Joy in the Journey

Friday, March 22, 2013

New Beginnings...

Welcome SpRiNg!!!

We are welcoming spring with open arms!! The past few months have been full of new beginnings for us...I thought I would blog about a few of my favorites!

Jer and Bella have a new routine of going out to "throw rocks" every evening while I prepare dinner...she looks forward to it every day!!

Jackson and I ventured out with them the other night and they showed us their special spot...

The entrance of our neighborhood has a little creek...or maybe it's just a big ditch!? Whatever it is they love to find "critters" and throw rocks!

They have been working on a special project together...

On an old stump...

We went out and tried the famous South Carolina BBQ last weekend...

YUMMY!

I have thoroughly loved my new Bible study and am blessed to have the opportunity to learn alongside such Godly women...Bella helped me bake these goodies last week to take to Bible study!

One of my new friends and I had a girls night out...she took me to her favorite Sushi place...and it was divine!!!

Thankful for new sweet friends!...Love ya Alli =)

New adventures are fun! Sometimes scary and sometimes challenging...but when you know you are walking in the steps that God has for you...then you can rest assured that His plans are best and enjoy the adventurous ride!!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

SURPRISE Mimi!!

I decided spur of the moment to take a surprise trip to Nashville to see my parents! It's about 6 hours from where we live now in South Carolina...really not that bad of a drive at all! A friend loaned me her DVD player...and with lots of snacks and some extra toys we were good to go! Mimi cried her pretty little eyes out...she was SO surprised and felts extra loved!!!

The following day we woke up to a thin blanket of snow on the ground...

Bella loved giving Pappa special ballet performances...

We loved going to church and hearing Pappa preach! Bella sat in my lap the entire time...She was super excited about that special privilege. :)

I loved the special time with my little sis Brit and my cutie pie Houston!

Monday night we went over to Brit's house for dinner...and Surprise...Sadie and Linz were at the door!!!

Cuddles from all the grandbabies...

Pappa gave in to Jackson's begging for icing...just a taste ;)

Bella helped me with some important ironing...in her sparkle dance outfit of course!

Bella and "poleon" (Napoleon) had some sweet moments together...

Cousin love...

Cousin coloring...

Fun at Chick...

Jackson was super pumped about his cow...

Lovin'

Needless to say, this ended all the fun...and we had the glorious privilege of sharing the awful stomach bug...everyone got it except Jackson and Matt...and Jeremy...That is one memory we do not want to remember nor re-live...yikes!

10 months...double digits!!

My handsome little man is now in the double digits!! I feel like he has changed SO much this past month! He is everywhere now! His personality is bursting at the seams! He mastered his army crawl this past month...started waving, imitates various sounds and motions...and just recently started pulling up!

He loves when I open the blinds so he can peek out the window!

This is pretty much how I clean, cook, iron...pretty much if any house work gets done this is how I manage to do it! He loves me...I feel so honored...I mean he loves me so much that he would much rather hang on my ankle than explore the house on his own! ;)

Last week, we surprised my mom for her birthday...Pappa gave in to Jackson's begging for icing...

YUM...just a taste...you gotta wait til your big birthday for the full taste!!!

He was definitely more interested in Bella's chicken than his veggies...

He was full of smiles when the nice Chick-fil-A man gave him his very own cow!!!

Yes, he's as fun, sweet, cuddly and layed back as he appears in these pictures! Very blessed =)

His schedule:

7      Wake/Nurse
9         Nap
10:30 Nurse
12       Lunch
1         Nurse/Nap
4         Nurse
5:30    Dinner
7         Bath/Nurse
8         Bed

Sewing and Crafts...

Well after 2 1/2 months of being moved in, I finally took the plunge and pulled out my sewing machine! I love it! I really enjoy making gifts for friends...and sewing for my babies...it's just finding the time to do it! But, I was able to set a aside a few nap times and made just a few gifts for some friends who recently had baby girls!

I also attempted my first burlap wreath...thanks to good ole Pinterest! ;) I added a little St. Patty's flair...

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Great Reminder

I came across this article this morning and wanted to share! Such a great reminder :)

“I can’t get anything done!” I lament, as the kids make their happy noises and leave sweet tokens of their presence all throughout the house. “I will never catch up!”

This is a familiar scene at my house–is it at yours as well? Mom is exhausted and frustrated at the two steps she takes forward, just to take one step back…in housecleaning, in laundry, in potty-training, in correction and discipline, in kitchen clean up…it just feels never-ending.

In the midst of one of my complain-sessions recently, I recognized the error in my assessment of getting things done: What am I so in a rush to get done for? What is the important stuff that I think I’m really supposed to be accomplishing that being a wife and mother is seemingly keeping me from? By my actions and attitude, it would appear that I have been charged with greater uses of my time than caring for my family; that the mundane and repetitive tasks of motherhood and housework are merely obstacles standing in the way of worthier priorities.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Motherhood IS my job. Caring for my home IS my privilege. Preparing a place of rest and renewal for my husband IS the important work to be done. There is a deep selfishness in my own heart that idolizes comfort and pride. It is the sin of desiring what I think will make my life grand more than treasuring whatever it is that the Lord has given to me…to do, to care for, to endure, to carry, to count as joy.

How would our attitude and actions change if we were to recognize that breaking up fights between our children, teaching them about forgiveness of sin, correcting them in love, and then repeating that entire cycle again and again–IS our jobs as mothers! And yet, we tend to want to get them behaving properly once and for all so that we can move on to something more important. We are disappointed and astounded when they are repeatedly sinful, whiny, impatient, or lacking self-control, when it’s for these very sins that God made you specifically to be your child’s mother. How humbling it is when I consider this reality and compare it to the attitude of my heart.

Would we do dishes, fold laundry, or train up our children with a different attitude if it were Christ we were serving? Wouldn’t it seem foolish to complain to the Lord about better things we want to do with our lives if He were a guest in our home? No, instead, we would cook and clean with a sense of honor because Christ is residing there. Friends, He does reside in our homes and in our families. We serve Christ when we serve our families!

Being a wife and mother is not glamorous. It is not looked upon with honor in our culture. It is not always immediately rewarded. It is NOT EASY. Being a wife and mother is, however, a high calling. It brings honor to God, and it bears eternal value. He’s equipped us for any and all things He calls us to. It is through Him and for Him that we do all things!

Today, if you’ve been given the high-calling of mother and wife, I encourage you–as I preach the same to my own heart–to embrace the work with joy, with purpose, and with value. Be here, in the now. There is nowhere more important to be; there’s nothing more important to accomplish.

Related Posts:
When We Choose With Our Actions
Of Walks and Wings {What Cicadas Have To Do With Motherhood}
Make Time For Inefficiency
Look Your Kids In The Eye and Lower Your Voice
Feminine Appeal {The Rewards of Kindness}

Monday, February 18, 2013

Carpe diem...

Well, I thought life went fast when I just had Bella...but I was certainly wrong! I feel like my days are so full and by the end of the day...I am just flat out exhausted!!! Being a full time wife and mommy is by far the most exhausting job I have EVER had...and I've worked hard in my life...BUT let me tell you that it is THE MOST rewarding job in the entire world!

Yes, majority of my days are very similar...5 nursings, 3 meals to prepare, cook, serve and clean-up, at least 3 good sweepings of the floor, projects to challenge and occupy Bella, about 10 diaper changes a day, many trips to the potty as we train, a few accidents sprinkled in here and there, park dates, walks around the neighbor hoods...play dates, church, Bible studies, small groups, new friends, baths, playing, running, cuddling, tickling, crying, laughing...mending boo-boos, sewing buttons, ironing clothes, washing clothes, comforting the sick, encouraging new adventures...shopping, bargaining on re-sale pages, organizing and re-organzing...grasping for a few quiet moments to spend alone with my Jesus...and may even a warm shower =)

But at the end of the day, the minutes seem to sometimes go by slowly as the days fly by way too fast...

I haven't blogged as much as I would have liked or cleaned as meticulously as I would have hoped... ...but you know what it's because I'm trying my best to seize the day...to truly end my day knowing that I gave everything I had that day to my husband and my children, to my family to my friends and most importantly to my Lord...

I try to carry my camera with me so I can try to capture sweet moments of my day to somehow make me feel better that I won't every forget these precious moments with my babies. I truly desire to live each day as though it's my last...to have a tender heart to those in need to see this world through the eyes of Christ...to realize that life was not intended to be perfect on earth...that we were not created for this place but for something far better that we can not even begin to grasp with our human mind. I'm just like every other mom...grasping for time to just have a quiet shower, hoping that maybe I'll get to use the restroom alone!?, I make it til nap time and then make that big decision...do I rest OR do I go get a chore done and start dinner...BUT when the day is done...and no matter what got done on my to do list...my prayer is that I was sensitive to what the Lord had on his agenda for me that day. It may just be serving my family...which is what it is most days during this season of life...but I want my Lord to find me faithful in those small tasks that often seem to mundain...

So, here are a few precious moments of the past month...that I just want to take time and soak in...

My sleeping boy in my arms...