Not Me! Monday

I've been following this blog that I found off another friend's blog, and the really cool woman who writes it does a "Not Me" Monday...it's all the things we "didn't do"!! :) And it has been fun to read every week, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I absolutely did not ignore my two year old when she came to wake me up so I could get a few more minutes of sleep. Nope, not me!

And I absolutely did not leave all the camp laundry sitting at the house, and I definitely did not go to the beach for a beautiful lunch with the hubby and Natalie and Erin. Laundry is important...I would never leave it sitting there in exchange for the beach. Nope, not me!

And I did not go for a great run and then come home and eat Skittles with the hubby while watching the Home Run Derby. Me? Of course not! :)

Hope you all are enjoying not doing anything today too!

Beachin' it

Last night it wasn't overly hot, but it was humid, so I decided to take the kiddos to the beach and let them run off some energy, as we had spent most of the afternoon doing laundry. My kids are crazy, I tell you! Natalie, Connor, and Erin all actually went into the ocean...several times, I might add. Sarah stood and belly laughed at them.

I have to say, it felt good to have the sand between my toes. There's something about being at the beach that makes you forget about the real world for a little while and just come alive. I love to run on the beach...it's just invigorating!

Happy Easter

I realize this is a few days late, but better late than never! We had an amazing Easter this year. I had the chance to participate in the music for the Living Last Supper, which was very meaningful. I had never even seen one before, and it was powerful! It definitely added to the joy of Easter Sunday when we celebrated our risen Lord! How awesome to know that we do not serve a dead God, but a risen God who conquered death! :)

Spring has Sprung!

HOORAY!! As I type this I am sitting in front of our big living room window just relishing the sight of all the sunshine we have been seeing since yesterday. HOORAY for spring!!!

We went and got a new camera, as you probably noticed from the pictures above. Spring for us has already been very busy, but it's also been very rewarding and fun as well!

Last Thursday we had our friends Richard and Laura over to play. Richard and Laura are five and are great fun (and yes, they are twins)! Richard helped Mr. Tim change the tires on his "truck" (it's really an suv, but heaven forbid we don't call it a truck!), while the girls put on the prettiest dresses in the dress up bin and danced in my living room.

The sun came out a while later and we went outside for some springtime fun. A good day!

If you haven't checked out Sarah's blog, we have our first broken bone casualty. For the whole store click the link to her site...there are pictures too!

Well, would love to stay and write more, but the beautiful outdoors and the masses of laundry are calling my name!

Changes

Some of you know, others are probably not aware, that God has been leading us, particularly me, to step out in faith and follow Him, no questions asked. In August, I began working as an independent consultant for Arbonne International. This was an easy choice...the opportunity to build a business alongside my current job and obligations, with a product I personally love and would recommend to anyone. Even better, this company offers one of the best compensation and growth plans in the business. But what I liked most was that I not only had the chance to build a business, but really grow as a person as well. And to date this has been going as well as it could given the limited time I had to put in to it.
What most of you would not know is about a year ago I felt God calling me to leave my job at Dunkin Donuts. At the time, we were really cash strapped, and unsure, and decided to stay where we were at and wait on God. Of course, we should have obeyed right then, but that's another area God is working on :).
Several weeks ago, I again felt like God was calling me to choose, and that He wanted me to choose life. Not a daily grind where I was miserable, my kids were miserable, my marriage was suffering, and I was too exhausted from trying to do it all to even begin to work on any of it. And my business also began to suffer, because I definitely had no time for that. But life, where I was truly living, and being about what God wanted me to be about, and this was just not it.
This time, after prayer and discussion, Tim and I decided that we would follow God's lead and jump on in with both feet. So as of next week, I will no longer be working at Dunkin Donuts, or with the sewer district for their monthly minutes. Instead, I will be a full time mom and part time work from home mom with Arbonne. Yes, this is a risk...one that is more than worth taking. Not only do I have an incredible opportunity in front of me to learn and grow, I can do it at home with my kids and my husband. Part of me is a bit scared...I gave up a guaranteed paycheck in a dead end job to build a business in an economy that by sight does not look good. But mostly I am exhilarated...I don't know where God is going to take me, but every day I am more and more certain that this is going to be quite possibly the wildest ride of my life...and I can't wait!
So be praying for me and for us...that we don't take a step outside of God's will. That I will be disciplined to do what I need to do when I need to do it. That every time I step out the door to meet a client, host a party, or just go about my daily business, that all things said and done come from and are for the glory of God. And that when the hard times come, because I am not unwise enough to think that they won't, that we will not grow weary in well doing. :)

Happy Anniversary

Today is our (mine and Tim's) nine year anniversary, which means we have been together in total for ten and a half years. And what a ride it has been.
Most people didn't think we'd last that long dating. They were shocked when we married and had a family (not necessarily in that order). And here we are nine years later.
I can't say the road has been easy. Sometimes, it has been very hard. And at times, I'm not sure either one of us thought we were going to make it. But here we are, by God's grace. That's not to say it's easy now...it's not. Marriage takes constant commitment, dedication, and work. But I am more in love with Tim now than I was when I first fell in love with him ten years ago, despite all the difficulties, trials, etc. And I thank God every day that He gave me such a great husband and family, and for another day to celebrate our love for Him and for each other.

Allie

In August, my father in laws' beloved dog Molly passed away. While this was sad, I think his wife needed a break from doggie duty, and said absolutely no more dogs. Well, long story short, the running joke became that Tim and his sisters were going to buy dad a dog and name it Alimony, and call it Allie for short. Janice (my MIL) actually got presents from "allie" for Christmas, which was all quite funny.

Then a little over a week or so ago, we got a call that sure enough, a new puppy was coming to live at the Galvins house. And of course, her name is Allie! She is actually very cute, and we've made some trips over to bond with the puppy. Posted are a few pictures my mother in law was kind enough to send...our flash in our camera has kicked the proverbial bucket!