you know what i realized?

Posted: November 19, 2010 at 10:16 am

You know what I realized? I don’t have to pick one or two posts per day. Sometimes I have more to say and writing two posts comes easier to me, and actually takes less time, than trying to organize it all in one post. Other times I don’t have an extra topic to write about and I shouldn’t force myself to find something to fit a two post/day schedule. In other words, I’m throwing out posting schedules and just going with the blogging flow.

You know what I realized? A lot of stuff can fit inside shoe boxes.

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We had our last small group session for this round on Wednesday night. Instead of the regular discussion of the sermon, we decided to use our time towards a service project. We all contributed items such as t-shirts, socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toys, hard candies, etc to pack into shoe boxes for children in need across the world. Hopefully these gifts will brighten their holiday season! It brightened my night to consider how we may help a few young children.

You know what I realized? Makenzie has a fear of tee-pees.

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We went to a nature preserve trail with our friends from the mom’s group yesterday morning. My little M was a bit uncertain about that tee-pee and did not want to go inside with the rest of us. She didn’t mind other parts of the excursion though – like playing with the stone monkeys and seeing her beloved again.

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You know what I realized? I'm ready for baby B to come but not ready enough to feel pains like last night that felt like real contractions. They thankfully went away after an hour and I'm not 100% certain they were more than Braxton Hicks, but they hurt BAD and in the "right place". No no no no no.

You know what I realized? Organizing takes a LOT longer than expected.

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I’ve spent a few hours already going through this mass of baby stuff. I think I made a dent of maybe 10%. I have a long month ahead of me. I am determined to finish it all before Christmas.

You know what I realized? I have a giveaway coming up for you all later today! Stay tuned. 😀

  • What is something you recently realized?
  • What is a service project you have enjoyed participating in before?

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49 Comments to “you know what i realized?”
  1. What a cute post! I love using shoe boxes for storage! All the little miss matched stuff fits in them 🙂

    I recently realized that I don’t mind doing workout DVD’s. I use to hate them, but after finding the right ones, i love it 🙂

  2. Astrid says:

    It takes me a long time to organize as well. I realized that I havent done actual community service in a long time. I will have to change that! My favorite community tservice that I have done was volunteering at a center for skitzophrenic adults in Chile. It was fun to practice my practice and work with the adults. I loved it.

  3. M is soo precious holding the hand of her friend! And I agree with your blogging realization.. you don’t need a schedule and honestly as a reader I think readers have so many blogs they like to read that they forget about specific schedules anyway 🙂

  4. I realized that even though I say I can do everything, I really can’t and sometimes you have to just say “No”. It was hard, but yesterday was one of those days!

  5. Lauren says:

    That is the best part about blogging. It’s mine and I can post when I want to or can due to my schedule. It’s not about the length of a story or the number of times it occurs.

  6. Angela says:

    I like this! Are the shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child? I have done that for most of the years of my life – my mum got my sister and I into it when we were younger – and I love it!!
    One thing I realized recently is that my body truly needed a break. It was one of those “remember to listen” moments and I definitely listened this time. Quiet and relaxing weekend is up ahead and I’m excited for it! Have a great day! 🙂

    • Tina says:

      It is for Operation Christmas Child. 🙂 This was my first time participating. We’ve done other things to donate in our church for the holidays, but nothing as fun as stuffing those shoe boxes.

      Have a WONDERFUL relaxing weekend!

  7. I heart shoeboxes and shoebox-sized plastic containers for storage.

    I think I am realizing that the pains of pregnancy scare the scrap out of me!!

  8. the salvation army holiday adopt a family program. I did it with my family when I was younger and now I do it with my husband and our friends. it’s so much fun to go shopping for people who, without you, would get no Christmas presents! When it feels like we’re spending a lot of money on them, or that we don’t have the money to spend, I think about how just simply skipping going out to eat one or two times would save us enough money to buy someone else a very nice christmas. it’s heart-warming

  9. Haha, about M being scared of the tee-pee! I don’t know why that is funny to me. Probably because kids *usually* love finding new hiding places and “castles” and make believe caves and such.

    Something I realized recently is that my faith has transformed the MOST through this bikini competition prep, way more than the drastic transformation of my body. With God as my “Personal Trainer”, this prep has turned more from “striving” to THRIVING and I’m so in love with Jesus and with life. My relationship with God is what I take away from this journey more than anything and that is why I feel I’ve truly already “won”. Everything for His glory, not my own!

    As for a service project, Hubby and I are going to Costco to load up on groceries to give to our food drive. It’s going to feel really good to give, especially because we have so much:)

    • Tina says:

      I love how prep brought you so much closer to God and really helped you appreciate so much. I wish my experience had done the same. Just goes to show each experience is personal and I’m so happy it is such a positive one for you! Can’t wait for next week for you. 😀

  10. You know what I realized?

    I am SOOOOOO glad my semester of teaching is almost over 😀

  11. Lisa says:

    Omg that picture with your daughter and that little boy is so cute! She looks so happy!

  12. Tina says:

    I am with you on the organization! Some how to clean up things get messier at first, a WHOLE LOT messier!

    I realized the more we focus on the miracles in our lives, no matter how small, the more miracles we will recieve. (This is on my mind because I just wrote a post about it!)

    And, I can see how tee-pees can be frightening, you just don’t know what can be lurking in them 😉

    Enjoy your weekend! xoxo

  13. i really love service projects that require manual labor…i don’t love manual labor, but physically having to work to help others brings me joy 🙂

  14. I used to be frightened of tee-pees too! I went to Girl Scout Camp one time and we had to sleep in them… I didn’t sleep all night!

    Something I have recently realized is that I am stronger than I thought I was. Not only physically, but mentally. I have gone through a lot over the past few months, but I have been able to handle everything pretty well. I am also realizing that I need to learn to believe in myself more. I don’t give myself enough credit most of the time.

    My favorite service project was actually my Silver Award project for Girl Scouts when I was in high school. I assembled personal care packages for the homeless in my hometown and I was able to personally distribute them to the homeless on Thanksgiving. It made me feel good to see how appreciate they were.

    Can’t wait to hear about the give away! 🙂 Have a great day! 🙂

  15. Marcia says:

    I recently realized that Miles in intentionally funny. He’s only 3 and is actually FUNNY! I love it.
    Cute pics and I cannot believe how soon baby B will show his face to the world!! 🙂

    • Tina says:

      If the way he makes my body feel has any indication of his enjoyment in my stomach, he’s ready to be out as soon as possible. LOL Not a problem for me…just wait until full term baby B!

      I can see how Miles would have a sense of humor. He’s such a cutie!

  16. Camille says:

    That’s an interesting phobia… I wonder where she got that one?!

  17. Becca says:

    I love the shoebox gifts! My church back home does the same thing and I always loved putting them together!

  18. Those shoebox gifts are so nice — I worked on a project like that in high school. It was our senior service project. It was pretty fun putting them together!

  19. The service project you’re doing with your small group sounds wonderful. Items we often take for granted are so desperately needed by so many people all over the world.

    I realized that delegating at Thanksgiving is OKAY. In the past I’ve wanted to do the entire meal to ensure that I knew exactly what I was eating. This year I’m letting go! 😀

    • Tina says:

      I’m sure it will make the holiday SO much more enjoyable for you. We have Thanksgiving at our house, but my mom still does the cooking. I help of course, but she has it under control. You don’t want me making everything.

  20. I love that M has a boyfriend. It’s just adorable… 🙂

    I’ve realized I need to slow down a little more during the week. Somehow I’ve managed to have way more time at nights to relax this week than normal- it’s been wonderful!

  21. The shoebox project reminds me of my guest bathroom drawer. It is stuffed with sample sized toiletries from hotels. I travel a lot and bring my own, so these little bottles are always left to be thrown away by housekeeping. I’ve started to take them with me when I check out, and now have a huge collection to donate to a homeless shelter through my church’s giving project.

  22. Becca says:

    Did you guys do Operation Christmas Child??? Because it certainly looks like it! I LOVE OCC! We did that with our youth group on Wednesday night. Over 100 boxes were donated, and lots of toys and stuff. It was chaotic, but fun!
    My best friend’s dad got up and spoke (completely spur-of-the-moment) about a story he’d heard on the radio that morning: a girl from one of the Carolinas was in Armenia on a church trip and she and the translator got separated from their group. They went up to a house to see if they could get help, and a little girl answered the door. After a while, the little girl brought out an OCC box, and the girl from the US recognized it: she’d packed it earlier that year! And then she and the translator shared Jesus with the little girl’s family and they became Christians! I think I got chills listening to him share the story!

    I’ve realized that I don’t have to have a set blogging schedule, too! I don’t always have something to post about. If I “miss” a day or two, it’s not the end of the world. 🙂
    I also need to slow down and stop taking things for granted. Our exchange student had surgery on Tuesday and she’s stuck home in bed this week, taking it easy. She’s a little slower now, so… yeah, I need to learn to slow down and take things as they come.

    • Tina says:

      What a neat story!!!! I love hearing things like that. 🙂 And yep, it was for OCC. What a neat cause. I was glad our group could contribute in some way.

  23. That last picture of M melts my heart! So sweet.

    I’ve realized that as pretty as it may be, I am NOT ready for the snow. Not ready at all.

  24. Aw! M is so precious 🙂 She’s going to be a great big sister!

    I’ve realized that I am beyond ready for this semester to be over. So many assignments, so little time! Bring on the holidays 🙂

  25. Recently I realized that I am really ready to have a baby! (I don’t know if i’ve said that “out loud” yet!)

    Major baby fever. Your blog throws fuel in my fire! LOL

    • Tina says:

      Uh oh. And its only going to get more baby fever for you when little B arrives. Something about seeing little babies just makes you want one NOW! I remember that feeling when I realized I was ready. How exciting!

  26. M and that little boy are so cute. That picture brought a smile to my face!

    Something that I recently realized is that it is okay that I am not exactly where I thought I would be at this stage in my life. There is a bigger plan that I may not see clearly right now, but everything will work out as it should.

    As for those contractions…well the anticipation must be off the charts now. I’m so excited for you!

  27. Melie says:

    You know what I realized? I really need to clean up my apartment! This would make for a fun weekend! 😛

  28. Yay for Operation Christmas Child! I’ve heard them talking about it on KLove (Do you get that radio station by you?) and need to put together a box.

  29. The more posts you write the better in my opinion, I always look forward to them!

  30. Heather says:

    That picture of M and her beloved holding hands is darling! Too cute.
    I started organizing my son’s room this morning, got overwhelmed and quit. Haha….

  31. Dorry says:

    Billy and I were feeling stressed and pressured to spread ourselves thin for Thanksgiving, but once we sat and talked about it, we realized that we are adults and we have a choice. Once it became our choice, we decided we actually DO want to see everyone that we can…but on our own terms rather than feeling forced. 🙂

  32. Sarah says:

    I love the shoebox service project! At Christmas my church puts up paper trees on the wall of our common room. And different foster children/chrildren in need write their names, ages, clothing sizes, and a wish on a paper ornament. Families can pick ornaments and give presents to those children. My mother always let each of us pick a child close to our age who’d we get to pick out the presents for. And now I pick one or two who touch my heart 🙂

  33. hehe…whatever time you want to post, go for it, hun! Hope this works for you…
    Aww…Mackenzie is such a sweetheart. Bless her heart!! <3
    Excited to hear about the giveaway!

  34. To graduate from my high school, you needed to complete 100 hours of community service, and I did mine as a candy striper at the hospital. I wish I had lots of touching patient stories, but to be honest I didn’t get much patient interaction…just lots of making beds!! I did become incredibly close with the women who ran the volunteer program for teenagers though, and they were amazing. They themselves were volunteers, and the amount of effort and time they put into organizing the program and watching out for all of us was just heartwarming 🙂

  35. Nichole says:

    CUTE pics. I love the nursery, it’s coming along. I see your little bella has found a tiny prince!

  36. Hands down the cutest couple ever.

    I recently realized that I love helping people, and that I love the Bay Area. But then I realized I also like New York. Torn!

    I like the Thanksgiving Food Fast we do at our church. Teenagers volunteer to learn about and approximate the lives of the less fortunate for 24 hours. It raises both awareness and money. There is no food or housing. Everyone lives on juice and sleeps outside, using cardboard boxes for shelter–which does NOT work well AT ALL. After learning about and experiencing that, they spend the entire next day doing volunteer work. I did it throughout high school and it was always so much fun.

    I also really enjoyed a lot of the progressive political work that I did during college.

    • Tina says:

      Our church does a 30 Hour Famine with the youth that sounds like that. I don’t know if they sleep without shelter though. That brings it to a whole new level. Sounds like a great, and eye opening, experience!

  37. Operation Christmas Child is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. So glad you shared it on your blog 🙂

  38. Ela says:

    Cool post! I love that photo of M and her beloved.

    I just realized that letting my blood sugar go low is something to be feared as much as accidentally eating dairy, for what it does to my mood. I’m so desperately ready to be home, and we’re floating around a few more days here and I’m ashamed of a couple of the bad loops I’ve fallen into. So I guess I realized that I’m more of a homebody than I might want to think.

    love
    Ela

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