The humble brag

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Ahh Thanksgiving. It’s the week of the humble brag. . It’s a perfect for people who want others to know about their accomplishments, but have a hard time working it into general conversation. For example:

  • I am just so thankful that we got such a great deal on our new car!
  • I am so thankful that we have such a great builder working on our new house.
  • I am so fortunate that God has blessed me with the means to give so generously to others!

Ugh. It’s been hard for me to read things like that lately. Mostly because it is my problem. I have been having a hard time with comparing myself to others. I’m not really sure when it started creeping in, but it did. Suddenly, I found myself comparing houses, looks, social lives, etc., etc.

Here’s the funny thing – I am really happy with my life. My husband, my daughter, my job, my relationships… but that rationale isn’t factored in when comparing rears its ugly head.

I’ll take my cue from  Ephesians 4:2: “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” I can’t control what others say, but I can control how I react to it. I know I need to grow in humbleness and gentleness, but I especially need to grow in patience. Even if someone is bragging, I need to get over it because I know I have been there.

This Thanksgiving, I will work to show love instead of an eye roll. I think that will make everyone more thankful.

I’m over it.

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I am so over this election. Over it. I’m staying away from all social media until Wednesday, when sanity prevails again, I hope.

It seems like so many people find it necessary to share their every thought to all the world. They act like it’s to educate others, but it really seems like it’s to argue with others. I’m going to guess that very, very few people haven’t made up their minds by this point. (And if they haven’t, is looking at Facebook the best way to form an educated opinion?)

This has been my encouragement:

“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not fight or shout
    or raise his voice in public.
He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
And his name will be the hope
of all the world.”

Matthew 12:18-21

giana is ONE!

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Our amazing little girl is one year old today.

I. Cannot. Believe. It.

Giana is one!

Rafael and I often sit in amazement and just watch her. She is a sweetie with an independent streak. Her latest thing is pretending to “read” books. She opens the pages, points a finger, and babbles and she points to various things on the page. She gives the best hugs. Sometimes she pretends to kiss, but she usually prefers to make raspberry noises with her mouth instead.

Giana has eight teeth (four front top and four front bottom), and we think she’s working on a right molar. She walks everywhere around the house and she is acting like she wants to start running. She can climb up stairs and can turn herself around to scoot down the stairs backwards.

She says “HI” and waves. She seems to say “hola” sometimes too, as well as mama, papa, up, baby (for the babies in her books or for a mirror) and pu-pah (for puppy). Anything she holds becomes a phone – whether it’s a cracker or a sock or her Fisher Price baby smartphone, she holds it up to her ear and laughs.

Giana eats almost anything. Squash and meat (all kinds) are her favorite. She hates silverware but can easily drink out of her own sippy cup. Anytime she hears music, whether mama singing or on a TV commercial, she bops her head and does her own sort of dance. She usually doesn’t care about the television, but she can’t be bothered when Sid the Science Kid is on.

Giana is the light of our house and the most amazing blessing in our lives. We can’t express how thankful we are that the Lord gave us the honor of raising her. Happy birthday, little peanut. We love you more than you can ever know.

Learning something new

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Back when I was a college freshman or sophomore at Winona State, I wandered into an estate sale. On a whim, I walked out with an acoustic guitar. I had no idea if it was any good because I couldn’t play a note. I just knew I had always wanted to learn to play.

I took that guitar back to my dorm and there it sat. A couple of friends who were knowledgeable about such things tried out the strings. They assured me it was a nice piece with a nice sound. I fully intended on finding someone to give me lessons or something, but it just never happened.

I moved from dorms to apartments, to the University of Iowa and then on to Illinois. Random friends would pick it up when they saw it if they knew how to play “Stairway to Heaven” or something. One time, I even signed up for a community education class called “Intro to Guitar.” When I showed up to find out the class was mostly about music theory (“What is a scale? What is a chord?”), I didn’t go back.

The guitar moved with me back to Minnesota. (If you’re counting, that’s three states and approximately 20 different dorms/apartments/houses.) Rafa, my dear musically-challenged husband, picked up the guitar and played sweet Spanish lullabies. He told me stories of learning by imitating special people he knew as a child. I just knew I had to learn how to play too.

It was time to learn something new. (There’s something about having a child that makes a person want to be better about everything.) I  set up lessons and started to play.

My teacher is a young guy who just finished college. He teaches lessons on the side to pay for his fancy sports car. This guy loves guitar, but is pretty shy when it comes to people. I’m working on him though. He told me about some of his other students. He says I pick up on things a lot faster than the five year old boy and the nine year old girl. He comes to the house with an electric guitar and a little mini amp.

I’ve mastered all the major chords, most of the minor ones, and a few sevenths in between. I can strum along to a few songs and they’re even mostly recognizable. Three months of weekly lessons has paid off so far. I love learning something new.

A surprise note

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I know I’ve said this a million times, but our wedding really was a perfect day. We were so blessed to have our family and close friends there to support us.

A friend offered to do our guestbook for us. Life happened, and it wasn’t a priority for any of us. Recently, the topic came up again and we were reunited with our guest book today. It was wonderful reading all the well wishes from our loved ones.

The best page is one I didn’t even know existed. It includes a note from someone very special – someone I didn’t think I would receive any more letters from.

It says: 

We are so happy for you both and continue your life with honoring the Lord always which is the only way. We love you both and wish you a long and happy life together.

Gods blessings always.

Grandma and Grandpa Crabtree

Reading too fast

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I have always been a fast reader. Ever since I learned how to read when I was four, I have been anxious to read more and more…and the faster I read, the more I can read. When I was little, my grandma didn’t believe I could read that way, so my mom had me read the newspaper for her. I have always read everything I could get my hands on.

My speed reading served me well during school. I usually finished tests first (because it didn’t take me long to read the questions) and homework never took very long. Consuming a book a day, I literally read every book (for my age group) in the library.  As an adult, I found I am able to quickly read road signs, instructions, and strings of Facebook updates in a matter of seconds.

Lately, I have found myself speed reading in a place I shouldn’t.

After Giana was born, I struggled to get back into a good routine of quiet time. I really had a hard time figuring out when I could read the Bible and pray, so for awhile, I was sporadic at best. Not only did I feel incomplete, but my husband totally knew. He would ask me, “Did you get a chance to read today?” when he could just tell I wasn’t at my best. Thanks to the encouragement of a great friend/accountability partner, I finally have my groove back.

I have to remind myself now that reading the Word of God isn’t just something to check off my to-do list. It’s something to do prayerfully, with reverence  The Bible is God speaking to me! I can’t just digest it in the same was as I do the newspaper or a band statement.  I need to approach it with an open heart and listening ear for what I need to learn.

Slowing down today, I found new beauty in this Psalm. I read it several times and out loud just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.

Psalm 33

Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord;
it is fitting for the pure to praise him.
Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;
make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

The Lord merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.
He assigned the sea its boundaries
and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
Let the whole world fear the Lord,
and let everyone stand in awe of him.
For when he spoke, the world began!
It appeared at his command.

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations
and thwarts all their schemes.
But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
his intentions can never be shaken.

Home management binder

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I’m so excited that I finished a task I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I completed a home management binder! I got inspired earlier this year by the ladies at Passionate Homemaking. I had started pieces of the binder here and there, so it felt good to finally get it all into one place.

I love the inventory lists (there’s a separate page for pantry). Now I can see at a glance what exactly is in my deep freeze in the garage! The true beauty of the binder is in the dry erase markers. I inserted the printed page, but I can write and erase on the page protector to use and reuse the binder. For example, if I use a roll of ground turkey, all I have to do is wipe off one of the marks on the page.

This is the chores section. I have been practicing this schedule for some time now. I repeat the same chores each day of the week, then preform other chores weekly, and others monthly. These pages help me keep track of that.

This is the highlight of the binder – the meal planning section. Ever since I quit eating flour and sugar a couple of months ago, I created three weeks worth of meal planning following the new diet restrictions. My binder features each week’s menu printed, with the grocery list needed for those meals on the right side of the page. The next page (shown to the right) has inserts for each of the recipes I need for that week. I am so excited to have this all in one place and organized.

Other sections of the binder include to-do lists and calendars, health, church, baby/pets, holiday gifts and goals.  The binder also honors my husband’s desire to reduce clutter, because now I finally have a place to put all those scraps of paper I use to write notes to myself. This type A mom loves planning!

Being Giana’s mother

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Giana recently learned how to give hugs. It is literally THE BEST thing in the world. She reaches her arms around me (as far as they go), lays her head down on my chest and says “awww” with me. Sometimes, she hugs me over and over and over.

I don’t have words to express how much I love being a mother. I cannot describe how much I love being Giana’s mom.

I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. (2 Cor. 2:15a)

I keep thinking of myself a year ago, when I was starting my ninth month of pregnancy. I didn’t know how I would do with this whole “mom” thing. But she makes it easy. My little girl is so amazing!

Little model baby

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Here she is – now on the package of the peapod costume at your local Target!

It’s so cute, I just had to buy one! Since this was shot six months ago, she has way outgrown it. Oh well – maybe a future sibling can wear it some day!