The Saturday 7

1. I feel like Levi has had a word explosion in the past few weeks. He's finally identifying Justin and me as Dada and Mama. He's picked up the word "more" (mo!), and has his own word for car. It sounds a lot like "yum," but I think it's supposed to be vroom or zoom. He also says "oh" when I answer his "questions." Like he'll cock his head to the side and say, "Dada?" When I tell him Daddy's at work, he responds, "Oh." Haha. It's adorable.

2. I've been majorly struggling with laziness lately. It's so much worse in the winter because I feel like I can't get out from under my warm blanket to do anything. And winter in general makes me kind of lethargic and depressed. I feel like there's an onslaught of books and articles and podcasts lately about slowing down and being present and not being a slave to your to-do list. But those are not helpful for me. I need some articles telling me to get off my butt and get to work. I listened to one podcast yesterday about the balance between busyness and me-time. It was pretty good, but it didn't really inspire me to change - just reminded me that I need to. Haha. #discipline

3. Speaking of discipline . . . the diet is not going great. I didn't lose any weight in the second week and got discouraged, so I haven't been as diligent. I'm still trying to eat veggies and not drinking pop, but I've gotten a little too lax about snacking and about what actually counts as healthy. Do you think avocado salsa (with corn, tomatoes, black beans, and Italian dressing) is still diet-friendly if I eat it with copious amounts of tortilla chips? I also just want to go on record to say that after 2 weeks of no pop, less sugar, and more vegetables I don't feel any more energized or clear-headed. I feel like everyone's always bragging about how their healthy lifestyle makes them feel so much better. Maybe 2 weeks isn't long enough to make a definitive declaration, but I'm still just as exhausted as always - I can fall asleep anytime, anywhere. I'm still depressed and moody. And I still crave Dr Pepper. Pretty sure I should just go back to being fat and happy. (P.S. Not looking for diet advice. Just whining.)

4. I started something new with my devotions this week that has been really good for me. For the past month or two I've been reading Isaiah - just because I like a lot of the promises it contains. But I decided I need to get back into the Epistles again, too, so I started Romans this week. The next day, Isaiah ended abruptly, so I went on to Jeremiah just because it was next and I'm not super familiar with it. It has been so cool to read Jeremiah side by side with Romans. Jeremiah is full of horrible descriptions of God's wrath and the consequences the Israelites faced for turning away from him. Romans is full of reminders that we are all wretched and deserving of that same wrath, but we don't have to suffer it because of the gospel! I've been journaling paraphrases of what I read - essentially putting the chapter into my own words, really focusing on the overarching theme Paul was trying to get across and the way the chapters work together. In the past, I've read each chapter as if it stood on its own, but I've noticed in Romans especially how the chapters build on each other. Chapter 1 is about our depravity and innate knowledge of God, Chapter 2 is about the path of sin (suppression of the truth, denial of God, selfish choices, idolatry, destruction), Chapter 3 warns that no one is exempt from God's wrath - whether you're a devout Jew or a heathen, but then it gets to the good news of redemption through Jesus' blood. (I wrote that from memory, so forgive me if my descriptions don't totally match up with the chapter numbers.)

5. I read a few books this week - Judah's Wife by Angela Hunt (good Biblical fiction, but more political than romance, which isn't really my fave), The Goodbye Bride and Just a Kiss by Denise Hunter. I've been on a Denise Hunter kick since reading Falling Like Snowflakes. It's kind of annoying to read so many books by the same author in a row, though, because you notice how often they use certain phrases. Hunter loves to say that "she felt it in every follicle" when the man runs his fingers through her hair. She also overuses the word "nape." That word is like "moist" to me - it kind of makes me gag. Haha. But they were fun, quick reads. I read them both in one sitting from 8-midnight. #whoneedssleep #affiliatelinks

6. The news of the week is that the big bad influenza has hit our house. My dad has been sick with a fever, chills, and cough, but he doesn't believe in going to the doctor, so he just powered through. I suspected it was probably the flu, but didn't worry too much about it. Then yesterday Lena woke up crying that her throat and her brain hurt. (I love that she says her brain hurts when she has a headache. Haha.) I gave her some Tylenol and she sat next to me while I checked my email on my computer. Eventually I realized she was being really quiet, and looked over to this:

We sat like that for a while until Levi started calling for me. Then I got up and she slumped over into my spot and slept like this for an hour:

She spent all day either watching TV, sleeping, or crying. Her fever has ranged between 101 and 102 despite ibuprofen, she has the chills and sweats, sore throat, and a wet cough - pretty classic symptoms of influenza. Yesterday, she ate like normal - or even more than normal. She had two pb&j sandwiches for lunch! But today she wants nothing to do with food and says every drink I give her tastes gross. I've been making her drink anyway, but she's so miserable. It's heartbreaking. Even more heartbreaking is that her birthday is on Tuesday and this is going to ruin all our plans. We were supposed to have a family party tomorrow after church, but that's out. And on Tuesday she was going to bring treats to school and wear her special birthday shirt and then go to Chuck E. Cheese with friends after school. But everything I've read says this flu lasts for 7-10 days and is contagious that whole time. :-( And in more selfish concerns, Justin and I booked a hotel for next weekend to celebrate his birthday. It was non-refundable so we really really can't get this illness. And I really don't want to leave my mom with sick kids. So somehow the rest of us can't catch this! (As Lena is currently drooling on my pillow case in my bed . . .)

7. Pictures