Life lately

This is what life the past few days has consisted of:

POOP - Tuesday and Wednesday were full of poop explosions. On Tuesday Addison went through 4 outfits while Josh and I were at work. Then, Wednesday morning I was feeding her in bed and all of a sudden it was all over me and her. Josh was covered when he picked her up to go change her. We had to wash sheets, mattress cover, blankets, clothes, etc. Awesome
BUT I can deal with poop, spit up and anything else since that's the stuff that comes with finally being a mom.

GRAD SCHOOL- I went to a meeting on Tuesday with a grad school advisor. I am looking at a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy program that would mean classes every other weekend and some stuff on line in between. It's a decent price, good schedule and I could be done in a year. However, I'm still on the fence and I think Josh is even more uncertain then I am. I really want to be able to do this and eventually go into private practice to work with kids and families. I also don't want to completely overwhelm myself. I've been really struggling to weigh the pros and cons. I think that if I don't do it now then it may be a long while before I am able to again.
BUT I trust that God has a plan and has given me this passion for social work to help accomplish that plan. We will see where it goes I guess.

MONEY- We have been dealing with some finance and tax issues the last few weeks. Apparently minister's taxes are really hard to do correctly and (once again) Josh's salary was messed up which is now messing up taxes and finances for 2010. I won't bore you with the details. I can honestly say that money problems stress me out possibly more than anything else - especially when, in this situation, there isn't much I can do about it. I had thought we were on a really good track until this new development came to light.
BUT, I know that, as in all things, God will provide. I don't need to have my weekly Starbucks or eat out with a friend once a month. I don't want money to diminish my joy or cause stress.

FAMILY - My sister has still not been able to meet her niece. This frustrated me because Aletheia and I are so close. There are a lot of reasons why this hasn't happen. I had been working on planning a trip to Las Cruces when my mom will be there to so I can finally see Aletheia but it may not work out. I miss my family and being apart is hard.
BUT, whether it happens now or not, I know she will meet Addie eventually. I also know that even though we are far away from all of our family we are loved and prayed for daily.

and last but not least - CLUTTER - My house is ridiculously cluttered, my brain is cluttered, my desk at work is cluttered, my car is cluttered. I have yet to get a handle on keeping things relatively organized while still sleeping, showering, working, cooking, going to the gym and taking care of Addison. There is a lot of my plate and there are things that I can put to the side but it's hard. I feel like many times my environment is a reflection of how I'm feeling - if my house is a mess it stresses me out, when things are clean (clean not spotless and perfect - that may never happen)I feel better. I won't give up working out unless absolutely necessary - it keeps me sane. I shouldn't give up showering, cooking or working. I can't give up taking care of Addie (and wouldn't want to). So, it seems that organization may be what has to go.
BUT I can try my best to be ok with that. Josh is a great helper and really, in the long run it's about people anyway. There is a page from a magazine on my fridge that I found at Christmas time - it says "Make the holidays about being with your baby, not about getting stuff done;" It's after the holidays but I've kept it up there as a reminder of priorities.

More updates and hopefully pictures soon.