Time for a change.

Hey friends. I need some help. I've been feeling very undisciplined lately and it's time to change that. My sweet boy Cooper is a great sleeper. Most mornings he sleeps till 7:30 or 8am and even after he's awake he's content to lay in his crib and be quiet until around 8:30am. I know, I am so spoiled. You moms who have babies with a 6am alarm clock are throwing invisible spit balls and tomatoes at me right now and you have every right to be. I wish every mom had a kid who would sleep till 8am. The problem with having a kid that sleeps so well and so late is that I often do the same. Sleeping until 8:30am has me feeling very lazy and kind of guilty lately. Guilty that I could and should be doing more productive things. Things like running or reading or just getting a head start on the day. So here's my goal.... Starting tomorrow I will wake up at 6:30am and go for a run. I'll come back, get cleaned up and hopefully still have some time to do some reading or writing before I get Cooper up. I'm telling all of you this because I need some accountability. I know if I don't tell anyone, then 6:30am will roll around and I will stay in my nice warm bed. But if I know that some of my friends are thinking "I wonder if Courtney got up and ran this morning?" I will be more likely to do it. I'll only make exceptions if I'm sick or Cooper is sick and I didn't get any sleep the night before. If it's raining then I'll go to the gym across the street. I don't really have any fitness goals necessarily, I just really love to run and lately I've have not made it a priority. I will also need to start going to bed earlier to make this happen. 

Thanks for helping me get my butt in gear! Feel free to text me or hit me up on Facebook to ask me how I'm doing. 

Any goals you're working on?

Five minutes inside my head.

A group of ladies over at The Gypsy Mama are doing a fun thing called Five minute Fridays. The challenge is to sit down and write for five minutes. No editing. No planning. Just write.

So here it goes. Five uninterrupted minutes inside my head.


START

Cooper is having a rough day. We had a fun morning at the park but for some reason he didn't want to eat any lunch and cried through our normal lunchtime. He went down for a nap 30 minutes earlier than he usually does. Now I can breathe. I need a Dr. Pepper. Why is caffeine so often my source of comfort? That's probably not a good thing. But IT is so good. Especially Dr. Pepper. I will probably take a drive to clear my head. How in the world do mom's with multiple kids keep their sanity. Maybe they don't. I am thankful for a boy who doesn't cry that often but oh when he does, it's draining. And I don't think I can even blame it on the terrible twos yet. Before I leave the house I'll have to clean up the kitchen and all the toys in the living room. I hate leaving the house with a dirty kitchen. I'm weird. Justin is working on a sermon today. He's preaching on Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it. He's such a great communicator. Gloria (mother-in-law) is graduating tomorrow. It's going to be 88 degrees. We are in for a long, hot day. On the bright side I got a new dress for $8 at a consignment store that I can't wait to wear:)

STOP

Confession time.

It's time for a confession. I am not a good cook. When it comes to my job as a homemaker, feeding my family is not one of my strengths. I am a great organizer and my house is almost always neat and tidy and I actually enjoy a good cleaning session! But every day when 4 o'clock rolls around I start sweating a little bit because most of the time I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner. Such a first world problem right? When most people around the world don't have enough food to survive, we in America have TOO many options. Ugh.

I believe there are many factors that play a part in my lack of skills in the kitchen. Firstly, I didn't learn how to cook much when I was growing up. This is certainly not a diss on my mom, we just didn't do a lot of family dinners in my house. We were usually eating at the ballpark or eating on the cheap (mac n' cheese with hot dogs) because money was tight. Secondly, I don't care much about food. I am not a "foodie" or a "food connoisseur" by any means. I don't get excited about a good steak or going to a fancy restaurant. I would much rather buy a new pair of shoes than spend money on food. But unfortunately we need food to live, not shoes. Unfortunately. I could live off of bare essentials when it comes to eating. PB & J, fruit, rice & beans, raisins, hard boiled eggs, and cookies, of course. Who can live without cookies? My 6'2" 210 lb husband, however, would prefer not to live off of such ingredients and would like a balanced and wholesome meal every once in a while. Imagine that. I have a friend, whose name I will not mention, because I would like to continue to be her friend. She also struggles with 'meal time syndrome' (I just made that up) and told me once that sometimes when the grocery budget gets low she just gives her family oatmeal for dinner.

The conversation went something like this...

Her: "Sometimes I just make oatmeal for dinner."
Me: "Oatmeal!"
Her: "Yeah, I know! Isn't it crazy!?"
Me: "Yes! I can't believe you feed your family oatmeal for dinner!"

We had a good laugh about it of course but I could totally relate. Sometimes you're just at a loss for ideas, especially when there's no money left in the grocery envelope and the pantry is bare. By the way, this friend of mine may not have the meal time routine down yet but she is one of the most creative people I know and her home is amazingly beautiful. Who needs food anyway?

So back to dinner time. I'd say I cook an actual meal about once or twice a week. By "cooking" I mean I actually mix ingredients and put something in the oven or on the grill. Otherwise it's left-overs, rice and beans, sandwiches, frozen veggies burgers, spinach salad, or oatmeal. :)

I've tried making a recipe book and keeping track of things I've made so I can make them again with ease. I've also tried using cookbooks but usually the recipes have too many ingredients and are intimidating.
I've tried collecting ideas for meals on Pinterest.

Does anyone else struggle and dread meal time? What do you do to make it less painful for you and your family?

If you see my boys starting to waste away you may need to come and intervene. Just saying.

Happy Mother's Day

Today I am thankful for my mom. She is a strong woman who did an amazing job raising my brother and I on her own for 20+ years. She's a hard worker and a great servant. She's generous and caring. She gave me great biceps, a love for running, and an uncontrollable sweet tooth. Despite many challenges in her life, she stills puts her hope and trust in Jesus. 

Cooper

With Mother's Day arriving in a few hours I thought it seemed appropriate to post a few pictures of the reason I get to celebrate Mother's Day. His name is Cooper and I love being his mom.

I'll be sharing some more thoughts on Mother's Day tomorrow. For now, enjoy this cute face:)

Is He enough?

If all you had and all you loved was stripped away, would Jesus still be enough?

This is a question I been asking myself for the last few months.

That is all.

change, please?

In the last five months I've done quite a bit of traveling. Maybe it wouldn't be considered a lot for those who travel a lot for business or speaking engagements or other fancy things, but for this stay-at-home mom, it's a lot. In December I flew to Atlanta, GA to visit my new friend Miriam. In March I went back down to Atlanta (but I drove this time) to visit Miriam again. I really like Miriam:) In April I got to spend a week at the beach in Top Sail, North Carolina with 21 other women, which was incredible and relaxing and encouraging and all other life-giving words you can think of. For real. Then just this past weekend my family and I drove to Iowa for a surprise anniversary party my brother threw for his wife of 10 years.

Whew, I'm tired just thinking about all of those miles traveled. But the thing is, I love it. I love to travel. I love to see new things, meet new people, and spend time with old friends. I really like change. But the irony is, my job as a stay-at-home mom can at times be very monotonous. Even though I am watching a cute little boy 'change' in front of my eyes every day, it doesn't always feel that exciting. I know I am not the only mom that feels this way even though sometimes I have to remind myself of that.

I've been so spoiled in the last few months with so many get-aways and I am finding myself starting to get  antsy again. Antsy for some adventure. I know it is not realistic to think that my life will always be adventurous, especially while I'm raising children, but I suppose that depends on what you definition of 'adventure' is. 

Here's what dictionary.com says:

• an exciting or very unusual experience.
• participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises.
• a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome. 

Doesn't that sound exciting?! Ok, well to some of you it probably doesn't sound exciting at all and that's ok. Not everyone is wired with a need for adventure. I'm certainly not saying that my recent travels have been all that adventurous because I certainly wasn't doing any skydiving or hang gliding, nor do I care to. I guess the adventure I desire is the adventure of change. A change in scenery, a change in location, a change in my daily routine.

This is my friend Caroline's very adventurous Jeep, 'Joon'. Riding in it makes you feel VERY adventurous. 

I hope this doesn't sound like I am complaining because I'm not. I know that the only person in charge of my life (besides Jesus) is me. I am in charge of my own adventure and no one is going to take risks for me. If I want something to change then it's my job to make it happen. If I want more out of life then it's on me. 

I want to find the balance between embracing the season of life I am in (motherhood) and living an adventurous life. I am starting to be convinced that it all starts with the way you think. 

Adventurous people think adventurous thoughts. I'm sure of it. 

10 years

10 years is a long time. 10 years ago I was 19 years old and living in Des Moines, IA. 10 years ago yesterday, my brother married Carrie Rufer. And this weekend we drove to Iowa to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary. Are you getting sick of the number 10 yet?

For months my brother had been planning a surprise party for his wife Carrie. He rented a beautiful barn in Johnston, IA, invited over 100 people, recruited friends to cater, decorate, run sound, and booked two amazing musicians, Kelley McCrae & Andy Zipf. It was an incredible night. And the one of the best parts was that Carrie had no idea. She was completely surprised! They arrived at the barn at 6pm to a hundred of their closest friends, and one of the most beautiful and creative decorating jobs I have ever seen. They walked down "the aisle" to the front of the barn and participated in a vow renewal ceremony. Lots of tears were shed (not by me because I'm not much of a crier. ok well, maybe I cried a little) and many heart felt words were shared. They lit a unity candle (again) and were pronounced husband and bride (again). It was so fun to witness and I am so thankful we were able to be apart of it.

The Simpson Barn
Johnston, IA

Kelley McCrae and her husband Matt

Andy Zipf

Moments like these are especially cool when you know the journey has not been easy. It's cool when you know that the reason you are celebrating is because hard work has been put in, promises have been kept, sacrifices have been made, selfish agendas have been squashed, and love has conquered.

Happy Anniversary Josh and Carrie!

A discontent heart

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who is an amazing interior designer and has a beautiful home. She also has a very popular blog and often writes about things she's changing around, a wall she's painting, or a re-do project she's taking on. She is very creative and has a gift for making something ordinary look beautiful.

(Let me preface that her blog is her business. It's her 'job' to create within her home and then tell the rest of us how she did it.)

About a year ago I discovered the world of DIY (I know, I'm a little behind) and started following many blogs of women who wrote about their homes. It inspired me to do a few DIY projects and to be a little more creative when I thought about what I wanted my home to represent. But for me, it got a little out of hand. And more out of hand in my mind than it did physically. I didn't run out and spend hundreds of dollars on throw pillows, lamps, or wall paintings. I know better than that and my husband would've killed me. But suddenly I had become discontent with my home. I saw pictures of other women's homes and how pretty and inviting they were, and then I would look away from the computer screen to see my blank, boring walls and stained carpets. I wanted to fill every wall with a pretty picture and every corner with a cute accessory. I didn't like our couch pillows or our tacky, gold factory light fixtures. The list goes on and on. I just wasn't happy with my home.

So back to the conversation I had with my interior designer, blogging friend. It seems people decorate their homes for two types of reasons...

1) Because they really enjoy it. It's a creative outlet. They are gifted at it.

2) They don't like the way their home looks. They are discontent. They won't be happy until it's "perfect".

I would put myself in the second category. At times I do enjoy decorating and creating but I wouldn't say I have a specific knack for it. I was constantly looking for more "things" for my home because the way it was just wasn't good enough. I suppose it's ok to be discontent sometimes if something needs to change but  the reality for me was that we didn't have the money for me to be unhappy with our home. Our financial envelope system does not include a 'home decor' category. Unfortunately.

So what did I do? I stopped. I stopped buying things for my house every week. I stopped thinking about what I "needed" next. I stopped spending hours looking at blog posts of beautiful homes and comparing theirs to mine. I stopped thinking about all the things I didn't like about my home and started being content with what it was.

It's a place of safety. It's a place of comfort. It's a place for laughing and for tears. It's a place for building memories. It's a place for growing. It's a place for friendship. And my hope is that it's a place where there is an abundance of love and forgiveness.

I do believe having a warm and welcoming home is an important thing but it is not THE most important thing.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you relate to this at all...

• Does the question "what do I need to buy next" consume your thoughts?
• Do you spend more money on buying things for your home then you do on other people?
• Does your desire to decorate come from passion or discontentment?

I am not in love with our current home but I am happy with it and I choose to be content with it. 

How do you feel about your home?

Chasing simplicity

Have you notice lately that the "look" of my blog has been changing every few days? If you haven't then good for you. But, if you have then I apologize if I've caused any confusion. Now that I'm starting to learn my way around blogger and all that it has to offer, I am having a lot of fun customizing my blog. I guess in a sense I'm trying to find my "blogger identity". I've discovered some great websites that have free backgrounds, headers, buttons, etc that are great for beginning bloggers like me who aren't using their blog as a business but still want it to look cute:) I've also been trying to come up with what to "call" my blog. Something other than just courtneylaib.com. That's boring.

When I sit down to read some of my favorite blogs, sometimes I feel like I am stepping into the writer's living room or having coffee with them at Starbucks. Mainly because their writing is so personable and so relatable, but also because they've created a blog environment that feels more like a "place" rather than a "site". So I too want not just a site or some tiny chunk of space within the world wide web but a PLACE. Maybe this is just a far-fetched idea or maybe I've had too much caffeine today. Either way, I'm going with it. So this place I call my blog will be known as 'Chasing Simplicity'. I hope that much of what I write about will reflect my journey towards living a simple life for Jesus.

Chasing simplicity --- with creativity and passion.

I like it.