Monday, April 18, 2011

April Showers

April began my crazy planning months. This month I was helping host a baby shower for a very close friend, Keisha. Her and her husband are expecting their second baby in June. They are having a baby girl which made this shower all the more special!
The Planners and Guest Honor

The Restaurant




Dessert


Trina, Keisha, and Candis




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Anxiety

Anxiety: A natural human reaction to a threat, real or imagined.

SPOILER ALERT: If you are reading this and you do not attend 12Stone's Central Campus, I am talking about today's lesson.

It seems like it has been a long time since I'd been to church. I guess it's only been two weeks but that two weeks has felt like 2 months. I love the church that I attend. Ashish and I have been members there for nearly a year and I have to say that it is the best decision that we have ever made since being married. Jordan has a ball in the children's church, we have made a lot of new friends through a small group that we joined, and most of all, our marriage is more rooted in our faith!

Our church teaches lessons based on a series. This series is titled "Whatever-The Feel Good Series of the Year about Apathy, Anxiety, and Anger." This week we learned about anxiety. I wouldn't have ever described myself as an anxious person. I tend to take conflict on head-on and don't look back. However, I am an analyzer-almost to a fault. I think about things a lot and internalize a lot of other people's emotions. I am type A. I make a list to remind myself to make a list. As a matter of fact, I have a running list in my head right now of all of the things I need to get for our beach trip in JUNE...two months away from now.

I experienced my first bout with anxiety when I was in a friend's wedding. I am pretty outgoing but am a little bit shy when put in a situation where I am the only one that doesn't know anyone. Ashish and my parents were invited to this wedding but I didn't know anyone else. So, there I was standing in front of all these people and the anxiety set in. My hands got sweaty, I started shifting back and forth, before I knew it, I was kneeling down trying to catch my breath. Luckily, the bride was really sweet and only wanted to make sure that I was okay. I thought for sure that it would never happen again. I thought that maybe I hadn't eaten enough before the wedding and that is why I nearly passed out. To my surprise, it was not an isolated incident. The same thing happened at MY WEDDING. Yes, my very own wedding, I nearly passed out. I had to hurry the preacher along or else I was going to be an accessory on the carpet.

So I thought  that weddings just weren't for me; at least not as a participant. I remember the way I felt like it was yesterday and I have noticed that feeling inching into my body during several different occasions. Mainly when I am faced with someone that I don't want to see or hear from. I can't really explain it but I know when it's happening.

I was really excited to go to church this morning. I really needed to hear how I was to handle this anxiety that I've been feeling. The lesson was just what I needed to hear. Kevin Queen instructed everyone to say a prayer when anxiety starts to creep in. He urged us to talk to God, tell him exactly what you need and to let him know that you trust him to bring you through whatever situation you are facing. The prayer would sound something like this:

"God, I trust you. Will you protect me and give me peace?"

 I think that I will have a better handle on my anxiety now. I might be saying a lot of prayers but I serve an awesome God and I know that I will be just fine!

"The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow our minds to dwell upon. It is our thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the heart occur. Thoughts are the place where we can and must begin to change." -Dallas Willard

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Ode to March

It's April 3rd and I am still trying to figure out where March went. It seems that since I've had Jordan the months and years are flying by. I need to slow down time.

March was a semi busy month for us. I say "semi" because we got to do a lot of the things that we wanted to do and no so many things that people volunteered us to do.  We started the month off celebrating Ashish's dad's 77th birthday.

SN: Ashish's parents are so young at heart. They can hang and roll with the best of us! I've said it before and I'll say it again (probably several times), Ashish, Jordan, and I are very blessed to have them in our lives. The are great parents to Ashish, awesome in-laws to me, and fantastic grandparents to Jordan. We couldn't ask for anything more.

Jordan got to visit the zoo for the very first time. He loved it!


He was too exited to get his picture taken

My friend Jen had this great idea to start a mom's group. She, like I, is stay at home mom, and gets bored just staying at home. She ran the idea by me, I thought it was great but really didn't know how to get the ball rolling. In comes Rachel, another friend, she is a computer genius. With a couple clicks of her mouse and keyboard, she set the mom's group into action. So far we have 12 wonderful in the group and are really looking for more participants. Jen named the group "Moms in the Burbs" and we got to experience our first Mom's Night Out.We had a great time!


L-R: Me, Jennifer, Melissa, Rachel, Gianna, and Sarah

We have a room in our house that has had many face lifts. It was originally supposed to be a game/movie room (Ashish was a bachelor then). When I loved in, it became an office/guest bedroom #2. Once we had Jordan it was an office/guest bedroom #1. Which brings me to today. I rarely use the desktop that sits in the office. I am trying to convert over to paperless statements so I don't really need the desk anymore.

Every year, when we get our taxes back, we try and so something to our house. Whether it be an upgrade, a preventative makeover, or just something fun. Last year, we added a wall to the game room movie room office guest bedroom. This year, I decided to save the money and tackle a DIY project. Our friends, Ashley and Adam were getting new bedroom furniture and asked if we knew anyone that could use the old furniture. The wheels in my head got to turning. I couldn't think of anyone...but wait...I could use the furniture. Because our extra room has been just that, extra, we never put an actually bed in the room. We had a real modern futon in there for guests. So, not really knowing how I was going to tackle this project, I had Adam bring it to me. It sat in my garage for at least a week before I decided that I was just going to do it. The furniture was oak which matches nothing in my house. I knew that it was going to have to be given a light sanding before priming, primed, and then paint.


Original Armoire

 Original Night Stand Drawer

Armoire-primed

Foot board-primed


Night Stand drawers-primed



DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....






That's what I've been up to in March! Stay tuned, April is a really busy month!