priorities.

we had a great weekend.  we didn't really have much going on, which was a welcome change for us.  friday night we had shredded buffalo chicken (kinda used this recipe) that i'd thrown in the crockpot that morning- easiest dinner ever.  I just put 4 large chicken breasts in the crockpot, poured chicken broth on top until they were fully covered, and then poured in half a bottle of frank's buffalo sauce.  that cooked on low all day and when i got home i shredded the chicken with a fork (though it pretty much fell apart on its own).  we put it on buns, but you could easily make wraps, salads, etc. with it.  yum.  i love stuff that's fast and easy like that.  plus then we used the leftovers for meals throughout the weekend.  after dinner we caught up on scandal- our current favorite show (soooo intense!) and project runway (obviously joe's fave- ha).

saturday morning i went to the gym and did a body pump class.  it was tough, but i didn't realize how tough until i woke up sunday morning!  so. freaking. sore.  the rest of the day we spent cleaning, doing laundry, and lounging.  then that night we went to church and then over to jake and allison's new place to eat dinner and play mexican train.  still on the "losing our buts" series at church, and this week's "excuse" was "but I don't have time."  oh, divine timing.  it was a great message.  i loved this idea jason strand (the pastor) shared: "sometimes we have to say no to good things so we can say yes to God's things."  there's so much going on and sometimes we don't leave ourselves time to truly invest in the work that God has set before us.  he kept talking about how we often need to realize that we're doing a good work right where we are- being a spouse, parent, friend.  he also talked about truly embracing each day, each moment, because our life is but a breath.

"you have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.  my entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." -psalm 39:5

the service really made me think about my priorities.  the other thing jason talked about was how we often busy ourselves with "time wasters"- tv, browsing the internet, texting, video games, etc.- but complain about not having enough time.  he said there's nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying the "time wasters," but that we need to balance our priorities and give these things (tv, video games, etc.) the leftover energy we have, rather than giving our priorities the leftovers.  if we use the "not enough time" excuse for things like reading our bible, spending time with our family, etc., then we really need to look at cutting out some of those "time wasters" to make time for the things that matter most.

like i said, lots to think about.  they're doing baptism next weekend, and joe and i decided we are going to get baptized.  we were both baptized as babies, but we have both wanted to be baptized as adults (believer's baptism).  we're having bennett dedicated in a few weeks at eaglebrook and agreed that we should make that outward commitment ourselves as well.  kind of cool.

sunday we literally stayed in our pajamas all day.  all 3 of us.  it was amazing.  we got some more cleaning and laundry done, i made baby food, and we all took a nap.  such a perfect, lazy, snowy sunday.  then we ended the night watching the grammy's.  joe and i always look up the nominees online and make our picks for who we think will win each of the big awards.  this year we tied, but since i made more "risky" choices, we deemed me the winner.  so, joe has to plan our date night on saturday, when ryan and jeanie are babysitting.  the pressure is on.  ha.  considering we haven't had a date night in months, my date expectations are at an all-time low, so i'm sure whatever he plans will be perfect.

bennett decided he doesn't want to lay still.  ever.  which makes changing his diaper and getting him dressed a nearly insurmountable challenge.  but he's so cute and smiley it's almost impossible to get frustrated.  :)

look at those little buns!

busy week ahead, as usual, but looking forward to seeing my parents for dinner tonight, dinner with two of my girlfriends on wednesday night, a couple classes at the gym, and lots of snuggles with my little man.