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.