My 2 cents worth

 

I am a sinner,  I know it and I accept it. I can honestly say that I try with my whole heart not to judge others and the the decisions they make in their life.

I will be thirty in October and have set a couple goals for myself. 1. I am wanting to run a 5k in a decent time. 2. I want to be both physically and mentally at my best. I want to eat better, exercise more, be more active with Abby, and I also want to be pushing myself as a Christian.

Awhile back one of the sermons at church was about making decisions that are in honor of God. As Christians we are constantly watched and our actions are not taken lightly. We are called to set ourselves apart from the world and those who conform to what society says is right rather than what God has shown us to be the truth. Our pastor explained that God has already shown us how to make good, Christ like decisions. He said when making big or little choices there are three simple steps to live by.

1. Am I biblically free to do this (i.e. having an affair, not so much. )

2. Will my actions bring myself and OTHERS closer to God

3. Am I honoring God

I have truly tried to live by this ever since I heard that sermon. I have tried to apply it to all aspects of my life…what I watch, read, and listen to.

I also feel like, for me at least, there are two other rules I should try to live by

1. Am I honoring my husband

2. Am I honoring my daughter

So, here is my view, and yes I know its not conforming with most, on the whole Fifty Shades/Magic Mike stuff going on.

I am completely against it, all of it, no questions asked. I do know lots and lots of amazing Christian women who have read/watched these and that’s fine for them. Like I said, I am trying to be mentally healthier and cleaner, so for me I know that reading/watching something like that WILL NOT bring me closer to God. I also know that it WILL NOT bring OTHERS closer to God, and I know that I am in no way HONORING God, my husband or my daughter by reading/watching those. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when I would have been all for this. I have watched every episode of Sex and the City (plus both movies), and plenty of other movies I had no business watching. I have listened to plenty of music I would never in a million years let my daughter listen to. But that was then. I love (and try to live by) the saying “ When you know better, you do better”. I will also admit that I still have not so nice music on my ipod that I run to. I am not proud of it, but it does keep me running which is making me healthier. There are no bad words, its just not uplifting in any way. I also try to live my life by thinking “ If Jesus was here, walking with me in my day to day life, would he be smiling or hurt at the choices have made”. I know to many people this may seem lame, and not a big deal. That’s fine, and for them it may be nothing. I just get sad when I see how far we have come from making Christ like decisions. Have you heard the phrase Americanizing Jesus? Sometimes its just easier to go along with what everyone else is doing, saying, reading or watching.

Like I said, I am a sinner and will always be. I also know that God forgives me for my sins and he has already shown me the way to make better, healthier choices in my life.

When Daddy’s in Charge

 

Since the second Dave became a dad I knew Abby was the luckiest little girl in the world. I have literally never seen a dad so proud and beaming with pride. I have never had to worry about her when he's in charge. I think we (as moms) get so used to doing things our way and get so stuck in a routine, we forget that our husbands are perfectly capable of taking over baby duty. I remember when Abby was a baby and Dave would take her out on Saturday mornings. I always thought it was crazy that he could be gone for hours with her and never need or even take a diaper bag. I couldn’t take her to the mailbox and back with out a fully loaded diaper bag on my shoulder.

So, last night I went to dinner with a couple friends and Dave was in charge. Before I left, Abby had a popsicle while she was playing outside. I never have to tell Dave what to do or when to do it when it comes to Abby, plus she can tell him what he needs too.

I came home around 9:30 and a little to my surprise she was still up. In her jammies, but still up. No biggie, I was actually happy I could put her to bed. Here’s how our conversation went

Me: did you have a lot of fun with daddy tonight

Abby: yep, I went swimming with daddy

Me: wow, that’s a lot of fun. what did you have for dinner

Abby: ummmm, nofin.

Me: what? did you have yogurt, or chicken

Abby: nope, not yogurt and chicken. I had nofin for dinner. o, yes I had a popsicle.

Me: you had that when I was still here, what did daddy eat for dinner

Abby: ummm, nofin like me

Me calling to Dave in the living room” hey honey, what did Abby eat for dinner

Dave: o whoops! I totally forgot.

I think it is so funny how as moms we stress about so much stuff when really it DOES NOT matter! I know Abby had a blast with Dave and obviously was not starving.It really made me reevaluate myself and all the “important” things in our day to day life. Sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on what “needs’ to be done rather then just hanging out and enjoying life and the time we have with our children while they are still small and want to be around us. It also made me realize that sometimes I need to learn to let go and let Dave be Dave and not try to turn into me or make him do things my way. As moms we put so much unnecessary stress on us simply because we wont let go . Abby wont remember what she had (or didn’t have) for dinner the other night, but she will remember staying at the pool with her daddy until dark. Isn’t that what childhood is about?

Ah-Mazing

 

God is GREAT!

Last week will not go down in the Wells family book of fun, but it will definitely be one not soon forgotten.

I had been dealing with a pretty nasty case of vertigo, that finally got bad enough for me to go to the doctor on Wed. Yes, I know there is nothing he can do, but sometimes you need to whine, and since we have no co-pay I can whine for free! So he told me what I pretty much already knew and sent in a script for me to help me sleep. Well, first it got sent to the wrong pharmacy and then when they were just about to locate it, the computers crashed! O yep! They sure did friends, and this was after Dave and Abby had gone up there twice. I finally found some medicine I had left over, again, I like to save money, and took some of it because I was really up a creek at that point and knew I would not be able to sleep without some sort of magical intervention. Literally five minutes later the pharmacist calls to tell me everything is ready.  it was 9pm! I had walked out of the doctors office at 5. Lesson learned: when the dr says he will e-send (or something like that) your prescription over, ask for it in paper and wait the extra ten minutes at the pharmacy.

Thursday morning around 9am I get a call from Dave. It went something like this…” I have some bad news, Kohler is shutting down the rental department and come the end of Sept I will be out of a job”.

Yep, did not see that one coming…like at all.To say we were thrown for a loop would be a complete understatement. I felt horrible for Dave and all the people and families affected by this. I am not angry, there is no point to be angry, it would not help this situation at all. But, like I said, God is good and watches over His children. By 11am this (Monday) morning my husband had two, yes 2, interviews lined up!!! Go God! If you have know me longer than a minute you know I despise don’t like change very much. Much to my surprise, and I am sure those around me, I am super excited to see where God is leading us. Yes, I know that we may have to move, and yes, I even know that things could get a lot worse before they get better. None the less, I am still excited for the changes coming for our family.

Saturday morning we awoke to a phone call from Dave’s mom. His Uncle had passed away during the night. He was suffering from cancer and the Lord took him home, took him from the pain he was living with, and he gave him wings. It was definitely a rough end to a rough week, but again, things can always get worse. We are so blessed to have a loving Father who shows mercy and goodness even in the uncertain and unknown.

True Conversation

 

One night after we had put Abby down for bed I could hear her in her room rolling around and being really restless. After about half an hour I went in there to she what she was doing. Here is how our conversation went

Me: Honey, why are you not sleeping

Abby: Well, I need to go to the doctor

Me: Really, why?

Abby: Well my tummy hurts

Me: O, I am so sorry, why does it hurt

Abby: Well there is a baby in there

Me: Ok, well, um, ok…goodnight honey

Me to Dave: congratulations grandpa! I guess we should have had the sex talk around 18 months! goodnight honey

Our Trip

 

We were very lucky to get somewhat of a vacation on Kohler’s dime. Dave had to work a job in Norman for the weekend and so we booked a nice (2 bedroom) hotel room. The room was awesome and just what we needed. I think when you tell them you are traveling with a 2 year old they find the room that is furthest away from everyone…perfect!!! We got there on Thursday and hit the pool right away. We were looking forward to Friday because it was pay day and Dave had worked a gazillion overtime hours (which really helps out our president and his many vacations, but hey, the guys works hard right? ). Well, Friday morning I go to check our account and do some online bill pay, and surprise…no pay check! Yep, we later learn that there was a “glitch” in the computer system and we will later learn that was not really the case. The rest of the weekend went really good, we got to spend a lot of time with Dave’s parents and spend a lot of time just relaxing. Sunday morning we get on the road (early) because Abby was up at the butt crack of dawn early. We were making great time and only had about an hour of driving left. We decided to stop at Braums for a small breakfast and then head on home. When we were done eating, we climbed back in Daves truck ( o yes, we were in his work truck, all three of us, no back seat might I add) and what do you know, it wont start! Keep in mind we are in a small town on Sunday morning, not much open. To make a long story short we decide to suck it up and try to make it home. As a side note, when we were in Braum’s  Abby tried to go potty, but she didn’t like the bathroom so she didn’t want to go. Anyways, we get on the road keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t break down on the side of 35 somewhere. We finally hit our top speed of about fifty when Abby decides she needs to go potty…because why not. Knowing that the truck would not put up with another stop, I tell her to just pee in her pull up and we will be home soon. Well, she was not having any of that! To sum things up, she screamed (truly surprised windows didn’t break at this point) for about 40 minutes straight. She finally fell asleep (and peed) and we made it home, an hour and a half later. When we go to get into the house, the sweet girl who stayed with the animals had locked the door…and we had no key…because she had the key….the key she used to lock the door. So, there we were, finally home, happy(ish), Abby in a pee soaked pull up and now soaked night gown, all standing at the locked door with no key. Dave somehow, I didn’t ask because at that point I didn’t care, knew how to use pliers and opened the door for us.

I am truly so happy we had this time as a family, even after all that, but I know I can only handle one or two “trips” a year!

*and ps, I packed for all three of us in one bag!!! o yes I did!

Before and After

Come this October I will have worked with kids for fifteen years! Yes, I have never had a job not working with kids..ever! With all that experience under my belt I can honestly say that I am still caught off guard many times now that I am a mom. Before I had Abby I worked at (and now still do) a preschool. Before that I was a nanny and before that I worked at a daycare center. I am so greatful that I had all these jobs because I really do feel like they gave me a small glimpse into the world of parenting, especially of things not to do! I will say though that I now find myself laughing at the things I said I would never do as a parent, and some of the things I have actually stuck to. Before Abby: - I will never let my kids sleep in bed with me After Abby: - I do try to limit this, but I actually like when she sleeps with me! She doesnt snore, and during these crazy Texas storms I really feel better with her right next to me. Before Abby: -I will never spank my kids After Abby: -Still a pretty firm believer in this one, however, I have had to spank her three times. Yes, I can count on one hand how many times, and I am ok with that. Every time I have had to has been because she did something that was very unsafe and I really wanted her to know I was serious ( like sneaking out the back door and trying to open the lid to the hot tub) Before Abby: -I will never give my kids fast food After Abby: - This could go either way. I dont think pizza is "fast food", but we could probably cut back on it a bit. I am happy to say that she has never had Mcdonalds, Wendys, or anything of that sort and I hope that she doesnt for a really long time! Before Abby: -I will never let me kids watch TV After Abby: - HA!!! Well, I will say we went almost the whole first year of her life with no TV to watch, so that was not an issue, and even after we got it, she was never really into it until she was almost two. There are days now that I know she watches it way to much, but its not hurting her and I am not using it as a babysitter because I am sitting on the couch right next to her. Before Abby: -I will never let my kids use a public bathroom After Abby: -Ok, if you have known me longer than thirty seconds, you are well aware of my feelings and phobias of public restrooms. I seriously plan my water intake by my outings for the day. So, the thought of having to take a child in there, a child who likes to touch and explore everything just sends chills down my spine. I am ready to whip out the lysol right now just thinking about it. Obviously I have to take her to the restroom when we are out, and obviously I cringe the whole time, but I do let her use public bathrooms and so far have lived through it. Before Abby: - I used to to say I will never(fill in the blank) and I used to judge parents for doing things I believed to be "bad" for children After Abby: -I now see that being a mom is a game of survival and you have to do whats best for you and your child. God gave us our children for a reason, because you are the best mommy for that child and no one else could love your child they way you do. Even on the days where we are sitting on the couch eating pizza and watching the umpteenth episode of george, I know that I am doing a pretty good job at this whole parenting thing.