Encouraged

I just got home, and am feeling so encouraged. I hope that one day, my children will read this and understand how important it is to surround themselves with the right people.

Tonight, I was finally able to go to a bible study that the girls in my Sunday School class are doing. I made it to the first one several weeks ago, but just hadn't been able to make it since. The devil really tried to keep me from going tonight, too. He knows that I have a soft spot for my kids, and Evan started crying before I left, saying that he didn't want me to go. He even blew kisses to me, crying, and saying to catch the kiss so that I could save it in the van for later. Melt. My. Heart. But, I made it, and I'm so glad that I did.

The bible study was great, and I learned about having people around me that influence me in the direction that God wants me to go, and to also be that kind of influence-er for other people. On those lines, I feel so honored to have been surrounded by the girls at tonight's study. It was so great to hear their prayer requests and praises, and to be encouraged by their struggles and also their wisdom.

I went to the study feeling like I was headed in a million different directions. I left feeling a peace and calmness, and very encouraged. I even heard the song "Hallelujah" tonight on the way home, and saw a rainbow on a tv show right after getting home.

~Thank you, Lord, for showing me that I was on the wrong path, and that I need to focus on You constantly to feel this peace. Thank you for the wonderful women that you have surrounded me with, and who will continue to encourage me as long as I am willing to listen and learn from them. And thank you for showing me "You" tonight, because I now know that I've been truly missing "You" for a very long time.~

My Favorite Things The Kids Do

Here are some things that I think about during the day, but always forget to write down:

I love how Aubrie still kicks her right leg every time I carry her.

I love how Evan still hugs me tightly when he's feeling shy.

Aubrie has the cutest face when something surprises her, and then she'll say, "Oh, no!!!" She gets really into movies, and says "Oh, now!" all the time!

I love that Aubrie and Evan already know how to really relax. There's nothing cuter than seeing them all sprawled out on the couch, with a pillow and blanket, and just chillin'. (That'll probably come back to bite me one day...)

I love that my kids have such good friends in Kaytlynn and Delaney. I love watching them all play together and knowing that they'll have lifelong friends.

I love how Aubrie likes to walk on her tip-toes.

I love how Aubrie and Evan love to dance with me (Aubrie especially).

I love it when the kids put their arms around me, or when their little hands touch me. Evan likes to place his hands on my arms when he sits in my lap, and Aubrie will take my face in her hands and pull me in for hugs and kisses when she's going to sleep. It's my favorite.

I love how Aubrie loves to sing! She'll sing along to almost any song that she hears, especially the "moon" song that is from her favorite movie, "Moonbeam Bear." She'll sing, "ah ah ah meoon, ah ah ah kye (sky), ah ah ah light, ah ah ah bight (bright)." So. Cute.

I love how Aubrie likes to sit like a frog.

I love how Evan wants to blow us kisses and then catch them to save for later.

I love how Aubrie likes to spin around until she's really dizzy, and then the look on her face when she stops!

New House

Ok, y'all. I'm going to put this out there so that you can all encourage me and keep me going. Chris and I have decided to put our house up for sale in April.

I need encouragement to keep the focus on what is important. I get discouraged when I think about our house; thinking that we'll always be stuck her, that we don't make good financial decisions, that our kids won't get the best childhood experiences if we don't have a better house, that life would be easier if we didn't have to drive forever to go to church, etc. I get focused on all of the negative things, and forget that I have no control over any of that, anyway. So many times, I just try to do everything on my own, and forget that God is in control of it all, and has a plan for me and my family that is better than anything I could think of. That's how we got into this home in the first place! If we had waited on his timing, I KNOW that we'd be in a different place in our lives. But I choose to look at all of the positives that He has provided while we've been in this home.

I need encouragement to keep energy when it comes to cleaning out the house. I have this need to throw out everything in our house. But then I get busy with life, my new Thirty-One business, (plus I think I'm literally addicted to the computer!), and I don't work on things that I know are important. I even do that with Chris and the kids. I need energy and focus to get all of my work done, but everything else done, too. Oh, and I'd like to feel no guilt when I can't get it all finished!

Please pray for our family. We'd like to know that we're making the right decision, and that it would all go smoothly. Thanks so much!

3.5 Years

It's been 3.5 years since I gave birth to my first child. That seems like such a long time ago, and then I look at how fast my son is growing up and realize that it's gone by all so fast. My son is growing up to be such a wonderful young man. He's brings love, happiness, and kindness to our home, and to our hearts.

Evan is such a sweet little boy. He is getting big enough to actually play on Chris' phone without me having to tell him how to get to his favorite games, which blows my mind! I'm so used to doing everything for him, that it's crazy to think that he can do something techno without any help. I mean, I can't even figure out how to use Chris' phone sometimes... :)

He's still our talker, that's for sure. He'll explain every little detail of a story, or when asking a question. He can also remember every line of some of the movies we watch, like "Rio." He even does the facial expressions on the characters, which cracks me up! He's really paying attention to what we can and can't say, and is always asking, "Can we say that?" while watching a show. He said "shut up" to Kaylynn a few weeks ago, and got in BIG trouble. I know it's from "Rio," and it just goes to show that even when we try to protect the kids, (we don't watch cable except for PBS, and have Netflix so that we can screen anything they watch ahead of time), they're going to pick up on things that they shouldn't. He'll ask me, "Mommy, he said pepperoni. Can we say pepperoni?" So, it's a work in progress.

He almost never takes a nap nowadays, but he still has "quiet" time in his room. I've had to create a rule that he can't get out of bed except to go to the potty, because he'll get up and play with toys the whole time. But I'm so bad, because I never go back in the room once I'm out (cause he'll try to talk me into staying or cry when I leave again!). So even if he is out of bed, I don't go back in. At least he's being quieter up there than he would be downstairs!

I'm going to actually go right now, and find a board int he garage so that I can start tracking his growth. I've neglected it up until now, because I knew we'd be moving one day, and didn't want to leave anything important like that behind. But I look at him, and just want to have that board to keep forever on how much he's grown. Just looking at him makes me think he'll be a teenager before I know it!

I love having a little boy, and love him to pieces!