Ask Mom: Filling the Nest.

So, it is about that time that Curtis and I are starting to think and talk about planning for our next baby (God willing!)  Where this excites me and I cannot wait, it also puts a little seed of guilt in my mind that I can't quite get rid of.  It all seems pretty ridiculous in my brain--but maybe, just maybe there are other ridiculous mama's out there who feel the same way...

See, I feel guilty because Everett is our one and only. Just like we cannot imagine our lives without him, it is hard for me to imagine our lives with another little one that will need our attention too--in turn taking some of that from Everett.  It just feels like it will be unfair to my sweet boy to take some attention away from him and put it on someone else.  I know when he is older he will LOVE that sibling relationship, but what about now when he doesn't quite get it.  Will he wonder if we don't love him as much?  Will he feel forgotten?  Will he feel ignored?  Will he feel second place?

Just like it was a blessing to bring Everett into our lives, it will be an incredible blessing to have more little ones to call our own!  However, I can't help but think of the guilt ridden what-ifs and wonder how it will affect my sweet boy.  Will these thoughts deter me from having more kids? No.  Do they make me a little emotional and cray cray? Yes!

For those whom have multiple or are planning to have multiple children, have you every had these thoughts? --- if so, how did you overcome them and how did it change your relationship with your firstborn?

Public Service Announcement.

Remember that post I did a couple months back about my rice jars experiment and the power of positive talk?  Well, I thought I'd update you a bit.  It is now about 135 days in and this is where we are at:

Can you tell which jar is getting some love and which is not?  Once again, a powerful visual reminder of how strong our words and thoughts can be and the damage they can do!  So, be kind to yourself and others!

That brings me to my next point.  Next week is National Pay-it-Forward week with the 26th as THE day to make sure you pay-it-forward!  I think we all may be familiar with the term--and maybe even the book/movie 'Pay it Forward'.  Perhaps you even practice this method of showing random kindness towards others in your daily life.  Pay it Forward week is a week devoted to getting as many people around the world to do just that!  Of course we should do it all of the time and not just one week, but it is a good reminder of what positive change can happen when everyone is on board and the chain of kindness grows stronger.

Altruistic acts not only make the receiver happy, but also the giver!  When we show our care for others in an unselfish way, it lights up the pleasure center in our brains in the same way its lit up when we enjoy chocolate, music and a'hem....other things.

I am bringing awareness to this day/week to both of the schools I work in and providing staff with some ideas to pay it forward as well as a resource they can use that is provided on the official PIF website.  It is a card that you can give someone when you choose to PIF and to encourage them to do the same and track how many hands it has been in!  You can get them HERE or make your own!  Of course you don't need one to pay it forward!

So will you join me, and the thousands of others that will be paying it forward this week?  You never know the impact you can have on someone until you go out of your way to show some love!

warm fuzzies.

This makes my heart happy.

Easter.

Pictures are going to speak much louder than my words tonight, as I am exhausted and spent from all of the fun and festivities from the weekend!  I hope you enjoyed your families as well and had time to reflect on the importance of what today really means for sinners like you and me!

Everett coloring eggs for the first time!

 

Happy Easter from Mommy Monologue!

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

friends.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

--C.S. Lewis

See those ladies above?  Yup, they are mine.  Friends that is.

They are clearly beautiful gorgeous, and even more so on the inside.

I just got to spend the whole weekend with them and while I am coming down from the high of fun we had the past few days, I have been reflecting on how lucky I am to call them my friends--my sisters.

I remember the day they asked me to be one of their senior year room mates in college.  I felt undeserving, not cool enough and nervous out of my mind, yet so excited!  Little did I know that the next year I'd live with them would be one of the best ever and truly life changing.

Stories of ding dong ditching, writing on tables, slumber parties, crying together, laughing together, survivor-thons, interpretive dance performances and heeps of other memories will forever be instilled in both my head and heart.

It is not unusual for friendships to last past college, but I truly feel I will be friends with these ladies for the rest of our days and for that I feel so truly blessed and lucky---and still a little undeserving.  I cannot even begin to convey how much of a God send they are and have been in my life and what models of inspiration and authenticity they are. 

After spending any amount of time with them I instantly feel rejuvenated, motivated and like I've seen a picture of what God calls me to be as a Christian, woman, wife, mom, etc.  Just as Proverbs teaches us: 

"Just as iron sharpens iron--so one person sharpens another" 27:17

These ladies are sharpening me.

They sharpen me through each conversation, email, prayer, thought, opinion, and just by being themselves.

This weekend we were all talking and one of them brought up a quote--"healing doesn't come in isolation".  We all are in need of healing for our own individual struggles and when we fight the isolation and our own comforts to keep those struggles to ourselves and finally let down our walls and share these trials with our friends, we can finally not only begin the healing process, but often find ourselves thinking and/or saying---"you mean I'm not the only one?!"  

What a blessing to know that you are not the only one to struggle with XYZ!

I was so encouraged this weekend by the walls that came down, the bravery that took and the love overflowing--to be able to hear what my sisters have to say and think, "wow, I'm not the only one!"  It has sharpened me--probably without them even knowing and has brought me that much closer to finding my identity in Christ.

Thank you ladies for being the iron that sharpens me and blessing me beyond what I deserve by your God-given gifts and presence in my life! 

I am SO lucky!