{12 in 13} April's Challenge

This Month

For the month of April, I am going to read the Bible every day and pray every day, in some format.

Yesterday (Day One!) I picked the book of Matthew because it has 28 chapters, which will get me most of the way through the month at one chapter a day, and because I want to saturate my heart and mind with the life of Jesus. So far, so good-- I read chapter one yesterday, and chapter two today. :)

I haven't figured out how to do the prayer aspect-- other than, "Help!! How do I persevere through this potty training business?!" (Post on that soon...) I think I will use my 31 Days of  Praise book by Ruth Myers, which hasmy  Scripture-based prayers focused on a different topic for each day. Here's an excerpt from Day Two:

Thank you, Father, that You so loved the world that You gave Your one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ... that when the time had fully come, He wrapped Himself in human form, being born as a helpless baby in a poor family. Thank You that He walked here on earth radiating the brightness of Your glory and flawlessly expressing Your nature... and so, through Him, people saw You in action, involved with them, available to meet their needs. Thank You that He focused Your almighty power into the lives of common people with deep needs, just like me... that He preached the gospel to the poor, proclaimed freedom to prisoners of sin and recovery of sight to the blind, and set free the oppressed victims of sin and Satan-- the downtrodden, the lost, the hurting, the broken. Thank You for the way He rebuked the arrogant and looked with favor on the humble-minded, opening wide the door of His kingdom to those who were destitute and helpless in spirit. I delight in Your tender mercies, O my God, by which the Sunrise from on high has come to us!

John 3:16; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 1:3; Luke 4:18-19; Matt. 3:5; Luke 1:78.

I am looking forward to developing some discipline, even if it's little baby steps.

Year in Review

Here's a recap of my goals so far (because I constantly measure myself and like to look back often):

January: potty train Caleb -- in progress
February: love deliveries -- done!
March: start a garden -- postponed until potty training is further along
April: read the Bible and pray every day for 30 days -- in progress

Still to come...

May: complete the Bull Canyon Run 5k
June: try a fast from refined sugar (either for one week or one month)
July: sew, sew, sew/ develop inventory for future Etsy store

I have been running, sporadically, for the last six weeks or so. I want to get more in a regular habit of going  out for a run immediately after Sean gets home from work, a few days a week. He is totally on board, I just need to prep dinner beforehand and get in the mindset of going and not getting distracted with something else... and not rationalize away my motivation.

Stay tuned! Lots happening around here these days.

{12 in 13} March

Life was good. I had decided to try a simple approach to growth, goal-setting, life. I picked one big "thing" to focus on for each month of this year... Then I joined two Bible studies. And had a second child. And Sean had his wisdom teeth out in early January, which ended up including infection and two additional oral surgeries to rectify it.  We've gone to Hawaii twice, in February and March, to visit Nalani. Sean is taking classes for his master's degree in apologetics-- not easy classes, and his only opportunity to work on them is in the evenings/weekends. In addition to having a new baby, we have a two-year-old whose language of love is quality time.

It's been a busy year so far.

January's goal, potty train Caleb, is staring me in the face.
February's goal, share love, was a smashing success.
March's goal, start a garden, is still waiting to become reality.

I am realizing I never thought through what I would do if I didn't meet my goal in a given month. Keep it on the plate and try to do two "big things" at once the following month? Discard it and move on? Keep it on the back burner in case I finished another month's goal early, and only attempt it in that case, so I'm still doing one "big thing" at a time? In Caleb's situation, ignoring it is not an option. :)

I'll admit I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I was doing great with the tempo of my schedule until we went to Hawaii last week (16-23 Mar). I was even getting all my homework done for both Bible studies! But now I am thinking something has to go. Probably the first, best option would be to slash Facebook/online time. I have the nasty habit of "rewarding" myself with some veg time during Caleb's nap, because "I've earned a break." The "just checking my email" usually turns into 1-2 hours of FB and online browsing, following links to articles that are often useful, but become time-wasters when I have not earmarked that time to read online articles. Or I'll get lost in researching a debate, whether it's the safety of prenatal ultrasounds, or the evils of refined sugar, you name it. There is so much "information" out there, much of it conflicting, it's hard to know what the "right" answer is.

A second way I could recapture some time is to get up earlier. That has also been a particular challenge since we returned, with jet lag hindering my attempts to get up at a reasonable time. Not that I was very disciplined before our trip. I honestly don't know how to change. My willpower is not exactly stellar when half-asleep and my body's in the habit of wanting more sleep.

A third option, concurrent with the others, is to prayerfully consider (again) what God would have my priorities be. I want to regain that clarity and purposefulness in my daily life, instead of seeing everything in front of me, all the time, and feeling overwhelmed and anxious. I want to focus on one thing at a time, even one task at a time, and enjoy the time I do have. Especially time with the kids. Instead of seeing them as an obstacle to productivity, I want to see them as a gift I have the responsibility to steward well, for the Lord. I'm training and shaping precious human beings' character, all day long, under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. What a high responsibility.

All that being said.... today was Day One of earnestly working on potty skills with Caleb. After a few hours of hanging out in the bathroom half-naked, he has peed in the potty once. And on the floor three times, in far greater quantity than what made it into the potty. :) But still. I think it's progress. The other day he said he wanted to learn to be potty trained and not use diapers. That is progress. He has been resisting even conversation about it until recently.

For a couple hours I had tried the "sit on the potty every 30 minutes" technique which didn't seem to be very effective. We're going to try the technique of 10 minutes on the potty, five-minute break... for a few hours at least, maybe a couple days running. I only did that once this morning (10 mins. on), and that is when he peed a little bit into the potty. A few minutes later he peed a LOT on the floor, but that's okay. The process has begun. Thankfully, he is an exceptional toddler who will sit and read books with someone for a long time. He has a really good attention span. I am also thankful for tile floors in much of the house!

How do you manage your priorities? What specific techniques do you employ to remind yourself of them?

Until next time...
M

Caleb's Corner (Jan-Feb)

Chloe gets a lot of attention these days... but Caleb is such a joy!!! I want to enjoy him (and blog about him!). He says the greatest, funniest things! Almost daily I think, "I need to write that down," but rarely manage to. Here are a couple examples of cute and/or funny things.

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A few weeks ago we purchased the classic Disney movie Lady and the Tramp. We've watched it with Caleb twice now, and I've seen a couple effects.... 1) During pre-meal prayertime, he asks for "proteck from bad doggies" (and from "bad monkeys," which is related to on of Sean's coworkers scaring Caleb with a gorilla mask a few months ago). 2) He likes to role-play a lot, and has started issuing instructions when we are playing together. One day recently, it was, "You be Butch, Daddy. I'm Lady." He proceeded to refer to Daddy as Butch (the Tramp) throughout dinner, which was hilarious to me. "Thank you, Butch."  "I all done, Butch. Get down, please, Butch?"

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Yesterday, Caleb and his daddy were tossing a soccer ball back and forth while I was sitting nearby. After Caleb threw it, he looked over and said, "Mommy, clap!" (Only it sounded like, "Mommy, cwap!" and I wasn't sure at first if he had said "crap" or "clap.") He knows what he wants, I guess... We are working on learning to not demand things of others...

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Caleb tripped and landed on his bottom. He asked, "Mommy put bandaid on Caleb's bottom?" I had to chuckle.

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"Kwo-wee two old months," instead of "Chloe is two months old."

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And now, some pictures, because pictures are just awesome. :)

chalk time with Daddy... Caleb's quite the artist ;)

at Santa Barbara Zoo-- it was a beautiful (bright) day in January

with our buddy "Cam-wun" (Cameron)

hanging out in the back yard one day... he really wanted to wear that hat

checking out the bbq

he loves hugging and kissing, and even sharing with, his sister Chloe!

our beautiful boy

I'm starting to understand it when people say their kids are growing up way too fast. My kids are growing up way too fast!!! :) I'm loving each new stage, and getting to watch him mature a little more every day. It's incredible. A little scary, too, to teach him now to navigate the world. It feels weighty because we are entrusted with such responsibility to train and instruct and guide Him toward God, though only God can save him. He's learning so much from us, whether intentional or incidental--the whole "caught" vs. "taught" concept. Our kids will pick up what we really believe by how we live, and they will notice whether our actions match what we say we believe. God is refining us all through this process, and I'm so glad He's given us the kids He has, all three of them. :)

Caleb & Chloe

This is so typical of their relationship!

{12 in 13} February endnote

After I dropped off our Love Deliveries on February 13th and 14th, we went out of town for five days (more on that later).

When we returned home, we had received not one but TWO thank-you notes from our neighbors! I was touched especially by this one:

Thank you so very much for the wonderful Valentine basket of goodies. The cookies were the best. Thank you. How thoughtful of you. God's love is everywhere. Thank you again for sharing his love with me. It was the only Valentine I read so it was special.

Praise God! Thanks, God, for showing me a little bit of your work. :) I was pretty excited that people responded, by mailing cards, no less. I'll have to go for more walks in the neighborhood and see if I can run into people more often. He is always at work! I want to be ready to join Him.

{12 in 13} February's "Love Deliveries"

Here's the play-by-play on this month's project: share love with our neighbors via "Love Deliveries."

2/1: Baked a chocolate cake for later incorporation into cake balls (froze it in big pieces for later).

2/4: Bought baking supplies at commissary.

2/5: Today is the first of three potential "baking days" I had penciled in on my calendar. Caleb is running a fever and asks me many times to hold him. I sit next to him on the floor with pillows and we watch an Elmo video three times in a row (I must admit, I folded some laundry here and there during that time). The TV is rarely on in our house, but he was so pitiful looking and lethargic I let him keep watching it.

2/6: We stayed home from Bible study because of Caleb, who's feeling much better today but is still under observation. Made some veggie enchiladas for the crock pot and destroyed the kitchen. Put Caleb down for nap... mixed up the cake ball filling (cream cheese, butter, sugar, cocoa, crumbled chocolate cake) before dinner and refrigerated it overnight.

cream cheese, butter, cocoa, powdered sugar

2/7: Rolled cake filling into balls; rearranged freezer to accommodate cookie sheet with newly-formed cake balls. Meanwhile, Mom made granola at her place.

2/8: Baking day, for reals! We dipped the cake balls in melted chocolate (with a small quantity of coconut oil added to make it creamy and harden nicely), coated Mom's granola and crushed pretzel sticks in chocolate; and baked shortbread cookies. We decided that chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies was just too much, and straight shortbread would be a better complement to all that chocolate. I think it was a good choice!

melted chocolate chips

granola on L; pretzels on R

washing hands with Grammy

Caleb enjoys cutting out cookies :)

Caleb, my sous chef :) Love that kid!!

Ready to bake!

Like this? No.... Let's roll it out.

Fresh out of the oven!

Caleb was pretty sad that I wouldn't let him eat any cake balls.
We did sample the shortbread cookies...

2/13: Assembly and delivery day! During Caleb's afternoon nap, I assembled the 10 little treat boxes. After dinner, I set out to deliver them while Sean watched the kids. I was able to connect with two different neighbors: our longtime friend next door, Melanie; and a friendly elderly guy down the street whose name I failed to get. (Argh!) No one else answered their door. I debated about whether or not to leave the treat boxes on doorsteps, since I have seen cats wandering around. (I decided not to, and try again the next day.) I must admit I was kind of disappointed and confused. I told Sean, Well, that's not how I anticipated it going! So much for my big "love delivery" project! Yet again this year-of-goal-setting project is turning out differently than I thought it would. But he reminded me it wasn't a failure.... We never know how God is going to use the seeds we plant. We aren't the ones who save people; our job is just to be a faithful laborer. There was still an opportunity to connect with neighbors the next day, when perhaps more people might be home.

I got little cardboard boxes for $1 each at Target, and lined them
with some colorful striped wrapping paper I already had

chocolate Valentine trail mix

triple chocolate cake balls

Here's the little note card I wrote to share about the
GREATEST demonstration of love that has ever been known.

Caleb, Bessie (the stroller) and I, ready to embark on a Valentine's Day adventure...

2/14: delivery day #2! This day felt more successful. :) The sun was shining, the kids were happy, I was excited. I left treat boxes on doorsteps when the door wasn't answered, and reached a few more neighbors: Judy, a sweet older lady two houses down, who invited me in; Sally, a lady with three teenagers who was working from home that day, and let Caleb pet her Dachshund puppy, Gracie... Tom, a retired gentleman who showed me his "man cave" (sideyard sitting area and backyard putting green) and Raul, next door, who owns a landscaping business and thanked me profusely in accented English. It was fun, and though I wished I had gotten to talk more with neighbors, the conversation I had with Sally in particular was a good start.

February Love Delivery project: complete!

There are still eight days left in the month; maybe I should pick back up with my January project....

Stay tuned. :)

{12 in 13} February: First update

It's February already! Time just seems to fly lately. We are adjusting to being a two-kid household, I think. We are getting used to getting two kids ready to go out the door; operating two five-point-harness carseats; feeding, clothing, and bathing two little bodies. I was even one minute early to an event last week... which for me is quite an accomplishment. :) My typical MO is two minutes late-- no matter where I'm going or how far away it is, somehow I manage to be two minutes late. That's something I want to work on (add it to the list, right?!).

Anyway... here is my original post of 2013 goals: 12 in 13 

February's goal is: share love. This is going to be a treats + tract bundle for our neighbors.

My initial planning has included these thoughts…

I've decided to make three kinds of chocolate treats for my neighbors' care packages (cake balls, chocolate/berry trail mix, and chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies). Is that too much chocolate, or what??  :) I decided on preparing 10 plates... then counted the houses on either side of the street and guess what, we have 10 occupied houses (not counting ours) on our street! I've made an ingredients list, with quantities needed.  I'm planning on going to the commissary soon to stock up on flour, cocoa, etc.  I’ve tentatively asked my mom if I can come over and have a baking day with her, and if she’d be willing to contribute some of her homemade granola (and a set of hands for occupying kids and baking).  She sounded enthusiastic! We both love baking.  And she loves her grandbabies somethin’ fierce. J  Now we just need to put it on the calendar.

For the spiritual side of things, I’ll be drafting up the “message” portion of the packages soon, sharing about God’s love vs. romantic love. Not that romantic love is bad; God designed it, so it’s good. But so often people get hung up on it when God’s love is perfect and holy and eternal. I want to spread that good news with people and open the door to future conversations, if our neighbors are willing. I’ll be praying that the gospel would be clear and that God would help me in this project—that it wouldn’t be me doing it in my own strength. That’s the key to success in any endeavor. One of Caleb’s memory verses is Proverbs 3:6—In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. I like how that version phrases it.  Caleb and I like to flip through his ABC verse cards at mealtimes. He really likes the pictures, but he is starting to get familiar with the words, too, as I read them to him.

Well, I’m off to bake a chocolate cake!