Monday, March 28, 2011
Thrifting...
If you know anything about me, you know that I love to thrift. You can find me at yard sales, peddler's mall, and goodwill. I'm a bargain shopper, and only buy things on sale, which in turn, led me to hunting for great bargains at thrift stores. The problem with thrifting is that it is not easily done with a one-year-old! When you thrift store shop, you have to sort through masses of unorganized clothes, cluttered housewares, random books, and search for games without missing pieces. Not pleasant with Little Man! As we walk down aisles, Isaiah has arms outstretched, and little fingers reaching for clothes to snag off hangers, breakable housewares to destroy, and games to grab when mommy is looking at them! Needless to say, I ventured off to goodwill today mainly in search of old t-shirts, but I did get a few minutes to search the store! And, lucky me! After about 20 minutes, I left with a shirt (tag still on), a shirt (without the tag), two dresses (one new), a pair of shorts, a scarf (to make something with), and a "dress-up" dress for Zoey! Wanna see?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A Million Years.
Game Night. Tonight. And every Wednesday night. And I love them. We (a select group of friends) get together to play games and eat every Wednesday night after church. Sometimes we have discussions. Sometimes we're just plain silly. And, I always get a laugh thanks to my best friend Ashley. She's awesome. Everyone should have a friend like her.
Anyway, tonight, as the games were ending, we started talking about schools and stuff of that nature. And, I found myself saying something I thought I'd never say in a million years. I said that we put too much emphasis on eduction. Yep, I have a bachelor's degree, and you guessed it... its an elementary education degree. So, basically, I am a teacher. Thing is, while I believe education is important, I believe that there is so much more to life than education. I do not want to be known as "the teacher who taught kindergarten, then she moved to fourth grade, then she got her master's, then she went on to be nationally certified, then she moved into administration..." I want to be known as "Hannah: a great wife, a great mother, a great daughter, a great friend; she showed kindness, hospitality; she was joyful; and most importantly, she loved Jesus." Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with moving up in your career or becoming more educated which is virtually what a teacher does when he/she moves up. But, there is so much more to life.
My point tonight was that, while I believe that getting good grades is important, the child who consistently gets below a C, is in fact no less important than the child who always gets A+. I wouldn't say I was all about education before, but I used to be on the opposite side of the fence. My world, my self-worth resided in how well I did in school, what I made on a test, how great I did my first year of college... Then, this happened:
And my outlook on life completely changed. I do not want to be that parent that becomes furious over a bad grade. I do not want to be that parent who teaches their children that their self-worth resides in how well they do in school. I want to be the mama who teaches their child that who they are ultimately resides in Jesus Christ. I want to teach them that while knowing things is important, it is more important to know people. I want to be the mama who demonstrates unconditional love. Who teaches morals and values. I do not care if I completely forgot how to add and subtract negatives (yes, I actually did forget this while score keeping). I care about being the best mom I can be. My self-worth does not reside in the fact that I graduated early from high school, took honors classes, was tested and placed in the gifted and talented program (where I did nothing but learn German and harder math). These things do not matter. No one cares about any of this. When I talk to people, they don't want to know my accomplishments; they want a friend, someone who cares. And, this is exactly what I want to instill in Isaiah.
Isaiah challenges me everyday. I see him learn to feed himself, and I imagine myself having to learn that skill all over. I take it for granted that I can pick up a fork and usually have enough coordination to eat the food on that fork. Isaiah challenges me to love. He challenges me in the way I think about things. How I talk to my husband. And, he has taught me that his self-worth is not found in a grade book; his self-worth is not a list of accomplishments. He can't even talk! His self-worth is found in Christ.
Anyway, tonight, as the games were ending, we started talking about schools and stuff of that nature. And, I found myself saying something I thought I'd never say in a million years. I said that we put too much emphasis on eduction. Yep, I have a bachelor's degree, and you guessed it... its an elementary education degree. So, basically, I am a teacher. Thing is, while I believe education is important, I believe that there is so much more to life than education. I do not want to be known as "the teacher who taught kindergarten, then she moved to fourth grade, then she got her master's, then she went on to be nationally certified, then she moved into administration..." I want to be known as "Hannah: a great wife, a great mother, a great daughter, a great friend; she showed kindness, hospitality; she was joyful; and most importantly, she loved Jesus." Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with moving up in your career or becoming more educated which is virtually what a teacher does when he/she moves up. But, there is so much more to life.
My point tonight was that, while I believe that getting good grades is important, the child who consistently gets below a C, is in fact no less important than the child who always gets A+. I wouldn't say I was all about education before, but I used to be on the opposite side of the fence. My world, my self-worth resided in how well I did in school, what I made on a test, how great I did my first year of college... Then, this happened:
And my outlook on life completely changed. I do not want to be that parent that becomes furious over a bad grade. I do not want to be that parent who teaches their children that their self-worth resides in how well they do in school. I want to be the mama who teaches their child that who they are ultimately resides in Jesus Christ. I want to teach them that while knowing things is important, it is more important to know people. I want to be the mama who demonstrates unconditional love. Who teaches morals and values. I do not care if I completely forgot how to add and subtract negatives (yes, I actually did forget this while score keeping). I care about being the best mom I can be. My self-worth does not reside in the fact that I graduated early from high school, took honors classes, was tested and placed in the gifted and talented program (where I did nothing but learn German and harder math). These things do not matter. No one cares about any of this. When I talk to people, they don't want to know my accomplishments; they want a friend, someone who cares. And, this is exactly what I want to instill in Isaiah.
Isaiah challenges me everyday. I see him learn to feed himself, and I imagine myself having to learn that skill all over. I take it for granted that I can pick up a fork and usually have enough coordination to eat the food on that fork. Isaiah challenges me to love. He challenges me in the way I think about things. How I talk to my husband. And, he has taught me that his self-worth is not found in a grade book; his self-worth is not a list of accomplishments. He can't even talk! His self-worth is found in Christ.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Kindle!
So, I'm trying to convince the hubby that I absolutely NEED a Kindle. So, I created an Amazon wish list, added some books... and a Kindle; then did some research. And, although not every book is available on the Kindle, there are several books that are. Not to mention, there are several free books also. Hopefully I'll be getting one soon! Anyway, also on my wish list are the following titles:
- Water for Elephants
- The Zookeeper's Wife
- Sarah's Key
- The Coal Tattoo
- Clay's Quilt
- A Parchment of Leaves
- Eli the Good
- The Dollmaker
- The Red Tent
- The Kite Runner
- A Thousand Splendid Suns
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Drab to Fab.
This weekend, I had my hair done by none other than the infamous beauty school student, Jackie Patty. No really... she's great! And, I'm lucky enough to see this girl quite often. Not only is she excellent at doing hair, she has the personality for it. She genuinely loves what she does, and it shows. She added some highlights and low lights in my hair, and to my dismay the low lights didn't turn out as dark as I wanted, but she warned me that they might not because my hair was so light already. But, it looks fabulous. This girl knows what she is doing. Want proof? Here are some pictures.
P.S. This hairstyle requires relatively no "fixing". By that, I mean, I pretty much ran a big curling iron through top pieces in about 5 minutes to achieve this look. And, she meant to cut it that way. Thanks Jackie! Excellent work.
Not only has my hair gone from drab to fab, but this week went from drab to fab. Isaiah and I have been battling this terrible cold (along with several other people from what I hear), and this week wasn't the best in that Isaiah went to the doctor on Tuesday with fluid in both ears, which had like a 95% chance of turning into an ear infection, so we got some of that pink medicine (aka amoxicillin). Then, he began getting even more congested. Good news: between benedryl, pink medicine, and IBprofen, he's feeling much better, and so am I. And to top it off, this weekend turned out to be b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! So, we went exploring. Rode the fourwheeler. And tried out our new swing (before bedtime).
Monday, March 14, 2011
Challenge...
This morning I was thinking about, well, to be honest, I was thinking about myself and how I am going to go crazy! I have been fighting this cold for a week now (its terrible), and yesterday Isaiah started coughing. Great, so I gave it to him. I guess that's pretty much inevitable when you have to sing to and rock your baby before bedtime. Anyway, I didn't go to church Sunday morning because of it either. I was feeling much better, but I did not want to get anyone sick. Or cough my lungs out during the sermon. I hate when contagious sick people come to church. I don't want to get sick, and I don't want anyone in my family sick, so I also try to avoid the situation. Anyway, needless to say, a cold can be miserable. Coughing. Sneezing. Achy. Cold. Hot. Congested. Yuck. Add to that having a house to clean up and a baby to watch, and its no fun.
So, crazy day, yep... today... was catch-up day. I am TRYING to get this laundry done. Get my floor cleaned. And get my bathroom cleaned (because failure me didn't do it last week when I felt semi-ok). Hence, today I feel overwhelmed! Well, I was thinking about all of this stuff I need to get done, and how I am faced with a mere cold (that made me miserable), and then I began thinking about others.
We all face challenges. The people of Japan are faced with a terrible tragedy, and a challenge to overcome the death and destruction left by and earthquake and tsunami. My grandpa has m.s. and my grandmother has to take care of him. She recently recovered from colon cancer. My mom just got back from being gone for three weeks. She has a house that needs lots of catching up. I had a cold (simple, but still a challenge for me after just getting over a stomach bug... you sick people need to stay away from me). My baby is getting teeth (multiple teeth at once), which is not just challenging my parenting, it is also very challenging for little man as he has to go through it. People are faced with death, hunger, sickness, poverty, homelessness. The list goes on and on. We all have battles we face before death takes us. Life is a challenge.
If we are truly living, we realize that the challenges others face don't just affect them, they affect us. We carry each other's burdons. We live. We love. We fight. My grandma Hawkins once said: "Life is hard, and then you die." Oh how true. While, we should be joyful in the midst of our challenges, life is extremely tough. Trying to live the Christian life is hard. Facing a challenge is difficult. But, we have a way to overcome. Here are some verses I like when faced with a difficult time:
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
So, crazy day, yep... today... was catch-up day. I am TRYING to get this laundry done. Get my floor cleaned. And get my bathroom cleaned (because failure me didn't do it last week when I felt semi-ok). Hence, today I feel overwhelmed! Well, I was thinking about all of this stuff I need to get done, and how I am faced with a mere cold (that made me miserable), and then I began thinking about others.
We all face challenges. The people of Japan are faced with a terrible tragedy, and a challenge to overcome the death and destruction left by and earthquake and tsunami. My grandpa has m.s. and my grandmother has to take care of him. She recently recovered from colon cancer. My mom just got back from being gone for three weeks. She has a house that needs lots of catching up. I had a cold (simple, but still a challenge for me after just getting over a stomach bug... you sick people need to stay away from me). My baby is getting teeth (multiple teeth at once), which is not just challenging my parenting, it is also very challenging for little man as he has to go through it. People are faced with death, hunger, sickness, poverty, homelessness. The list goes on and on. We all have battles we face before death takes us. Life is a challenge.
If we are truly living, we realize that the challenges others face don't just affect them, they affect us. We carry each other's burdons. We live. We love. We fight. My grandma Hawkins once said: "Life is hard, and then you die." Oh how true. While, we should be joyful in the midst of our challenges, life is extremely tough. Trying to live the Christian life is hard. Facing a challenge is difficult. But, we have a way to overcome. Here are some verses I like when faced with a difficult time:
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Monday, March 7, 2011
To the Moon and Back Again...
but not really. I really went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge this weekend (along with baby and hubby). And, overall, it was a good time. However, I must say that a teething, fussy baby can put a damper on trips such as these. I love little man dearly, but sometimes he's just not a pleasant kid. First, we got stuck in traffic for an hour and a half! And what do you supposed Isaiah was doing?! Yes, crying the entire time. By the time we got to our exit, I was ready to get out, put Isaiah in a stroller, and walk the rest of the way to our destination. But, I resisted the temptation.
Then, I believe a combination of being stuck in a car seat, getting six teeth (yep, all at once), being out of his normal routine, and being out of his normal environment, made baby Isaiah extremely irritable about everything... Yes, he cried when we ate at IHOP upon first arriving there. He cried the entire way to our cabin. And, he fussed in the cabin until mama and Isaiah got into the jacuzzi. He loved that part of our trip! Needless to say, he slept well (between mommy and daddy) because he wouldn't sleep in his pack and play. But, he did sleep all night, and he was a happy baby first thing in the morning.
Saturday: Happy baby. We took this happy baby downtown to walk around. He, for the most part, loves riding in his stroller. But, not Saturday. He was content for a while, but then mama had to carry him for most of our walk. Yep, pretty sure I lost 5 lbs. in one day. However, it was fun walking around downtown and sharing that with my hubby and visiting with his mom and Jimmy (step-dad).
Saturday approx. 1:00 p.m.: Terrible lunch. Okay, so we get through walking downtown, load sleeping (finally) baby up, and head out to find a place to eat lunch. We decided on this place called Apple Barn. I heard about it from my parents who ate there. And it is a super nice place to eat. Its really cute. There are gift shops, a little orchard, and a creek in one location. So, you eat lunch at this super cute, old timey little restaurant and then walk around. Really nice. Nice, that is, if you don't have a screaming child to deal with. All that riding must have caused some pooping problems with little man. And he just cried and cried and cried. Plus, he is getting teeth, so he wouldn't eat anything. Needless to say, Isaiah and I enjoyed the restaurant from its front porch rocking chairs.
Saturday post Apple Barn: Go-carts for Matt and Jimmy. Go back to cabin. Isaiah and I took a nap. Wake up and head out for dinner. Little Man was loud during dinner. BUT he ate! And he seemed happy. He didn't cry.
Sunday morning: Breakfast=success. Baby loved the food (pancakes and bananas). He was only fussy a couple of times. Then, t-shirt shopping. Still good. Traveling home: cried once.
I love my little man. We had a good time overall. A good visit with Matt's family without having to travel 8 hours. And, we discovered a new route to the Gatlinburg area that will only take 4.5 hours. Plus, I got a couple of good pictures. We (hubby, baby and myself) tried to have one taken of the three of us, but the camera-operator was terrible and the picture turned out blurry. Thanks fellow tourist for not taking a good picture of the three of us.
Then, I believe a combination of being stuck in a car seat, getting six teeth (yep, all at once), being out of his normal routine, and being out of his normal environment, made baby Isaiah extremely irritable about everything... Yes, he cried when we ate at IHOP upon first arriving there. He cried the entire way to our cabin. And, he fussed in the cabin until mama and Isaiah got into the jacuzzi. He loved that part of our trip! Needless to say, he slept well (between mommy and daddy) because he wouldn't sleep in his pack and play. But, he did sleep all night, and he was a happy baby first thing in the morning.
Saturday: Happy baby. We took this happy baby downtown to walk around. He, for the most part, loves riding in his stroller. But, not Saturday. He was content for a while, but then mama had to carry him for most of our walk. Yep, pretty sure I lost 5 lbs. in one day. However, it was fun walking around downtown and sharing that with my hubby and visiting with his mom and Jimmy (step-dad).
Saturday approx. 1:00 p.m.: Terrible lunch. Okay, so we get through walking downtown, load sleeping (finally) baby up, and head out to find a place to eat lunch. We decided on this place called Apple Barn. I heard about it from my parents who ate there. And it is a super nice place to eat. Its really cute. There are gift shops, a little orchard, and a creek in one location. So, you eat lunch at this super cute, old timey little restaurant and then walk around. Really nice. Nice, that is, if you don't have a screaming child to deal with. All that riding must have caused some pooping problems with little man. And he just cried and cried and cried. Plus, he is getting teeth, so he wouldn't eat anything. Needless to say, Isaiah and I enjoyed the restaurant from its front porch rocking chairs.
Saturday post Apple Barn: Go-carts for Matt and Jimmy. Go back to cabin. Isaiah and I took a nap. Wake up and head out for dinner. Little Man was loud during dinner. BUT he ate! And he seemed happy. He didn't cry.
Sunday morning: Breakfast=success. Baby loved the food (pancakes and bananas). He was only fussy a couple of times. Then, t-shirt shopping. Still good. Traveling home: cried once.
I love my little man. We had a good time overall. A good visit with Matt's family without having to travel 8 hours. And, we discovered a new route to the Gatlinburg area that will only take 4.5 hours. Plus, I got a couple of good pictures. We (hubby, baby and myself) tried to have one taken of the three of us, but the camera-operator was terrible and the picture turned out blurry. Thanks fellow tourist for not taking a good picture of the three of us.
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| Isaiah couldn't ride the sky lift... so we had fun while Matt's family went... |
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| Daddy and Isaiah. |
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| Mommy and Isaiah. |
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| Matt's mom and Jimmy on the sky lift. Proof that she actually rode it. |
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| All of us. I don't know what I was looking at, but everyone else is looking at the camera. Tourists aren't the best a picture-taking. |
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