So far,the family hasn’t revolted.

Or maybe they just never read it.

But I’ve been thinking and praying and planning, and here are a few areas I’m really the need to focus on. We may have some big changes coming in the fall if I’m able to go back to school full time, I need to work hard this summer to change some bad habits we’ve developed and replace them with good ones.

• Food. Yep, in our house it all begins with food. What we eat affects our moods, our energy levels, our activity levels. I’m working to figure out the best version of paleo for our family – which I think is going to be just a little bit more carb heavy than usual and contain some cultured dairy. I’m realizing it’s better to be 90% paleo all of the time than it is to be 100% paleo sporadically.
  I’ll be posting some simple meal plans and recipe links - hopefully with breakfast and lunch ideas – every Monday if you’re looking for some new ideas.
• Activity. Caleb got an XBOX 360 for Christmas and he loves it. My feelings aren’t quite the same. We’re going to have some big limits on gaming, computer/social media time and tv this summer, and I think they’re going to be connected to activity levels and whether or not a certain picky eater is eating what’s served, but no more than an hour per day.
  We’re lucky in that my grandparents and their pool live just a few blocks away – and I plan on taking advantage of that fact as often as possible - but I’m also hoping to start up some family runs at least a few times a week.
  I’m not sure yet what our daily schedule will look like, and I’m trying to stay somewhat flexible, but I’m definitely planning to include some daily reading time in their bedrooms. We’ve done that most years in the past, and it tends to be just enough break and quiet time to make the whole day move more peacefully.
• Housekeeping. I’ve found it to be way too easy for the house to…hmmm…shall we say…explode during the summer. The kids and I have figured out recently that if we keep the house picked up, it takes about 20 minutes to dust, sweep, mop, vaccuum, clean the bathrooms and kitchen. No joke – we just need the right music.
  My hope is  to do daily “clean sweeps” each evening – a quick pick up to battle the clutter along with daily chores like laundry, dishes and a few other things that need to be done like windowsills - and do a deeper clean twice a week.
• Words. I’m officially banning “I know” from the vocabulary in our house. There are a whole lot of other words and attitudes I’d like to abolish, but I’m not sure where to start. Lots to pray about and gently guide on this front.

How are your summer plans coming? We’ve got just over two weeks to go.

Either we can be victimized and become victims, or we can be victimized and rise above it. Often it is easier to play the victim than take off our masks and ask for help. We get comfortable with our victim status. It becomes our identity and is hard to give up. The Israelites often played the victim card, and I love what God finally tells them,“You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north!” (Deuteronomy 2:3 [NASB]).
Turn north! It’s time to move on! Self-pity, fear, pride and negativity paralyze us. Taking off our masks takes courage, but if we don’t do it, we will remain in our victim status and end up stunted.

What mountain do you need to stop circling today? What north is God calling you to?

A menu plan is always one of the best places to start.

I’m also working on keeping meals a little simpler – we were able to pick up a new barbecue, which will help immensely, and I’m starting to see farm stands pop up with awesome (and cheap!) vegetables. As I always do at the beginning of summer, I’m craving simple and fresh meals.

Monday
Fajitas (just dumped on a big salad for me, with corn tortillas for the kids)
Guacamole
Tossed Green Salad

Tuesday
Grilled Chicken, seasoned with Magic Mushroom powder from the Nom Nom Paleo app (which is brilliant, by the way)
Grilled Squash – I have a bit of a glut already and summer isn’t even here yet!
Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday
All beef, no weird stuff hot dogs
Carrot sticks

Thursday
Skirt Steak with Chive Butter (from Make It Paleo)
Steamed Broccoli
Green Salad

Friday
Red Curry Glazed Chicken Skewers
Roasted Cauliflower (drizzling with coconut oil and my favorite vadouvan spice mix )
White Rice (for the kiddos)

Saturday
Easy Chicken Cacciatore
Quinoa pasta for the kids
Spaghetti Squash for me

Sunday
Mom’s Night Off – leftovers or whatever you’re capable of making on you’re own

What’s your plan for this week?

• horribly, painfully shy as a child. Wouldn’t answer the phone. Wouldn’t ask for ketchup at McDonald’s. Found ways to hide during birthday parties. Was called stuck up for years simply because I was afraid to talk to anyone. I still have a bit of social anxiety and get tongue tied fairly easily, but it’s much better.
• prone to nightmares as a child, and still have very vivid dreams. Most of my nightmares included our fish tank breaking during an earthquake – which has led to me not being a huge fan of aquariums and means I don’t go in water that isn’t chlorinated and in a pool
• a band geek from 4th through 12th grades. I marched from 6th grade on and was co-caption of my high school flag team for a year and a half. Due to budget cuts, our district will no longer have any sort of music programs after this current school year. I can’t imagine a Bronco football game without the School Song and Fight Song after each touchdown and conversion, and it brought tears to my eyes to realize no one would play our Alma Mater at the end of the game.
• not raised with in any sort of faith. We had children’s Bibles and watched The Ten Commandments every year (I still do), but I could probably count on one hand how many times I went to church on Sunday growing up. In some ways, I appreciate more that I came to know Jesus as an adult because I don’t take my faith or my relationship with Him for granted.
• a failure at college. Several times, in fact. In part because of that social anxiety, but mostly because I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. Now that I’m truly feeling called to go back to school to pursue some sort of nutrition degree, I find that I’m fighting that failure soundtrack.

Want to join me? I love this “I statements” challenge I came across on Becky Higgin’s blog and am going to blog through it over the next few Fridays. Blog your own “I was” and leave me a link, and join me next week for “I am”.

It’s been a little tiring – so many guests in a rather short amount of time – but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. We’ve been blessed to have so many of our former youth kids and volunteers turn into dear friends, and it’s incredible to me that they want to come visit us from all the way across the country.

I love having them here – seeing them interact with the kids (who have very much missed their youth friends and leaders), having someone to chat and reminisce with, and getting to show off a little bit of this Golden State.

Truly, California is a beautiful place to live. We’ve visited the giant trees in Kings Canyon National Park, the meadows and mountains of Yosemite, the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz and the Golden Gate Bridge while in San Francisco.

And In & Out Burger.

Lots of In & Out Burger (I’m partial to an animal and protein style double double with extra pickles myself).

It’s also been a reminder of the legacy we leave every time we invest in any one with the love of Christ. One of my greatest joys comes from seeing how God uses these lives we’ve been so blessed to be a part of.

Our last guest leaves today and, while it will be nice to get back to a more normal schedule, I’m going to miss the excitement of these past weeks.

It culminated in this tweet:

Thinking this is going to the summer of no excuses. My kids are not going to be happy with me. #toodarnbad #paleo #limits

And after a little more thought last night, I realized it’s time to take a stand.

I’ve been so frustrated lately with all of the excuses – why teeth aren’t brushed…homework isn’t done…things aren’t put away…why attitudes are bad…the forgetfulness that’s really just laziness…and so many words that are unkind.

It seems like I hear a hundred different excuses a day.

And I’ve been really frustrated…

to the point that I ended up yelling “shut up” in the car yesterday on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

It’s been a rough year.

It’s been a long year.

We’ve allowed some really bad habits to develop.

But those are just more excuses.

We’re less than four weeks away from summer vacation – something I’ve been looking forward to – and I’m realizing if we don’t tighten up the reigns a bit, it’s going to a long, miserable summer. I don’t want a summer of XBOX 360 and tv non-stop, of complaining and laziness, of arguing and blaming.

I’m realizing that for any change to be permanent in a family, it has to start with mom and dad.

Because I am the queen of excuses – the kids come by their propensity for them naturally.

I didn’t exercise this morning because I didn’t sleep well…I didn’t sleep well because I didn’t eat well…I didn’t eat well because I was tired and stressed…I was tired and stressed because I didn’t eat well or exercise.

It’s an ugly circle that doesn’t do anyone any good.

Tom spoke on Jonah this past Sunday in church, and I was particularly struck by two things – God’s command to Jonah to just go and the fact that Jonah was down in the ship sleeping while it was sinking.

It’s time to wake up, and it’s time to go. Time to make changes and to hold myself – and my family- to a higher standard. I’m not sure exactly how to do it, beyond starting with prayer. I’ll share more, and if you want to join with us in the No Excuses Summer, please share. I’m hoping to have some definite goals up next week if you want to join in.

No more excuses.

No more laziness.

No more bad attitudes.

No more bad food.

No more excuses.

• we have 18 days of school left…not that I’m counting or anything.
• I completely forgot we have a Little League game tonight.
  ’cause I’m awesome like that.
  our friend from Florida that’s stopping in for a few days is probably getting fed dinner at the game.
• I’m fairly positive Hanna has strep throat. luckily, we already have a doctor’s appointment for Caleb this afternoon and the doctor said he’ll see them both.
• I’m seriously praying about and looking into going back to school to pursue a nutrition degree.
  like, for reals.
  I’m equal parts terrified and excited, and there’s a lot of work to be done before I can even start.
• I only have nine more days with my little nephew that spends every day with me – his dad’s school gets out early. I’m going to miss him like crazy. last week, he was Buster, the rainbow puppy. today, he was a baby crocodile. life is just a little more awesome when he’s around.
• I’m still on a bit of a family reunion high from this weekend. so fun to get together with family from all over the place and meet everyone’s kids. I even talked to one cousin who’s daughter went paleo due to health issues that were surprisingly like mine considering we’re something like second cousins once removed.
• I’ve managed to gain a few pounds. I blame vacation and guests and stress. back to full paleo today and running in a few days when the swelling from the junk I’ve been eating goes down. it’s amazing to me how much I feel just a few extra pounds now, and it’s been incredible to really see what eating a few bad meals does to my body.
• somehow, in the timespan of about 15 minutes, we decided to offer and then planned out a VBS for this summer. we’ve gone back and forth, but I’m really convinced it’s something we need to do as a church this summer…and it’s awesome to see so many members of our congregation get excited and jump on board. I’d blame Tom’s great sermon on Jonah yesterday, but we’d already decided before church even started. that sermon definitely confirmed it, though.
• I nixed the idea to homeschool through summer. we all need a break, but we’ll still be having some reading time each day.
• 18 days. I just can’t wait for summer break.

And while the magnificence of Yosemite is unforgettable, I did forget – or perhaps blocked – memories of how high up this particular vista is.

And of the road that takes you through the tunnel and to the giant Sequioa grove.

And the winding cliffs alongside it.

As overwhelmed as I was by the beauty of the park, I was probably even more overcome by fear and anxiety by those heights.

I’ve been fighting fear and anxiety a bit more often lately.

We’re coming to the end of a crazy and busy school year…but not really. After realizing how spotty Hanna’s education had been this year, we’ll be doing light homeschooling through the summer. 8th grade honors English hadn’t read a single novel or done much of anything else and social studies – in a year that was supposed to cover American history – was still learning about the Revolution in March when we made the decision to homeschool…when they were learning at all.

We’ve got big decisions to make about school next year. If we send her, Hanna will be attending a high school where freshman can no longer get social studies and science their 9th grade year due to budget cuts. I don’t feel qualified – or called – to homeschool for high school, so we’re seriously considering an online virtual school. It has the same WASC accreditation all California high schools do, and offers so many more options. There’s still a lot of prayer and discussion to be had.

I’m anxious for summer. I think our warmer weather is here to stay, and I’m working on lists and plans for break. I’ve got a list of closets and rooms to organize, of projects I want to tackle and the pool at my grandparent’s house is calling my name. I see days with work in the morning and lazy afternoons in the future and after this wild school year, I’m looking forward to them.

I’m not feeling all that great, the effects of our Spring Break fun. It’s hard enough to keep only to foods that make me feel well when I have total control in my own kitchen…it’s darn near impossible with lots of travel and vacation days. There’s an anxiety that comes with the aches triggered by certain foods – a fear that I’ll slip back to the pain my doctor called fibromyalgia.

And yet, I give thanks. I’m thankful we have options for school next year – even if it isn’t perfect. I’m thankful we’ve had this wonderful Spring Break vacation – with trips to the coast and the mountains, which make me even more thankful to live in this beautiful state full of so much of God’s creation. I’m thankful to live near family again, and to enjoy visits from Florida friends. I’m thankful that I’ve had nearly two years to learn what is and isn’t good for my body and wellness, and for the desire I’ve been given to share that.

Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It seems like this way just yesterday.

He’s always been an adventurer, a tinkerer, a kid who likes to figure things out…and sometimes take them apart…and usually put them back together.

He’s still just as sweet, just as caring, just as cuddly – though a bit bigger.

He’s conscientous.

He’s a good listener.

His baseball coaches love him – they tell him to make a correction and he does it. He doesn’t complain. And he’s being recruited for football next year.

We are so proud of this boy and love him to bits.

Happy birthday, Caleb.

side note: I’ll be on a blog break until early May. It’s finally Spring Break for us next week, and we’ll be doing a little traveling and entertaining guests.

Saturday, I spent all day on the couch, watching a SyFy series on the iPad.

Sunday, I cried in the kitchen, and Tom took the kids to dinner and had a little come to Jesus talk with them about some things that needed to change.

Monday, the sun came up.

I woke up at 6:15 and realized it was light enough for me to get in a run before school.

I ate full paleo – no sugar, no grains, no dairy.

I tore through my massive to do list.

Just like that.

The sun came up.

I’ve been returning over and over this week to these words from Tom’s message Sunday about Caleb in the Old Testament (Numbers 13 and 14):

I’m so thankful for these reminders, and the big changes that come with such seemingly small ones.

Want to join in me in creating a life of gratitude? Leave a comment or a link to your own blog post about what you’re thankful for today.