Sunday, January 26, 2014

winter doldrums ?

so, i'll start this post off with pics of my two younger grandsons.

my little charlie baby.  he is 2 1/2 weeks old and he has just stolen my heart.  he is getting adjusted to life on the outside pretty well.  ben is laid off for the winter so the three of them are enjoying just hanging out and bonding.

this is my #3 grandson, luke.  he is 3 months old now and a happy, happy, happy baby.  meghan has returned to working a few hours a week so jeff and i get to spend a few hours with him and joe (then i take joe home for more bubby time!)

i won't complain about the cold because i know the rest of the country has been cold too. especially in places that don't usually get that cold.  we haven't had any more ice and i guess we've been having a fair amount of snow. but except for a few days this month when it warmed up into the 40's and we thawed a little, its been frigid temperatures for the last 6-7 weeks at least.  i think its been the coldest winter since i've been here in maine (10 years now).

anyway, on the bright side each day is lighter and i find my mood improving and i'm not lighting up every room the way i was in december/early january.   winter has its struggles, but i still wouldn't trade living here for anything.

we've gotten into a pretty good rhythm of working (me 20 hrs & jeff 24 hrs) spending time on home projects and spending time with the kids/babies.  i want to make sure that i am a part of each ones life on a regular basis.  joe and ethan now come and spend the night once a week.  when the weather gets easier i will try to spend more time with them both one on one. i love being bubby!!!

i haven't been crafting anything lately because i am trying to organize my craft supplies.  i need to know what i have and i need to know what i need to properly store them in my new craft room.  its slow and tedious but i am slowly making my way through tote after tote.  once that is done then i have some sewing projects and lots of scrapbooking to do.

now that my daughter doesn't need me cooking meals for them, i've been cooking very little the last week or so.  i'm trying to eat a more "raw" diet so i've still got lots of prep to do, but no big, heavy meals.  i've been juicing more regularly too.  i feel like i have so much more energy when i eat this way.

until next time!


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

new baby!



this is my newest grandson!

meet charlie!!!!!

he is beautiful & wonderful & special & i am too overwhelmed to say much more.  

ahhhh

i can breathe for a bit until the next baby comes due in february!

i am trying to work out a schedule to make sure that i spend some time each week with each baby.  of course, charlie will get some extra because i will want to spend time with his mama!

my plan is to take joey and ethan for overnights once a week so they get some one on two attention from me.

well, its january in maine and that means a thaw and rain.  at least the warmer temps and rain have washed away the ice, but there is still a lot of winter ahead of us.

its a new year and i've purposed myself again to make it a better year weight-wise for me.  i know i've gained back some because of not watching my intake (it doesn't take much for me) and not walking as much as i should.  otherwise, physically i feel pretty good, but i've got 5 boys i'm gonna have to run after!!!

i've also set a goal to up my percentage of raw food in my daily diet.  i'm pretty good about eating the raw veggies every day, i'm not a big fruit person, but i've been juicing more and making fruit/veggie mixes.  i feel best when there are no processed foods in my diet and that i've pretty much got a handle on it.

i've been cooking A LOT lately because julie was on bedrest for a couple weeks before charlie came.  i cooked so much last week that i fed us and the 3 other families!!!!  boy were they happy to get my food deliveries!

eating more raw food cuts down on the cooking but there is still prep involved in a lot of things if you are going to be creative to ward off boredom.

i'm still working the 2 longs days each week, and as much as i'd rather not work at all, i do like that i have the extra money to spend on my babies and help the kids out when i see a need.

in the crafting dept. i haven't decided what my next projects will be.  i know i will be starting charlies scrapbook and updating joeys.  i can't do it for everyone, so at least for now i did my first grandson, and my daughters first child.  we will see how it goes from there!

i am planning on making my own deodorant and shampoo.  those two things are so full of badness that i can't ignore anymore!  gonna give it a try--hey, i'm not picky!

i've been trying to focus on my bible study more.  right now i'm working through a book called "finding calm in life's chaos" or something like that.  ehhh, its ok.  i have gleaned some very useful stuff from it so far, but it is not captivating at all.  

i've also just started working my way through the book of job.  now, i'm a fearful person.  i worry a lot about what hasn't happened. i gotta stop that!  why, oh why, would i pick that book?  don't know, just feel compelled.  

i'm also trying to be continuously in prayer.  i've worked on it for years and i finally feel like i have gotten into a rythmn. i don't have to set aside a time to do "it"  i just need to talk to God, He's always there!

well, thats whats going on here on the wink!











Tuesday, January 7, 2014

blogging ?

i keep thinking....."i gotta update, i gotta update, i gotta update!"

i read these other blogs and they are full of wonderful photos (expensive cameras)

and interesting text.

or they are full of "what i did today"

and then i go all ADD on myself and can't think straight enough to even write about my day, week, month. 

funny, huh?

some days i'm falling apart and i read some blogs and they make me feel better,  or

i read some blogs and i start cursing the person out and saying stuff like "it must be nice to be so 

fing perfect"   (i'm being real here)

i started blogging 9 years ago.  what interested me then?  just knowing that there were others who had

lives similar to mine because it seemed like when you actually know people, like coworkers or the

woman down the road--everyone hides behind a mask.  me too!

that's what i love about my online friends.   no masks.  we can be who we are.

in a book i'm reading this morning i read this:

God created us to be social beings who would crave belonging.

i also read about people being hurt by christians having the attitude that if you have negative,

unhappy feelings then you are not being like jesus.  i've lived with that and still do at times.  it is still

a hot topic in this household

jesus felt negative emotions.  being like jesus does not require that we ignore our negative feelings.

he relied on his father.... if we are Gods children then we are never alone, He is never closer than

when our hearts are aching.

here is a prayer i wrote out in my bible study time a few days ago

dear lord,

you know my fears, whether they be justified or not.
please help me to act on those things that i can control and to
focus on you Jesus to quiet my fears of the things i cannot control.

we are all in this together and there for each other!