Mother's Day

Today has been a sweet day of reflection for me. Reflecting on what was and what is, and what is to come. I LOVE being a mother. I am in awe of the privilege and honor I've been given, that the Lord would entrust these three wonderful souls to my care. The last few months have been pretty intense between the Lord and I, going over things that happened in my own childhood and why my relationships with my parents are the way that they are now. In the midst of dealing with my own pain and loss, I can't help but praise the only One who can turn ashes to beauty and tears to praise. I have three beautiful children. Happy. Secure. Free. Loved. These are the faces of my restoration.

This song has been playing in my head all day long. I thought about typing out the lyrics, but you'd probably much more enjoy seeing and hearing them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F--hYTDXFk

How would I know the morning, if I knew not midnight?

My heart leaps within me. To my Horizon:

Thank you, thank you! Thank you, thank you!

You are sunrise.

Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
Isaiah 61:7

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, your walls are ever before me. Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you. As surely as I live, declares the Lord, you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
Isaiah 49:18

A little list update

I suppose I should start this little "update" by stating the dates that go along with this thing, which I somehow managed to forget to do in the previous post. I started this list on October 29, which makes my end date July 26 of 2012...just 4 days short of Jax's FOURTH birthday! Putting it that way makes me feel like I have all the time in the world, but I'm a little less confident when I think of completing a task every 10 days. We'll see. Currently in progress are:



#22 (Reading three books on finances). I am currently about halfway through "The Everything Personal Finance in your 20s & 30s Book". I decided to stick with this book because it seems, by default, to be the place to start, but I don't recommend it. It's boring, and so far even I--the girl who made a goal of reading finance books because I know so little about them--already knew almost everything I've read so far.



#82 (Blogging/journaling about list progress). I'm actually doing this in a journal. I have it all categorized and organized and I just like doing it. I know. I'm kinda nerdy.



#89 (Get all the kids' photo albums up to date). Thanks to CVS extending their 10 cent photo offer another week, I'm actually working on this one as I type. I haven't even started on Jax's and Mariah's is about...oh...two years behind. So, my guess is that it will still be a while before I can cross this one off.



#100 (Read at least three books/day to my children for a month). We actually did this for four days, then missed two. So we started over today. But we went to the library and everything ;)



#72 (Sew a button back onto a peice of clothing). Haven't done it, but I did pick up a little sewing kit at the dollar store when we went searching for stocking stuffers the other day. So this is officially a possibility.



#90 (Write in my journals to each of the kids at least once every three months). I wrote in Mariah's on 10/30 and Jax's on 11/2. I have a journal for our February baby, but at 27 weeks, the kid still doesn't seem real to me yet.



#36 (Involve the kids in a "project" for someone else at least once/month). I would actually love some ideas on this one. Sounds simple enough, espeically with a two year old, but the only things I've really come up with are baking things for people and buying them gifts.



Lastly, with a GREAT BIG THANKS to my mother in law, I can officially cross one item off the list: getting a professional massage! She not only treated me to a FULL hour, but watched the kids for me while I went. It was wonderful. The masseus told me I was the first pregnant person to ever fall asleep during a massage she'd given :) Can I just say, it was THE best nap ever!

Day Zero

Ta da! My first post. I thought it would be fitting (okay...moreso, it was motivating) to use my list for this one. About a month ago I heard about the Day Zero Project from the illustrious J-Shepp (kudos, Jennie). Basically, this is a list of 101 tasks/goals to be completed in the next 1001 days. I immediately liked the idea, but it took me over two weeks to decide I was going to try it. Why? Because it's taken me an entire year since the birth of my son to feel like I have anything in my life under control. I recently read through some of my more recent journals and was shocked to find how quickly time has flown--there were things I wrote about 12 months, 9 months, 6 months ago that I would have SWORN happened in the last month or two! Since we are still in the process of moving and are about to welcome our next little addition to the family in the next few months, I can only predict that things will be even crazier around here. Nonetheless, I don't want to assume that life will "someday" slow down (although, God help us if getting out of the "baby" stage doesn't help at least a *little*) and become stagnant. I wouldn't want to turn 40 and realize I hardly pursued any personal growth after the birth of my children.

I had to stay up late on four different nights to compile this list (perhaps I should have made that a goal in and of itself ;), but here it is!

For spiritual growth

1. Do at least one water or juice fast every six months

2. Read the entire Bible

3. Do something to bless our pastor

4. Send a care package to a missionary

5. Pray for three people in an altar call

6. Pray with my children every night for a month

7. Volunteer in some way at church

8. Memorize 30 new Bible verses



For the sake of being healthy

9. Work out at least for at least 30 minutes, 3x/week for six weeks straight

10. Get back down to 135 pounds (or less)

11. Eat a vegan diet for two weeks

12. Cut out all sugar from my diet for two weeks

13. Cut out all caffeine from my diet for two weeks

14. Get the kids and I both to eating raw vegetables at least twice a week

15. Run a mile

16. Order something healthy when I really don't want to on at least 5 separate occasions

17. Work up to doing 25 "real" push-ups at a time

18. Get 8 hours of sleep/night for an entire week



For finances

19. As a family, not eat out for an entire month

20. Make $1000 in a month while being a stay at home mom

21. Acquire at least two rental properties

22. Actually try to "market" at least two products/services

23. Read three books on finances

24. Pay off our van

25. Pay off the Taurus

26. Write 20 articles on Constant Content

27. Buy our first home



For the sake of giving

28. Provide at least three $100 loans through http://www.neverendinghope.org/ (2/3)

29. Donate blood 3x

30. Provide Christmas for at least three children other than my own (1/3)

31. Buy something I want for me and give it to someone else at least once a month

32. Send someone I don't know a really cool gift

33. Provide Thanksgiving dinner for another family

34. Spend at least $150 on a gift (for someone other than an immediate family member)

35. Donate to a charity that provides food to the hungry



For others

36. Involve the kids [who are old enough to understand] in a "project" for someone else at least once a month

37. Be a part of at least one other family's decision to adopt

38. Call my father at least once

39. Make Christmas cookie platters to deliver each holiday season (1/3)

40. Get involved in some way in the fight against abortion

41. Send a message/item of hope to an orphan

42. Commit to praying for the adoption/well-being of at least five orphaned children until they've been given families

43. Send 20 "just because" notes/gifts (4/20)

44. Send flowers to three people (1/3)

45. Around Mother's Day, send cards to all the mothers who have blessed/inspired me

46. Write to my grandparents 6x (2/6)

47. Buy something to support a friend



For the sake of becoming a better me

48. Organize my house completely--from one end to the other

49. Keep each room of the house clean every day for a month (separately ;)

50. Keep my van clean for one week

51. Write thank yous to those in my life who have helped shape me

52. Vote

53. Bring a dish to all family functions

54. Get up at 6:30 am for an entire week

55. Find a mentor

56. Do five things to support my community

57. Complete five "handyman" projects around the house I've never done before (4/5)

58. Use power point

59. Read two additional non-fiction books

60. Wash all the dirty dishes every night for two weeks

61. Start a garden and keep it alive long enough to eat something from it

62. Donate $3 for every task not completed within the 1001 days



Just for me/the enjoyment of life

63. Join a dance class (even if it's just aerobics)

64. Pay for a booth and sell things at a craft show/festival

65. Get a professional massage

66. Actually write a children's book

67. Spend $100 on something just because it makes me feel pretty

68. Visit California

69. Make a recipe scrapbook

70. Enroll and complete some sort of class (non-excercise related)

71. Start a new blog and write at least 15 posts

72. Sew a button back onto a peice of clothing

73. Eat dinner at The Melting Pot

74. Take a weekend for myself

75. Attend at least one live sporting event

76. Make a "time capsule" for myself

77. Read at least one (adult) fiction book

78. Treat myself to Starbucks for every 5 tasks completed

79. Wear a bikini to the beach or pool

80. Have my hair professionally styled

81. Spend the night at a bed & breakfast

82. Blog or journal about this list's progress

83. Play tennis and/or basketball with my husband

84. Not get pregnant again after our upcoming Feb 2010 arrival

85. Go to a theme park and ride rollercoasters



For the sake of family

86. Establish a "Sunday school" routine at home

87. Establish regular "homeschool" sessions with the kids

88. Go on a cruise with my husband

89. Get all the kid's photo albums up to date

90. Write in my journals to each of the kids at least once every three months

91. Enroll each kid in at least one "extracurricular" each year

92. Get Mariah's scrapbook up to date

93. Get Jax's scrapbook up to date

94. Get our Feb 2010 baby's scrapbook up to date

95. Enjoy a kid-free weekend with my husband

96. Go on an overnight trip with Mariah

97. Have a TV-free week as a family

98. Make a "time capsule" for Wesley

99. Start the adoption process

100. Read at least three books/day to my children for a month



And 101 is...personal :)

Admittedly, some of these are a little embarrassing. The "me" lists are the longest ones. I don't pray with my children every night...I sometimes find our simple brushing teeth/hugs and kisses/water sippys/tucking in by specific blankets routine to be exhausting. I really don't think it would be realistic for me to keep my van clean for over a week. I'll probably have to "train" for weeks to be able to run a mile. But there it is. Let the games begin!