Friday, August 22, 2014

In My Next 30 Years

In my first 30 years, I thought my best friend should be a girl. And at the times that I had one, it was. At other times, I wanted so badly to have one - someone who was like a sister to me, a fellow female I could confide in and hang out with, who would understand me, and who would always be on my side and at my side. Friendship is great and important, and best friendship is even more special. So when I felt it was lacking, it made me very sad. In my next 30 years, I want to remember every day that I do have a best friend, someone who is always on my side and at my side, someone who wants more than anything to comfort me, laugh with me, and spend life with me: my husband. I must, must start remembering this, cherishing this, and not taking it for granted.

(By my side through three births, I think he's seen about the best and the worst of me by now!)

In my first 30 years, I craved control, and I let that craving control me. I wanted complete control over myself, and much of the time over everyone and everything around me. I wanted to win every argument and every competition, even if it wasn't a competition to anyone else. I wanted things to be perfect - what I considered perfect, anyway. I wanted to rule the world. Well, I don't and I can't. It is a pretty unattractive characteristic, that control thing. And, it frequently backfires. In my next 30 years, I want to - need to - cure that craving. I want to let God be in control. (Wait, who am I to let God do anything, right? Maybe I should say that I want to have a bit more faith in God's control. He's got it under control, whether I let Him or not!) And not just with God, but also to not be tempted to be the control-freak who must get her say and her way, and to trust that other people can do things and do them rightly and well. I do not need to be in control, and I have a feeling that will actually be quite freeing. Okay, I've been working on this one already, and it is. :) Maybe, just maybe, people will start to notice a new-not-control-freak-Marie! Life's more fun this way.

(This is me having fun. Big sunglasses. Something I would have never, ever considered even a year ago!)

Lastly, in my first 30 years, I read a lot. I thought a lot. I talked a lot. I read and thought and talked about all kinds of things - religion, health, parenting, even hobbies and homemaking. My brain is full of ideas and information, which came in handy for winning imaginary arguments. In my next 30 years, I want to walk the talk. I want to more purposefully and passionately live the faith I've learned so much about. I want to put the information into action, to be intentional in my interactions, especially with my children, and to implement the ideas I've had swirling around in my head (and often on paper) but have never actually done. It sounds lofty, I know, but there comes a time when gaining more knowledge isn't as good as using the knowledge you already have. (And I'm not really worried that I'll stop learning, because it's my favorite thing to do.)

All this stuff, entire changes of thought processes and maybe even personality traits, it won't happen tomorrow. Most likely none of it will, since tomorrow isn't that much different than today. That's why I'm giving myself the next 30 years, God willing, to tackle it.

My first 30 years were pretty amazing (you know, being born and being a kid, and then getting married and having my own kids - yes, I left out a chunk of not-as-amazing teenage years), but I'm awfully grateful for the wisdom and maturity to do the next 30 a bit better.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

A Happy Ending

On the eve of my 30th birthday, I decided to reread some of my (now un-published) posts from the past couple of years. I barely recognize myself! I remember writing those posts, but I don't remember the feelings behind them very well. And to be honest, they're a bit embarrassing. It shouldn't be, because it was depression talking, but I was letting the ugliness of it get the best of me.

Tonight, the good news is that I'm not depressed (right now? anymore? I'm not sure of the best way to say that), even though I am a little overwhelmed with a fussy baby. It's just not getting to me the way things were then. Yes, I'm exhausted and occasionally have to vent about how hard things are right now, but at the end of the day, I'm happy. I'm tired, but happy. I have a lot to be happy about!


And that's how my 20's will end. It's a very happy ending, and an even happier new beginning.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Thank You





Thank you for praying for me. Admitting that I need help (even if only in form of prayer) isn't easy or fun, but it actually does make a difference. I know the prayers themselves help, but so does putting myself out there and not keeping it all bottled up. So thank you for reading and for praying.

Our ultrasound on Friday went well. They once again saw a perfectly normal, healthy baby and said they are as close to 100% sure of that as medical professionals can be. They said he is about 4 1/2 lb and is growing chubby cheeks. Lord help me if we need any more sonos at my regular practice because it is going to be hard to keep my mouth shut.


The boys' birthday party on Saturday was fun. I made 24 superhero capes and opted to buy cake instead of make it. You can only do so much. My brother and uncle were also here for the weekend, which kept the boys busy and happy and entertained.


More happy things:
-it feels like summer this week! (okay, maybe a little too much)
-Lucas is registered for t-ball, and both boys are registered for soccer
-the newborn clothes are in the dresser ready to go

Last thing. My brother and I took the boys to the zoo on Monday, and we got to see this about three feet in front of us. First it was just boy lion, and then girl lion joined him for some cuddles. They were so cute together!



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Snow

We've been enjoying the snow. I would prefer temperatures between 20 and 30, but I'll take the snow any way we can get it!



I'm going to be really, really sad when it rains and is in the 40's next week. I know we're supposed to try to understand other people's points of view, but I really can't understand why so many people prefer mud to snow. If we were comparing 75 and sunny to 15 and windy, I can see your point. But all the people jumping for joy over 40's and rain? I don't get you.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

It's a...




It's a...nother boy!

Even a third boy gets some new things!
I'm very happy about that!

Lucas is too, because on the way to the ultrasound he told me that if we have three boys that makes a whole baseball team. To him, baseball is having a batter, a pitcher, and one fielder in the backyard. We also play three-person football with one quarterback, one running back or receiver, and one defender. Having three boys is going to (someday) allow me sit down and watch. Yay!

Tyler said all along that he wanted a sister. When the ultrasound tech told us it was a boy, he said, "And a sister." Nope, there's not two in there, buddy. Sorry. I think he'll be happy once the baby is here. We told him he will get to teach him to throw a ball and build towers and play trains. That seemed to appease him.

Most people are genuinely happy for us, but a lot of our relatives were rooting for a girl. Sometimes comments like "Aww, that's too bad" are kind of hurtful. I probably said things like that before I had kids, but most of these people aren't in that category. Now I always try to say "Oh, that's so exciting!" no matter what - 1st kid, 10th kid, 3rd boy, 3rd girl, whatever. It IS exciting to have a(nother) baby no matter what! I am really genuinely happy for people when they announce their pregnancy, if/when they find out the gender, and of course when the baby is born. And I'm especially happy that we're going to be welcoming our third baby boy in a few months!

He wouldn't stop moving his hands around. He really wanted to wave hello but he wouldn't even hold them still enough to get a non blurry picture! He also decided to cover up his boy parts with them, but we finally got a view from the back to confirm it!
20 weeks