Monday, August 29, 2016

Mom's Night Out, Volcano, and A Date...

I feel like most of my posts end up being very reflective and maybe someone reading the posts may think I am a very serious person. Is that true? I usually end up throwing a joke or two in there because that's actually what I usually do. My days do not always consist of me sitting and being introspective, and praying about how I should let God fix me (Although I should probably pray more about that!). The majority of my days are spent like many other stay at home moms. Feeding children, cleaning, playdates, homeschool, feeding children, cleaning, going to the park, browsing facebook, cooking, wondering why my house is still dirty even when I wrote cleaning two times... As a mom and as a YWAM'er I have learned to be very flexible. A friend texts me at 8:30am and asks if we want to go the park and I reply, 'Sure, let me get out of my PJ's and we will be right there!'
Friday night I went to a Ladies night at our church with some friends (without kids!) and had so much fun. They had a cupcake war (making them, not throwing them), provided dinner, and also one of the ladies shared her beautiful testimony.
Then Saturday morning we woke up and remembered the national parks were free that day! So as quickly as a family of five can, we threw on our clothes, grabbed a bag of a variety of snacks to throw at the children during the 2 hour drive, and headed to Volcano National Park. It was really fun to just do something random as a family and even though we didn't have a lot of time there (Because later that night Nathaniel and I went on a date. TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW with a break from kids! Epic!!) we had a great time doing some exploring. Nathaniel got to tell us all sorts of fun things about the volcano and the plants now that he is a bonafide tour guide. It was day time so we weren't able to see the lava glowing but it was all so new and fun to see. We drove home going around the south side of the island where I've never been before. On the way out to the park, every hill Gideon saw, he thought it was a volcano and some were either 'sleeping' or about to 'plode'. It was so cute and funny! For about the first 20 minutes anyway.
This weekend was relaxing. Last week we started Homeschool and it has been good but it will take a little time to find our rhythm. It was just what I needed, to be able to get out and do something new. I like routine but I also get to the point where it almost makes me feel claustrophobic and I need to get out and do something different! I have never really been a homebody, I like to be out and doing something. So this weekend it was like God was refreshing me. It was so needed and I am so grateful. Sometimes you just need to be a little spontaneous! Or at least I do.
The kids discussing the crater and how big their owies would be if the fell in.

Going through the Thurston Lava Tube

In front of the crater of the live volcano

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

My Sanity Milk

This post... is not very profound. Just a warning. haha!

Every night, unless I am dead beat tired, or sick or something... I sit down and I have a glass of milk. Unless we have (gasp!) run out of milk and I have to drink super cold water. This is not quite as effective but has worked in some cases. It helps keep me sane.  Even when my morning starts earlier than planned, like the other morning at 5:40am, when a giant cockroach crawled down my arm while I was in bed nursing, and I had to chase it around with a flip flop while baby was still attached (Nathaniel came to my rescue), I sit down at night after all is quiet and have a glass of milk.
By myself.
So many people have told me they do their quiet time with Jesus in the morning. It's best to start off your morning with God and everything else flows from there, they say.
But I have tried this and it seems almost physically impossible for me to wake up earlier than I have to (aka before the kids wake up and decide they are starving). Mostly because of this bad habit I have of staying up later than I should. So if I have this bad habit, I might as well put it to good use and do my quiet time at night. Most of my blogging happens at night as well since that is when I have done my quiet time (usually) and actually have something to talk about. Tonight I am doing it backwards and blogging first, quiet time second. Milk is already gone so I may have to pour a little more...
Jesus and I have come to an agreement. Maybe because I am much more enjoyable to hang out with at night since I am not as grumpy. Sometimes you just do what works for you. I love to multitask so often my 'quiet time' actually just mean 'alone time with God' because I also have music playing in my ears.
To be honest I've been slacking. Doing a blog actually helps to keep me accountable. It reminds me to keep searching and looking for inspiration from God.
If anything comes out of this post it would be, to find what's right for you. There is more than just one way to do things. I even have an app that is AWESOME called Echo to help me pray.
I put my list of prayers in it, set random times during the day and it reminds me to pray throughout the day!!! This has been so good for me. I don't enter my password on my Ipod until I have prayed for that thing. Is it dumb that I use an app for this? Maybe. I don't care. It's helpful and this is what I have found to help me. Here is the link: Echo Prayer App
Figure out how to make it work. Is it too hard to memorize scripture? Get scripture songs! Already have too much stuff in your diaper bag to carry a Bible with you to church? Get the Bible on your phone!
Trust me I'm not perfect. Anyone who knows me, knows that. But we should always be striving to improve. Even if it's a tiny step, it's still a step.
Keep walking forward.
One of those family photos that didn't quite work out. Haha.
See? Imperfect.