Yemi: I wish you could wear that Mommy.
Me: I know someone else who wishes that... (looking at John)
Yemi: Grandma?
1.13.2012
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?
Yemi: I wish you could wear that Mommy.
Me: I know someone else who wishes that... (looking at John)
Yemi: Grandma?
1.09.2012
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...
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...
1.06.2012
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 tootired 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!
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
1.02.2012
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!
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!
1.01.2012
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. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)