What's your language?

I've been thinking a lot about love languages lately. You know, from the book by Gary Chapman. There are 5 languages mentioned: physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and gifts. The idea is that each of us has certain things that show us love, and if we can do/say the right things for each other, our "love tank" will be full.

They say you can tell what your language is based on what you naturally want to do for others. While I don't think I can rank them 1-5 for myself, I do know that touch and time are at the bottom and service and gifts are at the top. I really enjoy serving other people -- while I might never want to do dishes in my own house, I'll surprise my best friend by doing hers while she's away. I find myself always asking Rocky "can I get you anything? something to drink?" etc. And when he does the dishes for me... oh I feel so loved!

I've come to acknowledge that my other top language is gifts. I know exactly when the mailperson is supposed to come, and I check the box before noon every day. I have a box downstairs of all the letters and cards and random things Rocky gave me while we were dating. I even saved the petals from my first bouquet of flowers from him. We're doing a Secret Santa exchange at school right now, and I have the name of a 5th grader and another student has me. I'm having so much fun! I love to leave little notes for people to find, or to stick in lunchbags.

And of course there is Christmas shopping. This is where things are a bit troublesome for me. Because I love to give gifts, I spend so much time pouring over what to get each person and I have to really limit myself. This year I'm following the concept of "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read" when I'm getting gifts for Rocky and Abby.

Unfortunately I have to put from my mind any sort of expectations when it comes to receiving gifts from others. Rocky has told me that gifts is at the bottom of his love language list (and of course time and touch are at the top... remember what I said my lowest were??). So I struggle with wanting him to be as excited and joyful as I am about getting gifts for others (and not just for me).

How would you sort the list of love languages for yourself?

This and that

I need to get better at this.

I always have such good intentions. I'll write for a few days straight. Then be MIA for a month. I would love to have more followers, just for the satisfaction of knowing I'm writing about interesting stuff. But who wants to read a blog that only posts sporadically?

I think one of my new year's resolutions is going to be to write every day. Or at least try to. Even if it's just a paragraph.

It's not that I don't have things to write about. I find myself thinking throughout the day "Ooo I should write about that!" Or something happens that is worthy of posting, etc. etc... I just never stop to take the time to write. Mostly because I have a 6 month old, and have you ever tried writing and being creative with a squirmy baby next to you?

So this current post (which is getting long already) is going to include some of the random stuff that's been in my head lately. And hopefully I'll get better at posting more often.

Cloth Diapering
Since Abby is now 6.5 months old, we've been cloth diapering for about 6 months. It's been working out really well. Yes we've had our share of leaks and explosions, but overall I'm happy with the experience. I do keep a pack of 'sposies on hand, I'll use them when we're out and about for more than a couple hours at a time. And we used them at night for awhile (since Abby continues to be a 12-13 hour sleeper), but I've discovered the joy of hemp inserts. I open up my Flip cover to the highest rise, put down two of those inserts plus the stay-dry insert the Flip came with, and voila! A super-fluffy butt that doesn't leak at night.

The only thing I might do differently if I started cd'ing all over again would be to start with a bunch of different diapers and see what we like best. We started our stash exclusively with Flips, based on price and the all-in-two type of system, and have stuck with them ever since. Luckily they've worked out well for us, but there are so many other kinds out there that I would love to try... but I can't justify spending more. So I resort to entering giveaways. :) I follow a number of blogs that have weekly or monthly giveaways (such as Nicki's Diapers and The Cloth Diaper Whisperer). This will probably be the only way I'll ever have a chance to try all-in-ones or pockets or prefolds! (I did win a Snappi once but have yet to use it!)

SAHM
So I'd like to still consider myself a stay-at-home-mom, but I don't think I can. My 13-hour-a-week secretary job at FCCS has been awesome! I'm loving the chance to use some of my computer and writing and other skills to serve this little school (and I think they enjoy having me...??). And quite honestly, I enjoy having some time away from Abby each week. I think being away 3 days a week would be too much, but 2 days is just right. And I'm leaving her in very capable hands (love you Debbie!), and I think the best part is I'm able to leave her at home. I do find myself missing her every so often, especially now that she's jumping across some big milestones (sitting, crawling, etc.). BUT I'm home by 4:00 on those two days, with Rocky not far behind me, so I still get plenty of hang-out time with her. :)


I think that's all I'm going to post today, as it is I've been working on this post for the last 3.5 hours. Abby got up in the middle of it so I had to come back to it at naptime!

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...

In GEMS this year I'm back to teaching the 7th & 8th grade class. It'll mean some extra work for me, since I'm still in the role of club coordinator, but I'm super excited. GEMS just came out with brand new curriculum, and one of them is about the names of God. In college, one of my Bible studies worked through the book Lord I Want to Know You, and ever since I've loved digging into the names of God. I like looking into the Hebrew and Greek of certain passages and seeing those words pop up in other contexts. So needless to say, this curriculum is the perfect one for me to teach.

It's called MTN, and is tied to the verse "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord..." (Micah 4:2b). My girls will actually get a devotional book with 5 days of study for them to complete on their own time inbetween classes. As I was looking through my leader guide this morning I realized there is not a lot of structure, at least to this first lesson... At first I was slightly upset, since all of the other GEMS curriculum are very structured -- do this opening activity, read this, answer these questions, read this, do this craft, etc. But then I started doing my own research about the first name of God in the study, and now I hope I'll have enough time tonight to cover everything I found! :)

Anyway, I hope to post some of the things I've read about and lessons I've learned along the way as I study this material right along with my girls. Our first name is El Elyon -- God Most High. I'll either type up my thoughts later today or sometime this weekend...

What is one of your favorite names for God?

Over the Rainbow

"Somewhere over the rainbow..." So begins one of the best-known songs in America. What is it that draws us to this song? The catchy tune? The imagery portrayed? The fact that it's been around for 70 years? Or is it the longing in the lyrics? "...way up high, there's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby..."

I'm currently reading a fiction book about three sisters who leave their homeland of Sweden in search of a better life in America. Yet the land they imagined flowing with milk and honey continues to show them hardship and trials.

Why are we never content where we are? In both small things and big things, we each want something to change. Growing up I was always looking forward -- school starting each fall, graduation, getting engaged, my wedding day, my baby's birth...

Even with Abby, I find myself thinking ahead to when she'll be able to get around on her own and I won't have to entertain her so much myself, or when she can talk and tell me what she wants or what hurts, or when she doesn't have to rely on me for all her food and diaper changes.

But if I'm not careful, the little things will slip on by. Already my daughter is 5 months old. I don't want to miss a thing. The little laughs and smiles. The 20 times she rolls over in a day. The look on her face when she tries a new food. The way her head snuggles next to mine as she drifts off to sleep.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:34 The Message)

"...birds fly over the rainbow, why oh why can't I?" Because if I did, I'd miss the joys that are only found on this side of the rainbow...

how does your garden grow?

Did you know many European homes do not have lawns? Neither front lawns nor back lawns?

They have gardens instead.

I got my package of bulbs in the mail today that I've been waiting anxiously for the last month and a half. I got a catalog that had a $25 off coupon any purchase of $25 or more. So of course I bought 2 kinds of bulbs, totaling $24.99. I only paid shipping.

So I am excited to get out and take another look at the area around my front porch and front side of the house, think about what I did and didn't like this year, and weed and move bulbs accordingly.

Then I look at our front lawn and cringe. The previous owners of our home didn't take care of the lawn. In fact there was no landscaping whatsoever around the house. So I was excited to start with a fresh slate, and this summer I was mostly pleased with the perennials and annuals I'd planted. But the poor lawn. It needs help. The good grass only grows in little round patches, and in between are patches of bad grass and weeds. And a lot of it is brown. Granted, we didn't water it as often as we probably could have, and it's been awhile since it's been mowed. I'm hoping by putting down some fall weed & feed, and getting a jumpstart on weed control and fertilizer in the spring, it'll be better next year.

But in the meantime, I envy my European distant relatives. This picture is from the backyard of one of Rocky's cousin-aunt-removed-something-or-other who we visited when we were in the Netherlands a couple years ago. Her front yard is just as amazing.

Maybe next year I should just forget about having a lawn...

The artistic spirit of a 4-month-old...

The new bumGenius Artist Series of cloth diapers posted a very thought-provoking question:

How do you encourage a creative, artistic spirit in your baby, toddler or young child?

I thought this was an interesting question since my daughter is only four months old, so I have yet to really see much creativity from her... I thought I could change the question around a bit and answer how I will encourage her, through activities such as enrolling her in library book programs or praising the childish artwork she creates someday.

But then I realized that even at four months old -- really since before she was even born -- my husband and I have been encouraging her to develop a love for music. Rocky plays guitar and piano, I play the drums, and we both sing. Even when Abby was still in the womb she loved to hear her daddy play piano (seriously, I loved to watch my belly dance around while he played!). This picture is actually from the day we came home from the hospital.

We have often joked that our biggest fear is that she will be tone-deaf... We both have such a love for music (Rocky has even written a handful of songs for our church), that we can't imagine having a daughter who can't even carry a tune in a bucket...

But I suppose if that becomes the case, we'll just have to find another outlet for her creativity (sidewalk chalk maybe?)...

One Year

It's amazing what can happen in a year... It was one year ago today we found out the most surprising and life-changing news. Yup, on 09-09-09 we learned Abby was on her way. The next three weeks were the longest and most stressful September we've known... We were nervous and anxious for our first doctor's appointment to come on the 30th, after experiencing two early miscarriages a few years prior... We were also in the midst of packing and preparing to close on our first house on the 29th...

Here we are one year later. We love our baby girl, we love our house. What will happen between now and September 9, 2011?.....

Picture Challenge - Day 22

Day 22: A picture of yourself

Our engagement picture! We were so young... six years ago!

Picture Challenge - Day 21

Day 21: A picture that makes you think of your loved one

This one might be a little hard to see, but it is of the night sky, specifically the Big Dipper. Before I met Rocky, the Big and Little Dippers were the only constellations I knew. Now I know so many -- Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Delphinus, Corona Borealis, Hercules, Scorpius... not to mention a few specific stars like Arcturus, Vega, and Sirius. We've also seen Jupiter and Saturn through a telescope. And have you ever looked at the moon through a telescope?! It's beautiful! Thanks, Rock, for teaching me to appreciate this amazing part of creation...

Picture Challenge - Day 20

Day 20 - A picture of where you want to honeymoon

Ok so this is where we actually DID go on our honeymoon. Hocking Hills State Park is in southern Ohio, so we were able to drive down in a day (about 8 hours). It's absolutely beautiful!! We rented a cabin (the Honeybee Hideaway :) ) and spent the week hiking around amazing caves, waterfalls, gorges, and the Grandma Gatewood Trail.