story.

I like to read books.
I just don't have (or don't make) much time for reading books anymore.

But, just before the New Year I read a book in a day.
And let me just add, that it is a great start-your-year-off-right book.

My sister actually gave Alan and I A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller for
Christmas, because she thought it was a good book.

It's about a guys "story".
We all have a story.
If you know Lauren Brown one of her favorite quotes is "Everyone has a story".

I was gonna try to summarize the book, but I really can't...you can google the title and read
some reviews about it if you want.

But here are some of my favorite quotes, that I jotted down.

If what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either.

The most repeated commandment in the Bible is "Do not fear".

The ambitions we have will become the stories we live. If you want to know what a persons story is about, just ask them what they want.

The reward you get from a story is always less than you thought it would be, and the work is harder than you imagine. The point of a story is never the ending, remember. It's about your character getting molded in the hard work of the middle.  

Joy is what you feel when conflict is over. But it's conflict that changes a person.

People in Denmark are the happiest people in the world. Why? Because they have the lowest expectations.

The apostles never really promise Jesus is going to make everything better here on earth- But his story offers HOPE. Hope that will be made complete.

Great stories have memorable scenes.

I think God wanted His people to build altars for their sake, something that would help them remember, something they could look back on and remember the time when they were rescued, or they were given grace.

I encourage you to read this book.

And next up on my reading list...

At 18 months...

you weighed 29.5 pounds and you are 35.5 inches tall.

You are a big boy! Off the charts for height and almost for weight!

No wonder people think you are 2!

Rowan at {almost} 18 months

Can I just say it again? 
I can't believe our baby is almost 18 months!
Where does the time go?

At the end of November, Rowan started being really naughty.
Hitting, throwing fits, and needing spankings every 15 seconds...or so it felt.

I can thankfully say, that over the past two weeks we have noticed a huge
difference in our boy. I guess it was just a stage?!?

I am mostly documenting this for myself...but read along if you want to

hear what Row has been up too.

Rowan,

you are talking up a storm.

You are still a great sleeper. 12 hours a night. And at least a two hour nap each day.

You learn new words every single day.

You can say, bird, kitty (this one comes out a little funny. Ha!),

truck, hot, fire, dog, duck, moo (that's what you call a cow), rrrrr (that's what you call a lion)

snack, poo-poo, shoes, fish, penguin, oh, wow, apple, banana, no, water, bubbles, bath, night-night,

book, fix it, where did it go? there it is? go, yes, yuck, bear, baby, many peoples names,

downstairs, nose, belly button, watch it, monkey, deer, ho-ho, choo-choo, bye bye, roll tide (thanks to your aunt Paige and uncle Zack) chicken, and many more I can't think of right now...
Just yesterday you learned the word "poot". It's so funny to hear you say that too!
You have had several hair-cuts by me. Still not the official first one!
You still only have 10 teeth, and you love to brush them.
You absolutely loved Christmas.
Your favorite word at Christmas was "Ho-Ho". That's what you called Santa.
You loved opening gifts and destroying the Christmas tree.
You can drink through a straw and love to share our drinks.
You love to be read to.
You are still in love with your bear. You walk around with him in your mouth all the time.
You get plain giddy when your daddy gets home.
You woke us up last Saturday morning screaming..."momma, daddy, momma, daddy."
You are so much fun!
You can point to almost all of your body parts.
You can open doors in the house.
You love cars and trucks!
You are so healthy!
You are so tall. I thought some of your winter outfits would be too long but they are actually too short.
You wear a size 5 diaper. A size 6 shoe. Your clothes are 24 months to 2T.
You love your aunts, cousins, and grandparents so much.
You give lots of hugs and kisses. It's just so precious.
We just started Your baby can read. I am amazed that you sit and watch it.
Apples and bananas are your favorite.
You just started nodding your head no when you don't want something. I love it!
You love to be tickled and chased around the house.
You got your first goose egg on Christmas Eve. It was pitiful.
You are finally calling me "Momma"! I was Daddy for so long! I love it! :)
You are making me cry today, when I think about how much I love you.
Every day with you is a gift.
You are our little Row-Row and we love you so much!


I am sure I am forgetting some very important stuff, but at least I have gotten some of it written down!

To do in 2011

In addition to stressing less and laughing more...

I want to do the following things this year. 

        

      Make homemade marshmallows.

Source

Make homemade pepper jelly.

                                                                             Source

Put all my spices in matching jars and label them

with my new label maker.

Clean out and reorganize my pantry.

Had some help with this one!

Keep taking lots of pictures of this precious boy!

Make a pom-pom garland for Rowan's Christmas tree.

This is already in progress...

source

Send Valentines Day cards since I never got around to sending Christmas cards!

What do you want to accomplish this year?

i just have to laugh at myself...

as I looked at my last post. Did I really think I was gonna blog every day
during the busiest month of the year?

as I was making chili tonight at 10:00 so we will have something homemade to eat tomorrow...(what was I thinking) and we have no chili beans or rotel. Instead we have 10 cans of corn. Sometimes couponing bites ya in the butt cuz you don't have what you thought you had...At least the meat got browned, right?

as I put clothes in the washing machine, added detergent, shut the lid and...
walked back in the laundry room later to put them in the dryer...only to realize I never started the load.

after I ran into a surgical light at work yesterday in front of my patient, the doctor and my co-workers. Not to mention the huge, greenish, raised bruise I am sporting on my forehead. 

In 2011...i want to stress less and laugh more.

So far...I am cracking myself up.