Living Life

I have had a hard few weeks with not feeling well, or doing well in general. I sometimes get stuck in a rut. Times when I don't want to get out of the house or make time to see others. I get a lot done here at home, but it seems to take a whole different level of energy to get out and about.

Usually when I feel this way, I become like a hermit. Staying in my own comfortable home, tending to what all needs to be done here. I definitely think that is all important, but I believe having a proper balance is best, at least for me.

I could feel this creeping up on me as I was dealing with some incredibly hard issues that occurred at the beginning of August,  but instead of giving in to it as much as I used to, we kept going.

In the last six weeks, we have met friends at the park, gone to friend's houses, gone to church activities, volunteered to repaint a guest room for families with loved ones in prison, gone to a neighborhood block party, a few birthday parties, a fish fry, family dinner with my side of the family, I've gone to lunch with friends, had company in our home etc.

At times when I feel like am am not possibly doing enough, I think it's important to actually look at what we have done before I start getting to hard on myself. My absolute priorities in life are knowing and honoring God, my husband, and my children. So if I can do these things while still maintaining fellowship with others I think we're are doing okay.

I've been focusing lately on reading  and knowing the Bible and loving my family more. I get up daily and read the Word, I listen to sermons or Bibles studies online like GoodMorningGirls.

I've thought of ways to love my husband more by keeping the house clean, cooking more... spending less on eating out, and having others over to our house. I'm definitely much better at keeping our house clean than ever, but there is always room for improvement. I have cooked 3 meals almost every day for weeks. We have saved so much money! And, last week, I invited a family for dinner, and then had our church over for dinner and study. I can tell he is loving all of this so much!

Ways to love my boys more that I've been working on are coloring with them, reading to them, and today we went out and played football as a family at the park. They are loving this as well, and it seems to work like magic at building a strong relationship with them.

Some personal goals I have for the rest of the year are:
   *cleaning out closets and clutter that I don't want to look at anymore!
   *lose 20lbs I have to lose weight. I keep gaining and losing and I'm sick of it. Plus I just don't feel healthy right now.
   *finish reading the Bible
   *getting to bed early so I can wake up early (bed 10:00 up at 5:30-6:00) I get up now between 6-6:30, but I go to bed around 11:30 and by 2:00 I'm exhausted.
   *I also, want to slow down on all the "inspirational reading" I do. Blogs, pinterest, etc. It's an overload to me right now, so I'm choosing a few of my favorites and keeping it at that for now. I need a break from all of that.

This week I'm working on the next bit of our homeschooling, so I will post that plan soon, also I'll post my progress with the goals above. I need some way to feel accountable about this!

I hope you are all having the loveliest of days. Our days are cool and absolutely beautiful. It feels amazing outside!

Picture taken at Hook, Line, and Sinker in Dallas this summer :)