Family News!!!

"Blessed is she who believed that what The Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Luke 1:45

God had told me that more babies were in our future, and He has kept His word! We are thrilled to officially announce that we are expecting! The newest addition to our family is due to arrive in January 2014. I am now seven weeks along. There have been many times over the past few weeks when I have wanted to shout it from the roof tops, but my husband encouraged me to wait until we saw that precious little heartbeat thumping away on the ultrasound. Well...we saw it! Baby is healthy, perfect, and beautiful! Okay, honestly Baby is just a little blueberry, but I think he/she is amazing :-) While there have many times when my eyes have filled with tears thinking of our heavenly gift, life has also continued...and things just got real!

I am sick. Like, sicker than sick. Like, there are days when I wish my husband would just let me stay curled up on the bathroom floor all day and bring me a few Cheerios to munch on every few hours. Isn't it funny, though, that our toddlers don't seem to show a ton of compassion when their mommy is hanging over the toilet. My typical writing time is around 6am when Caleb is still in dreamland. I now pray that God will keep him in a coma as long as possible, and I drag myself out of bed when I hear that the toddler's patience have reached their max! Sometimes, I write during nap time or after bed time, but if Caleb is laying down, so am I. So...all this to say, please don't take offense or worry at my absence. I'm alive! And, after visiting with my doctor yesterday, I finally agreed to start taking some major anti-nausea medicines. After he assured me that our child would not have three heads, I started using them as he instructed. And today...thank you, Jesus...I am up, writing, and not wholely depending on Thomas movies to entertain my toddler. Who knows...we may even play outside this afternoon! My poor child...I hope that this part of his memory is sweetly erased and that he won't forever hold his future brother/sister responsible for his lack of awesome mommy time during these few short months :-)

Whatever you are praying for, mommies, don't lose hope. Our Heavenly Father loves to answer our prayers with sweet gifts at times we would least expect. And, you can be sure, that if it's a good gift, then it came from Him! 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17

Mommy Affirmation

Happy Memorial Day weekend, mommies! Hopefully, you get to spend some much needed time with your kiddos and your honey...remembering those we have lost, and appreciating those who are still with us!

I'm off to shop for bridesmaid dresses with my bestie, but I stumbled upon a fantastic Facebook post yesterday. I don't know the author, she is a friend of a friend, but her name is Leah and she provided some awesome affirmation for any mommy out there! Leah, if you read this...thank you for your wise words! Enjoy this, and have a fantastic weekend!

To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom.

To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom.

To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom.

To the disposable diapering mom: Damn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom.

To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom.

To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom.

To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom.

To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom.

To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom.

To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.

To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.

Turn our Focus

Hello, mommies! I heard this song as I was making dinner last night, and her words have stayed with me throughout the night and this morning. I wanted to share it with each of you, as I feel it will speak deeply to some of you.

"Blessings" by Laura Story

Have you ever felt like the Lord has promised you and your family a season of blessings, but the current circumstances aren't lining up with His words? It's confusing, it's hurtful, and it's a perfect environment for the Enemy to insert fear, despair, and a litany of lies. I want to encourage each of you to hold fast to the words that our heavenly Father has spoken to you. I have spoken before about my bad tendency to obsess, worry, and over-analyze. I could write out every verse that battles anxiety, but it feels like I have a constant seed of worry that bursts into this grotesque, monstrous tree every so often.

Sometimes, the lifestyle of a SAHM feeds my anxiety problem. Yes, we're busy, but a lot of our time is spent doing mindless house chores, preparing food, or organizing something. We can be "working" while our minds spin out of control. To be honest, I don't have the remedy for this problem! But I do know that obsessiveness is rooted in the Enemy. I need to do a better job of recognizing thoughts that aren't of Him, and turning my attention to this verse. Our Lord has been screaming these words to me lately:

"Finally, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

God is doing some amazing things in my family right now, but one certain trial, one potential earth-shattering disappointment, is looming. I don't mean to be cryptic, but I'm not ready to share the details. I will, sweet mommies. And through my story, I hope many of you are blessed by the evidence of His love amidst the storms. Clearly, I'm missing the great stuff God is doing because Satan wants to keep my attention on the hard stuff. It's a choice, mommies. It's a choice to protect our hearts so that we can be our best for our husbands and our children. I'm not at my best for the duties set before me when I'm obsessing in a cesspool of negativity. My prayer for each of us today is the verse above. Have a lovely day with your children, and remember to focus on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy :-)

Choosing Peace

Welcome back! I'm not totally sure the Dalai Lama said this, but it's a great quote, and very applicable to the modern momma...

If you are fortunate enough to rise a few minutes before your little ones, you may know what this inner peace feels like. If you are fortunate enough to keep your eyes open for awhile longer after they fall asleep, you may know what this inner peace feels like. Or, if your toddler who never stops moving is tired enough to sweetly fall asleep in your arms, you may know what this inner peace feels like. Some call it the "happy place." Whatever you call it, I think it is so important for us as mommies to:

• Identify what it feels like
• Ask God to bring it to us, all the time!
• Choose to stay in it as long as possible

Isn't it funny how our peace can disappear in a second? A friend gives you bad news. Your husband makes an off-handed remark that gets to your core. Or, my favorite this week, your toddler gets the stomach flu and throws up all over you...in the middle of the night. Yep, there it goes! My peace...But! It doesn't have to. I want to make a vow to stay peaceful as much as possible. Our God-given peace does not depend on the behavior and actions of others, or on the circumstances around us. I tend to view peace vs. circumstances as a cause and effect relationship. But, God has clearly shown me lately that this is not the case!

As mommies, I believe that one of our primary responibilites of the home is to foster an atmosphere of peace. How can we do that for our families if we can't do it for ourselves? I dream of Caleb growing up in a home that regardless of what hard things his daddy and I may be dealing with, he will remember a home of peace. Peace is defined as:

• a state of tranquillity or quiet
• freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

Isn't that second definition fantastic?! How many times do we lose our peace because of our own behavior or, more specifically, our own thoughts? This was never God's intention. If we know Him, and we know His Son, Jesus Christ, then we have the ability to feel His supernatural peace washing over us at all times...regardless of our circumstances. When my little man was throwing up for the umpteenth time this week, I sat back and held him and thought about the intricacy that went in to our heavenly Father's creation of the human body. Okay, maybe I was delirious from carpet cleaner, but I really was put at peace in the fact that his little body was behaving just as God designed it. Something foreign was attacking his cells, and his body was getting rid of the culprit. I knew he wouldn't throw up forever, I knew that I was the only person who could comfort him in the moment, and I knew that God would heal our son. I had peace.

That might have been a bizarre example of peace right now, but it's where my head is :-) I had a hard conversation with a friend today, we've run into a snag with our house contract, and I'm trying to prepare us to go out of town again. Through all of that, God reminded me of this verse...

 "You will keep in perfect peace her whose mind is steadfast, because she trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

Over the past year, I have been on a major journey of learning to trust God in what He is doing. The more I trust Him, the more peace I feel in the big things, and the small things. Mommies, I encourage you to identify how it feels when you are in "perfect peace." Ask Him to allow you to feel that more often. He doesn't desire us to feel like this:

I know that we have all that, and more, to do! But, we don't have to look like that :-) Let's learn how to do this job peacefully. The responsibilities aren't going away...but He may just desire that we practice a peaceful spirit while completing our tasks. Just some thoughts!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Hi mommies! I've been busy with my boys today, but I did want to post a "sweet" and a "silly" in honor of our special day! Happy Mother's Day!!!

Today, and everyday, remember how much you are loved and needed. Even if our little babes can't find the words, their smiles and adoring eyes say it all. Enjoy this day devoted to all of us!