January Continuum, Yoga X & Knoxville

If this is any indication of how hard it is for me to carry over January's goal and add in February's while maintaining my life...well, y'all just hang in there with me when I get to March, April and all the way through December.  So far so good though at least in checking off my decluttering list.  This week I had to catch up on my weekend decluttering tasks because we were out of town.  Saturday's activity was cleaning out the fridge.  Remember when I said I dreaded doing this?  It was of course, not as bad as I had feared - but I did take every shelf and drawer out and Emerson helped me wash them all off in the sink.  She was a good helper, and we are all loving how sparkly the inside of our fridge is! February's 'goal' is yoga everyday.  So far, so good - even while out of town!  I am doing the P90x yoga DVD - Yoga X which is intense and long and good.  I have really loved it.  30 days in a row of it seems a little daunting, and I'm still balancing when the best time is to do it - but some days have been morning and some have been night.  Have any shorter favorite yoga DVDs you want to share/pass on to me to try?  30 days of this same thing could get monotonous!

So this weekend, we were out of town in Knoxville for Bella's baptism & dedication at church.  Emerson was looking forward to the trip all last week, and I was looking forward to being there - but not about the drive.  I have gotten crotchety and like a cliche woman in my old age.  I never drive on trips anymore, so I don't love driving on trips on my own at night anymore, it makes me a little anxious.  This feels comical for me to even write considering how many countless hours I logged in my car in college and beyond in long distance relationships and on random weeknight or weekend adventures.  No wonder my mom always worried about me!  Point being, I don't enjoy the drive to Knoxville at night because of the stretch through the mountains between Asheville and Knoxville.  Clearly I had prayed plenty about my anxiety with that part of the drive because there was a rock slide that afternoon that closed that stretch of I-40.  Awesome.  Note to self: remember to pray for safety and the Lord's will instead of detours.  I took a back detour that wasn't the one the highway patrol was suggesting and it made it not as out of the way, which was nice.  And I wasn't anxious, which was really nice.  The girls had such a great time together.  Saturday morning, they lounged around the house in their robes, reading their Bibles.  Yes, seriously.  All by choice.  They started in Bella's room with Jingle, the new puppy, moved the couch, and then followed me into the bathroom while I dried my hair.  It was really fun to see them excited to see each other, wanting to play together, and really loving on each other on this trip.

We spent the weekend just hanging out with no real plans, which was really nice.  We helped get things ready for Bella's party on Sunday by making crafts and taking a trip to the grocery store where we all got our own carts.  Sunday was exactly 2 years to the day that Molly brought Bella home.  What amazing timing to get to have her dedication and to celebrate her life.  I am so thankful for that little girl, and truly adore her.  We were thankful to get to be there to 'stand with' Molly as she committed to raising Bella up in truth and love.  While in the grocery store, we saw one of Bella's friends from school and it melted my heart that the kid and the mom both knew who "Emmy" was as Bella proudly showed off her best friend as she called her - to people who have already heard of my Emerson because of how Bella talks about her.

(Sidenote: look at the determination in Bella's face here!  She took her job very seriously!)

Saturday night, before Gigi, Molly's mom, came over so we could go out to dinner, we gave the girls a bath and got them ready for bed.  Emerson LOVES when she gets to take a bath with Bella because we always let them close the curtain and splash to their hearts' content.  Their is some serious belly laughing that goes on during this splash fest.  But this time around, she learned a new reason that she might like taking baths with Bella - popsicles.  I guess I have never given Em a popsicle before, because when Molly gave it to her, she tried drawing on the tub wall with it and running it under water until she realized she was supposed to eat it, and then...well - you see how excited she was: 

Don't worry, Bella was equally excited - I think she was just trying to figure out why Emerson had been painting with her popsicle in the first picture.  And then once Emerson caught on, she was much too busy to take time to look at the camera:

More pictures and a continued post later when I get the rest of the pictures from Molly off her camera of the dedication and some priceless ones of the girls together from Sunday.  These were all I had on my phone and needed to be done separately from the ones I got of the girls after lunch Sunday anyway - you'll see that they deserve a post of their own!  

Here's to finishing up week 2 of the January/February challenge and to better balance with the rest (as in respite/relaxation) of this weekend and a fresh start of next week!  By the way, the 'pattern' I am trying to follow of my monthly goals is to remove something one month and add something the next.  I'm also trying to alternate that these be things for my family and things for me.  Decluttering was 'mostly' for my family...but equally for me.  Yoga is mostly for me...but hopefully my family is going to benefit from me taking this time for myself also!  Emerson did do a few poses with me last week which was precious and hilarious - another time I'll try to get her on video with me!