Being a female is hard work. The pressures of being everything to everyone. Be the best mom. Be the perfect wife. Be social and hospitable. As Christian women I think we are double burdened because we live in this world and must deal with it's expectations and standards, and yet we also want to fulfill our obligations according to God's word.
I got up this morning and my kitchen stunk. I had left dirty dishes in the sink all day yesterday and all night, because it was so hot I didn't want to do anything. Heat+dirty dishes=STINK.
Yet on the other hand I have cheerfully accepted several new responsibilities at church and in the community that will take up way more than ten sweaty minutes to deal with. What is with that?
So while there is no school, MOPS, women's bible study, or any other commitments due to summer break, I am going to take the time to really figure out why God made me the way I am. I hope all my friends can find a little time to do the same. My starting place right now is a book called "Captivating", that my friend Sarah lent me a few months ago. I was hoping to start a summer bible study for anyone who needed it, but then I got caught in the under toe of summer schedules. As an alternative, if there is anyone who wants to grab a copy for themselves, I would love to have some buddies to discuss it with. I am only about a sixth of the way into it, and so far it is really hitting on some of my core issues as a female.
If you're interested please let me know by email/phone/any other silly internet way of communicating.

"Even to see her walk across the room is a liberal education."-C.S.Lewis

"...A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music,singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word (accomplished); and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be half deserved."
"All this she must possess, added Darcy; and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."
"I am no longer surprised at you knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any."
"Are you so severe upon your own sex, as to doubt the possibility of all this?"
"I never saw such a woman. I never saw such a capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united." -Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

No Kidding

Aiden, until a few minutes ago, had a slightly loose tooth. Now get this, while jumping on my bed, his tooth got caught... in the canopy, that's right, in the canopy. And upon landing back down on the bed the snagged tooth was ripped out and catapulted across my room. When this happened Aiden didn't even say a word or make a yelp. I just noticed him standing on my bed with a weird look on his face. It only took a minute before I realized what happened. We were all crawling around on the floor trying to find Aiden's money maker (tooth). We did find it, and it will be securely in the tooth pillow until the tooth fairy arrives sometime later tonight.

Dirty diapers got you down?

The new evening MOPS group at Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup invites you to an open house night! Please join us Tuesday August 25th at six-thirty in the evening. We want to answer all your questions about joining MOPS and how you can be part of our MOPS team.
We will also have a table in the lobby between church services.
We are so excited about connecting moms and providing a fun relaxing evening for you!

*this MOPS group is not a syndication of the Thursday morning MOPS group at Bethany, events and activities will not be a replicate of the morning group and moms are welcome to attend both.

Brothers and Sister

Thanks

I woke up this morning with a general feeling of "thankful". I wanted to blog about this but wasn't sure what to say until I really Missy's blog from yesterday, where she listed 10 things she was thankful for. I think I am going to be a copy cat and do something similar today.

1. First, I am so thankful for my husband and my marriage. He is my best friend. I can't really express my feelings adequately on this subject, it's obviously quite personal. He is truly...me. One person. He makes me laugh, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to make him laugh.

2. I am thankful for my kids. I've said it so many times, but I'm saying it again. They have all taught me so many things. They all have their own story and uniqueness. Every once in a while I look at the slightly stretch marked, loose skin on my tummy (that is now also graced with a scar) and I think, WOW... four people have been there! Amazing what God made women capable of.

3. I am thankful that God has a purpose for me. When I'm not doing something to serve Him I feel... like a jello. This year He has chosen me for so many new ministry opportunities, I am so grateful. I had been praying for this for several months and wondering if I was ever going to be needed somewhere. Now I'm on fire and he brought the right opportunities right to me.

4. I'm thankful for me improved physical health. My doctor really cracked the code and I feel so much better. I had been suffering from extreme fatigue for a long time along with a myriad of other complaints. I felt so weak and helpless. I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to serve outside my home, let alone keep my kitchen clean. This body is imperfect and health will come and go, but I am so grateful for my strength right now.

5. I'm thankful for my husband's job. That's pretty self explanatory.

So there you have it for now. I'm not trying to brag, there are plenty of things that I could be complaining about. My life is far from perfect. I just wanted to share how I was feeling today and thank those who have stopped to pray for me, even just once.

Drum Roll...

There's going to be an evening MOPS starting at Bethany this fall! We are just in the beginning planning process at this point. Our originator and coordinator is the wonderful Amy Cline. This MOPS group will be geared to those who can't make it to the morning MOPS group, aren't morning people, or work during the day. (And I guess there are some of us who feel like one MOPS group isn't enough)

Looking for a new ministry opportunity? We are looking to fill many different MOPS positions including table leaders, mentor moms, craft coordinators, and much more. we are going to be having an open house for anyone interested, more details coming soon. Pray about it.

doing 13 year old stuff

I had loads of fun last week in VBS. I was the tour guide for the 6th graders. They were very interesting, a lot of social issues, but they were loads of fun. I also had the privilege of seeing two girls in my group accept Jesus during a bible lesson. I also manged to get all 16 of them to memorize the whole "Lord's Prayer". Cool stuff. Makes me think maybe I should be involved with youth ministries at church on a regular basis.

Last night Bryan took me to the Paramore and No Doubt concert. Paramore rocked my socks off, I really do like them. But No doubt was uuuuhhhh-nbelievable!!! So good. How in the world did Gwen get those abs right after having her babies? So anyway it was great, and I have pics but I still haven't uploaded them.

The countdown is on, I have 3 weeks until my big NY vacation with Bry. I am only 5-ish lbs from my vacation goal weight. I love my new bathing suit and may actually get to wear it. I haven't seen this number on the scale since high school. Just another part of the "done having kids" transition. Yay me!

Family Pic and more

Lu Lu