Author: admin

What a Week!

This week:

  • Jay was out of town for three days.
  • Posy had pneumonia, and missed the whole school week, poor baby was so sick!
  • I spent 9, count them NINE hours on the phone with tech support trying to fix a very stupid problem on my computer. Thank the Lord it is FIXED!
  • Today I get a new grown up adventure, something I have never tried before: getting my car emissions tested with baby and toddler in tow. I am waiting for Lily to get sleepy so she will hopefully snooze through the whole thing.

This was a good week to practice being thankful for things in my life.

Because you want to be…

Saturday I had a chance to wander around a book store, something I hadn’t done in a while. While there a book caught my eye, and I had to get it. It summed up the problems with our money so well and at the same time so many other things. “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be…”

I haven’t finished it yet, but so far it is plain unadulterated common sense, stating that wanting to change is not enough to change. You have to get off your butt and take action. You (ahem, *I*) have to make the changes that start you on the road to what you want. My actions speak louder than my words about what I want, and if I say I want something and yet all my actions are working against that, then what do I really want? What do I really expect?

There are so many ways I need to apply this –

You are only ________ because you want to be:

Fat – wanting to be thin isn’t enough, wanting to change my eating habits and exercise won’t make me thin. Stopping junk food and getting off my butt might.

Broke – well that is what the book is about. If I want to get out of debt but don’t save money, then will I ever get out of debt?

Messy – there are so many jobs I ignore, put off, and let gnaw at my subconscious. What could I do about that?

A Yelling Parent – See all of the above, my frustration and lack of peace leads me to take out my feelings on those around me, my children and myself.

A Substandard Wife – see the Yelling Parent part.

Does it sound like I am getting down on myself? Maybe I am a little, but all I want is to be the kind of person that I would look up to. I think I am much closer to that than I was 10 or even five years ago. But that doesn’t mean I should stop working on myself to be a better person. I like me, most of the time anyway. I don’t know if this book was worth what I spent on it in full, but sometimes you just have to see the obvious in print in front of your own nose, at least I did. Hopefully I won’t forget it again too soon.

So here begins the journey (or continues one abandoned or procrastinated in the past) of connecting my actions to what I really want.

Smells like What?

This morning we picked up a few groceries from Trader Joes. On the way out I noticed the real evergreen wreaths by the door and said, “Mmm… lets smell the wreaths!”

I took a deep breath and they smelled so lovely and fresh and evergreen-y.

Tessa smelled them, wrinkled up her nose and said incredulously, “They smell like TREES!”

I’m not sure what she was expecting!

Family Picture, Christmas 2007

Christmas Greetings from the Groft Zoo! Things are crazy around here as always, but here is a brief update about what we have been up to.

Paisley – A senior at Bourgade this year, she is looking forward to turning 18 in March and moving out to begin living the college life. She is working two jobs right now as well as keeping her grades up. She directs two children’s choirs and is working at a skateboarding shop. In her free time she shops and hangs out with her friends.

James – 15 now and itching to be 16 and drive! He is active in the youth group and continues to make trips a few times a year to help build houses for the poor in Mexico. He plays bass, guitar, and piano as much as he can, and has been performing monthly at an Art Walk downtown.

Posy – Nearly a teenager! She will be 13 in February. Posy loves to help people, she is always at her Nana’s helping her out, and she is invaluable around here. She works very hard in school to keep up her grades. She loves to read and hang out with her friends. She is involved in two choirs, one with her Grandpa and one at our parish.

Ben – 10 years old and always has his nose in a book! He has a wonderful imagination and way with words. He is always a joy to be around. He started band in school this year and is playing the trombone.

Tessa – started Kindergarten this year! She is so grown up and is definitely all Girl! She loves to play dolls and house and has discovered arts & crafts. Her favorite activity right now is coloring. She loves to give her creations to anyone she cares for. She recently began violin lessons.

Max – turns 3 on Christmas Eve. He loves to talk, although his lisp makes him hard to understand sometimes. He is very loving and very much a little homebody. He also began violin lessons with Tessa. We were blessed to find a lovely teacher who is working patiently with both kids.

Lily – the newest Groftling. Lily is now 3 months old, she was born on September 14, delivered by her daddy because the midwife hadn’t yet arrived! Thankfully the midwife arrived only a few moments later. She is a beautiful baby who loves to be swaddled and snuggled. Her siblings all adore her.

Jay & Jenni – Jay is working hard testing tanks and every spare moment Is taken up by singing. He is putting together a CD and hopes to have it out early in 2008! Jenni stays home with the kids and tries to keep the peace and keep the house from being condemned. She sews, scrapbooks, and reads when she can but those times come seldom with a tiny baby in the house.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! May you be blessed and safe in the coming months!

Amazing!

This past Sunday, while we were waiting for mass to begin, Max was watching the violinist warm up. So I let him go out into the aisle to watch her a little closer. She motioned to him to come and touch her violin.

He walked over, ever so tentatively, and touched it. Then she handed him the bow and showed him how to move it over the strings. While he did that she helped him play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. He was enchanted! Then she looked up to me and said, “I have started children as young as two and a half before.”

Well, I thought, we can’t just pass on an opportunity like this! This past summer I had started trying to find a Suzuki teacher for Max and Tessa but they were all too far away so I gave up. This nice lady may not be a Suzuki teacher, but I figured she had experience with very small children. So Jay and I talked and decided that we would do whatever it took to get the kids into lessons with her.

I called her last night. I am so amazed at how blessed we are.

  • She will start them this Saturday.
  • She will come to OUR HOUSE to teach them.

AND… (drumroll please) she is certified in the Suzuki method.

I am totally doing the happy dance!

So what did YOU do today?

Since I feel like I am spending way too much time doing NOTHING (AKA sitting on the couch nursing, walking the baby, etc… although those DO count as work!) I decided to keep a list today of the things I did get done.

Yes I just need to feel like a productive individual today. Yesterday was a rough one, Lily cried through mass (Sunday evening) after fussing all afternoon. I had Jay pick up dinner on the way home because I as starving (hadn’t eaten any lunch since I had been juggling said baby all day), then he held her while I ate, and then he cleaned up dinner and the kitchen and got the rest of the kids ready for bed… while I juggled Miss Fuss some more, then he gave me a backrub. 😉 All this after he had sung three masses and worked about 2 hours on his CD.

So by 12:30pm this is what I had done today –

Got up/ got kids up/got ready for the day
made cream of wheat
did Tessa’s hair
took kids to school
changed diapers – 5 so far
nursed Lily – 6 so far
collected empty hangers – 3 bedrooms
brought down laundry
loads washed – 2
loads folded/hung – 2(saturday’s laundry)
cleaned (disgusting!) sliding glass door
got Max and Lily dressed
cleaned sink in downstairs bath
made bed
load/start dishwasher, wiped counters
took kids for short walk (when will it not be hot?)
heated soup, ate lunch
read a book to Max
put littles down for naps

I guess I do get a few things done.