Mother's Day!

I know that Mother's Day was a few weeks ago,  but these past few weeks have FLOWN by!! We are OUT of school for the summer and we couldn't be HAPPIER! :) We are so excited about ALL that we have planned for our summer!! But that is all for a different post! Mostly I want to remember how special this past Mother's day was! Wyatt is a really thoughtful planner and I appreciate so much the thought, time and love he puts into special occasions! I don't think he is a natural at being thoughtful (hey, he IS a man) but over the 13 1/2 years that we have been together, he has grown into a VERY thoughtful husband and daddy!!! :)

  Wyatt let me sleep in on Mother's Day, and when breakfast was ready, two REALLY cute little kiddos came and woke me up and led me  to our table!! Our table was beautifully decorated with flowers, some of our nicest dishes and YUMMY treats from the Aviary!! YUM-O! After tasting each treat (I am not sure who was more excited about breakfast, the kiddos, Wyatt or I?! They had helped Wyatt pick out each treat the day before!) I got to open my handmade cards and gifts! Each kiddos had written me a sweet note, and I was so touched by their little handwriting and loving words! :) I was also very excited about the spa package Wyatt had chosen for me! :) (Again, so thoughtful!) We all got dressed and headed off to church! That morning our sermon was on REALationships!! (Also, I will be posting more about this sermon later, it was ahhhhmazing!:)) It made for very good conversation on the ride from church to my favorite restaurant...Jimm's! :) This has become our little families new Mother's Day tradition and I must say that I LOVE it! :) We had a reservation, so we were seated right away! Our kiddos were so sweet and so excited to be dining at such a nice restaurant! We ate and talked, and talked and ate! It! Was! WONDERFUL!!!!!! We were there over two hours just enjoying being our little family! After lunch we headed over to my parents house, and enjoyed time with my mom, Grandma and sister!! It was WONDERFUL!! That evening I went for a loooooong walk and then we grilled out and ate on our deck!! Even more than the delicious food and thoughtful gifts, I so enjoyed TIME with my family!! Both my little family and my extended family!!! It was a blessed day and I felt SO loved!

Seasons

One of the things that I love the MOST about Missouri are the seasons we get to enjoy!!! The way I look at it is this...God knew we would get bored with one seasons, ALL the time, so He BLESSED us with 4 different seasons! As a grown up and as a mommy, I have come to truly appreciate each different season when it comes!! Right now, we are really enjoying the winter!! We have waited all year long for hot cocoa, fires and movie/game nights in!!! Thankfully, I have been blessed with a little family of snow bunnies, we LOVE THIS SNOW!!!!! We love to look at it, we love to play in it, we love to eat snow ice cream, we love to drive in it!! We love everything about it!! Does it change out plans sometimes?? Yes! Is it super cold out?? YES!! It is kind of a pain to get everyone all bundled up?? YES!! BUT, God provided it, so we are very thankful for it!!!

"There is a time for everything,
    and a season for EVERY activity under the heavens..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

February

  I absolutely have to admit that February is one of my FAVORITE months! When the calendar turns to February, I get very excited! :) Not only is my birthday in February, but it is also the birthday month for many of my dear friends!! When I was little, my best friend and I had birthdays 10 days a part! We always enjoyed getting to celebrate together twice! When I was in college, I had three dear friends whose birthdays were also in February! We would take our turns going to Lambert's to get our FREE birthday meal!  By the end of February, we were all SO TIRED of Lambert's, but it was a fun tradition that took place for 4 years with sweet friends! MANY memories were made!! Still today, several of my favorite friends share my birthday month and I am so excited to celebrate them!! This weekend starts our celebrations with a FUN girls day planned for Saturday! Wednesday is my actual birthday, and I get to have the day OFF with my husband!! :) Next weekend Wyatt is whisking me away to Chateau on the Lake! :) YAY!!

  We are hosting a BIG family Valentine's party this year and I am SO looking forward to that!! Time with our family is SO precious, we can't WAIT! Maddie, Zack and I have been planning and decorating and making crafts!! IT is SO much FUN! At the end of this month one of my sweetest friends will turn 30, so her and her cute little crew is coming to spend the weekend with us!! We have some really fun things planned!! :)  Whoo-hoo!!

   FEBRUARY, we are READY for you!!!! :):):)

Cooking

IF you know me at all, you know that I don't love to cook!! My mom is an AHHHmzing cook, so is my sister, so I have always let them do the cooking!! I love to bake, and be crafty and make ALL things beautiful!! :) But this year, one of the my biggest goals is to be more intentional about cooking and planning all of my meals out!! One of my sweet friends, Katie challenged me to think up 30 recipes that I can make/like to make, etc! I wrote them on little slips of paper and added them to a fabulous MENU board that I made super simply!! :) (It is now hanging in my laundry room!) I no longer have the excuse of not knowing what I am going to make for dinner because every Sunday, as a family we discuss what we are going to fix all throughout the week!! It is very fun, and has taken the scary-ness out of cooking for me!! We have cut our eating budget in HALF and it feels SO good to be cooking for my family each evening!! :) THANKS Katie for holding me accountable!! I love my new menu board!! (And if I was smart enough, I would post a picture of it on here!! Alas, I am not!! :))

10 YEARS! :)

This year, Wyatt and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage! :) I am SO EXCITED!! I have a bunch of little plans of celebration from now, leading up to our actual anniversary in June!! I have dates planned every month...some of them are we-get-to-go-out-dates, and some of them are late-date-night-in dates! I am SO excited about each of them, I love spending time with my husband SO much! Then in June, HE is surprising ME with a trip!! :) Whoo-hoo! Several people have asked if we are going to some where BIG for our anniversary, and I honestly don't know! My honest answer...I HOPE NOT!! :) (Crazy right?) We don't need anything fancy, we just need each other!! We have such a good time together! We don't run out of things to talk about, and we love being together! We went on a big, fun fabulous honeymoon, and it was fantastic! We didn't have any kiddos, we had two really nice incomes, and we lived in a townhouse! We had all the money in the world! Now, we are just content to be together! We love to even read books beside one another...we just like BEING together! That is what 10 years of marriage will do for you!! :) Needless to say though, I am excited that he has taken on this special task!!

If it could go wrong...it DID!

I had one of THOSE days yesterday!!  You know...the day that if it could go wrong, then it did!! :) I don't normally have these kinds of days, actually, it has been a VERY long time since I have! SO, you can imagine my surprise with the day!!  Here is how it went!!

  I got up early to get everything ready for school, I packed lunches, made breakfast and got myself ready!! The kiddos were up, excited and ready for our day!! We left the house at 7:55 a.m.!!  That is our normal time to leave on Monday's and Wednesdays, and yesterday was no different!! I was SO excited to be getting an early start on our day!! About 10 miles from home I realized that we hadn't gotten our backpacks and lunches!! So we turned around, to go back and get them, we had to have them for school! I wasn't too stressed because we had plenty of time!! :) As we leave our house for the second time, I hear on the radio that the normal way we go to school was blocked by two car accidents...so, I decided to go the l-o-n-g way around!! 50 minutes later we were at school and, LATE!! Off my sweet girl zoomed to her class, and my son and I rushed into my classroom to put away our stuff and then it was time to get our friends!! This year I have a pretty tough class!! I teach the 2 year old class, and I have NINE students this year!! Usually I have 6 or 7, but this year I have NINE! (That will probably be a post sometime later!! I have a LOT to say about that!:)) They were ALL in attendance yesterday, so I  had a busy, jam packed morning with lesson's, snack, lunch, outside time and of course poopy diapers! :):) I needed to chat with a few parents about behavioral issues in the pick up line after school, and they didn't go well!! I am a parent, I A-L-W-A-Y-S want to know if something is going on with my kiddo!! I think as a teacher, the parents and I are a TEAM, but this wasn't the case yesterday!! I left school feeling pretty defeated! My son and I ran a few errands and then jumped in the pick up line to pick up our girl. We somehow managed to get in the slowest line in the history of time, and waited for her for over 30 minutes! Finally we saw her sweet smiling face, we loaded her up and then headed home!! As soon as we walked in, I KNEW that something had gone terribly wrong with our dinner that I had started in the crock pot that morning!! Oh yes!!!! I had BURNED our dinner...CHARRED it actually!!!!!!!!!! So into the trash went dinner and I went scrounging for coupons!! WHOO-HOO!! Wendy's was the place that I had good coupons for, so we waited on Wyatt to get home and then headed out to dinner!! After we waited in line, it was finally our turn, we all ordered specifically what we wanted and waited for our total!! Well my coupons had EXPIRED and I didn't realize it!!!! I almost cried when the manager came to talk to us, but I managed to hold it together, we paid for our meal and sat down!! At dinner I managed to spill sauce on my new shirt and I had sticky honey-hands all over me!! When we got home, I DID cry, I started and couldn't stop! So many things were heavy on my heart!! Wyatt took the kiddos for a bike ride and I had a few minutes of quiet bliss!! After they came home, it was bath time and then BED time!!! It was so nice to enjoy 2 hours of quiet before I went to bed!!!

  WHEW! As I type it out, I feel the stress creeping back in!! BUT, I in the midst of a crazy day, God was there with me!! I felt His presence as I answered grumpy questions from parents! He brought my mom and Aunt to school for a surprise visit just at the right time!! He caused my bestie to text me when I needed a sweet outlet and reminder of love...and He provided some good chat time for my sweet husband and I!! I have the most amazing husband and I am so thankful for him!! AND, He reminded me that tomorrow is a NEW day and that His grace is sufficient!! I am SO thankful for today!! :)

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 Lamentations 3:22-23

9 Years

Yesterday was our 9 year wedding anniversary! :) WOW!! :) 9 years already! :) Sometimes I can't believe that we have been married for 9 years and other times it feels like we have been married forever (in all of the best ways!:)) Our wedding day was truly a magical day... it was beautiful, almost everything went perfectly, and there were SO MANY people there that we loved and that loved us back!! Our reception was a BLAST, the dinner was delicious and we danced the night AWAY!! :) We were engaged for 1 year, 6 months and 6 days, so as you can imagine we were READY!! I remember waking up on my my wedding day to 6 of my favorite faces, my girls had come in to my room to wake me up in celebration! :)

  As I talk to people about their weddings, often they don't have the same special memories!! We took our time to plan our wedding, so pretty much every detail of it was well thought out and loved!! Everything was planned...right down from the decor, to my dress,  the tuxes, our cake, our ceremony, and our attendants!! It was wonderful!!! One of our BIG goals with our attendants was to have people in our wedding that we hoped would be our friends forever!!! We prayed and talked, and talked and prayed over it! I am so thankful to say that my bridesmaids to this day are still VERY close to my heart! They might not all live here now, but we are still sweetly connected!! I had my sister and my sister-in-law as my Matron's of Honor, and then I had my cousin and three VERY dear friends! We had a BLAST together, I am so thankful that although they were very different, everyone got a long and we enjoyed being together!! Wyatt also thought long and hard about his groomsmen...he chose three of his buddies, and then three men who had mentored him!! It was so sweet to see the bonds between him and these guys!!

  As I think about the next 9 years (19 years and 90 years:)) I am still SO EXCITED to be married to Wyatt!! I love him so much, he is my very best friend!! :) I can't WAIT to see how God blesses us in the next years!! I pray that we will always give Him the glory and honor!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY my love!

School

We are DONE with school for the 2012-2013 school year!! :) I can hardly believe it!! This year has flown by! I so enjoyed having Maddie in Kindergarten and having Zack in pre-school, and although school means they are growing up, I am SO THANKFUL that I am able to go to school with them! A lot of people (mommies mostly) think I am crazy for teaching while my kiddos are in school, but it is a blessing to me! I am there if they need me, at ANY time!! And, there were several time this year that they needed me, so I was SO thankful to be there!! And...since we only go two days a week, it is the perfect combination!! I know that this is a very special season of life for us, and I feel so blessed that God worked it out for us, so they could be in school and I could be with them!

  Next year will be a little different! My Zack is going to kindergarten! So I will have TWO kiddos at Gloria Deo Academy! WOW!! I can hardly believe he is big enough to go to school! I am still going to teach pre-school so I will be there just in case...although I know he is going to LOVE it!!

  For now, we are putting away our school books and we are jumping head first into summer!! :) WHOO-HOO!!!

Our Kitchen Table

As I was cleaning off our kitchen table for the 4th time early this morning I was reminded of the day we bought it!! We had just found and bought our very first house and we were SO EXCITED to find the perfect furniture for it! When we got married we had everyone's hand-me-downs that were such a blessing, but we were exited to find OUR first furniture!! For this fabulous task we drove to Kansas City to go to Nebraska Furniture Mart and started shopping around! We were looking for all new furniture so we spent ALL day there! We actually had to take a lunch break so we could process what we had seen, then we went back so we could make our decisions and place our order! I always knew I wanted a BIG kitchen table! I knew we would create many special memories at our table! I also knew that we would eat family dinner around our table, starting with Wyatt and I and eventually hoping to add kiddos!! We found our table early in the day, it was shiny, it was new and it was GORGEOUS!! :) I couldn't stop thinking about it, and by the end of the day we had decided it was the one we would buy!!

When the NFM truck pulled up to our house a few days after we closed on it, I was so excited!! Finally our table was here!! The table could be expanded and we could put 8 people around it! Whoo-hoo! I couldn't WAIT to have our first company!

  Fast forward almost 7 years exactly! :) We have already had SO many special memories at our kitchen table!! My kiddos and I have created crafts, colored pictures and worked on dozen's of projects together!! We have eaten hundreds of meals together at our table, many with both of our kiddos in highchairs, and now they sit in their own chairs!! Wyatt and I have made budget's and planned vacations around our table, we have talked about our dreams and our challenges!! We have hosted many family and friends around our table, talking, laughing and sharing! :) This past year, we sat at our table and worked on school, it became my Maddie's desk, and this fall my Zack will use it as that too! :) What a BLESSING this table has been to us!! It is no longer new and shiny and fancy, but it is a place for my family to come together after a busy day!! It is a place for my kiddos to be creative and use their minds!! I am SO thankful!!!

Bullet Points!

There has been SO much going on...I keep thinking I will have a chance to sit down and write about it, but alas, life gets busy! :) SO, here is our life for the past few months in bullet point form! :)

--We enjoyed a FABULOUS spring break!! We had the perfect combination of family time, friend time, relaxing  busy-ness and FUN!! I always look forward to spring break and this one was NO different!! It was the perfect break...now we are charging through the rest of my daughter's kindergarten year!! WhaT!?! At this time next year, I will have TWO kiddos in school!! (This post to come later...I hope!!:))

--Our kiddos are now enrolled in spring soccer! :) It! Is! PRECIOUS!!! They are SO excited!! We went to "Sports" (that is what my son has always called Academy Sports") and got all of our gear...we are now READY!! If only it wouldn't snow and be frigid on the evenings we are supposed to practice! :)

--The first part of our "update" is almost complete in our house! I have a whole list of things that I would like to re-do this year! We have lived in our house for almost 7 years, so I am itching to change things up!! We started small...by painting our master bathroom and getting new fixtures and mirrors and decor for it!! It is now PAINTED...so hopefully by this weekend we will have everything else up!! :) Oh boy...!! :)

--Our days have slowed down substantially!! We still have school and other activities, but I have once again I have realized that days at home are SO precious!! I think I might have blogged about this earlier (maybe not, I will go check!:)) but my motto for this year is "What is REALLY important?" God has really spoken to me about SO many things that I need to change and being at home is ONE of the big ones!! God is so patient with me, and I am so thankful! He is always moving and changing my heart!! He is SO good!

--Maddie can now recite from her sweet little heart, 4 of her favorite bible verses!! It does this momma's heart good to hear that scripture hidden in HER heart!! She also has all of the African countries memorized and a variety of poem's! It is AMAZING how much her mind can hold! It is my prayer that we continue to challenge her in her learning and understanding of NEW things! :) I LOVE my daughter! :)

--My son will be starting kindergarten this fall (Lord, have mercy) so he is doing homework right alongside us! He is reading pretty small words and can do ANY addition or subtraction problem you put in front of him!!! I am SO proud of him and for how much he is learning! :) He is quite bright and we love watching his little mind at work! :) I LOVE having a son!!

--We got to spend this past weekend with my family in Osage Beach! It was WONDERFUL ! :) We really enjoyed our time together ! We rented a 3 bedroom condo and it was beautiful!! We shopped, we ate, we talked, we remembered! BLESSED!! :)

--We are enjoying our small group!! We started meeting at our house this past fall, and I was a little concerned about it! But, it has proven to be a blessing to Wyatt and I!! We are very thankful to have such a loving group of friends!!

--Baby shower's! :) (Not for us...yet!:)) We have 6 sweet friends that are expecting babies so we have been knee deep in baby showers!! I LOVE to par-TAY, so it has been a LOT of fun!! Although if you come over and there are still some decorations out, DON'T judge!! :)

Oh my, there is so much more, but this will have to do for now!! I hope you all are enjoying your year so far! It is going by, SO quickly!! ENJOY it!! :)

One of "those" wives...

Have you ever told someone that you need to discuss something with your husband, and they give you the  "You are one of THOSE wives," look?!? This has happened to me several times over the past few weeks and I have been so surprised!! I will admit that I do make most of the plans for our family...I am more likely to chat with our friends throughout the week and I have a pretty good idea where our calender is most of the time!! But, I always, ALWAYS run it past Wyatt before we make any decisions!! Is that old fashioned?! I know that Wyatt works really hard for our family every single day of the week, so I think it is totally respectful to make sure that he is ok with the activities that we do on the weekends!! (This includes family outings and girls' nights out, and really any plans that we make!) Almost always, he is totally agreeable (I have the sweetest husband,) but there have been a few times that he has made a specific request to stay at home, or to plan something different and I am totally ok with that!! I love my husband and I want to honor him in every way I can possibly think of!! There are times we are SO busy that we can hardly juggle our weekly plans, let alone additional plans!! In these times, Wyatt reminds me what is really important and we re-evaluate our plans! I am so thankful for a Godly, loving and wise husband!! :)

My Son

I pretty much think that my son is the c-o-o-l-e-s-t dude in the whole wide world!! He is sweet, spunky, adventurous, hilarious and SO full of love for his family..oh, AND he loves to snuggle!!! He is the perfect little boy for me!! Yes, he is very ornery and quite FULL of mischief  but I cannot imagine my life with him in it!! On Saturday night we had dinner plans with friends, but they had to cancel at the last minute due to sick kiddos, so Wyatt and I decided to go out on a family date night!! We try to spend quality time with our kiddos both individually, and all together as a family, as much as possible!! So we decided to look at the movie list!! The Palace had "Wreck it Ralph" playing so off we went with the plan to SURPRISE our kiddos!! They were quite surprised and SO excited!! I stood in line for the popcorn and drinks and Wyatt and the kiddos went into find out seats!! I was SO excited and surprised that once I got into the theater I found that my SON had saved me a place to sit RIGHT NEXT to him!! (He loves me, and I never question that, but when daddy is home, he loves to buddy up with Wyatt and hang with him being "boys!" Thus my excitement!!:)) I asked him where I was to sit, and he patted the seat right next to him and said "by me mommy!" :) MY HEART overflowed with JOY!! :) I love my little guy!! As soon as the movie came on, he gave me his "I'm worried" look and slipped his hand right into mine, where is stayed for the majority of the movie!! I can't tell you much about the movie because my heart was SO happy!!! I spent most of the movie praying for my little Zack, for his life and for the people that would enter it and leave it all throughout his life!! I prayed for his heart and for God to take it over every single day! I prayed for joy and contentment and obedience!! I prayed and prayed, and it was wonderful!! I am SO blessed to be the mommy of a little boy and a little girl!! :)

Yesterday

Yesterday, my mom and dad and sister and I attended the visitation of a very good friend!! The visitation was for the daddy of one of my sweet childhood friends!! She and I, along with another girl hung out from the time we were 5 year's old until we got to Jr. high! Even after settling into different friendships and taking time to figure out who we were, we were all still very dear friends!! We were the 3 C's! Courtney, Chrystal and Christina!! :) My friend Courtney was an only child...it was SUCH fun to go to her house because we had the run of the place, her mom and dad were very laid back and just enjoyed hearing us laugh and giggle!! They had a three story house and we would run up and down those stairs like lightening in our crazy dress up outfits, our outrageous make-up and our music blaring!! :) Courtney's mom and dad always took us to McDonald's and then over to TCBY, but Joyce would ALWAYS say she needed to "...Count her pennies before we could go!!" I LOVE that phrase, and she always said it with a sweet gleam in her eye!! Courtney's mom, Joyce died about 8 years ago, and now her dad, Larry is gone as well!! I can't stop thinking about her! I am SO thankful for my mom and dad and I couldn't imagine life without them!! I am SO thankful to have a sister, and even though we don't always agree on everything, I know she is always there!! I am thankful for health and for life and for my family!! I am SO thankful for God who loves us and takes care of us at ALL times! I know my sweet friend Courtney is going to be ok, her parents both loved God very much and you could tell that in the way that they lived every day, and she loves God!! Today I am VERY thankful for the life that God has blessed us with!! We have a healthy family, a family who LOVES to love and a Heavenly Father who loves us SO much!!!

Meals

I am not a very good cook!! I know it and I am ok with that!! My mom and sister are AMAZING cook's, they can create just about any gourmet dish out of about 5 ingredients!! I got the crafting/baking gifts, and for them I am SO THANKFUL!!!! I love to be crafty and to make NEW decoration for our house out of the simplest of things!! I also love to bake and measure out ingredients and then enjoy the finished product!! However, since my little family cannot possibly live on decor and dessert alone...I have started really challenging myself to make new meals and enjoy the time I get with my kiddos when they want to help!! There have been some really delicious meals, and some that are not so great!! :) However, meals for my family is not what this post is about!! :):) Gotcha! :)

  Have you ever made a meal for a family that is in need, or that has been through trauma, or even that is just having a rough time!?! God has just recently brought several of these situations to my own families hearts and we have ENJOYED making food for these families in need, together! I would not say that I enjoy cooking, or being in my kitchen all afternoon several days in a row!! Actually I dis-like it greatly, BUT, when God calls you to help, you cannot say no!! God has recently showed me the blessings in helping to provide for these families!! God laid them on my heart and asked me what I was going to do to help!? If, I ask them "How can I help?" I need to be willing to DO something to help...not just ask because it sounds nice! We are all really good that this...it is almost like the "how are you" question that many of us immediately follow up with the quick and easy answer... "Fine!" However, the question often tends to be "If there is anything I can do to help...let me know!" And then we go on with our business and forget about those families in need!! I am here to tell you friends, there is ALWAYS something we can do to help, even if it is something as simple as cooking a meal!! This is a way God stretched me this past week...!! Never ask "if" ALWAYS ask "how!!??" :)

What Matters?

WOW!! It has been a LONG time since I have posted!! :) I have several drafts typed up, but could never perfect just what I wanted to say...so apparently I didn't post them!! Ha!
 
  Of course we have been in the New Year of 2013 for 12 days now which is SO exciting! :) I hope you all rung in the New year with lots of JOY and love!! We got to spend some time with some dear friends and their family (this will hopefully be another post!! We LOVE our New Year's Eve tradition:))

  The week before Christmas I was pretty sick so I had A LOT of thinking and praying time... and there is something that God kept laying on my heart!! I would pray for wisdom and guidance in several different things and He kept bringing to my heart...."What Matters?" "What matters Christina...do any of these things bring ME Glory?" I am constantly thinking about all that we have on our plate as a family, and all that I am doing as a wife, mommy, sister, daughter and friend!! Is what I have committed myself to and my family to for these next few days, weeks, month and possibly years...do they MATTER for God's Kingdom!!?? I desperately want to shout "YES!" but I know that probably wouldn't be true!! I suppose that we all struggle with this, it is kind of our nature...God WANTS us to choose Him!! God wants our attention, our affection and our GLORY to be focused on Him!! One of our BIGGEST goals as a family for this year is to make everything that we do, matter!! Trips to the store, our time at school, time with friends and family...we want that time to MATTER!! :)  I am very excited about how God will lead us this year!!!! :)

Homebody

For anyone who knows me, or our little family, you KNOW we like to be on the GO!! :) We ran around ALL summer long going to different pools, going to SDC and having a variety of play dates here, there and EVERYWHERE!! :) We had the BEST time!! :) But, as we are settling into a school rhythm this fall, I have realized that I LOVE being at HOME with my kiddo's!! Does that sound CRAZY!?! Not at home, like I never realized that I like being a stay at home mommy, I have always enjoyed that, but I have also really enjoying having places to GO!!

   Two weeks ago our sweet little girl started "school!" She goes to school on Monday's and Wednesday's and then I home school her on Tuesday's and Thursday's!! It is going SO well, we both are enjoying having such special time together!! She is my little mini-me so we are the best of friends! :) Today, we made a book of "A's"! We got all crafty creating this little 6 paged book, and as we completed her book, she gave me a huge hug and told me that she LOVES being crafty with me!! It was pure BLISS and made my heart so happy!!! I enjoy SO much having leisurely morning's with her and Zack! We usually start her homework around 9:00 a.m., and we are usually done by 10:30 a.m. or so! Then, we have the whole rest of the day for FUN!! Although we could get out and GO, often we have decided that we would rather stay at home!! I have gotten SO much cleaning done and the kiddos have re-found their favorite toys! We have gotten some extra snuggle time in, and Maddie is leaning to READ! :) When you are on the GO, we often forget about all of the fun we can have at home! We have just had the BEST few weeks!!

  Starting school for Maddie and for Zack and I has been a little bit of an adjustment, but I am SO thankful for the way this year has worked out! I love being at the same school as my daughter and my son...it is a wonderful blessing!! God has His hand in our lives, and it is apparent in SO many ways, but I feel extra blessed by the way He has worked out school for us!

  So, these days I am a homebody!! You are welcome to come over, we LOVE to have company! I will bake for you, and we will have a nice chat!! (I have started making a new Pinterest recipe every week! Some weeks it is a dessert, and sometimes it is dinner!! I will post about this later...but it has been a TON of FUN! I have really gotten out of my cooking routines! My husband is SO pleased!!:))

JOY!

  I have been VERY blessed by a variety of friendships during my lifetime!! Several friendships have come and gone...they have moved, or their season of life has changed!! Many friendships don't stay around forever, but I am thankful for the time I had with these friends!! :)  Although I really dis-liked it when my parents told me that "we can learn from EVERY situation" I totally agree with it!! I have learned SO much about grace and forgiveness from these people! However, some of these friendships are lifelong...I might not get to see these friends all the time, a few of them don't even live in this country, but I know as soon as we see each other, or get to chat, NO time has lapsed between our friendship!! These friends mean the WORLD to me and I am forever thankful for their investment of time in me!!

  I got to spend time with one of my dearest friends just yesterday, and I am so refreshed by the time we got to spend together!!!! My friend Sarah and I have been friends for almost 10 years and our friendship has always been a blessing to me!! We are very much alike, but also very different, and it is in those differences that I am refined and challenged!! Sarah is not afraid to challenge me, in anything that I do or say!! She is always very loving in her words, but she is not afraid to stand up to me, knowing that I usually know better!! She loves Jesus and she loves her husband and I admire her SO much!! We got married within 6 months of each other and our husbands have the same career, so it has been fun over the years to chat with her about life, as we know it (as accountant wives!:)) She was there the days my babies were born and she came to help me on several different occasions, just because she knew I needed it!! Sarah helped me get the nanny job that I had for almost 8 years, and it too was a HUGE blessing to me! :) She has shared in so many JOY's and heartaches!! She is just a dear,dear friend and I cherish the friendship we share!! :)

  A lot of people ask me about friendships, and I don't really know why!!?? I, like many others have had friendships FAIL miserably, and of course they aren't just the other person's fault!! We are ALL messes, sinners saved by grace!! :) BUT...my BEST advice  is always this!! "In order to HAVE good friends, you must BE a good friend!!" Truly!! If you want to have good friends, you must take the initiative to BE a good friend!!! We are ALL busy and caught up in our own lives, but we have to make time for each other...even if it is a phone conversations once a month, or a late night "date" out together!!

 Soooooo, all of that to say... today, I am feeling overwhelming JOY and gratitude for the wonderful and Godly ladies that God has placed in my life!!!

My husband

****DISCLAIMER!!  This is kind of a mushy post, so if you don't like mush, STOP reading this!!!!****

He he! :)

I don't know about you, but I have the BEST conversations with my husband!! There is actually no one I would rather talk to, than him!! He is so loving and understanding, but he also makes me laugh and just "gets" me!! :) Wyatt and I could talk for hours about pretty much anything!! I appreciate that SO much about him!! We just "get" each other!! :) Wyatt never ceases to amaze me!! He is such a hard worker, he sacrifices SO much each day for our family!! God has blessed him with a job that he LOVES, which has made all the difference in our family!! :)

  A few weeks ago, Wyatt was offered a CFO (Chief Financial Operator) position at a bank here in town!! :) I was pretty excited for him!! :):) What an honor it is to have someone call, and ask YOU to be the CFO of their company!! :) However, after a LOT of prayer, and the Godly counsel of dear friends, he decided to turn it down!! I couldn't believe it...it sounded like an AMAZING job, one that my husband has worked VERY hard for!!! But, he told me that he felt like it would be a huge sacrifice for our family, especially at this season of life!! He felt like God has something different in store for him!! WOW!! I am SO unbelievably proud of my man!! He is so diligent and disciplined! He takes his job and our family very seriously and I cannot even believe how loved it makes me feel!! And you know, when I was younger I never thought that diligence and being intentional would make me feel so loved!! We all think that love is a fairy tale... so easy and FUN! And love can be all of those things, but love is also sacrificial and tough. It means following God, even when it is hard!! I am blessed by a husband who desires to follow God, in every area of our lives!! :)

  As we talk through our days and weeks...our activities, our friendships, etc I am very, very thankful that my husband is the head of our household! I am so thankful that he takes his role very seriously!! We are certainly a couple that makes decisions together, but he ultimately make the final decisions on many things!!  I feel entirely blessed that God saw it fit for me to be Wyatt's wife!! :) Thank you God for your unconditional love, shown to me through my husband!! :)

Thankful

As I think about our summer together, I can't help but be SO thankful for all that God has provided for us!! We have gotten to have so many fun adventures together!! We have made so many wonderful memories...it has been amazing and I am SO thankful!! :):) Since this blog is kind of like my own personal diary, I just want to remind myself WHY I am so thankful during this season of our lives!! :)

*Time together, totally un-interrupted!! :)
*Date nights!!!! :):) WHOO-HOO!! :)
*Our 8 year anniversary!! :) WOW!! :)
*3 of the MOST important birthday's in my life!! Wyatt's on June 21st! Maddie's on July 23rd, and my sweet little Zack's birthday is coming up on August 11th!!!
*Time with dear friends!!
*LATE night spades games! :)
*Family time, just our little family of 4, AND time with our families!
*Silver Dollar City
*VBS!
*Date nights out with both my son and daughter!
*Homemade milkshakes
*Rides in the Jeep! :)
*A movie at the Palace!
*NO school for 3 months!!
*Teaching Maddie and Zack to read!
*Teaching M and Z all about chores and earning an allowance!

I feel so blessed by all of these things and SO many more!! Wyatt and I both feel that God has places some very specific friends in our lives for His purpose and we are SO thankful!!

  THANKS God for your many blessings!! The 4 J's are SO THANKFUL!!! :):)

Birthday!

I know I have been REALLY MIA this summer with my blog and I am so sorry!!! :) We are ENJOYING our summer SO much!! We have been so busy with all of the summer time activities we had planned for ourselves!! We have enjoyed a variety of friends, lots of family time, a few short vacations, camp and SO many other things!! We have been SO blessed by this summer!!

  Today, however, has been a day that I have been thinking of ALL summer long!! It is my precious daughters 5th birthday!! :) If you have kiddos, you KNOW what a HUGE day this is for kiddos and their parents!! Maddie has been looking forward to this BIG birthday for an entire year!! And, since today is HER special day, she has gotten to choose everything we have done!! :) Soooooo, today we have enjoyed breakfast at Panera, a couple of hours at Jump Mania and lunch at Pizza Inn!! We are now back at home for naps, and will head out again here in a few hours to celebrate Maddie for the entire evening!! I can't WAIT! :)

 I can't help but think back to 5 years ago when we were waiting for Miss Maddie to come!!! Of course Wyatt stood by my side the entire day, and my family spent the day at the hospital and... and my two best friends were in and out all day!! We were ALL, SO EXCITED about the arrival of Maddie Joy!!! Finally, she made her grand debut weighing at 9 pounds and 5 ounces!! She is beautiful!!! From the very first moment I saw her, I could only imagine what amazing plans God has for her life!! She was send to us for a specific purpose and I am SO THANKFUL that God saw us fit to be her parents!! :) WOW!! What a blessing!!

   I knew that becoming a mommy would change my life, but I never could have imagined how MUCH it would change me!! Being a mommy, has made me a better woman, a better daughter, a better friend!!! Life is no longer about ME!!! It is all about my family and how I can serve them the BEST...and with a happy heart!!!  I'm not going to lie and say that I am completely selfless, I am working on it on a daily basis, and God's graciousness continues to work on my heart, refining me!!! But I do know that God has brought me a long way, and for His faithfulness I am so thankful!! God has blessed our family SO much in these past 5 years!! We have a beautiful home, two cars that work so well, food on our table, clothes to wear and 4 people who LOVE God, and who love each other SO much!!!

" The Lord had done GREAT THINGS for us, and WE are FILLED with JOY!!!!!" Psalm 126:3