The Enemy of the Best is the Good

Over the past few months (let's say 11 ;)), I've really been having a hard time figuring out what I want from life. It's been easy to look into the future and say, "in 10 years I want to be in a big house with a new mini-van in the garage and a big savings account at the bank." But looking at the right now? That's been tricky.

I've always had the mindset that the "right now" determines the future. And, while that can be the case, sometimes I have to dig a little deeper. The "right now" that I'm craving could be what leads to where I *think* I want to be in 10 years, but not necessarily.

You see, more than the materialism of what my dreams have always held for the future is God's calling in my life. And right now, it's going in the complete.opposite.direction. of where I thought it would.

Scott and I have made the (tough) decision for me to stay home. On his income. And no included benefits.

Less money = greater dreams??? For us, yes.

I'm not going to dream of that bigger and better house so that I can be content with the house that I have.

I'm not going to give all of my energy to my job so that I can give it to my husband and kiddos.

I'm not going to spend money on just anything so I can budget and save for what's important.

I'm not going to look to culture to sell me on my desires so that I can study God's word and find what His true desires are for me.

I'm not going to settle for what's good so that I can live my life for what's best.

It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it.

Crafts Galore!

Over the weekend, I went to my friend Jenny's house to spend two days doing nothing but crafts! Jenny is a friend from back in the day at Berry College...as she reminded me, it's almost been 10 years since we graduated. Gasp! I still love her despite how old she made me feel. ;)

We spent hours making crafts. She and I are kindred spirits when it comes to making things with our hands. On Friday evening, we went to Archiver's (a scrapbooking store) and worked, and worked, and worked. Then on Saturday, we spent a few hours in her much coveted Craft Room. We were both super productive.

This is my favorite thing I made this weekend. It's just a wooden board with 4x6 compartments. I put it in our hutch in the kitchen. Love it! (and the top middle says "Est. 2003" - I don't know why it's hard to read in this picture.)


I also made a calendar for my desk to replace the one that just ended. Every calendar starts with October, right?!? Oh, it's just mine...'cuz that's when I had time to make it. ;)


And then Jenny and I made cards. LOTS of cards! Cards for every occasion!

Just because...

Happy Birthday (girl - in case you miss that hot pink!)...


Happy Birthday (boy)...


Happy Birthday (fun)...


I love you...


Baby...


Merry Christmas (for decoration)...


I'm taking a meal to our neighbor/cousin/friend who just had a baby boy. I thought this was cute...


Fall Card/Decoration (I made two of these. One for a card, and one for Fall decoration)...


Doesn't it frame nicely?! This is what I'll do with the Christmas card, too! Simple and inexpensive. :)


At Archiver's they had these cute little paint cans in all sizes. I made treat holders for the kiddos. I'm going to fill them with candy this Friday, and let them choose one goody a day until Halloween. They are excited! (Little do they know, my plan is that they will be OVER the excitement of candy and not interested in stuffing their faces! I'll let you know how my plan works.:))


I thought the tops turned out super cute. ;)


Oh, we had so much fun! I know it will be a while until I can spend this much time "playing," but I can't wait until next time.

Can you see it?!?!

Ella Beth drew this last Sunday at Waumba Land (Sunday school). This is the first "scene" that she has ever drawn. I love that she and I are in it together. :)



In case you can't read what it says, this is a picture of Ella Beth playing with Mommy at a fence watching horses.

I LOVE it, and just wanted to share it. :)

Potty issues

In order to keep my blog "real" and assure you that life is not perfect at the Castleberry household - I want to post a question that is causing Scott and me great distress, anxiety, annoyance, frustration...you get the idea.

Landon has been potty trained for about 5 months now. He was easy-peasy to train (thanks mostly to his big sister's huge influence). However, the last two weeks have been a thorn in our sides. Landon wants to wait until the VERY.LAST.MOMENT. before he will go to the bathroom (or pull his pants down if he's outside...hey, whatever works!). He is having accidents daily. He is not completely emptying his bladder in his pants, but he is wetting himself because he waits and waits and waits.

He does his "potty dance" so we are all well aware that he needs to go to the potty, but he refuses to go. Ugh!

Anyone have advice? Should we start punishing him for these accidents since he's choosing not to go? Should we do some sort of reward system? We just don't know, and it's driving us crazy!

Treasures

I've been going through my pictures from HHI...all 1500 of them. Whew! I may still be posting beach pictures well into the Christmas season.


Scott just could not understand why I wanted a picture of Ella Beth in a tutu at the beach. But, now he does.


Ella Beth loved running around "naked" - I could barely keep her still for a photograph!


I just love this picture. Ella Beth looks so serene - as opposed to the hyper/wild "Miss Thing" she usually is. ;)


I have been trying to get a picture of Landon's eyelashes FOREVER. I'm still not satisfied that this is the best shot, but this boy has lashes to drool over. Believe me, when the kiddos are in high school, Ella Beth is going to be thinking life is unfair!


They can drive each other crazy. They can drive me crazy driving each other crazy. But, most of the time, they are just best friends.


I do not like this picture of me. Short wind-blown hair just doesn't picture well...but it's the best family shot we got.

And in case you're wondering why Ella Beth is the only one NOT in white...well, this Type-A perfectionist forgot the white dress. Yes, God began a teaching moment about 3 hours into our drive when I realized what I had done. I almost had tears; but I didn't. I was so proud of myself. ;)


And, since she wasn't in white...I just let her be wild. (See, God continued teaching me something else...to loosen up. It's OK if she gets dirty when she is NOT supposed to!)


And, well, Landon too!


Ella Beth asked if she could run in the water...


I had no idea she'd swim in it!

OK, God. Lesson learned. And I have pictures to prove it!

Growing Kids

I received this in my inbox the other day from Scream Free Parenting:

"Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own."

-Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946), American Essayist and Critic

Parenting Tip:

Children, like adults, long to be taken seriously. Hopes, dreams, fears, and hurts are every bit as real to kids as they are to us. Whether it’s a toddler who is afraid of the dark or a teen who has just had her heart broken, we can really make a difference if we can empathize with them rather than ridicule or dismiss them.

Remember, kids are in the process of becoming. They are trying on all sorts of personalities, likes, dislikes, and attitudes to see what fits them best. The more supportive you can be in what matters to them and the less reactive you get in the heat of the moment, the better off you’ll both be.
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This "parenting tip" really struck home with me. How many times have I laughed (both inwardly and outwardly) at Ella Beth as she imitates me, Scott, her older cousins, neighbors, and friends? How many times have I punished her for repeating things that her older cousins, neighbors, and friends have said...despite the fact that she didn't know that what she was repeating was inappropriate?

Too many times to count.

It's so easy to get caught up in the "Growing Up" aspect of raising our children and to forget how impressionable, how young, they really are. So often I treat Ella Beth as a much bigger girl than she really is. I neglect the fact that her learning curve is enormous at 4 years. So many things are still very new to her; her context is not that vast.

My favorite part of the Tip is this: we can really make a difference if we can empathize with them rather than ridicule or dismiss them.

To me, this is a jewel. I see the benefit of this now and later. I see how important my reaction is to Ella Beth getting in the car after preschool and telling me, "_________ said 'stupid' today." I can't just jump in and tell her, "We don't say those things, and I don't care if you are just repeating it, we still don't say that." Um, no.

If she feels unsafe in telling me that (which is a big thing in her 4 year old world), why would I expect her to come to me later when something much bigger is going on? Ella Beth cares so much about what I think of her. She puts a lot of pressure on herself always wanting to please me. (I love our special bond, but this is definitely an area that I must tip-toe around because of how vulnerable my sweet girl is.) I must be very deliberate in how I respond when she is confiding in me - even if it's something that I don't want to hear.

When she is 15 and her friends are experimenting with all kinds of things, I want to be her sounding board. I would rather have all lines of communication open than the contrary.

I feel blessed to have stumbled upon this jewel while my children are still very young, and blessed that I have a few years of practice before the real tests begin.

Do you know? Have you heard?

Do you know how many orphans there are in the world?

It is estimated that there are 147 MILLION orphans. That is a conservative estimate.

Have you heard the saying, "You can't change everyone's life, but you can change everything for ONE life?"

Can you even begin to imagine how different our world would be if just Christians stepped up and decided to do something about the despair and depravity that 147 million orphans live in each day? It is estimated that there are 2.1 BILLION Christians in the world. That number squashes the number of orphans. But why are there so many forgotten children? Why is it so hard to live out James 1:27?

James 1:27 : "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We are called to live for much more than ourselves. We are called to live for God and to live for others.

Interested in a small, and beautiful, way to start?

147 Million Orphans is an organization that is partnering with people world wide to make a difference in the lives of orphans and widows. From their site you can get lots of information, but something you can do TODAY is purchase a necklace (or 2, or more!). Each necklace is made by a woman in Uganda, and the purchase of a necklace - only $20 - will help to feed a family for a month! The necklaces are beautiful, and each one is unique. (They are very long, too. I loop mine around three times. With so many colors, it's not hard to find an outfit to wear it with either!)
I wore mine to church this morning and had two women stop me in the UpStreet hall to ask me about it. I always use moments like these (because I get them each time I wear my necklace, and you will too!) to tell women of the opportunity they have to make a difference. Well, this morning, I think I made a small difference because as I was talking, about 8 other people stopped to listen to my endorsement. ;) Even a 13 year old BOY stopped to listen because he told me later that he went to Africa last year and his life has been changed. AMAZING!!!

Don't wait! Not only will you be fashionable as you sport your beautiful necklace, but you will also be supporting women on the other side of our Earth - AND you will have the opportunity (many opportunities!) to share with others how they, too, can support women and orphans in Africa.

http://147millionorphans.com/

Happy shopping! Happy sharing!