happy birthday and dash of honesty

i re-started this blog one year ago today, which happens to be my dad's birthday, so happy re-birthday to my blog and happy birthday to my dad!

with birthday wishes out of the way, i'd like to get serious for a moment.

some of you readers have made comments about me being a super mom (or something like that), and while i thank you for the compliment and am happy to know i appear to have some parts of my life in order, i want you to know that it is sooooo not true!

the truth is, i'm figuring things out along the way, probably just like you are!

one thing i've learned from being a mom and teacher is that no two kids are exactly alike and kids behave differently at home than they do in public... sometimes drastically so, sometimes just slightly so. as a parent, i get to experience both extremes and something right about in the middle! most of the time i am happy my own kids keep me on my toes, because i feel it makes me a better teacher. other times i wish their own teachers would just take them home for the night so i could have some peace and quiet!



ever since going back to work after natalie was born i've been struggling with how to balance work and home. i find i spend waaay too much time on work stuff, but i can't seem to lessen the load. no matter how much i try to be organized and on top of things, there is just always a ton to do and if i'm not prepared, then i can't do my job and i let lots of people down. if i commit more time to planning and preparing my lessons, i spend 10 hours a day at school and my own family suffers.



i'm not complaining, just trying to explain that things are not always rosey around here. that my life is real life, no matter what it looks like on a blog.

and things are not more difficult just because natalie joined our family (currently, she's the easy one!)



i feel teaching has become more demanding over the past few years and my own kids are getting older and their needs are changing. i feel i've got the baby and toddler thing down, but pre-teen? not so much. and if you think i'm refering to taylor, he is only part of that picture. i think zach is going through a super-early, pre-teen, classic middle kid quandry. oh, the attitude! i know what you are thinking--not zachy bob?!? i know, right?!



so that may explain why i haven't been posting as much. i've just been trying to figure out where and what can be cut from my life to make things a bit easier on me. by no means do i want to cut the blog out completely... writing here makes me happy. it's an outlet. and a reminder of what we have done and how far we have come. i want to write more! and i will as soon as i can.

promise!



joe and i have been watching mad men on netflix. seeing what things were like 50 years ago... well, let's just say i am so thankful for a wonderful husband who willingly helps me out. and when neither of us know what to do, at the least we have each other to laugh with! (even though he looks super serious in this picture, he's a very funny guy!)

happy wednesday everyone!

my home life has suffered

UPDATE!!

i figured the whole "my home life has suffered" situation.

i said that! me. yours truly. i said it here.

thanks for humoring me. :)
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so i was looking at my blog stats and there is a section where you can see what people were searching for when they came across your blog. as we all probably know, search engines aren't always helpful. at least that is what i am telling myself after reading what brought someone to my blog. :)

someone typed "my home life has suffered" and my blog showed up as a search result!

really?! really?!!!!

by the way, i don't recommend googling "my home life has suffered. i'm just sayin'.


if you are the reader who came to my blog because your home life has suffered, i sure hope things are looking up! i mean that seriously. and i hope you keep coming back. i like to keep it real and post the good and bad sides of our home life.

let's turn this into a warm and fuzzy post and share something positive. 

zach spent the night at his nana's house last night. he called to say goodnight. when he was talking to taylor, we heard "i love you" before he hung up the phone. it melts this mama's heart to hear her chickies expressing love for each other. and it wasn't even prompted! awww.

now it's your turn. tell me something good that's happened in your home this week.

just a reminder...

tomorrow is the final day of the dreamBIG fundraiser. i can't wait to hear about the day sergey comes home!

i hope you are having a blessed easter.

dreaming big to bring sergey home

have you ever dreamed big?

there are lots of reasons we might dream big. but this reason is one close to my heart. it involves a child.


meet sergey

sergey lives on the other side of the world. in an orphanage.

sergey is alone. but not for long. the farley family is dreaming of bringing sergey home.

meet the farley family here.

i love the way danielle tells us how her dream came to be. 

"We believe God is asking us to step out in faith to bring Sergey home, He has a plan so we are trusting in His provision. It's heartbreaking that it has to cost so much because truth be told these children are living on borrowed time.  If these children are not adopted between the ages of 4 and 5 they will be sent to an adult mental institution where they will be tied to cribs to live out the remainder of their lives.  Which statistically 95% of these children will die in the very first year of being in these institutions mainly due to starvation, as well as trauma from the other adult patients and just plain loss of hope.  I share this with you not to be a downer but to be a voice of hope for these children.  "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...defend the rights of the needy."  Proverbs 31:8,9.  And because until last December I was completely ignorant to the fates of these children, so I know for some of you reading this right now it is also the first time you are hearing of this.  Just like you I sat reading a blog about a sweet little boy needing a family and my heart was broken."

i relate to her words. when i read them i thought "that could be me."

the statistics are shocking, aren't they? when i read that 95% of the children die within the first year of being institutionalized, i felt sad and then mad. those children are the ages of ben and zach. they still have so much life to live.

so... will you join me in dreaming big with this family?

$10. that is what i'm challenging you to donate. $10. what does $10 buy you anyway? lunch, two drinks at starbucks, a movie ticket? temporary gratification.  if we all donate $10 we could do something so much bigger. we could bring sergey home!

to motivate you, there are tons of big giveaways being given. and you can enter to win big for every $10 you donate. but hurry, april 25 is the deadline. go, go, go! you will be so glad you did.