LUCKY

I haven't been on here in a long time and today I felt compelled to share.....

It's funny how often I hear from people how "lucky" I am.  I get it and completely understand where they are coming from.  I do look lucky.  I have a great husband that I've been with for almost 20 years, we actually really like each other, we have 5 healthy, happy kids, we live in a beautiful house with a ton of animals....we do look pretty lucky!  And often times I will respond to that comment with the famous last line of the Christian...."Yes, I'm very blessed!"  The fact is, I am blessed.  No doubt about that.  I know it and I thank God every day for the life he's given me.  But I must say, LUCK has nothing to do with it.  And as I was listening to a message today from Joyce Meyer it really struck me to share my thoughts on this.

Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinks in his heart, so does he become".  Let that sink in.  Most of us THINK we are thinking the right thoughts.  Maybe you are.  I know for a fact that it took me a LONG time to think about my life in a way that God would like me to.  But I also know that very early on in my life I started "wishing" for greatness.  I wouldn't necessarily say that I was always prayerful but I was wishing for the life I have today.  And some of those thoughts were VERY specific in nature and have come to life.  It sounds crazy, I know, but as I look back over the past 25 or so years I realize that I have been "blessed" with many of my heart's desires.

When I was 16 years old someone asked me how many kids I wanted.  It was placed on my heart the desire to have a large family after being an only child myself.  My response was "I'm going to have 5 kids".  Lord only knows how CLUELESS and naive I was in nonchalantly mentioning that ;) Around that same time I went to a NFL camp here in San Diego that some friends were helping out with.  I remember thinking how fun it would be to marry a football player.  Why??  I don't know but it looked like it would be fun!  It sounds stupid but I thought it and actually told one of my best friends.  When my grandmother passed away several years later,  I watched "A Star is Born" with a friend of mine after her wake.  I actually said OUT LOUD, "Isn't Kristofferson a cool name.  Becky Kristofferson??!"  God got the spelling wrong but he had the right plan.  My grandmother was a twin and I used to tell her that someday I was going to have twins too. Every one of those things and many more have come to pass in my life.  Wow....how LUCKY, right?!?!

These things might sound silly or even superstitious to some but I believe that as a girl thinks in her heart, so she will become.  God loves us and he wants us to have the desires of our hearts.  Sometimes we don't BELIEVE that we can have those things so we stop speaking them or even dreaming them.  Especially when real life takes over and we come upon the obstacles that this life can bring.  That happened to me as well.

My story may sound like a fairy tale.  Fortunately, you don't know or need to know ALL of the details.  I will say that I came (like most of us) from a family filled with brokenness and heartache.  I also made A LOT of bad choices and had to deal with the consequences of those choices.  I spent a lot of time doing the wrong things and making the wrong choices and STILL found my way.  This was also a time in my life that I believed that being a Christian meant accepting Christ, praying, going to church, etc and for many years that is just how I was doing it.  Those weren't the years that I was feeling fulfilled and at peace.  I guess that is true in someways.  You can be a Christian and just do those things but in order to have victory in my life, I had to make some changes.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of the mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect".  It took me a long time to see that living in God's will is the only way that I find true happiness and peace.  Since the bible says it, I'm pretty sure it's the same for all of us ;)  I had to make changes in the way I acted, the way I thought about things, the way I treated people.  I was and still am making mistakes along the way.  That's part of it.  It wasn't until I really changed and made an effort to "walk the walk" that I started experiencing the overwhelming peace and fulfillment that God was offering me.

I'm sure many people out there aren't where they want to be.  In fact, I know they aren't.  And I know many of you are blaming God for your circumstances.  We've all done that!  It's easy to do!! We have faith in God and wonder why HE'S letting us down.  He isn't and never will.  Hebrews 13:5 says that he will never leave us or forsake us.  That is the truth. God is all  about redemption but we do have to believe.  That is what FAITH is.  Hebrews 11:1 says that "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".

The bible also says in Proverbs 18:21 that the power of life and death is in the tongue. As Joyce said today, "If you do not learn to think like God thinks and say what God says, you will not have victory in your life".  It's not his fault....we have to guard our hearts, minds, actions, etc.  We have to have Faith and know that we are also responsible for our own decisions.   If you want to be in the will of God, seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness and those things will be given to you (Matthew 6:33)  Be willing to make changes in your life and speak OVER your life your TRUE HEARTS DESIRES!  Don't be afraid to dream big.  He wants us to have immeasurably more than we could hope for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  When you are in the will of God, you will no doubt feel LUCKY too!  God Bless.....

Slow your roll....

I had one of those days yesterday that made me realize that I'm overcommitted.  I mean, aren't we all?!?  We are constantly inundated with information.  If it's not someone "live" telling you what you should be doing and how to do it, it's the Yahoo page or a Facebook post or an email or the television program or WHATEVER!!!  Someone is constantly in your ear telling you that you need more, you should do more, you must BE more.  At least, this is my experience.

Try as I might, sometimes I just get sucked in.  I watch an infomercial that convinces me that my exercise regimen just won't ever get me "there" or a news story about how I'm poisoning my kids by shopping at my local grocery store.  And I won't even go into how my children WILL be stupid and unmotivated if they aren't excelling in school (and that means in the GIFTED programs) and involved in numerous extracurricular activities.  WOW, enough is enough!!!!  Isn't it?!?

I watched a Youtube video yesterday of one of the gymnastics coaches from the gym my daughter goes to (and yes, she will make it to the Olympics if we continue on this path;).  This gentleman is in his 70's now and was a World Champion on the Trampoline in the 60's.  We watch his videos with the kids because it was just cool!  One of the videos was of him on Candid Camera back in the day and it was just so "sweet".  The little 70's housewives with cute hair and sweet voices.  I just found myself craving some "I Love Lucy".  I really did!  And then I went about my day....

To say that I fit 10 hours of "stuff" into 4 hours is an understatement.  I was running all day and not getting "there" on time.  I had the orthodontist, the errand for my hubby, the school pickup, the choir performance, the team picture, the individual picture, the in-house meet.......Are you kidding me????  What idiot agrees to all of that?  Who's fault was this??  MINE!  I take full responsibility but that's the point.  Why didn't I say NO to at least 2 of these things.  Why couldn't I just ask for help (which I did for pickup)?  Because we are under such pressure as parents to do it all.  And when the "other" parents are doing it all....we don't have the guts to say, "I just can't make it.  I'm overcommitted."  Or to tell our kids NO.  And what's worse is that we put this pressure on each other.  I know I do!

So...our came the PYSCHO mom!!!  Is anyone hearing me on this???  And I KNEW....I was dreading the day, I knew I had TOO much on my plate.  And for what?  Yes, Olivia's braces needed tightening, and yes, I do have to pick up my kids after school.....and the evening was fun after all.  It really was!  But I thought I was going to have an aneurysm while I was veering in and out of traffic all day long.  I am better than that and so are my kids.  I'm not DRINKING the Kool-aid anymore!!!

School is out in less than 2 weeks.  We are going to be hanging low over here on the hill.  I'm not signing up for 10 summer camps, I'm not driving all over town to pick up this and drop off that.  I'm going to give my kids a 70's housewife bootcamp.  They are going to find something to do and I'm not going to provide it!!!!!  I encourage you to do the same!  We are headed in the wrong direction and I'm flipping a U......

Whew....I feel better now!  ;)

Check out the video here.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqbfju3ppHA

Sunny Days are here to stay

Let's see how I rate in the good mom department?!?!
Emma has been dying to have me spray tan her legs. I did Airbrush tanning as a business several years ago so the girls think it's so cool. They watch Toddlers and Tiaras and see all these little kids getting spray tanned. So....anyway...Emma finds my machine and just begs me to tan her legs!!! What's the harm, right?! She's so excited and we... are bonding. Here comes Olivia....PLEASE MOM!! I give in and we're tanning her legs. Big deal....it's just her legs. Then comes another...giggling and begging....Before long I had Emma, Olivia, Sophie, WILSON AND JACKSON in their underwear (and a tshirts:) in the backyard getting their "spray on". Then I gave into the pressure and sure enough, I'm in my bloomers, tanning my own legs. I don't know if I should be reported or rewarded. One thing I know for sure....The Christopherson's are all bronzed and beautiful!! I think we could get a reality show:) And it was ONLY their legs....although someone I know is bronzed from head to toe....ME!! LOL!

Time goes so quickly....

You know we hear that all of the time.  You run into a little old lady at the grocery store when you're walking around with your stroller and she says, "Enjoy these times....they go by so quickly!"  Last night that hit me like a ton of bricks!!!!!!

I went into Emma's room to kiss her good night.  She's 12 years old...5' 6" and 120lbs so to say that she doesn't look like a baby is an understatement.  But as I sat there (reading her text messages) while she was sleeping, she looked like a little girl again.  She actually curled over towards me in a ball and snuggled up.  And that's when the memories started flowing....

I can clearly remember driving home with her in the car from the hospital.  We had a Chevy Malibu and I sat in the back seat, right next to her, to make sure she was safe!!  We got home and our two beagles went nuts.  Those sweet dogs that I used to think were my babies suddenly became just two dogs.  Not that I didn't love them, but they were howling and jumping and I was so concerned about my precious little angel.  She was the top priority now.  In one moment (or 12 hours of labor:) my whole life had changed.

I also thought of when we moved from Colorado back to Arizona.  Emma was about 14 months old.  Ryan and I were staying with his mom at her home.  We slept "Lucy and Ricky" style in 2 twin beds with Emma at the foot of mine in a play pen.  Within a few weeks she would climb out of that play pen in the middle of the night and dive into my legs!  She'd stay perfectly still for a minute or so, as if I didn't notice her sneaking out and then she'd snuggled up right in my chest and go to sleep.  I used to get stressed about this!!  I mean what if she doesn't sleep in her own bed when we move!  She's not getting a whole night of uninterrupted sleep??? Why can't "I" get ONE good night's sleep!!!  Is this healthy for her???  What I'd give to have another night like that!!!!

I also thought of the most special memory that Emma and I shared when she was 7 yrs old.  She had been asking if we could stay the night in a hotel, just the two of us, for one night.  She had seen an ad for a Best Western and kept telling me how nice that hotel was.  The boys were born and our lives had become pretty chaotic with 5 kids.  This was something she wanted SOOOO badly!  I'm am so glad that I actually followed through on this one....

We got my mom and dad to watch the girls and Ryan had the boys.  It was planned for Saturday.  Emma was running a fever that morning and I knew we'd have to cancel.  We spent the first 2 hrs of the day at Urgent Care.  She had bronchitis.  I assured her that we could go in a couple weeks but she just wouldn't have it.  She wanted to move forward with our Best Western plan.  And we did....

We went to the hotel and checked in.  Emma alternated Tylenol and Motrin all day in order to have some fun.  We actually went swimming in a heated pool but the precious moment happened while we layed in our room and watched an all day marathon of Drake and Josh.  She quietly said to me...."Mom, who's your favorite person!"  I just didn't know what to say.  I'm trying to think of the politically correct way to say that mom's love all their children the same.  I actually told her that SHE was my ALL-TIME favorite 7 yr old and Olivia was my favorite 5 year old and....on and on.  Then in this precious little voice she said, "Well mom, you're my favorite person in the whole world!"  I cry everytime I think of that moment!   It made all the work and all the sleepless nights seem like nothing.  This day that she had waited for so patiently became my FAVORITE memory of her that I will cherish FOREVER!!

I'm still in the midst of parenthood.  My girls are 12, 10 and 8 and the boys just turned 6 this past weekend.  I get plenty of those young "tender" moments on a daily basis with the smaller ones.  I have so many special memories with each one of my kids.  But the truth of the matter is that it DOES go by so QUICKLY!!  Cherish those precious moments with YOUR kids!  Take time to enjoy spending time with them and don't worry about the dishes, the laundry, making dinner.  Sometimes it's just a 5 minute interaction with your child that you'll remember for the rest of your life. I mean that!!  I know that I don't do it enough and today is a day that I'm going to try just a little bit harder to let things go and just enjoy that blessings that God has given me with my children.  I hope that you will try to do the same.....:)

Country Livin"

Well, it's official....we have moved!!!  We went from living in a beautiful community conveniently located within walking distance to the yoga studio, grocery stores, coffee shop, hair salon and tons of wonderful neighbors.  What a blessing that has been!  Who in a million years would have thought we'd end up moving to a rural area out in the country but still be living in San Diego?!?!  It truly feels like a dream come true.  And the conveniences that we grew so accustomed to are no longer available and, quite honestly, if you're low on gas (as a friend found out this weekend) you may not make it from our house to the gas station in time:)

I thought we were destined to stay in our little slice of Suburbia.  It was fun!  We made tons of friends!  The beach was 10 minutes away!  Every date night we shared, we found another fantastic restaurant that we hadn't tried yet. There wasn't a place we couldn't get to in 5-10 minutes and it's exactly what I thought we wanted and needed to nurture our souls!  I was sadly mistaken.  Although, I do feel like we were meant to be there for the time we were, we are clearly living EXACTLY where we were meant to be for THIS season of our lives.  This has been so incredibly God lead and I couldn't be happier.  I'm thrilled to see how this "move" changes and strengthens our bonds with family and friends.

We are now living in Fallbrook, CA on 7 acres!!  Our last house was on one of the larger lots in the neighborhood and I think it was about 10,000 sq ft.  What a change!  I can hear birds chirping in the morning and pretty much NOTHING else, unless there is a crazy cricket or a cow off in the distance.  This is something that feels so "right" and so "soothing" about that.  It's silly and really simple but it makes me realize how chaotic my life had begun to feel.  I'm so thankful and look forward to sharing many stories about our adventures here.  Chickens are the beginning of that story.....

We got 10 chickens today....OH YEAH!!  We actually have a chicken coop that they will transfer to after we "brood" them another 3 weeks.  Ryan came face to face with a coyote this morning while he went on a walk (on our property).  The kids have been riding a go cart and mini motorcycle up and down the 200 ft driveway since Grandpa showed up with it on Tuesday.  My dad is going to rent a tractor so he can mow down the overgrown grass so the kids can run around on a track surrounding the house.  The girl's have become friends with a gopher (or so they say).  There's a vineyard on the property. I am humbled by the fact that God has blessed us with an opportunity to experience this amazing lifestyle that is WORLD'S away from where I've been heading but feels just like coming home.  I'm so happy! 

It just continues to confirm to me how important it is to seek God in all decisions and when He leads, just follow.  He will always make your path straight.  I am going to take it day by day and enjoy the precious morsels that He gives me daily.  They are available for all of us.  I'm sure I've been missing them for years.  Maybe it took this move to just get my attention.  I'm listening and paying attention......

Just had to share....

I know when the Lord is speaking to me because literally the air around me changes.  There is a stillness that settles all my raging emotions and questions and simply bids me to be silent, listen and consider what I hear.  And then it's almost as if it comes from the center of my being-the answer, the revelation, the instruction and it is sealed in this definite place inside of me that I can't describe.  I only know that I must do what I've been prompted to do.  If I resist I can't breathe, but when I say yes and obey the most incredible sense of knowing and peace overtakes me and the matter is settled once and for all.  -Michelle McKinney Hammond

This spoke to the center of who I am....as Ryan and I are making a very big decision to move to another area in California.  I know it's what God wants for us and I'm at peace for that reason alone.  Julie, aren't you happy to hear this?!?! 

One of those days!

This post is from last week but I forgot to hit POST.

It's only 8am and I feel like I've been up for 6 hrs.  Truth is, it's been almost 4 hrs.  Today is my bible study day and I'm thankful for that because I certainly need a "chin check".  I woke up at 4:30 to Wilson climbing into bed and snuggling up.  Sounds great, doesn't it?!?  He then started sounded out words....C...AT!.....B....ER....D!  D...AD!....And on and on.  I was trying so hard to fall back to sleep.  He did this for about a half an hour while talking to me periodically in between.  I just kept whispering, "It's still nighttime, go back to sleep"  Finally, I thought he was asleep and decided to get into the bath.  SOME PEACE before I start my day (since I can't go back to sleep)....
....Here comes Wilson, in the bath with me.  Oh well, it's all good.  So, he decides to start asking questions about my boobies!!!  I won't go into total detail but I'll just say this wasn't an EGO BOOST:)  He also wanted to know why babies breast feed, where the milk comes out, why people have hair in certain areas....OH YEAH, nothing like having the 13 year old talk with a 5 year old at 5:30 in the morning.  Finally we get out, he gets dressed and gets on the computer.   SOME PEACE for a moment.....
....Here comes Olivia.  She wants to take a bath now.  No problem.  In comes Sophie, who also wants to take a bath but Olivia doesn't want HER in the bath!!!  They break out in an argument.  Keep in mind, it's about 6am now.  After I get them under control, I hear the boys screaming and wrestling.  Wilson went in and jumped on Jackson while he was sleeping and they are in a full on wrestling match!  The peace is gone and I know it AIN'T coming back....
....Here comes Emma!  She is TICKED off because she can't find her jeans and she can't believe how annoying everyone is, including HER DAD...who walked into her room to see if she was up TWICE.  HOW RUDE!!!!  She is tired and doesn't feel good.  Wilson is on the computer again and she WANTS TO SIT DOWN.  She's tired!!  She needs me to put her hair in a bun and can't believe (again) how rude everyone is.  "MOM.....get Wilson OFF the computer!!!"  I need to sit down.  (By the way, the computer is in my bathroom:)  PEACE be with me....please!
....We go downstairs to eat breakfast.  This is always a joke and I won't even go into it.  I'm packing lunches.  Olivia's crying because someone ate her starburst that she was going to bring to Paige in her lunch.  Jack can't find his shoes.  Wilson is counting to 10 in Korean AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS!!
....And the blessing in all of this is that I can still find myself being THANKFUL for all of this NON-SENSE!!