More random thoughts

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. feeling like I want to start my day, even though it was only about 5 hours since I laid down in bed.  I know that I am going to regret this early rising when the kids are running around the house.  As usual, I have had many times I've wanted to sit and share a story or two here, but I think, "After I return from doing this," or "When I get this laundry finished".  Of course, those things are never done.

When I write in my personal journal, my thoughts are often written in a string of unrelated thoughts.  I find this least stressful and more easily clears my mind of the clutter that too many thoughts create.

So I have again decided to share my thoughts as bullets, so that I can remember what I was thinking and experiencing back in the fall 2012

• I am sick of my home telephone ringing.  It is a political call about 90% of the time and a call to sub another 5%.  If it is a personal call - a friend wanting to chat, etc. - my cell phone rings. So I am beginning to dread hearing my home phone ring. 
• I think that the trees this fall are the most vibrant I have ever seen them.  I wish I had a camera that could take pictures that showed how glorious this fall is.
• I have realized that I barely ever take pictures of our family. I also can't remember the last time we had our video camera out.  
• I can't believe that it has just been a year since I broke my foot and that this time last year I was hobbling around in that big, black brace.  Sometimes I look down at my two walking feet and I remember what it was like when I didn't have that luxury.  
• I have recently had this desire to go shopping (which is not a common urge for me).  I credit it to just being too busy and having the need to get out and do something leisurely, not necessarily to spend money.
• I think that anyone who is considering wallpapering their home should help someone who has existing wallpaper in their home to remove it.  Unless, you are willing to live with that wall paper the rest of your life, just don't put it up - that is my suggestion.  I have put more than 40 hours scrapping wall paper off of my kitchen walls.  It has looked awful since the week we started small group in early September.  The fruit wall paper we have hated since the first time we saw it is now finally gone, 5 years later, but it is still making its ugly mark in our lives! I have just discovered that a steamer works wonderfully, but I had already done the majority of the walls before figuring that out - and it is still tiring and messy, just not as hard on the arms or the walls!
• I can't believe it has been 5 years since we have lived in our current house!  That is longer than we have lived at any one place since we got married.  Coming in second is our last house which we lived in for 4 1/2 years. 
• Bella is not loving school this year, even though she still loves playing teacher.  
• Elias loves his teacher and is enjoying school this year more than last, but he sometimes is a little too social and gets in trouble for that.
• Elias decided he didn't want to play soccer this season, so we tried swim.  Bella, against my persuasion otherwise, decided she wanted to try swimming instead of dance. I told them that if we did swim, they would have to go for the 3 month season - I reiterated it several times. Both kids have hated swim.  I hate taking them.  I know that I have to prove a point about staying committed and all that, but I really would love to quit!  We are committed until December 1st.  I keep just thinking, "Just a few more weeks!" Around the end of September, I toyed with the idea of letting them quit at the end of October, but now that the end is a little closer in sight, I have decided to just plow through.  I didn't realize how many times parents have to be miserable to teach their kids a lesson!
• Elias has already grown out of one of the pair of pants I bought him for school - 2 months ago!  They barely had the stiffness worn out of them!
• We are going to the Catalyst Conference in November.  I am really excited, but I feel a little like a stow away!  Since neither Josh or I are currently in an official church leadership position, it feels a little presumptuous to go to a church leadership conference. But I am really looking forward to hearing Andy Stanley in person, since I have done so many of his studies and listened to so many podcasts.  My dad used to listen to his father, Charles Stanley, on tv all the time when I was growing up, so I feel like the Stanleys have had a pretty big impact on my faith.
• It surprises me every time I look at our accounts to see how much more we spend on monthly bills and necessities than we did when we moved into this house 5 years ago.  It frustrates me when I see how much more easily we pay out for non-necessities than we did 5 years ago.  Since Josh and I came from really poor families, that sense of "getting what you want when you want it" wasn't instilled in us.  We fear that our children are getting a "rich kid" mentality.  It isn't that we are spending big bucks on frivolous things and racking up debt, it is just the nickel and dime things that we could probably be live without that really add up in the end and take a chunk out of what we could be saving or investing, etc..
• With that being said, I just bought a new fall flag, a welcome mat, a fall scented candle, and fall scented hand soap and it makes me get a little smile and feel all warm and cozy.  I know I don't need these things, but it sure does make me happy! 
• Also, we are getting family pictures taken tomorrow.  The kind where the photographer just sort of follows you around in an outdoor space and snaps pictures of you and your family being a family.  We have gotten this type done a few times in the past and have loved the result.  But the last time we did it, I just threw clothes together at the last minute and wasn't too thrilled about how we looked in the pictures (even though the pictures themselves were good).  So this time, I splurged a little and bought us coordinating tops.  I tried to be as practical as possible by buying tops I knew we'd use again, but you can't shop from the bargain bins as easily when you need 4 people to match!  I did find Bella a cute little jacket on clearance for $10, so I didn't break the bank for her, but I spent way more than I normally would have for a button up shirt and jacket for Elias. And Josh already had a top that would match, so I saved money with him.
• I made chicken and dumplings for the first time this (cold weather) season.  There is nothing that makes me feel more like a happy housewife than making chicken and dumplings! Now to figure out what to do with the rest of the celery...I really think they should sell it by individual stalks, since I usually only use one or two and then let the rest wither in the fridge until I decide that it might as well be tossed.
• I have been subbing about 2 days a week.  I have been doing much better at saying no when I just don't want to work and not feeling guilty about it.  I don't think I want to sub forever, but it works for now.
• I went to Goodwill recently and stocked up on some really nice work clothes for about 20-30 bucks - really nice name brand stuff.  After I wore one of the shirts that was extremely comfortable, I mentioned to Josh that it sort of felt and looked a little like a maternity top I had when I was pregnant with the kids.  After taking it off, I looked at the tag and I realized it was a maternity top!  I think I still may wear it.  It isn't big and billowy, so it doesn't scream out that it is maternity...and it is just so darn comfortable.
• We have not bought the kids costumes for Halloween yet. Elias wants to be something scary - a zombie, mummy, skeleton, etc.. We've told him that isn't happening.  I am not looking forward to costume shopping, especially since I hate spending $20-30 on a cheaply made costume that they'll wear only a few times.  My kids in the past have gotten an entire year's play out of their costumes, but the older they get, the less they play dress up.  Bella still does it quite often, but it is much more rare for Elias.  
• We are in a really good place with our extended families.  We have been better about calling just to talk on both sides and there has been less emotional angst than I can remember for a long time.  It makes me want to visit more, unfortunately, we are most often too busy for that to happen.  
• My kids are practicing for their school's Christmas performance already, so they have been coming home in the afternoons after school and singing Christmas carols.  It seems so weird, when they are still playing outside most afternoons when they get home, sometimes even in shorts.
• Josh's soccer season is almost over.  He has been coaching and assistant coaching 2 teams this season.  The team he coaches has only lost 2 games.  I am really proud of his dedication to the kids and his coaching skills. I have not always been thrilled with the time away from us, but it has been good to see him doing something he loves and being a good example for the kids.
• In the last year, I have really began enjoying jazz music.  It all started when I began listening to Michael Buble's Christmas Pandora station last Christmas. I knew I loved that genre of music at Christmas time, but now I enjoy it all the time.  It just makes me feel relaxed and some of the songs are so romantic or even quirky.  I don't like every song, but thanks to Pandora, I just give it a thumbs down and never have to hear it again! And I give the thumbs down less often on my jazz station than I do any other station. 
• With that being said, I just worked at a Compassion sign-up table at a "Denver and the Mile High Orchestra" concert in Morgantown.  I think I enjoyed the music more than I have any other concert I have worked. Something about jazz that I appreciate is that you don't have to know all the words to appreciate the music.  And there were 8 kids sponsored in a crowd of less than 200 people, which always makes me happy. The band members themselves came down to hand out the child packets to the audience.  I never knew that they had been on a nationally-televised musical competition show, until after I saw them in Morgantown.
• I am currently involved in 2 Bible studies, so I feel like I am always thinking about doing my homework!  One study I am doing is called "Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions".  It has been so beneficial to me.  I am now thinking through my feelings a little more before they get to the "unglued" stage.  I am not saying that I never become unglued anymore, but I definitely think more about what contributes to them and it helps it to happen a little less - imperfect progress, as the author calls it!

Well, the kids are up now, so my random thoughts must come to a halt.  I think my kids believe it is a sin to sleep past 7.  I guess they take those Bible verses about sloth seriously!  (I guess that was one more random thought I added!)