I HEART my nephew!!!

Ok, I love babies.  I have been so excited for all of my friends who have had babies.  I can't wait to have my own babies.  I Love them....

but then my nephew was born....

I have only seen pictures of him and I already can't take my eyes off him.  My husband has had to take my phone away so I stop looking at the ONE picture I was sent!  (Luckily, my sister sent me a few more now....)  Is it possible to be SOO in love with a human being I haven't even met yet?  Is it because I have known my brother his whole life, grown up with him, had him bully me, cried in middle school when another kid told me he (my brother) made a mistake in football, watched him struggle, watched him overcome, have always been SOO proud of HIM?  Then talk about my sister-in-law.... can we just take the word in-law out.  I have adored her since my brother first brought her home!  She is so strong and so kind, and so willing to listen.  So there are these two people that I care SOO deeply for that just created a baby.  Is this why I am so in love with him already (without meeting him!!)??  

It is crazy!  I think he is the cutest baby (again, only seen a few pictures...), and I just have such a connection to this little guy (I HAVEN'T EVEN MET HIM......)

Wow, I wonder what it's like to be a parent?  My brother and "sister" must be exploding with emotions for this little guy!!  Welcome to our world TD!  You are already loved by so many!  I can't wait to meet you!!

Bekki

I have moved HOW many times???

Ok, so I am a little in shock....  When I would tell people how many times I had moved I would EXAGGERATE and say I had moved EVERY YEAR since I left for college...

It was NOT an exaggeration...  in fact, it wasn't even close to the truth.  I have had to fill out some intense paper work to get my government job at the Child and Youth Development center on base.  (They want to make sure I am who I say I am, and that I'm not some creepster- I totally think it stinks to go through the process, but am totally a fan that they are trying to protect children!!!)  We had to go back 7 years and report where we have lived and worked... I have moved 16 times in the past 7 years.... SIXTEEN!!!  That's more than twice a year!  (and that doesn't even count some of my small moves where I moved all my stuff to my parents house for a couple weeks before I moved in to my "permanent" location!



Let's take a glimpse at pictures from SOME of my locations....

This is Beth, James and I in the apartment I lived in during my senior year of college.  I had to move because of excessive flooding on multiple occasions!!

So I moved in with my parents for a few months.

And we organized one of their rooms!

Then I moved in with my brother and sister-in-law.  Probably my favorite house...

Then I moved in with a friend, only to get a job a MONTH later... woo hoo for moving for a MONTH of living...

Then I moved here (after living in Denver for a summer, and with my parents for a couple weeks...)

Marvell, AR with 4 others in this house... pretty sweet living accommodations...

Then I moved back home with my parents for a few months.  Here with my mom, dad, sister, aunt and cousins from OR.  

With my parents on move in day BACK to Marvell, AR where I lived above a wonderful woman from church.

Then I was SUPER LUCKY and got to move back to the parsonage while I worked at the church in Marvell.... remember 5 people used to live in this house?  Now it was just me!!!

 Yes, NOT taken during SUMMER....



 Then my summer before I got married I split time between my parents house and my "future" in-laws house- technically lived at home, but man, I can say I pretty much lived at the Zaffke's too!


Then we got married and we moved here.  Where I am NOW...

Ok, our front porch, not the whole house.  

We didn't have a house when we left Minnesota.  There I was a new bride, my belongings shoved either in storage, my parents house, Andrew's parents house or our car, and heading out on a drive to a place I did not have a place to live.  Talk about completely putting my life in someone else's hands!

I feel like millions of lessons could be shared here, but I'm not going to.  I'm not going to divulge into the meaning behind Matthew 6:19, "Don't store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal".  Nor am I going to share with you the tricks to packing and moving. (Mostly because I'm still horrible and the only advice I have is to never buy a sofa sleeper... they're really heavy!!)   I'm also not going to tell you how I fail at Matthew 10:10 because I have way too much stuff...

Ok, maybe a little on the last one.  It just really got me thinking.  I HAVE moved a lot, and because I am in the military lifestyle now I'm probably going to move a lot more.  Therefore, why do I keep so much stuff????  With all these blogs I have been reading lately I really have been bit by the bug of de-clutter!!  I want to keep ONLY what is useful and what ADDS to our life.  Too much stuff weighs us down, keeps us feeling stressed, gives us more to clean and STAY organized.  How much happier will I be if I only keep things that are necessary and everything has a place.  (How much easier will moving be??)  I will no longer have to have the box (ok, boXES) that has JUNK that has no place or home and have no idea what to do WITH it!  If I don't have a place for it, a) why do I keep it and b) why do I take it with me??

So, I am not done with my thank you notes yet, but I am determined to start this de-clutter!  So I am starting the challenge on Monday May 2, 2011.  I know, it's a long time off... but if I have a set date, then it starts in my head.  So mark your calendars!!!!  MAY is the month to de-clutter!  And between now and then, find small projects here and there to help you out.  Maybe you start looking for storage solutions.  Maybe you find ONE thing a day to donate between now and then.  I am going to write thank you notes, which will be a HUGE stress taken out when I get them done!  I hope you find your stress that you can master between now and MAY 2nd!  

-Bekki 

Who's up for a challenge?

Alright... I'm spreading the word....

I ran across an incredible blog:

http://simplemom.net/

about the blog

Simple Mom is a productivity blog for home managers. If we want to get things done and be fully present for all the things that are most important to us, we have to keep things simple. This blog is a catalog of the resources, tips, and lessons to make that happen.

When we find solutions for cutting everyday life clutter, we’re taking care of our family, our home, and ourselves. I believe that when Mom (Dad, too) is doing well, the whole family thrives

(Taken directly from Simplemom.net)

I fell in love at first glance!

In this blog the incredible author has started a challenge... (ok, she started it weeks ago, but I just found it!) Picking a "hot spot" as she calls it to clean/organize for the week.  She gives tips and guidelines and how to's so as not to get frustrated.  Then she has everyone link up their before and after pics.  (VERY encouraging)  Now of course, we totally missed ALL the deadlines for this, but I still want to do it!  So I thought... who wants to join me?  I'll send links to you to her site for the specific "hot spot" for the week and we'll go in the order she put them in!  Then we can share photos with each other, or just call each other and share about our progress so as to encourage each other!

I'm spreading the word now.  I HAVE HAVE HAVE to finish our wedding thank you notes before I can begin this.  But I thought I'd put the word out and get people interested!  I have at least 2 weeks without a job, so perfect time to finish up all our wonderful thank you notes (If you came to our wedding and haven't received a thank you note yet, don't fret... we are EXTREMELY grateful, and out lack of getting them out in a timely manner does not change this fact!

So who's in?  Who wants to get parts of their house clean and organized FOR GOOD!!  (Well maybe not for good but at least a good start!)

Here is some motivation... as you can see we are not at the organized stage yet... (Look in the background...)

Have a Happy Monday!!

-Bekki