So Much To Say...So Little Time

Let's just say that it's been a tough couple of days and I'm short on time to resume blogging. So I'll give you the shortened version. We had a great weekend. The Huskers won by a point, but the game was fun and we were so glad to be there. You have to experience a game in person to understand what I mean, but it's awesome to feel the spirit of Game Day. (Thanks again, mom, for the tickets!) I love the Huskers and think a trip back "home" will be in order every fall from here on out. There's lots more to tell, but maybe I'll save it for a different day. I'm so tired tonight!

Grandma and the boys did great while we were gone, and it was really nice for Jerry and I to spend time together. Sixteen hours in a car will allow you lots of time to catch up on your talking. We truly didn't listen to much music....we just did lots of talking. I loved that.

I got really, really ansy to get home by about the last two hours of the trip. Knowing we were within a stone's throw of our boys caused me to say (many times), "ARE WE THERE YET?" I was so, so excited to get home to them. It was a sweet reunion...until Caden fell down the stairs of our front porch and scared us all half to death. Cody immediately grabbed his friend that was there and started praying that he would be alright, and God answered his prayers! Yes, in Grandma's hands he was fine all weekend long, but fifteen minutes after my arrival back home, my son topples down cement stairs. Go figure.

I want to close by saying that I may not be blogging as much as I'd like in the coming weeks. My schedule is so full this fall, and I've been really trying to prioritize the way I feel God would want me to. Often, that puts blogging at the VERY bottom of the list, and I'll check in with you all as often as I can. I apologize, in advance, if I don't visit/comment very often. I just need to step away for a while until there's a window of time that I can justify sitting at the computer!

Until then, I wish you all a great week!

And We're Off to HUSKERLAND!

If I'm MIA for a couple days, it's because I've gone to see my Huskers play Ball State this weekend. I really hope they win. But it's not all about the winning. That Sea of Red is just something you have to experience for yourself!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be back soon with pictures and tales to tell.

Goooooooo, HUSKERS!

Wordless Wednesday

CHOO-CHOO!

Organization 101

If you were to step into my house right this minute, you'd see the following things:

The refrigerator would be covered with lists. Snack list, sharing list, phone list, to do list, shopping list, weekly list, progress chart including a list of things for Cody like "practice violin" "memorize Awana verse" "help with dishes" "help pick up toys" and "feed Ozzie."

The desk in our office is covered with lists...weekly to do list, just updated today, a pile of things to go through, a list of women from my moms in touch group and a list of things I want to share with them in my next email, and my beloved Franklin Covey planner without whom I'd be lost.

In my living room, right by the front door, is a wall organizer with hooks for keys and pockets for mail and such. I keep coupons there and bills to be paid, gift cards we can still use, and other items. There's also a basket a.k.a. "catch all" for more mail, keys, phones, cameras, ipods and anything else that needs a "home."

And as I sit here thinking about it all, I wonder, are my priorities in check? When I make these lists do they reflect who I am serving? What is important today and for WHOM am I doing it?

Am I serving God or man? Am I serving my family or am I catering more to the needs of those outside these walls than the ones right inside them?

And it got me thinking about something I wanted to share with any busy, frazzled moms out there. And please don't feel judged, because seriously, I'm preaching to myself right here because I simply need the reminder.

Here's the deal. There are so many things out there for us to do that are good things. They might even be selfless acts of kindness or ways you might be serving another with your time, talent, and energy. But I must challenge you. Are you putting what should be first....FIRST? Are you prioritizing well? Are you taking care of another while the laundry at your house and dishes in the sink are piling up? Are you running so much that your little ones aren't getting quality naps, just ones in the car? Sorry, those don't count! When you walk in the door, are you frazzled, so much in fact that it's just easier to go get fast food for your family instead of making them a healthy meal at home? I'm not saying you can't be available to help others, but do you have balance about it?

Again, this is about ME but I am sharing it because I hear you all talk about this stuff all the time. And we all know it leads to BURN-OUT. DEFEAT. FEELINGS OF FAILURE. This is not what God wants for us...this much I know! Can I get an "AMEN?!"

Let me encourage you: A very wise woman at my church (and my mother on more than one occasion) said to me, "Loved one, there are so many good and noble things for you to do out there! It's wonderful that you are wanting to do those things. But this is not your time. This is not your season! Before you choose to engage in that thing...that activity that would just be "so good" for someone else, ask God if it's what HE would consider best. If it takes you away from your family for a significant amount of time, it's not best. If it means you aren't accomplishing much on the home front, but are out there serving everyone else, then it's NOT best.

Now is the time, here at the beginning of the school year to really be mindful of our priorities, myself included. It's not that we can't help others. But this is a season of life that calls us home. And oh what a precious home it is when mama's happy, "cuz when mama aint happy..."

Say it girls.

GO BIG RED!

You're going to get really tired of me talking about Husker football, but it's in my blood and I just gotta!

Tonight the Huskers play ***USC and I'm having people over to eat chili and watch the game. They aren't allowed in unless they're wearing red. No, I'm not kidding.

I wanted to show you where I'll be next weekend for the Ball State game. I CAN'T WAIT! There is nothing like that "sea" of red. And nothing better than a stadium full of Nebraska football fans.

Go Big Red!

***Edited to add: The Huskers lost. Final score: Huskers - 31, USC - 49.

And our sweet neighbors did arrive in red, with the Nebraska logo attached to their red shirts!