i

There has been some talk lately about what the next generation will be named.  It seems that there's a "letter" trend since the induction of my own generation: Generation X.  Following us was Generation Y.  So, I guess it seems fitting that some would recommend the title Generation Z for the current generation.  I don't agree.  I've given some thought to it, and I would like to submit my suggestion: The "i" generation.

There's the obvious connotation of the tech gadgets that begin with "i" like the iphone, ipod, ipad, itouch, etc. Kids are familiar with each of them; often owning one themselves (at ages FAR too young in my honest opinion).  It's also slightly morbid, but mostly befitting, that the Apple mogul died during this generation.  He is now idolized (another "i") and revered more than ever before.

There are some words with "i" that we hear frequently now: imagine, ideals, increase, identity, ideology, immersion, immediate, immunizations, IQ, Iditarod (ok, just making sure you're still paying attention).  Any one of these can be spun into a description for the future of our children.  

But it goes much farther than that.  For me, one of the strongest arguments is for the "i" to stand for "ironic." We're getting so advanced in our technology that we can see people across an ocean and speak to them in real time.  We can text and it takes mere seconds to reach someone.  We're more "in touch" than ever before.  Yet, look around.  If you go to a restaurant, people aren't talking to the ones at their own table.  They're texting, or facebooking, or emailing people at a distance.  The "i" can also be for "internet".  Are they still calling it that these days? I can't keep up.  I still say w-w-w dot when giving a web address.  Silly me.  But the older I get, the more pessimistic I get about the direction we are headed.

I've been noticing for a while that parents are giving small children technology to keep them quiet instead of teaching them to be social or occupy themselves without a movie or game.  I'm amazed at the 3 year olds that are allowed to run around with an ipad.  I certainly wouldn't hand my daughter five $100 bills and let her run around with them!  She hid my keys in the toybox once and I couldn't find them for 36 hours.  She's not to be trusted.

The "i" can also be a capital "I."  We're raising a selfish generation, because that's what we're modeling.  I've already read a handful of articles that talk about parents needing to put their phones down and pay attention to their children.  How sad that our children are not a priority! Have we forgotten that "Children are our heritage and a blessing from the Lord"? (Psalm 127:3).

How great would it be if we could flip that "i" into something positive? If this is the generation my children will be part of, I want to show them that their ancestors didn't have it all wrong.
I want them to be part of the "I can still sit and write a letter" generation; or the "I would love to have a conversation with you" generation; or the "I believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow" generation.  Better yet, let's call it the U generation.  I love YOU because Christ loved YOU. How can I serve YOU? What can I do to help YOU? YOU are important! YOU matter.

Imagine that.  

The wheel

I was reading my last post and had to laugh.  SO, now it's FEBRUARY?! Where did January go? I'm sure I'll get to December and be saying the same thing.  :)  I told Brian last week that I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel.  I'm in constant motion.  I can't imagine how it is for families with kids involved in sports and lots of activities.  All we have is piano for Reagan and the rest is just "stuff" that keeps us (me) busy.

I'm leading a book study for the ladies at our church on Thursday nights.  It's been neat to see other married ladies come together and work hard to bless their husbands.  We're also planning a women's retreat, a training weekend, and leadership meetings.  It's fun to work for the Lord, but it certainly is work! The rewards are the best pay there is though. :)

We're still in limbo on our school situation for next year.  I'll just leave it at that.

In the midst of of our busyness, we have a special birthday coming up.  When we moved into our house, Skylar was only 3.  She didn't get to choose what her bedroom looked like.  So a while back she asked if she could ever "re-do" her room.   As a surprise to her, she is getting a room makeover.  I'll be sure to post before and after photos.  I'm so excited for her to see all the fun (PINK!) things for her room!!

We're also getting in to the gardening season around here.  Our yard still needs a lot of work, but we've been adding fruit trees here and there, and we're getting ready to plant our veggies for spring/summer. The girls look forward each year to the planting process.  I look forward to the "fruits" of our labor.

Oh, and I finally downloaded all of our pictures.  Here's a glimpse into our last few weeks.

Field Trip to the LegoLand SeaLife Aquarium

She makes the funniest faces!

My pile of squares for Skylar's quilt

That's Skylar at the top.  She's nearly fearless.

Our tissue paper flowers for Valentine's Day.  Placed in a painted jar, courtesy of pinterest.  

I'm newly addicted.  

Making candles for our "liquids and solids" homeschool project

Our pretty little tangerine tree!

See you in March.  Just kidding.  Kind of.  Back to my wheel. :)

Simply

It's January? Can we just pretend it's still December and I'm better about updating our blog? :)

Actually, I'm ok with being silent around here because it usually means I'm spending some quality time with my family. At least once a day I think "I should blog about that." But at night, the motivation is gone.

We had a great Christmas break with the girls! As the girls get older, the festivities just get more and more fun.  We made lots of Christmas crafts, did lots of Christmas baking, and just enjoyed being together as a family.  The girls have inherited my appreciation of watching Christmas movies in jammies, with a fire in the fireplace, and having just the lights of the tree on. I was going to post pictures from Christmas, thinking it was the least I could do.  But I haven't even downloaded our Christmas pics yet.  So, I guess THIS is the least I can do. :)

After New Year's, we hit the ground running.  Most of the time it feels like a sprint to the end of the day.  I've taken on more leadership roles at church and the school, as well as continuing with homeschool projects, fixing up things around the house, and just doing the day-to-day stuff.

With all the busyness, I crave order and simplicity.  I get into a purging mood at the beginning of each new year.  I'm learning that the purging can also mean activities.  I'm learning to say no.  I have no trouble saying "no" to my children, but I have trouble saying "no" to others.  I want to be involved. I want to be helpful.  Above all though, I need to remember that my priorities should be: God, family, others; in that order.  I'm praying that the Lord continues to show me areas that can be rearranged (or eliminated) to keep my priorities in the right place.  

I suppose you can call that a resolution.  I'm going to call it a goal.  :)  I want to reach the end of 2012 and feel like I did my best to keep things from turning upside down.

Will you help keep me accountable?

As a sidenote: There's a free kindle book on amazon right now that talks about simplifying your life.  It's right here.  And if you don't have a kindle, just download the kindle app to read books on your computer.

Take a hike!

It's good for the soul....
We just took the girls on a hike in the hills behind our house.  The sunshine, fresh air, and family time were just what I needed.

At the entrance to the trail

We found a few sticks....

The girls and Brian looking at animal tracks

Skylar saved a piece of dried mud :)

Then, the sticks turned into baseball bats...

That little tiny person is Skylar

This girl...sometimes it feels like she's turning 15 instead of 9.

A few of the tracks we found....we guessed they were coyote prints

These look much more like mountain lion prints...

Reagan's favorite.

The loves of my life.

Tis the season!

I love Christmas!
The true meaning of Christmas, celebrating Christ's birth, is incredibly special to our family.  We have made it a point to explain the true joy of the season to our girls, but that doesn't mean we don't take part in all the fun that Christmas has to offer.

We decorate, and put lights up.  We buy a tree, and make cookies.  We watch Christmas movies and snuggle by a fire in our jammies.

We talk about giving and go shopping for gifts.  We listen to Christmas music.  Bailey sings "Feliz Nah-me-nah."  She says it's "Merry Christmas in Dora."

This time of year always puts me in a reflective mood.  I think of how much the girls have changed in a year.  I remember the fun times we have had as a family.

I am simply filled with joy.

The girls have odd requests this year and I'm cherishing their simplicity.  Reagan asked for a 3 hole punch. Skylar wants footie jammies.  Bailey wants ketchup.  :)  There are other things on their lists, but those are the most humorous.  I am cherishing their ages.  I know the time will come when their requests involve electronics that begin with 'i', but for now, they are easy.

It's hard not to be "busy" during this season.  I'm trying to take moments to pause and just take it all in.  We are done with school until January so now the real fun begins!

At our city's Christmas parade

Making CornFlake Wreaths

New Balance

No, not the running shoes.  Although admittedly, I have not run in far too long.  I guess that goes hand in hand with what this post is about.

I've discovered the most challenging part of being a wife and mother is finding balance.  Most days it's a struggle to keep just one of the areas of my life in balance.  It's a constant readjusting.  I started to feel like I was failing more than I was succeeding.

Keep a clean house, but spend time with your children.

Make healthy meals, but make them taste good.

Don't dress like you just got out of bed, but don't dress to make other men stumble.

Spend time teaching your children, but let them be kids too.

Budget wisely, but splurge on the important stuff.

Protect your kids, but let them make mistakes.

Exercise, but take time to rest.

Be stern, but be gentle.

Love others, but don't let them take advantage of you.

Have great friends, but spend time alone too.

Be helpful, but don't get overextended.

Be confident in who you are, but be willing to change.

Accept that the Lord is God and He died for you, but....hmmm.  I'm glad there's no "but" to salvation.  That's all that really matters.  Life's pressures are mostly imposed by ourselves or others, not God.  Does he want me to be a good wife and a good mother? Of course He does.  He desires the best for me and my family.  Does he care that I haven't cleaned behind the fridge in two years? Probably not.

Now that Brian's mom has passed, I am replaying our conversations, and cherishing them even more.  When they came to visit this past January I told her that I didn't have a chance to clean as much as I wanted.  She just smiled and said, "Look...you can have a clean house or you can spend time with your kids.  You can't have both.  Each day is a choice.  Some days you will choose to clean.  Some days you will sit on the floor and play with Barbies.  As a grandmother, I am glad that your house isn't spotless because it means you're spending time with my granddaughters."  She went on to tell me that there will come a time when your house stays too clean and you miss the mess.  Then she said the kids move back in, along with the grandkids and you miss the clean.  "It all evens out eventually."

Today, I'm striving for a new balance; one that doesn't leave me feeling guilty at the end; a balance that reminds me not to take things too seriously because, "It all evens out eventually."

Victory is not easy

This week has been a roller coaster for our family.

There are major changes going on at the girls' school and we're right in the middle of it all.  Brian has major things going on at work and he's at the center of it too.  That should be enough, but those are the minor parts of our week.

Monday morning, Brian's mom passed away.  She was diagnosed in January with uterine and lung cancer and by October, it had spread to her brain, spine, and lymph nodes.  She fought it every way she could, and dealt with the awful side effects of treatments.  On Monday she was healed completely.  It may not have been the way that some were hoping and praying, but it's healing nonetheless.  I've often heard the term that a person has "lost the battle with cancer".  I've decided I don't like it.  She didn't lose.  Ultimately, she won.  Cancer did not take her life.  It took her home. She gets to be with her Jesus.  When Brian was there a couple weeks ago, his mom said she was ready to go to heaven and be whole again and be with her sisters (and others that have gone before her).  But victory is not always easy.

Victory is not always characterized by jumping, shouting, and rejoicing.  Victory often has a downside.  I'm definitely not a glass-half-empty kind of girl (that's the pessimistic one, right?).  But I'm not a sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns kind of girl either.  I know the reality of life is that for every winner, there is usually a loser.  In a court case, there's always one side rejoicing, while the other mourns.  The Lord's gain in heaven is truly our loss on earth.

I've learned that victory always means change too.  Even when we were ecstatic about the girls' new school, it meant saying goodbye to old friends and learning to adapt to a new school's philosophy of learning.  Likewise, we have been praying for my dad to find a wonderful job after his department was laid off almost 3 years ago.  This week God answered our prayers.  He has a wonderful new job! We rejoice in the victory, but the job is over 4 hours away, so it means that they will be moving.  Major change from the 5 minutes it takes us to get to their house now.  Victory is not always easy.

What we cling to in weeks like this is that victory is ultimately the Lord's.  We are promised that throughout the Bible.  In Jeremiah 29:11, it says "For I know the plans I have for YOU,' says the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a future and a hope." The Lord's plan is for us to be victorious.  In Revelation 17:14 it says, "These will make war with the Lamb, but He will triumph over them.  All those that accompany him shall share in the victory."

This week we cling to His promises, rejoice in victory, but we grieve for our loss.