Catching Up

Thought I'd catch you up on a few things that have been going on around here. I have some pictures to post but I can't figure out how to do it. I have a new camera. And I have issues with doing things right the first time when I have something new. So I'm not even going to try to figure it out until my husband is home to show me how. So I'll post those later. Is it true for everyone else that extra busy times come in seasons? Things have been nice and slow and then all of a sudden, we have three weeks in a row of jam-packed schedules and a bunch of stuff to do all at once. (As of now, August looks really calm and open.) This week is the third in that three-week period for us. And I really like it! I do. I struggle to find the balance. But it's been a good few weeks. Full of rich experiences with people. And another benefit of being gone so much is that when I clean my house, we're not home to mess it up quite as fast! But you still don't want to walk barefoot in my house right now. It's not that clean.

I've had a hard time getting caught up in life. Those who are around me much know this. I felt like there have been numerous projects that have gone undone and they just seem to hang over my head all the time. I've felt so behind for so long. And the black cloud of non-productivity in these things has really affected my efficiency in doing all of the normal, daily mother/wife duties. A couple of weeks ago, Joel and I were talking about it. He was such a great listener and then he told me he thought I should just get a baby-sitter for a day and work on all this stuff. Oh. My. Goodness. That made my day. We never spend money on baby-sitters. But he was wise enough to know that's what this overwhelmed mama needed! I decided to get a sitter to come for two half-days last week, and I ran all those errands that I've been putting off because I didn't want to drag my kids along, and then I locked myself in a room for hours just to work on different things. My parents also watched the kids for part of one day. So, I got a lot of sitter time last week, and I don't really love being away from them so much within that time frame, but it was very helpful and did allow me to spend more focused, energized time on/with them when we were all back together again. It felt so good to finally cross some things off the list of to-do items, so I am very thankful for that time. So that was last week...being as productive as possible and getting as much done as possible to get caught up.

I'll just talk about this getting caught up thing some more...I had realized it had been since the first week of February that I've felt mostly caught up. I've come to the conclusion that I am in desperate need of some organization in my home and life. Disorganization contributes to a whole lot of other things that make me less than what I ought to be as a wife, mother, and friend. It is essential that I get organized and that I do it fast! I've decided I need to be one of those people who goes nonstop all day long to check off the list ( the "list" is not just about duties and activities, by the way, but also about relationships and intentional relational investing, especially with my children) and just stay very active all day long, then just crash into bed at night. I know people like that. And it seems to be working for them. I want to be like them. The disciplines of stillness and solitude are Scriptural, and that kind of refueling is essential. But the kind of "rest" I'm talking about not taking during the day is the kind that's just about me relaxing, being lazy, etc. There will be opportunities to relaxing alone time, and I'll talk them! I just think right now I'm in a season (an overwhelmed one!) where I need to spend most of my days on these tasks, working hard to get them achieved, and taking less time just to play. No more "veg" time when kids are napping. I've got to be working!

So that is my new plan. I'm staying busy. And working to get these projects done. And guess what, I'm resting great at night!!

Parker is too! She's ten weeks old now, and it's flying. She's been sleeping great at night! I'm loving it. Many of you know that night sleep with Jonah just didn't happen. So this has been a pleasant surprise! During the day, she eats a lot more often than I really enjoy, but I'm scared to mess with anything and stretch her feedings out since nights are so great. Last week was her two week appointment and she weighed 11 and a half pounds! Not quite as chubby as Jonah was at this age but she's still got some cute rolls. She's been sweet and much happier than she was her first month of life! Yesterday she was a stink bug though. Lots of crying. Very little sleeping. Hopefully she's over it today. Speaking of today, a playgroup we're a part of is meeting at our house in about an hour for a splash day in the backyard. So this isn't going to be near as much of a catch-up post as I had planned. It will have to come in installments!

Some coming posts (besides the pictures) will be an update on the posts here, here, and here about building relationships with nonbelievers and an update on some of the house projects I've been doing. And many thanks to those of you who gave accountability on that when I asked for it!)

I'll just tell you one last thing. I got myself a mentor. I'm so excited. There's a woman I've been wanting to ask to meet with me regularly in a mentor-type relationship, and I finally did yesterday. I'm so dumb, I actually asked her, "Will you meet with me and tell me things I need to know?" I'm thrilled to death that she said yes! Her name is Lisa, and I'm pretty sure you'll hear a lot about my Lisa time in future posts. I don't know when we're starting exactly, but I can hardly wait!