Still here.

I am still here.
We are still here. 

This week is the first week of a new term.  The last 10 weeks have been very demanding, school wise, for David.  He had had hours of homework on the weekends and not been getting home until 11pm four nights a week :(

This is a new term.  David only has one class this 5 weeks, he's only gone 2 nights a week.

Its adjustment.  While its wonderful that he's home, I forget what I do usually and don't know what to do when he's around.  We're going on a date. On a week night. This week!  Crazy. Wonderful!

I am already anticipating the adjustment on the other end of this 5 weeks.  You know, the one when he's gone ALL the time, again! :p  not looking forward to that at all. 

And just for balance, while it's great that he is home, its not because eventually he will have to make this time up.  They don't have a class for him this term, either he's already taken what is being offered or he hasn't completed the pre-requistes.  This is a 2.5 year program; so the negative would be that the class off adds 2.5 weeks onto the end.  We have done this definately two, maybe three times.  Hopefully they'll get it together and help David continue moving forward towards graduation.

Lincoln is awesome, I am going to do an update on him soon, so I'll save it.

I am good too.  Enjoying my time with David and seeing Linc show us how smart and out-going he is everyday.  Work is good, hoping things will continue to get busier in the construction industry in the coming spring and summer months.

Sweet Sixteen (months)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen Months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Testing out the Climber

I think you can see, we LOVE the climber! 

We helped Lincoln and he figured out the climbing side in no time.  He tries to climb the slide, but we take his hand and show him the other side.  He dances on the landing too : )

It's in the living room for now and will go outside soon, but I need to get something to put at the bottom of the slide so he doesn't scrape his bottom.

Couch Climber

Lincoln can get onto the couch now.  He has been doing this for almost 2 weeks.

It's a challenge.  You know, I am always excited to see Lincoln learn new things, but he makes me anxious.  I worry he will fall down, he gets fussed at and told to sit on his bottom all the time. 

Hopefully playing on his climber/slide toy will give him something to do other than climb my couch and drive me crazy.

A New Toy

Photo Credit: Toys R Us

The we ordered Lincoln a big and special present!

It arrives tomorrow and I am hoping David will have time to build it when he gets home from school.

Lincoln loves being outside!

Lincoln loves basketballs, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, play ground balls!

Lincoln loves to slide!

Lincoln LOVES to Climb!

I think Lincoln is going to love this!

Weekend Recap

Friday: Target run for outdoor toys for Lincoln!  Dinner at Moe's! Started laundry, played, gave Lincoln a bath.  David put Lincoln to bed and then working on a paper for school for three hours.

Saturday: I let David sleep in; got up with Linc and we watched Sesame Street.  He can say Elmo and love when Elmo is on TV.  Played outside.  Lincoln took a 2 hour nap, I took a 1.5 hour nap and David worked on his paper.  Lincoln played outside some more.  David picked up Subway for dinner.

Sunday: David let me sleep in, he made french toast w/ a 12 grain bread- I did not like the texture of the bread and seeds, etc. in the bread. YUCK!  Boys played outside, I continued working on the laundry and took a shower.  David moved the back yard for Linc.  We washed the front windows, sprayed the screens, and washed cars.  Linc and I watched and Linc ate goldfish.  Linc took a two hour nap.  I am not sure how I managed to waste that time :)  We ran to Wa.l-M.art to get groceries and found a bucket to hold Linc's outside toys.  I made steaks, mashed potatoes and mushrooms for dinner.  Somehow I forgot a veggie :( I need to get better about that.  Played duplo, ball and climb everything for the rest of the night.  I put away laundry and sorted Linc's clothes that are too small or too warm for spring.  David gave Linc a bath and put him to bed.

I am all good!

The last post has been written for a while and I decided it was time to put it out there. 
It is absolutely not in response to anything currently going on with anyone.

We had a good day just hanging out today.  Linc is loving playing outside and pushing his toy lawn mower.
Lincoln also began saying BUBBLE today out of nowhere.  We have no idea where he picked it up, but were blowing bubbles for him for a half hour tonight :)

David has alot of homework this weekend.  For some reason each of his teachers think his life revolves around the class they teach.  So let's not take into account that he has a full time job, 2 classes, a son, a wife....  He has spent 8 hours on homework this weekend, working when Lincoln goes to bed and is napping.

It's just a season... just a season in our lives.  This will be nothing when we look back 60 years from now!

Baggage

I’m standing in a calm corner of a busy airport baggage claim.
The normal hustle and commotion seem to cause the floor beneath my feet to vibrate.
I am alone.

A bell sounds, a light flashes and the conveyor begins to move.

My grandma told me to tie a yellow ribbon to my bag to help me find it in the sea of identical bags that will soon come down the conveyor belt.

Each bag has a yellow ribbon, tied neatly onto the handle.

This is all my baggage.
I am alone.

There were no other passengers on this flight.

This is where I come to claim my baggage.

I begin looking at the address tags labeled childhood, loss, anger, bitterness, joy, fractured friendships, love, broken promises, lies, God.

Wait!
Why is God in a suitcase?
How did he get there?
Who put God in a suitcase?
I did.
I am alone.

In the last ten years, after many disappointments I began to try to find a way to cope.

I have witnessed a splintering divorce, my own failures when attempting college, met the love of my life, fought to tread water and keep afloat, married the love of my life, stood by my 25 year old love as he fought and won his fight with cancer, and become the mother of our precious son and bloomed into the family core I had always dreamed of. I have also made and lost friendships, tried to navigate a slippery and cracked relationship with my parents and siblings, stood by as three of my beloved grandparents went on to Heaven and have tried to bury my head and heart as I am losing another to dementia.

I have accumulated a lot of baggage.


I wish I had known that putting God in the suitcase would just magnify my frustration.

I am working on me. I am working on me so that I can be better for my love and our son.

I am not alone. GOD is here. I am breaking the cracks of the walls that I have put up. Somehow in all this period of trying, and failing, to protect myself the only one I held out was GOD. I was unable to protect myself from the hurt and failure. I am unable. HE IS ABLE.

This is not being written to blame any occurrence in my life for the way I feel today. I am writing this to remind myself that all of these events helped to make me who I am, all the good parts, what I like about myself and to help me focus being more of that.

Right now I am struggling with anger.
Right now I am struggling with bitterness from my past.

Right now, God offers me grace.
Right now, I am trying to apply grace to the wounds I am feeling.
God’s Grace describes ‘unmerited forgiveness’. He forgives when we don’t deserve it, probably especially when we don’t deserve it. God’s Grace is invaluable, priceless and if we were to attempt to try to earn it, we’d fail.

I am not writing this because I am living it. I am writing this because I am trying to live it. This is head knowledge for me and not heart knowledge.

The Meaning of Life

My friends Dave's Facebook Status: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming—WOW! What a ride!”

My Facebook Status: I think life is all about priorities and perspective. For me my family of 3, our health, our time together and finding our joy every day are number 1!!

Abraham Lincoln: Most people are as happy as they make their minds up to be.

Albert Camus : You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

Albert Schweitzer: Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

C.S. Lewis: Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.


Kin Hubbard: It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty an' wealth have both failed.

Martha Washington: The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances.

Thomas Jefferson: The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.

I find my most peaceful time are in the hectic, run of the mill, regular days spent with David and Lincoln.
I don't care at all about money, except where it relates to having a roof over our head, food on the table, transportation, diapers for our little one, and some to have fun with now and then.  Bills are a part of our lives and right now I am doing a great job of paying many down at a rapid rate.  However, it is not my goal to ever be rich and that's good because its probably not going to happen ;).  My goal is to contribute and provide for my family and make memories doing fun things.
I am grateful for my husband and our marriage.  We are both very aware that this season in our lives is a lot to deal with sometimes, but we have great hopes for David's career in the future with computers.  Having him be a full-time electrician and a full-time student, and of course, a full-time dad makes him incredibly busy. Although I miss him, I am totally proud of the way he is tackling things and still managing to help me.  There has never been a question, we are a team, and equal partners at that and I feel so lucky to be his wife!
I am really enjoying this time in our lives and really looking forward to the bright future David is working towards.

C.S. Lewis: God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

Here's his sign...DUH!

David's cousin gave birth to her second and third children in January, adorable boy/girl twins.  Mom, Dad, first son and twins live in Massachusetts. Let me tell you, I cannot wait to get up there to see them, but it won't be until the summer. 

So... Last week we receive a cute birth announcement for the twins, dressed in blue and pink, and I hand it over to David.

David: So are they identical?
Erin:  Really, David?!?!?
David: What?
Erin: What did you just ask me?
David: Are they identical?
Erin: Think about it, babe.
David: What?

Hint: Boy/Girl twins are NOT identical.  One is a boy and the other is a girl ;)

Poor David, it really showed that he's been working 8 hrs., then going to school for 4 hrs. Sometimes obvious slips through the cracks- but I got a good laugh out of it :)