Enough!

So if you read my blog yesterday then you read about excess! The book 7 is so great! I wish I had the money to buy it for everyone in this town because I so would! It is that good!
Anyways I have had enough of stuff! I am so sick of stuff everywhere! Every closet, every drawer, every crook and cranny  in our house is stuffed with stuff! I am normally a very organized person but I think we have so much stuff I can't keep it organized! It's time to start getting rid of all the junk and no not to replace it! Basically I guess I am going along with the possessions part of the book! In this chapter she gets rid of 7 things a day for 30 days! She devotes 1 whole week to clothes. She explains that she like everyone else has an over abundance of clothing, and some of it with tags still on it! I don't have much with tags on it but I have been hanging on tight to the "Matthew and I dating" clothes! Who am I kidding that I will fit in those again!??? I mean seriously I was a size 0 and since then I have had 2 babies! Time to get a grip and toss them!
Today I started almost having a panic attack going around our house taking inventory of the "possessions" we have collected! So I grabbed a trash bag and started tossing stuff! I have decided over the next 30 days I am going to work on 1 area a day! I will make throw away pile, give away and keep! I started today in the bathroom and hallway cabinets! Now, feel very special that I am going to be showing pictures of my house that NO one sees! This is the ugly of the Good, Bad and the Ugly! This is where I cram things and close the door! but not anymore!!We are done buying just to buy..We are done with the keeping stuff because we might need it 5 years from now!



Before And After!

Under "matthew's" bathroom sink!! Horrible!

Hallway linen closet! I hate this closet because its so skinny nothing fits right!

under "MY" bathroom! Guess who is more organized?

After-hall closet! Got rid of abunch of lotions and junk we have never used! The top is just extra hand soaps, lotions and sunscreen! The second shelf is bandaid/first aid kit and hygiene stuff!

 

Plastic containers make me happy!

Now if I can just talk Matthew into keeping his stuff put up!

I am happy! I got rid of a whole trash bag full of trash and then have a pile of give away! I am thinking I can still add to it but I want Matthew to go through his stuff! ;) YAY! Day 1 a success!

Hope everyone has a blessed day!

Lots of love...

Excess!

Excess.....This word over the last few years has really hit home with me! I have really felt like God has been dealing with me when it comes to excess! I feel like we live in a world that is full of excess...food, clothing, entertainment, money, information, basically everything! When is enough enough? What happen to times when people were happy with less than more?
Ok so I know you are thinking where in the world is this all coming from? Well I have started a book called 7 from Jen Hatmaker! If you don't know about it, look it up! It is amazing and has really been an eye opener to me! Basically the book is about the world of excess we live in. The book is how Jen took seven months, identified seven areas of excess and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern day diseases of greed, materialism and overindulgence! Like I said the past several years I have been dealing with these issues but this book has just added to it!
The first thing that comes to my mind is clothing....I love to shop! I have always loved to shop! Clothing has always been my go to thing. I love to put on a new outfit and feel good about myself!Being a stay at home mom has really changed my outlook on this issue and I think God did this on purpose! I think I used clothes and shopping as a way of finding happiness when I needed to be turning to him instead! Its funny because being a stay at home mom I hardly ever dress up. I live in yoga pants and cotton tshirts! I don't need the clothes I thought I needed and it has shown me that clothes do not make you happy! You can be happy in yoga pants every single day! Also why do we need half a dozen pairs of jeans? Why do we need tons of shoes...and really to me some of it gets embarrassing talking about it! I can't believe the amount we spend on clothing when in a couple of months or years it will go to Helping Hands.
The next thing is possessions....Oh my...This one blows my mind! Our homes are full to the brim of things that the world says will make us happy! They make us happy for the first 10 minutes we own them then they are thrown in the closet or attic and we find something else we think we need! Why have we let the world program us to think that things make us happy?? The more things we have the better? I look around my home and am shocked at what all we have! We own computers, tvs, several i's (pads,phones,pods) furniture, my kitchen is stocked full of serving ware, dinnerware, you name it and I am sure we have it! In the book she talks about giving away 7 things a day for 30 days! I love this because not only does it get rid of clutter but really makes you think about what you have! Joyce Meyer talks about driving by a junk yard and stating that all that stuff was once someones dream! Eventually all the junk I have in my house will be in a junk yard! Sad to think about but so true! Am I more worried about how much stuff I can get or am I asking God how I can use this stuff to bring honor to his kingdom! Is there something in my home that can bring joy and show love to someone else?
Food- I dread talking about this because I love food! I am sad to say that my family does waste a lot of food. It makes me very sick to my stomach to think of the food we throw away and there are families starving around the world! How in the United States do we have so much and other places have so little? How and why did God choose to bless me with so much and others so little?
I think where I am going with all this is that I have had enough. I am so sick of stuff. I am sick of depending on things. I am tired of constantly buying toys and other stuff and 2 months later away it goes. I am tired of worrying about my house and what it looks like! I want to get away from all this! I want to be different than the world! I want to be more like Jesus! I want to feed the hungry and give to the poor! I want to love on the unloved! and most importantly I want to make sure that I don't miss out on what God wants for me! How can we honestly serve God when we are so caught up in the world and all the excess!? Now please don't get offended by any of this ...I am not pointing fingers I am mostly talking about myself and how I feel! I think these are things that I have let take over my life to a point and its time to change!


Hope everyone has a blessed day!
Lots of love..

Part 2!

So we left off at Mobile Alabama! Once we finished up the tour of the USS Alabama we decided we were too close to the beach not to finish off the drive! and boy am I glad we did...Let me rephrase..JAGGER is so glad we did! That boy loves the beach like no one I have ever seen. He could stay morning until night no breaks!
We were about 20 miles out from being there and having the "mommy" brain I have, I thought it might be best if before my beach fanatic son could place his eyes on the sand we should get our errands ran first! My thoughts- its already 4pm (I needed to run to the store to get some milk for breakfast and several other things that were a HAVE to have!) if we ran to the store and ate some supper before we got to the condo we could just spend the rest of the night on the beach and not leave....the alternative was to go to the condo, play on the beach for alittle while,and then literally drag Jagger off the beach while he is having a breakdown because he is tired/hungry and doesn't want to the leave the sand . I was really trying my best to prevent all breakdowns! Well guess what??? I got out voted!
We went straight to the condo and did not even unpack anything. Hudson and I went to the condo to let him crawl around and stretch while the big boys went to the beach! I was watching from the balcony and Jagger ran all the way do the pier until he hit the sand and then he ran 90 to nothing until he jumped in the ways! and yes he was still in his clothes and yes it was freezing cold! About 2 hours later they come dragging in and by this time I am some what irritated because nothing was unpacked out of the car and we still had lots to do before we could call it a night! We got both of the boys ready to go eat and by this time Jagger is having a small meltdown..He is tired and hungry..and if you have ever been on vacation you know when you go out to eat it takes awhile..Its not like just running through a drive through! I knew this was going to be a long night! We make it to the restaurant- The Shrimp Basket! Our favorite because it is quick, reasonably priced and they have never failed us on the taste!! Its always super yummy! By the time our food gets to the table Jagger has had enough...He was acting crazy..You know the point when your kids are past the point of being tired. They turn into a child you don't even recognize! Well that was Jagger! We managed to cram some food down him and then he fell asleep on Matthew's shoulder! After we ate supper, Matthew dropped me off at the door of the grocery store so I could grab a few things. Both boys were asleep by this time and Matthew and I were fading fast! 12 hours on the road in the vehicle with two small kids will make a person delirious!
When we got back to the condo we still had to unpack the car- Matthews job! I had to remind him he should have done it earlier ;) We finally crashed around midnight!
The next morning bright and early Hudson was telling me it was time to get up! We let Matthew and Jagger sleep in for awhile! They finally got up around 8 and it was time to go to the beach! Jagger couldn't wait one more minute! I thought this would also be a good time to introduce Hudson to the beach! We get outside and it is cloudy and freezing!!!!! Not what I call beach weather! Jagger is running, screaming having a great time! Hudson not so much! I sit him down in the sand and he instantly starts crying! He started raising his legs and reaching for someone to pick him up! Hudson decided very quickly that he did not care for the beach! So sweet Hudson and I decide inside the condo is best for us! Daddy and Jagger stay out on the beach and then venture inside to the heated pool!
The rest of our trip was wedding stuff! The wedding was absolutely beautiful! The boys did great at the wedding and had such a good time! We all enjoyed being around friends and people who mean so much to us!
The ride home was not as enjoyable! We were all kind of cranky- maybe it was because we didn't want to leave the beach? There were several times I had to close my eyes and pray for God to give us what we needed to survive the drive!! Poor Hudson was miserable! I don't blame him..being tied down facing backwards does not seem to fun to me!  We were all so glad to be back home we could hardly stand it!
I keep telling Matthew that since the beach was not really Hudson's cup of tea maybe he would LOVE Disney????? Hopefully a Disney trip is in our future! ;)

Hope everyone has a blessed night!
Lots of love!

Catching up!!

Wooohoo! I am here!! so excited to be back on here! A lot has happened so beware it may be a long post! First, our computer crashed...Matthew and I have always had computer drama! I get so sick of buying a computer and then a year later its a hunk of crap! so we finally just gave up on buying computers! for almost 3 years now our computer is the Ipad! Well I officially have had enough! We broke down last night and bought a computer so maybe I can actually blog regularly again!
We also just got back home from a beach trip! Matthews life long best friend got married! Matthew was a groomsman in the wedding so we got to go to the beach! It was amazing and we were so blessed to be apart of a special day! I have been so drained since the trip. For some reason I still have not got caught up on laundry, housework and sleep! Anyone that wants to help we will gladly welcome you! :)
ok so lets back track to the trip! I had super mixed feelings about this trip in the beginning- not about the wedding but about taking the kids! I was really torn on what we should do...I knew it would be a long drive with two littles one and I was not quite sure if it was something I wanted to try! At first we thought we would take Jagger and leave Hudson with my mom but then when it came down to it we hated to be away from him for 5 days! Once we finally decided to take both of them, me being like I am, went into "mommy well prepared" mode! I have an OCD personality anyways so this just set it off! Here come all the lists!! I got on pinterest and looked up traveling with kids and found some really cool ideas! and everything that I found really did help the trip! I think it is great to be prepared especially with kids! The night before we left for the trip came.....I had everything packed and ready. If you have read my blog for any length of time then you know that I am somewhat of a control freak and that combined with my OCD personality...well lets just say that I get a lot done and I can't stop until it is just how I like it! I do not like Matthew packing the car...I tell him to stay inside..I have a certain way that I like all the bags in the car! I know.....I know...I am a little weird but what makes me laugh is when I pack the car there is room to spare...When we got ready to come home I let Matthew pack the car. I was shocked that there was absolutely NO room left and we had actually got rid of two bags that we had on the way down! How does that happen??? One more reason I love him! ;)
2am Thursday morning I wake Matthew up and tell him we need to start getting ready. I got a somewhat of a leave me alone look but I think when he realized we could get a good ways down the road before the kids woke up he was game! 3am we are pulling out of the driveway! Me I am raring to go..I am pretty much a morning person. Once I am up, I am ready to talk and face the day! Matthew, not so much...leave him alone for awhile! We make it to Memphis and miss our turn! Great!! we haven't even made it 3 hours and are already missing turns..Going to be a long trip! When we go to turn around we pull up in the turning lane and to our right are two other cars ( this is 5 in the morning) a small sports car and a bluebell ice cream truck. We are sitting there waiting on the light to turn green so we can turn and go under the overpass to get back on the freeway..all of a sudden the cars are honking and I kind of turn my head alittle to see what all the commotion is..Matthew is quite and trying not to look but wanted to know what was going. Finally we look over and the man in the ice cream truck is yelling at us telling us we are in the wrong lane! we are in the on coming traffic lane!!!!!!! Oh my goodness....Matthew panics and starts backing up but the car next too us is waving telling us to go on ahead of them...after we got on down the road we could not stop laughing! Only we would do that..just grateful no traffic coming the other direction! We drive until 7 am and the boys wake up. We stopped at a McDonalds and let them get out for breakfast. It was a great stop and I am glad we made a point to stop and stretch our legs. It makes traveling so much better! After a good break we load back in the car and start again! 3 hours later we make it to Hattiesburg...It was the perfect stop for a good long lunch break! We found a Chick Fil A..I knew it would be clean and good food! Jagger was excited to play in the play place! I am getting Hudson out of the car and my phone falls flat on the ground- completely shatters my phone!!! GREAT! Here we are 6 hours from home and my phone is done....I wanted to cry! As we are sitting down to eat, I look across the street and guess what I see???? AT&T! Yes...God is good! and I qualified for a new phone! so almost 2 hours later after eating and getting a new phone (you can't just walk in a get a new phone...its a whole drawn out process that is ridiculous!) we got back on the road! About an hour later we make it to Mobile! By this time we are all slap happy and so antsy we are about to jump out of the van! Jagger at one point was screaming out the window while we are driving through the tunnel! Hudson was finally to the point of crying....It was time to get out...We decided to tour the USS Alabama! I am glad that we did because it was a lot of fun and Jagger thought it was the coolest thing ever! Hudson was just happy to not be strapped in a car seat backwards!
Once the tour was over we decided since we were 38 miles from the beach we had to finish the trip. You can't be that far from the beach and not go! The sun was out and we were all itching to put our feet in the sand! We made it to Perdido Key and instantly everyone was in a good mood! Its amazing what alittle waves and sand can do to a person!


Well that's enough for tonight...I will finish the story tomorrow! Hope everyone has a blessed night!
Lots of love!

Playplace!

Well I am sitting here in Burger King watching Jagger and his buddy run like wild animals in the playplace! I have developed a slight headache from all the noice but I am hoping this diet coke and blogging for a minute might transport me mentally to another place!! :) 

I really have a love/hate relationship with these places! On my I despise germs hand,these places do not help the situation! I just can't even think about all the germs and crud floating around! Blah! Also, when we walk into these places my child litterally turns into a wild monkey! He goes crazy.. Running, jumping, climbing!

My other hand loves the things!!!! Jagger is so happy when he is here! I really think its because he can be wild and free and its ok! They cant tear up anything! There is no rules! I mean what else could kids want!

I love it also because sometimes as a mom it gets hard to come up with things today! We have exhausted all resources!!- thank you Burger King and McDonalds for a back up plan!

So not much has been going on in our life! It has been pretty boring! We are getting ready to head to the beach in a few days! We are really looking forward to a break from reality! I am really getting overwhelmed with packing but i have about decided to throw all the stuff in a bag and what I forget we can find a Target/walmart when we get there!!! Any excuse to go shopping right? Works for me! 

Matthew and i have decided to start a diet again! Im pretty sure we start a new every week! We have not been too commited! We make it about two days! I have been laughing because what horrible time to start one! Its not like we will have beach bods in two days!! I am going to enjoy seafood so i think i officially start when we get back!! 

Well the kids have decided they want ice cream! Time to get off here and focus on them!

Hope everyone has a blessed day! 

Lots of love..

WWJD!

WWJD.......Growing up in the 90's this is something that brings back alot of memories! Bracelets! Everyone had bracelets with WWJD on them! The sad reality once that "fad" went through it did not stick with me....I hope that does not sound horrible...I love God but never really gave this real thought and part of it may have been my age! Well I have been faced with this again! Our church has started a campaign with the youth group called WWJD...We watched a movie last night called WWJD and got bracelets but this time it means so much more!  I have actually sat down and thought WHAT would Jesus Do? If we truly take this seriously and ask ourselves in every single situation think what could happen!!!! WOW!!! I can't even fathom all the wonderful things! So......with all that said, let me tell you if you take this seriously it is tough!! I have already failed twice!! It does make you more aware of what you are doing! What would Jesus do at the grocery store? What would Jesus listen to in the car? What would tv shows would Jesus watch? What would Jesus do at work? What would Jesus do on the TBALL/BASEBALL FIELD (Parents!) What would Jesus do with his tax money? what would Jesus eat? so many questions and ways to ask youself! Today I did ask myself during lunch ..Would Jesus eat 6 cookies/Reese's/ indulge in junk? NO...he would have eaten his food then been done! I was so proud of myself, I ate until I was full..no seconds..no extras..I do feel this will help me get back on track with everything!
I cant' wait to see how I can challenge myself with this question!! Hope you can take the challenge with me!
I have also been doing the challenge of cutting back on social media...At first I was worried about giving it up but now I am so happy that I don't have it on my phone and ipads! I hardly ever get on it and I can't believe how much more time I have! I do hate missing out on alot but its nice to use that time for other things and plus I don't have to read all the drama...I also have not done any online shopping in about 2 weeks! yay! I really gave up most internet....facebook, instagram, twitter, shopping..I only get on to check email, write blogs and find some recipes...other than that I have put it all down!  I think it is so easy to get saturated in all of these things!

Hope everyone has a blessed day!
Lots of love..

Not Ashamed!

*I'm not ashamed that on Matthew's birthday I completely ruined his birthday supper I made! It turned out bad and I could tell we both secretly wanted to say something but he wasn't going to say anything so I finally gave in! Thanks goodness for McDonalds!

*I'm not ashamed that some days I fall asleep in the same clothes I woke up in! 

*I'm not ashamed that dry shampoo is my best friend right now! I truly believe when you have a baby you should automatically qualify for a 2 year supply of the stuff! 

*I'm not ashamed that we do not eat a healthy cooked meal every meal....some nights cereal counts as a healthy meal right??

*I'm not ashamed that there are some days cartoons and Ipads are a lifesaver!

*I'm not ashamed that I am an "emotional buyer"! Thank goodness for reciepts!

* I'm not ashamed of my faith!

*I'm not ashamed that my husband comes first and not my kids! I feel that we are all so bad about putting our kids first in everything and I don't think this is what God wants! God put Adam and Eve in the garden..not Adam and kids!! something to think about huh?

*I'm not ashamed that of my past mistakes! They make me who I am! but thank God for his grace, mercy, and forgiveness!

*I'm not ashamed that some times when I am in the bathroom with the door locked and the vent on I am actually reading a book or praying! Hey ..don't judge..everyone needs their spot! :)

*I'm not ashamed to ask for help! I use to be afraid to ask for help with anything and now I will ask and not blink! Everyone needs help sometimes!

* I'm not ashamed of being hard headed and alittle controlling at times! thats just me! ;)

*I'm not ashamed that I will put my phone on the counter and not look at it for hours at a time! I hate having to be attached to a phone!

I am daily thanking God for the life he has blessed me with... Is it perfect? No!! but I love it and wouldn't change it (ok maybe I would change a few minor things! )
hope everyone has a blessed
lots of love
(by the way i am typing with a baby in my arm who is  fussy and grabbing at everything so excuse all the  typos!

Snowed In Again!

Have I mentioned that I am sick of the white stuff on the ground that seems to keep popping up!!????  Normally 1 or 2 snow days is ok but geeez already I am tired of this mess? How many snow/ice days are we going to have? Come on spring and summer! and trust me I will not complain when I am swatting mosquitoes! (maybe I should hold my tongue on this one?) I am more of a fan of spring and fall....I am not really a fan of hot summer because I do not like wearing clothes and when you sweat they stick to you..I am also not a fan of seeing teen girls and women in unflattering clothing/swimsuits! but on the other hand I do not like having to wear layers and layers of clothes..One of my huge pet peeves is when you wear a really warm sweater because its cold outside but you get inside a house or building and sweat because the heat is on...summer example: cute sundress and wedges for date with hot hubby, get to restaurant and freeze tooo death to the point you can't even eat your supper because you are literally using the table cloth as a blanket to keep warm! This is why I am a happy medium girl- fall/spring!
If you have noticed I have kind of been MIA the last several days....well guess what??? sickness hit the Cohn house again! Thursday I took Hudson to the doctor and he tested positive for Strep! Yes...Strep...horrible...Three hours later I was hugging a toilet and trash can..This lasted for 24 hours...Matthew officially became Mr. Mom from Thursday night until Sunday morning. I made it to the doctor Friday morning and he gave me and nice shot which knocked me out in about 15 minutes..I slept for around 12-15 hours. Sunday morning Matthew greeted me with a kiss and these words: "If you ever die on me, I will remarry the next day".... I'm pretty sure his hair was a wrecked and his eyes were blood shot! All I could was laugh...Poor guy! I feel we have had no mercy on sickness this year!! Maybe this is why I am counting down the days to spring and summer like a kid waiting on Santa! I am hoping and praying this sickness packs its bags and leaves with the cold weather!
Our snow day was pretty uneventful..we stayed at Grandma's house and Jagger played outside! Hudson watched out the window and screamed for his brother to come rescue him from the torture of being trapped inside! I kept trying to explain to him that if he went outside he would sink in the snow..he is better off inside with mommy! ;) Boys never understand!
I keep thanking God for a warm home and shelter from all the snow and ice..I think this is something I take for granted...We are truly blessed to have a home and food in our belly! God is good!
Hope everyone has a blessed night!
Lots of love