Things I Learned in 2009

Here are the Top 10 things I learned in 2009:

10. I actually am a "pink person". I've never liked pink in my whole life (aside from when I was in preschool) but once I saw that the ultrasound said "girl", I became a convert. I'm not actually sure if clothing manufacturers make enough baby clothes for girls that aren't pink. If your stubborn about it, your daughter will likely be naked.

9. Target diapers work almost as well as Huggies or Pampers. For two years I spent a fortune on brand name diapers only to discover the generic are way cheaper and do a pretty good job. Thanks to Target, we've probably saved a few hundred dollars.

8. It is possible to forget what it feels like to sleep through the night. I'm going on 9 months (3 pre-baby) of getting up at least once and can count on 1 hand the number of nights I actually slept more than 7 hours. I am almost past the point of caring or complaining about it.

7. There is no such thing as a "perfect church" (esp. since the moment our family joins it, it would immediately become quite blemished!) Mark and I have been struggling with our decision on whether or not to become members of our current church. However, despite a number of issues we have, we cannot beat the fantastic friendships we've made. We're taking the plunge.

6. "Parenting" is much harder than "Caretaking". Give me diapers to change, cereal to feed and laundry to fold any day! The real work begins after 18 months. Before I realized Ethan could be outright disobedient, I was hoping that we could just talk things out and he'd make good decisions on his own. Right! Try having a rational conversation with a 2 year-old about why he should not eat liquid nails or throw a fit in the Dollar Store. I used to cringe at the words "training", "consequences" and "discipline"...but now I see the rewards of consistency and tough love. If Ethan is ever going to learn how to obey God, I need to teach him how to obey me. It is the hardest thing I've ever done, but worth every "time out" and "discipline".

5. I am naturally a very stingy person. I hate spending money and that even extends itself to not feeling like we have enough money to give to missionaries, non-profs, or people we know in need. Even though I know in my heart our money is not ours to begin with, I freak out when our savings gets too low. I am going to work on becoming more generous and teaching my children how to live sacrificially.

4. Being kind and respectful to your husband and having fun with your children is much more important than a clean house. My floors haven't been mopped in weeks, my closets are completely disorganized, and there is still laundry in the dryer...but I wouldn't trade any of that for the races I had with my son around the kitchen last night, watching my baby girl learn how to crawl, or the impromptu dance parties we have while making dinner.

3. You can never give too many kisses, hugs, or praises to your children. You can never read too many stories, cuddle for too long, sing too many songs (even out of key) or tell them you love them too many times. There is always time to slow dance, roll on the floor in laughter, or act like a dork just to make your little ones smile. Nothing compares to abundant love.

2. If you have a vision for what you want your family life to be, you just got to start doing it. There is never going to be a perfect time or age to start family devotions, worship and prayer time, holiday traditions, game/movie nights, or getting out and doing fun activities. Life goes by too fast. My goal is to be intentional.

1. The most important thing I can do in my life is to obey God. I knew this, of course, but was reminded of this truth a few months ago by a man named Zac who is living with cancer. If I only have a short time on this earth, I better be listening to what God wants me to do rather than doing my own will. May 2010 be a year of listening to God and then putting it into action.