

This year, we introduced "Thank You Soup" at home - we've done it at Pop-Pop and Nana's house for several years now, but I thought it was time to do it in my own home too. So, I have a pot of ingredients that make up our Thank You Soup. It's been "simmering" for a couple weeks now, and the big kids have really gotten into it. So into it that I've run out of paper! (Note to self - cut more paper tonight). The rule is - no one looks at the ingredients until thanksgiving - then we read together all the things that we're thankful for. Here's a picture when we were just getting started...now it's just about overflowing!

So, I'm going to slow down and enjoy this week, then get crazy into Christmas! (PS - I do not decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, so we'll be spending much of the weekend after Thanksgiving spending more quality time together rolling out the Christmas stuff!) Can't wait!

This morning, we heard a great sermon that was focused on how to not get "lost in the shadows" - as I said, we love Christmas but don't consider ourselves crazy about the decorations, the gifts, the food, etc. We love it all, but I *think* we have a healthy appreciation for it. This morning, our pastor talked about Colossians 2:16-17, which says "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ". This is a great reminder for me not just at the holidays, but in everyday life not to focus on the "shadow of what is to come", but the reality, which is "found in Christ".

I'm keeping track of updates for my "month of thanks" but will post them all later. Most of all, I'm thankful that (I saw this quoted on Pinterest, of all places!) "I'm not perfect, but God thinks I'm to die for". :)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Oh, and I love Sunday too :)

The only thing I DON'T like about Sunday is that it's the last day before going back to work, and I'm never ready. But, I love getting donuts at 8am, going to church with my family, cooking in the afternoon, I love it all! Today, I am thankful that I got some down time to work on my bible study, and am looking forward to spending the rest of the day cooking, cleaning up and getting ready for the week. The message I heard this morning was a good one - there's this tension between who I am and who I need to be, what I've done and what I need to do. Right in the middle is the Cross. Some days, I need to be told "you're not good enough on your own, no matter how hard you try...but God has what you lack". Then, there are days where I need to be told "you are more than good...good enough for God's work". Today was one of those messages. Kind of a kick in the rear...in a good way. :)

Today is a new day in the Mobley house - Zoe has been in a "big girl bed" for months now, but for some reason never knew that she could get out of bed on her own and walk across the room to the door and open it, all by herself. Funny, because she climbs in and out of bed everyday, so she knows she is physically able. Yet, somehow it was just "understood" that you wait until Mommy or Daddy comes. Until today, that is. This morning, she popped open the door as I was walking upstairs to get her up and said "I'm ready to get up!". I giggled and told her that she should wait for me before getting up, and of course she shook her head as if she understood me, and we moved on, getting ready for the day. Then, just a few minutes ago (thankfully I was just wrapping up my study for today) she opened the door (it's nap time in my house) with her blanket in hand and a huge grin on her face. I walked over to her and said "what are you doing...?". She responded "I don't know" and I walked her right back to her bed. That's when she lost it. As I type this, she is crying a heartbreaking little cry, and I can tell it's because she doesn't understand how this new found knowledge of hers isn't a good thing! So, based on the fact that she now knows she can get out of bed, and the fact that I KNOW she knows my words won't actually physically stop her from doing so, I've concluded that this is a new day in our house.

Happy Sunday everyone - hope you're having a great day, and I hope you have a great week! :)

Friday, November 11, 2011

Things I love...

I love Friday nights...it's the end of a long week, the end of chasing my tail all week long, the end of the rat race (for the moment)...it's the first time all week I get to breathe. I don't have to worry about any commitments due first thing in the morning, I might even get to sleep in, and who cares if tomorrow night's dinner isn't made...I'll be home before dark to cook it...or (this is crazy talk!) maybe we'll go out and I won't cook at all! SIGH...I love Friday nights. So, here I sit, doing a whole lot of nothing. Perfect.

This week was a busy one...it was L-O-N-G but at the same time I can't believe it's over already...half of my house has been sick this week (well almost half, Mike and Rylie), so it's been hectic. And, I totally earned the "World's Worst Mother" award...Rylie has been sick off and on for the last couple of weeks. Nothing major, but some tummy trouble. Well, then I thought she was "sick" versus actually sick. I was getting worried because she hasn't been eating as much. I watched her every move on Wednesday night and decided (as did she) that her stomach was fine and she was (finally) hungry for dinner. The minute she saw what dinner was, suddenly her tummy hurt again and she didn't want to eat. Well, I decided she was playing me because she didn't want what dinner was (and I'm NOT the mom that will cook multiple dinners to suit everyone's palate) so I made her eat. Every stinkin' bite was a struggle, and she was giving me every excuse in the book to NOT eat. After one of her bites, she said "I think I'm going to throw up"...this is where I earned the award. I told her "No your're not...eat". Her response jump started my mother's intuition because she got this panic-stricken look on her face and said "but I really feel like it"...so, we bolted to the bathroom and made it literally about half a second before everything she had eaten came back up. So, I apologized to my six-year old for not believing her, accepted the lesson in humility, and thanked God for not letting her throw up all over the table, or floor, or me.

Here's to hoping I have an illness free, relaxing weekend. I wish you all the same! :)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

And so it begins...again.

In my ever-failing attempt to capture my life SOMEWHERE, I've started yet another blog. Maybe this one will stick...I thought I liked the idea of a website versus a blog, but the way it's laid out, I have to update each person's page...then if I update one kid, I have to update all...and I have three, so...come on! blah blah blah...With a blog instead of a website, I can just update as I see fit. So, here goes...again. :)

Here's a quick summary of who we are, followed by some (recent) pictures:

Me - I'm Lynne. I am first and foremost a child of God who is learning to grow, a midst all the challenges that life throws at me. I'm also wife to a spectacular husband and mom to three of the most wonderful kids alive...no, really! I work full-time at a 3rd party benefits administrator and am coming up on my 10th anniversary. I love to cook and have tons of grandiose plans for opening a bakery someday, turning every room in my home into a page from Better Homes and Gardens with my home improvement ideas (only, just the pretty easy stuff 'cuz I'm not really a "roll your sleeves up and get it done" kind of girl when it comes to the hard stuff...wish I was, but eh...). I am a procrastinator at heart and hate that about myself...so, I'm always coming up with plans to get myself organized and have developed a million different "plans" (like my various blogs and websites, lol)...usually to find out God has something else in store for me. :)

Mike - the aforementioned spectacular husband - we've been married for 8 1/2 years and I fall more and more in love with him by the day...sometimes, by the minute. He's amazing - he loves God and me and our kids...who could ask for more?!

Josh - my 11 year old son; he's in 6th grade this year and growing too fast...he plays trumpet in the band (this is the first year so we'll see where it goes) and is the goofiest sweetest boy alive. He is a people-pleaser and would do ANYTHING to make you happy. He loves to draw and read and solve problems...I wonder what he'll turn out to be...

Rylie - my six year old lady bug. She started kinder this year and we couldn't be more proud of her. She can hold her own and seems to already be in the "popular" crowd (which first of all, I find hilarious that it even exists at this age, and second, I have no idea how she could be the social butterfly she is...she didn't get it from me...I was never in the "popular" crowd...lol!)

Zoe - my two (almost three!) year old baby...only I can't call her that. If I try, she corrects me with a frown saying "I'm not a baby". I THOUGHT Rylie was my crazy wild child, and she is definitely a free spirit, but THIS one is completely nuts...and I mean that in the most endearing way. She is the most independent child I've ever known...and, it seems she's picked up some of my "OCD" tendencies...everything in her room has its place and she's been known to SCREAM out until you come to her room only to find out that some toy never got picked up and is sitting on the floor, out of place. Only I just giggle and pick it up for her...I am NOT going to be the one to let the cat out of the bag and tell her she can just get up (out of bed all by herself *gasp*) to put it away. :)