Family Fun

I have made a goal for my family starting now. We all need to have our 'me' time and we all need to do things as a family.

Alexis has her activities. She has dance, she has clover kids, she has All Stars. I would like to add at least one play date or sleep over per month, probably rotating between the months and depending on how busy we are.

Jaime is good at taking time for himself. He'll go out with the guys, he'll go bowling, he will do things that he enjoys.

I am not so good. My hobbies are things I can do at home and with the family. I feel guilty leaving my family when we work opposite shifts and I'm so busy and worn out at the end of the night. But I need to find something that I can go out and do just me. Whether its going out to dinner or coffee with friends (speaking of, maybe a few of those in real life not just cyber space that aren't family would be good too) or going window shopping (for myself, not for Jaime or Alexis or various other family members). This will be easier when it gets warmer in that I can go walking at a park or a lake but harder in that I will want to take my family with me. I have to learn to take time for me without feeling guilty.

The other part of that is visiting places as a family. While it's cold this could be a museum (there are several family focused museums in my part of the state) or even going to indoor amusement attractions. When it warms up this could be parks, lakes, campgrounds, etc. But we need to get this family focused on FUN and I need to get me able to focus on me.

Plarn

Ok this just sounds funny but oh well. I was surfing tonight looking for a pattern to crochet. And I come across a pattern using Plarn.

What in the world is plarn I ask myself. Plarn is yarn (basically) made from plastic bags. You know the ones our landfills are full of and most of us have a drawer...or a bag...or a stash of from the grocery store.

And so I sat down and made a ball of plarn and have been happily crocheting myself a reusable tote upcycled from plastic bags.

The truth and nothing less

This is my promise to you. I will always be honest. Even when my honesty is ugly and not very Christian I won't sugar coat it.

Perfect example. A girl friend of mine found out she was pregnant today. Very happy news under normal circumstances. However I know the father. The father is an alcoholic. This worries me a little as I dated him at one point and part of the reason I kicked him to the curb was he got plastered and fell on my sleeping child (who was unharmed but that really isn't the point). And so I pray (and I ask any of you who can understand my concern for my friend and her unborn child) that this will be his wake up call and he will finally sober up for his child.

Now for the ugliness. I am trying to get pregnant with my husband. We both have steady, stable jobs. He is a supervisor, I am using my degree. We may not be in perfect harmony 100% of the time but we help each other and love each other very much. They are on again off again, he just spent the weekend in jail, she hasn't been able to hold a job for more than 2 months. I know God has a plan for me and my family but it is hard to see these two bring a child into a family that has so much anger and so little stability while we wait to welcome a child into a family that has love and stability.

I know a good Christian wouldn't question and would have faith and so I ask God to help me find peace in the knowledge that he has a perfect plan, even when I don't understand. Maybe this will be the saving grace my friend needs to get help for his alcoholism. Maybe this is the answer to my prayer that he would find his way to sobriety before he killed himself or someone else. Maybe this will finally help him make peace with God over the death of his first born daughter. Maybe I need to not look at this from my point of view and instead look at it as an answer to a prayer that I have prayed for many years.

I ask also for your prayers that I find this peace. That I can look at this not with a selfish heart but with a compassionate heart.

I will be making a baby blanket for this little bundle of joy. I just need to find the right pattern.

And so as I have tried to show here I am not perfect, but I am honest. And I pray that one day soon I will be telling you all that it is my turn to be expecting a new arrival to grow my family of 3. If you have any suggestions on bible verses to help me have perfect trust, I always welcome those. Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be blogging about giveaways I have found.

May God bless you and yours