thursday 13 - changes

Since I’m not a fan of change, I thought it would be fun to sit down and write about some changes that are going on in our family and how change = good.

1. We are homeowners again. (That’s not really new news, but it’s a change.)  It feels good. My mind is going crazy with things to change around here now that the house is “ours.” I started by buying two trees and a storm door.  Next on the list is paint and new flooring.

2. Summer is starting high school in five days. Wow. Feels a little weird saying that but we all know it’s where she should be and we are all excited about it.

3. SuperGirl is going to school in five days, too. Three words: I.CAN’T.WAIT.  I know that sounds bad. I’m just ready to be her momma and leave the teaching to someone else. This does not mean that I am without anxiety about the change, but I am excited for her. And me, too.

4. I joined a Bible study. It’s only been five years since I’ve been in one. 

5. We changed from watching only TV we get with an antenna to Dish Network.  I love this change.

6. I made a choice to finally do something about my eating habits and the change has been good.  Losing 10 lbs. makes that change even better!

7. I changed from using the fancy, fattening creamers to sugar free syrup and half and half.  It took a while to get used to but it sure helped with #6.  And, I’m not drinking as much coffee.

8. I changed my family organizing calendar from Microsoft Outlook to Cozi.  When I made the switch, it ate some of my appointments in Outlook, so I’m thinking this change may be permanent.  (Of course, if I’d followed the instructions that said to back up my Outlook file first, this wouldn’t have happened… Some things never change.)  What I like about Cozi is that we can all log on to the calendar and view the whole family’s activities or just one person.  It also has a Google sidebar gadget and an app for the iPhone.  So far, so good.

9. In changing from Outlook, I changed the way I view and check my e-mail.  I haven’t quite worked out all the kinks on the system of checking it on the Verizon site, but I’ll figure it out eventually in a way that makes sense for me.  I hope.  In the meantime, if you e-mail me and I don’t answer, it’s just because the message went into a folder somewhere and, well, the change and I haven’t made friends yet. 

10. My bedtime.  The kids aren’t exactly cooperating with going to bed on time and getting up early so come Monday morning, their little systems are in for a shock.  I, on the other hand, will be ready.  Maybe. At least I am trying by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.  If you know me at all, you know this change is tough!

11. Our Sunday school class is currently studying Ephesians 5… we have a wonderful couple leading the series.  This isn’t the first time we’ve studied these verses, but it is a great reminder that sometimes I need to change the way I go about loving my husband. 

12. And some things I need to work on changing are being more outgoing and meeting new people and thinking too much about what teachers think of this home school mom who has put two children in public school.

13. I want to change my living room.  But I need help.  Professional help.

thursday 13 - green

thursday 13 - red

13 on thursday about this girl

A few things to mention about this girl…

1. She’s had two marriage proposals but she’s keeping her options open. (See #4)
2. She spends the entire church service, every week, barefooted.  She even crosses the aisle at the end of the service to hold hands, barefooted.
3. She put her high heels on to hunt Easter eggs.
4. She told me yesterday that, “When I’m in high school and I meet a boy that I like and we like the same things and he likes God, too… Well, I’m TOTALLY going to marry him.”
5. She CANNOT sleep alone.  She MUST be touching another person. 
6. One day it can take her two hours to write a spelling list and the next day it can take 17 minutes.
7. If she marries a boy whose last name is Williams then her Facebook page will read SuperGirl Williams Williams.
8. She eats at least one apple a day.
9. She likes fish sticks.
10. She woke up this morning, stretched real big, and said, “I’m an X!”
11. She loves Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
12. She makes herself a cup of hot tea almost every single morning.
13. She thinks about marriage entirely too much.

thursday 13

Did you know that in the teen brain there is a process that occurs, called "pruning"? It occurs mainly in the areas of the brain which control, among other things, organization, multi-tasking, goal-seeking behaviors, and self-control. This "pruning" is a cleaning out of nerve fibers and the unused connections between these fibers are ELIMINATED.

This explains so much.

This post is for me. To remind myself, with 13 sweet little reminders, of how much I love my 13 year old gift. This girl is fabulous. But she's 13. And we're experiencing some "pruning" in her brain right now... but at least I know that her brain REALLY IS FRAGMENTED. And it's not just my imagination. It's a scientific fact. And it's because she is growing up.

This phase will be gone all too soon, won't it?

thursday 13

1. Today is this sweet little guy's first birthday. The big O*N*E!!
2. We celebrated a little early, because he was in Texas visiting his family.
3. He's going to be a big brother in about five months.
4. His eyes twinkle when he laughs.
5. He gives the sweetest hugs.
6. He loves to feed his food to the dogs. Any dog.
7. He walks around, drinking his bottle out of the side of his mouth.
8. He doesn't know how to walk... he RUNS.
9. He barely crawled, and started walking at 9 months.
10. This little guy squeals when he's happy.
11. He was very crabby the day of his birthday party, but he turned on the charm for the guests and no one saw an inkling of grumpiness.
12. He was a little timid about digging into his cake but once his momma gave him a taste of the icing, he went to town!
13. He lives entirely too far away. And I love him like crazy.

Happy Birthday Baby C!! We love you!!