A Constant Work In Progress: Wait, huh, ....January is GONE?!?!?!

Still not alot of pictures from the past month. I have really been struggling with trying to remember and be consistent with picture taking. I forget sometimes that the pictures will last WAY longer than my memories. You would think it would be easier with Instagram, FB, iPads, iPods, digital cameras, and smart phones....but I still don't capture some of the most precious moments....definitely a goal for the rest of 2013.

I am proud to say that we have been REALLY conscious about attending church as a family every week.Myles and Madison have even both came to me saying how much they enjoy going to church...Madison said ESPECIALLY AS A FAMILY!! We have missed a couple, but rather than beat myself up over it, I acknowledge the effort and am confident that God knows where my heart stands with him. Another goal that I am trying to focus on is my prayer time with God. I have always believed in the power of prayer but am also aware that in order for it to be powerful...you must do it. I rededicated my life to the Lord earlier in January during our revival week and felt an immediate sense of change in my personal being. With that said...I am not claiming to be perfect. If you are reading this blog, then you are more than aware of many of flaws. IN fact...I will be making a list of them soon in the next post and writing what my goals are to fix some of them.

PS--I attempted a January daily photo challenge on Instagram...what an EPIC FAIL..hahahahaha...

But lets see.....the kids had a pretty mild January.....while looking back to the last month, I am trying to pin point some obvious milestones or exciting events--(ummm...hello Michelle--if you wrote more regularly, you wouldn't even have to look back to remember...that's one of the main points to a blog)

Mayci at 18 months seems to be learning new things every day. She is definitely becoming quite the little master at getting her point across. She has been trying to form new words on almost a daily basis. Some of her most popular are: NO, daddy, mama(that would be for Grandma Abby), mommy(yay! that's me), hurt, ow, bye bye, hi, hello, Dora(think the explorer), Barney, movie, wa-her(water), baby, more, cookie, pizza, eat.......and the list is quickly growing. She is Myles' little shadow, and that has become quite the entertainment in the house recently.

Myles is excitedly looking forward to turning 4 in April. We have been talking more and more about school with him lately. I am hoping to enroll him in preschool for September. I have filled out an application to have him put in the lottery for a couple of Greater Hartford Magnet Schools...hopefully good news will come from that! He his still Spiderman about 80% of the time, but still branches out on occasion to the Hulk, Batman, Doc Oc, and a number of made up superheros on any given day. He was even "whiteman"(( pls don't think my son is racist..keep reading, you will understand)..which I think was his idea of Ghost man since he covered himself completely in powder... And on days that he is not wearing his costume(normally when he is out with me) he likes to go by Peter Parker still and will begin to address me as Aunt May instead of Mommy. I, like a fool, play along and almost always answer him. At least he is talking to me, right??

Madison is in full dance mode right now. Competition is starting in March and she has been working extremely hard on her 1st ever solo in addition to the 2 other competition dances and lessons she is taking. She has quite the tight knit group of friends...a group of girls from dance and a couple from school, so we have started to get involved in some of the little kid drama.....this has been a little scary for me though. I have had to speak with her about the importance of being empathetic to ALL of her friends feelings when in a large group and making an effort to include everyone. The age of 9 has already brought us lots of surprises as far as friends and some of the ~~ridiculous~~ interesting "learning opportunities" we have experienced from a variety of conflicts. But I am doing the best to help her find the positive in all of these situations. I also am thinking that the ~~terrifying~~ inevitable puberty is right around the corner....some of her closest friends have already had "the talk" from their parents because they have come home with questions about things being heard on bus rides and at school... I have not been confident enough to have "the talk" with her yet, but I am hoping to get prepared and do so in the most innocent, informative, truthful, and age appropriate way possible...ummmmmmmm dear God....do You think You could

With the new year underway, Damian is hoping to really focus on his music more. Not so much the gigs, and rehearsals...but more his personal love..Hip Hop and producing. If I remember correctly he is working on his 2nd CD right now .... needless to say this will mean lots of time spent in the studio, and lots of floors vibrating while he has music on full blast in the basement while making beats-- oh the joy of marrying a musician.

My hope is to finally get this house in order. We have lived here for 1 yr and 5 months and I have many projects that I would like to work on and tons of ideas for this place. While I want my home to always be inviting and lived in, I always want there to be a sense of style and classiness also. The latter two of which I am lacking. And if lived in is the nice word for messy...WOOOHOOOOO there is something I have already accomplished.......

Here's to hoping for a little more consistency in blogging from here on out.....