April Highlights

April was a pretty hectic month for our family. I don't have many pictures, but I can assure you were had plenty to do!

{I just love his sweet profile <3}

{Date night!}

{Jillian keeps falling asleep UNDER her bed. Goofy girl!}

{This was my last time to make snack for Jillian's preschool class, so I went all out with little pig faces!}

{Phil's brother finished our Christmas gift - A shelf for the kitchen made out of the old wood from my family dinning room table! It is very beautiful, and means so much to me :)}

{I attempted my first crocheting project, which was really just practicing the stitching. Jillian is using it as a doll blanket for now!}

{I went out for a girl's night! It was tons of fun just hanging out with these lovely ladies :)}

{Finally got the bookshelf hung up!}

{David and I went to a friend's house, and David found these to play with. He's adorable <3}

{We had a few long rehearsals for a special choir Phil and I were in. We even made the news for the concert!}

{This little man... he is now very special to me. The special choir Phil and I were a part of was composed of 168 people in honor of the 168 victims of the Murrah Building Bombing. I was not living in Oklahoma at the time of the bombing, but it is something that has definitely made an impact on my life the longer I live here. As I meet survivors, hear people's stories... it just gets to me. We were asked to pick a name to represent that person in our special concert/worship service. This service was to bring hope and peace on the 20th anniversary of this tragic day. I found out that David was almost the same age as Tevin to the day. That made singing a little harder because I felt so overwhelmed with emotions. Thankfully, I was able to push through, and I am now connected to this boy until the day I die. I sure hope our songs were comforting for those still suffering.}

{Trying to teach Jillian to blow bubbles herself. It took several tries, but she got the hang of it!}

{Jillian has been requesting this song a lot lately, which definitely puts me in a good mood :)}

{We got a small picnic table for the kids to use in the house. They approve!}

{We celebrated Earth Day with special cupcakes from Gigi's and they were delicious!}

{I bought two mugs like this and sent the other to my mom. This way, we can think of each other every time we use it :)}

{Making goofy faces with my girl}

{Daddy went on a Men's Retreat with church, so I got to spend the weekend with the kiddos. I sure love his smile :)}

{We got Jillian a haircut! It is helping with her hair, but it can still get pretty crazy. I'm just not used to caring for fine hair since my is so thick! If you have any tips, I am all ears!}

{During our weekend without daddy, Jillian headbutted me and gave me a fat lip. It looks worse than it felt, but it didn't feel good}

{Amen to that!}

{I may have an OCD about this. Don't judge me!}

{We ended this month with the first official "swim" in our backyard pool. David looks like such a grown up in the chair :)}

Gift To Myself

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of catching up with a sister of mine. More specifically, a sorority sister I have not seen in a decade. She was in town very briefly, so I made plans to run up to Tulsa to see her. We, the four Coghills, met her at a pizza place where two other sisters of mine would later join us. After we arrived, sweet Beth asked me, "So, what have you been up to these last 10 years?"

I started with the normal responses. I got married, transferred colleges, got a degree, started having babies, and started taking Jillian to speech therapy for her unilateral hearing loss. Once I got to the part of having babies, that's when the conversation ended on my part. While it was so good to talk with her, and the other sisters once they joined us, I just felt a little out of place.

This was not at all the fault of my fellow diners. They were all very sweet, gracious, and fun to be with. I was just feeling very low on my end. Even though I think being a SAHM is just as much of a worthy occupation as having a job outside of the home, I felt like there was very little I could add to conversation. Honestly, aside from my day to day chaos, I realized I don't really have any hobbies. I barely have any interests. I don't even have a career goal in mind. As much as I love living vicariously through my friends, I was starting to feel like I was lost. Where did I go? Where am I hiding? How do I get myself back?

I thought a little about these things during dinner. I thought even more on the drive home. As we neared the end of the turnpike, I finally to Phil how I was feeling and what I was thinking about. Once I bounced some stuff off of him, I decided I would tell my parents when I saw them in person.

When I imagine my life, I think of what brings me the most joy. That is, aside from my marriage, family, children, etc.

If money didn't matter, I would want to write poems and short stories. {Heck, if it paid a tiny bit, that would be even better!} Even if I had a full-time job that paid me, I would still want to write. I can even pinpoint the moments in my life when I struggled with processing things because I wasn't writing.

I'm not unrealistic about this. I know that going from wanting to sing professionally to writing poems and short stories is like going from I-don't-want-to-make-much-money to I-don't-want-to-make-any-money-ever. The most that will probably ever happen is getting a poem or two published in a journal of some sort. That is perfectly fine with me.

For my birthday, my parents gave me some money so that I could get a few journals. I bought a big one, then two pocket-sized ones to carry in my purse. This way, I can jot down anything that pops in my head. {Now the Notes app on my phone can have a rest!} So far, I have already written two full poems, and the first song in a cantata I want to write for church. {Long story}

I am beyond excited about this. Not only has it been fun, it has really settled my soul. I feel lighter almost! It feels like I'm finally being honest with myself.

I also bought materials to learn how to crochet as a birthday gift from my folks. That is a story for another day...

Easter 2015

Our Easter this year was relatively low key since we're all still recovering from our colds. Here are some highlights:

{The Easter Bunny left a family basket this year. Since we're all still recovering from our colds, this was probably the best option instead of SO much candy}

{David checking out the basket}

{I just love his hair! HAHA}

{He seemed to really like the book too}

{Of course Jillian wanted to go after the chocolate first ;)}

{That smile :)}

{A quick egg hunt in between the rain at church!}

{David kind of understood, but next year I'm sure he'll be all about it!}

{After a busy morning, we went home, and got our jammies on! We were finally feeling better, and we were ready to relax.}
{He is Risen! Allelujah!}

Cracking the Door

After a few weeks, I feel refreshed enough to begin again. There will, however, be a few changes.

The first change is going to be: I will stop watermarking all of my photos. If I'm particularly worried about an image, I will watermark that one specifically. Otherwise, it will save lots of time if I just post photos. That begin said, if you ever happen upon a photo that belongs to me that someone is using, let me know as soon as you can! Please and thank you :)

The second is, I'm going to stop being so vague about things. If you're allowed to know, I will tell you. If not, I will say it is something that I feel is not appropriate for a blog. Believe it or not, I personally feel some things should not be shared on social media even in this day in age. A few topics, (like finances, marital issues, and the like), are not up for public discussion. Also, if the news or situation is not mine to share, (like a parent's job situation), then it is not appropriate for me to write about. Besides, I need an air of mystery, no?

Finally, the last change will be a more personal one. I will be more honest with myself, which I hope will be reflected in my blog.

The last two weeks have been especially crazy because the four of us in the Coghill household had a really nasty cold virus. I'm talking, double ear infections for all, pink eye for both kiddos, nasty/mucus-y coughs, lots of tissues everywhere, and antibiotics for everyone kind of nasty cold. It is finally just about gone, and I couldn't be happier. I honestly thought I would be sick the rest of my life! We're all about at 90%, but I'm not sure if it's still the cold or allergies. Time will time :)

We had a busy Easter that included us all taking naps and not leaving the house after 2 pm. All in all, it was a good day and we are so very thankful for the gift of Jesus and his sacrifice that we do not deserve. What amazing love has our father shown toward us!

Hope you had a good month, and I look forward to being around again!