Life these days

I have spent the last nine, COUNT THEM - NINE, days sick. Boo. It started with a headache, progressed to a full body ache that lasted four or five days, off and on nausea, and then finally tapered off with what seems like a head cold. Today is the first day I haven't taken any Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Sudafed. Perhaps I'm on the mend...hooray! Although having to take care of my kids during the day was complete misery, my darling husband took them out of the house as soon as he got home from work so that I could just go to bed. Thank goodness for husbands. My respect and sympathy for single moms continues to grow and even more so during these times. I was complaining to Alex during one of my "poor me" moments, laying on the couch, whining about how terrible I felt, and asking him why even though I had prayed to God for this illness to leave my body every day since I felt it coming on, what "good" God was trying to accomplish by not healing me. Alex responded, "it's made me appreciate you more."

Okay. I suppose nine days of sickness was worth it. :)

In other news, in addition to Cale walking, my kids have been absolutely delightful. Each day I find myself giggling at them, trying to catch a glimpse of their play without them noticing, and pausing to just thank the Lord for bringing them into my life. Riley is at a GREAT age; she entertains herself well and walks around the house all day long, jabbering up a storm, and playing games with herself that only she understands. She loves trying to put her own socks and shoes on, or anybody's shoes for that matter, and tries multiple times throughout the day to climb into the dishwasher. She is a bit of stinker when it comes to eating because she wants to be completely independent in this area and also would rather play than take the time to eat, but other than that I really have very little to complain about. She throws fits when I take toys away from her that she's stolen from her brother or friends but seems to get over them rather quickly. She loves wrestling with Cale and watching Thomas the Train with him. They play remarkably well together and for that I am extremely grateful. Cale was a big enough blessing to last my entire life and it just amazes me that He gave me Riley, too. Children are so magnificent!

Even though staying home and raising my kids takes up 99% of my time, I have recently found a couple of outlets that help remind me that I am more than JUST a mom. I have gotten into a rather good routine of waking up around 5:00 in the morning and going to the gym. It started out as a desire to get my body back after having Riley but has since become more therapeutic. I've noticed on the days I don't go to the gym I tend to get a little more crabby a little bit easier. I feel sluggish throughout the day and veer towards focusing on what's NOT going right rather than on what IS going right. Once at the gym, I put on my headphones and spend the next hour and a half listening to playlists consisting of MercyMe, John Waller, Third Day, Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, Barlow Girl, and other uplifting artists. It's a time when I can clear my head, pray, vent, or simply spend half an hour on the treadmill and walk away saying, "What in the heck did I just think about for the last thirty minutes?". It's amazingly therapeutic to have that time to just spend with myself. I'm not able to have that time during the day when the kids are demanding my constant energy and attention, and even when they are napping my mind is repeatedly going over what I should be getting done around the house. I think I've mentioned before that it's also amazing to be able to take a shower in peace and blow dry all of my hair, all the while leaving the gym with both eyes wearing mascara. (I can't tell you the amount of times I've noticed mid-day that I forgot to put mascara on the other eye) That is what I call a glorious morning!

I've also been volunteering with the high school youth group up at our church. It's nice to remove myself from my little bubble and be reminded of the things going on outside of it. The kids are hilarious and energetic and I have a whole new and different appreciation for the youth group workers that put up with me for the four years I was in high school. Wow. In addition to helping with that on Wednesday nights, Alex and I help lead a "Life Group" on Thursday nights. Life Groups are basically just small groups of adults that meet at homes throughout the week and discuss a story from the bible. Our life group has some of the greatest people and friends I've ever come across. It's so refreshing to spend time with these kinds of people. We laugh and have fun, all the while devoting time to be serious with one another and care about what's going on each other's lives. It's great. Not to mention that it's two hours kid-free! Hey, those times are important and very much needed!

So that's basically what I've been up to lately. I'm gearing up for Cale's 3rd birthday and getting him ready to start preschool in a few months but more on that later. I'd like to thank everybody that has celebrated and rejoiced with us when Cale started walking! The body of Christ is truly amazing!!!