The internet....

Oh internet time, why are you so addictive! I have a problem its called I check my email and check this or that and then next thing I know too much time has passed. In fact I am guilty of it now as I write this post! I meant to do more spring cleaning but I checked something then something else and now here I am. I did have this random thought though, the problem with the internet. Before we had magazines to waste time reading but they had an end and then you had to wait for a new issue which took a few weeks. The internet is a never ending constantly updating magazine there is no last sentence close it up and wait another month. Its a total time sucker!! There is some great things about the internet, lately I have been checking out pintrest and my family has had lots of new and delicious foods to eat thanks to the new recipe source! Ahhh not sure where this post is going.... The End.

More random thoughts...

First I find it ironic that we the White House making a get healthy and moving initiative while I find my children can no go anywhere without being served a snack, usually an unhealthy one. I hate to have to start this way at only 33 but.....back in my day.... we didn't have a snack at church or ccd, we didn't have a snack at school, just lunch time, we did get a snack after playing a basketball game or a snack during a football game. Are our children REALLY this hungry? Do they need a bag of chips and juice box after playing an hour of basketball and are probably going to return home after where they will have food? It seems any kids activity that lasts more then 20 minutes the kids get a snack, its crazy to me! Imagine at home if we gave our kids snacks every 20-30 minutes...yeesh! Also crazy to me is the world telling kids to get up and move while more and more schools are medicating kids who can't sit still.......I will just leave that one as is.....

Running update....ok not great, I did it for a week, then last week I kept forgetting, but I am not quitting! I just need to find a regular time to get on the treadmill!

Lastly we are growing again, looking like number 8 is coming from Bulgaria!! WOohoo...more details to hopefully come next week!

Go mom go....see mom run...

For a very long time I have envied people who just like going for a run. I so wanted to be runner. Even joined track in high school and joined the group of kids who hid behind the shed next to the track during lap time and eventually tried things like shot put that did no involve any running. You see I want to be a runner, but I haven't ever been able to stick with it. Anyway the older I got the more I thought now I can't, I am so out of shape, I get winded walking around the zoo! I don't have time, I am raising 7 kids here and homeschooling! Until I fell apon a blog of another woman, who is a runner. She started 2 or so years ago and now runs marathons, she is only a year older then me and here is the kicker....she has 12 kids!! I was inspired! However for me inspired usually means a 1 to 2 week commitment before something else catches my eye or time and I am off on another rabbit trail. But not this time!! NOPE I am doing this and I am publicly putting it out there so that I have the fears of public humiliation to face so I won't give up! Also I hope I can get other moms who "can't" up and going. I started tonight and am being realistic, people understand that I am SOOOO out of shape. I made it 30minutes on 2.5-3 speed on the treadmill without any cramps or pain :) See I am really starting at 0... I have a little running plan to follow and I will update as I go. I don't know what I want to run, I know I want to be healthy and strong for my kids. But I also want to prove to myself that I am capable of doing hard things :) Sooo stay tuned and feel free to de lurk and post some advice for a newbie.

When did we stop??

I learn a lot from watching my kids. Now that they are getting a little older its fun to watch the excitement contained in all of them about the future. I love that most any teen you meet has this energy that allows them to pursue anything that piques their interest. They like music, they play an instrument or sing their hearts out. They like sports they go out and play and run as if they were in an Olympic event. Take a minute to watch a bunch of 10-13 year old boys run no matter if they are big or small, fast or slow the determination on their faces and the quick pumping of their arms, you would think they are in serious training! The excitement that comes with getting old enough for a "real job" or getting that first drivers license permit. I think we all remember the excitement when you first have your license and someone asks you to run to the store...alone!! Ohh the freedom we felt, the radio on the station of our choice, the newly printed license sitting in the new wallet you now have to carry.... So then what happens, when do we stop believing in making our lives our own. When were we told we can't, we won't or we aren't and when did we start believing it. When did the security of the mundane take over the excitement of the unknown? Its our one life. In the end it will matter who we have touched, and who is by our bedside. Famous or not, rich or poor, we all end up exactly the same, we enter the world with nothing and we leave the world with nothing. It all amounts to how much we lived while we were alive. I say all this as the most security routine person alive! There is some value to knowing how to stay orderly and disciplined and a place for it. However I somehow believed the lie along the way that said, you are getting older, you cannot do this or that, your time for this or that has passed. I don't run through life because somewhere along the line I sat down. I believed the lie that it matters to conform. No one wants to be the awkward lady, but us quiet ladies secretly envy the ones who aren't afraid to stand out be bold and laugh! I read about ladies who live life with gusto and think back to when I believed I could be or do whatever I worked hard enough for. Its time to get up and run, let the kids energy be contagious! Its my one life, I don't get a do over!! So run people!!! Dance, laugh, enjoy :)

I am very good at...

While spending a little quiet time with a cup of tea this afternoon and checking in on all of my favorite blogs, it occurred to me. I am very very good at reading about how very very good many of you are at wonderful things! I read about amazing crafts people make and then about amazing homeschooling ideas and then I read about amazing dinners people are making....Yep that's the extent I read it :) I think ohhh that is snazzy or that is a great idea! Then I close up my computer and I go back to doing what ever I was doing. So I salute all you crafty, baking, curriculum making, spotless home ladies of the blog world. You are my inspiration and maybe after I get the dog off my feet and my hiney off the couch I may just may try one of those delightful ideas :)

Hey, when did I forget I liked that....

The other day I was taking our little puppy out at night and while waiting for her to....well do what puppies do....I looked up at the stars. It was a cool night but not cold and I suddenly remembered, I love looking at stars, its so relaxing. I thought about how many times I would sit outside or as a kid bring out some binoculars with my sister and check out the stars. Later we were talking about Florida and I was telling the kids how much I love the beach. A REAL beach, with warm sand, the sounds of seagulls and lapping waves. Then again I was thinking back to so many afternoons when I would go outside and watch the clouds form and drift, especially when storms were rolling in. Then at some point life became very busy....maybe it was the whole going from 2 to 7 kids in a couple years or something, but I stopped doing those things. I stopped doing them for so long I actually forgot I enjoy them! I also enjoy reading and taking baths, but again those have gotten lost in the busy! So I am making a point this year to get back to them. To take time to relax and look at the stars, read a book, watch the clouds. Life has got to be intentional or else it gets lost!!

Christmas

We had a very peaceful Christmas Day. This is the first Christmas in years there were no tantrums or tears. Granted the weeks leading up to Christmas did include that, including a not proud parenting moment when I announced Christmas was cancelled and I was taking down the tree.... Make me feel better tell me we have all had those days! However the actual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went off without a hitch. I am thinking this morning about Keith, whom we have waited almost 4years to bring home. His birthday is this week, he will turn 14, he has missed another Christmas and another birthday and I have to say as much as we hold out hope, I have started to tuck away the fact that he may never come here. For the last few years we have hung up his special ornament each year and we will continue to, as he is our son in our hearts. Now onto the tasks God has given me for today...praying for no post Christmas meltdowns! Merry Christmas to all who may read this blog :)