Random Friday

1) Have you missed me?  :)  I have SO missed blogging, but life has been NUTS lately.  My transition to two has been pretty easy up until the last few weeks and then real fun has begun!  My sweet Brooksie has just been cranky.  He is working on a mouth full of teeth and he wants to get up and move so bad!  He has managed to develop an army crawl that gets him where he wants to go and he is making progress on getting his belly of the floor.  He is also pulling up on everything but isn't stable on anything yet, so he has just needed some extra mommy attention.  I remind myself often that this to shall pass!  In the meantime, my time is spent playing with boys during awake times and working on the house, laundry, etc. during nap times.  It actually has been a good reminder of where my time and energy needs to be focused.

Look what I found when I went in to get him from his nap this week!

2) How was your Valentine's Day?  We do V-Day a little low key around her, but it was still a great day!  Drew had a fun party at his Mother's Morning Out and Hal picked up dinner on the way home. We had cooked steaks together on Sunday night and are hoping to get a Date Night this weekend.

The best pic I could do on V-Day!

3) I put a new verse on my chalkboard in the kitchen this week.  I need this reminder daily if not hourly. Whether it is in regards to disciplining my toddler or getting myself out of bed in the morning to be in God's word, I need to remind myself that I will reap what I sow.

^"8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Random Friday

1) I can't tell you how much I enjoyed my time in DC with Sarah.  Sleeping without a monitor by bedside was a nice break! It was so fun to spend time shopping and have long conversations about anything from the funny things we did when we were roommates to menu planning!  As I left DC, I thought how timely it had been that the School of Fish post has been on (in)courage that week.  My friendship with Sarah is a huge blessing and I must admit that sometimes I take the blessing of friendships for granted.  I slept, shopped talked, and ate yummy food for 4 days, but I was very ready to get home to my boys!  

In front of the White House ... on a COLD and WINDY day.

2) This week we have been in Arkansas for me to spend some time at the bank.  This is one of those trips that makes me really wish that we lived here!  I was able to go to Bible Study with mom on Wednesday and I couldn't help but wish that it was something I was able to do every week.  In those moments, I must remind myself, that no matter what wonderful scenarios I can dream up in my mind, the absolute only place I want to be is right in the middle of God's will and right now for us, that is Mississippi, not Arkansas. I love that peace that follows when we submit our will to His will.  

The boys with their Great Maw Maw

3) I feel like my world is getting ready to change.  Brooks is oh so close to crawling.  His big brother was never really one who messed with things he wasn't supposed to.  Brooks will be different.  The day I walked into his room and found him pulling on his curtains (remember he isn't crawling YET) I knew that he was going to get into everything. I think that I better start moving things to higher ground as soon as I get home.
4) I haven't been on my computer all week.  No blogging. No blog reading. No Facebook. No Twitter. I must admit it has been nice.  I think I need a social media break every once in a while.

Random Friday

A few random thoughts for this chilly Friday morning!

Carrots:  I am pretty sure I had forgotten what real carrots looked like or what they tasted like!  It had been YEARS since I had purchased a whole carrot.  A recipe I was working on called for large carrots, so I grabbed a bunch, peeled them, and roasted them.  They tasted so yummy and different than baby carrots.  And, I hate to burst any bubbles but I have learned that baby carrots are really just regular carrots cut down.  So, go grab a bag of plain ole’ large carrots, pull out your peeler, and save a few $$$. 

Travel:  One week from today, I will be in DC!  I am leaving next Thursday to spend a long weekend with my good friend Sarah! (And her husband Jay, too!)  I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to some good girl time.  This is the longest I have been away from either one of my boys.  I know I am going to miss them like crazy, but I am looking forward to getting a little rest and good encouragement from a friend who challenges me to grow spiritually.  I am sure we are going to squeeze a little shopping in some where. :)  My mom will be coming down to help Hal with the boys.  Between daddy and grammy, I am leaving them in very capable hands!

On Sarah's wedding day ... I need a better picture. :)

Menu Plans: I am working on my menu plans for the next 3 weeks today!  Since I will be out of town next week, I am trying to make things easier for my mom and Hal.  The next two weeks after that are going to be a little nuts, so I am trying to go ahead and get those planned out as well.  We will see how it goes! 

Books:  Don’t forgot to enter the giveaway for Money Saving Mom’s new book!  Just click here and see how to enter.

Have a great weekend my friends!

Random Friday: 11/11/11

11/11/11 and Veterans Day ... I couldn’t resist a Random Friday post and a few cute pics of my boys!  

-I am thankful for the veterans in my family: both of my grandfathers, my dad, my aunt Bee, and my brother-in-law Ed. 


-This is a great post from Femina on the loving and respecting your calling as a wife and a mother.  It was both a challenge and encouragement to me as I read it this morning.

-Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a custom Family Tree Canvas from my friends at Peace, Love, and Crafts.  It is easy to enter!  Simply enter your information into the Rafflecopter form and then do a few small tasks such as leaving me a comment and telling me something you are thankful for.

-We are still working hard on eating well around here.  This week I was able to wear a pair of jeans I wore before little brother was born ... woohoo!  Now my goal is to make it to my pre-big brother size which is probably going to be a little harder to achieve.  I have really been thinking about how I am going to make it through the holidays and take more weight off.  I love this post by Heather today.  It gives practical help for holiday eating.

-We have a busy few weeks coming up with D’s 3rd birthday, Thanksgiving, and hopefully a trip to St. Louis to watch my brother’s team play in the Missouri State Championship game.

-Studying Acts and the life of Paul has been amazing the last few weeks.  I am looking forward to sharing about my Acts journey with you soon.  I just haven’t found the time to get with my computer and write as much the last few weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Random Friday

Sickness: Pedialyte, mounds of sheets/towels/jammies, and Lysol: can you guess what has been going on in our house the last 24 hours?  Yep, a stomach virus.  Big brother has been a sick little boy.  I am hoping we are nearing the end and praying that little brother doesn’t come down with it.

Rangers vs. Cardinals: I love reading the Facebook status updates during the World Series.  Growing up in Arkansas, most of my family and friends are Cardinal fans since that is probably the closest MLB team to us and of course our Texas friends are Rangers fans.  It is comical to read the comments from the opposing sides.  Personally, I am pulling for the Cardinals, but I will admit that I haven’t watched a game of the World Series.

Motherhood Is a Calling: I ran across this article again this week.  When I first read it, I wrote these last two paragraphs out on the chalkboard in my kitchen.  It was especially good to read after battling the sickness with D!

"Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone."

Have a great weekend!!

Random Friday

• Yesterday was probably my most challenging day to date dealing with a headstrong toddler.  The discipline was frequent and tears were shed by both of us. In my short experience of being a mother, consistency is by far the hardest element of parenting to me.  It is so easy to want to let it slide at the end of the day when you are both tired.  I have learned the lesson in the past that if you let it slide, it makes it harder to deal with the next day.  This momma was exhausted when her head hit the pillow last night and grateful that His mercies were new today.

• One our favorite restaurants has these things called WikiStiks for the kids to play with at the table.  The come in different colors and you can bend them into different shapes. We made the boys glasses while waiting on our Sunday lunch.  That is about as crafty as their poor parents get, but aren't they just precious??

• Don’t forget to share your Growth Moments. You can email them to me and if you are willing, we will share them on R&R.  We can learn so much from each other’s experiences and it is amazing to see how similar our struggles and victories are.

• I saw this story on GMA yesterday.  I hate to tell Lara, but I was putting contact paper on my locker in the 90’s!  Granted, I didn’t have a chandelier or shag carpet, but my locker looked good!

• Have a great weekend!