Love covers a multitude of sins.

I woke up crabby today. 

And I woke up to a bossy, argumentative, stubborn toddler. 

The two do NOT mix well! 

I was very aware that today was not going to be a smooth sailing day, especially if I tried to get through on my own. Which, let's be honest, is usually what I do. And I fail. all. the. time. I can't get through an easy day on my own so why I so often think I can cake walk a hard on my own is beyond me. Oh wait- it's not. I do that because I'm selfish and a know it all. I think that God can't be bothered or isn't good enough to help me. I need Him to get through each day so it's not a complete disaster.

So, throughout my morning I fluctuated back and forth from asking God for patience and love for my nemesis of the day to letting myself get overly frustrated and angry. The morning wasn't a complete train wreck, which was a very nice and appreciated blessing. There was a lot of TV watching, not gonna lie.

Then this afternoon after cleaning (more about that project in a few days) I found a card from the hubs. He put a list of Scripture references in there for me to look up so I did. One in particular popped out at me and is challenging my heart and the way I view my kid specifically.

1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (ESV)

When Titus is driving me crazy, by arguing with everything I ask/tell him to do, by bossing me around, or by just blatantly not obeying I need to keep loving him. Oh, I will always love him but there are times when that's easier to act on than others.

How can I expect Titus to grow up and obey this verse if I'm not doing it for him on a daily basis? The answer? I can't. It's that simple. My pastor says it this way, "You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are." That phrase is quite humbling and I'm very grateful for that piece of wisdom.

Commitments

I am making a few commitments for myself this week. 2 out of 4 of these are things I used to do but stopped because of laziness. The other 2 are new and hopefully will become habit. 1. I am committing to drinking half of my body weight in fluid ounces every day. Drinks with caffeine do not count. I have read this is the proper amount for each person instead of the standard 6-8 glasses. 2. I am going to start running. I ran once last week and did pretty well since I survived. I want to run 5 times a week but 3 might be a better goal to begin with. My ultimate goal is to be able to run in a 5K Turkey Trot with my Dad on Thanksgiving. 3. I am making my own wipes again. I used to but stopped because I felt like I went through those faster than store bought ones. Plus mine would get moldy after awhile. Even though it's annoying the mold is natural and it creeps me out that store bought wipes don't get moldy! 4. I'm going to try cloth diapers again. I stopped because once again I got lazy and I really hated the smell. But I spent a chunk on the diapers and I spend a chunk every month on disposables. I'm not sure how it will work out because I have to go elsewhere to do my laundry. Here's to a week of sticking with it!!!!

Blue Eyes

I love my blue-eyed babies!

Nap time

Rya has been a rock star when it comes to nap time. She prefers going to sleep on her own, except on the rare occasion. She falls asleep on her back and then shortly after I flip her to her stomach to prolong her naps. On her back she sleeps 30-45 minutes but on her stomach (gasp!) she sleeps 1.5-3 hours.

It's been so hot this past week we pretty much lived downstairs where fans kept it nice and cool.

This week Rya figured out how to roll over. Yay! My little girl is growing up. :) However that causes problems with nap time. Instead of snuggling in for a nap she keeps rolling over. This wouldn't be a problem except that if Rya is on her stomach and awake for any length of time she ends up spitting up- which makes her mad. Needless to say there's been an adjustment and we're still figuring it out. Last night I pulled out her favorite blanket and she settled right down. It's been so hot I haven't had it out, but if it helps her fall asleep who cares how hot it is! 

This morning she wanted to sleep on her back. Every time I would flip her over she would wake up and get mad, but go right back to sleep after I put her back on her back.

Her foot is on the blanket, which is apparently all the contact she needed. Usually she has it snuggled in her arms.

(I love that shirt she's wearing! It has an underwear-like bottom piece but that's too small for her legs. :o)  )

She actually just woke up- the typical 30 minute nap. However I'm going to leave her for a little while and see if she goes back to sleep. Here's hoping!!!

Updates

1. I am so grateful for my salvation through Jesus. I know that the heat we have going on right now is no where close to what Hell is going to be like but it's a great reminder to be thankful!

2. In a matter of 12ish hours Rya went from accidentally rolling over to purposefully and constantly rolling over in both directions! She's growing so fast! I love watching her grow and figure things out.

3. Titus is learning so much it's kind of scary. I have a bag full of puzzles and he is pretty much able to do his favorites all. by. himself. He's a little boy and loving to learn and figure things out.

4. Titus turns 2 in under two weeks. Where did the time go? (Oh that's right, to moving 2 times and having another baby.)

5. Bryan is amazing and works hard for us every day. He enjoys his new job for the most part and loves that he's finally using his college degree.

6. I am forever grateful for fans. I have a massive wind machine blowing on me right now. It helps me forget that my house is 85 degrees. :)

7. I'm psyched for Camp Cherith of Western New York. God is going to do some amazing things there this summer and I'm excited to be able to pray for the staff and campers. I'm also excited for CILT grad and being able to connect with friends again. (shout out to CILT grad class of '03).

Follow through

I laugh at my ability to follow through!!! One of my goals that I blogged about last time was to post on a regular basis! Haha! It's been almost two months!!! I must also admit that I've done a lousy job at the other goals on my list. I laugh at myself to hide my disgust and shame. God has been working on my heart and convicting me of my selfish laziness. I'm so grateful for His faithfulness!!! I don't know if I tried to change too much at once or if I just was too lazy. It could be a combination of both as well. So for this week I'm narrowing things down. I have 3 things that I want to work on improving. 1. Spending time with Jesus EVERYDAY! Even if it's only 5 minutes. I need that time everyday. It makes such a huge difference in my mental and emotional health for the day. 2. Staying on top of dishes. My original goal was to go to bed with all the dishes done. This is still my ultimate goal but I want to do dishes after every meal so I don't have a huge pile at the end of the night when I'm exhausted. 3. Get my house back to normal and establish a cleaning routine. We have had a really busy season and my house is the proof!!! This week I want to tame the chaos and figure out a way to stay on top of it in the future. After this week I have more that I want to work on but I'm trying. Of to think about all that right now. Feel free to check in on me and call me out on my laziness if you see it!!!