December Reflections - Part 2

Two dear friends gave me cards this Christmas that touched me simply and deeply.

good company . . .

great times . . .

warm friendship.

these are the gifts I have thanks to you

and they keep me merry all year long.

all around us, beauty and wonder

all around us, love and peace.

all around us . . . the miracles of christmas.

I am so thankful to God for my amazing friends, especially this year!

And then there are some fun photos to sum up our anticipation and celebration of Christmas.

Jenny's Christmas program at church.

Simple joys of $1.49 mermaids!

What says Merry Christmas like a 4 foot Barbie Condo, complete with an elevator???

Bunk Beds for the lake!

Making Gingerbread houses with Jenny at school. It's funny how much I realized alike we are as she designed her house! Scary!

Jenny's new snowmobile helmet . . now she can "safely" go across the lake on a snowmobile!

The "REAL" Santa and Mrs. Claus live in Old Forge, NY.

Santa's reindeer looking thrilled!

Christmas on Main Street in Old Forge, one of our favorite Thanksgiving Weekend traditions!

Sunset over BML from our deck - Thanksgiving weekend. Sign of a beautiful winter to come!

Too much sugar?

December Reflections - Part 1

Colossians 2:6-7

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,

continue to live your lives in him,

⁷ rooted and built up in him,

strengthened in the faith as you were taught,

and overflowing with thankfulness.

At times this month I felt like I was "missing it." I felt so overwhelmed with other things going on in life, that my mind was not always focused on that little baby born so long ago. That baby who came to this world to take away my anxiety, my hurt, my anger, my frustrations and my sin.

That beautiful baby.

During Advent this year I have been thinking about Heaven on Earth. Is the baby Jesus appealing to me? Is my life filled with the behaviors and attitudes of Christ? Am I living a heavenly life? Do I recognize my sin and live each day wanting to be cleansed? Am I receiving it? Am I living it?

I know it. I want it. I receive it. Is it always easy? No. Will I stray? Yes. But I know that ultimately my life on earth is a stepping stone to eternity with Him. I know that He has placed people and situations in my life for a purpose, all leading to recognize and remember that baby, born to set me free.

Twirling

I am thankful each day for both of my beautiful girls.

With this said, each day also brings new struggles and parenting issues that no one can prepare you for. My girls are emotional, much like their mom, and their two different personalities sometimes clash (lately that sometimes seems more like a lot!) They are the best of friends, and sometimes all it takes is something small for loud tears and screams to break out (tonight for example, Jenny didn't want Santa and Mrs. Claus in the manger scene, and Kirsten did!). I never know either, when these eruptions will happen. For example, Kirsten today was in time out 3 times for hitting. Who would think that adorable face could be such trouble? Jenny on the other hand takes her emotions to the extreme, and gets extremely frustrated with her sister. Again, each day is brings new opportunities for me as their mom to instruct them and guide them through these battles.

Tonight though, with many school and family related issues heavy on my mind, I went to put Kirsten to bed, and quite honestly, just wanted her sleeping, so I could get on with the tasks that consume my life after 9pm each night. We did our nightly routine, and I usually stick around and rub her back until she falls asleep (I know, I'm not supposed to do that!).

My sweet Kirsten is a Mommy's girl, and I am convinced she would crawl back inside of me if she could. When I sit by her bed, our cheeks have to be touching as she drifts to sleep. She also is a thumb sucker and hair twirler, and tonight she was sucking her thumb, twirling my hair, and we were cheek to cheek. Her short breaths turned long and she clung to me until she was fast asleep.

I put my thoughts aside, and tonight I cherished this time with my little one. How precious and grateful I am for these lives, that I sometimes take for granted.

Thankful For These Girls

Jeff and his family :-)
Beautiful Ali, Lynnette, Madi and Hannah

5 GIRLS? Who would have thought!

For years, my brother-in-law Jeff and I had an "interesting" relationship. When Matt and I got married over 10 years ago, Jeff was not my biggest fan, but gave a speech at our wedding that no one will forget :-) Jeff and I have grown in our respect for each other, and we now can laugh and tease each other about the time he had me in tears because he insisted he was going to wear cowboy boots to my wedding, and what an idiot brother he had for marrying someone who wouldn't let him wear what he wanted to. Of course as I look back, why did I make a fuss about cowboy boots??? Anyway, after years of relationships, Jeff promised me that 2009 was the year he was going to find himself "the one." Now, if I had a dime for every time I heard that from Jeff, I would be rich!

BUT . . . he did it. I am well on my way to having an amazing, beautiful, smart sister-in-law (a principal no less!!) and 3 amazing, beautiful, smart, kind, gracious and precious nieces. How cool is that? I get goose bumps when I see my girls and "Jeff's girls" together.

My mother-in-law still pinches herself. After all the years of black eyes, punched in walls, principal office visits with her strong willed sons, she has landed herself all of these girls.

The Braunius' had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

From This Point On . . . .

Oh boy. Has it really been a month?? Well, like I said, my blog is what it is, and I may not capture every moment in my life and the life of my kids. That's okay, right??

So, it's Workout Wednesday . . . it's late, and I just ate 3 pieces of Halloween candy (I swear those bags are bottomless) . . . but I want to get back on track . . . and I have made a commitment to a friend.

Although I am all about numbers, I am trying to be about how I feel. Putting tired and stressed behind me is not easy. Although I am part time, I often feel like I just can't get it together! I know I don't necessarily need to lose a lot, but I know where I need to be in order to feel okay with myself.

For almost 3 years now, my court buddy and I have fought our alarm clocks at 5:20 and met to take our morning "stroll." We are at the point though that even on weekends we wake up ready for our walk, and just wish our programmed bodies would take a break!! Someday we will write a book off of our early morning conversations . . . I wonder if anyone would read it? Anyway, we have braved every weather element imaginable . . . wacko-s . . . wildlife (dead and alive) . . .

I have come to appreciate this time immensely because it truly is the only "me" time I get all day. I know I am healthier because of it, although I would like to set some goals to feel better about myself. If I am feeling good, I know I am happier, and so are those around me.

So . . here goes . . . goals . .

1. More water (thanks for reminding me Liesl!)

2. 5 pounds by Christmas??? (Maybe I should stick to maintain . . . )

3. One extra night/time of exercise a week (I have a pilates video that I do enjoy . . . when I can convince my girls to do it with me!)

Fishing Weekend

Every October brings much anticipation to our household . . . the annual fishing trip. For weeks the boys meet, text and e-mail regarding who is driving, who is sleeping with who (you know what I mean), who is bringing what and specifying brands, and other very important details are discussed and deliberated.

Okay, so there may be a small amount of sarcasm in my words. We have joked that it may be worse than a bunch of women planning a shopping weekend for Lancaster. When the boys were outside my house early Thursday morning, I quickly started receiving texts from the other wives. Those messages will need to remain silent :-).

So the girls and I have spent many hours outside this weekend, countless nature walks and hikes, playgrounds, trips around the court, leaf rubbings, pumpkin painting, you name it . . . we did it! Although nighttime is when the tears come for Daddy, pure exhaustion is usually the reason and their sleep comes quickly. One little person has also come to find that Mommy and Daddy's bed is more comfy than hers . . . I'm okay with that. Last night we had a Harvest Dessert party in our backyard with a bunch of neighbors and friends (and some s'mores, cider beer and wine) which gave the girls a distraction, but also some adult time for me. I'm very thankful for my little court community (well, most of them at least!).

I could get annoyed that he leaves us for 5 days, but I love to see that he continues to enjoy this time away. He absolutely loves getting up to go fishing at 4:30 in the morning . . . I guess he could love worse things!

Before he left he gave each of his girls a beautiful bunch of flowers, and I have to say that the unexpected gift is not to make up for anything, but instead to remind us that he loves us and is thankful for us.

I sometimes can get easily annoyed and stressed out by daily life, but God continues to find ways to remind me of my blessings found in my rooted marriage and my precious girls.

So he comes home tomorrow, and the planning will begin for next year.

Finding my identity in Christ . . . not in temporary things . . .

Our God

Chris Tomlin

Water you turned into wine

Opened the eyes of the blind

There's no one like you

None like you

Into the darkness you shine

Out of the ashes we rise

There's no one like you

None like you

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

Into the darkness you shine

Out of the ashes we rise

There's no one like you

None like you

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

And if our God is for us

Then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us

Then what could stand against

Then what could stand against

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

And if our God is for us

Then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us

Then what could stand against

Then what could stand against

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God

Our God

Sunday Morning Blue Skies

Sunday mornings are always a bit hectic. I'm usually running late, and there is usually an episode about what to wear (at least with 3 out of the 4 of us . . . excluding Kirsten . . . for now!) This morning Jennifer informed me the brown skirt I picked out for her to wear was too "schoolish" and she wanted to wear something "churchish." She also pointed out how everybody would think she looked too "schoolish" when in fact she should look "churchish." Really? How exactly does a 5 year old start forming these observations at such an early age? Meanwhile, Kirsten is running around the house in her dress calling herself beautiful, only making her older sister more upset.

Upon arrival at church, we go our separate ways to the duties and the mailboxes that call our attention every Sunday morning. We give our usual greetings and find our way to our seats.

Just in time for the Call to Confession, the girls are getting fidgety and take out the colored pencils. All is peaceful (okay, so not completely peaceful), until they decide they need the same color out of the box of 24. Jenny won out, and Kirsten got the dark blue and not the light blue. Oh boy. So the screaming started, and I grabbed Kirsten with a look of "I've got it all under control," and got up. She is now flailing her arms and nearly wails the man in the pew in front of us, thankfully she got his shoulder and not his head. I eventually shuffle past everyone in our bench, to the aisle. I am pretty well aware of every eye on me at this point, and even PB just stopped preaching until I was out of the sanctuary. I stopped in the back and said a sorry just before exiting, child still flailing, eyes still staring. All I could hope for at that point was that my shirt wasn't revealing anything it shouldn't have been!!

In the basement, Kirsten sweetly informed me that "Mommy, I just wanted to color the sky light blue, like the color it is today." Who can argue with that?

Near Perfect

I never take for granted our vacation home in Blue Mountain Lake, NY.

Last weekend I was especially thankful for this place of rest and relaxation as the four of us, along with Matt's brother Jeff and his girlfriend, went up for a quick weekend. We knew we had some tasks to take care of before the brutal winter, but we mainly were focused on just hanging out.

The ADK museum right up the road from us was having their fall festival. Among the activities was pumpkin painting, cider pressing, pony rides, hayrides, pinecone mobile making, bluegrass music, fish feeding, and a good ol' pile of leaves for jumping. We had a fantastic time taking in the brisk fall weather, the picture perfect sky, the gorgeous scenery, and being together. So simple, so rustic, so amazing!

Although quick, our weekend proved to be just what I needed! If I had to create a top 10 days list, last Saturday would be near the top!

I did it!

I have actually started a blog!

For years I have avoided facebook for many different reasons, but I still have felt the need to share my family, my thoughts, my struggles, and my joys. Thanks to my best friend Liesl, I have been inspired by her to finally start my own blog. No promises or expectations. A place to reflect. A place to breathe.