Time for the honesty...

Hello again,
As Nae said it's been some time.  For me this time has been one of interesting reflection.  Most of you who know me well understand that I am pretty idealistic and introspective about they way I process life.  I don't claim to be uber intelligent though I always aim to be eloquent.  
Sorry, that last bit was a rhyme for my friend Bruce...he loves puns and the like so I figured I'd add it in there for him ;)


But to be direct I often process my experiences with a mixture of self examination and talking with those that I trust and value.  Many of you are such people.  My buddy Cole who is really me but born on a farm in Iowa.  I can tell Cole anything and he sees through my BS even before I do.  Similar story with Nick and Dan.  Always calling me on my crap.  Nae obviously is my sounding board for everything.  Jordan, my bro and bestie for my entire life, offers great advice combined with understanding and love.  My Mom and Dad offer love and like-mindedness respectively.  The aforementioned Bruce from work along with Tyson from work as well.  There are so many who's opinions I value because they show me different parts of the whole picture.  


Since the last time I've posted I have had a chance to speak with most of those listed above and it is truly amazing how AMAZING they are.  But I digress (pretty sure any educator out there is going crazy right now);


1. I did not meet my goal of running every day for 30 days.  I did well and then experienced a road bump with vacation/injury.  Understandable I suppose but I have not run since so...epic fail.


A. (for those of you who don't know A=what we do about fixing 1)
I am recommitting to the next 30 days of running.  I am formulating this a little differently tho.  I will be mailing a copy of a contract to 7 lucky individuals.  This contract will be for their keeping.  It is a contract that requires they call me or txt me on a specified day of each week concerning the accountability portion of my commitment.  Don't worry, for those of you who don't get a contract feel free to call or txt at any time.   


I will be posting a copy of the Contract I am sending out for your perusal.  With each contract will be a personalized letter outlining the reasons for why I chose that person...those will not be posted ;)


Thank you for visiting today.  More to come regardless of whether or not you want or plan on reading because in the immortal words of the Wedding Singer "one more outburst from you sir and i will strangle you with my microphone cord."  Obviously I can't strangle you, and most likely wouldn't, but the point is it's my blog and I do what I want...just ask Nae

Oops!

So Jared and I realized today that we're really bad at this blogging thing. It's been about 2 weeks since we wrote anything.

Couple of notes regarding recent events in the Heesch life:

• Dori (our dog) is not pregnant. We tried to breed her with our uncle's dog, but apparently it didn't take. We'll planning to try again in a few months. Anyone have any good suggestions for how to get a dog pregnant? 
• Jilleen is back. Jared's cousin lives with us for the school year. This year she'll have a nice new bedroom and bathroom in the basement all to herself. We actually love having her around and are glad she's come back home to us! 
• Had our girls for respite again this week. Generally we do respite foster care for twin 15 month old girls once a month. They are always fun, but it's gets a little crazy having three babies around! Had plenty of adventures with them including a group bath with Jaden after a spaghetti fiasco and a family reunion that we dragged them to. 
• Jaden is now our "White Trash Baby". Jared's grandmother bought him some wife beaters at a garage sale, so now he's really living it up. 
• We started giving plasma at the suggestion of my dear brother. Just an easy way to earn a little extra cash. And not too painful. 
• Last weekend we were on a houseboat with my family. Had a great time, and found out that we're not seamen by nature. We actually had a slight mishap and lost one of our anchors. Really bothered Dad, but didn't really affect anything. It was a great time, but we're glad to be home for a little while. Seems like we've been gone every weekend this summer! 
• Joel and Mark (my brothers) are now all gone. Mark went back to college in MN and Joel moved to Sheboygan permanently. It's kind of sad without them. They really are my best friends and I miss them dearly. 

Well, that's all I can think of for now. This week I am going to try and post some more insightful things other than boring news. But right now my brain is complete mush after caring for three small children all weekend. I think I'm going to head to bed. Yep, that's right 9:00 and bed. Man, I'm getting old!

The Competition

For those of you who know us well, Jared and I are both fairly competitive. Throughout our dating and early marriage days we have always been competing with each other. We have had several "decathlons" (playing a series of board games and keeping track of the winner) and bet on nearly everything. I must admit that I generally lose at both, much to my annoyance. This week, we are trying something new. We are currently holding a "love dare" - but not the kind in the book/movie. We are competing to see who can show love to the other best this week.

The end game of this competition is not really to declare a winner, but just to challenge ourselves to find new ways to show love to each other on a daily basis. Today I had to work, but had several wonderful surprises by my honey tonight. He arranged for a sitter and took me out to eat at one or our favorite local places. Plus he had stopped at the mall earlier to buy me a pair of cute shoes and some smelly good stuff from Bath & Body Works. Tonight, he spent the evening helping me clean up the basement - something I know he hates! What a guy!

So after Day 1 - I declare Jared to be the front-runner of this competition. Day 2? We shall see...

Accountability

I have a friend at work, Bruce by name, who does a great job at keeping me accountable.  He may not know it but his faith and the fact that he is bold in it is such a great inspiration to me at work.  We have spoken in depth about the value of accountability and the value/necessity of accountability in the workplace.  It was Bruce who reaffirmed to me the value of public commitment.  It is for these reasons that I am taking the following steps;
1. I am committing to running every day for the next 3 weeks.  This is a rain/shine, tired, sick, don't feel like it pity me commitment.  I know that I tend to provide excuses for myself and I feel a public commitment is the best way to provide accountability :)
2. I am committing to reading my Bible every day for the next 3 weeks.  The same as #1 but obviously much more important.
3. I will answer honestly anyone who asks me.  Honesty is not the problem.  I hope those of you who know me realize that if you were to ask me I would definitely answer you honestly.
4. I will encourage those who ask me to publicly acknowledge my answer. Simply put I encourage all who have read this to publicly acknowledge my answer.  Put it on your facebook status that I either did or didn't fulfill my commitment.  The reason for this is this is not just a commitment for myself, it is a commitment to all those who I hope to represent/defend.


WHY??
For those of you who don't know I am planning to enter the Marines as an Officer.  This is something that is hard to express with clarity the reasons for doing so but at the same time I am without reservation, 100% committed to becoming.  I feel that God has gifted me in ways that I don't fully comprehend but I feel like I am the one getting in the way. I know that I lack discipline and this is just one of many reasons that I am joining.  Obviously my choice of the Marines speaks for itself but you may ask what this has to do with accountability.  The plain and simple fact is this...I NEED to prove to myself and to those I will serve in the future that I can do this.  I need to be able to look back at this time in my life and speak freely about my transition to the man I will be.  I asked a dear friend of mine, currently a Marine on active duty/deployment, if he thought it would be a good idea, or if he felt like it would be a good fit.  His response was simple and profound, "I would follow you into combat."  Imagine that kind of responsibility...imagine that kind of faith?  To this day I am blown away by the implications of those 6 words.  The responsibility is not limited to that individual either.  I happen to know that Marines family...it is to them that I must prove that I can do this.  I know people who happen to love that Marine...it is to them that I will be held liable.  I know that my heavenly father cares for that Marine like no-one here on Earth is capable of...and it is to Him that I will ultimately answer to.  The reality of my current situation was revealed to me by my father, though I am sure he didn't realize it at the time.  He was in the Air Force and he had said that never in his life before that time, or since, has he ever been better prepared to accomplish his required expectations.  


So the reality is as follows;


I need to prove to myself and those I love/one day will serve that I understand that I may not always have the answers but that the USMC and more importantly my Father in heaven have prepared me to accomplish a task.  
I will demonstrate servant leadership in all I do and expect those who I serve to follow the example I set.
I will be a life-long learner in the attempts to maximize my understanding and thereby increase my efficacy as a leader.
I will promise to serve faithfully my faith, my family, and my country.

This is my commitment.  It is up to the ones that I love, the ones that I have entrusted my heart to, and the ones who know what I can be to hold me accountable to my commitment.

Recent News

So... we were going to be so good at this! And now it's been over a week and we haven't posted anything. Guess I better catch you all up.

Here is what's been happening with us lately:

•  Bathroom is nearly finished in our basement. Just need to put in vanity and lights - thanks Dad for all your work. 
• Eiley (our niece) had surgery on Thursday and is doing very well. We are planning on going to the Dells this weekend to visit her again. Now we can even hold her :)
• Jaden was sick all week last week. Sick babies are good for cuddle time, but makes parents sad. 
• Today is my mother's 50th birthday - Happy Birthday Mom! We all went out to a local Mexican joint last night to celebrate - food was very good.
• Jaden is now crawling all over the house. It is extrememly entertaining. He has also started "kissing" people. This involves an open mouth, slobbering attack to the head. 
• We exposed Dori to her male counterpart in an attempt to create lab puppies. Not sure how to tell if it worked. Anyone know how to tell if a dog is pregnant? 
• This weekend Jaden and I went to Oostburg and spent great time with family. Made me realize how much fun I have with my grandma. And how very dear to my little brother Joel is. I miss him a lot. 
• Being gone from my dear husband for 2 nights makes me wonder how we ever survived 5 years of separation during college. I miss that big ole bear after just one night! Crazy how marriage makes you so much closer! 
• I have off of work tomorrow and am wondering what to do with the day. The logical me says stay home and clean my house. The desire for fun me says try to hook up the bike seat and take Jaden for a bike ride. Or maybe head to the pool and take the little guy swimming. 
• Jared is gone tonight to hang out with Jordan (his brother). See other post for his feelings on his brother. I hope they have a great time together tonight, but it is a bit lonely around here. 
• Jaden spent the day today with Papa and Nana (Jared's parents). They take great care of him, but don't always do so well with good nap-times. So he was sleeping by 7:00! 

That's about it for now! Tomorrow night I have Bible study, Thursday night we have a meeting with social worker, and Friday heading out of town. Where did the summer go! 

Best Friends!