Mandy B Stenberg: SIX MONTHS

I saw on someone else's blog that it has been SIX MONTHS since I updated my blog.

Wow.

That hurts.

Its not that NOTHING has been going on. There's been plenty.
Its just that, well, I am a bad blogger.
I want to be better.
Blogging helps me clear my mind sometimes.
It helps me remember what has happened to us from day to day.

So, here goes.

Another attempt.

How about this time, I commit to blog once a week?

And while I'm at making commitments, I think I'll throw in a few more.

I commit to stick to my current diet (Weight Watchers)through the end of April as previous planned. Make the plan. Work the plan. That's the plan.

I commit to begin training for a 5K. I had to take a break from Surefire Fitness (as much as I loved it) because of some back issues. But now there is a void in my life that I need to replace. Exercise is a must I've learned for my sanity. Maybe I will do Midnight Madness this summer. I am also planning to move our Wii upstairs to the family room (or maybe my room) and start Wii Fit.

I commit to MAKE time (not find it or use kids as an excuse to not do it) to read my Bible each day. Really. If I cannot read for FIVE minutes, then I need to do a major re-prioritizing in my life. Who I am kidding? I NEED TO DO A MAJOR RE-PRIORITIZING in my life.

Please don't read this as me being all down on myself. I'm not. It is simply time to live out some things I've been half-way doing for quite some time.

And if I will put it out there for "everyone" to see, then all the better for me.

Now that that's all out there . . .

What have the Stenbergs been up to since October?
We settled into our new home. We moved in the last week of September and have enjoyed making it home. There is so much room here. Mark worked hard to make this house all that it could be for us. And it has been the perfect place to do what we love - host connection group and parties!
We've had a few game nights, many connection groups, two baby showers (and one more to come in April), a wedding "reception", and two birthday parties (mine and Mark's). We love it.

NOVEMBER
November is sort of a blur.
I started Surefire Fitness Bootcamp, but had to stop my month just short of 4 weeks because of a throat infection. It was no fun. Bootcamp was both the best and hardest thing I had ever done, especially since at that time I was still nursing Jack. Just craziness. But I did end up going back to bootcamp after Christmas and went through mid-March. I hope to go back in the fall.

Grandpa Stenberg's birthday

We were together with Mark's family towards the end of November for Mark's dad's birthday. It was fun having the grandkids all together

DECEMBER
We got tenants in our basement "guest room." Emma and Jordan Bradley moved in around the first week of December. They got married in Ruston, LA, the weekend after Thanksgiving and moved right into our place after their honeymoon. I was Emma's children's minister when she was a little girl in Ruston AND was overseas with Jordan's brother Ben. Crazy how paths cross. I take more than a little credit for their relationship!

MandyBee Photography had some busy days in December with families and seniors getting in last minute shoots. It was fun. I'm planning to really push to get some business this spring/summer, starting with hosting a booth at a bridal show in Ames this coming weekend!

Christmas!

Christmas morning at Mimi and Poppa's

me, angie b, and dad

We spent the holidays in the south with my family. The week before Christmas we drove down to Arkansas where we met up with my sis and bro-in-law at my mom and Jerry's house. We had a great time with them. On the day after Christmas the Likens and the Stenbergs caravaned to Dallas. We spent the next day with my dad's extended family in Granbury and then a few more days in Lewisville with my dad, Gigi (my sis) and Uncle (Philip). There were lots of miles on that van when we got done!

Angie B, Bret, Me, Casey and Tracey, and Patric and Kelly
Bartholomew cousins
Missing David, Rod, and Matt

JANUARY

Birthday dinner
Joy, me, Jenna, and Eve

I turned 39 January 13. I had dinner with friends on my birthday and then a big shin dig with tons of friends the next night. Good times!

Birthday celebration!
All my girlfriends except Eve - wonder where she was?

We tried (and failed) at potty training with Callen and started cereal to this 4 month old Jack.

The boys and I road tripped to see Gigi in Minneapolis and took along Joy and her kiddos.

Callen with his Gigi in Minneapolis

Naomi and Callen in MN

And then we battled RSV with baby Jack for about two weeks. It was quite rough around here.
Just because that wasn't fun enough, we also took away Callen's pacifier that he was still napping and sleeping with at night. I am pretty sure it was a much bigger deal for me than it was for him!

FEBRUARY
We hadn't been on the road and crazy/busy enough, so we piled everyone in the van and headed to Oklahoma City for Mark to attend a concrete counter top seminar. Did I mention yet how I love my concrete counter tops in my kitchen????? My mom and aunt met up with us in OKC and spent the day tooling around while Mark attended his seminar. We went to the Nat'l Cowboy Museum for the morning and had a great time. We also stopped in Stillwater at the "famous" Eskimo Joes on our way home.

Mommy and Callen at Eskimo Joe's

I also got my feet a little wet again with Upward Basketball. The directors asked me to help out with their end of the year awards ceremony. It was fun working with those guys again. And I was a little overwhelmed when I thought back to when we first began Upward at Cornerstone. God is good and faithful!

MARCH
Just some normal days around here . . . making baby food for growing Jack, celebrating life with friends, enjoying every other Friday morning off in a new swap with my pal Laura, and loving a few days of warmer weather. We are LOOKING FORWARD to spring!

Mark's Birthday
Mark turns 40 on April 2, but we celebrated a week early because his college ministry leader Larry was surprising him with a visit this past weekend. It was such a fun weekend to celebrate Mark. He felt quite loved!

Mark and Larry Thiel
(Larry was the Intervarsity campus leader at UNLV when
Mark was student there. Larry surprised Mark by coming
from California for the party. Way to go Larry!)

A few more pics, just for kicks:
When Jack started putting his foot in his mouth, I remembered a pic I had of Callen from about the same age. I finally found it and was able to put them together.