As the culmination of "2013: The Year of Changes" comes to a head in the next several weeks, I'm forced to realize that my life focus has been narrowed into four distinct channels. Unfortunately, other things that don't quite fit into those groups are not getting much attention lately. I think there's still 24 hours in a day, but am not 100% sure about that anymore...
#1: Family
This is the highest priority for me right now. Scott's been squeezing in hunting while he can, since there will be self-enforced restrictions for him (see #2 and #3 below) during normal rifle deer season this year. And while I support him enjoying one of his favorite hobbies, it also means that we're not seeing as much of each other as we probably should, especially with everything that we have going on. We've simply got too much that we need to get organized for, but sadly, we barely have time to talk throughout the week.
On the other hand, Ava and I have been spending a LOT of time together lately - I'm incredibly grateful for this time, even when she's being sassy, not listening, poking at the dogs, and seriously talking non-stop for hours at a time. I'm seeing how quickly the last 5 years have gone, so the fact that she still reaches out her little hand to me, to hold, while walking into school, does not go unnoticed. The fact that she was so happy to have me join her for lunch on Friday at school does not go unappreciated by me. I KNOW there will be a time when she won't want to be seen with me, or would rather be off with her friends, or will refuse to give me a hug and kiss when saying goodbye...so these little gestures that she's providing so freely to me are being placed high in my "pay attention to me now!" radar.
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I'm happy to say that my parent are in town this weekend, for one last visit before we add a +1 to the Goers' household. We've had a lot to eat, managed to make a few trips out shopping, picked out pumpkins and apples, and even started to sort out the mountain of baby boy clothes to help get ready for the arrival of...
#2: Baby G
As important as this little boy is to Scott, Ava, and the rest of our family, I have to say that I'm probably the most excited to welcome this little guy into the world...and out of my body. :) Overall, this has been a good pregnancy (21 lbs, gained so far, great blood pressure, no swelling, etc.) but I am tired, and am not sleeping well. And I have heartburn, but Tums only help so much. I can't always breathe easily, and...well, what can you do about that? Count down the days...that's what! I'm now 35 weeks, so in 14 short days, he'll be full term, and I'll be encouraging him to join us, as soon as he's ready. Now, we just need to make sure we're ready for him!
#3: Our New Home
Amazing progress this week on the home...we stopped by earlier today to show my parents, and wow oh wow, things are really moving along. Interior doors and trim have been installed, the hard wood flooring is down in the main level, and we have power throughout the house. We have some things that we need to change before we move in, but we're going to start a list now, so we're not completely overwhelmed during the final walk through. We did hear from our realtor, and an official "closing notice" has been provided by the builder. That date has moved up to November 8...just one day before my baby due date. I'm pretty sure that we couldn't have planned for these dates, had we wanted to add more chaos into our lives. What's that quote? "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." At this point, I think we're laughing, too. I mean, seriously! What are the chances?! We tried so hard to get the house started early enough that this wouldn't happen, and...yet...here we are. Ha!
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As for our current home: the rental house managed to avoid foreclosure, so we have a new landlord. Just hoping the next 6 weeks (or so) go well enough that this remains a low impact on our lives. We cannot wait to be done with the renting situation, and into OUR home.
#4: Work
Every day I come into work, and tell myself that I need to finish wrapping up the documentation for my backups while on leave, and then before I know it, it's (past) the end of my day, and there have been a million other things that demanded my attention. I'm starting to get worried that I'm not going to have everything in place for when I'm out - and I don't like that feeling. Something has to change - and soon.
I'm transitioning off of my big project, permanently, so at least that's well underway, but I won't sleep easy until the rest of my projects are ready to go. Time to get a better focus at work!
#5: Friends (Wait, weren't there only four channels that I am focusing on?)
It's been a year of evaluating friendships - and deciding how much time and effort I can give to people. There are some friends who I thought were closer, but have proven to be much further removed. And there are other friends who have remained consistent and true, standing by during the worst and the best of times...these are the friends that I make time for on a regular basis. And then the majority of my friends fall into the "catch up when we can, whether by text, Facebook, email, etc." category. I read updates from them on FB, and my heart hurts when they're going through something painful, or I feel great joy when wonderful news is announced. And those moments serve as a reminder that I am surrounded by many lovely people in my life, and even though I can't dedicate as much time to them as I want to, I still keep them close in my heart - and need to let them know.
#5 is a channel-in-process...I want it to make the high priority list, but it doesn't always.
Looks like I had a lot to say this week. It's 3am, and maybe now that I've got this out of my brain, and into the written word, I'll be able to fall into a fitful sleep for a few hours. Hopefully God will take pity on me, and not laugh at those plans!
#1: Family
This is the highest priority for me right now. Scott's been squeezing in hunting while he can, since there will be self-enforced restrictions for him (see #2 and #3 below) during normal rifle deer season this year. And while I support him enjoying one of his favorite hobbies, it also means that we're not seeing as much of each other as we probably should, especially with everything that we have going on. We've simply got too much that we need to get organized for, but sadly, we barely have time to talk throughout the week.
On the other hand, Ava and I have been spending a LOT of time together lately - I'm incredibly grateful for this time, even when she's being sassy, not listening, poking at the dogs, and seriously talking non-stop for hours at a time. I'm seeing how quickly the last 5 years have gone, so the fact that she still reaches out her little hand to me, to hold, while walking into school, does not go unnoticed. The fact that she was so happy to have me join her for lunch on Friday at school does not go unappreciated by me. I KNOW there will be a time when she won't want to be seen with me, or would rather be off with her friends, or will refuse to give me a hug and kiss when saying goodbye...so these little gestures that she's providing so freely to me are being placed high in my "pay attention to me now!" radar.
Reading with Grandma Karen
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I'm happy to say that my parent are in town this weekend, for one last visit before we add a +1 to the Goers' household. We've had a lot to eat, managed to make a few trips out shopping, picked out pumpkins and apples, and even started to sort out the mountain of baby boy clothes to help get ready for the arrival of...
#2: Baby G
As important as this little boy is to Scott, Ava, and the rest of our family, I have to say that I'm probably the most excited to welcome this little guy into the world...and out of my body. :) Overall, this has been a good pregnancy (21 lbs, gained so far, great blood pressure, no swelling, etc.) but I am tired, and am not sleeping well. And I have heartburn, but Tums only help so much. I can't always breathe easily, and...well, what can you do about that? Count down the days...that's what! I'm now 35 weeks, so in 14 short days, he'll be full term, and I'll be encouraging him to join us, as soon as he's ready. Now, we just need to make sure we're ready for him!
#3: Our New Home
Amazing progress this week on the home...we stopped by earlier today to show my parents, and wow oh wow, things are really moving along. Interior doors and trim have been installed, the hard wood flooring is down in the main level, and we have power throughout the house. We have some things that we need to change before we move in, but we're going to start a list now, so we're not completely overwhelmed during the final walk through. We did hear from our realtor, and an official "closing notice" has been provided by the builder. That date has moved up to November 8...just one day before my baby due date. I'm pretty sure that we couldn't have planned for these dates, had we wanted to add more chaos into our lives. What's that quote? "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." At this point, I think we're laughing, too. I mean, seriously! What are the chances?! We tried so hard to get the house started early enough that this wouldn't happen, and...yet...here we are. Ha!
The siding is almost done! Our misadventure with the board &batten (now shakes) on the 2nd floor resulted in a change that we like even better than the original!
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Trim is in around all of the windows (master bath)
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Love seeing the finished product for the stairways
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POWER! Ava was excited to show us the light in her bedroom...
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More trim :)
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It's coming together (although we need to change the lighting/fan layout in this room)
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Ava drew a happy face in the dust on the shelves - that might clue someone in that there are "illegal site visits" taking place!
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Hardwood floors are installed in the main level hallway and kitchen
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Study - more trim!
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It'll be nice when the finished door is in place!
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I hadn't been down to the basement yet...we've already got ideas on how we're going to utilize the space.
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Scott and my dad checking out the important stuff...
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As for our current home: the rental house managed to avoid foreclosure, so we have a new landlord. Just hoping the next 6 weeks (or so) go well enough that this remains a low impact on our lives. We cannot wait to be done with the renting situation, and into OUR home.
#4: Work
Every day I come into work, and tell myself that I need to finish wrapping up the documentation for my backups while on leave, and then before I know it, it's (past) the end of my day, and there have been a million other things that demanded my attention. I'm starting to get worried that I'm not going to have everything in place for when I'm out - and I don't like that feeling. Something has to change - and soon.
I'm transitioning off of my big project, permanently, so at least that's well underway, but I won't sleep easy until the rest of my projects are ready to go. Time to get a better focus at work!
#5: Friends (Wait, weren't there only four channels that I am focusing on?)
It's been a year of evaluating friendships - and deciding how much time and effort I can give to people. There are some friends who I thought were closer, but have proven to be much further removed. And there are other friends who have remained consistent and true, standing by during the worst and the best of times...these are the friends that I make time for on a regular basis. And then the majority of my friends fall into the "catch up when we can, whether by text, Facebook, email, etc." category. I read updates from them on FB, and my heart hurts when they're going through something painful, or I feel great joy when wonderful news is announced. And those moments serve as a reminder that I am surrounded by many lovely people in my life, and even though I can't dedicate as much time to them as I want to, I still keep them close in my heart - and need to let them know.
#5 is a channel-in-process...I want it to make the high priority list, but it doesn't always.
Looks like I had a lot to say this week. It's 3am, and maybe now that I've got this out of my brain, and into the written word, I'll be able to fall into a fitful sleep for a few hours. Hopefully God will take pity on me, and not laugh at those plans!
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