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Patience is a Virtue

I used to be the most patient person I knew. Waiting in rush hour traffic never bothered me, standing in a long line was no big deal, or even waiting at the doctor's office was just a time for me to catch up on reading. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, I lost my patience. Now in my early 30's, there is nothing worse then being behind a slow driver, or sitting around waiting for your doctor when he should have been in the room twenty minutes ago. I can feel my blood pressure start to rise, I'll tap my foot in frustration, and sigh loudly.

As a parent now, I have found that my patience level has gone down even further. While everyone told me the first year was going to be the hardest, I found it to be a piece of cake! It is the toddler years that I am finding to be the struggle, and the source of losing my patience. I never take out my frustrations on my child, because it is not his fault that he whines for thirty minutes because I told him it is not safe to climb on the couch when mommy is not there with him, or because he doesn't want to eat the nice dinner I made for him. It also isn't his fault when he whines and cries about taking a nap, or going to bed. With lack of communication, he can't tell me what he really wants, and doesn't understand me when I tell him something isn't safe, or a no-no. But as calm as I am on the outside to him, on the inside I just feel my patience slipping, and I get frustrated and just want to leave the house and take a break.

I know I am not the only mother who feels this way, we all go through it, especially us stay at home mom's that deal with everything on our shoulders day in and day out. But I've come to realize that we cannot change these things, such as the slow driver in the fast lane, or the child who refuses to take a nap. Getting frustrated and impatience is only going to make the situation worse. I'm coming to understand that I just need to let go, and let God.

In Romans 12:12 it says: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. When times feel as though they are getting to be too much to handle, when you feel your blood pressure start to rise and you feel like yelling and screaming, just take a minute, a deep breathe, and pray. Tell the Lord that the situation you are in is becoming more then you can handle, and you need peace and calmness. Give your worries over to the Lord, tell Him what you need and hand it over to Him. He wants to solve your troubles, He wants you to be at peace.

The other day I found myself in the position of losing my patience when my son was fighting me on nap time. I took a minute to myself in my room to take a deep breathe, and pray for peace. I felt a calmness come over me, and I was able to go into my son's room and I believe he felt the peace I had, because he settled down in my arms and was able to fall asleep for his nap.

Don't ever be ashamed to ask for the Lord's help when times are hard and we are suffering, for He is there for us. It is during these times of strife, and impatience, and frustration, that we can become closer to the Lord.


More then that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us Romans 5:3-5

Reconnecting with my Faith

There have been many times in my life where I have felt an urging to do something, an inner voice perhaps that sounded as though it was my own, but now, learning more about my faith in God, I realize that the voice I have been hearing is that of God speaking to me, giving me a path and direction for what I am meant to do. Many times, that voice in my head tells me that I need to spread the Word of God. When I see people speaking about God on television, such as preachers, or I read articles or devotionals, I often feel in my heart that I could do that, that I can use my talents in writing to share my faith with others. But I never do.

I suppose I have always been afraid to speak of my faith in the Lord. Like politics, people have different views and opinions and beliefs, and religion has become something that can cause either a common understand between people, or strife. I have always been a very non-confrontational person. Never want to say something that could upset anyone, never want to disagree. Even if someone says something that I do not agree with, or believe, I will just nod as though I do so I do not make waves. I have always felt uncomfortable speaking about the Lord, for reasons I just do not know. I suppose maybe someone will think I am a bible thumper, pushing my views on them whether it is wanted or not. Sometimes I even think I am ashamed, because there have been times recently when I have not been very strong in my faith, when I haven't prayed faithfully, when I haven't been a good Christian.

I've come to a point in my life recently, when it seems that one bad thing after another has happened to our family, that I realized the importance of rebuilding my faith in the Lord. When I prayed faithfully, when I had Him in my heart, things went well. What a difference it makes when you stray away from that! But no matter how far I strayed, God was always there, knocking on the door, silently waiting for me to answer Him and receive Him in my heart once again. I knew what I had to do; I had to open that door.

I reconnected with a friend from high school, and I noticed recently she had spoken of starting a ministry at her church, but it had not worked out. I mentioned perhaps she should start a ministry on Facebook, since it is a site we, along with many others, frequent. She liked the idea, and together we came up with a mom's bible study/blog idea for Facebook about Raising God's Child, with our motto being that we are changing the world one little heartbeat at a time. My hope is that through my blog, and hers, and with a fan page she is going to be setting up through Facebook, we can come together with other mom's who are with Christ, and raising their children in Christ's love, and all share our struggles and our blessings as we go through life. Once we get everything set I will post the information, so those of you on Facebook can join our ministry and help spread the Word.

I want to send this post with a bible verse that I came across today, that I believe truly signifies what I am meant to do, and also what this new ministry we are starting is meant to do.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen 1Peter 4:10-11

Posting a little bzz about Covergirl

I am a member of a website called bzzagent.com. This company is all about word of mouth advertising, and based on survey's you fill out about your lifestyle and preferences, you will recieve invites to join campaign's for products, in which they send you for free to try out, along with coupons for friends and family, and other great information. I've recieved so many free products, including Covergirl makeup, which while I don't have a lot of time to always put on makeup while chasing down the little man, when I do get a chance to go out, I always use Covergirl.

Right now it is Covergirl's 50th Anniversary, so I am sharing a little bzz about that, and hope you check out this link to find out more information if you like!



http://www.facebook.com/covergirl?v=app_160134610689223

Attack of the Allergies!

Pardon my absence from here, but I've had my face buried in tissues!

I never had allergies when I was growing up, but somewhere in my twenties I noticed that during the spring and fall I'd sneeze a little more then usual, and my eyes would become red and itchy. I hit my thirties though, and that was it, I spend more time with my face in a tissue then anything else.

I thought at first I was going to get the cold that the little man woke up with one morning. He had a terrible cough, and with RSV and Croup running rampant around here, I made a call to the doctor to make sure it was nothing more then a simple cold. Luckily, she was able to diagnose over the phone based on his symptoms that he didn't have anything to be concerned about, and instructed me to let it run its course. Of course, after Christmas time and the endless bouts of illness we had around here, I thought we would get a reprieve, but not so much. I knew with his coughing and sneezing on me, I was going to get it too.

However, it seems allergies got to me first. Last week we had a day of terrible wind, and after that I couldn't leave the house without the eyes watery like I was crying and sneezing almost uncontrollably. Along with that, my nose decided it had enough, and seemed to close up on me, making it impossible to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. Thank goodness for that new Advil Congestion Relief. I wonder if I can get an endorsement deal....

Anywho, with a sick baby and a sick mommy, I know we haven't been the easiest for hubby to live with. This past week I had just a handful of sleep between being up with the baby who was miserable, and then being up myself because I couldn't breathe. The other night I was so miserable and just wanted to sleep, but had the baby up and I just started crying. It was as though my body just couldn't handle anymore of not feeling well and not sleeping. I usually can handle being sick pretty well, but this allergy/cold attack was really taking its toll on me.

The little man is finally feeling better to where he is able to sleep through the night again, and my nose has finally decided to unstuff itself enough to allow me to eat, drink, and thank goodness, get some much needed sleep! I slept so hard that I didn't even know hubby had gotten up for work, got dressed, and left! I even started feeling human enough to cook dinner last night, although I can't smell anything. This has become helpful though in not being able to smell dirty diapers, however now I have to constantly wrangle him for enough time to check his pants to make sure he hasn't gone. I'll know when I am well again when I get a whiff of that as he runs past me.

Squeak!

I had a toy stuck under my chair.

Your probably saying to yourself, "Huh?", so let me explain. I had a toy stuck under my power chair, for the 3rd time this week, and I could not get it to leave me.

One of the joys of being a mommy in a power chair means that things tend to get stuck underneath my chair, and then I drag them around all day until either I finally roll around enough for it to become unstuck, or my husband comes home and can reach under there and retrieve it. With a house definitely lived in by a toddler, and may even put a preschool to shame, it is not hard for me to get something stuck under me for the day. Sometimes it is clothes that get stuck on a wheel, other times an empty water or soda bottle as my son loves to bang around the house. Today, it was a bright blue rubber duck.

I'm not sure how the duck got there. I am assuming I must have backed up over it as I left his room after putting him down for his nap. I suddenly felt the familiar feeling of something dragging underneath me and I knew just what I had done. "Here we go again", I thought, wondering what it is that I will be making friends with for the day. It wasn't until I went from the hardwood floor of the living room/kitchen area, and into my carpeted bedroom that I heard the squeak.

That's right, for an entire afternoon, I squeaked.

I suppose I should start being more careful about looking where I am going, or shall I say rolling, but I've become so accustomed to just going about my daily business, and forgetting that my house has a million things just waiting to be rolled over. I spend more time making sure I am not going to run over the dog or the baby, since they love to hang out in what I call my "blind spots". A common phrase in my house is, "Where are you?", to which I hear happy little feet toddle out from behind me so I know it is safe to proceed. Sometimes I even have to move the husband out of the way, since after four years of being together, he still sometimes gets under my wheels.

Toys, however, I forget are attracted to the bottom of my chair like a magnet.

I think this is another one of those things that makes me unique as a mommy. I don't hear many moms complain about getting toys attached to them for an entire afternoon, and then proceed to squeak. At least it made the little man laugh, and frankly, I'll do anything just to hear that beautiful sound.

What did you just say!? When your toddler misuses a common word...obscenely

Before becoming a parent, I remember friends of mine with toddlers would either put their kids on the phone or have them talk to me in person, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never understand what it was they were saying. To me, it all sounded like a bunch of gibberish. So, as I am sure many can attest to, you do the popular nod of the head and the "Oh, really?" comment, and hope that suffices. That is usually when the parent steps up and says, "Sally just asked you for a cookie", giving you that look of "DUH, how did you not understand that".

With a sixteen month of my own now, I understand fully how mothers can understand their toddler's gibberish. It is as though they are speaking a foreign language, and only mommies understand it. I know that "Nom Nom" means he wants to eat, but that "Nommy Nommy" means he wants a drink. "Cook", followed by his hand patting the stove, means I am supposed to cook him some food, and "a done" means he is done with whatever it is he was doing, whether it be playing with a toy, or done with his nap. However, he says the word "Bop" a lot, and I am still not sure what it means to him, as he says it to everything.

Unfortunately, there are some words that are clear to everyone that he is saying, although what he is saying means a totally different thing to adults. Let's look back at the word "Cook". Whenever I am making my little man a meal, he doesn't seem to understand that food has to cook in order to eat it, so I started telling him that mama cook, and that cook meant making food. Well, he learned the word alright, although let's just replace the second"O" in the word cook, with the letter "C". Wait for it.....NOW you get what he is saying!

When this gem of a word first came out of my toddler's mouth, we couldn't believe it. So I tried sounding out the O sound of the word, hoping that would help. No such luck. Whenever he is hungry, he walks around the house saying it. My husband just looked at me and said, "What did you do?"

I am sure many of you can relate to this, and I am sure this is not going to be the first word he will butcher, and I am sure such words as "truck" is going to come out sounding like a lovely four-letter expletive. I suppose, in those moments, instead of trying to explain to people in the store that no, your son does not have a fetish with a certain male body part, you can just smile, pat your little one of the head, and keep going. Only a mother would understand.

What's your daily morning routine?

The alarm goes off at 5:30a and I make sure hubby gets up and ready for work. Then I go right back to sleep until about 9 or 10, which is when the little man gets up. I change him, and then we have breakfast and playtime.

Ask me anything

If you had to throw away either your TV or your computer, which would you choose?

Hmm, well I guess the TV, because you can watch TV on the computer now too.

Ask me anything

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

When I was 5 I came home from school and told my mom I wanted to change my name to Lisa. She told me I had to ask my dad, because he was the one who named me. I thought about it for a bit, then said nevermind, I'll just be Kimberly.

Ask me anything

Who's the coolest person you know?

My mom, I just love her!

Ask me anything

Dallas official gives Michael Vick key to the city, draws anger | Super Bowl XLV News - Sports News for Dallas, Texas - SportsDayDFW

Dallas official gives Michael Vick key to the city, draws anger Super Bowl XLV News - Sports News for Dallas, Texas - SportsDayDFW

I was appalled when I saw this article. Not only does this man not deserve a key to any city, unofficial or not, I believe he should not even have the privilege to play for the NFL. What he did to those poor, defenseless animals is heinous and sickening, and by allowing him to continue his career and and praising him by acts such as giving him a key to the city, shows that as long as you are a celebrity, you can pretty much just get away with anything. It seems people are forgetting the terrible crimes he committed. I refuse to root for him or his team, and I will not give him any praises.

Chevrolet Momentum Meter

Hey blog friends, I could really use your help!!! I am a member of a site called BzzAgent, where it all involves around regular people like you and me recieved free products to try out and give out word of mouth marketing for these companies. During this Superbowl Weekend, the site has several Superbowl Ads available for us to share, and the agents with the most traffic generated to the sites via my blog will be able to have access to the FlipHD Ultra campagin, where I will recieve a free Flip, which is normally about $150!! I'd love to win, so click on the link, click it twice, and help me drive some traffic to the sites that I post on here this weekend. Thank you!!!

The Bug That Won't Die!

It all started the night of Christmas Eve. I spent the week before the holiday preparing the house to host Christmas Eve with his family, and Christmas Day with mine, so I had a lot of shopping, cooking, and baking to get done, along with making sure the house was nice and company clean, so I wasn't getting much sleep at night. All was well though, until Christmas Eve night. Everyone left, I got comfy in my jammies, cuddled up my blanket in bed, and fell fast asleep...and woke around around 3am with a cold.

It hit me out of nowhere, and I spent Christmas Day feeling worse and worse as the day went on, so that by the time dinner hit I was ready to pack it in. I figured it happened when I wasn't getting a lot of rest, and spending a lot of time at the store where I was bound to get germs.

Of course, being a stay at home mom, it was just a few days later that the little man woke up with congestion and a cough, and I knew he got hit with the bug too. A few days after that, hubby started in with a cough, which turned into a horrible cough, and eventually needed a trip to the ER which told us he had a severe case of bronchitis.

So here we were, miserable for the start of the new year, but eventually started feeling better....until the baby started sneezing...a lot...and always on me. Then I got the sniffles...hubby got them too. Then, we were better again.

Now, round 3 has hit us. I started last weekend, with a sudden hit of a cold turned into a horrible sinus infection. Now as I am starting to finally be able to breathe again and smell things (which was nice not to smell dirty diapers for a change), the little one has gotten the cold again, and hubby is back to his coughing fits. I am now playing nurse maid to sickies, and wondering why no one played nurse maid to me.

I am trying so so hard to get this cold bug out of our house once and for all, because this passing it back and forth to each other is just wearing us out. Poor hubby has been sleeping on the couch so he doesn't have so many coughing fits, but also so he doesn't pass it onto me, and I have been using Lysol on every surface several times a day. I also had been keeping the windows open during the day, but with the recent Arctic cold blast we've had, that hasn't been an option.

The worst is that I hate seeing my little man sick. Yesterday he looked so pale, with bags under his eyes and a little red nose. But God love him, he is the best, even when sick. He just plays and plays, not as hard as when he is feeling well, but still has so much he has to get done with those toys. Luckily, he is finally feeling well enough to sleep through the night again. The other night, when I was still feeling at my worst, I had less then an hour sleep when he woke up whining, and was up from 2am until 6am. Every time I put him down for bed, he'd just stand there and his face would crumple and tears would fall. How do you not pick him up!?

So here is hoping all the Lysol in the world, and sleeping in separate rooms, will finally put us on the road back to good health.

I'm back!!

Good grief, I've been so busy with my life as a mom of a very active toddler that I forgot all about my blog! Things have been so crazy around here, but so much fun, and I really need to get back on here and blog about everything that has happened!

First thing, my little man isn't so little anymore, he is now 15 months old!! Can you even believe it!? Soometimes I look at him and I just can't believe that he has gotten so big so fast. He is walking around everywhere and because of this, it looks as though a nursery school has exploded in my home, and no matter what I do to try to clean up the toys and other nonsense that he seems to find around the house, as soon as I turn around he has dumped the toy bucket over or gotten into something else. He is also starting to say a lot more words, such as mom and dad, dog, moo moo (for his milk), and sometimes he will say button or belly. Oh, and with belly, the cutest thing is that I was teaching him where his belly was, and a few days later I asked him to show me his belly, and he stood there and looked at his shirt, lifted it up, and looked at his belly! I never even taught him to lift up his shirt and I thought wow, what a genuis!!!

For me, I feel as though I am constantly on the go with him, but it is nice to have something to do and feel like I am really making a difference in the world by being blessed to raise this amazing little boy. I cannot even beging to imagine my life without him, as crazy and messy as it is!

Also, I like to take time to read a lot of the mommy blogs out there, and I would love to do that myself, so I figure I'll get myself on here and write about not just life, but what I know best, being a mommy!