One Day at a Time

Hooray for a new year! I just finished setting up my daytimer and calendar with our schedule and goals for the year, and I have to admit that it’s all a little overwhelming. :-) One day at a time, right?

Our January is already packed to the brim with Cinderella play rehearsals and Girl Scout cookie sales and freelance writing opportunities and a writer’s guild meeting, not to mention work, school, and piano lessons. Surprisingly, none of our events conflict, which was a pleasant surprise. Somehow I think that this is how it’s going to be for us from now on, though. :-)

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend. We received a bunch of snow the week before Christmas, and uncharacteristic of clear and sunny Colorado, the snow hung around to give us a white Christmas and then some. In fact, Ryley’s snowman is still a tiny mound in the front yard, surrounded by the sticks she used for arms.

We did some more sledding on Christmas Eve, and something about the way Ryley ditched her snow hat, let her hair flow loose, and held her sled over her shoulder, added six or seven years to her in attitude. She reminded me of a snowboarder or something. She was really becoming quite confident!

Christmas Day was lovely, though it seemed that time got away from us, and the day flew by in strange ways.

The big highlight was that Ryley received a guitar from Santa.

She has been a Taylor Swift fan for several months, so now her new dream is to take guitar lessons. She’s already taught herself the first few songs in the lesson book Santa also brought.

“I have a new lifetime goal,” she announced the other day. “Before I turn 18, I want to learn how to play a Taylor Swift song on the guitar.” Such a lofty endeavor.

She also received the first season of I Love Lucy, which was a huge hit. Ryley is a big fan of slapstick, so she just sits and giggles at all of Lucy Ricardo’s antics. Oh my.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our original plan for Christmas was to fly to Atlanta and be with Ryan’s sisters, brother, dad, and stepmom for the holidays. But unfortunately, with airfare as ridiculously high as it’s been, the $1,100 plane tickets just weren’t possible for us. Also, Ryan wasn’t confident in his ability to be across the country from his restaurant for more than a week.

A couple of weeks ago, however, he realized he could have a few consecutive days off around New Year’s, and looking at our budget, we decided we could afford the gas for a quick trip to Oklahoma to see my parents. We hadn’t been to Tulsa in a couple of years, so it was really nice to get to show Ryley where we went to college, where we lived when we were first married, etc.

Here’s Ryley watching I Love Lucy on my laptop somewhere in western Kansas…

Ryley at the Praying Hands at ORU, where we attended college.

In front of the field where we had our first kiss… :-)

We showed Ryley the gigantic air vents by the classroom building, where Ryan and I used to go on hot days and just let the cold air rush our Oklahoma-scorched bodies. We used to call it “Little Bit O’ Colorado.”

They have done a lot of updating in recent years, so the campus looked amazing. We showed her our dormitory buildings and explained how we used to have to wait in line to use a computer or rush to claim the TV before anybody else. We showed her how I could stand in my dormitory window and see Ryan in his dorm room across the courtyard, and how we would stand in our windows and talk on the phone. Lot of good memories. :-)

Then my mom drove us around to see all three of our apartments we lived in after we were married, as well as the Railroad Bridge, where Ryan proposed….

All of that was very interesting to her! :-)

That evening my parents took us to the Rhema Lights, which though seemingly cheesy, always ends up being so beautiful. Ryley loved it.

Then we went to this place my parents had heard about in Sapulpa, whose lights were even MORE amazing. We got there too late, so we weren’t able to walk through them, but we did drive by…

My brother and his family drove up from Dallas for a couple of days, and it was so fun to be together! The twins are starting to walk and talk, and by the end of the weekend they were even saying “Ryley” in their own special way. Very fun!!

Will and Mammaw…

Ryley and Jack…

Jack denies any more kisses from his daddy…

Pappaw shows Ryley how it’s done! :-)

Ryley shows the boys how the train goes around the Christmas tree, a Steiner family tradition! They LOVE trains!!!

 

It is REALLY difficult to get good pictures of these little guys. They are constantly on the move!!!!

Yes, he’s napping. But he’s more of a Cowboys fan, I suppose. I’m not sure where his loyalties lie, and it bothers me, Justin. It really, really does.

Lots of games were played…

My mom made Ryley and Ryan “R”-shaped pancakes. Haha!

Uncle Ryan and Will in their Broncos gear on Game Day!

Just when I think I can tell these boys apart in their looks, they completely throw me for a loop. Will’s bump on his head is a real blessing! But they have absolutely different personalities. Oh my goodness, it will be fun to watch them grow up!

Ryley and Will, chillin.’

All plugged in…

My mom and dad with the grandkids…

What a trip! It was quick but full, and I’m so thankful that we were able to work it out. We had really good family time. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for hosting us!!!!! You guys are amazing, and we love you so much!

So hopefully now we can get cheap tickets to see Ryan’s family on Spring Break!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wellness Update:

I decided sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas that I was just going to enjoy the holiday and not feel guilty for “splurging.” Since I have never really dieted before this fall, I have never ever felt guilty for treating myself to what I want. I never fully understood the guilt people feel when they eat something they shouldn’t, so it was new for me to feel that way. I know that sounds strange!

But that’s when I decided to set a date of January 2 as my return-to-wellness day, and with that in mind, I was able to relax. I still stayed off pop and processed foods like chips, but I allowed myself some wheat and dairy within reason, like pizza, noodles, and ice cream. And it was all very delicious!!! :-)

When I weighed myself when we got back, I had gained 5 lbs since before Christmas. But after two days back on the wagon, I have lost 3 of that already.  I am returning to my original restrictions, except I’m allowing coffee this time around. So my total weight loss is at 28 lbs. and hopefully I will be able to keep going! We’ll see. By God’s grace.

A month ago, I ran my blender into the ground because I make myself a protein shake every morning. One day it just exploded from the bottom, and blueberries, bananas, and almond milk went everywhere. So Ryan and Ryley got me a new blender for Christmas. I used it for the first time this morning, and I am glad to be back in business! Having a protein shake really helps me make sure I eat breakfast (because I look forward to the deliciousness) and helps curb my appetite for the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m also going to keep doing freelance writing for this company, Good Catch Publishing. I wrote that one story in November, and it was really well received. They sent me many compliments, and I guess I just figured that they are a very complimentary bunch (because they are). I did have to make quite a few edits for them, and I had to rewrite my ending, so I wasn’t sure how much they really liked it. But before I knew it, I was being invited to join a Writer’s Guild here in Denver, and my story won the January Story of the Month for the whole company! I just found out yesterday. I am just so grateful to God for this opportunity to work with them, become a better writer, and use my words for His glory.

It also gives me hope when I have a bad day at my day job. This job is not forever; God has other things in store for me down the line! Sometimes I wish it were just a tad quicker though. :-)

So those are my big goals for the year: keep achieving wellness, keep writing, and keep reading (because reading makes me a better writer, and I am not good at reading).

I’ve also been thinking of resolving to listen to more country music. Ryley has me pretty convinced with Taylor Swift. :-) We listened to every single album of hers (a gift from Ryley’s aunts) all the way across the plains of Kansas.

I kind of want to learn the guitar along with her, but I don’t know how I would ever find the time and focus for that. One day at a time, I suppose. ;-)

13 x 365

We're in Kansas tonight, driving together under the December stars. And our marriage is 13 years old.

It was a night just like this one, 13 years ago to the day, with patches of unmelted snow on the ground, stars and clouds interspersed in the sky. My brother sang "'Til There Was You," and all our family and best friends were gathered there together in the candlelight.

A lot of moments have passed since then.

Tonight we kissed in the aisle of a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. I drove to the tunes of our daughter's newfound obsession, Taylor Swift, while Ryan slept. Ryley sat in the backseat of the Hyundai, headphones on and my laptop perched on her lap while she watched hours and hours of "I Love Lucy" episodes, her unsuppressed giggles interrupting my quiet, reflective thoughts.

And I thanked God for how GOOD He has been to us these last 13 years. Sure, there have been hard times and easy times. Sad and happy. Ups and downs. But through it all, His mercies have never come to an end. They are new every morning.

That's 13 x 365 mornings.

And we love each other more than ever.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Merry Christmas

We spent the night on the floor next to the Christmas tree last night. While it was a great idea in theory, Ryan and I didn’t end up sleeping very well. :-)  He was on the couch, and Ryley and I shared the air mattress. But it was fun.

It will be just the three of us for Christmas this year. But it’s actually going to be quite nice after a busy holiday season thus far…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryley’s school Christmas concert was pretty cute; her 3rd grade class sang Jingle Bell Rock and Sleigh Ride.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryley’s best friend has been spending a lot of time with us recently because of her mom’s work schedule. One Saturday, we went to our local nursery to see Santa and the reindeer…

Ryley was rather unimpressed by the reindeer. She said they weren’t the real ones.

“If they were really Santa’s reindeer, they would just fly right out of that pen,” she stated, so matter-of-factly.

We waited 30 minutes to see Santa, but the girls were hungry and decided they’d rather go eat lunch than meet Santa, so we left.

Ryley didn’t think he was the real Santa anyway. She was unimpressed that he was asking the kids their names .

“If he were the real Santa, he would KNOW your name. He wouldn’t have to ask.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next weekend I held my annual piano recital for my students. Our house has certainly become “the little house that could.” We have asked a lot of it in the last few months! We had 27 people squeezed into our tiny living room for the recital.

As we were waiting for students, parents, and guests to arrive, there was a knock on the door. I answered it and invited the two well-dressed ladies inside, thinking they were there for the recital. They seemed bewildered by my welcome, and as they crossed the threshold, one of them said, “Thank you for inviting us in, but I don’t think you were expecting us. We’re here to see Ryan.” And that’s when it dawned on me. They were Jehovah’s Witnesses – the very ones we’ve been hiding from for years! Ryan was friendly to them once and promised to read their literature (all with the intent of sharing Jesus eventually), but ever since, they’ve always come when Ryley and I are home alone or none of us are dressed, etc., and we’ve been dodging their attempts to contact us. So, Ryan came downstairs and talked to them, and they were so gracious and agreed to come back at a better time. Ha ha!!!! It was quite funny in retrospect. :-)

This is me giving my students a pep talk before the performance:

“If you mess up, just keep going,” I’m saying.

 

Each student played two songs.

As you can tell from my face, I was just as nervous as the kids!!!

Then Ryley and I played a duet later in the recital. We had literally decided to do it just a week before, and we didn’t tell anyone, in case it didn’t work out. But we practiced hard, and it went well! I personally hate performing, so I was nervous and shaky and sooooo glad when it was over!!! :-)

Don’t the kids all look so beautiful??? I love this picture!!

They all played so wonderfully, and I am really, really proud of all of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, in keeping with our “clean the house once; have two parties in one day” tradition, we recovered our house from the recital and had 32 people at our Class of 1996 Christmas Party/15-Year-Reunion. It was a great get-together; lots of laughter ensued.

This is my bestie Danielle; she was maid of honor in our wedding.

All of our kids (the ones who came anyway) got along so well….just like we all did, back in the day. :-)

The boys make small-talk.

And of course, new baby Macy made her debut among our group of friends….

I don’t think we’ve changed all that much. The biggest difference is that we wear less flannel and don’t sit in corners playing the guitar and singing anymore. Ah, the good ol’ nineties.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had a lot of snow this week, and Ryley and Ryan had fun playing in it! I think there were 10 inches at our house, with drifts up to 18 inches in the backyard. We let Ryley open her present of new snow pants early. She wears a size 10 now and has been squeezing into her size 6x snow pants for the last three years!

Then yesterday we went sledding. I think it was the first time in five years. Last year we didn’t really get enough snow to sled. Some years the conditions are hit or miss. But the snow was perfect this time, and she had a blast!

She’s getting a new coat for Christmas. This one has seen better days. :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have so many more thoughts that I’ve formulated over the last few weeks, and I’m sure I will blog again soon. But here are a few Ryley Stories to leave you with…

1. A couple of weeks ago, Ryan and Ryley went to the Zoo Lights for Girl Scout Night. There was a large light display of a “whale,” and Ryan was curious if Ryley knew that it was specifically a blue whale. Science and animals are not my strong point, so I think this whole story is funny as it backfired on Ryan.

Ryan: “Ryley, do you know what that is?”

Ryley: “Yes, balaena.”

Ryan: “What?”

Ryley: “That’s whale in Latin.”

Ryan was taken aback. It certainly wasn’t the answer he was expecting! Ha ha! Ryley’s school has been teaching Latin this year, and it’s actually been interesting to see how quickly all the kids have picked it up. I wish she could take Spanish or something!

 

2. The other day, as we passed Toys R Us, Ryley asked why the R was backwards in the store name.

“Well, I think it’s because they think it’s silly…like how a kid might write it,” I answered.

Later, she brought it up again.

“I just don’t understand why they write the R backwards. Do they really think that kids don’t know how to write an R?”

I could tell that she had been thinking about it, and she was so offended!

“Maybe they meant younger kids,” I responded.

“Maybe. But I still don’t think it’s nice.”

 

3. Ryley auditioned for the school play (a funny Cinderella spoof) a few weeks ago. She worked really hard on her monologue, and Ryan and I thought she was well-prepared, but we didn’t want her to get her hopes up either. I told her that if she didn’t get a part, it was okay because God must have something else in store. It was hard for her to fathom anything better than being in the play:

“If I’m not in the play, then God must have some really big plans for me!”

The day she was going to find out if she got a part, I was just as nervous as she was. It’s that fine line where you want your child to succeed, but you also want what’s best for her growth and development as a person.

So as I drove up to her class in the pick-up line after school, Ryley had the biggest smile on her face. It was not a smile of “I got a part.” It was not a smile of “I got the role of fairy godmother.” It was the widest, toothiest grin I’ve ever seen; even before she spoke, I knew it. “Mom, you’ll never believe it: I got the role of Cinderella!”  :-)

We have a lot of lines to memorize over break, but it will be fun. We are thankful that she gets the opportunity and experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In some ways it feels like Christmas Eve, and in other ways it doesn’t. These last few months, God has been doing a lot in my heart, and Jesus is becoming so much more real to me. He’s changing my mindset about a lot of things, and it’s really, really good. Those are thoughts for another time though.

May you have the merriest of Christmases, remembering that it’s Jesus’ birthday and not our own. :-) That, to me, is the biggest lesson of all.

Grace, peace, and joy to you.

Home Is Her Favorite Place to Be

Recently, Ryley was filling out some sort of questionnaire, and she listed “home” as her favorite place in all the world. Ryan read it first and then brought it to show me.

“Even more than DisneyWorld?” was my response.

“Yes,”  she answered, with no hesitation.

Honestly, we took it as such a compliment – that with all its shortfalls, our sweet little house has become such a haven for her from the ickiness in the world. We consistently invite God to dwell here, and we pray that our home is filled with His peace.

In the weeks before Thanksgiving, we gave the house a scrubbing -- the likes of which it had never seen. And somehow, despite the fact that yes, we need new carpet/flooring all over…and we could really use an updated/expanded kitchen…and our second bathroom isn’t really working…and our yard needs serious landscaping, the cleaning we did seemed to have breathed new life into what we do have. And in light of what others don’t have, God is speaking to us about being content.

Today was one of those afternoons where my drive to get things done simply pushed Ryley too far. I was trying to purchase some various gifts for a few upcoming parties, and looking ahead, I realized this would be the best night to do it. For more than three hours we traipsed from store to store, fighting icy parking lots, wielding heavy coats, and waiting for slow cashiers. We broke two ornaments in Hobby Lobby, spilled custard all over the backseat in the van, and upon arriving home, Ryley clumsily broke two plates in our living room. I was so upset with how things had gone, and poor Ryley just sobbed at my less-than-patient snap at her from across the yard when I heard the sound of breaking glass: “What did you do?” They were all accidents, of course, so we curled up together in our cushy chair, and she said, “I’m so sorry! Please forgive me! All that time we were out shopping, I just wanted to be home.”

Ryley is becoming my buddy. She quite excitedly accompanied me to visit my friend Katie and her baby in the hospital last week. She offers unsolicited but appreciated advice when I’m shopping. She is opinionated about everything, yet enthusiastic and encouraging. She sorts my groceries into piles and, when we’re shopping on a gift registry, she hogs the registry list and leads the way. Very type A. Though she loves her daddy to pieces, she chooses to ride in the car with me -- because I will listen to Christmas music, whereas with Daddy, she has to listen to sports talk radio. Some days she’s eight going on thirteen; other days she’s simply eight going on nine.

What she wants more than anything else for Christmas is a pair of comfy jeans with an elastic waistband. Second, she wants a wall clock that plays hymns at the top of each hour. I love it. We might actually have to get them both.

At school, she was given an assignment to create a PowerPoint presentation about Cleopatra. It’s not due until next Monday, yet she’s been working on it faithfully for the last week. It’s actually pretty good, though with its tales of adultery and suicide, the Cleopatra subject matter is a little interesting.

“Did you know that Cleopatra and Julius Caesar had children, even though they were not married? They were loving each other the wrong way!”

Ryley was diagnosed with eczema on her hands a couple of months ago, and it’s been so hard to watch her struggle with it. At its worst, right before we took her to the doctor, her skin was bleeding at school, and she could hardly hold her pencil. With the weather as cold and dry as its been in the last few weeks (below zero this weekend), we’ve been vigilant with the lotions and creams, and sometimes she sleeps with gloves over her lathered-up hands. My heart just breaks for her. Just when we think we’ve got it under control, it flares up again.

Well, today is our dog Juliet’s third birthday. She sits here at my feet, contentedly chewing her Dingo and passing gas. Lovely. My Scentsy warmer is working hard to combat the odor with its blissful “Festival of Trees” fragrance.

Leahh and I had Yolanda’s Tacos for lunch at work today because A) there is nothing like their deliciousness in all the world, and B) I’ve noticed I lose another pound every time I eat them. I can’t figure why, but we’re just going to keep that up!!! :-)  The weight loss has slowed down some. I finally reached 30 lbs. this past weekend, so I cheated in celebration, and back up to 28 I went. Ha ha. It really does take constant work. Back on the wagon I go…

Our lives are imperfect. Our house is imperfect.  But it’s cozy, warm, and Christmas-lit, and we just have so, so much to be grateful for. Ryan is almost home now, and we will probably watch some TV before bed. Then we’ll start again tomorrow…another day of traffic and work and school and errands and traffic, all with the goal (or reward) of coming home and being together in the evening. It’s what we work toward all day long.

I have to agree with Ryley’s (and Dorothy’s!) sentiment that there’s simply no place like home.