The First Day of School ~ A Bit Late!

Well, we are off to a great start of the school year!  The boys started school August 30th!

It was quite the ordeal with Ethan going to preschool!  He was not so sure about going and actually informed me that he did not need to go to school!  He goes on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays all day at St. Pat's.  His teacher is Mrs. Estok and needless to say HE LOVES IT!  He loves being able to go into school with Garrett in the mornings!  He also thinks that it is pretty neat that he has a "backpack and a lunchbox!"

Garrett started second grade and is in a multi-age classroom with 2nd and 3rd grades combined!  I was a bit nervous about how it would work out and it is going wonderful as well!  I think that being combined gives him the challenge that he needs as he can work at a higher level if need be!  His teacher is Mrs. Klinger and she is wonderful as well!  He thinks that it is great that he is permitted to take his Beyblades to school for free time!

We continue to have our wonderful babysitter, Christina who is actually Garrett's friend's mother that watches Ethan on the off days and picks them up from school everyday!  She is such a life-saver to me!  Without her, I am not sure how it would be possible!

The boys are continuing to grow and adjust to our new life!  We do things a lot differently at our house than we have ever done before!  Garrett's anxiety issues are decreasing, which I am so thankful for!  Ethan still gives me a run for my money, but he is still a momma's boy and I wouldn't trade that for the world! 

Continue to pray for us and know that each one of your emails mean so much to me!  We are doing great and I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful, supportive people in my life! 

Lots of Love,

Shawn

Welcome!

Here I am ..... about 6 months of our lives remains unrecorded, but that is OK!  We have been extremely busy the last six months and A LOT has changed!  I have decided it is time to get back on track and record the precious days of my children, which is what really counts in life!

The title of my new blog, I am sure, has you wondering "What the heck?!?!"  Well, let me tell you....I debated and debated a title for this blog and "Pardon My Dirty Laundry" is so fitting for so many different reasons!

First and foremost, on any given day if you stop at my house without notice, you will find dirty laundry (nine times out of ten all over the house!)  You see, the boys typically undress in the living room and that is where the dirty laundry stays until I have enough ambition to bend over and pick it up!  Don't get me wrong, we are working on them placing it in the correct place, but somehow it just never happens!  LOL

My journey to Catholicism also lead to the subject of Dirty Laundry!  You see in order to become Catholic, I had to do my first confession.  Confession is one of those gray areas to me.....I talk to God on a daily basis and feel that I ask for forgiveness and receive it without the help of a Priest.  However, I realize the importance of being held accountable by going to Confession!  To say the least, that first Confession was very difficult for me.....so difficult that I had to be drug back into the church by a dear friend that I met in RCIA class!  It was at the end of April and as you all know my life was turning upside down!  I had made myself a list of what I wanted forgiveness for and had prepared myself to ask for it!  By my surprise, the Priest informed me that this was not the place to "air out my dirty laundry!"  That whole experience was two fold for me!  WOW, I felt so much better to know that I was off the hook.....but, on the other hand, had things to get off my chest as well! LOL  Anyways.....the dirty laundry business has really become an inside joke with me!  My walk to Catholicism has been the greatest journey I have been on, so this one experience did not get in the way of the path that I had chosen!

As I was giving thought to this blog this morning, I came across this scripture-

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind.” Phil 4:6-7.

He wants us to pray.

He wants us to petition him.

He wants us to present our requests to him.

And at the end there is peace.

The past six months have been difficult in so many ways, just like dirty laundry is so difficult to stay caught up with.  So many days I found myself crying and saying out loud to myself demanding him “God, I just need some answers.”

Some days were a woe is me, I spent stuck in my own pity party. You see, I was stuck in such a vicious cycle. I’ve been riding that cycle for way more time that I can admit to!  It was a ride that God had been calling me to jump off of for quite some time.  But somehow I became comfortable just going around and around. The thought always crossed my mind that if I jump off, what then? Then I’ll actually have to do something to change my circumstance. It’s up to me. It’s like there’s a fork in the road and I can go one of two ways…. I can go the road that brings forth changes, or take the road where I find myself hopping right back in the cycle.

You know how on a washing machine you have different cycles for "dirty laundry?"  Well one of them is gentle for delicate clothing, right?

Funny how we seem to be in a cycle and not willing to do anything to change our circumstances, but we have no problem saying, but God, just be gentle with me. You think in a situation where we’re clearly being disobedient that God is going to be gentle. No, it’s going to hurt, and it’s going to be painful when we’re not aligned with God. 

He knows so much better than we do.

It was way past time to put an end to the cycle......and I can honestly say that I am a better person because of it.

In closing, I hope you continue to follow along with me and my dirty laundry!  Comparing my life to laundry at this point seems so fitting!  I have went through the cycle, put in the dryer on permanent press and at this point, there are only a few wrinkles!