High Five for Friday

Life has been a blur since Thanksgiving, and it's honestly been difficult to see the positives in the midst of sadness in our family.  The Monday after Thanksgiving, we learned that my Grandpa (my dad's dad) has terminal cancer.  Until very recently, he was a very healthy 85 year old man who was active and fun-loving.  After learning he had cancer in his stomach, lung, and liver, he decided not to pursue treatments.  He has gone downhill very fast and has been in the hospital all but just a couple days since his diagnosis and plans to be transferred to a nursing home for hospice care on Monday.  It is very hard to see him deteriorate so quickly, but we are grateful that his pain is now under control and that he's getting the care he needs.  I've only been able to visit with him once so far and plan to see him again tomorrow, but he is on my mind every day. 

Needless to say, I have been preoccupied and it has really shown.  I've forgotten the most routine things, had a hard time motivating myself, and had trouble concentrating.  In the midst of a particularly busy couple days, I decided to change my perspective. 

Instead of being overwhelmed by the clutter in the house, I reminded myself that the clutter is a sign of a family of four living everyday life. A life we longed for and are blessed to be living.

Instead of being frustrated with myself over being forgetful and absentminded, I reminded myself to let it go and move forward.

Instead of spending all of my energy on keeping up or catching up with chores, I reminded myself that those moments were better spent focusing on my family.

Instead of stretching myself too thin, I decided to say no to a couple things so I could have a more peaceful pace. 

Instead of being annoyed that Luke ate the cookies I planned to bring to a cookie exchange, I smiled, blew it off, and made another batch of cookies (which ended up being hot out of the oven for the cookie exchange:)).

With ALL of that said, I am now ready and able to see my "high fives" again:)

• Nora has extended her schedule this week.  What I mean is that she had been taking 3 naps and eating about every 3.5 hours during the day.  The past two days she has taken one morning nap, one afternoon nap,  and just cat napped in the evening while on a car ride and she has eaten every 4+ hours.  The timing worked out wonderfully with our weekday routines (school pick up and dinner for the rest of us).  It's crazy how this change makes her feel so grown up all of a sudden!
• After three months back at Weight Watchers I've surpassed the 20 pounds lost mark!  I can't take much credit...it has honestly been breastfeeding that is making most of the difference because I haven't been all that strict with myself on the program.  I can take credit for going each week to weigh in, which keeps my sights in the right direction:)  I've got more progress to make, but this milestone felt good.

Not great comparison pictures, but I guess I can tell a bit

• I had the opportunity to spend some times with friends this week, which was good for my soul.  An afternoon with family friends last weekend and an evening out with some MOPS moms were much needed:)
• We have amazing kids.  Monday night after work, I realized that I hadn't grocery shopped since the week before Thanksgiving (and that was mainly for Thanksgiving dinner)...we were running low!  Brent had a basketball game mid-evening, so I brought the kids with me to two stores and they did great.  Ideal grocery shopping for me is a solo act on a day I don't work, but the kids were wonderful and we got it done on a work/school night:)  It was also great that it was a warm evening so being in and out of the car a few times wasn't bad at all. 
• Watching our kids together warms my heart.  Nora adores her brother and loves watching him, even if he's just relaxing in the same room.  Luke is amazing with Nora and loves to talk with her, read to her, and entertain her while she plays.  The kids also LOVE their daddy:)  Nora kicks, squirms, and lights up when Brent comes home from work and Luke chooses Daddy any chance he gets.  I could not be more blessed.