Proud...

I'm proud to be an American. I know there's problems here in our beautiful country, but I'm still proud to be a part of this country. I'm praying for our leaders, that they would make wise decisions. There are things I would love to see changed, but I'm very grateful that I live in a country where things can change. Others do not have that blessing.

I hope you all enjoy your day. Take time to pray for our country and leaders and to be thankful you can do so without fear.

2 years old!

My little man Titus Walker is 2 years old today. Man! Time has flown by! He's grown up so much. Never did I imagine he would be this much trouble, umm I mean fun when I held him for the first time.

Newbie

One month

Six months

One year

("Thank you for coming to my birthday party!")

18 months

TWO YEARS!!!!

(tired out from birthday playing)

Biggest Loser

I will be the biggest loser- hopefully! My husband, his mom, gramma, and I are all competing in the Biggest Loser. We all have some weight to lose but mostly want to get in better habits. We want a healthier lifestyle. We want self-discipline when it comes to food. We started last week. And last I checked I lost two pounds! :) I'm not really sure how I did that because I don't feel like I changed that much last week. This week I'm focusing on snacking. I want to cut back on my snacking a little bit. I can't cut back too much because I'm nursing Rya so I will make better choices as to what I snack on. I'm also going to get more exercise this week. It's a busy week but if I don't try now I never will. :) We are committed to this for 60 days. Stay tuned and I will let you know who wins!!

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!!!