The potty war...

After casually dabbling with some potty training for the last couple months I stepped up the intensity today. I just finished reading the book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day by Nathan Azrin and Richard Foxx. It is an intensive method developed in the early 70's and is taught at seminars today. I acquired a copy of the handouts from someone who attended the seminar and swears by it (trained 3 of her kids). Along with a copy of the book from Amazon.com and a cheap doll that wets, I figured for the cost of one month's worth of diapers I didn't have much to lose.

I must say I was pretty anxious about doing it because I didn't feel as prepared as I wanted to be, and I had had two of my worst "mommy days" in a row, so the starting circumstances weren't ideal. However, I dove right in after some intense prayer time this morning and this verse from Psalm 144:1 "Bless the Lord, who is my rock. He gives me strength for war and skill for battle."

Emily & I spent 3 hours in the bathroom this morning. I quickly discovered that she probably wouldn't pass the "instructional readiness test" mentioned in the book. In other words, she wasn't in the mood to follow my commands this morning. As a result, we didn't even come close to getting trained. However, there were some major moral victories. First of all, she did go in the potty more than she ever has before and even had her first BM. Second of all, at no point did I feel utterly frustrated or get upset or yell. After the last couple days that is huge. The phone started ringing off the hook and I was trying to get lunch put together, so it's my fault things really fell off at the end. I am willing to try again tomorrow, though. I am optimistic that even if it gets us one month closer to being fully trained it will have been worth it. This was only one battle in a longer war, and as the Bible verse says, God will give me strength and skill to endure and overcome! ;o)

New garage door

We finally got our new garage door installed--what a difference! I'm very excited to have a door that closes the first time every time, doesn't allow snow drifts in the garage during the winter, has a working overhead light, has a safety stop feature and actually looks nice! :o)

No more "meeks"!

Another rather unexpected and unplanned perk of the weekend was that Emily was completely broken from her pacifier. She has always taken a pacifier, but for the last year or so it has been confined to her crib only (while sleeping). For some reason she called it "meeks" and we never corrected it. When I put her down on Friday night she was so exhausted she went right to sleep without a peep. It wasn't until 5:00am the next morning that I realized I hadn't even gotten her pacifier out of her bag. Luckily, she was almost equally exhausted every time I put her down the rest of the weekend. She cried for "meeks" the first two times, but for less than 10 minutes. Since then she only has casually asked about it, but as soon as I say, "You're a big girl and don't need it anymore," she drops it and is fine. Yay!! I had been dreading this task and it seemed way too easy. Now if only potty training tomorrow goes as well...;o)

Fun weekend in Des Moines

Emily & I headed down to Des Moines this past weekend for a fun time with Austin's family. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I'm glad we got to enjoy the last warm days! The highlight of the weekend was going to a pumpkin farm on Saturday morning. It was crazy busy, but we enjoyed looking at the animals, a hay rack ride, the corn maze, looking for pumpkins and having a picnic lunch. A collage of pictures from our day is below. :o)

You GOTTA check this out!

If you have any desire to laugh today PLEASE check out my sister's new blog at Uuhh...what?. Not only is she an incredibly talented writer, she is hilarious. She really is one of the funniest people I know. That's what I miss most about living far apart! I promise you won't be disappointed and will laugh even harder if you know her in person. If you need a dose of seriousness, you can find that, too, at her Small Town Saver blog where she is doing an October Bible challenge and has an amazing insight on a passage from the New Testament every day.

Ryken wedding

For lack of anything else interesting to post about lately, here are some pictures from Mike & Christy Ryken's wedding we attended on September 26, 2008. Austin was a groomsmen, and I just got to enjoy a fun time catching up with lots of mutual friends! Mike is probably one of Austin's closest friends. They have been meeting every Tuesday morning at Perkins at 6:00am since before Austin & I even started dating. I got to know Mike through FUEL at church while Austin & I were dating. We're excited that Mike & Christy will soon be moving to an acreage just SW of Denver!

October Bible Challenge update

Okay, so I might have gotten a little too ambitious on the whole blogging thing when it comes to the Bible challenge. Although I have done my readings every day and have had quite a few personal insights, I just don't have the time to write about them on a regular basis. Nap time (the only "me" time of the day) doesn't necessarily equal a lot of leisure computer time lately, so I am extremely limited in what I can reasonably accomplish. Writing (especially profound thoughts) takes a lot of time and effort. I think that's why I did not enjoy writing papers in High School/College. (I guess I'm lazy!) I definitely have a renewed appreciation for people who write for a living. My nature is such that I can not do a half-hearted job, so under the current constraints we will have to settle for sporadic thoughts. :o)

With all that being said, I believe one of the biggest lessons I've learned so far is that spending time in the Word first thing in the morning does more for the attitude than anything. In the past, I've heard the comment a lot that "if I don't do my quiet time I know I'm going to have a bad day." The flip side assumes that if I do take time in the morning I'm going to have a great day! That has often been the case when I've done sporadic things in the past. However, we live in a broken world and having a regular quiet time does not equal a perfect day!

I've decided that having a regular devotional time in the morning gives you the clear option of what kind of attitude you're going to have for the day. For instance, on Friday at the end of the day when someone asked me how my day went I said, "Would you like the "half empty" version or the "half full" version?" I could have given a long answer explaining exactly how my day went from each viewpoint and you would have never guessed it was the same day! At certain points during the day I was definitely in the "half empty" camp and feeling a bit sorry for myself. (Have you ever enjoyed reveling in your own misery?!? ;o) However, by the end of the day I could see more good than bad. It was definitely all about attitude.

So back to my original thought--it is not about the specific circumstances of the day, it is all about attitude. And attitude is an option. Everyday. Multiple times a day. How's your attitude today?

Passing time on the potty...

Day 1 in the Psalms

I've decided to blog about my month-long journey through the Psalms. The purpose is not to brag or impress, but to hopefully inspire and bless and create some much-needed accountability. Heaven knows I need to work on this area of my spiritual life, so maybe having a specific plan with strong accountability will help me form a solid habit. I am using the track found here. I invite you to join me or find another track to use. As mentioned before, my sister has several suggestions on her blog here. I can't promise a blog post every day. I may have a skip day or just not have the time to write about it, but I am going to try hard and do my best. As a last note, I will be reading/referencing my new NLT Bible. While I grew up with and love the NIV, I'm trying something new to maybe gain a different perspective. :o)

Theme: Blessing
Readings: Psalm 67, 72, 84, 128

Two related things stuck out to me in the first two psalms. In Psalm 67 the psalmist is talking about how nations who fear and follow God will be richly blessed. The second part of Verse 4 says, "...you (referring to God) govern [the nations] with justice and direct the actions of the whole world." That is a comforting thought in these turbulent times. From nuclear threats to oil fears to collapsing financial markets and the downward spiral of traditional family values it is sometimes hard to remember (or even believe) that God is in control of everything. But He is, and it's nice to know someone holy and good is ultimately in charge!

To go along with that, Psalm 72 is a prayer for the king. While we are not ruled by a king in America, the second part of Verse 15 still applies: "May the people always pray for him and bless him all day long." Even if we don't always agree with them, it is important to pray for our leaders.

Psalm 84 is an encouragement for jump-starting your journey of growing closer to the Lord. Parts of it are the basis for the famous worship song Better is One Day. Verses 5-7 were specifically an encouragement to me. If you are rooted deeply in your faith and are "strong in the Lord" you will be able to find blessing and strength through even the toughest of times.

Psalm 128 talks about how an individual will be blessed when he/she fears the Lord. Verse 3 specifically mentions my role: "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine, flourishing within your home." As a stay-at-home mom and wife, that is a wonderful promise. I want to flourish in the role God has placed me in at this time and place, and it motivates me to cultivate a deeper relationship with Him.

Feel free to respond with your thoughts. I hope you can clearly see how God has blessed you in at least one way today!

New October Bible Challenge

Are you looking for a new challenge? Thanks to the awesome idea and resources posted by my sister on her blog, I am going to participate in her October Bible Challenge by spending "30 days in the Psalms". For more information I highly encourage you to check it out here. :o)