day 27: short and sweet

Today I write a letter from me to you.

Dear Reader,

Thanks for your loyalty{especially during the blog everyday in May challenge}. I like you. I am sorry, but I don't like this topic. Or it could just be that I'm growing weary of blogging every day. It's very possible that you are growing weary as well. So I'll end this letter now so you can get back to your friends and family and enjoy what's left of the weekend. Happy Memorial Day!

Love,
Holly

image source

{Tomorrow: only pictures}

day 26: infertility and the bible

I thought this was a very interesting and thought provoking article about infertility and the church. Recently, a friend shared it with me. It explores the meaning behind 1 Timothy 2:15 which says "women will be saved through child bearing."

"We owe it to women, and to the truth, to explore the complexities of such a verse and be sensitive to teachings and practices that relegate or ignore the women in our midst who struggle to bear children, no matter how much they desire and pray to." -Sarah Arthur

{Tomorrow: a letter to my readers}

day 25: the impact of words

Today I'm to write about something someone told me about myself that I'll never forget, good or bad. I couldn't think of any one thing in particular. I do recall things like, "you're pretty", "you have a sweet and sensitive spirit" and "I love you".

I will say that ever since starting between here and there, I didn't realize how much my readers' feedback and comments would affect me. Thankfully, I've only received positive feedback thus far. It has encouraged my heart to have these things said about me and my writing.

 For example...

{Tomorrow: something I read via internet}

day 24: three worst traits

1. I’ve got a mild case of OCD {Obsessive Compulsive Disorder}. I tend to get really worked up when things don’t go according to plan. I’m easily flustered when we get an unexpected visitor and the house isn’t spotless. I know, I’ve got a problem. I’m TOO clean. I’m TOO organized. I’m TOO "plan ahead". The volume NEEDS to be on an even number...or else, I just might go crazy. I’ve been trying my best as of late to swallow the chill pill. This past weekend was a good training ground for me.

2. Ironically, I have a tendency to be lazy. But, let me defend myself. When something needs to be done, I will work myself to the ground in order to complete said task. On the other hand, when nothing is too pressing, I'd be content sitting on my bum wasting the day away watching pointless TV shows. But, who doesn't? In other words, instead of looking for something constructive to do with my time, I often fall prey to indifference and lethargy. It's a vicious cycle.

3. I'm a whiner. I asked Steve what my worst traits were. It didn't take him long to spit out "whiner". Wah, sniff, boo-hoo. See, I'm doing it. No, I asked for it. I'll let him off the hook. Besides, it didn't take long for me to agree. I'd say the whining goes hand in hand with being OCD. I'm embarrassed to say that I sometimes whine when I don't get my own way{shock!}. I need to work on that. It probably doesn't help that the hubs spoils me rotten. But, I'm not complaining! ;)

{Tomorrow: Something said about about myself, good or bad}

day 23: a lesson learned

Sometimes, you just gotta learn the hard way. No matter what people advise you to do or not do, lessons in life are often learned by going with your gut instinct, which sometimes results in making mistakes. For example, my dog … I wouldn’t call him a mistake per say, but a stubborn rash decision, perhaps? You know, they just don’t teach you the ins and outs of dog ownership in school. They should. I admit, I should’ve just listened to my husband. He was against the whole idea. But, I begged and pleaded and convinced him to “just look” at a litter of goldendoodle puppies. I knew what I was doing, people. I knew as soon as he laid eyes on the nine pound fur ball he couldn’t say no.  And so, we bought a puppy. Was I ever in for a shock! Dogs are a lot of work. We didn’t factor in {I was in denial} things like: make sure we were home to give him a potty break; spend thousands of dollars on vet care; have damage done to our home and other household belongings; BARKING; muddy paws; and the list goes on…

I will say dog ownership has taught us responsibility in caring for another living thing. It has also taught us that we will never get a dog again. We’ve learned our lesson.  Jake will  be our first and our last.

*Jake, if you're reading this please know mommy and daddy love you not matter what.

{Tomorrow: my worst traits} 

day 20, 21, & 22

Today I’m going to play catch up. I’ve failed the "blog everyday in may" challenge, not once, but TWICE as of late. The OCD in me is fighting with everything it’s got to “fix” this. But, I’m going to cheat a little. Do three days in one.

Today I’m supposed to get up on my soap box and complain about something. Here is said complaint: we’ve been busy folks. Super. Busy. Hence the skipping day’s 20 and 21. You see, we are getting our home ready for the market{yikes!}. Our goal is to have it ready to show by the beginning of June. Now, I’m a pretty organized person. Or so I thought. Or so people told me. Then, I started to notice how much stuff we accumulated over the years {just under five to be exact} and I was just a tad embarrassed/mortified as we walked from room to room with our real estate agent, Shirley. Let’s just say our walk-in closet became a catch all for anything and everything. I can now say with head held high that our closet and the remainder of bathrooms and bedrooms have been de-cluttered, organized, and minimized. Next up…kitchen. Not looking forward to that. So what exactly am I complaining about? Life is demanding. It’s busy. Husbands are traveling weeks on end for business. Friends and their three kids under the age of eight visited. Back splash for the kitchen is being shopped for. Kitchen faucets are being replaced. Wives are having mental breakdowns. You know, good stuff. Just a lot. When it rains it pours they say. This is how my May feels. I thought May was supposed to bring flowers, not MORE rain! Again, I’m not complaining. It’s just mayhem. Therefore, no time for blogging. Will you forgive me?

That brings me to day 20. Write about something you’re struggling with right now. I debated writing about this, but thought I’d give myself and my readers a little break from hearing about that. Instead, a struggle right now is NOT HAVING ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY{see paragraph above}. It’s true. Like I said, this past weekend we hosted our dearest friends, who now live in Albania, for the weekend. They are in the states for a wedding. It was wonderful and crazy and fun and exhausting all at the same time. So, house prepping/blogging/sleeping was put on hold. Steve has a cold now. We’ve been going to bed by 8:00 that past two nights. Trying to play catch up with our energy and sanity. That’s what happens when you're not used to having five extra people in your home. That’s what happens when you stay up past 1 am three nights in a row all in an effort to savor all the time you can get with your best friends before you have to say goodbye again. It was all worth it.

Day 21. Some of my favorite posts that I’ve written thus far. I’ve only been blogging for less than two months. So, I don't have a huge selection to choose from. Here they are:

What keeps me up at night. This is my fourth post ever. I think it's funny. I'm proud of it. Who wouldn't love reading about all the crazy stuff my husband does in his sleep?

Learning how to breath again. It wasn't easy writing about my miscarriage. But, at the same time, it was very freeing and therapeutic to write down my feelings and process what happened. I received a lot of feedback after writing this post, and it has encouraged my heart in many ways.

On Goldendoodles. I just had to choose a post from the "blog every day in may" challenge. I've been told this post made people laugh. I think it was a creative way to write about something I'm good at. I'm a doodle expert!

And so concludes day's 20, 21, and 22 of the challenge.

*Warning: don't be surprised if I skip a day here and there and have to play catch up again. I'm on a timeline people!

{Tomorrow: what life has taught me}

day 19: favorite blogs

Since I already have a page dedicated to my favorite blogs, I'll save myself some time and have you click here.

But, I would like to add to the list a favorite.

andiamo

 That's Italian for "let's go", by the way. Laurie's my sister-in-law and one of my closest friends. She's hilarious, an awesome writer, a great mommy and super smart. We are both blogger newbies if you will, so we stick together. Swap tips. Frantically send a text when there's a grammar error{say it ain't so!}. This rarely happens, because we are both OCD. But, we aren't perfect. So, we help each other out. Plus, aren't my niece and nephew absolutely adorable?!

{Tomorrow: let's get real}