Compassion

I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame.

I saw this quote from Elizabeth Taylor's acceptance speech of her Humanitarian Award Oscar in 1993 today and it immediately struck me, especially in light of what has and is happening in Japan.  The thought and act of compassion has been on my mind since Gary Haugen came to speak at our church last year about the organization he founded called International Justice Mission.  I'm putting my money where my mouth is.  It isn't feasible for me to go to the countries affected, but I can support in other ways. 

What is Love?

I read this post a couple weeks ago and it brought tears to my eyes.  Love through the eyes of children is so different than how we see it.  It is simple and pure.  It isn't about flowers and chocolates and jewelry, even though these things are nice. 

Sidenote: Actually, I'll pass on the chocolates.  Can I tell you about Valentine's day 2003?  Chris was living in Canada.  I was in Lawrence.  And he sent me like 5 (yes five) pounds of chocolate for Valentine's day.  Did you know we got married in 2003?  That is what every bride-to-be needs...five pounds of chocolate.  Riiiiiight.

I hope we can all remember what love is all about today.  And every day.  Keep it simple.  Keep it pure. 

Child's Definition of Love

Happy Valentine's Day

The Funk

I've officially hit my winter funk.  Amazingly we have been spared the ridiculous amount of snow the east coast (and Kansas City) have gotten this year.  But I'm still in a funk.  It's cold, it's dark when I wake up, it's dark when I come home.  I'm dreaming of sun and warmth.

That is why in 22 days we'll be heading to the southwest for a long weekend (which just happens to be my birthday weekend)!  Top on my list of things to do is visit Taliesin West.  Chris and I will also be slipping away for the weekend...without James.

22 days can't pass quick enough.

Summer 2010 in South Haven, MI

i want my life back

Everywhere I look all I see are unfinished projects. I hate this house for that...but at the same time know there is such potential if only I could give it the time it needs.

But it is wearing on me. The slowness of it all. James underfoot. Trying to find time for routine activities (you know, like going to the grocery store, doing laundry, even showering on the weekends) in the midst of sanding, priming, painting. I'm sick of talking about it, I'm sick of doing it.

I'm hoping a year from now I'll be able to look back on this post and smile because all those unfinished projects are done. And I will know the blood, sweat and tears that went in to getting it done, and it will be beautiful.

And then I'll be able to take my son to the park, or the pool, or go shopping somewhere other than Home Depot and not feel guilty for what I'm leaving undone.

10 on Tuesday

1. We're still here. We've just been a little busy...

2. Ripping out carpet, installing new carpet. Scraping walls, sanding walls, painting trim, painting walls. Ripping out a kitchen, painting the cabinets, and then putting it all back together again. Gutting a bathroom, moving walls, moving plumbing, moving electrical, and then putting it all back together again.

3. To be completely honest, we haven't done it all ourselves. We've hired a few guys to help with the construction, plumbing and electrical.

4. And my dad was here for over two weeks helping, free of charge. We worked him so hard that he ended up getting an ulcer and a sinus infection when he got back to KC. Okay, I have no idea if all are related, but we worked him REALLY hard. And I (and Chris) will be forever grateful. His work is all over this house, and not a day goes by that I don't think about that.

5. And then Chris went to KC, we all went to KC, and I went to the West Coast for a week. It is HARD to get anything done when a) you both have full time jobs and b) when there is a two year old in the house!

6. In between feeling like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown and the other roller coaster of emotions that comes with renovating and moving into a new home (with a 2.5 year old no less), we've made a lot of progress.

7. Family Room

8. Half Bath
9. But there is still a LONG way to go! We've made a ton of progress in the last week/two weekends, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep the 'ol blog updated as we continue to make progress.

10. And a funny picture from our trip to KC. This is for you, Mom and Dad!

Justice

The message at The Chapel really spoke to me this week. Gary Haugen, President/CEO of International Justice Mission, and former US Department of Justice attorney and Officer in Charge of the genocide investigation in Rwanda, was the guest speaker. I'm embedding the message from the week because it really is worth the 47 minutes it takes to watch. The two things that really stood out to me are:

1) WE are the plan God has for this world. There is no plan B.
2) God is not asking what we NEED to make this world a better place. He is asking what we HAVE, and HE will provide the rest (see the story of Jesus feeding 5,000).


Justice - with guest Gary Haugen from The Chapel on Vimeo.
What do you have to give? That is what is on my mind now.

139 Days

That is how long it has been since I ran outside, until today. 37 degrees and sunny felt like summer after another seemingly endless winter. After a quickie trip to Houston this week (seriously, we landed at 6 PM on Wednesday and left at 6 AM this morning) I came home to work, but just couldn't resist the sun and the first run outside of the year.

And after my run, Syd and I went for a walk. That dog loves her walks, and she just doesn't get the attention she deserves, unless its from a certain two year old, which I think sometimes she would rather go without!

a new decade

A new decade, which means I'm turning another decade older as well (30!). And we're already a month into this new decade and I can't figure out how time can pass so quickly!

Last January I posted my goals for 2009. And I feel like I did pretty well. A quick recap:

Simplicity: Simplify and organize our home (everything should have a place, and everything should be in its place), our finances (I have some bold ideas that I need to run by Chris before throwing them out here) and my life so I can spend what quality time I have at home with my family versus running around.

I feel like the majority of the house is much more organized than it was a year ago. That includes my closet! I started taking my clothes and handbags I no longer wear or can't wear into a consignment shop to subsidize my shopping addiction. The one area that I just can't get a hold on is the basement. We have gotten rid of so much, yet I still feel overwhelmed down there!

I turned over the bill paying to Chris and we're actually utilizing an ING account to transfer funds into to pay the bills. That way whatever is left in our checking account is what we have to spend during the month. And this is working really well! I had hoped to have our car paid off in 2009 (a year early), but we're going to be a couple months short. We should have it paid off this Spring though, at least 6 months early!

I'm still usually running around like a mad-woman on the weekends. Spending almost two hours commuting a day and working a full-time job just doesn't leave much time to get much accomplished during the week. It takes real effort on my part to try and do housework at night after James goes to bed so that we have time together on the weekends to do fun stuff, like go to gymnastics class.

Health: Physical Health (I haven't had a true physical since probably high school), Mental Health (see Joy), and Spiritual Health

I ran a half marathon with my dad, and feel and look great. I'm also going to the gym by my work 2-3 days a week during lunch.

We have become more involved in our church and small group this past year. We also both volunteer in The Great Adventure (Sunday school) every other week. But I still have a long way to go. I seriously lack discipline in carving out time during the day to spend time with God.

Joy: finding and embracing the joy as a mother, a wife, an employee; to live life joyously in 2009!

James bring a ton of joy into our lives. He makes my heart swell every time he laughs, gives me a hug or kiss, or learns something new. He amazes me every day. And I am amazed that he is already 2 years old!

I started a new position at work this summer. It provides a new set of challenges, a new set of people to work with, and will allow me to travel. I'm always up for a change!

I fail pretty miserably as a wife. We both focus so much time and effort on our jobs and on James that time for "us" is severly lacking. However that will be much more of a priority in 2010 (and beyond).

So that was 2009. Goals for 2010 coming up next.