January FB updates

1/2
12 day Christmas vacation jam-packed with family, fun and chaos is over. I came home with the people I need, those I can't live without. Looking forward to enjoying where I am.. and acknowledging that I am standing exactly where I want and need to be.

"No one longs for what he or she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are.” ~Barbara Brown Taylor

1/9
This morning I waved to my husband and kids on the curb as I left for a quick dentist appt. As I drove away, my husband said something like, "so this is how it feels everyday to stay home and hang out with the kids." I was mad at myself for leaving the house so clean, (never typical of my regular routine.) An hour later, I called him to check in and let him know I was finished. He was on the other line with a student loan company and couldn't talk long. The baby was crying in the background and all he had time to say was, "ugh. unclogging a toilet, the kids are screaming. I've gotta go." Best 20 second phone call of my life.

1/11
As our son was sobbing outside our bedroom door around 10 pm last night, my husband kindly observed, "He is a lot like his mother. Happy-go-lucky and a friend to everyone during the day... and an emotional wreck past bedtime." I completely disagreed, buried my face in pillows and cried myself to sleep.

1/18
Zack (after helping his sister put on a pair of mittens only for her to rip them off): ugh! She keeps changing her mind and changing her mind! Off, on, off, on! 
Ben: huh. I hear girls are like that.

1/29
Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. -Elise Boulding