food for thought

I have been chewing on some thoughts lately.

I am a disciplinarian. I want my kids to do what I tell them and follow the rules because they are a better way to live life...better for themselves and better for other people. When they don't follow the rules, there are consequences. I air on the side of giving my kids consequences rather than reminding them again and giving grace. Now I know that there is a time for grace and a time for consequences but I know I deal out more consequences than grace at times. I also know that Jesus was a man full of grace when he walked this Earth. I am not always sure how to implement that when training my kids. A phrase that Jaden has told me a few times keeps echoing in my head. It is, "Just give him one more chance." This is usually referring to Clay but also applies to himself when Clay says it. This is grace...to give one more chance. I know that Jesus has done this for me more times that I can count. I need to implement some more grace into my parenting.

Another thought sticking in my mind came from my brother-in-law, Eric. He has a strong personality, not all that different than mind, and is not afraid to speak his mind. He recently told me to go easy on Bryan or be more kind or something to that affect. I brushed it off, thinking I know I should but oh well. Usually I can come up with some excuse. I am tired. I am cranky, too bad. Just deal with it. Or he did something to deserve my unkindness. But what I have noticed is that those excuses have been popping up in my head more and more often. That is not good. I need to reassess my words and actions. If I want to be loving, I need to be kind, especially to my husband. Love is kind.

loving my Bryan for 13+ years

August 1st is my wedding anniversary! I have been married to the wonderful, amazing, brilliant and loving Bryan Jarabek for 13 years. This year was my turn to plan our anniversary celebration. I planned the 2 day, one night excursion all around Minneapolis. Last year we celebrated in St. Paul so I thought we needed to give equal time to the twin city...really I just love the city.

We were so blessed to have my brother and sister-in-law take our boys for us overnight. We dropped the boys off and headed for Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. We ended up getting a two person paddle boat to take around Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. We mostly hung out in the shade and had a great conversation. It was a great, relaxing way to start our time together. Then we headed to check into our hotel, Aloft, in downtown. It was a sleek modern hotel. I loved it but Bryan said it had more of a business feel to it, but enjoyed it anyway. I got a great deal on it which made it even better. We got appetizers and drinks at Spoon River. Then we went to a play at the Guthrie (God of Carnage--so funny!) that evening and had a delicious meal at Vic's, along with a nice walk along the river. We slept in a little on Monday, August 1st, our anniversary. Then we got an early lunch at Northeast Social that was tasty and quick. After that we headed to a boat tour on the Mississippi River. We got a little rained on but it was still a fun tour. Our tour ended a little early due to the massive storm in the area. We still had more time before we had to pick up the boys so we checked out the Mill City Museum and got some hot drinks from Caribou Coffee. Lots of good food and new restaurants in two days!

That sounds like a packed 2 days without the boys but it was actually very relaxing and wonderful. We picked up the boys at 4:30 and are back to life as usual. Dinner at home. Bedtime routine with the boys. And snuggle time on the couch with Bryan. I love having Bryan all to myself!