Volunteering

So as most of you know, I work for Citimortgage.  They offer one day off paid per year to volunteer.  You can sign up for an organization through them or you can volunteer for one on your own.  With being so incredibly busy last year I was unable to take advantage of this opportunity.  I decided to use my volunteer day this year since we have slowed down a little.  I decided to sign up to help out at the Crisis Nursery.  The description stated that we would be stuffing backpacks with school supplies for them to hand out.  I thought to myself, that seems easy and it will be air conditioned.

The thing about volunteering is it often changes the person volunteering more than the ones being helped.  I have consistently been volunteering in church since I was 18 and I have mainly worked with children but I have done a little of everything: cleaning, office work, praise band, teaching, greeting, etc.

So there were supposed to be 12 of us volunteering for the Crisis Nursery and only 10 of us showed up.  It was hot, stuffy, little room to move around, and they had more work for us than we expected.  Two of the girls left early so that left 9 of us to sort out clothes and go through about 3,000 canned goods from a recent canned food drive.  Did I mention it was hot?  All I kept thinking about was how thirsty I was and how I couldn't wait to be finished.  So we finish sorting and marking all the canned foods and ask if there is anything else to be done.  The director asked us to throw away all the expired cans and then we could go.  We finished an hour early!  When we were leaving one of the other volunteers said, "this was such a joy!" With a smile on her face.  It made me think...when did volunteering become a "job" for me?  When did it lose its feeling of doing something kind for someone else without needing/expecting something in return?  This has been on my heart all week, to remember why I choose to volunteer and its true significance.  It's not about me!

Thought provoking message

So this morning I woke up late to my husband shaking me awake and rushing around getting ready for church.  Here I am thinking I have plenty of time because I set my alarm last night giving me exactly 1 hour to get ready for church.  I casually grab my phone, look at the time and it showed I had 15 minutes to get ready and I desperately needed a shower.  I hopped in the shower and told Pat I would meet up with him and the kids at church.  I went about my normal morning routine sans kiddos and was rushing so much that I was now sweating, defeating the purpose of showering.  Then, I walk out into the garage remembering Pat told me he was taking the corolla so I get to drive the Yaris to church..."what's the big deal" you ask.  Well the Yaris is a manual transmission and even though I can drive a manual, I am not 100% comfortable doing so, especially if there are hills involved.  So, I get in the car, drive to church and to my surprise did not kill it at all!  I walk into the building a little grumpy and sweaty (so e from rushing to get ready and some from having to drive a manual 5 miles).  I am greeted by smile after smile and I walk into the auditorium and find a seat.  Have you ever had one of those days where you are crabby, you don't really want to talk to anyone or be noticed?  That is the kind of morning I was having.  So, I sit down and there are probably 4 empty seats between myself and the next person in my row.  As soon as I sit down the woman starts talking to me and me, being the good Christian I am, pulled out my checkbook and pretended to be busy while answering her questions.  I pulled out my phone to text Pat where I was sitting as the music was starting.  I stand up and start singing even though I didn't feel like it.  The music was phenomenal.  Suddenly I could feel my heart and attitude change.  I went from being crabby and self centered to being incredibly grateful and God centered.  As the music continued and I was singing I started focusing on God instead of my morning and it changed my attitude.  When the songs were over I greeted the people around me and even hugged the woman I had never met sitting next to me in my row.  As I sat and listened to the message it really stirred in my heart today.  Pastor was talking about how we are like Veruca Salt from Willie Wonka and we want things and want them now.  I started thinking back about my morning and realized I was crabby because things hadn't gone my way or the way I thought they should have.  I took a step back to examine my heart during our singing and realized the lady I sat next to, the one I was "too busy" to talk to may have really just needed someone to listen.  What if it was her first time at church?  What if everyone she came into contact with treated her the way I did?  Am I comfortable with being known as that kind of person?  Absolutely not.  I want to be known for being compassionate, loving, a good listener, etc.  I zoned in on Pastors message and he was telling the story of Achen and how if be could have waited a little bit longer the thing that he wanted could have been his along with more.  God wants to give us more than we could ever imagine but will not give it to us out of disobedience.  Pastor talked about sex and why it's important to wait until marriage.  Growing up in a catholic household, I wasn't really ever taught much about sex.  I knew you weren't supposed to do it until you were married but no one ever told me why it was so important or special to wait.  Unfortunately I did not wait until marriage and was sexually active at a young age.  Knowing what I know now, I wish I would have waited.  I pray that Pat and I educate our kids about why its important and special to wait for your spouse.  For some reason out o he message that was given today, which was excellent by the way, this really stuck with me.  I immediately thought of 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 where it talks about sexual immorality and being "bound" to the ones you "sleep with".  YIKES!  Thank goodness for mercy, grace, an forgiveness.  My past is anything but perfect but Jesus is perfect and this is why I am so thankful for God being the God of 2nd chances.  1 John 4:9 states that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  My past has made me who I am today, I made many mistakes and thankfully learned from them.  I am so thankful that God saves us right where we are but loves us enough not to leave us there.  I no longer feel guilty about my past but plan to use my experiences and mistakes to help guide an teach my children to do things differently.

Long time no post

Well well well,

I have not posted in quite a long time.  Things have changed but are still going well!  We are now into summer time and Alaina is so excited to start Kindergarten this year!  Declan has been going to camp through his daycare and took the test to be able to swim in the deep end of the pool without a lifejacket and passed the test!!!  He has been playing baseball and loving every minute of it.  He played the spring session and just started the Summer session.  Alaina has made it known that she wants to do gymnastics and soccer so we were thinking gymnastics this summer and soccer in the fall.  Life is so busy and I cannot believe how old my "babies" are getting.

As far as Pat and I, we are still seeking God's will for our lives and trying to figure out what it is he wants us to do.  I am still working at Citibank as a processor and he is now working for a non-profit healthcare organization.  Both of us are doing well and we've gotten into a good routine with our work-life schedules.  Almost every weekend, we have been going to Six Flags to have some good family-fun time.  We have met many new friends at church and continue to grow daily in our relationship with each other as well as our relationships with God.

Declan is getting baptized on June 29th at 5:00 at Element church and we'd love for all of you to join us.  We are so excited that he has decided to follow Christ!

St. Patty's day...so I'm a little late

Good ole St. Patricks day.  I know I am a little late, but I forgot to post pictures...

Mahoney Update

I was thinking on my way home from work how our lives have changed since my last blog post. I now am working full-time at Citibank. I am grateful to have a job and we are extremely busy so I am working about 50-55 hours a week currently. It seems a bit overwhelming at times, but thankful for what God has blessed us with. Pat is still working at Express Scripts and he loves what he does there. He is working in Human Resources which is what his degree is in. Alaina is loving daycare and she amazes me everyday with how much she is learning. She got her ears pierced for her birthday back in December and already lost an earring so we just took the other one out, too. It was fun while it lasted. Declan is learning how to read and getting smarter every day. He gets in trouble at school frequently for not controlling his temper and doing whatever it takes to make the other kids laugh.

We found out in February that my dad has cancer in his throat and lymph nodes. He just started Chemo and Radiation yesterday. He has to do the radiation 5 days a week for 8 weeks and the chemo every 21 days (total of 3 treatments). Life has been a little stressful and overwhelming lately but we do what we can to make it through the tough times. Sometimes the best way to deal with stress is to serve others. I was listening to the radio on the way home and this song came on the radio in this song he says "You're sending us out, a light in this broken land". This world is full of hurting people that need hope. The best way to turn your day around when you're having a bad day is to be a light to someone else. Everyone needs hope and encouragement, be that for someone else. Who have you been a light for today?

Thanks for reading!

Things are looking up...

For those of you who have been praying for us, we thank you from the bottom of or hearts! Some of you do not yet know, but I wanted to share some VERY exciting news with you all...Pat got a job working as an HR Coordinator for Express Scripts!!!! We are so excited for this next step. This is a temporary position and his contract is up in February so please continue praying! He starts this Wednesday, November 30th and he is really looking forward to this new opportunity.

But that's not all! I also got a job offer from Citi in O'Fallon and I will be working as a Mortgage Loan Processor. We got the calls within two days of each other and we were just floored. God does give GOOD gifts! I start my job on December 5th (next Monday).

We found a great "daycare" for the kids that is very close to our house. Alaina will have lessons and a bible story every day. They get to do Taekwondo every Tuesday which I think Alaina will LOVE. I can't wait to start this new journey with our family!

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and help, we definitely could not have done this on our own!

Days 15-24

Wow, I'm really behind so here it goes:
Day 15: Thankful for my memory foam pillow. It has been my absolute favorite pillow!

Day 16: Thankful for coupons. I don't do the extreme couponing (mainly because I don't know how) but I do appreciate watching the bill decrease just because I brought along a few coupons.

Day 17: Thankful for a helpful husband! He vacuums, does laundry, cleans, and takes care of the kids (sometimes without me even having to ask!).

Day 18: Thankful for being able to spend time with my kids. We love to read books at night before they go to bed and they love doing crafts with me. It can sometimes be frustrating and needs a little extra patience but it is worth it, they're only young for a little while.

Day 19: Thankful for being able to take a nice hot shower daily. I am grateful for indoor plumbing and for hot water.

Day 20: Thankful that I get to meet new people. I like meeting new people whether it's through other friends, work, whatever.

Day 21: Thankful for free movies and tv shows. We don't have cable or satellite, so when we want to watch something we get on the computer and I love that we can watch stuff for FREE.

Day 22: Thankful for the library. Instead of buying books and reading the same ones over and over, I'm grateful that we can read a new one each night without any repeats!

Day 23: Thankful that for the most part our family is healthy.

Day 24: Thankful for food, especially turkey, mashed potatoes, pie and stuffing! YUM!!!