Taking the "Plunge"

Sunday night was a very special night for my little guy.  Dylan made a profession of faith in April and his baptism service was held on January 22, 2012.  As we were preparing for the baptism, he was asking questions about how long he would have to hold his breath and what it would be like when he plunged into the water.  His questions were so innocent but really got me tickled!!  The entire family was there.  Dylan had two pews filled with his family to share in this milestone as he took the "plunge".   

Back to the Blogging World!

WOW!  So...my last blog post was in June 2011 and I left you with an image of me recovering from a mommy funk.  Not a very good last post!!  It will appear that I disappeared off the face of the earth.  All is well with the Koontz Klan.  Promise!  And the "funk" is definitely over.  The "funk" was replaced with one very active little man who doesn't allow for much alone time with my computer! 

So much has happened between my last post in June and now.  This is one reason I have been putting off posting because it was just too overwhelming to catch up from 7 months of life and I didn't even know where to start!  One of the items on our 2012 Bucket List (I don't do resolutions - feel like such a failure when I don't succeed) was to keep up better with our blog.  So rather than try to rehash everything that has happened in our family since June, we are just going to pick up from today and move forward.

Between the months of September and December - life is nuts around here.  All three kids have birthdays, king daddy has a birthday, then there is our favorite holiday - Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas!  My head is spinning by the time January arrives and it always takes a few weeks to catch my breath and bask in the ability to relax (a little).  

Our sweet baby Nathan turned 1 in September.  He is such a wonderful addition to our family!!

In November, our sweet Dylan turned 8.  He is getting to be such a big guy!

And last but not least, our little lady Anna turned 4 in December.

Now that I've taken the initial jump back into the blog world, I am hoping it will be a little bit easier to keep up.  Life gets so busy but I want to remember these times (most of them - some days I would be ok not remembering!!!) and be able to look back and reflect. 

A Case of the Funk

I have to admit that I've had a little bit of the funk.  The mommy funk.  No worries, I am on the road to recovery.  Being a mom is exhausting and when you add in all the extra "stuff" it can sometimes be a little bit of a mommy overload.  I was so burned out from all the end of year "stuff" that I just wanted to crawl into a hole and do nothing.  For days.  Unfortunately, I was not able to do that but all the extra "stuff" has come to a close.  Thank goodness!!  Here's a little of what we've been up to...  

Our first dance recital:

Our little Prima Dona

Bridging Ceremony from Tiger Cub to Wolf:

Our last baseball game:

Our very own D-Rod

Water day:

The last day of 1st grade and awards:

D-Rod with the fabulous Mrs. Dyson and baby Charlie

Shew!!  You see why I was exhausted and had the funk?  Summer has arrived and now that I have recovered from the mommy funk, I am looking forward to some wonderful times together as a family. 

The heat is ON...

This post is being brought to you by a little whine...it's HOOOOOOT!!!  Today is the first day of June and we are on the 9th day of 90+ degree heat (more like 97).  It's ridiculous.  I'm tired of it already.  I hate summer.  Ok, now that I have that out of my system...

We celebrated Memorial Day on Monday at my parent's house.  The kids had a blast running through the sprinkler and soaking each other (and whoever else was standing too close) with their turbo water blasters.  One of the better $5 investments I have made :-)  We finished off the day with a yummy cookout and Grammy's homemade peach pie made with the last of our peaches from last summer.  It's a good thing we are getting ready to gear up for peach season in another month!  

If this heat continues I may move to Alaska, every day will be water day!!!  Hopefully we will survive the summer, which technically hasn't officially arrived but apparently someone forgot to tell Mother Nature...

Team Koontz

It has been another one of those crazy weeks!!  My mind has been here, there and everywhere and my body is struggling to keep up!  I will be glad when I look at my calendar and it's BLANK!  Only 9 days of school left, only one baseball game left, scouts is winding down, Awanas is almost over, dance recital in a few weeks...then we can relax, right??

In between all the family stuff, I have been crafting like a crazy woman in my spare time (hahahahaha).  I have my first craft show coming up in a few weeks so I have been trying to build up my inventory.

When the King and I were at White Lake a few weeks ago I saw some cute Triathlete t-shirts Team Koontz needed.  When we got home, I started looking online to order them and found them for $15.  Not a bad price, but I needed three!!  And I'm cheap :-)     

 I found an awesome deal on shirts from Hanes.com (3 shirts for $12!!).  I used freezer paper and my awesome Silhouette to cut out my pattern.  After the pattern was in place, I used Fabric Paint to get the desired look.  They aren't perfect, but I think they turned out super cute!  And I only spent a total of $18!

A Week of Firsts

What a busy week!!  Every night we had something going on:  Cub Scouts, Meetings, Baseball, Church, Dance...shew!!!  I even had to break down and buy TV dinners for the kids (gasp!!). 

Amidst all the craziness, our sweet baby has had a big week of firsts.  It is hard to believe he will be 8 months old next week.  Sniff, sniff :-(

First bath in the big tub!

Loves to splash!!

 

First attempt at crawling, but can only scoot backwards

First time he figured out how to get his knees underneath him.  He was so proud of himself!

First time that he can sit for a long period of time by himself and play with his toys.

First tooth is starting to work its way out.  Hope it pops through soon!

What a blessing this little guy is!!  I just want to squeeeeeeze those little chubby thighs of his.  And I do :-)  Quite often! 
  

A Quiet Whisper

Decisions, Decisions...I have been wrestling with the decision to take on the large role of MOPS coordinator for next year.  I am hesitant to do it because the women before me have been so awesome and I just don't feel I can fit in their big shoes!!  I doubt and I fear my capabalities...

I've been praying and waiting for a sign (possibly a 2x4) to make it clear as day that this is where God wants me to be.  While I've been waiting for a large booming voice, a song on the radio or a scripture to jump out at me with the answer in bold print, he has been whispering to me quietly.  Working on my heart and calming my fears and doubts.  Reminding me that he would put the words in my mouth and be right beside me guiding me and holding my hand!   

My Excuses Fears and God's Answers:
1.  I do not like to stand in front of people and talk: 
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".  Phillipians 4:13
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone".  Colossians 4:6
2.  I'm not equipped to lead the steering team: 
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ".  Galatians 6:2
3:  It's completely out of my comfort zone: 
"For we walk by faith, not by sight".  2 Corinthians 5:7
 4.  I will mess up and scare everyone away ( I know that's silly but it's a genuine fear!!):
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".  Romans 8:28

Tomorrow is our last MOPS meeting of this year.  We are all a little sad when a year ends.  It's such a wonderful ministry and I have been so blessed to be a part of it.  I look forward to next year and with God's guidance and strength, it will be just as awesome as this year!!

I am going to write all these verses in my prayer journal to remind myself that God is by my side, to calm my fears and insecurities and to have FAITH!