Weekly Ramblings and Whatnots.

I wrote a posting last week(?) but didn't ever get around to posting the pictures. I'm keeping it there which means it's probably hidden in the history of posts, so if you are interested in reading about our family, go here. (there are pics with it). And I did another post here with some more cute pics. :)

This is pretty much exactly what the title says. Ramblings, thoughts that have been on my mind, little things the boys do and a little something that they can read about themselves when they get older, other family activities, and whatever else that may or may not be of interest to anyone besides me. (And perhaps not even me) haha. :)

Family:

This week has been fun! and went by so fast! We of course celebrated Baby's b-day! I still can't believe he's one! Other activities and accomplishments: Hike is now officially out of his booster chair at the dinner table! He's been trying to sit in our chairs for forever now, but for a while still wouldn't stay in his seat to eat, or would act up, so we kept his booster chair on his chair. Well, this week we took it off for some reason and never put it back on. To our happiness he loves it and does extremely well! He doesn't even throw his food on the floor anymore! Yippy! Sometimes I think to myself, "he's only two. Is he supposed to be doing that already?" But I'm glad he is. He is definitely one for independence! He has also started to love helping me wash the dishes and cook! :) He's so curious about everything and wants to be a part of everything and do everything. This week he put in his own dvd and started the movie all by himself (with me showing him how), as well as his usual sweeping and moping. There was a not so urgent mess/crumbs on the floor and he was SO insistent that I get his little vacuum out so he could clean it up. :) I hope he always loves to clean and help this much! :)

Baby is doing great. He loves to dance, and dances with any music that he hears. He is such a fast crawler and still loves to climb. This week he got up on one of the kitchen chairs all by himself. We are not terribly excited about that. ;) He copies every noise and sound that Hike makes, or that we make! I hope he will be a good and early talker. We'll see. He also does a great job scribbling on the paper and loves to 'color'. He's not so quick to smile at everyone, though he's still a happy baby!

The huge accomplishment for the week: I put Baby down early one day for a nap and he was still asleep when it was time for Hike's nap. Usually Baby naps in the pack-n-play in our room because usually Hike will just want to play, but instead he went right to sleep and they both slept for hours! It was beautiful! :)

Ramblings:

One thing that has been on my mind lately is me wondering why we seem to always want to control everyone else. Not really control them, but we want others to conform to our convenience or our way of doing things. And we get so worked up about it when we face others who 'get in our way' or do things differently, and at the same time we're so quick to find fault in them, and not in our own actions. It seems like this week I've really seen a lot of both sides of the story. For example: that crazy driver on the road, or "they stopped in the middle of the road and I almost hit them! What are they thinking?!!" I think we all have our driving stories. But why is it so easy to get so impatient with everyone else? And why do we allow ourselves to act the way we do sometimes. (I'm sure all of you are actually perfect and don't have this problem at all, but I'll keep saying 'we' so I don't feel so bad. ;) haha.) Why can't we just take in our environment around us and take it for what it is? Are we ever going to accept the fact that there are a lot of bad drivers out there and just drive accordingly? My dad never got in an accident for years and years, and he always told me it was because he always drove defensively. Never assume anyone is going to do what you think they should and you will always be ready for what they do do. and to add to that, if we never expect anyone to do what we want them to do, we won't ever get upset when they don't.

On the other end of the spectrum it seems like I've had a lot of interactions with people this week who are on the other end of the spectrum. Let me explain. There is a lady that I go to church with and she has a severe allergic reaction to perfumes and lotions, which makes it impossible to go into the chapel and sit with everyone else. I suggested she talk to someone and ask that people could go without so that she could worship with everyone else. She pointed out that she realized that 'dressing up for church' was a big part of a lot of the peoples Sunday, and that was something that made her happy. She said that their happiness was more important to her than making a fuss about it. My thoughts were that if we say we care about everyone, then we can certainly go with out to let everyone be included. What a small sacrifice to ask of people. But after thinking about it for a long time I realized that she was willing to put others happiness in front of her own. And in that she was happy! Sure, she doesn't get to sit with everyone, but she told me how it opens up doors for other opportunities that she wouldn't have otherwise. What really stood out to me was how she didn't complain at all. She didn't hold a grudge, there was no blame. It was simply what it is and "I have a choice that I can make". She showed me how she stood up to the challenge of being in charge of who we are and our own circumstances.

How many people, if put in that situation would be angry and grumble every Sunday, and be bitter or hold a grudge or have that resentment build up inside of them? I'm sure I would, and I'm sure I have about things in the past before. This week I've really considered this view. Of stepping back and allowing others to live their lives, make the choices they choose to make, and living my life and making my choices. Life is too overwhelming when we try to hold onto and take control of all the things we have no control over. It helps me to remember that true freedom and peace come when we can let go of everything completely and open our sails and let the winds of life take us to the most beautiful places we could ever imagine. I think everything we hold onto, or everything we try to control turns into one more anchor that keeps us that much more tied to the harbor. And eventually we get tangled and weighed down so much that when the storms come we can no longer flow with the waves that we capsize and drown.

So pull up those anchors. Free yourselves from the burdens and expectations of others (whether your own that you put on them or theirs that they put on you) and set sail! Take control of you and you alone. That is the ONLY thing we have power over anyway.

The end.

lol. sometimes I just don't even know how to sum up a thought without repeating myself a million times. Mr. Bean always tells me after talking to someone on the phone about something that I'm really excited about, "You said this and that and this at least three times." or he'll whisper while I'm talking, "You said that already". haha. I love it! :)