Jen Russum

December Goals

December Goals

It's that time for my December goals, but first I thought it would be appropriate {and honest} to tell you how I fared with my November goals... I knocked out a couple of last month's goals right away {Teeth cleaned... check! Started Z's baby book... check!}, but I pretty much failed at getting my new retainer {because I have an aversion to talking to strangers on business/medical/financial phone calls} and finishing the decal wall in our family room {WAY too ambitious for the end of the semester crazy period}. And I did not finish the nursery, but made good progress. It's ALMOST done {and Zianne is officially sleeping in her crib as of two nights ago}! This month I am going to try to make smaller goals and be more realistic about the busyness of the month ahead before I go off making pipe dream, summer vacation-like goals. December Goals Call about my retainer. Seriously, just buck up and do it. Even if I don't have the retainer by the end of the month, I am hoping to have made an appointment or gotten my molds finished or anything pertaining to overcoming my dislike of making business phone calls and/or having straight teeth. Finish the nursery. For real. This project is small enough to finish long before Christmas. And it's stressing me out, so I need it to be DONE. Finish the decal wall in family room. This is a bigger project than the nursery and one that got delayed because I didn't order enough decals the first time around. I happened to order them from an Italian vendor on Etsy and the extras took FOREVER to get here. Seriously, I think Christopher Columbus traveled to the Americas faster than this shipment, but nevertheless, all the decals are finally here and as soon as school is officially out I must tackle this project! Gather readings for portfolio paper. Not to bore you with the details of my PhD life, but I have a big paper that needs to be revised in order to get one step closer to graduating. I planned to revise it over the summer, but pregnancy and buying a house distracted me, and it's now become a Christmas break project. I wanted to make my goal finishing the whole paper, but I know that's not going to happen by the end of December. I do plan to have it done in January, so gathering all the extra reading materials I am going to need seems like a good small-step goal that I can accomplish in the midst of the holidays. Daily advent reflection. For each day of December, up until Christmas, I plan to spend a few minutes a day reflecting on one word... "Jesus." I want to think about who He is, what His traits are, what He has accomplished, what He has promised, and what He commands. Each day I plan to spend a few minutes in meditation and prayer as a little advent addition to my regular quiet times. I started today and loved it! Feel free to join me. |Linking up with The Tiny Twig| ... Read more

Two months

Two months

For the sake of Zianne's baby book, here is way too much baby info about our sweet TWO MONTH old girl... Growing // In the weeks leading up to her two month appointment, I started to wonder if Z would hit 15 pounds before then. By the time her appointment rolled around I was almost sure she had. I was right. 15 lbs. 3 oz. {!!!}, 25 inches tall, and a head circumference of 16 1/2 inches. The nurse measured her head three times to make sure she was doing it correctly. Let's just say Zianne is about as far above the 95th percentile as you can get without the dot falling off the chart. Eating // Nursing is still going really well. I feed this little chub every 2 to 3 hours eight times a day and she has the rolls to prove it.Wearing // Z is fully in six month clothes and starting to outgrow them! I've spent the past few days frantically trying to use up all her size 1 diapers so she can transition into size 2, which she probably should have done already... oops!Doing // Zianne still naps throughout the day, usually for 30 to 45 minutes at a time, but will often take a nice long two-hour nap during the afternoon. She is sometimes sleeping through the night {11-5ish}, but still likes to wake up at 3am occasionally to make sure I never feel too rested. She is showing less interest in her bouncy chair and swing, but is starting to like her play mat more and more, since she can now focus on the animals dangling above her. She also likes looking at alphabet flashcards on mommy's phone. Is she too young for screen time?Loving // Milk, being held, the Ergo, her stroller, riding in the car, ceiling fans, and staring at the nail head trim on mommy and daddy's headboard. Clearly she has good taste in design.Loathing // Being set down when she's tired but not yet sleeping, pacifiers, zippers in her face when she's being held. Nicknames // Baby Z, Z Baby, Zita, Zeeter, Chubalub, Turkish Delight, ZZ Top, Zenith, Zebra, Milk Jug Daddy's girl // Micah has thankfully learned not to pick up Z when she is sleeping at night, and instead he's now the one in charge of getting her up in the morning. If she fusses anytime past 6 AM he gets her up and cuddles her until it's time for her morning feeding. It's really precious and I get a little extra sleep! :) Also, every night when he comes home from work Micah and Z have learning time, where he teaches her new things like how to count to five or make the touchdown hand signal. Mishaps and milestones: We took Zianne on her first road trip to Las Vegas to meet her great-grandmother for whom she was named. My heart has never been so joyful as when I watched the two meet for the first time. The only mishap on the trip was not bringing any bottles and having to stop to feed her twice {both ways} on the 5-turned-7 hour drive. Live and learn! ... Read more

Flowers Fade {Black} Friday

Flowers Fade {Black} Friday

I was in Walmart the other day shopping for our Thanksgiving feast when a sign caught my eye. It sat above an end cap filled with discounted groceries, and it read "More Christmas for your money!" The sign instantly struck a chord with me, but it was a painful pluck on the strings of my heart. Because the sign had it all wrong. We have it all wrong. The Amazon-shopping, discount-hunting, gift-giving spender in me has it all wrong. No amount of money can buy you more Christmas. No discounts or sales will make this season any more joyful. No gifts – given or received – can make this time any more sweet. Because Christmas, ultimately, is about Him. It's only ever been about Him. And it will only ever be about Him. And here's the real kicker. The truth that should punch you in the gut. His gift is free… While we spend our time clipping coupons, scouring ads, making list, and fighting for spots in the mall parking lot, His hand is extended to us. This isn't a plea to simplify this Christmas. It's a plea to believe in the One who's already given the greatest gift to us. My hope is that if you truly believe that Christ is the greatest gift, born humbly in a manger thousands of years ago, a Savior who can still change your life today, that your Christmas will look radically different. But I don't know how it will look different… It might mean buying more presents, or fewer presents, or no presents at all. It might mean giving away food or hosting a meal or inviting someone new to church. It might mean reconciling with an enemy, biting your tongue at a family gathering, or extending a warm welcome to a new friend. No matter what it looks like on the outside, hopefully it stems from a heart that is overflowing with thanks to God for the gift of his Son. And hopefully it also means you are joyfully seeking out those who don't know... so you can tell them about the most lavish gift of the season. ... Read more