Sincerely Sunday : The Good, The Bad, And The Reality Checks

5 things I am thankful for:

1. Having most of my family local. I don't know what I'd do without them.

2. Summer dresses. They are so comfy and they hide a lot :)

3. Long weekends spent with my favorite boys. Cliff isn't working at all this weekend and the time spent with him and Elijah has been glorious so far.

4. Sippy cups that don't leak.

5. Cake.

Scripture Verse:

"We love Him because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

Current struggles:

1. I never realized how difficult disciplining a child could be. Elijah is starting to throw temper-tantrums and he is a very persistent little guy. I hate being the bad guy (or girl). I want to give him what he wants. But I know in the long run that that is not what is best for him or for our family. Seeing him cry because of something I have done (or not done in some cases... like giving him what he's yelling at me for) is heart-breaking.

2. Finding time to do everything that I want or need to do and balancing my time between the two. I need to keep up with the house. I need to pay our bills. I need to go to the grocery store. I want to spend time playing and laughing with my growing little boy. I want to spend quality time with my husband. I want to go places. I want to create things. I want to live life to the fullest. The list is endless. I suppose this will always be an on-going struggle.

3. Lately I keep finding myself wondering how people view me. For the people who know me, I come across as a very confident person. I'm not one of those people that is searching to figure out who I am. I know who I am. I just wish I didn't care so much about what other people think about the person that I know I am. I understand that my life here is temporary. I know that my time should be spent caring more about what God thinks and less about what people think, but a part of me can't help but ask the question, "Am I good enough?"

4. Being content with where I'm at in life, no matter where God has me and remembering that wherever He does have me, while it may not always be pleasant, it is always good.

Things that made me smile this week:

1. We found a fawn out behind Cliff's parents' house. While we knew we could not keep it, it was still so amazing to be able to pet such a precious little creature. I told Cliff it was like a childhood dream come true :) To see pictures of our furry friend, click here.

2. While I spent the week fighting a cold, my sweet friend Carolyn made me some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and cleaned out my mess of a car! Good friends are such a blessing :)

What I'm looking forward to:

1. Seeing my sister graduate. I can't believe she's all grown up! She is such a beautiful woman and I can't wait to see what God does in and through her during this next chapter of her life.

2. Going to play group! Because Eli and I have both been sick, we had to miss out last week. It seems like it's been so long since we've seen our friends!

3. Enjoying a day out on the boat with both sets of parents on Saturday. We are so blessed to have such an amazing family! AND I've been dying to get out on the water! It will be Eli's first boat trip of the season :)

Things I've noticed:

1. I have a sickness. It's called perfectionism. While it can be a great asset, it can also be a major flaw. For instance... I spent my night last night baking a cake for my cousin who just turned 15. It was very late and I didn't have what I needed to pipe "Happy Birthday Leah" onto the cake. So, I spent two hours individually placing tiny, circular sprinkle sort of confections on the cake to spell out my sentiments and used the same technique to create little flower decorations. I spend way too much time on things that most people don't notice and on things that don't last. But, I love doing it. That's all that really matters anyway, right? (Perhaps this is why I have so many issues with time, lol).

2. I am a sucker for good marketing. If a company makes their product look unique or interesting, I will almost always buy it over their competitor's products (so long as it's not too much more expensive).

Loveable Quote:

"There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction." - Salvador Dali