I have never been a New Year resolutions kind of person so don't expect me to write a list of goals for this new year. I think goals are important, but for me, the need to change a part of my life shouldn't wait until the start of a new year, it should start right away. I understand it makes it so much easier to wait until the New Year. Maybe just because it is easier to keep track of how I'm doing with the goals I set for myself. The only thing that I have decided to start this Jan 1st 2010 is to read the Bible twice thru. I have already read it once thru a couple of times in a year so I need a new challenge. Joe and I have set a financial goal for ourselves, but who doesn't. We all want to get a better hold on our money and not be stupid with it like we have been for the last 7 years of our marriage. We finally feel that we are going to be faithful to a budget which is exciting! We have never been in a lot of debt, but what little debt we are in we would like to get out of sooner than later.
Looking back on 2009 I would say that we lived a good one. We spent our first full year at Rainbow Christian Camp and we love being here. Of course the best part about 2009 was bringing Jake Owen into our lives! Other then that it was just another year for me. I don't feel like I accomplished a whole lot last year, but I am happy and content with where God has put us and I'm looking forward to another year.
One thing I would like to work on for this year would be to find ways to do more then just live and exist. Last year I didn't live outside of myself or comfort zone very much at all. I would like to find different ways to make more of a difference in this world then just go about my life being home most of the time watching TV or cleaning the house. I know that Jake is growing up quickly and learning a lot from the way Joe and I live our lives, so I want to do my best at teaching him that there are more important things in life than keeping his room clean. I hope that he can learn to love helping others and understand the importance of being generous as well as building others up. I feel our world is full of too much sarcasism and needs more affirmation. Sarcasism can be funny, but hurtful at the same time and makes people forget how to give a compliment so I hope Jake blesses others with his words.
I am excited to live out a different year and hope to follow the dreams God gives me.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas with the Wisley's
Merry Christmas to all my followers, if any of you actually still follow this blog. I haven't written in several weeks so I just wanted to give a quick update on how the Wisley's have been doing.
Joe and I spent a few days apart before Christmas because he worked with his brother in Bedford to make some much needed cash. When we returned on Wednesday afternoon we opened gifts that we got for each other. I got a gun holster for my hand gun, hunting coveralls for next years hunting season, the BigTop cupcake bakeware that you may have seen on infomercials on TV, and a 4 foot frame that Joe and his brother made me to display our A.T stuff. Oh and he got me this really warm and soft blanket that is just like a blanket Jake has, which I love! After opening gifts we packed up the car, loaded the dog, the baby and ourselves and headed to Chicago for Christmas to visit with my parents, sisters, Aunt, Uncle, Cousins and future Brother-in-law. It was a good trip aside from the freak freezing rain storm on the way there. We watched several cars slide off the road in front of us. It took us 4 hours to get to mom and dad's which wasn't bad considering how slow we had to drive until we reached 80-94. Jake is normally a good baby when we travel, but this time he decided to surprise us with a fit. It was probably my fault since I swaddled him in his car seat and when we got to my parents he was soaking in his own sweat! Poor guy! I thought he was throwing a fit because he was overtired. We spent Chrismas day opening a few gifts with my family and then headed to my Aunt's house for a Ham dinner. My cousin had identical twin boys last week and they were able to make it out of the house so we could see the boys! They are so precious and made me miss my little guy when we was a few weeks old.
This is a picture of the Panda blanket my mom made for Jake to go with his black and white room at home.
Joe and I spent a few days apart before Christmas because he worked with his brother in Bedford to make some much needed cash. When we returned on Wednesday afternoon we opened gifts that we got for each other. I got a gun holster for my hand gun, hunting coveralls for next years hunting season, the BigTop cupcake bakeware that you may have seen on infomercials on TV, and a 4 foot frame that Joe and his brother made me to display our A.T stuff. Oh and he got me this really warm and soft blanket that is just like a blanket Jake has, which I love! After opening gifts we packed up the car, loaded the dog, the baby and ourselves and headed to Chicago for Christmas to visit with my parents, sisters, Aunt, Uncle, Cousins and future Brother-in-law. It was a good trip aside from the freak freezing rain storm on the way there. We watched several cars slide off the road in front of us. It took us 4 hours to get to mom and dad's which wasn't bad considering how slow we had to drive until we reached 80-94. Jake is normally a good baby when we travel, but this time he decided to surprise us with a fit. It was probably my fault since I swaddled him in his car seat and when we got to my parents he was soaking in his own sweat! Poor guy! I thought he was throwing a fit because he was overtired. We spent Chrismas day opening a few gifts with my family and then headed to my Aunt's house for a Ham dinner. My cousin had identical twin boys last week and they were able to make it out of the house so we could see the boys! They are so precious and made me miss my little guy when we was a few weeks old.
This is a picture of the Panda blanket my mom made for Jake to go with his black and white room at home.
The frame Joe made for me to display our Appalachian Trail map, pics, and completion certificates and patches.
Jake is now 15 weeks old and grows cuter everyday. He rolled over from his belly to his back for the first time last week! He also giggled a little for me too! The picture above was taken a few weeks ago. His neck is becoming so strong. He is so close to losing the bobble head!
The last picture is of our favorite dog in the whole world Maximus. He has been with us for a year on January 1st. He was a Christmas gift last year and is probably the best gift I have ever gotten! Here he is with his cousin Zeke's santa outfit on that Denise got for him. He wasn't to exciting about wearing it as you can see. The best part are the bells on his cloak that jingle when he walks around!
Well, that is about all for now until I decide to write another blog three weeks from now. Hope you all had a great Christmas!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I'm not complaining, just explaining!
Life is a little boring right now, but I am going to blog about it anyway. I tend to be a pessimist and hate that about myself so I decided I was going to work on reducing the negativity in my life, so if it seems as though I am complaining, I'm not, I am just explaining. I seem to get this way during the months of Dec-March because it's cold out and I love being outside, but not when it is cold and windy. Last winter we adopted our dog Maximus and I took him for walks everyday even if it was 15 degrees out only because we were working on training him to go on walks without pulling on his leash and eventually to walk without the need to be leashed. Now that we have Jake, it is too cold to take him out, so I am stuck in this little house doing my best to keep the television off and workout, clean, read and nap(if possible) instead of sitting in front of the boob toob all day long. Poor Maximus lays around bored to death and day dreams about life before the baby. I have actually enjoyed having the TV off because it has pushed me to do the things that I hate doing, but when they are done I feel so much better about myself. I started to workout out consistantly this week and it feels so good to get back into my normal routine of breathing hard and sweating it out. I feel energized and sleep a little better at night because of it. Joe and I are going to Florida and Puerto Rico in March so we have 3.5 months to get into bathing suit shape again. I was looking at my pictures of what I looked like before we hiked the AT and it depressed me a little because I looked so good! I don't feel that I look terrible now, but I have not had to work this hard to look better in a long time. I am just thankful that I don't need to loose more than 15 pounds, unlike so many Americans today who are 50+ lb overweight.
Thanksgiving was spent in Bedford this year with all of Joe's side of the family. We stayed with Josh(Joe's twin) and his wife Denise. They have a black lab, Zeke, that Maximus loves to play with. I had a total of three thanksgiving meals this year. One with Joe's mom, a second with Joe's Dad, and a third with my sister-in-law's parents. Sadly we did not make the trip up to Chicago to visit with my side. Traveling with a 2.5 month old is tiring and stressful so we have made the shift from visiting boths sides of the family to only one side per holiday.
Being back home from the holidays is nice but the pessimistic side of me wishes we weren't home as much because of how boring life can get being at home doing the same thing everyday. Even though I would have to do the same thing anywhere else it doesn't seem as boring when I am not at home.
Wake up to feed Jake, burb and change him, play until he gets cranking for a nap, get some house work done while Jake naps and then do it all over again four times before it's time for bed. I can't say that I miss the life I had before he came into it, but there are times when I day dreams about my adventure hiking the AT and wish that I could have lived out a couple more dreams before we decided to start a family. Don't get me wrong I love having a son and wouldn't go back and change anything if I had the oppotunity to. I love seeing him grow, smile, jibber/jabber, and suck on his fingers. He is becoming so much more observant over the week. One day Jake will be apart of the dreams we have to put on hold for a few years. I hope he likes hiking!
I thought about training for the mini- marathon in Indy this May and was excited about it until I realized I would have to start training for it out in the cold. Ehhhh, think I will pass on the mini for at least this year.
Christmas is pretty much here and although I love this holiday more than any other I loath Christmas shopping! I really don't care to shop unless I know what I am going for and since I never really know what I want to get people I usually don't end up going. Joe loves getting gifts for others so he does a good job of going into any store, not having any idea what he is going to get someone and coming out with something cool. I have decided the only people I am shopping for this year are Joe and Jake. Gift exchange is not my thing lately. I find it a waste of money to exchange to gift with someone who doesn't need it when there are so many other people who are in need, and I end up with something that I may like, but end up not using it enough.
Well, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. My feet are cold so I am going to put on some socks and drink some tea. If you feel like cheering me up send me a comment that will make me laugh or something. (It may sound like I am in a bad mood, but I am not. It just may sound that way)
Thanksgiving was spent in Bedford this year with all of Joe's side of the family. We stayed with Josh(Joe's twin) and his wife Denise. They have a black lab, Zeke, that Maximus loves to play with. I had a total of three thanksgiving meals this year. One with Joe's mom, a second with Joe's Dad, and a third with my sister-in-law's parents. Sadly we did not make the trip up to Chicago to visit with my side. Traveling with a 2.5 month old is tiring and stressful so we have made the shift from visiting boths sides of the family to only one side per holiday.
Being back home from the holidays is nice but the pessimistic side of me wishes we weren't home as much because of how boring life can get being at home doing the same thing everyday. Even though I would have to do the same thing anywhere else it doesn't seem as boring when I am not at home.
Wake up to feed Jake, burb and change him, play until he gets cranking for a nap, get some house work done while Jake naps and then do it all over again four times before it's time for bed. I can't say that I miss the life I had before he came into it, but there are times when I day dreams about my adventure hiking the AT and wish that I could have lived out a couple more dreams before we decided to start a family. Don't get me wrong I love having a son and wouldn't go back and change anything if I had the oppotunity to. I love seeing him grow, smile, jibber/jabber, and suck on his fingers. He is becoming so much more observant over the week. One day Jake will be apart of the dreams we have to put on hold for a few years. I hope he likes hiking!
I thought about training for the mini- marathon in Indy this May and was excited about it until I realized I would have to start training for it out in the cold. Ehhhh, think I will pass on the mini for at least this year.
Christmas is pretty much here and although I love this holiday more than any other I loath Christmas shopping! I really don't care to shop unless I know what I am going for and since I never really know what I want to get people I usually don't end up going. Joe loves getting gifts for others so he does a good job of going into any store, not having any idea what he is going to get someone and coming out with something cool. I have decided the only people I am shopping for this year are Joe and Jake. Gift exchange is not my thing lately. I find it a waste of money to exchange to gift with someone who doesn't need it when there are so many other people who are in need, and I end up with something that I may like, but end up not using it enough.
Well, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. My feet are cold so I am going to put on some socks and drink some tea. If you feel like cheering me up send me a comment that will make me laugh or something. (It may sound like I am in a bad mood, but I am not. It just may sound that way)
Friday, November 20, 2009
Stay away from Fabric Softner. Use this instead!
Go to this website and read about fabric softners and why you shouldn't use them anymore. Baking Soda and Vinager are cheap and safe and can do so much more than just clean and soften your clothes. Check it out!
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/02/08/the_toxic_danger_of_fabric_softener_and_dryer_sheets.htm
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/02/08/the_toxic_danger_of_fabric_softener_and_dryer_sheets.htm
What's your Love Language
Several years ago I read the book "The Five Love Languages" and discovered my top love languages. The five are: Recieving Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time Spent, Physical Touch and Words of Affirmation.
My top two are Quality Time Spent and Acts of Service with Words of Affirmation coming in third place.
Recently I have been asking my close friends what their top two love languages are so that I can have a better understanding of my friends needs and how I can be a better friend to them by showing them that I care for them the way they need to feel loved by me. It really helps to know this because usually the languages that are low on my list are the ones that are high on the list of my friends which can make this a big challenge for me. My husbands love languages are completely opposite from me. He needs words of affirmation and physical touch to feel loved by others. At least the physical touch part by me. I am so bad at meeting his needs because I don't share those same need so I often don't think to compliment him or give him touch as much since I don't need those things to feel loved. Boy! I wish it was easier, but it isn't!
So what's your love language?
My top two are Quality Time Spent and Acts of Service with Words of Affirmation coming in third place.
Recently I have been asking my close friends what their top two love languages are so that I can have a better understanding of my friends needs and how I can be a better friend to them by showing them that I care for them the way they need to feel loved by me. It really helps to know this because usually the languages that are low on my list are the ones that are high on the list of my friends which can make this a big challenge for me. My husbands love languages are completely opposite from me. He needs words of affirmation and physical touch to feel loved by others. At least the physical touch part by me. I am so bad at meeting his needs because I don't share those same need so I often don't think to compliment him or give him touch as much since I don't need those things to feel loved. Boy! I wish it was easier, but it isn't!
So what's your love language?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Jake's First Check-up
Today Jake is two months old and Jake had his very first doctors visit today in Kokomo. He is as healthy as can be and the Doctor was impressed with how strong Jake is at two months old. He weighed in at 13lb and is 24 inches long. So he has gained nearly 5 lb in the last 8.5 weeks and grew 3.5 inches. I wish I could post some more pics but my computer won't let me.
All is well in the Wisley household! Jake slept from 9:30-5am for me. It was awesome to wake up and not feel tired when I fed him. 6.5 hours of sleep was wondefrul and I was able to get another 2 hours after I fed him so I didn't feel the need to nap today. First time since he was born I didn't need a nap.
He is smiling a ton lately and very close to giggling for us. He likes to talk to me right after I feed him and while he is settling in his crib for a nap if he spits his pacifier out, which doesn't happen very often anymore because he is able to hold it in his mouth so much better now.
Jake still spits up a lot when I feed him but it should last too much longer from what I hear. Nursing is going well and he is nursing a lot faster now so I don't feel like I am feeding him all the time even though he still eats about every 3 hours.
I love having him on a schedule during the day. It makes things so much easier for me because I know what he needs when he cries 95% of the time. I have been using a Feed time/ Wake Time/Sleep Time schedule and it has worked great! Sometime he tries to fall asleep on me when I nurse him so I do all I can to wake him up to make sure he gets a full feeding and not just a snack. This allows him to go a full 3+ hours before he needs to eat again and allows him to sleep longer during the night. I have had some people tell me to just demand feed him whenever he cries. but I didn't want him to grow up thinking that anytime he was upset to turn to food for comfort. I feel that in a way I demand feed him since he demands it when he really is hungry! I just know that not every cry is a means for food. That is why pacifiers are so great. In the words of my dear friend Kari, "Pacifiers are boob savers!"
He has taken a bottle very easily. We have already left him with someone for a couple differents night so Joe and I can get some alone time. This has been hard for me because #1: I miss him a lot #2 I know him better than anyone else and #3 I don't want his schedule to get messed up. I am a little anal when it comes to certain things like Jake but hey, at least I am getting to the point where I am okay leaving him with other people already! I am a first time mom. You know how it was with your first baby. Remember!
Yesterday we went to Shipshiwana to visit our friends Nate and Kari who just had their second baby girl, Jada about 5 weeks ago. It was crazy to see the difference between Jake and Jada. 3 weeks is a big difference. Jake has lost his infant look. Jada was so cute and so tiny! Love and Miss you guys a ton!
Welp, gonna go write some thank you cards that I am three weeks behind on.
God Bless!
All is well in the Wisley household! Jake slept from 9:30-5am for me. It was awesome to wake up and not feel tired when I fed him. 6.5 hours of sleep was wondefrul and I was able to get another 2 hours after I fed him so I didn't feel the need to nap today. First time since he was born I didn't need a nap.
He is smiling a ton lately and very close to giggling for us. He likes to talk to me right after I feed him and while he is settling in his crib for a nap if he spits his pacifier out, which doesn't happen very often anymore because he is able to hold it in his mouth so much better now.
Jake still spits up a lot when I feed him but it should last too much longer from what I hear. Nursing is going well and he is nursing a lot faster now so I don't feel like I am feeding him all the time even though he still eats about every 3 hours.
I love having him on a schedule during the day. It makes things so much easier for me because I know what he needs when he cries 95% of the time. I have been using a Feed time/ Wake Time/Sleep Time schedule and it has worked great! Sometime he tries to fall asleep on me when I nurse him so I do all I can to wake him up to make sure he gets a full feeding and not just a snack. This allows him to go a full 3+ hours before he needs to eat again and allows him to sleep longer during the night. I have had some people tell me to just demand feed him whenever he cries. but I didn't want him to grow up thinking that anytime he was upset to turn to food for comfort. I feel that in a way I demand feed him since he demands it when he really is hungry! I just know that not every cry is a means for food. That is why pacifiers are so great. In the words of my dear friend Kari, "Pacifiers are boob savers!"
He has taken a bottle very easily. We have already left him with someone for a couple differents night so Joe and I can get some alone time. This has been hard for me because #1: I miss him a lot #2 I know him better than anyone else and #3 I don't want his schedule to get messed up. I am a little anal when it comes to certain things like Jake but hey, at least I am getting to the point where I am okay leaving him with other people already! I am a first time mom. You know how it was with your first baby. Remember!
Yesterday we went to Shipshiwana to visit our friends Nate and Kari who just had their second baby girl, Jada about 5 weeks ago. It was crazy to see the difference between Jake and Jada. 3 weeks is a big difference. Jake has lost his infant look. Jada was so cute and so tiny! Love and Miss you guys a ton!
Welp, gonna go write some thank you cards that I am three weeks behind on.
God Bless!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The things I love most about being a mom
I love
being a stay at home mom.
seeing the beautiful person that Joe and I created
watching Jake change on a weekly basis
learning his needs based upon the way he cries
seeing him smile at me when I talk to him
knowing that I know what is best for him better than anyone else
being the only person to satisfy his belly when he is hungry
the bond we make during the day because I get to be home with him all the time
reading books to him before he takes a nap
learning how to pray for him and becoming better with my God-time because of him
watching him sleep
watching Joe love on him
seeing positive results from the way I parent
taking pictures of him
hearing people compliment him on how cute he is
playing with him
knowing that it only gets better and better the older he gets
kissing his little head and checks
rocking him to sleep every now and then
hearing him coo
watching him suck on his tongue because he thinks he is still sucking on his pacifier
There is so much more to love about being a mom, especially a first time mom because it is so new to me and I know it will only get better the longer I am a mom.
I prayed a lot for Jake before he was born. I asked God to guide me in all the choices I would have to make for him and also that Jake would be a good, happy little guy, which he certainly is. I prayed that God would direct Joe and I with our parenting in such a way that we will know how to make good decisions for him that follows the way God would parent our son. I continue to pray for him on a daily basis which is something that I was never good at before I had Jake. I always sucked in my prayer life and now love to spend time thanking God for my family and praying for my husband and son on a daily basis. Having a son has changed not just the way my body looks now but the way I want to live my life. I want to live in such a way so that when Jake grows up with us he lives to love others, love God, and serve the world. I am nowhere near doing that the way I really should, but want to teach my son to look to the needs of others before his own and to be generous with everything he has in life. I want him to be a forgiving person when people hurt him and to find forgiveness when he hurts others. I pray that he will understand that no matter what, mom and dad love him, but that the world doesn't revolve around him. I pray that he will think of Joe and I as loving parents and will forgive us for the mistakes we make against him, because I know we will make many of them.
There are so many things to pray for when you really think of it. I trust God in helping me be the mom that he has made me to be and if I can be obedient to the way he has asked me to parent then I know our family will be blessed in more ways then we could ever imagine.
If you are a mom, what are your favorite moments as a mom and what would you do differently if you could go back to when your kids/kid was a baby?
being a stay at home mom.
seeing the beautiful person that Joe and I created
watching Jake change on a weekly basis
learning his needs based upon the way he cries
seeing him smile at me when I talk to him
knowing that I know what is best for him better than anyone else
being the only person to satisfy his belly when he is hungry
the bond we make during the day because I get to be home with him all the time
reading books to him before he takes a nap
learning how to pray for him and becoming better with my God-time because of him
watching him sleep
watching Joe love on him
seeing positive results from the way I parent
taking pictures of him
hearing people compliment him on how cute he is
playing with him
knowing that it only gets better and better the older he gets
kissing his little head and checks
rocking him to sleep every now and then
hearing him coo
watching him suck on his tongue because he thinks he is still sucking on his pacifier
There is so much more to love about being a mom, especially a first time mom because it is so new to me and I know it will only get better the longer I am a mom.
I prayed a lot for Jake before he was born. I asked God to guide me in all the choices I would have to make for him and also that Jake would be a good, happy little guy, which he certainly is. I prayed that God would direct Joe and I with our parenting in such a way that we will know how to make good decisions for him that follows the way God would parent our son. I continue to pray for him on a daily basis which is something that I was never good at before I had Jake. I always sucked in my prayer life and now love to spend time thanking God for my family and praying for my husband and son on a daily basis. Having a son has changed not just the way my body looks now but the way I want to live my life. I want to live in such a way so that when Jake grows up with us he lives to love others, love God, and serve the world. I am nowhere near doing that the way I really should, but want to teach my son to look to the needs of others before his own and to be generous with everything he has in life. I want him to be a forgiving person when people hurt him and to find forgiveness when he hurts others. I pray that he will understand that no matter what, mom and dad love him, but that the world doesn't revolve around him. I pray that he will think of Joe and I as loving parents and will forgive us for the mistakes we make against him, because I know we will make many of them.
There are so many things to pray for when you really think of it. I trust God in helping me be the mom that he has made me to be and if I can be obedient to the way he has asked me to parent then I know our family will be blessed in more ways then we could ever imagine.
If you are a mom, what are your favorite moments as a mom and what would you do differently if you could go back to when your kids/kid was a baby?
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