Daffodil Days - Try #1!

Okay, so its alwas been my hearts desire to have a beautiful picture of each of my children in the family daffodils that are a legacy of my grandfather. It was his passion, and it one that is a passion of all his children and of his grandaughters as well. Daffodils traditionally symbolize joy, and they truly bring me joy every year. (Daffodils mean so much to me, I planned my wedding around the blooming schedule so I could have a daffodil wedding!)

All this being said, I decided to make a trip to the blooming daffodil hill today after church, and I got maybe two good pictures. It seems that to a 7 month old, EATING daffodils is more fun than looking at them or smelling them! Grandmother (GG) tried to help, but I think the daffodils shaking in her face got her a little irritated! Really, the following two pictures are really just our afternoon in a nutshell!

We'll have to try again next Sunday I think:)

Hurts...

Have you ever had a group of friends, family, or coworkers, etcetera that you were very involved in and then all of a sudden for no known reason, felt as though you were shunned? I have recently discovered this very helpless feeling myself. The feeling of being outkast when you have sacrificed so much for those that now have nothing to say to you. Its almost belittling, as if to say "you are of little importance to me", and in all honesty it brings me to tears and sometimes sheer anger. And the worst part is, I don't know what I did to cause this. When I look back upon the history of my involvement, I realize I was putting in way more than I was getting out. I realize that I was never as significant as I thought I was. I realize that I may have even tried to be something that I never could have been. I was too dependent. I was too emotionally linked. I made myself too vulnerable. I put myself at the mercy of their actions. So how do you undo the emotional link, how do you make yourself feel un-belittled. How do you act in the presence of them? All I want to do is remove myself geographically and get amnesia, all I know to do is pray.

Stretched, Overwhelmed, and Baffled

Is it just women, or do men feel as stretched as we do? I have exactly short of a million things to do daily, not to mention all the extras I have to think about or things that I have to consider when doing for my family or my jobs (notice I said jobssssS). Do men have the burden of these things on their shoulders too? Will they ever REALLY understand what its like to be a Working wife, mother, chef, maid, laundromat, gardener, decorator, etc? (And on top of that have hormones & emotions?) I'm not bashing the male gender, I'm really not, but sometimes I feel like men and women are WAY unequally yolked on some things. My husband is a wonderfol one, and he really helps me out a lot, but I can't help but realize that I feel overwhelmed nearly all of the time, and he is NEVER overwhelmed. Maybe its just the way he handles himself, but this seems to be common when I look at a lot of couples....women carrying the bulk of the load while the man completely is oblivious to what she's got piled on her back.
Last night I realized something, and not that I have always known it before, but I definitely could not deny it after last night. I realized that men can get out of anything with the excuse that they are men. Have you ever, after asking a man to help you with something, heard "I don't know how to do that", or "I've never done that before", or just a plain "I don't do that"? I have not EVER used that excuse. I can't do that because thats a man's job. I can and will tackle anything you ask me to do. It may not be PERFECTLY done, but for the most part I did my best to get it accomplished and is almost as good as any man could do. I mow the grass, I hang pictures, I paint walls, I put furniture together, I move furniture.....I will and have done it all from time to time. I never refuse to do something just because its beneath me. Just doesn't happen. Men baffle me sometimes. (Again, NOT a bash on my husband..love him, couldn't live without him, he's wonderful...)

To do in 2009

So, some of my "resolutions" this year are just about the same as every year, but I am RESOLVING to get some FINISHED!
1. Read the Bible, the WHOLE Bible completely, by December 31st.
(I went out and bought a new translation of the Bible for this one, to help motivate me, although I really shouldn't need motivation to read The Word, should I? Shame on me.)
2. Read to Jillian often. I will not say "daily", because I know we can't fit it in daily, but OFTEN. Play with her, pray with her, and love on her daily.
(No explanation needed!)
3. Pray more.
(Always need improvement here...do we ever pray enough?)
4. Teach or get involved in another Beth Moore Bible Study.
(I went through the"Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place" study a little over a year age and it was exactly what I needed. In fact, I truly believe God gave me my pregnancy through that Bible study. It was a study that shook me to my knees and awakened me to God's love like never before. I think when you devote time to something "extra" in your spiritual life outside of Church, God truly blesses that and you.)
5. Learn to let some things go.
( I don't know if this is a New Mommy thing, a woman thing, a hormonal thing, a combination of the first three, or none of the above, but I know that I let two many things upset me and worry me. How I will accomplish this goal, I'm not sure.)
6. Be more of a disciplinarian in the classroom.
7. Make an effort at organization in the areas that need it. (Closets, Teacher's desk, Car)
8. Give my husband back rubs more often. (This is one thing he enjoys immensely, but Mommyhood hasn't allowed much time or ENERGY for...)
9. Say "No" more often.
10. Make molasses cookies at least once.