Hurst Family News

“I don’t know if I continue, even today, always liking myself. But what I learned to do many years ago was to forgive myself. It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes- it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say, ‘well, if I’d known better I’d have done better,’ that’s all. So you say to people who you think you may have injured, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then you say to yourself, ‘I’m sorry.’ If we all hold on to the mistake, we can’t see our own glory in the mirror because we have the mistake between our faces and the mirror; we can’t see what we’re capable of being. You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one’s own self. I think that young men and women are so caught by the way they see themselves. Now mind you. When a larger society sees them as unattractive, as threats, as too black or too white or too poor or too fat or too thin...

With ten minutes left on the nap/quiet time timer I find myself with little desire to do anything other than blog, connect, speak to those not 5 or under.  The baby is crying.  I had to trap him in the Pack-n-Play because he kept getting out of his new toddler bed and whacking his eldest brother who was trying desperately to do what was asked of him.  The middle one is on my bed, also due to the Menace and his fondness for head whacking. But now he's up saying he needs to go potty.  He knows that's a loophole because he's wearing undies.  I'd love to drown my sorrows in chocolate but the ever-present middle chub says, "lay off it".  Motherhood is not for the faint of heart.   I was trying to read in Mitten Strings for God  by Katrina Kenison but found myself frustrated because it is so hard to read about the importance of peace and quiet and play when the natives are restless.  The part I'm at now she speaks of simplicity.  N...

I want our home to feel peaceful and to be a safe haven, where my kids, husband and I can walk in the door and sigh relief. We made it, we're safe.  From judgement, from bullies, from criticism, from harm, from negative thinking, from the elements.  Trying to wrap my brain around this idea- because it is really quite broad.  There's the physical aspect, clean home=happy home.  Those who know me, know I struggle with this.  (I also believe mess=life and I'm not about to banish living).  There's the emotional safety aspect.  The acceptance and unconditional love and expressions of love.  There's feng shui .  Which I feel is its own post.  I'm not about to change everything but a balance would be nice.  I'd love to sort all of my belongings BEFORE we move them into the house and say only things that are worthy to be there will be and get rid of all the other draining things, but I don't think that's how it's going to work.   Wit...

"If you are willing to make the sacrifices it will be worth it."  That would be the answer I received when I prayed about buying our house.  About now I'm feeling like I should have asked for the term specifications on these sacrifices.  I'm worn out.  There's so much work to be done it feels like we'll never be DONE done.  At this point I can't even see the light at the end of the tunnel of done-enough-to-move-in.  I'm sick of paying for a storage unit and sick of having no idea where my things are in said storage unit.  When we packed up to move back in with my inlaws (who have been extremely gracious) I didn't bother to label much stuff because I didn't think it would be in storage long.  On the off chance that we were here when the weather changed I had the forethought to at least put all the warm clothes together.  Well- what I thought was all of them.  I got out the pile and sorted through it and there's a bu...

I have been spending lots of time snuggling this little guy in the middle.  He's rapidly growing and I wish I could stop it but for now I'll just enjoy the season we're in.  He had to get shots yesterday and is teething so he's been a little grumpier than usual.  Upside is he wants his mommy to snuggle him.  I'm also enjoying snuggling the other two when they let me and yearn for a good rocking chair.  I've been thinking about our lives as our own Epic Hero's Journey.  We have calls and quests and guides but ultimately face the challenges on our own- walking away with knowledge as our badge of bravery.   We're moments away from buying a house.  I'm excited to work to make it our HOME.  The choices can easily overwhelm me but thus far it's still exciting.  I do need to remember to go with my gut on decisions though rather than mull for days and days.   My gut is most often right.   Also thinking about  ...

Feeling a bit contemplative today and glad it's raining so I don't have to feel guilty about bumming around in my PJs at 10:30 am (which let's face it- PJS are normal around here until early afternoon).  Yesterday was a long and strange day for no reason in particular.  Just was.   Then I got on Facebook before I went to bed and saw that a girl in Visalia was shot by her boyfriend- murder suicide.  I went to high school with her older brother and really she was just a grade below us and had connections to our circle of friends too.  Instantly my mind flashes to the Halloween party we went to at their house Junior or Senior year.  Grant singing Mack the Knife on Karaoke.  Playing in the strobe lights in the "graveyard".   I didn't sleep well last night.  Kept thinking I was having contractions- which I might have been- hard to tell.  Nothing that gets things really going though ya know?  And then I was thinkin...

I feel more like THIS: And less like THIS: I'm also starting to stress a little bit.  Life has been so crazy with packing and graduating and moving and getting a job and figuring out how to get settled that I feel like this whole baby thing is rapidly sneaking up on me.  I'll be 36 weeks on Thursday and delivered Landon on 36 weeks exactly with not much (if any) warning that I was in labor. My back has been driving me nuts lately and since I have back labor that makes me nervous.  I also slept well the other night (not last night though) and I usually only do that before I go into labor.   Other things I'm stressing about currently:  Hospital bag not packed.  Though living less than 2 miles from the hospital I feel slightly less concerned about this than last time.   Sean works 45 minutes away.  WHAT IF...he can't get back in time...(though again with my tendency to be in the hospital ALL freaking day I think he should be able to mak...