Life, Health, and Motherhood

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds." - James 1:2 This verse has been on my heart over the past few months. I'll be honest. Life is TOUGH right now. It's hard to step back and consider it joy. The sleep deprivation, 2-yr old tantrums, teenage attitudes, financial struggles, family drama, and other trials we are currently facing...without fail, when it rains it pours. I know it could be worse, but it can always be worse.  I don't think that means our current trials and tribulations aren't challenging or that we shouldn't feel the struggle. Webster's dictionary defines joy as "a state of happiness or felicity". Yet, we know it's impossible to feel this definition of joy all the time, especially when we are going through a tough season of life. Lucky for us, in a biblical sense, joy is something completely different. Joy is knowing that God is in control, that we can rely full...

For those of you who have, had, or will have two beautiful children under the age of two...I applaud you. It is not for the faint of heart! We had our son (my first, his second) and  daughter less than two years apart, primarily because my husband and I are only getting older! Unfortunately, this 31-year old body does not have the energy or strength it used to. Not only that, but we were both ready to get past the diaper changing, sleep deprivation, toddler meltdown stage of life. We debated waiting a little longer at one point,  but only because I wanted to drink wine and sit in the hot tub during our family’s Christmas vacation. Long story short, everyone enjoyed the hot tub but me. I'm only a few short months in and have realized that this, so far, has been one of the toughest seasons of my life. Everyone says "this too shall pass", but dang it...it needs to pass quickly! Thankfully, our daughter is laid back and likes to sleep a lot, but she’s still a newbo...

After having my son, I reached my pre-baby weight within about 9 to 10  months. As expected, my body never went back to what it looked like before I became pregnant. I had stretch marks on my stomach, extra fat around my thighs and my hips never returned to their previous width. Knowing I planned to go through the pregnancy and birthing process again, I didn't worry too much about my activity level or physical appearance. I was comfortable and at a healthy weight, but I didn't want to put in the physical work necessary to achieve my desired fitness level. Now that I'm done having kids, I have 10 times the motivation to get back to where I want to be. While setting goals for myself, I had to stop and remind myself of something the expert in me kept saying: I didn't need to focus on getting back to where I WAS. I needed to focus on getting to where I want to be NOW. That is not so easily done. When I struggle running a mile, I have to remind myself that's w...

I tried to ignore my frustration as I mopped the floor for the third time. Or was it the fourth? My two-year-old loves to help me clean (he's a great helper), but I was tired of seeing little footprints and cracker crumbs on my freshly mopped floor. Between getting little to no sleep and listening to my toddler whine incessantly, all I wanted was a clean house (is that possible with kids?) to put me at ease. I grumbled the rest of the day, thinking it will be so nice to have a clean house again...someday. Finally, I remembered something one of our church members said when she recently spoke to our congregation on Mother's Day: "Don't wish their life away". It hit me like a ton of bricks. When I had my first born, I always said to myself "I can't wait until he can sit up" or "it will be so nice when he can feed himself", and so on. It's true that there will always be something to look forward to (they have so mu...

We recently celebrated my son's 2nd birthday. I still can't believe he's 2! We decided to throw together a barbecue dinner with family and friends, keeping it simple. Everything was perfect. From the invitations to the matching color schemes to the DIY decorations and more... ...just kidding.  I'm pretty sure the only item considered "Pinterest-worthy" was the mini chair and birthday balloons provided by a friend for a few good snapshots. First, let me be clear. If you enjoy hosting parties, crafting, decorating and can easily avoid Pinterest fails, this post is NOT aimed toward you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having the desire and know-how to throw a picture perfect party. This post is for those who may feel guilty about NOT throwing the picture perfect party or for those who have no desire to do so. In preparation for the party, I did what any mom would do. I searched Pinterest for party ideas. So many grea...