The Holidays are upon us

It's that time of year again. I love it. It's easy to get cynical about the commercialism of the season and how stores are putting out their Christmas decor earlier and earlier each year. This year, I choose to soak it up and enjoy it.

Part of how I do this is I don't go shopping. I avoid going to the store in the months of November + December at all costs. Some of our Christmas shopping has been done for a few months, and the rest will be done online. I know there are a lot more shoppers like me out there, avoid the crowds and the stress and just shop from the comfort of your own home. So, when my mom told me about Ebates, I was pretty excited about the added benefits to doing something I do all the time anyway!

Many of you have probably heard of Ebates, but if not, it's too good a secret to keep. After signing up (and there are often great bonuses for doing so- I got a $10 Target card), you just click through Ebates to your favorite stores and when you make purchases you get a percentage in cash back. Simple, and not strings attached. You don't have to sign up for obnoxious email newsletters (but you can if you want the daily double notices), you don't have to pay any fees, you just shop through their site and the send you money back. The percentage varies from store to store and right now many of them are upping their cash back for the holiday season, so check it out!

What's more is that after you've made your 1st purchase you start getting incentives to share Ebates with friends. I shared on Facebook and because a friend bought through my link I'll get $25 cash. Super easy, what's not to love?

Let me know if you check it out and if you have any questions.
Happy shopping!

the latest

We just finished the process of refinancing our home. We'll save a nice amount of money every month, but it was a NIGHTMARE of a process. I'm so glad we won't be doing that again anytime soon! Thankfully my wonderful husband took care of every little detail and all I had to do was gather a few documents here and there. Thank God everything turned out well after missing the window once and having to apply for an extension (at the fault of our broker). So beyond glad to be done with that!

As the weather warms up and spring fades into summer we are in full swing planning to re-landscape the backyard with my father-in-law. It was actually our Christmas gift from Ben's parents to re do the yard and we are so excited to have nice grass! When we bought the place the yard was pretty nice, but unfortunately as it sat on the market, empty, nobody took care of the grass. So the leaves from the two towering maples fell and created a ton of muddy holes that were then filled by weeks and subsequently moss.

Unfortunately our raised beds that were here from the beginning weren't very well built. There was no foundation to secure them to the ground and they were all warped. We decided it would be best to take them apart and rebuild after the ground gets torn up with the rest of the yard. I won't be planting anything until we can rebuild, which is a bummer because who knows if I'll even make it in time to have anything edible, we shall see!

Desmond and Malakai are growing bigger and smarter every day. Des is really talkative and very close to crawling forward (instead of scooting backward). He can move himself from sitting to crawling and back. He's all over the place these days! Malakai loves to "see Desmond" and is doing much better at interacting with him gently...most of the time.

Ben + I finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy last week and are possibly going to see the movie with his parents this Friday. We have really enjoyed reading them simultaneously and talking about all the drama. We've been able to go out quite often with thanks to numerous family member willing to babysit.

Work has been busy as ever and I'm doing my best to keep up, which is one of the main reasons I haven't been updating here lately. I save blogging for times when the kids are napping simultaneously, IF I'm caught up on work that I can do from home. Since the boys haven't been cooperating by napping at the same time I've been behind on work and thus not blogging. I'm finally caught up for the moment since they finally slept for a few consecutive hours during the day!

Speaking of sleep, Des has been transitioning to only sleeping in his crib and it's been so great! He only comes into bed with us when he wakes to nurse after 5am and we both go back to sleep for a couple of hours (if Kai lets us). There have been a couple of rough nights between both kiddos the last couple weeks, but not unbearable! This morning though for some reason they both woke up at 5:45am ...OUCH!

There's surely a lot more going on that I'm missing, but that's just a quick recap of what is at the forefront of my mind at the moment...

where my time goes...

I've been terrible about updating around here lately. I knew it would happen once Desmond was born, but there's no way I could've predicted just how busy and different life would be. I feel like I have about 30 different projects going all at one time between work and home, all in different stages of "doneness" and all demanding my attention. Nothing demands my attention more than Kai + Des though, and they always win.

However, when I do get a chance to work on something here is how I spend my time:

* laundry. every person in charge of the laundry with a family of 4 knows how ridiculous and NEVER ENDING this chore is. It's always overwhelming, always. Right now there are about 10 categories: 1. Mine + Ben's dirty laundry. 2. The boys' dirty laundry 3. dirty linens 4. mine + Ben's clean clothes that need put away. 5. The boys' clothes that need put away (currently occupying the crib in the playroom-yikes.). 6. linens that need folded and put away 7. Des' clothes that are soaking in oxi-clean 8. clothes that are in the process of being washed/dried. 9. things that are hand wash only. 10. Clothes in the closets/drawers/on our bodies.

* dishes. pretty much the same story as laundry, although these get done quicker because 1. it gets gross faster and 2. there isn't room in my tiny kitchen to have dishes piling up.

* gift sorting. this is kind of an odd one, I know. We had a pile of gifts from Christmas and my birthday that was kind of taking over our living room (along with the clean laundry to be sorted). I don't give Kai all the new toys at once, nor Des for that matter. First I had to sort through the clothes, de-tag and wash the ones that fit now and put away the ones they'll grow into later. Next I dug out all the books and when I need a good distraction while nursing or putting Des down for a nap I'll grab a new book for Kai to read. Next are toys, which are all in a plastic tote until their time to shine. Last is the giftwrap/bags that I'm keeping. I'm almost done with this project as I had some time over the weekend to tackle it.

* Taxes. Right now I'm in the collecting stage, we still have 3 documents we're waiting on before I can get started.

*General cleaning. I sweep the floors every day and vacuum about twice a week (sometimes more). Kai helps me clean the playroom every couple of days and I'm constantly wiping down the dining area after he eats. I try to dust and wipe the whole house down, and scrub the bathroom at least once a week.

* General clutter. Every flat surface in our house has the tendency to accumulate clutter. Birthday cards, grocery lists, user manuals, books, vitamin containers, pens, paperwork, etc. Sometimes we'll go weeks without really putting these things where they go. It never takes long to clear off the desk/table/dresser/etc. but cleaning up dirt overrides clearing off clutter in my list of priorities.

* 2012 calendar. For the past 3 years I've done a photo calendar with pictures of the previous year's events on each month. I'm behind every year. This next calendar may have a starting month of March...

* organizing photos. I'm the most behind on this project. Before we moved here (almost 2 years ago) I had been in the habit of deleting photos that weren't great and renaming them by the date and putting them in folders by month and year. Once we moved, unpacking and getting the house ready took a priority over this project and I still haven't been able to catch up. Just about every photo from 2011 is in an obscurely labeled folder on the desktop. ugh.

* blogging. It's one of very few things that I consider "me" time, but I also do it for my family. It's my alternative to scrap booking or journaling.

* Reading. I NEVER get to do this, but last week I read The Help. I can't wait to see the movie!

* appointments. I used to make all the appointments, but now I have Ben take care of his own. So now I just schedule doctor, dentist, eye, and other appointments for the boys and myself.

* work. I've taken on a new job, which means more projects. I work on recruiting and scheduling volunteers at our church for nursery through 5 year olds. I make sure there are supplies for lessons, snack, clean up, diapering, and more. I organize curriculum for the two's and will soon be taking over the curriculum for 3-5's. I brainstorm ways to better the classrooms, volunteers, and more.

* finances. I keep track of our income + expenses, although this is something we've been talking about having Ben take over.

* small group. Ben + I just decided to host a small group through our church. It starts this week and I'm so excited! I need to prepare a snack/dessert and clean my house from top to bottom. (see all of the above items).

I'm sure I've missed something, and of course this is just all the indoor stuff since it's winter and we aren't tending to our yard + garden yet. Plus there's all the things that Ben does! He helps with the household stuff when I need it, but he also has plenty of other things to do like take out the trash, clean and organize the garage, maintain the cars, take care of all things technology and electronics and more.

the harvest

Right now we're in that space between planting a seed and the harvest. We're waiting for a few things to grow. Some of them we know we need. We do our best to root ourselves in a sturdy faith that will stand the test of time while we wait upon their realization. Others, of course, we know nothing about. Sometimes we stare at the ground wondering what will fill the empty spaces.

It can be so hard trusting in God to fulfill His promises, even though he always does. Even though He always does.

We were waiting on my husband's raise at work for a long time. Company's are still pulling themselves out of the pit of recession. He finally got that raise last month. It took more effort on Ben's part than we would have ever thought necessary, not just in patience, but in advocating for himself. The Lord answered our prayer and we thought we'd be saved. Little did we know, we'd still be waiting for the difference we anticipated. It seems there is even more work to be done on our end. God is teaching us. Patience, self-control, trust.

We are waiting on other things that I will be purposefully ambiguous about. And because we are starting to catch on to some of the ways our God works, there are probably other blessings (some in disguise) waiting for us to stumble upon them.

So here we are, in the space between, waiting for the harvest. Trying not to waste the wait.

If you understand what it's like to be in this place,  please pray for us. Don't forget to let us know how we can pray for you.

happy weekend,

Thankful on a Thursday: First Fruits

I know I usually post this first thing in the mornings, but better late than never right? 

{PS I have no idea what's going on with the funky spacing below. Please forgive me.}

Proverbs 3:9-10 (New International Version)

 ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth,

       with the firstfruits of all your crops;

 ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

       and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Our church practices "First Fruits Giving" on an annual basis. It's simply giving above your tithe in a way that stretches you to be forced to rely on God to provide for you. Ben and I have done it every year we've been married. The way our church does it is you turn in a card with what you'd like to see happen in your life and the leaders pray over these things all year. It's a way of trusting that God will bless you.

Our first year one of the things we needed was for Ben to get a new job. Although this didn't look exactly how we pictured it, and he's no longer at that job, this prayer was answered.

Last year we wrote down that we'd like to buy a house. I had doubts that it would happen, not that God couldn't work it out for us, but that it was going to be the right time for us. I was obviously wrong as we've been living in our newly purchased home for over 2 months now.

This year we need continued financial covering, and could use a little more (aka Ben getting a raise). However, we're struggling a bit about how much to give. The last two years after praying individually we came up with the exact same numbers. Neither one of us is sure and I'm learning that it's not about the number, but about the commitment and trusting God. I don't think that God is asking us to give a huge sum of money this year. He knows that we trust Him in this. Our finances are no longer a worry. We don't fight about money, in fact, I rarely think of it because I know in my heart that God will always provide.

We haven't yet decided what to give, but are still in prayer about what God wants from us. I'm sure it'll come to us soon. I'm just enjoying the feeling that comes from an understanding and a peace that only God can provide.

This week I'm especially thankful for:

141. My college bestie coming to stay with us.

142. Getting invited to a bridal shower lunch for my former co-worker even though I haven't worked there for almost a year & getting out to spend some time with ladies while my little boy stayed at home with his Grandma.

143. Malakai finally "getting it" with the no-spill sippy!

144. Hawaiian plate lunch at "HodgePodge"

145. Setting a date for Malakai's 1st Birthday!

146. discovering a chocolate latte at Marche Cafe...there is chocolate ganache in it people! new fave!

147. hearing Ben read stories to Malakai, especially when he makes them up. He's SO good at it.

148. bath time fun.

149. having my parents + in-laws nearby.

150. reliving the greatness that was Alias on DVD