Words Matter

Addi recently went through a phase where she was asking Jared and me quite a bit if we liked her.  We are not sure where she got this question from because we have NEVER said we like or don't like people to her and we always tell her we love her (multiple times a day).  We would reassure her each time she asked that we did like her and she would be satisfied.  After Brogan's birthday party (June 1st), she asked us if several of her relatives liked her.  I told her (and Jared agreed with me) that everyone likes her because she is sweet, kind, funny, loving, etc and that as long as she always acts like the wonderful Addi God made her to be and is herself that people will like her.  We didn't get too in depth in the conversation because she is three and she doesn't need to know that there will be people throughout her life who just won't like her for who knows what reason, etc.  Anyway, we went on our way and I did notice that after our conversation she asked us less often if we liked her.

Fast forward to last night...3 weeks later.  We were eating dinner and she asked me if I liked her.  I told her of course I liked her and she said, "After Brogan's birthday party I asked if you liked me and you said that everyone likes me because I'm Addi."  Jared and I were floored that what was a simple, brief conversation had obviously stuck with her the past three months.  It was such a great reminder that the words we speak to our children - even at very young ages - matter so much (It was a great reminder because it was a positive conversation she remembered). My children are taking my words to heart and are remembering them weeks later.  What an awesome experience and yet it's scary at the same time.  I know that there have been and will be times that I fail...that I say words that don't build them up or react the wrong way and have to apologize/admit that Mommy was wrong.  While I don't want that happen any more than it already has, I'm OK with knowing that it might.  We are all imperfect and if Addi and Brogan can see their parents fail and apologize, they will learn that that's what humans do...we make mistakes, we apologize, we learn from the mistakes, we keep moving forward.

My prayer though is that most of my words and actions edify and encourage my children.  I love this verse that our pastor often has the church body recite after his sermons.  Such truth and so important to remember:

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19:14

Rain, Rain....

I wish the rain would go away.  It is getting annoying.  I am running out of creative indoor activities (and outdoor activities...think umbrellas, puddles, etc) to do with the kiddos. It is 9:00 am and they have been up for over 3 hours.  The idea of having to find stuff to entertain them until nap time and then after is just plain daunting today.  Guess that's the way some days go.  No, staying at home is not all peaches and cream every day, but it sure beats only seeing my babies a total of two to two and a half hours a day during the week.  I wouldn't trade these days for the world...even the long, exhausting, "I think I may pull my hair out" days that happen every now and then.  I am blessed and am totally aware that God has rained showers of blessings on me.  While I look at the rain fall out the window and listen to my sweet boy scream, "Nobody greater, nobody greater than You...Praise the Lord!", I will thank God for the "rain showers" in my own life...both good and bad. I will also quickly browse Pinterest before the kids realize that I am on the computer...I am sure there are some creative rainy day activities that I have yet to find. :)

Have a blessed day...hope it's sunny where you are...even if it's raining outside. ;)

Mother's Day

Today was a fun day!  Jared had to work from home the first part of the day so we went to our church's Saturday night service yesterday.  So he *attempted* to let me sleep in while he handled the kids, but a persistent little girl refused to do anything but sit outside our bedroom door crying and saying, "Mommy, I want to see you!" over and over.  She won, but not in time for me to give a quick prayer of thanksgiving for allowing me to be a mom - something I will never take for granted and to pray for those who desire to be moms and are not at this time.  Seriously, this day is bittersweet.  I cried many tears on this day when we were trying to conceive and really just wanted to crawl into a hole for the whole day.  I detested this day (other than honoring my mom) and for those of you reading this who detest it still, I get it.

Anyway, I didn't mind Addi wanting me early this morning...her and Brogan are the reasons I celebrate this day as a mommy. :) The least I could do was hug and kiss on them this morning. ;) I did get to take a nice, brisk early morning walk (sans kiddos) and it was so beautiful and refreshing!  Throughout the day, Jared had Addi and Brogan give me little gifts (so sweet!) and he also ordered pizza in for lunch.  While the kids napped I finished reading a parenting book that I highly recommend...more on that later this week (or next week, because we know how it goes around here). After Jared finished working, we went to the airport overlook and watched the planes take off and then went to a Japanese restaurant and had dinner outside (because who really wants to attempt eating inside with two kids under the age of three if it can be helped?).  We had tons of fun eating outside and Addi kept saying, "I like eating at this restaurant!"  It was truly a great, fun-filled, relaxing day.  Hearing both kids tell me "Happy Mother's Day!" unprompted multiple times was by far the best part of my day (sorry Jared...you could have saved some money, huh?) ;)

Have a blessed week!

Sunshine!

After a rainy morning, we had sunshine this afternoon!  This is the first time we've enjoyed sun in a few days.  The kiddos and I went for a walk this afternoon and after dinner all of us went outside to let Addi practice riding her bike and then we took another walk.

That's all I wanted to share.  Just so happy to soak in the sunshine! :)

Expectations

This morning is our last morning at the beach.  Last night was the last night we were able to fall asleep listening to the crash of the ocean waves...well,  until we have another beach vacation.  I am so grateful for the time we have had to spend time together as a family.  While the kids and I spend every day together, Jared doesn't get to and it blessed my heart to watch him spend so much time with our babies and with me. :)  He works so hard and I was thankful to see him relax.  We had a great time even though the weather was cold, windy and rainy most of the week.  Which is what we would have dealt with at home, too...so it's better we were at the beach. ;)  I feel guilty because until recently, I didn't think a beach vacation would be possible for at least three to four years.

When I quit my job to stay at home I was so nervous.  I knew that there would be sacrifices.  A week before I gave my notice, we took a family vacation to this very area.  It was great.  I remember thinking so often during that time that maybe I was making the wrong decision (even though God had clearly orchestrated everything for me to quit.)  I thought that another family vacation on the same scale we took before was going to be out of the question until I returned to work in a few years.  However, God is faithful and I should never doubt Him.  He has blessed us beyond measure.  I know that there are people who would love to take a vacation and cannot for several reasons and no, I don't think that God gave us a vacation because we are more deserving than others.  I don't know why He provides for us so well at times...especially when I live my life worrying about one thing or another instead of trusting Him the way I should.  Even while writing this I am thinking, "Be careful what you write because the bottom could fall out from under you at any moment."  Which is true for all of us.  But God is faithful, gracious and merciful.  Reality is the "bottom" could fall out from any one who reads this at any time.  Not necessarily financially but in other areas as well.   It is good to recognize that without Christ and His blessings we have nothing and are nothing.  Unfortunately, I have lived a large portion of my life being far too aware that bad things can happen.  It's not even that I have had a lot of "bad things" happen compared to most...it's just when life is going really good, I start to get nervous that it's going to be really bad later.  There is hope though.  I don't have to live this way.  I read James 1 this week and saw that chapter in a whole different light.  The whole chapter spoke to me, but for the sake of time and to keep this post slightly shorter, I am going to highlight the following verses:

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

The verses that popped out the most were verses 5-8.  During trials (and really anytime), wisdom is ours for the taking...we just need to ask God.  I am guilty of asking God for wisdom, but not doing so with an actual expectation that He is going to provide that wisdom or help right away.  The verses above say I shouldn't be that way.  Why doubt Him?  Why doubt that He isn't going to provide the help at the very moment I ask?  Why doubt that He isn't going to show Jared and I His will right away?  Why do I think that with every issue I have that God is either chastising me for something or trying to teach me something that is going to take a long time for me to get a handle on?  Why not believe that maybe, just maybe, all He really wants is for me to pray with expectation.  

Please know I do not mean that I should give God a wish list of material items and expect that He is going to give me what I want.  I also know that there are times that He does have me go through tests and trials for a lengthy amount of time for reasons that I only realize later and  even though I may pray with expectation of something happening, it's not necessarily going to happen because it's not God's will at that time.  I am also not at all saying that we don't need to seek God's will or garner strength by just praying and not reading His word.  Reading His word is essential to knowing the character of God (I stink at doing so most days).  However, when I am up to my eyeballs in a never ending laundry pile and household tasks, am dealing with a non-sleeping toddler who apparently is going deaf because he will not listen to a word I say and a growing preschooler who is testing her limits all.the.time, am stressed about possible future events, and am weary and sick (for weeks at a time) on top of it all...I can go to God with an expectation that He is going to restore and refresh me sooner rather than later.  I can expect that He is going to love me and provide me with the strength I need to get through this time.  I can expect that if I ask Him, I will have the wisdom I need to give godly and loving discipline to my children instead of trying fifteen different methods without any of them working.  I can expect that if I tell God about my fears and worries about possible future events, that He will comfort me. I can expect that if I lean on Him, He will give me the rest I need, that He will restore my soul and my body and that I will come out of this time with more knowledge of who He is and who I am in Him.  

I need to attend to some wild kiddos and finish packing, so I am not going to read over this to make sure it makes sense...even if I did, I don't know if it will make sense to others...but I hope it does.  

Goodbye ocean...it's been great once again.  As my sweet girl said though, "I'm ready to go to my 'real' house."  I love that she loves home.  Makes my heart happy for sure!

PS...sorry this is in two different fonts and sizes.  For some reason, I cannot access my toolbar to change this.  

"I didn't mean to do that." - "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Today while we were throwing a balloon around the house, Addi kept throwing it in the opposite direction that I thought she would and then would say, "Oops.  That wasn't supposed to happen."  It was so cute. :)

When she does something by accident (spill a drink, hit her daddy on the head, etc) she will say, "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to do that."  We know when she says that it is really an accident because she NEVER says it when she does something on purpose.  Well, Brogan has picked up on this saying.  So, he will do something he knows he shouldn't be doing (tell daddy or mommy "no, no!", climb on the same piece of furniture he knows he isn't supposed to climb on 45 times a day, hit his sister, etc.) and thinks that he will not be punished if he follows the act with a quick, "I sorry.  I didn't mean to do that."  Of course, the term "punishment" is used lightly.  Punishments around here are pretty weak - we are working on being a bit more firm with these two.  Tough to do when they're just so cute. :)

Sweet Memory - Concert for Two

This post probably won't really appeal to anyone...just a memory I never want to forget.

Tonight Jared and I were able to sit on the couch and hold hands while we watched the best show ever...our children singing, dancing and acting silly to entertain us.  It was hilarious!  Brogan was playing the guitar (his sister's Dora guitar), but was holding it like a piano of sorts and also had a shaker thing in his other hand.  He would push the button on the guitar so it would play a song and would dance all around while Addi danced and hopped as well.  It was the sweetest, cutest and silliest show we've ever viewed.  Jared mentioned that they didn't have a care in the world and we agreed that's exactly how their childhood should be.  We are so thankful that they are carefree, happy and amazing little children.  I hope the shows continue for many years to come. :)