To Our Girls: You Won't Remember

Dear Bailey (age 5), Lou (age 3), and Parker (age 1),

There are parts of our life that you won't remember because you are so young, but we will. There are things that your dad and I do, that all good parents do, that you won't remember. There are also things that you do that melt our hearts, that you won't remember. Many of these tiny things have made a huge impact on our lives.

You won't remember ...

• The joy that was in our hearts the day you were born.
• The prayers that we said over you and your life before you were born, and everyday since. The prayers for your perfect health, growth, and development. The prayers that you will become strong women and contagious followers of Christ.
• The nights we worried about you when you were sick. The nights we set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to make sure that your high fever had broke.
• The nights we rocked you a few extra minutes so that we could feel your sweet breath on our neck just a little bit longer.
• The way we had to hold back tears whenever you got hurt.
• The times that you said something hilarious, but we couldn't show it because you were being sassy. So, we covered our faces or left the room to laugh.
• The times we snuck into your room at night to watch you sleep.
• The "fun" activities we said no to because we didn't want to miss spending time with you. Besides, you are all the fun we need.
• The way you run up and hug our legs when we've been apart.
• The first time you said "I love you" or "mommy" or "daddy"
• How proud we were of you the first time you accomplished something big like riding your bike without training wheels, or jumping off the diving board.
• The long hours we spent running/working out at 5:30am or 8:30pm so that we wouldn't miss our time with you.
• That mommy and daddy talked about nothing but you on our date nights.
• Listening to the same kids music over and over and over in the car, and how we wouldn't correct you when you sang the wrong words because they fit pretty good if you really thought about it.
• For instance, you liked to sing the 12 disciples song which ends in "and Bartholomew;" however, you said "if I follow you."
• The first time you asked to run with us because you see our love of exercise.
• The first time you said a prayer on your own.
• All the band-aids that we put on barely noticeable boo-boo's because it made you feel so much better.
• The way we completely altered our schedule to make sure that your needs were met.
• How we were changed for the better because of you.

 ... but we will.

We love you more than you'll ever know,
Mommy & Daddy

Watch Yo Mouth!

Warning: This post could ruin your image of me and I'm willing to take that chance if this info can help you out. Please read with caution...

My husband and I have been working on our words lately. A few weeks ago, we noticed that we were getting shorter and shorter tempered with our children so we made it a point to "think before we speak." So, we put a few Bible verses in various rooms of our house and we read those on a daily basis.

For instance, we put a copy on our bathroom mirror so that we could read it each morning before our girls woke up. We also put a copy in the girls' bathroom so that we could have a visual reminder to "stay calm" when they started acting up during bath time. We also put a copy on Lou's (age 3) bedroom door because putting her to bed was a nightly struggle. Inevitably, we would get frustrated with her and we would raise our voices ... every. single. night.

I'm happy to say that over the last few weeks, our house has seen heard a wonderful change. We still have our frustrating moments, but we now handle things differently. I'm not going to lie, keeping your cool is hard and sometimes we just have to walk out of the room so we don't raise our voice, but hey, it's better than yelling back. We are not perfect and we never will be, but we recognized a problem and we chose to correct it.

There is a new song on the radio called Words by Hawk Nelson that has really hit home as we've been going through this process. Here are some of the lyrics:

"They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king

They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began

Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out

Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You"

When you make a conscious effort to "think before you speak," whether it's to your children, your spouse, your friends, etc, you will be blessed. Now that I've aired our dirty laundry and you all think that my husband and I just sit around yelling at our kids, rest assured, it's not like that at all. We rarely raise our voices, but we did start to notice that it was happening more often so we chose to make a change. I challenge you to "think before you speak" no matter what situation you may be facing. 

With that, I want to leave you with a few verses to think about:

• Psalm 19:14 - May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
• Hosea 6:5 - I killed you with the words of my mouth
• 1 Thessalonians 4:18 - Therefore encourage one another with these words.
• Psalm 139:4 - Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
• Proverbs 12:18 - The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• James 3:5 - Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
• James 3:9 - With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
• 1 Peter 4:11 - If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Busy, Busy Me

I've been one busy "Me" lately. I've had a lot on my plate and it's starting to catch up with me. Once Bailey was born, I went from full time work to part time work with my same employer. Last Summer, my boss talked me into working full time for two months while we went through some employee changes. It was tough being away from my kids, but it helped us financially and it was short term so I chose to do it. Around Christmas time, my boss and I agreed that I would work full time March-June of this year since that is typically our busy season. I was anxious to be away from my kids for 5 days in a row, but again, there was an end in sight so it didn't seem as daunting. Here it is late June and I'm just plain tired. I've been working full time, going to Boot camp three mornings a week, playing soccer weekly, running multiple times a week, keeping our house afloat (with my awesome husbands help), cooking dinners at night, and still being mom at all hours of the day/night. I'm not going to lie, I'm pooped. Would you like an example of my tiredness? Last Friday, I rushed to work to get there early for a meeting. The meeting was on Thursday ... and I attended it. Oh yes, I'm blaming that one on being way too tired.

Besides those occasional "crazy" moments as I call them, I've been getting subtle hints from God over the past two weeks telling me that it's time to "clear off my plate" and slow down. Here are two quotes that I've seen recently:

• Make an investment into your future and get some balance in your life. Say "yes" to what God says "yes" to and "no" to what God says "no" to. - Joyce Meyer
• You make your schedule, and you're the only one who can change it. - Joyce Meyer

The last one really got to me. She's right, I choose my schedule. I say yes and I say no. I fill the schedule (with my husbands help) so there's no one to blame but myself for how busy I've been. I also saw the following article a few months ago, and it really stuck with me.

"Busyness - Even though the apostles were busy doing the work of the kingdom, Jesus recognized their need for rest and made sure they set some quiet time aside to replenish their bodies and souls. What a great lesson for us! When our days are scheduled tightly, we leave no margin for error and any unexpected hindrance is magnified. This creates unnecessary stress and can leave everyone irritable and exhausted. In a culture that glorifies activity, achievement, and 'busyness,' it can be hard to slow down the pace of our lives and the lives of our children. It takes wisdom to prioritize our activities and risk feeling 'left out' of the mainstream. Are there areas where you or your children's lives might be over-scheduled? Make it a priority to provide time for rest and relaxation for everyone in your family including yourself."

That being said, I'm taking a break from a few things in the month of July. Since I can't stop being a mom, and I can't ignore my work, I'm going to take a break from Boot camp. I will still work out and run, but this will allow me more hours of sleep since I go to Boot camp three days a week at 5:30am. Although I will greatly miss the girls that I workout with, I hope that this will restore me to a less sleepy state of life. I realize that with three small kids, I will always be tired, but I don't always have to be exhausted. I will also practice saying no to things that come up and either take time away from my family or that will wear me down in the long run. I vow that July will be "take it easy" month at the Morrison household. Who's with me?!

The New Me - Month Eight

The 13th was the official day that I had been working out for 8 months. I forgot to write an update at month 7, which tells me a few things. #1 - If I don't put a monthly reminder on my calendar then I'll forget to write an update, and #2 - the excitement of tracking my every workout move is wearing off ... meaning, I'm starting to like what I see. It's taken me 8 months of hard work to finally say that I'm happy with how I look. I still have goals to reach and I will still be working hard, but I'm finally starting to see the "fruits of my labor."

Like it says in the Bible, Hard work pays off:

• Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
• 2 Corinthians 9:6 - "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."

So, instead of giving you a play-by-play of my workout routine like I've done in the past, I'll just hit a few of the highlights that have come from 8 months of working out/running consistently:

• I've lost 9 inches
• I've gone down 3 pants sizes and 2 shirt sizes
• I've lost 12 pounds
• I've run a total of 138 miles
• I'm much healthier and happier

Then & Now: The below picture says a lot to me. It's hard (at least for women) to change the way we "SEE" ourselves. In my head, I still envision the girl on the left as me today. It truly takes me seeing myself in a picture to realize that I'm now the girl on the right. I'll be honest, I'm pretty darn proud of the girl on the right. She has been working full time, going to Boot camp at 5:30am full time, been a mom of three girls (ages 5 and under), and played soccer and ran weekly to reach her goals. I had to put all excuses aside and give 110% to stay focused on my goals. It was tough, I had to make sacrifices, and at times I wanted to quit, but I knew that I had to press on. And, I will continue to press on. I have old goals to reach, new goals to set, and children that look up to me. For those three reasons alone (my kids), I will not fail.

 

 

Saving Money at CVS

I bought those 11 items at CVS yesterday for $1.71 plus tax. Here's how I did it:

• Puff's Kleenex: The two smaller boxes on top retail for $1.77 each. The larger box on the bottom retails for $1.99. All three were on sale for $0.99 and I had a coupon for $0.25 off the purchase of 3.
• $0.99 x 3 = $2.97 - $0.25 = $2.72
• Secret Deodorant: The one on the left is Secret Outlast and it retails for $5.79. The one of the right is Secret Clinical Strength and it retails for $8.99. Both were on sale for $4.00 and I had a $3.00 off coupon for both. I haven't tried either of these items, but at this price, why not?
• $4.00 + $4.00 = $8.00 - $3.00 - $3.00 = $2.00
• Irish Spring Body Wash: Retails for $4.99, but was on sale for $2.99. I had a coupon for $0.75 off.
• $2.99 - $0.75 = $2.24
• Softsoap Foaming Hand Soap: Retails for $3.29, but was on sale for $2.99.
• CVS ran a special for $2.00 back in Extra Care Bucks (shown in pic) for the purchase of this item. This made the item $0.99.
• Edge Shave Gel: There were 7 oz and 8.4 oz cans for the same price. I bought the larger cans to get more for the money. It pays to read the labels and to compare the prices! The cans retail for $3.19 each. I had two Buy One Get One Free (up to $3.00) coupons.
• $3.19 x 4 = $12.76 - $3.00 - $3.00 = $6.76
• I had an email coupon (hint: sign up for your favorite stores email list for special savings) for $5.00 off a Beauty purchase of $25 or more. I spent $26.74 to make sure that I could use this coupon.
• CVS ran another special for $5.00 back in ECB's (shown in pic) if you spend $15 on Irish Spring or Edge. I spent $17.75 so I qualified for this.
• I had a second email coupon for $3 off any $15 purchase so I used that as well.

Here is the calculation of the bold numbers above:

• $2.72 + $2.00 + $2.24 + $0.99 + $6.76 - $5.00 - $5.00 - $3.00 = $1.71 + tax! The retail price was $41.35.

The key to saving so much money is to (1) pay attention to the store sales, (2) stack manufacturer and store coupons, and (3) check the rewards that the store gives for purchasing certain items. These three key factors can be added together for maximum savings.

The two email coupons I received were an added savings on this trip. In addition, I also get CVS quarterly rewards for purchasing items from their store and every little bit adds up. Last quarter I got a coupon for $8.50 off the pruchase of anything in the store. That's huge!

HAPPY (cheap) SHOPPING!

Five Amazing Years

There she is, Bailey June Morrison, fresh out of the oven. We still can't believe that the hospital let us walk out of there with her a few days later. Did they not realize that we had no idea what was going on?!



Age One

Age Two

Age Three (with Lou)

Age Four (showing her sisters some love)

Age Five

Dear Bailey (Bailey B, Junebug, Baylay),

Happy 5th Birthday! You bring us more joy than we could ever imagine. You were the instruction manual for your sisters, and you have been a huge help with raising both of them even at such a young age. You are a go getter. You are very helpful. You have a desire to please others. You have a new found love of running. You have a heart of gold. We love you MORE than you'll ever know!

Love,

Mom & Dad