Bluebonnets

There is a tradition in Texas that every year when the bluebonnets bloom, you take your kids pictures.  So, that's what we did.  They turned out really cute!

Menu Monday

It's been a while since I've done a Menu Monday.  I've started using emeals and I love them. 

Monday:  Crock Pot Chicken, egg noodles, peas, & rolls

Tuesday: Sweet & Sour Meatballs, egg rolls, stir fry veggies

Wednesday: Cashew Chicken Salad & Pineapple

Thursday: Calzones & Salad

Friday:  Grilled Chicken, rice, green beans

Things I Learn On a Mountain Bike

So, I had saved up some money for the past year and after some pressure from my hubby, decided to buy a mountain bike.  He got a great deal on it and it sat in our garage for about 6 months maybe.  Well, for Valentine's Day, we did a double date Friday night ride with our friends, the Wallaces.  It was great.  A few weeks after that, Levi & Blain got me to go on a Sunday afternoon ride at RCP.  Well, last night, we went for a ride at Squabble Creek.

So, I am learning some things about myself through my mountain bike.

First, the White Rock Lake ride...very relaxing.  I was able to chat with my friend while I rode.  It was chilly but I was still sweating and getting exercise.  The road was wide and it was easy to stay the path.  I had my bike shorts with the padded hiney on and my gloves and it helped but it was a pretty smooth ride.

Second, RCP ride was definitely more challenging, my first "trail" ride.  I had Levi in front of me and Blain, behind me. Blain is an excellent teacher.  We thought it would be best if Blain gave me the instruction....that was wise.  Well, within the first 3 minutes on the trail, I ran into a tree and fell off of my bike...I know, right?!  Some of the trails were very narrow and it was hard for me to stay in the middle.

Third ride, Squabble Creek.  I freaked out the first 10-15 minutes and was ok. I even did a couple of the dips...while screaming of course.

So, here's what I learned:

• having someone to go before you and "call" out what's coming is very helpful
• having someone behind you is also helpful because they can encourage and correct
• falling doesn't hurt near as much as I thought it would
• I have BAD depth perception
• hitting a tree does hurt
• getting back on the bike after a fall or scary moment conquers fear
• not knowing what is coming freaks me out
• hearing my husband cheer me on makes my heart feel all warm & fuzzy
• when I'm scared, I sweat a lot
• I'm not so confident through the twists and turns
• riding on a huge road is a lot easier than keeping myself on a narrow trail
• having the right equipment (padded shorts, biking gloves, helmet) makes riding easier
• you're supposed to look at where you want to go (not at the narrow tree gates, creek, tree, etc) and you'll magically go there
• I'm a very vocal rider, I make lots of fun (and probably annoying) sound effects
• spandex is humbling, I'll leave it at that
• I like seeing my improvement...the way I ride in the first 15 minutes is SO much different than my last 15 minutes
• I enjoy riding with my husband. I know it's not near as much fun or physically exhilarating as when he rides fast and with Blain but it's sweet that he takes me.
• each time I ride, I feel a sense of accomplishment

Out of the Mouths of Babes (I do get on my soapbox...you are warned!)

DISCLAIMER: I am not angry or mad. I am passionate about some of this.  My post starts one way and kind of diverges.  I am not throwing stones, just sharing my opinion and I am also not saying I get this right...in fact, I think I get it wrong a lot of the time...even with my wrongness, I still feel passionate about what I think we should do and be.  That's my disclaimer...you are warned:)

So today was a different day.  K and I kept our friends, M & P today.  M & P are 3 year old twins.  We had so much fun.  K was a really big help, he did most of what I asked even though he thought some of it was boring and no fun (toddler story time, listening to the lullabies on our CD, etc.).  So tonight we were praying and I thanked God that K was such a big helper and that I was grateful for how much he helped me while we were helping our friends.  And A stopped me in my prayer and said, "It helps us too." And I asked her what she meant.  She said, "Mommy, we helped our friends but our friends help us.  They are so important to us and that helps us too."  HELLO...my 7 year old gets it.  She gets that relationships trump everything else, busy-ness, things, time, laundry, cleaning house, etc.   Levi's message from way back hit me, the way we live our lives matter.  I was talking to a friend last week who gave up her day off to take another friend for a surgery and helped her out.  I told her how awesome that was and she looked at me and said, "Heather, that's what friends do."  As the twins came this morning and their grandpa thanked me for watching them, I said, "This is what we should all be doing for each other."

When someone needs help or something that we can give, we should give and help.  I get that my perspective comes from a Christ loving, Jesus following stance. Jesus taught to help and serve and give.   If I see a need and I can meet it, why wouldn't I?

 And then I get on my soapbox....why don't we do those things? 

• We don't want to give of our time. 
•  We're too busy.  
• Our own family needs us.
• We do so much with our church. 
• We don't get out of our bubble to make relationships to even know of the needs of others.  

That's all crap to me.  I think we have so many stupid excuses or reasons for not making relationships, it kind of makes me sick.  Stepping on toes I know...
I don't see any reason that people don't know their neighbors (I guess unless their neighbors are TOTAL jerks to them, I could see that).
 I don't see any reason that people don't make connections with the community whether it be through Mommy groups or similar interest clubs or something. 
I just think as Christians (I realize I'm diverging) we're called to do that.  We stay so safe by sticking with our "church" friends that we don't make ourselves vulnerable by taking the risk to get outside of that bubble.  I wonder what opportunities we're missing. I wonder what people God puts in our paths that we ignore or dismiss. 
Just to be clear, I don't mean make these relationships and connections to save their soul or save them from hell.  That is not our job.  If someone NEVER dawns the doors of our church, I'm fine with that.  Our job is to love people the way Jesus does and did when He was on Earth.  He loved the unlovable, the untouchable, the dirty.  We are to do the same.  I want my kids to get that message.  I love that I am seeing the beginning of that with them.

Unfacebook & No Diet Coke

Okay so i know that Lent is a private thing but saying that, I want to share about my Lenten experience.  So, this year, I decided to fast cokes and facebook.  I love Diet Coke...I truly do and I look forward to Sonic's Happy Hour in a bad way.  I also love me some facebook. I realize that it is a HUGE time suck for me.  I stay way up in everybody's business and am addicted to checking into facebook multiple times a day.  When considering what to give up for Lent, facebook came to mind IMMEDIATELY and even when i tried to think of other things, facebook continued to stay at the forefront of my brain.  So, I went with it.  It has been really difficult for me.  The facebook has been harder than the diet coke.  I feel very disconnected from everyone which is pretty hard for me.  I'm a bit of a social-lite and way too nosy for my own good.  At the same time, I've found myself with more time to do other things and it has given me some perspective.  Facebook and other social media have become so vital and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I check twitter (i did not give that up and do NOT check it nearly as often as I did FB) and there is so much superfluous info on there. Or even posts that give just enough info to make you wonder about the rest of the story, or a jab at someone in a passive aggressive way.  Do I really care that someone checked in on foursquare to 7 Eleven or Taco Bell or that you're mad at your friend? I truly don't.  And then it got me thinking, sometimes (lots of times), we tell too much of our business.  Maybe the rest of the world doesn't think this way, but don't tell me how busy you are because when I read your check-ins I see where your time is being spent and I get a little skeptical.  I'm just not sure I want that to be public knowledge.  It has definitely made me rethink my out there-ness.  Okay so that was a bit of a tangent.  Not facebooking has definitely freed up time to do other things.  I've found myself outside with my kiddos a lot more (without my phone or ipad).  I've found myself have more time to take care of things at home and stay more organized.  I've also found more time to read my Bible, which is a bit of a struggle for me.  So, it's been a good thing.  I'm actually going to try to continue to limit my time on facebook when Lent is over. That's how much Lent is going....anybody else find any insights from there Lenten experience?

April's Story

Okay so I told you that April and I went to a couple of conferences.  April is a hilarious person, I'm not sure she knows how funny she is and she's also a great writer.  I really enjoy reading her blog because stories become so much more fun when she writes about them. Here's a link to her blog where she is telling about one of our many, funny stories.

Why I Blog?

So I admitted a week or so ago that I blog as a journal replacement.  If I'm completely honest, I started blogging because we were new church planters and there was so much stress and loneliness and oddness related to that, that I really needed a voice to share what I was going through.  I also wanted a voice to share my mommyhoodness and my experiences and just me.  I wanted me OWN platform to be me.  One of the bloggers that I immediately started following and have followed for a LONG time was a church planter's wife named Jennifer.  She and her husband planted on the east coast and then planted another church in Vegas.  Hello, talk about my hero.  I loved reading her honesty and I loved the fact that she appreciated what a weird breed of people church planters are. She really had a desire to help church planting wives support each other.  Did I say she was honest?  Boy was she and I love that.  I love the realness and ugliness of this job and that someone is willing to say it and not sugar coat it.  Anyway, Jen did that and I loved reading her blog.  Well, she is one busy lady and last week she wrote her final blog entry because she's got so many irons in the fire.  It made me sad when I read that. It is so nice to feel like I'm not alone in this and that is how she made me feel.  Blogging helped me stay connected with her and other planters' wives and other mommy bloggers too.   I'm thankful for my blogging voice and really am going to try to get into a better groove of writing and updating.  Thanks for reading!