Love, Mom

Tonight I can't stop thinking about a sweet friend who's mom is battling cancer. Cancer is stealing bodies from this world at an alarming rate, and our only solace is that it can't grip the souls attached to them as it slinks back to the pits it came from. Imagine preparing to say goodbye to your mom. I can't. Mothers share such an intimate bond with their children that good, bad, or indifferent parenting can't take away from the fact that your mother is an integral part of your being. They are the vessels by which God brings new life into the world. Their body grows our life and brings us into material existence. They are endowed with the job of bearing and raising each tiny life and will endure every choice they and their child makes and the impending consequences and outcomes. And they are inevitably aging... And someday we'll part ways and we'll have the truths they taught us... The life lessons... The love - that never goes away. My sweet Aunt Kelli has a tattoo in her mother's beautiful script, that reads "Love, Mom" taken from the end of a letter Gran had written her. Such a simple, common closing... But a testament to the most innate act of a mother.  

Lift up my friend Jordan and his mom. Pray for peace and comfort and assurance of a better life beyond this one. 

Slow Down

Today my mom and I went to the commissary to grocery shop. We forgot it's the Saturday before Super Bowl Sunday and were completely unprepared for the masses of people present at the store. It was chaos and we forgot a few things on our lists, so while she stood in the line that had begun to back up down one of the store aisles, I ran back to the front section for some Parmesan cheese. On my way back to the cart, bobbing and weaving through the "traffic" at a nice clip, an elderly lady flagged me down at the end of the aisle. I almost passed her because I was moving so fast. I wasn't even sure if it was me who's attention she was trying to get. All she needed was help getting a bottled drink off of a high shelf. She was so sweet, and gave me a good reminder to slow down and look for opportunities to help others. 

Along the same lines... Today I said these words to Carter:

"Carter, don't run, you'll fall."

Never saw it coming :) Time is flying by, and my boy is showing me his strength and resilience each and every day. We're starting a small group that's focusing on parenting, and I'm very excited. At the moment, Carter has been in bed for over an hour, and is still fighting bad guys... Which could translate to fighting sleep. Parenting is hard. Parenting boys is really hard. And parenting boys like Carter seems to be the hardest! I'm looking forward to gaining insight from other seasoned parents, and learning how God wants us to grow our kids. 

30 Pound Lesson

Today was my first day serving on the Dream Team at COTH. As fate would have it, I was also playing single mom since Josh was at work. Props to all the single moms out there doing their thang... I almost cried in the church parking lot twice today. I was running late, had to park wayyyy out, no parking team since it was between services so no beloved "rides" - those are SO helpful when you have a 30 pound 3 year old that doesn't walk well - plus I was hauling my laptop and sporting a super cool IronMan backpack. I hustled upstairs to check in with my coach, and then had to wait for a while before I could check C in to Highlands Pre-school. He was hyped because he knew he was getting pizza for lunch today. All of that disappeared when I found my seat in service, and as always worship was moving. The message was spot on with the process that I'm already focusing on to narrow down the important priorities in my life and focus on building and nurturing relationships that are meaningful and not harmful. 401 was an awesome experience and I loved meeting so many new people. We put 86 people through 401 today - praise! My team was one of the last to finish and I was able to see the process beginning to end, which was encouraging. Carter was the last kid left, and he was being so good. I love our pre-school staff. The Barden's helped me get C down to the ground floor since I had a newly acquired filebox to tote along with the previous load. It took us a good 15 minutes to get to the car, and I had a moment. In the middle of the parking lot, C stopped because his legs were hurting... He doesn't walk long distances often and he had taken many more steps than usual since I was unable to effectively carry all of our baggage. I was close to tears and managed to get him to the car when one of the younger girls that serves in the pre-school saw me and approached us. She told me that she loved serving kids with special needs and kids like Carter that have medical needs. She said she loved Carter's spirit and the fact that despite his complications he always is smiling and happy. And there it was. All of the affirmation and love that I needed in one statement. That's why I do what I do. Why I go out on a limb and haul him to service by myself. Because he needs to know that he can do anything and doesn't have to be limited, because there are people there that care about him, and because he blesses people with his presence. Praising God tonight for this precious boy he blessed us with who brings life lessons such as these. 

2014: Looking Forward

2014 is going to be a great year for the Piatt family. We've paired down our efforts on a lot of things, and are looking to make changes in many areas of our life. Kristen at When At Home said it best in her blog post "Live Intentionally":

I don’t want to get to the end of this year and look at [Josh] and say, “What just happened?” I want to say “BOOYAH, 2014. The [Piatts] happened to YOU this year.” And that will be all.

The following are some areas we're focusing on, and the goals associated with them.

FINANCIAL:

We started the year off with the Financial Freedom conference through our church and got a big ol' eye opener of how terrible we are at saving and how much debt we really have. We're already taking steps to fix these issues and are well on our way towards our goal. Feels so good! We're also being more intentional in our giving. I've always been quick to give, but now Josh and I are on the same page about it after hearing the sermon series "Generous." We're experiencing financial peace by staying on top of our budget, intentionally saving, giving, and paying off debt, and communicating about what money is going where, and what our needs and wants are.

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.  

I Timothy 5:8

PHYSICAL:

Carter is 3 years old. We have a full-fledged, walking-around, talking-like-he's-grown toddler. On the medical side, we've gotta get this iron/anemia situation figured out pronto. Also on the list is to discuss with Ortho the long-term effects of Carter's hips going uncorrected. We plan to discuss with our urologist what our next move will be with Carter's urine output, since he's becoming more and more curious about the potty and his various body parts... plus, diapers are EXPENSIVE y'all!

My personal physical goals involve something like: run a real 5K, finish the Smolov Jr cycle, actually become somewhat proficient at pull-ups, and snatch 100 pounds. Getting in the garage two times a week is still tough... so we'll see :)

Josh's probably include: CrossFit 7x a day 10 days a week, advance to Regionals, beat Rich Froning in one thing... SOME thing... 300 pound snatch, 400 pound clean & jerk, and walk on his hands for more than 10 feet. No, but seriously, I know Josh has goals that he keeps to his quiet self in his quiet little head, and I want to make sure I'm supporting every decision to get him there. Every workout session in the garage or at the box. Every PR. Every competition. Every training course or certification. Every session he coaches. I'll stand behind that, because I know CrossFit is his passion.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.   

I Corinthians 10:31
 

SPIRITUAL:

This year we want to get fully involved in our church. I start serving this Sunday (eek!) as part of the Administrative Team, AKA the A-Team! Carter's still too young to have anything really going on, but he does love to be in Highlands Pre-school and it warms my heart that he begs to go to church. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they feed him pizza when I have to stay late, or that he gets stickers... :)  We're excited about the upcoming small group semester, and I've been looking and praying and pondering which one we'll attend. We want to go to every single conference, serve day, or class that is opportune for us. I want to read the Bible more, remember to pray FIRST in every situation, and memorize scripture that will encourage me in everyday life. This year is all about focus in the right direction - on the eternal.

And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 

EMOTIONAL:

This is something that shouldn't be overlooked when planning goals for your family. Our society can force us to become so busy that we completely tune out what's going on inside our heads and hearts. I'm the world's worst about getting too involved and deeply immersed in a passion or hobby and then letting it dominate the better part of my thoughts or actions. I tend to like responsibility a little too much. A friend gave me great advice not long ago, "You should still be involved, just as an Indian instead of a Chief." I plan to enjoy more time with my family and by myself instead of being the uber-socialite that I sometimes tend to be :) I want to have more quiet time in my home, read more books, do more yoga. I want us to take our first real family vacation now that Carter is big enough to enjoy one and travels more easily. I want us to unplug more - we're now a 1 laptop, 2 tablet, 2 iPhone family - and spend more time playing, eating, and conversing together.

 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 

Overall the goal is to have a great year TOGETHER. Even if these goals aren't completely met... like.. *cough* that pull-up... as long as we've spent good quality time growing together as a family I'll chalk that up as a WIN. I'm looking forward to the challenges presented - bring it, 2014!

A Year in Review: 2013

Josh:

Josh has really flourished as a person. He's still pretty quiet around people he doesn't know well, but coaching has really brought him out of his shell. 

He also got a brand-spankin'-new truck this year. 

Josh put a lot of work in this year. We went to 8 or 10 CrossFit style comps, an Outlaw Training Camp, and his first USAW sanctioned meet. He finally saw the podium at a team competition, Deprivations Doomsday, where he, Jake, and Christian completely dominated. He podiumed again at his weightlifting meet, taking silver in clean and jerk and total for his weight class. 

He put Christmas lights up! He talks about it every year, and he finally came through. 

Carter:

He turned two!

Medically, this has been our absolute best year with C. He has had ZERO surgeries in 2013, and ZERO hospitalizations! We've had several UTIs, but overall he has been a healthy boy. We're still struggling with low iron levels after many infusions during the year. Hopefully 2014 will be the year we kick anemia. From the PT side, he took his first steps and never looked back - boy is a walking machine now! He's finishing up the year with the Early Intervention program, and will transition to the school system PT when he turns 3. 

We had Carter dedicated on Mother's Day this year. I'm so thankful we found a church like Highlands to raise him in. He loves it and begs to go!

We got rid of the bottle! Carter finally started eating pretty well, so in October, we decided to lose it. 

Carter LOVED Christmas this year. We had a blast with our Advent calendar and made so many memories. The first photo is last year, second is this year. His personality has really bloomed! Lol

Me:

I cooked more this year than I probably ever have. I've really enjoyed experimenting with whole foods and new recipes. 

I ran my first 5K. Props to Amanda McQueen for getting my butt in gear for the event, and sticking with me on the course. 

My best friend got engaged AND married! I loved being a part of the process and the big day. 

I exercised a lot less. With furloughs and the dismissal of our Wellness program, along with occasional laziness, or just unavoidable scheduling, I rarely made it to the gym. My parents invested in some equipment for Christmas for us to have a garage gym. Here's to hoping 2014 brings a healthier me!

I've had a very introspective year. I dug deep to find the source of my stress and anxiety and realized that I'm very unfulfilled in some areas of my life. I'm praying hard that 2014 will be a year of new beginnings, balance, memories, and maybe some risk-taking.