juice

It has been a very very long time since we've pulled out our juicer.  Like maybe a year?  Chad had the grand idea to juice this past weekend and I of course was all like "oh that thing has so many pieces and it gets pulp everywhere and then you have to wash it."  But I'm so glad we did!... it. was. AMAZING.

I usually put celery and spinach and cucumber and green things in our juice... which I love, but I didn't have any of those things, so we used what we had:  carrots, oranges, limes, apples.  I chugged it.  It was so refreshing.

Here was what we made on Saturday that was the best juice ever:

2 large whole carrots
2-3 apples (they were leftover from something and in little slices, so not sure how many)
2 oranges (peel removed)
1 lime (peel removed)
* made two glasses of juice

We made something similar on Monday, which was still delicious, but a little more bitter with the grapefruit and green apple addition:

2 large whole carrots
2 granny smith apples
1 red delicious apple
1 grapefruit (peel removed)
1 orange (peel removed)
1 lime (peel removed)
* made three glasses of juice

Ok.  That was supposed to inspire you... now go juice!


.... if you don't have a juicer, you could use a blender, you would just have to do a little more prep... peel and core all fruits/veggies.  and it might be more pulpy (unless you have like a Vitamix), if you're into that kind of thing.  I, for one, do not get along with pulp.  good luck.

I don't want to forget...

How their little fingers and cheeks smell of sweet slobber after a night of sucking their fingers.

When they come into our bedroom at night and whisper "mom, can I lay with you for just a little bit?"

How Beckham corrects me when I don't say things Exactly right, especially in relation to... well, just about anything.

How we look for trucks and construction sites while driving and point excitedly and talk, talk, talk about them when we find them.

How Beck gently rubs my shoulder and says "I love you mom."

That Creighton likes to lay his head on my shoulder while I sing songs to him before bed.

How much they love to wrestle with dad after dinner.

The one day after BSF when Beckham said "mom, I want to tell you what I talked to God about during quiet time."

Their simple joy for digging in the dirt.

When they enthusiastically say "I love you so much, mom!"

How brave Beckham was before his first swim class, as he sat alone and wiped tears from his cheeks, while I watched from the observation room.

How they excitedly say "you're right mom!" when I am (surprisingly) right about something. :) Or "good job, mom!" when I do something nice, like make them food, or fix their toy.

About Creighton's weird obsession with rubbing things with texture while sucking his fingers... like "bumpies" and bug bites and scabs and my dry feet.

How they both love to push the mower and pretend pull start it, just like daddy.

That Beck loves to sing and dance, but he's too shy to dance in front of other kids and sings so confidently, whether he is saying the right words or not.

The moments the boys show love and kindness towards each other... Beckham protects Creighton or helps him out, they are excited to play together, or tell each other sorry and that they love each other.

Beck has a thing for peace signs in pictures right now. :)

Love those boys.

goals

Are you a goal setter?  Do you love to make a list of things you want to accomplish in the new year?

I'm a fairly competitive, driven, disciplined person who loves her lists, but I'm not much of a goal
setter.  I don't like setting myself up for potential failure and I don't like the feeling of being tied to something... I like the option to switch things up if I get bored and can feel burdened by a goal.  If I do set a goal, it's usually a loose, immeasurable thought about an area in my life I want to change, or I'm usually fairly sure I can accomplish it without much pain or going too far out of my comfort zone (like running a mini-marathon at a specific pace).

Chad and I were recently talking with friends about the sin in our lives as it relates to where we turn for comfort and safety, instead of turning to Christ... things that give us a false sense of security and make me feel like my world is "safe and ok", trying to avoid the paid of facing struggles head on.

This can take on many different forms which are usually different for men and women.  For women, it could be having a clean and organized house, eating only certain kinds of food, not using any kind of medicine, your kids, physical appearance, shopping, etc, etc... Usually they are things that seem good and can be good when implemented in a healthy way, but when abused and turned into our comfort and safety, they turn into sin - idols, addictions, fear, control.

For me, these are the things I often turn to for comfort instead of Christ:

1. entertainment - a show or browsing social media
2. shopping, buying something new
3. exercise, desiring a specific body image
4. things I think will keep my family healthy and avoid sickness.  because being sick is.the.worst.

In 2016, my "goal" is to turn to Christ for comfort and safety instead of these things.  To realize that they can all be good when used properly, but to be honest when I'm replacing Christ with these things in my life.

.... and to blog more. :)

..... and to try to start implementing the idea of a capsule wardrobe (would help with item #2 above!)