The Blessed Life of a Single Mom

I feel that life has taken some huge turns as of late. Some great, some. . . not so much. Some I can tell about, some. . . I'd just rather not. Some are yet to be decided.      First of all, I love my small group. I can't believe how great a fit we are! The personalities, the kids. We're so weird!! Last night I shared a recent issue I have to deal with. Most people would say "Is there anything we can do?" or "Can we help?". Passive offers. While there is nothing wrong with that, for someone like me, it is much more effective the way it was worded last night, "What do you need from us? What can we do? What do you need us to do?" Not asking if, but what. I put my independent "I can do this" self on a shelf, because really, I just keep getting so overwhelmed that I can't do it. I told them what I needed, they rallied behind me, made a plan, and encouraged me. This group is so tight knit, so there for each other. God really placed m...

     So, I've been trying to think of something to blog about for days now. Nothing new or exciting really came to mind. Sad. I love to blog. I love to use it as my creative outlet. The squirrel is back. Old news. I'm still single. Old news. My kids are random and energetic. Old news. It's all the same pretty much. Then, today, I had something to blog about! I was at my parents, and thought of something that would be perfect!! Did I write my idea down? No. Do I remember what the heck it was? Not a chance!! It could be about interesting-nesses that have been taking place in my world. What those would be, I'm yet to know. It could have been about the primary election tomorrow, but I doubt it. Could it have been about some drama playing out around me. . . possibly. We'll just never know. So I'll just blog about other random things that come to mind.     As you read earlier, my squirrel is back. Skittering around in my walls. I keep meaning to borrow my brother...

My motivation, as of late, has been practically non-existent. I have felt down, overwhelmed, exhausted, and just plain out of sorts. Today was not an exception. My day started out pretty good. I woke up with energy, was happy to get my day going. But by the end of my shift at work, I was pretty tired. I could blame my sopapilla and rice for a food coma. Such a good lunch!! Mmmmmm..... But whatever it was, I just became a zombie. Maybe it was the 2 fruit punch flavored dum-dum suckers I had on my way to get the girls from my parents. Anyways, by the time we headed home, I had a pretty big headache and was so tired that I just wanted to sleep. I finally gave in to my body's demand for sleep. I had the girls go in their room to watch a movie, laid down, and took a 30 minute nap. I felt a million times better! Then we had dinner. I felt even more better! (no corrections on my grammar, please. It's exactly how I felt). Ever since, I have been Ms. Motivation. I have been organizing, ...

I have decided that this year would be the year of new things. To step WAY out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. It's been my prayer, and God has been taking me up on it.   I was asked to be the Water Games Coordinator for W4 (our VBS. W4 stands for Wacky Wild Water Week). I was totally honored and surprised to be given this opportunity. To me, being put in a coordinator position for W4 is one of the top responsibilities. The coordinators help pretty much make up what the years theme and everything will be about, then they get their team. Being a part of this has been amazing!! In our first meeting we had the groundwork set! The last meeting I was a little, well, out of it I guess. I had driven to Cambridge that morning to see my grandma, who isn't doing well, and then we got back late afternoon. When the meeting time got there I was only able to give about half of my normal...ness. But anyways, I am LOVING this opportunity. At first I thought "Water games? R...

So, I discovered the other day, that although my weight has not changed from what it was a few years ago, the muscle has been replaced with . . . FAT!! Now, I know those of you know know me are thinking "She's so tiny!!" Well. NOT TRUE. I was tiny before I had kids, I was even tinier after Courtney was born, but since I had Jenna, my weight and I have been battling it out. I get into an exercise routine, and something throws it off. Someone once said that you wont truly make a change until it makes you mad. Well, I'm mad. I'm tired of watching my face grow. I'm tired of trying on 10 different outfits because I look bigger. I'm tired of not fitting into the jeans that I wore just last year. Yesterday, this picture really made me mad. I look like I've gained a lot of weight in my face!! YUCK. So I made a goal. Now, I'm taking initiative. I'm going to do a 6 week challenge with. . . myself. My goal is to be down to 120 in 6 weeks. That's 7....

The year has begun. Can you believe it's 2012!? Courtney will be 8 this year. 8! When did that happen?! Jenna will be 7! I just cant wrap my brain around my kids being those ages. WARNING! THIS BLOG WILL BE EXTREMELY RANDOM.      I was recently asked "If 2011 was a chapter, what would you name it?". I decided on Refocusing. A lot of life got refocused, and this year, I believe, is about redirection. Changing things. I want this year to take me out of my comfort zone in church, I want to be more outgoing (you laugh, but when it comes to greeting time, I am not so much), I want to take on more and be challenged. I want God to MAKE me get past some hurdles and strong holds. Well, week one, He did just that. He placed a situation in my face, that I have not dealt with since it happened 6 years ago. Now I have to work on mercy, grace, forgiveness, and the art of letting it go. The more I step back to gain perspective on the situation, the more I see this as not only a test...

     I'm slightly frustrated. I put the girls to bed an hour ago, and now, at 10:40, I am still telling them to be quiet and go to sleep. They are both wide awake. So, my solution was to turn off the night light. They got quiet really quick.      Tonight they aired a special on a triple murder and kidnapping that happened in the area last November. All the fear that I had overcome from it came right back. I had to go out to my car tonight to get something, and I was so afraid that someone was going to come from nowhere and take me away. That's what most women in the area felt in the weeks and months after the murders. I have a feeling that the horrible nights of waking up fearing someone is inside my apartment will start again. I had nights for months where I would wake up searching my room or house for an intruder. My heart would be racing. One night I even woke up believing I saw someone standing outside my bedroom window. It's a second story window wit...