Yemi's First Day of School

One of the many reasons I don't blog very often is because I always want to put processed pictures in my blogs. However, my husband is a master photo processor, and I don't feel like doubling up on skills in our marriage. Therefore, I haven't really ever learned. Also, it's boring. John will sit down with me on occasion and teach me "easy" ways to make a picture look better, but it leaves my brain immediately.

A few months later, I will think, "I should put up a blog about (fill in the blank)." But then I look at the pictures and they don't look as good as everyone's Instagram pics and then I don't post them. "I'll process them later." But I never do (this is no surprise to anyone who knows me well).

I did this exact thing today with Yemi's first day of school pictures. Then I decided, she's cute enough without processing. John may decide to fix them up a bit in the future, but for now, here is what my camera produced:

Leaving the house

Lining up to go inside

Listening to her teacher

Contemplating life...

Off they go!

When I picked her up, she said, "School is AWESOME!" She ate lunch with a boy she knew from preschool who is in another class. They learned about numbers 1 and 2. She liked playing outside on the big playground best. And approximately 30 minutes later was the crabbiest girl you've ever met. She ate her dinner in about 10 seconds and it was determined that she will need MUCH more food before and after school to keep her sunny disposition in tact.

Looks like it's going to be a fantastic year.

One Year

I know I haven't exactly been the most consistent blogger lately. I'll get a blog idea in my head, but then I never actually write it before it escapes again. Anyway...

Today I wanted to share some thoughts I've had about my mother-in-law. She lost her battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects the plasma cells, one year ago today. Needless to say, it has been a heavy day for me. And while I didn't know her as intimately as some, she had a deep impact on my life and I'm grateful to her for it. I grieve for her today.

Donna Kay Weatherford was one of the truly nicest people I have ever met. In the fifteen years that I knew her, I literally never heard her say a negative thing about anyone. Even when something bothered her or something was unfair, she never spoke badly about anyone. This is an amazing thing to me as I can not say the same about myself.

I grieve for my husband and my daughter's loss. Donna was such a devoted mother. Like most mothers, she would have done anything for John. She adored him and was so proud of him. And more than anyone I've ever known, she was made to be a grandmother. I'm sad that she only got to see Yemi a few times and even in those times, she was too sick to do the things I know she had always planned to with her grandchildren. She and Yemi would have loved to craft together. She could have taught her how to scrapbook and crochet and they would have played with Play-Doh together. She would have spoiled her in a completely unique way from the way my mom spoils her. She would have bought her all the knickknacks that kids love. (The same kind of things, by the way, that Donna's sisters mail to Yemi on Halloween and Valentine's Day and Christmas. God bless then, I know Donna would be so happy to know they do that).

She loved to garden and was really good at it. The Weatherfords were always growing watermelon and tomatoes and cotton and flowers and pumpkins. If I remember correctly, she didn't like most of what she grew, but others could enjoy her green thumb.

Donna loved Christmas more than anyone I ever saw. Their small two bedroom house always looked like a gingerbread house in December. Wooden candy canes would line the driveway and lights would be inside and out. She collected snowmen year round and had dozens on display during this time of year. She would bake cookies for friends and loved giving gifts. She would wrap each one individually, no matter how small.

She loved to take pictures and to scrapbook. She was really good at it, too. She was published in magazines and taught classes. I suspect that her genes are where John got his talent in the arts. I know she would have loved scrapbooking her grandchildren.

There was so much life left for her to live, places to travel, children to love, gardens to grow. I don't understand why God took her so early, but I deeply trust in the same God she trusted in. Her disease was terrible and unfair. She dealt with so much pain while she was sick and I never heard her complain, not once. I thank her for raising a son that loves people and art and Jesus and knows how to love me well. What would my life be without her?

So while my heart is heavy, I choose to remember what she gave to the world. How she lived her life and loved people. She was a lovely, sweet, humble person and God knew what he was doing when he made her.

(This picture was after she had been through chemotherapy and her hair grew back white. Most of the time I knew her, her hair was much darker).

Laughing with Yemi: Lady and the Tramp

Yemi: Mom, let's play Lady and the Tramp.
Me: How do you play that game?
Yemi: You be the lady walking on the tramp and I'll be the dog.

As you can clearly see, she has never seen the movie...

Resolution Check In

Since January just ended (I've been thinking about this post for a few days), I thought I would do a check-in to see how I was doing with 2012's resolutions. If I do this once a month, I can keep them at the forefront of my mind and also stay accountable. Constant reminding is the only way for me to stick with any goals.

1. Read 12-20 books. I have finished one book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. A review will be coming soon. I have started two more, Desiring God by John Piper and Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim and Charles Fay. I'm not usually a multiple books at one time kinda girl, but Desiring God is a lot to take in at one time and the other one is an easy re-read. So I'm definitely on pace to accomplish this one.

2. Memorize 24 Bible verses. I'm doing pretty well at this one too. I've been reviewing regularly and have added 3 to my stack already. I will be adding Romans 6:22 over the next two weeks. It says, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." This goes along with my theme for the year, which is that my life is not my own.

3. Get back to Pre-Yemi weight. This is my worst one. I have lost some weight, but I'm not really seeing much difference in how my clothes fit. I've been trying to watch my portion sizes, but I really need to get to the gym and burn some calories. This will need to be a focus for February.

4. Buy a house. I have contacted a realtor and are working on getting some loan paperwork filled out. I took the first step, but need to persevere through the not fun parts too.

5. Blog more often. I have been doing this. It hasn't been once a week, but considering my past blogging habits, it has definitely increased.

6. Give Thanks. This one is going very well. I have been writing 2-3 things I am thankful each night in my journal. If I miss a day, I make up for it the next day. I'm very excited to have a very large list of blessings at the end of the year.

So, I know it has only been 33 days since New Year's, but I haven't given up yet. I can make 11 more months, right? How are you doing on your resolutions? Need a "check in?"

Laughing with Yemi: Lingerie

The other day Yemi, John and I were at Target picking up some things. As we were heading to the check out lines, we passed the women's clothing section. Yemi looked over and saw a Valentine's Day themed little number like this:

Yemi: I wish you could wear that Mommy.
Me: I know someone else who wishes that... (looking at John)
Yemi: Grandma?

New Year's Resolutions

This year I've heard a lot of people say that they don't like to make New Year's Resolutions. Why not use everyday to set goals and make changes to make your life better? While I'm not arguing with the thought behind that, I happen to like New Year's Resolutions. I like hard set beginnings and ends and the calendar is a great tool for that. A new year is such a good time for the clock to start ticking again.

Like most people, I end up abondoning my New Year's goals somewhere between January 15th and April 1st. But each year brings the hope that this will be the year I stick with it and make it a habit. I will finally lose the weight, keep the kitchen clean, read those books or play more games with my kid. This year I could say, "Nevermind. I'm not going to do it anyway. I'll wait until July to set my goals so that no one else will be watching when I fail." But no. I will set my resolutions and I will post them publicly so that others can ask me how they're going. There's nothing like peer pressure to make me stick to something, right? So here they are, some of the things I hope to accomplish during 2012.

1. Read 12-20 books. Why 12-20? Well, last year I set a goal to read 26 books, one every two weeks of the year. While this is an incredibly slim number to some, this was too lofty for me. I like to read, but the time set aside for reading in my life is small and I'm not a very fast reader. I wanted my new goal to be 20 books, but that still sounds pretty daunting. So, 12 is my minimum. Even I can read one book a month, right?

2. Memorize 24 Bible verses this year. I'm part of a little group in my church called Moxie Memorizers. The goal is to memorize a new verse twice a month. You can read about it here if you're interested in what it's all about. Last year I fizzled out pretty hard, but I am determined to stay strong this year.

3. Get back to my pre-Yemi weight. Maybe it's because I'm home more and have access to more food (although I'm not much of a snacker) or maybe it's because I turned 30 and my metabolism slowed, but life after Yemi has included a new wardrobe. There are some clothes in my closet I would love to fit back into.

4. Buy a house. I am so ready to own a home and hope that's in the plan for this year.

5. Blog more often. As you can see with a quick scroll down, I gave up blogging for about a year and a half. I hope to blog at least once a week (okay, at least every two) in this year.

6. Give thanks. I'm about half way through One Thousand Gifts and my friend Jenn, who bought me the book, also bought me a journal to go along with it. I plan to write at least one thing I'm thankful for (hopefully more) each day. To reinforce my efforts, my friend Alysa over at Inspired Results, has started her #365Thanks campaign that asks everyone to do the same thing.

Anyone else proudly set New Year's Resolutions? If so, good luck! This could be your year! I'd love to hear some of them...

New Year's Eve Paella & Tapas Party

So I know New Year's Eve was almost a week ago, but I'm still proud of the party we helped throw. It featured Paella and Tapas and was delightful. And if you know anything about the Weatherfords, you know that a party is only made better by adding a theme. So, ¡Viva España! Here are the highlights.

These are but a few of the red and yellow decorations that our friend Sarah put up in her house. She spent so much time making her house look beautiful and it was definitely worth it. She and her husband hosted the party at their humble abode.

The talented Sarah also has a knack for writing beautifully, so she got to make the welcome sign. BTW, this red chalkboard sign was made by my husband from homemade chalkboard paint. It worked really well! Thanks Pinterest for the tip!

This is a bit of the tapas that people brought. We had bacon-wrapped goat cheese filled dates, chorizo and fig skewers, stuffed mushrooms, traditional Spanish cookies and chickpea/shrimp skewers. Everything was delicious, even the stuff that sounded weird.

It wouldn't be a Spanish themed party without the Sangria. We had four different kinds!

One of the stars of the party was the fire pit. This was built by Andrew and John in order to cook the paella outside. The paella was good, but I think John just had more fun being near the fire.

Me and mine enjoying ourselves. It may look like John is crying for joy for the new year to start, but actually, the smoke from the fire pit was just bothering his eyes. I made him take a picture with me anyway. The other one is my sparkly daughter.

I was too tired into the moment to remember to take a picture at midnight. I love my party loving friends that indulge our need for a themed party on every occasion. May 2012 be filled with many occasions to celebrate!

2011 in Review

To be honest, reflection on a whole year is very difficult for me. I am not a big picture kind of person. I'm detail oriented and very compartmentalized. During a year, I will deal with a situation or season in life and then put it behind me. It does not blend into the next thing and to picture a whole year as a whole takes a lot of effort in remembering. In fact, because I put things behind me so completely, I sometimes forget the event altogether.

I do know that 2011 taught me many lessons. Much of it was difficult, but we were very blessed as well. Here I've attempted to list some of what I've learned in my past year.

1. At the beginning of the year last year, I decided my word for the year would be Consistency. I was really trying to develop some discipline in many areas of my life and this was how I was going to focus. Like many resolutions, I did really good until about April. While consistency won't be my focus word this year, it is something I know I still need to add to my life.

2. John's mom passed away in April. There's so much to say on this topic, but there's a lot to learn from watching a spouse go through this kind of loss. There's heartbreak and grief, but also a certainty that she is with her Savior and not in pain any longer. We learned the need to have grace with those around us and also the abounding love that our community has for us. While we were in Kansas several times during this period, our community cleaned our apartment, fed us, encouraged us, loved us and provided for us in ways I could not have even imagined to ask for. Their initiative and caring deeply moved us. At a time when it was difficult to justify living across the country from our families, God used the people in our lives to confirm that we are still where he wants us.

3. A terrible job and resulting unemployment. This summer was a rough one. While John was still grieving his mother, he was working at a most wretched company. I do not use that word lightly. I am still working toward forgiving the people he worked with for how they treated him. It had been bad for a while, but in April/May/June, it became unbearable. I will spare you the details, but in late May the stress started to make him physically ill and we went through a very trying week of praying through what the future held for him. God made it very clear that he should quit, even though there was no hope of another job lined up. John obeyed and was unemployed for June and July. I work part time, so our financial situation was a bit stressful, but I entered a time of relying on God that I had not experienced in a while. In an economy where unemployment could last months or years, God blessed us with John's new job as a Graphic Design/Yearbook teacher at a private Christian school August 1st. There are so many lessons for John in this story, but I'll let him blog about that. For me, it stretched my faith to new limits, deepened my trust in God's provision and allowed me a dependence on Him that normal life does not force me into very often. The worship song Always by Kristian Stanfill was introduced in our church during this time and my heart has sung that song so deeply that it will always have a special meaning for me.

4. Parenting. While Yemi has been one of the best decisions we ever made, this summer was an exceptionally trying time with her. During our stress of unemployment, her behavior was getting out of control and her temper tantrums were beyond what I knew what to do with. Beyond the typical 4 year old tantrums, there was an anger and an out-of-control kind of aspect to it that scared me. I learned so much about parenting, having grace and relying on people in my community who know more than I do. God also allowed John to start working just in time for us to get her into a wonderful preschool, which has given her the social and mental stimulation that she was so desperate for. We came to the other side of this and she is often very pleasant and funny and a joy these days.

5. Women's Retreat. On our annual women's retreat, Angel talked to us about our stories. To keep mine short, it was a wonderful time of God speaking to me and instilling a deep gratitude and appreciation for my own story. For full disclosure, I have often wanted a more “dramatic” story to share, but God let me see the beauty in my own story, that he is the Author and it is exactly as it is meant to be. I am still processing and learning how to share it boldly and use it for his glory.

A very full year for me and mine. I'm sure 2012 will be no different and I'm praying that at the beginning of 2013, I will be able to look back and see how I've become a deeper, wiser, more Christ like woman. Happy New Year!

2012 Begins My Blog Again

So I've been considering starting my blog again and a new year seems a good time to do it. I hope to make this my place for all my musings and things I wish to make public. Things about my family, verses I memorize, books I read, recipes I make, crafts I create, parties I help throw. If anyone is interested, stop by every once in a while. I hope to be more consistent than in the past, but I guess everyone always has good intentions at the beginning of the year. :)