It's all perspective

I have to admit that the last few days have been hard for me.  I am going on week five of constant everyday joint pain and swelling.  Last night, as Dan rushed around to help me get the kids bathed and to bed before he left for his 12 hour night shift, I just felt overwhelmed.  I was frustrated that I was not able to just do it myself.  That I didn't make Dan's lunch for him.  That I just went to bed and the house was a mess because I was too tired and in too much pain to clean it up.  Basically, after the kids were in bed and Dan was gone I just sat around and threw myself the biggest pity party. 

Really in desperation I began praying that God would help me survive the days.  I told Him that I was tired and hurting and not able to do the job that I thought He had assigned to me.  Isn't this what He called me to do?  Do be a mother and a wife?  To take care of my family?  How in the world am I even supposed to do that when five nights out of seven I am limping around the house?  I was trying to cling to 2 Corinthians 12:9 which says, " 'I am all you need.  I give you My loving-favor.  My power works best in weak people.'  I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ's power in me."  To be honest though, while I knew the truth I was just not feeling it.  I ended up just going to bed feeling defeated. 

As I was laying in bed trying (unsuccessfully) to go to sleep I believe that God gave me a thought.  It felt like He said to me, "Heather, what HAVE I given you?"  So while laying in bed I began listing all the things that God HAS given me.

1.  Three children who are healthy and clever and joyful.
2.  A wonderful husband who works a job that I know he doesn't love because it provides well for me and the kids.
3.  Union insurance!  Dan works at a job that gives us health benefits that we would not have anywhere else.  I would have to work to pay for my health care if Dan had a different job.
4.  I am able to stay at home with my children.
5.  We have a roof over our heads, food on the table and the ability to buy things that we want and not just what we need.

Really I could go on and on about all the things that God has provided for me.  I was reflecting on all those while I was driving the kids to school and it occurred to me that who am I to only expect good and to complain when troubles come along?  Didn't God tell me that in this world I will have troubles?  Didn't He then promise not to fear because He has overcome the world?  I realized at that moment that it is all perspective.  I have a choice.  I can choose to continue to wallow (yes, I am wallowing) in my pain or I can remember that this is small compared to all the blessings that God has given to me.  God can and will use me though it may not be in the way that I thought.  He is all I need and I have His loving favor.  And if His power works best in weak people...look out!  God has some great work coming my way and I will be able to give Him all the glory.

The Big Move

Saturday morning started much like any other day around here.  The kids watched cartoons, had some pancakes for breakfast and then...I asked them to clean their room.  Oh the horror!  I swear, I hate telling the kids to clean their rooms as much as they hate doing it.  It is constant nagging to quit playing and start cleaning, yelling about the fact that one child isn't cleaning as much as the other child, a million trips to the bathroom, crying, failed attempts to bribe (yes, I am not above bribing my children).  Well, through all that Dawson finally yells in frustration, "I wish I had a room all to myself!"  Dan ended up getting Dawson out of the house and to the store and I stayed home with the girls.  As I was folding laundry I was thinking about Dawson.  He has grown up so much in the past year.  He is no longer our little buddy toddling around the house.  He is a big boy now.  He has big boy toys that he hates having his sister get into.  I thought, he probably really does need his own space now.  At lunch I mentioned it to Dan and he agreed.  The girls were going to move in together and Dawson was getting his own space.  They kids, both Emma and Dawson, were very excited about this new change coming their way.  Actually, Emma said that there was a girls room and a boys room now so I could move in with the girls and Dawson and Dan could share a room together.  I told Emma that I would miss Daddy and she said, "He's only a husband."  :)

In true Westfall form we started moving right after lunch.  We took apart the bunk beds and moved all of Dawson's stuff into Aubrey's room and moved Aubrey's crib and everything in with Emma.  I spent the afternoon organizing and rearranging the two rooms.  Later this week we will paint Dawson's room (he doesn't really care for the pink and green walls) and decorate with Star Wars.  I will be sure to post pictures when it is all done.  I'll admit that I was a little nervous about moving the girls together already.  It had always been the plan that they would share a room but I didn't think that we would do it this early.  I was worried that they might wake each other up, Aubrey still wakes in the night and Emma is such an early riser.  So far so good though.  Aubrey actually seems pretty excited about the change too.  She loves playing with Emma in her new room and I think that she likes that there is someone there with her in the morning.  I was laying in bed this morning and I could hearAubrey talking.  Then, I heard Emma talking to her and soon you could hear giggling and laughing.  As I crept in the room I saw that Emma had climbed in Aubrey's crib and was laying right next to her.  They were just laughing and talking to each other in bed.  I wish that I would have had my camera.  It was a precious moment.  I look forward to hearing lots more giggles come from that room!

I chuckle as I tell you how much Dawson loves being in his own room.  He spent all morning in his room playing with his Lego's and kenex sets which he often didn't play with.  I think that he is relishing the fact that he can create something and nobody is there to break it.  I am happy that we were able to fulfill a need for him.  Although, it does make me a little sad when I look in his room and see that it is a boys room and not a toddler room.  At least he still wants me to pray with him at night, turn on his music and say his bed night saying, "Night, night.  Sleep tight.  Don't let the bed bugs bite.  You better sleep really tight because they really do bite!" 

Aubrey - It is going by too fast!

I can't believe that my little baby is crawling!  You know, with each child I would say that time was going by too fast.  I just felt like the kids were born but really they were walking, talking...going to kindergarten.  It's has gotten worse as each child has come along.  I am thankful that we have taken so many pictures and videos.  Dawson and Emma pulled out the videos last night and we had a blast watching and laughing together.  There were a couple videos of Emma  as a baby and I turned to Dan and said, "I can't even remember Emma that little!"

I want to try and remember Aubrey's milestones more.  I am embarrassed to say that while I basically wrote done every time that Dawson spit up poor Aubrey...I think that I have only wrote down when she got a first tooth and sat up!  So my darling Aubrey Cate, today I am remembering all the new things you have done in the last two weeks.

Aubrey got her first top tooth.  You would think that it would be one of the front two but it is not.  It is the one right next to the front teeth.  It kind of looks funny because she just has this random tooth off to the side:)

Aubrey began to crawl!  Here are pictures of her sneaking into the bathroom to check out the tub...

Aubrey ate her first spaghetti meal this week.  She loved it and of course made a huge mess!

Then this afternoon I went in to get Aubrey from her nap and she had pulled herself up to standing.  Poor thing was crying because I don't think that she knew how to get back down. 

I wanted to post this last picture because I don't get too many pictures with the kids.  It seems like I am the one always taking the pictures.  So, this picture we took this week together I especially love...

What an exciting two weeks it has been for our Aubrey!

The Magic Is Gone!

The magic is gone!  That is the funny line of the day.  We had gone to the opening of the new Panera in town and Emma left with her own purple balloon.  She immediately named the balloon Emma and began talking to it just like it was a real person.  Just as Emma and Emma were getting ready to settle down and watch a movie during quiet time tragedy struck.  The string came off Emma (balloon Emma) and that purple balloon began flying around the room and landed in a pitiful deflated heap.  You should have seen real Emma's face!  She was horror struck.  Dan and I being the sensitive parents that we are just started laughing.  I was finally able to convince Emma that I could fix it by blowing it up again.  I blew up the balloon  and retied the string to the end.  As I handed it back to Emma she gave me this disappointed look and she said, "It's not as good anymore mom.  The magic is gone."  This time I was able to keep it together and not laugh out loud but just barely.

We had some excitement this afternoon when Dawson arrived home from school.  He was so proud because he had finished his third challenge sight word card.  He has inherited my love of reading and Dawson has worked through the kindergarten, first, second and three challenge sight word cards.  It was fun to watch him run up to me when he got home and show me his completed card.  I hope that he will always love to read!  I have so many books that I can't wait to show him:)

I am taking it easy again this evening.  I may have overdone it today and now my joints are pretty painful.  I think that I need to adjust my thinking during the day.  Generally I feel that during the day I need to keep busy.  I worry that I am being lazy if I am sitting around.  There is always something that needs to be done around here!  However, I am doing too much and in the evenings I sputter out.  I end up spending the whole evening doing nothing because it hurts too much.  Tomorrow I am going to take more breaks and not feel guilty about it.  Hopefully then I won't be completely useless by dinner time!

I want to remember this last story forever.  Last night the kids and I were delivering laundry to some dear friends of ours.  My friend Jennifer's husband is battling brain cancer and we had signed up to wash their laundry.  As we were taking it back to her house I mentioned to the kids that their friend Anna wasn't feeling very well.  Dawson immediately pipped up that we should pray for her.  Let's do it right now he said.  Dawson and Emma proceeded to pray over Anna right there in the car on the way to her house.  I took the laudry in the house while the kids waited for me in the car.  As I brought in the laundry I was happy to see that Anna was perking up and feeling a little bit better.  When I came back to the car I told the kids that I had saw Anna and she was .feeling better.  Dawson exclaimed, "It's because I prayed for Anna!  God just went poof and now she is feeling better!"  It was such a joyful moment for him.  The magic was not gone!

Day One - The Beginning

I did it.  I finally started a blog.  I am excited and a little nervous.  Excited because I will be able to keep track of all the crazy things that go on at our house.  Believe me, it is never a dull moment around here.  Nervous because...well, we are crazy here and my facebook friends and family have only had a taste of the insanity that is the Westfall house.  Now they will be able to really see it all!  I hope that you all have fun keeping up with what is going on in the Westfall house.  It will surely give you a few laughs.