Happy Friday!

Perhaps spring has finally sprung around here!  We spent the afternoon outside enjoying the weather, and I will say, Olivia had a great time swinging!  Hopefully, it won't decide that tomorrow it should be 10 degrees a-la-winter again, and we can enjoy more days like these!

In other news....

--Trevor turned 5 last Friday.  We celebrated with an airplane themed party here at the house.  It was amazeballs.  I kid you not.  Big fat birthday party post to come, once I edit the pictures and get all my stuff in order.  [I feel no rush, since the 'Happy Birthday Trevor' banner is still up in the kitchen]

--Graduation is in T-minus-43 days.  I spend most every second I have that is not at the office or with the kiddos working on schoolwork.  I will make it, but wow, it is going to be quite the ride to get there.  

--Just started my second diet bet with friends...am loving to host them and work towards a goal....Last month, one of my great girlfriends walked away with close to $80 for winning.  Hopefully I will find my pocket lined with some extra cash at the end of this one!  

--Lenten goals....workin' towards them.  Fr. Barron is well, awesome.  His daily reflections are short, sweet, and strong.  De-cluttering is....going...I have gotten through my room and through the kitchen, but I really need to get moving on the rest of the house.  

.....research on Latin American liberation ecclesiology calls......

Lent 2014

Lent 2014 starts tomorrow with Ash Wednesday....so today, being Shrove Tuesday, I am eating and drinking all. the. things. in addition to laying out my final 'plan' for Lent.

I am not a fan of giving things up...for me at least, it doesn't always bring about a lasting change. It is more my style to set a goal, or choose something to focus on.....giving things up may come as part of that...but it is more likely to be a lasting change--which is the goal of Lent anyway, right?

So, for Lent 2014:

• Declutter/Organize the Stuff--I do a great job of sifting through stuff and getting rid of the bulk of the papers/mail here and there, but then it ends up with a pile to be filed, to be put away, to be something-ed.  But those piles is really as far as it gets.  Now, the piles are neat and they are all consolidated into one place, but just having all the "stuff" staring at me makes my mind just as cluttered as the piles, just knowing they are there.  Spring cleaning is going to get wrapped up into this as well.  I have a gazillion ideas pinned on my organizing board on Pinterest, now I need to actually put them into action.  
• Family Faith Formation:  We can't seem to get ourselves scheduled so that either of us could attend one of the small groups this Lent, so we will be participating in the Living the Eucharist program at home as a family, using the family reflection guide. 
• Personal Spiritual Formation:  I am going to focus on my personal formation by doing Fr. Robert Barron's daily reflections.  It really couldn't be easier, I signed up online and they will be delivered to my inbox first thing in the morning.  We'll see where it takes me.  

So, not giving anything up, but some goals that will hopefully set me up for some growth and change.  We'll see how it goes on the other side of the 40 days.  

Trevor's Valentine's/President's Day Program

Due to some crazy snow delays, Trevor's February program at school was moved to this past Friday.  He did a great job and made big improvements in how he was up on stage.....he sang along and really got into it for the whole time instead of only doing the songs that he really knew.  We were SUPER proud!

the final "little boy" thing

At the end of last summer, I noticed that Trevor's hair had really changed from being baby fine and soft (and super manageable, too!) to being a bit coarser and much more unruly.  We have tried to keep his cute little boy haircut since then, but finally had to throw in the towel this weekend.

While we sat in church, Trevor told us that he wanted to cut his hair like his friend Luke, so since he was so specific about what he wanted on his own, we finally caved.

One last photo of Trevor with all his hair:

okay, maybe just one more.....

Only downside to the haircut?  iPhoto is now thoroughly confused as to who is Trevor and who is Olivia in every picture.  

trumps 'em all.

My plan for tonight was that after I settled both kiddos into bed, I would curl up on the loveseat with a glass of red and blog to my little heart's content.

fail.

Trevor just came out here and asked me if because Shane is on duty, could he snuggle me for the night.  [If you have forgotten, the night before Olivia was born, Trevor came into my bed around 2 or 3 am saying "he just wanted to be with me"...and the rest was history]  There went my plans.  Off to snuggle with my little bundle of beautiful baby boy.


Almost five year old sized baby boy, but always my baby boy.

Because "mama, i want to be with you" trumps 'em all.

always.

OOPS

Have gone so far off the grid the past couple of weeks....blog has crossed my mind a lot, and I will get caught up and post-date the posts......by the end of the week.

Now that it is officially on my to-do list, it will actually get done.  :)
Happy Monday!

Paying it Forward....and showing some love!

On Feb 7, I pledged to "Pay it Forward"  to the first 10 people to comment on the following status on my Facebook account:  

I love the idea of paying it forward so, I’m participating in this Pay-It-Forward initiative: 
The first ten people who comment on this status with "I'm in", will receive a surprise from me at some point in this calendar year (one for each remaining month)- anything from a book, a ticket, a visit, something home grown or made, a postcard, absolutely any surprise!

There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy.

I know that other versions of this require that the recipients pass on the kindness as well.....but I am skipping that part.

If you are one of the first 10, I will message you and let you know so you can send me your address (if I don't already have it).

Ready........GO!

My lucky commenters were:  

• Shareara
• Sabrina
• Lynn
• Whitney
• Sara Jessica
• Melissa
• Janeen
• Jennifer 
• Heather

I am SO looking forward to showing some love to these outstanding women over the next ten months!  I'll update as I go as to what I do for each of them!