Chaos!

The past few weeks have been insane.   We got home from CLR and found out we need to MOVE by the end of April.

Our landlord wants to put our house on the market and our lease is up in April.

So, this began the process of applying for loans, and looking for houses etc.  

We found a house we love, though that is subject to change, and now we're just waiting on loan officers to finish working things out and see what we qualify for etc.

This is a scary time, but we're loving it too, we're excited to finally move!!

And I'll leave you with a few pictures from the last few weeks. There aren't many because my phone went down the proverbial toilet.   However, getting a new phone was a highlight of the month. :)

CLR 2013

We got the amazing privilege to spend a few days in Tennessee this past week.

Favorite comment of the week:   As we were pulling through Knoxville, we began to see some snow on the banks of the Interstate... Kyley looks up and says MOM!!! What's the white stuff???   Awesome.

We drove up on Wednesday, checked in and got everything situated, and headed to our first 'session'.

We were so blessed to be able to spend this time with about 50 other people who are where we are.  Other children's pastors in our denomination from Alabama. It was pretty awesome to get to network some and pick brain about ideas.

Our kids were amazing. For the most part they were still and quiet and entertained themselves while we were in group sessions and they had so much fun during the other times as well.

Thursday morning, we had a session which we followed by some free time.   We ended up taking the kids to look at a rock mining site we'd seen, and the indian trade post.  We also visited a huge Christian book clearance store, and a few souvenir shops.

Finally we ended up at Fudruckers for lunch. We've obviously never been but it was great and we plan on going back when we are in the area again.

We finished up Thursday evening with another group session and ended up hanging out downstairs (even with our kids) until well after midnight chatting and getting to know the other couples there.

Friday was a 'free day' that we intended to spend playing putt putt or seeing some sites, however there was a cold front that pushed through and everything was frozen.

We took the kids to Gatti's (an arcade/pizza buffet/etc) and enjoyed the afternoon seeing sites and visiting a few more souvenir shops just for fun.

The main event of the day though, was the Dixie Stampede.  If you've never been, it's worth going at least once.

The whole experience was neat, and my kids were wide eyed and just taking in the whole experience most of the time.

We spent our evening watching some 'rodeo' type entertainment, but it was really neat!

Saturday it was time to pack up and head home, so we headed for Chick Fil A for lunch before we hit the road and made the long journey home (and it was LONGER than expected due to some crazy events that won't be mentioned here haha)

We had one last fun stop before we made it home, and that was to have dinner with some sweet friends in the Birmingham area.  AND we finally got to meet sweet Gia.   The kids were so excited to see her, and of course Derek and I were stoked to get to spend some time with Malerie and Kevin. 

We came home exhausted but it was a great, refreshing time away, and we're so glad we had the opportunity to go.  

22 months.

This boy never ceases to amaze me.

He found a paci and thinks it's his best friend again. (I have a love/hate relationship with this... love the extra sleep...hate the paci)

He is smart as a whip. He can follow simple commands (think, hey go throw this away in the trash) and he LOVES to make you happy by doing what you've asked.

The kid loves shoes. boots. slippers. anything for his feet!

He now is rocking a mohawk (along with his big brother)

He prays for us and is so sweet, he gets so excited to pray over someone.

He loves to repeat things. He'll try to repeat pretty much any word you ask of him.

He loves his daddy, and his doe doe... I think he has an obsession :)

Just today, he told me POOPY, BEFORE he pooped! And then when I sat him on the potty screamed NOOOOOOOO .... and DIAPER... until I put a diaper on him so he could poop.(tmi?)

He's still sweet and loveable and cuddly, but has a fierce and feisty side to him too.

I probably said this at this point with Elijah too, but he's showing no signs of weaning, so I anticipate we'll nurse well into his second year... however, Elijah weaned right at his 2nd birthday, so who knows.

 Last week, we measured the kids on our wall chart, and he's already passed Elijah by a good 3 inches from when Elijah was 2.  This kid is going to be taller than the other two for sure.

I can't believe he's about to be TWO years old in just a few months.  We're already in the planning stages of a joint party with his brother and I can't believe it's approaching so quickly.

My Prayer.

There are so many things I want in my life for my children. 

I wish for them to grow up knowing right from wrong.

I wish for them to treat others kindly.

I wish for them to learn how to make mistakes and learn from them.

I wish for them to love themselves.

I wish for them to learn to be fair, and just, and compassionate to others.

We all want our kids to grow up and be successful.  We want our kids to make something of themselves. We set expectations high and we push our kids to be better people and learn from even our own mistakes.

In all of my years pastoring youth and children, I've learned a few things.  And one of the most important is this.

None of the things I pray over my children are important if they don't KNOW HIS VOICE.

So may my prayer be daily and forever this. That my children know Christ, and KNOW His voice.

May they know His voice clearly and may He make Himself known to them.

Amen.

Out with the old, In with the new.

 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

As 2012 comes to an end in just a few short hours, there are so many things I'm thankful for in the past year, and so many things I want to do differently in the new year.

I am not a fan of resolutions, most just set you up for failure, but I do think that evaluating where you've been and where you are going is worth it. It doesn't have to be at the new year, it could be every few months, or even weeks, whatever you desire. But it's worth it.

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!


For me personally,
I want to live with no regrets
I want to make beautiful memories that last forever
I want to pray more often
I want to memorize more Scripture and hide it in my heart
I want to honor my husband more
I want to be more organized, even if I've taken large steps already to get there
I want to need less and give more
I just want Jesus.


I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me this year.

For our marriage.
For our family.
For our church.
For our ministry.
For our friends.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Craziness.

I have to slow down daily and remind myself WHY we celebrate Christmas. 

Unfortunately, this time of year gets busy.

Christmas parties.

Dance recitals.

Birthdays.

Family Dinners.

Present wrapping.

Weddings.

Decorating.

Baking.

And then there's the normal stuff.  



cooking,
 
cleaning,
 
 school.
 
church,
 
dance
 
and making time for family time.

Life gets hectic but we are having so much fun and trying to instill in the kids how much fun it is to GIVE rather than receive and how to enjoy CHRIST in this season.

Happy 8th Birthday Kyley!

I cannot believe my baby girl is 8 years old today.

I have always loved her birthday.

12/12/04 at 12:44



My baby girl loves to create things. Art, drawings, books, crafts, anything she can, she loves it.

She is also learning that she loves reading.



She loves Dr. Who, Merida (Brave), and lots of 'bling'. 



She's so fun of love and life and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her!

Shopping with two of my favorite girls.

As I'm sure most of you are aware, I get the insane but cool pleasure of sampling/writing for the Old Navy Style Council.   This time around we got to sample some sweaters!

So one awesome afternoon, Abi, my best friend and Kyley my main gal gathered up to do some massive shopping and it was so much fun.

We tried on insane amounts of clothes (even Kyley got in on the fun and picked out her birthday gifts from Abi)




 

It was a much needed girl afternoon of fun and laughter.











Definitely a favorite part... Super sheep. haha



There were so many amazing sweaters and we had fun picking the perfect one. Interestingly enough, we picked the same sweater in different colors in the end. (ok so I'm not THAT surprised)

 

I really love the quality of Old Navy sweaters. They are so soft and not scratchy and itchy like a lot of sweaters I've tried on.  They hold their shape well through many washes and they don't shrink. I HATE sweaters that are amazing when you try them on, then you take them home and wash them and they no longer fit the same.

Here's a bonus family picture of the first time I wore it out.
 

I love it and I've worn it several times since I got it. It's the perfect arm length and weight for a light sweater.

*in full discolure, I was provided a coupon for a sweater at no cost to me plus one for a friend via the Old Navy Style Council and Crowdtap. All opinions stated within are my own.

Hallelujah!

I posted a few posts with the same title (part 1 & part 2)

In the second one I included this little gem.



Yes, that's my tiny little Elijah learning to praise his Jesus.   And so without any hesitation I show you the newest installment.



Enjoy the tiny with his favorite word.  He sings this often and when he gets going, he doesn't stop. I love it.

Anticipation

Asher LOVES to wait out front for daddy to get home.



Psa. 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

How many times do the things a child practices remind us of our own Heavenly Father?

Look for the Father with anticipation... seek His face.

Enjoy this short little video of Asher waiting on his daddy. He saw another car and patiently watched it all the way down the road waiting to see if it was daddy....



Are you looking for Daddy today?

Traditions.

This time of year a lot of people start talking about traditions in their family.   So I'm curious, what kind of traditions do you guys hold with your own families?

We only have one that I can think of.




Every year, we pick out a Nutcracker for each of our children and they are one of the only open gifts under the tree for our kids.

We don't do the whole 'santa' thing, so our kids don't need an elf on the shelf.  This year we're trying to incorporate an advent devotional, but um... yeah we made it through two days before missing a day.  That's ok though, catch up is fun too!

I've tried to make it a yearly thing to go take REAL family portraits for our Christmas cards every year, but this year we didn't make that happen, so I guess that can't be considered a tradition either?

So tell me, what do you do with your families?