...and they grow up...

Kobe and I in 2008...close to a year after I started this blog...

Kobe in 2012...

When I had my first baby, Kobe, almost 12 years ago I never really thought about him getting older.  Not really.  When I was pregnant I thought about decorating the nursery, buying cute baby clothes and picking out strollers and cribs.  I never even thought much beyond all the cuteness and what I was feeling as I was carrying this baby.  As you can imagine,  I wasn't well prepared for what having a real...live...baby was like...even though I had read every dang book on the subject for the WHOLE nine months.  Geesh!  Kobe and I had a rough start...mainly since I had Post-Partum depression... but we came through it all okay.  What is amazing to me is that all those baby days really do seem like they were just last year...certainly not 11 years ago. 

I've learned that having kids is all about developmental stages and gracefully adjusting.  I've tried to enjoy every single of one them...even on those pesky 1/2 years. Anyone else experience the mood swings/temper tantrums, etc. when their kids are at the 1/2 year point between birthdays?  Okay...well...maybe it's just us!

With Kobe...I've gotten to experience the all the development stages for the first time.  With my second son, Kyler, we can kind of sit back and enjoy his experiences...because...we've Been There AND Done That.  Except... for the broken leg a few days before he was to start kindergarten.  Nope...hadn't experienced that one before.  And, you know, they are two completely different kids (of course) but these guys are opposites.  Kobe is reserved (very reserved) and Kyler will talk to anyone.  The differences are so much fun for me.

When I started this blog, Kobe was 7 years old and in the first grade.  Now, Middle School is starting soon....Puberty is close...Lots of questions coming at me.  Questions about things I didn't think about when I was carrying this boy for those 9 months.  Questions like..."How does that baby get in there anyway?"

I'm Gracefully Adjusting.

Yes.

Gracefully Adjusting...


--jackie

Strawberry Poke Cake...

I made a Poke cake this week.  My oldest son requested that I make it since he had eaten a piece at a friends house and loved it.  I'm pretty sure I've made it before but no one in my house remembers it.  If I actually did make this cake before...it evidently didn't make much of an impression on the family OR it's entirely possible I imagined I made it for the family.  Yep...definitely possible!  I DO remember my Mom and Grandma making this cake when I was young and it was always good...and very easy to make.  I've taken the recipe straight off the Kraft website...so feel free to go there if you'd like to see the original.  Such a quick and easy cake recipe and always tastes good.

Have a great Friday!

--jackie

 

What You Need

1pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix

1cup boiling water

1pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

 

Make It

PREPARE cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.
 
ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Stretching...Mind and Body...

Good Morning,

As I write this post I'm sitting in a room with 9 other people and we are participating in a Mindfulness Writing Retreat this week.  We have been doing yoga and meditation and I'm being stretched in more ways than one.  The yoga movements are stretching my body and there is no doubt that this is something I need to bring into my life every week.  The movements feel good and I'm relaxed, yet energized, after each session.  

I'm also being stretched mentally.  We are doing some LONG meditation sessions.  I have participated in meditation before and have taken a couple of other meditation courses, yet, I have never sat in meditation for as long as we are at this retreat.  I really enjoy it and I am amazed at how quiet my mind can become if I focus on my breathing or another sound.  Since we are on a golf course I have been able to focus on birds chirping and the smack of golf balls being hit.  Believe it or not...smacking golf balls has helped me focus.

Meditation As A Way To Talk To God

When I meditate I am able to quiet my mind enough to talk to God.  So many times when I start to pray (or talk to God) I get sidetracked and the next thing I know I'm making a mental grocery list, thinking about what I'm going to wear for the day or where the kids need to go after school.  

Am I the only one that does this? 

It has gotten harder to find the time to meditate because my boys are getting older and we have so much more going on than we used to but I feel it's really important in my prayer life.  Focusing on quieting my mind helps me reach out to God.  I can put aside all those racing thoughts of everything that has to be done and focus on communicating with God.  Maybe 5 minutes....maybe 15 minutes...maybe an hour (although that is rare). 

One of the courses I took a couple of years ago was based on the book, Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.  In this course we explored the spiritual disciplines that Barton discusses in the book.  One of which is solitude and includes meditation.  Another of the spiritual disciplines is scripture and encountering God through Lectio Divina, which I believe was originally a Catholic practice of spiritual reading.   I have written about Lectio Divina before and the Solo Devotional Book (The Message/REMIX: Solo Devotional).  This way of reading scripture has helped me immensely in understanding it and applying it to my life.  I encourage you to read this book if you desire a change in your spiritual life.

Although I'm slightly stressed at thinking about the amount of work piling up in my office...I'm glad I'm here. 

Oh, the meditation chimes just went off...back to yoga...

Namaste.

--jackie