It's true - I feel like I've been MIA the past few days! I didn't even do Wedding Wednesday yesterday - sad day! I have been busy, but not so busy that I couldn't update. Really, I just needed a few days to think on why I blog and why I started my blog in the first place - it was a space for me to keep family and friends updated on our life and provide a place for pictures/videos of our family (particularly L). A sweet bonus to blogging has been finding so many blog friends, which has been a lot of fun! My problem though is that I have become slightly addicted to blogging/reading other blogs/staying updated on all the latest posts. Now, this isn't a bad thing, but for me, I have become a compulsive blog reader and this, I have decided, needs to stop.

So I needed to take the past few days to think through my blogging priorities and try to figure out to balance my life better. See, it all stemmed from a parenting concept that I have. Let me explain. I am all for teaching kids by telling them things or teaching them new lessons (like don't touch the stove or don't swear or be nice to so-and-so or love your enemies or take care of your possessions or love God), but I realize that the number one way that kids learn from their parents is by watching them. They see every little thing that parents do and this shows them how to act. This really hits me hard. I can't say one thing and do another, thinking it won't affect my kids. It will. They will learn that my word is not good and that they can say one thing and do another. This whole idea got me thinking. About every little thing in my life. What does L see me doing every day that is already teaching her habits?! One of those things that really hit me hard was my computer usage. I feel like lately I have compulsively been checking my email or reading blogs or checking skype. Part of this is because I am always wondering if maybe Max is online or if he has emailed or if... But I need to stop this. I need to be more present with my daughter. I can check my computer once or twice a day. Emails can wait to be opened, blogs can wait to be read, skype will be there. Because I want to be an example to my daughter (and my son!) about how to live their lives. And I want to teach them to be in the moment, to be present, to be relational.

So I am trying my best to curb a lot of my compulsive computer checking. I need to give myself an allotted time slot every day where I can write and read blogs and check email - and that will be all I am on. This will be tough for me to do, but I feel it is necessary. I need to learn to be present, to be all there. And all this is why I was MIA the beginning of the week. But I am back. With goals :)

All that said, our week has been good. Busy, but not too busy. In fact, I can't even recall what all we have done! I have been filling my time making cookies, filling out housing applications, researching cloth diaper sales, having coffee with beautiful friends, gallavanting at the Zoo, eating lots of cheesy goodness, starting craft projects/gifts and organizing files. It's been a good week.

Nothing is too new with L. She is crawling like a mad woman and getting into everything. Today she tried to eat dog food. It made me laugh! She got it in her mouth before I could fish it out of her reach!!! She is also pulling herself up on everything (which can sometimes lead to falls - she got her first bruise this week - of many, I am sure!). And we are wondering if she is getting some of her top teeth in. She is eating like a horse. And absolutely LOVES watermelon. She goes nuts with it. I was challenged to put more video up here, so I'll try my best to get a watermelon eating video up soon! L has also decided that less sleep is better. She has been waking up between 0615 and 0630, without fail - doesn't matter if she goes to sleep at 1900 or 2030 (we've had some events this week!), she still gets up at the crack of dawn - it wears this preggo mama out!

Speaking of being preggo, I am 22 weeks now. And still craving cheese of every variety. I just can't get enough cheese. Or ice cream. Or dessert. Yikes. And remember that nasty abscess story? Well, I have two more. Yeah, disgusting and not fun. And I also have my fourth yeast infection (I know, gross! I only get them while I am pregnant.), which is not fun. And which is why I will be going back to the Dr tomorrow. I want to get this all figured out. Because it's no good.

Our time skyping with Max last weekend was amazing and is still making me smile. We were able to skype both Friday and Saturday - it was marvelous and just so great to see his face! And I've been blessed to have had some great phone calls this week - I am loving hearing from him way more often than every three weeks - does my heart good!

Now that this has gotten to be a long post, I'll leave you with a picture my dad took of L and I, while we were talking to Max the other day on skype: