Busy is spelled L I F E

Life can be overwhelming. At each stage, I have looked back at the previous stage and thought, I can't believe I thought I was busy then! So, I have no doubt that things will continue to get busier as life goes on and the kids grow up. I'm having to figure out how to prioritize. Not everything is getting done, and I have to be ok with that. Just typing this, I have 100 things going through my mind. Just to try and list everything going on: training for strong first, taking pictures, Chase starting school, finishing the house, AdvoCare, oh yeah, being a wife, a mom, and having a full time job, is overwhelming. I'm not sure how to fit it into a day. If I truly scheduled out my days, I would fill up 24 hours with what I want to accomplish, without scheduling sleep.

Breathe. Just Breathe. There is so much pain and destruction in our world right now, it's hard for me to focus sometimes. Everything going on in Iraq breaks my heart each time I look at my children. The only thing that gets me by is knowing that those poor murdered babies are no longer scared or in pain. They are happy and don't have to go through that horror anymore. And, I continue to pray for the ones that are still living it. We are so blessed to live in a free nation. My ancestors are from Syria, so it makes me wonder how many of my relatives are being affected. In all the chaos, I search for the moments that matter. I continue to live in a free world, and for that I am thankful. I move on, day by day, in a routine.

This past weekend, I attended an AdvoCare conference with Jason. I love spending time with people in that company. They are truly good people. It reminds me why I love that company. They care about people and they want to help people, with health, finances, self esteem, whatever it may be. We got to see some new products that were introduced (love them by the way). And, on Sunday, we were blessed to worship with Michael W. Smith. Such a powerful worship time and I'm so thankful for that opportunity.

Jason and I continue to work on the house. Going from almost 4000 square feet to around 1100 is tough. We have had to get rid of a lot of things, but things are feeling less and less cluttered everyday. As I look around this little house I realize every day even more how it's all we really need. We didn't need all that stuff. We have everything we need, we aren't lacking, I am happier now than I was in that 4000 square foot house. It's not about the house, it's about the people in it and what is important. Here are a few more pics of the inside. You have now seen the whole "first floor" after my last post showing the bathroom and the breakfast nook. Here is the living room and the kitchen (as well as the laundry) :)

We have an amazing view and a wonderful garden that has started to produce for us!

I'm starting to be very strict on my diet again. No processed food. All "real" foods, so the garden is wonderful. I'm excited to see how diet, my strength plan, and my AdvoCare product routine helps get me prepared for my Strong First Certification in October. I have taken my starting body fat percentage and I know how many lbs of fat and muscle I am starting with. It will be fun to see what happens in the next 2 months to those numbers :) Chase and Taylor love it here. Chase now has a "chore chart" and one of the things is being nice / respectful. Amazingly, he finds things to do for his sister to get a sticker! lol. Here he is helping her out drinking. She adores him. Every morning, the first thing she wants is a hug from brother. And, he will hug her back. Melts my heart.

Chase starts school this week. We just went to the open house tonight where he met his teacher and saw his class room. He held my hand the whole time and smiled shyly. I don't want those days to end. Not yet. So, I will cuddle a little longer at night, tell an extra story, draw an extra picture on his back and happily move over in bed when we have 2 additional sleepers in the middle of the night that join us, because life will continue to be busy, it will continue to fly by, they will continue to grow. And, I will be thankful for each and every moment I am blessed with in a nation where I have the freedom to enjoy my life and my family. Instead of living my "Busy is spelled L I F E" life, I think I'm going to focus on living my "Life is spelled B L E S S I N G S" life.

Don't call me Martha just yet ...

I'm becoming more "domesticated" :) ... Since being on a "real food" diet, I have had to get creative. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. For example, we are finally starting to get some of the food from our garden (which was planted extremely late). So, I made salsa! It had a mix of cilantro, basil, mint, tomatoes, avocado, peach, and onions. It was pretty tasty. Jason and I ate it up within 24 hours. :) Then, I tried some healthy banana bread. This consisted of almond flour, eggs (which is just ground up almonds), no sugar, and a few spices and baking soda. This did not go over as well. I don't mind it, but it's definitely not banana bread. However, when you don't eat sugar or processed foods, it's really not that bad. My family begs to differ. Jason has been eating it with peanut butter -- also not on my list of approved foods :) The kids do eat some of my creations from time to time. Here is gluten free pancakes (of course, they did have whipped cream and syrup on them). Also, for those with a sweet tooth like me, freeze your red grapes. Seriously, do it. You're welcome. :)

Since this blog is named after our little house in the field, I thought I would show you a bit of the inside. It's not completely finished yet, but it's getting there. Here is my bathroom.

I love the old dresser Jason made into our vanity. The detail is wonderful. This is a piece I bought, I did not make. I would love to figure out how to do this sometime, but that time is not now. It was actually finished by one of my good friends from High School, Audrey, who I have had a chance to catch up with a few times since being back in SD.

Then, we have a little kitchen nook for our eat in area.

We also have a few seats available at the kitchen island, but no formal dining room. We have stored our table and chairs away in case we add on in the future. I couldn't get rid of them. :) This bench was also refinished by Audrey! And I got the adorable chairs and chalkboard at Lucky Day Sale. (Check it out on Facebook, the fall sale is coming up very soon, and they have the CUTEST stuff!) I do still need to paint the table. So, I eventually have to figure out how to paint and create the distressed look, but for now, the table cloth will suffice.

Jason has been working hard on finishing things around the house. He cleaned our our garage and the kids took advantage of the room with their toys and bouncy house. :) It's all coming together nicely.

We spent yesterday at my in laws. They were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary! I love being around family and Chase and Taylor love playing with their cousins. I'm once again reminded about how lucky we are to have family all around us <3.

I did however eat cake. Oh, did I eat cake. I'm one of those people that is a complete sugar addict. I know this about myself and I honestly can't just have a "little" piece, no matter how hard I try. This is why I'm normally so strict with myself and really don't allow cheat foods. I. Can't. Stop. and yesterday was no exception. In fact, I still feel sick. That in a way is a good reminder about what that food does to my body. Ugh. It's toxic almost and I don't want my body to get used to it again.

Jason and I are getting ready to go to AdvoCare's success school this next weekend. I can NOT wait. AdvoCare is unlike any company I have every encountered. The speakers and leadership are genuine good people. I don't know how to explain it. Many other direct sales companies I have seen focus on what you can get, how much money you can make, how you can earn this car, etc. AdvoCare focuses on helping others. Many of the leaders stories are around this and I love that atmosphere. My favorite part of the weekend is Sunday worship. Michael W. Smith will be there again and last time, he sat at the piano and led worship. It was amazing. I can not wait. I'm sure I will be posting a recap after the event. :)  We are staying an extra day to have a little "date" time. Very much looking forward to a weekend get-a-way with the hubby too.

We had a wonderful message at church this morning, and my thoughts keep going back to it. Pastor talked about keeping our kids safe, pure, and innocent. Protecting them from this world. The lessons I want to continue to drive home with our kids. We don't need a big house, we don't need cable, we don't need a lot of things, etc. I want to live a lifestyle that teaches those lessons. Once that sin has been in our lives, our nature doesn't let us "forget." Yes, we know we are forgiven, but we don't forget. The analogy was a glass of water that had dye added. You can't get the water to be clear again. However, if you continue to pour in more and more God into that glass and add it to a bigger container, it will dilute. I want to continue to have more "God" poured into me. Day after day. I can tell the days I don't spend reading my Bible or my devotions now. I am more agitated, not as at peace, etc. I know I have to continue to make the time to schedule that into my life. That needs to be my first priority, daily. Still working on figuring out how to fit it all in.

Well, I'm going to go back to editing photos and doing some online shopping for a pull up bar. Lots of maternity and newborn sessions coming up in the next few months, and I am starting to train to get ready to attend a StrongFirst Level 1 cert next calendar year! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and God Bless!