PB & J

Peanut....Peanut Butter and Jelly! Oh how we love Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches in our house! Nick eats one at least once a week and I love them too. They are a staple here. If a dinner turns out to be not so good - what do we do? Eat a PBJ :-) I think Sophie is burned out on them, because now she has decided she only wants a jelly sandwich! Luke had his first one last week and of course he loved it. I tore it in little pieces and he gobbled it up very quickly. It made an ooey gooey mess on his hands and face and he loved that too! Sometimes I wonder...what would we do without our PB&J??


"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."
Psalm 34:8

Facebook

Well....I joined Facebook and now I have been totally consumed with it! It has been so neat to reconnect with old friends and see photos of them and their families. I have been trying to figure it out since Saturday and it has been a lot of fun. I feel like I am having a hard time tearing myself away from it. Here it is 10 o'clock at night and Sophie and Luke are still up, because Nick and I have both been on Facebook! They are usually in bed by 9 or 9:30! It really is a lot of fun though and such a blessing to see what my old friends are up to: where they work, if they are married and/or have children, where they live, etc. I am finding out that I have friends that live all over so now I want to go visit them all! Anywho...I felt I had neglected my blog so I wanted to write about what I have been up to. I have so many other things I want to write about in my blog, but it must wait for now...I must get my kiddos to bed!

"I thank my God every time I remember you."
Philippians 1:3

My Little Big Girl

Sophie's PreK graduation was today and it was so sweet. The children sang songs about their Mommys, Daddys, finishing preschool, and being all ready for Kindergarten. She even received a diploma! We had lunch afterwards that all the parents helped with. I cried when she sang and when her teacher spoke about the year and how she is going to miss them. I cried when she got her diploma and when I looked around her classroom and saw how empty it looks without their beautiful artwork on the wall. It was sad, but a good sad. It is bittersweet. She is finished with preschool, but totally ready for Kindergarten. I can't believe my little girl is ready for Kindergarten! She is such a big girl, but is still little to me. She has grown so much in the past year and is truly ready for school next year. It is amazing how fast she has grown into the little young lady she is today. I can't wait to see what Kindergarten has in store for her. She is going to love it I know!


"Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:5

At home in the mountains

"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him."
Psalm 95:4
Oh how I love the mountains! It is a love that is hard for me to explain. There is a feeling I get when I am in the mountains that is indescribable. It is like they call out my name and I feel drawn to them. When I go I feel at home and at peace. I am not sure why I have such a love for the mountains, but it started long ago. I wonder if it is, because I came to know Christ as my personal savior and closest friend in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina or if it is, because my parents would take me to the North Georgia mountains each Fall to get apples, pan for gold, or go to a festival. Some of my life's most fondest and amazing memories were shared in the mountains. I remember going to Europe in high school and falling in love with the mountains of Switzerland and Austria. I had never seen mountains so massive and gorgeous. They were absolutely amazing to me and I remember thinking...I could live here! Even though I was thousands of miles away from my true home, I felt at home there, because I was in the mountains. In 2005 Nick and I went to Montana for our 5 year anniversary trip. We had heard about Glacier National Park and how beautiful it was and decided that was where we needed to go for our anniversary. I knew before we went that I would love it, because of course it is in the mountains. However, I had no idea how amazing it would truly be. If you ever have a chance to go to Glacier National Park you must go. It is breath taking. Nick and I fell in love with it and are determined to one day live in Montana. It was such a special trip for us, because we got to hike all throughout the park experiencing God's beautiful creation together. I can't explain the feeling that I had while I was there - I felt it calling my name. I felt like I had come home. I think for me the mountains are a true vision of God's glory, power, and beauty. When I see them I feel His presence overwhelm me and have a stronger understanding of His great love for me.

"Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples." John 6:3

An Answered Prayer

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Prayer time at our house is always special. It usually occurs right before Sophie goes to bed. Sometimes Luke is with us, but usually he is already asleep. Sophie will sometimes say the prayers herself, but usually Nick or I say them. We are always praying for friends and family who have special needs. For many months now we have been praying for some very special friends of ours. They are a couple who greatly desire to have children. We had prayed faithfully for them, but it seemed that they could not get pregnant. I was so afraid that it just wasn't going to happen for them and my heart was broken for them. I knew how much they desired to be parents and for God to bless them with children so we continued to pray asking God to bless them with a child. Sophie knows the couple and she would hear us pray for them and would join us in the prayer. A few days ago I got a call from my friend. She is pregnant! I was thrilled and I ran to tell Sophie. She of course was excited and said, "Momma we prayed for them!" I said, "I know, God answered our prayers, isn't that exciting!" God is good...not only has he blessed this sweet couple with a precious baby, but He spoke to Sophie and showed her His faithfulness in answering our prayers for them. Now our prayers are for a healthy pregnancy that leads to a healthy baby boy or girl.

My Little Man

My sweet little Luke...he is so precious to me! He wakes up happy in the morning always so glad to see me. He is always smiling (unless he really doesn't want to get in his stroller or car seat) and laughing. He has such a sweetheart. He loves to walk around and explore. This is definitely his favorite thing to do. When I am not around or he can't see me he constantly says - "Mama" which sounds little more like "Mauma" :-) He'll say it over and over - sometimes with a smile and sometimes with great concern - as to say "Where are you?" He squints his eyes a lot and squeezes his little fingers together and holds his arms out when he is ready for me to pick him up. This week he has started to give lots of hugs. He runs up and hugs my legs. He hugs my waist while I am on the computer - of course I love it! One of his favorite things is a little small baby blue Bible that my sister got him for a Christening gift. It has a shiny silver cross on the front and he loves it. Tonight he said "Bible" (sounded more like "Bi-bull") as he was carrying it...so sweet. I am so blessed by my little man - his loving heart and sweet spirit. Some of his favorite words are: Mama, Daddy, shoes, fish, Uh Oh Spaghetti Oh, Sissy (for his sister),Daisy (for our dog), Hi There, By By, See ya later, and Hi there. He is always making us smile and laugh. When we are out he smiles and waves at the people he sees and they are always smiling back and talking about that hair! Oh the hair - bright red, curly, and soft - who can resist it? I just love my little man. (Photo above taken when he was just a few days old after a bath)

"But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:16

A Special Day

Today Sophie's preschool had a Mother's Day Tea for all the moms and it was the sweetest thing! They had the two four year old classes join together and the children sang to us four precious songs (they had been practicing the songs for weeks). After they sang to us they had lunch fixed for each one of us that the children helped prepare! We had yellow table cloths, flowers in the center of the table, and special place mats that they had made with our hand prints and our child's hand prints on them with a special poem. They gave us little cookbooks with each child's favorite recipe in them and we also got a hand painted wooded flowerpot frame with our child's photo in it. We ate turkey wraps, chocolate chip muffins, lemon truffles covered in white chocolate (my favorite), chips, sweet tea, graham crackers with icing and sprinkles, and also fruit salad - so yummy! I was so blown away and blessed by the whole thing, especially that the school and the teachers had spent so much time on all of it for us. We even had handmade corsages! Everything was so special and precious - I just loved it and of course cried and gave Sophie tons of hugs and kisses. What I loved about it too was the Sophie was soooo proud of all she had done in school for us and was so excited for me to see it. It really showed me how much she loves and appreciates me as a mom. Mother's Day is really my most favorite time of the year now that I have children. I get to celebrate being a mom and get to spend all day with my family. I love it! I had such a great time today at Sophie's school and the exciting thing is that I still get Mother's Day on Sunday as well. I can't wait!

Finally....

I have wanted to create a blog for sometime now and I have finally done it! I am very excited about it. I am always thinking about things to write in a blog, but just hadn't created it yet! I of course am supposed to be cleaning house, but am now distracted by my new blog - the story of my life (always distracted away from cleaning)! I am looking forward to writing about how I see God move in and through my daily life, how my children challenge and bless me each day, and of course sharing lots of photos of my little family. Today is Monday and it was a really good day. I had lots of time at home with the kiddos this afternoon and we had fun. I am loving the weather right now and the flowers that are in bloom everywhere! Sophie and Luke love to play outside which is great for me, because I love being out there with them.
My little guy Luke got into our Memory game box today and there were pieces everywhere - but he loved it. He kept coming up to me while I was at the computer and would give me a little hug...soooo sweet! He is 14 months old today and is always smiling and giving lots of love to everyone. What a blessing he is! I certainly feel the love of God through the love my children give me each day. Sophie also loves to give hugs and kisses regularly and she always has. I enjoy it so much, because I know it won't last forever.
I actually had a short quiet time today in the car before I had to get Luke from Mom's morning out and Sophie from school. I was so excited as I don't seem to have quiet times as much as I would like. I have been struggling with this for sometime now. I so desire to spend time time with the Lord each day, but somehow it gets to the end of the day and I am dragging myself to bed so exhausted. I really want to be disciplined and find a time each day that I do it regularly. I just recently started getting up earlier 2 to 3 days a week to exercise - so I am now trying to get used to that. One day soon I am hoping to get up even earlier and have my quiet time each day. For those of you who know me well know that this is a huge struggle!! I am definitely not a morning person, but have also been praying that God would help me change my crazy sleep schedule and be more of a morning person and less of a night owl. Anywho...I did get to have a quiet time today and I wanted to share some of the scripture I read: "Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength ; seek his face always." Psalm 105:3-4 More confirmation for me to continually seek His face through my quiet time, prayers, and just noticing Him in everyday things - through the love of my children and husband, a sweet note/thought from a friend and or family member, flowers in bloom and green leaves on the trees, hitting all the green lights when running right on time to pick Sophie up from school (ha!) and of course so many other things. God is just so good to me and I don't want to miss out on anything from Him.