FOREST OR TREE? WHICH DO YOU SEE?

Tim and I see life differently. I see a forest. He sees a tree. Neither is better or worse than the other, but they're definitely different.

I see a forest. Not only do I see that task at hand, but I see all the other circumstances that influence or are impacted by that task. I see a timeline of events and pace things accordingly. My ability to see a forest is a benefit when it comes to paying bills, scheduling things, and balancing household, school, and kid stuff. It's a burden when there's a lot going on and I get totally overwhelmed by the fact or feeling, depending on the situation, that I'll never get everything done.

Tim sees a tree. He sees a task that needs to be done and just does it. He stays focused on the job and isn't distracted by other circumstances. His ability to see a tree is a benefit when there's a lot to do because he calmly tackles one thing at a time and when decisions need to be made because he doesn't overanalyze the situation. It's a burden when other people or circumstances are negatively impacted by his failure to factor them into how or when he completed the thing he was working on.

Needless to say, our opposite tendencies have been both a blessing and a source of conflict in our home. No one likes it when I'm crying and barking at everyone because I'm stressing about how much there is to do, how little time there is to do it, and how one thing not being done right will stop the world from spinning. No one likes it when Tim can't see past the moment to consider the broader perspective of a situation. Everyone wins when I make sure the schedule allows our nappers to get adequate sleep and non-monthly bills are factored into the monthly budget. Everyone wins when Tim ignores the never ending "to do" list and just does something useful like cleaning the dirty kitchen or running a load of laundry.

What about you? Are you more of a forest or a tree person? What about the people you live or work with? How do your similarities or differences play out?

CHRISTMAS 2011

Christmas gave us the opportunity for our first road trip as a family of six. We loaded up and headed to my dad's on Christmas Eve for a quick, noisy, fun weekend with grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. We chatted, ate, exchanged gifts, and passed Tyler around. The kids played games, danced, sat in the hot tub, and ran around like maniacs. Good times!

Here's the first picture we have of our family since Tyler's been born. In fact, it's the only picture of he and I or he and Tim together. Such is life when you unexpectedly spend your first few days in the hospital without a camera and your first couple weeks in a home where mom is moving slowly and dad is taking care of her and everything else. Oh well, such is life. We'll start catching up on pictures soon!



Here's the grandparents, who were also the awesome Christmas hosts, with four of their five kids, three spouses of kids, and eleven of their dozen grandkids.



And because it's our family, there's a silly picture.



My dad is doing a series of posts about the weekend with truckloads of pictures. If you want to check those out, then head over to his blog and read all the "CHRISTMAS NOTES" posts.

12/29/11 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for husbands who get together with their friends and take their children out for the day.

What's something that you're thankful for?

SIGNIFICANT INTRODUCTIONS

It's been a very busy week for Tyler!

Pam - I grew up with Pam's sons and she was a friend of my mom's. Now she and I are friends and she's seeing my kids grow up. She actually met Tyler at the hospital, but I didn't have a camera handy, so we snapped a picture when she brought us dinner last week.



Ashley - My step-sister made a little detour at the start of her Christmas break to come meet the youngest kid that calls (or will eventually call) her "aunt".



Tom & Linda - This is the couple I refer to as my pseudo-in laws, as Tim lived with them for a significant part of high school and they've continued to be an important part of his life. Linda and her daughter came to meet Tyler at the hospital, but there was still that pesky problem of the camera being at our house. They brought dinner over last weekend and Linda got lots of snuggles.



Linda - Tim's mom got to snuggle her newest grandchild. He was wide awake for the whole visit, which was kinda fun for her.



Greg & Lisa - Greg has been an important man in Tim's life since he and Lisa were Tim's youth group leaders. He and his family brought dinner over and spent a couple hours taking turns snuggling a very tired little baby.



This weekend the little guy will meet more grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So fun!

12/22/11 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for some time alone with Naomi this morning while the male Ws were still sleeping - snuggles on my bed, watching old Tom & Jerry clips on YouTube, and fixing her hair for the day.

What's something that you're thankful for?

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

* Church - I went on Sunday morning and it was the first time I'd been there in 3 1/2 weeks. While I've been able to ustream the services on the weeks I've stayed home, I've really missed seeing people. It was great to be there Sunday and chat with everyone!

* Cute babies - He may have a raging case of baby acne and have a tendency to cross his eyes when he's pooping, but he's still cute. Bonus for the fact he loves to snuggle!




* Dylan's The "it" Bar - A friend gave me a candy bar that I slowly ate over the course of a week. Milk chocolate, toffee, sea salt. Delicious!

* Kids who do their part - I love seeing the kids laughing and chatting as they work together, especially when they've butted heads for a significant part of the day.



* Magic dinners - It's sooooo nice to have meals just show up in the evening. Tim can, will, and does cook, but in the wake of my unexpected surgery, it's nice that he hasn't had to worry about preparing dinners. He's just been available to help me out more than I've needed with past births. So thankful for the people who have taken the time to bring food to us!

* Nipple shields - If I'd have known about them when I first started having children, then my life would have been spared oceans of tears, phenomenal amounts of pounding fists and stomping feet, incredible tension in my shoulders, a fair amount of profanity, and then a few more oceans of tears over the torture of the first couple weeks of nursing. They are essential for anyone who blisters, cracks, bleeds, and scabs. TMI? Sorry. Actually, I'm not. I seriously wish I'd known about them before last week and maybe mentioning them here will spare someone else the misery I've endured four times.

And I guess that's it for now. What makes you happy?

GORGEOUS

These pictures don't do it justice, but the bouquet that was delivered to us was absolutely beautiful, both as buds and as open roses. So pretty!