We got our family pics taken on Tuesday. Here is a little sneak peak of our time. I can’t say it was the most fun and relaxing time…but what family picture session is, right? In light of that we were pleasantly surprised to actually see some decent photos! Yay for another successful family picture session. And now we don’t have to do it for another year!
This is way easier said than done isn’t it? So I keep it in a place where I can easily be reminded. For I have 6 little eyes watching my every move. They are the best copy cats I know. For better or worse they do what I do. Let it be these that they see. And when they see the opposite, when they see me fall short, which happens more than I’d like to admit may they see me quickly run to the One who freely gives grace and forgiveness. For I have 6 little eyes watching me .
Yesterday Brian and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. So much has happened in that span of time. Kids, jobs, several different states. We have changed a lot, grown a lot and lived a lot in those 10 years. In honor of our wonderful 10 years together here are 10 things that have surprised me or that I now know about marriage.
1. I had no idea something so wonderful could be so hard at the same time and love it all the same.
2. It really took me almost 10 years to accept the things I can not change about Brian and to even appreciate some of those differences.
3. Having kids caused us to step up our intentionality in keeping our marriage first priority.
4. There really is no neutral point in a marriage. You either are moving towards each other or away from each other. But always moving in some direction.
5. We have come to balance each other out in our individual extremes. I’ve slowed down and he’s starting to keep up with me. It works.
6. I had no doubt he was the one but I didn’t really know him. We had a rather short dating/engagement period that was long distance. Now I know him and love him even more.
7. The good times are good but it’s the hard times that have changed us for the better and that I really appreciate having him to lead us. He’s the one I want by my side.
8. We both come from different family backgrounds that have made us who we are-good and bad. But I love what we have taken from each of our own lives to create our own family. It just fits.
9. At the beginning I might have thought we would have had it all figured out by now. But we don’t. Still we are in the best place we’ve ever been in our marriage.
10. At the beginning I probably thought 10 years might not feel that fun and exciting anymore. But it really just keeps getting better. We are just hitting our stride.
And so there it is. My short analysis of the first 10 years of marriage. Can’t wait to see what comes the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10…..
Theia you are still our introvert which we love and appreciate more and more but lately you are coming into your own person. You are becoming more confident and brave in who you are. We love to see you venture out and initiate with new friends and in new surroundings.
You are still the “mother” of your brother and sister. You closely watch what is going on around you and with others and are quick to respond if there is a problem or difference.
You are caring, kind and inquisitive. You know exactly what you want and are quick to tell us if something is not fair.
You have a silly side that balances your seriousness.You are so helpful and responsible.
You still love your “night-night”. Prefer dresses over pants and “comfy clothes” is never an option.
You could eat apples and pretzels for all 3 meals and would never complain. Prefer vanilla over chocolate and love sips of Daddy’s coke.
You love riding your bike and writing “stories” at the kitchen table.
You are my shadow, wanting to help me with everything and asking questions about everything I do.
Theia, you challenge me and draw me in with your big smiles and tight hugs all in one day.
I love you.
Miss Kaia
I love this picture of you because it is totally you being your silly self. You are our free spirit. You are often in your own little world dancing in sunshine and over rainbows. Your smile and belly laugh really do light up a room.
On the flip side you are a feisty one. You are brave, strong and enjoy trying new things. You gracefully bring your sister along in your daring adventures.
You are determined. You do not stop trying once you have your mind set on accomplishing. You do not give up. One of the many things we love to witness about you.
You are so kind, always thinking of others and willing to share or compromise when no one else will.
You love taking care of your babies, preparing for “trips” and making up dances for ballet.
You love your big brother. You are his sidekick and most times go right along with him in whatever he’s doing.
You could eat mac-n-cheese all day long. You are our grazer, never really eating 1 whole meal at a time. You are our chocolate girl.
Still under 30 pounds I can easily pick you up like nothing. But your fiery personality makes up of what you lack in weight.
You love to ride your bike, play with friends and always singing a song, twirling around.
Miss Kaia, your smile melts me and your kisses for no reason steal my heart and make up for how you test my patience to no end.
I love you.
Woo hoo! We have two 4 yr. olds in the house as of Friday! They are BIG girls now and they do not let me forget for one second. All of a sudden there are things they can and can’t do now because they are 4. Or things they can’t wear because they are 4. It really was a sudden change for all of us:)
We had a great day celebrating them. Starting off with birthday cake pancakes, decorated door to their room, special birthday girl chairs to sit in and opening big brother’s present. They were beyond excited to open the Disney princess cash register that was picked for them. Excitement and sugar levels were high from the start and pretty much continued all day long but that is what birthdays are for, right? The girls finally decided on a rainbow birthday party pretty much last minute but I was ok with it because I had not gotten anything for the other 5 themes they suggested and rainbow was by far my favorite. It was a fun and easy party to decorate for. Good old Pinterest had a ton of ideas. Oh Pinterest you won me over again! Unfortunately, I forgot to get a pic of the food table. I choose one or two foods of each rainbow color and displayed it in rainbow fashion. Looked cute. Here are some other pics.
Cake and candy table…
When the kids arrived we had rainbows to make using Dot to Dot markers and bead necklaces or bracelets to make. More than anything I think the rainbow Goldfish and gummies to snack on were what they all liked most.
Yummy cake requested by Theia loaded with gumballs and other rainbow candy.
And because Kaia wanted cupcakes we did rainbow cupcakes with gumballs.
We had a great time celebrating with our friends. We are so thankful to have friends here already that love our girls so much!
So happy birthday to our BIG girls!! Coming up next will be individual posts about each of the girls as I always do on their birthdays. I love to look back each year and see how they’ve changed.
Source: canyoustayfordinner.com via Aubrey on Pinterest
Here’s what is already cooking in my crockpot for dinner tonight-mexican pulled pork tacos. It’s a first time try for this recipe but I’m thinking we’ve got a winner. I’m loving finding new recipes through Pinterest. It’s such a an easy way to keep track of new recipes. No more writing things down. Just pin it!
What have you made from Pinterest lately?
I’m learning and striving to live out what love is. It is in everything we do. It’s apart of us. It’s hard to escape it if you really desire to fully embrace it. Here’s what I’m seeing.
Love is patient…waiting for my independent almost 4 year old to change her outfit again right before it is time to leave.
Love is kind…when a temper tantrum from an over tired child is cutting into my only break of the day.
Love does not envy…choosing happiness for a friend who has what I’ve been praying for.
Love does not boast…when for that small moment things seemed to be going alright and I’m tempted to take all the credit.
Love is not proud…admitting to my husband that I was wrong and asking for forgiveness.
Love is not rude…when I’m tired and done and I’m asked to do one more thing.
Love is not easily angered…during bed time routine when someone needs to go potty again, tell one more story and have another drink of water.
Love keeps no record of wrongs…forgiving others. Freely extending grace.
Love does not delight in evil but in truth… setting my mind on things of truth. Staying in reality where my God is.
Love protects…protecting my family from the pulls of the world to do this, have that, be like this.
Love trusts…that my husband has my best interests at heart.
Love hopes…that my kids see Jesus through me everyday.
Love perseveres…when life as a wife and a mom is hard.
For the first time in a long while I am not in women’s group bible study. Usually, starting bible study is part of the “getting back into the normal routine” after summer. But this Fall I didn’t really feel like that is where God was calling me so I opted out. I didn’t really know what that meant but I went with it, trusting that He would provide for me the things that I love about being in group bible study. Low and behold He did! About the same time I signed up for Maximize Your Mornings I came across the bible study that goes along with the morning groups. Even though I’ve been a part of the groups before I didn’t know about the coinciding bible study at Do Not Depart. Sometimes I can be a little slow on the uptake. This Fall the bible study is Abiding Fruit, all about….you guessed it, spiritual fruit. We are 3 weeks into the study and I am loving it! Not only is it wonderfully written by Katie and Lara I know this is right where God wanted me.
In these last few weeks we have studied 3 different passages clearing showing me that I have a choice. And to me He has made it clear that there are two options: either I am with Him or I am not.
I can walk in the Spirit or chose to give into my sinful nature.
I can keep in step or run ahead and eventually get lost.
I can remain in Him and my joy will be complete or not and be cut off.
I can belong to Him or to myself, others, the world.
I can remain in Him and bear much fruit or not and wither away.
Yes, we have a choice and it seems pretty black and white. Option A or option B. It’s still hard though, isn’t it? I often feel like the author of Romans Paul who says “Why do I do exactly what I don’t want to do?!?”
Why do I chose my way over His?
Why do I lose my patience so easily with the demands and constant questions from little mouths?
Why do I lack self control when I am trying to teach those little people about self control?
Why do I fall into the trap of performing and pleasing others?
Why do I get so frustrated with my husband for something when I did the exact same thing yesterday?
So yes, we have a choice that seems so clear maybe even easy it is so clear. But no. It’s hard to follow on a day to day, moment by moment basis. My new awareness of how much and how often I need Him has brought me to my knees. I am so thankful He gets it, so thankful He gets me and so thankful that grace is plentiful. My new little chant that is often going through my head now is “keep in step”. Just keep moving toward Him, with Him, by Him. Keep in step. If you come in our kitchen you see these words written on a white board alongside my grocery list. I need these words in my head all the time.
How are you doing keeping in step these days?
Today I’m linking up with others who are sharing their thoughts about what they are learning. Click on over to Do Not Depart to hear more. Or even join us!
And we are home….
After an amazing and wonderful weekend away celebrating 10 years of marriage we are home! I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. Thankful that we are even in a position to be celebrating 10 years of marriage. I realize that in itself is a gift. Yeah us! Marriage is hard, am I right? But then you get to a point, like 10 years and you get to look back on all that God has done in and through each of you over the course of time and it is awesome. We had so much fun just being together, exploring a new city to us. We are all about food so that is what the majority of our trip was focused on. And let me tell you all 3 nights we rocked it! Such amazing choices. Mouth watering as I am re-living each of our dinners in my mind. I ran a couple of times and loved it! We did a little shopping here and there. Such a treat. A LOT of walking. Some relaxing at our pretty snazzy hotel. More than anything I loved walking around the city at night with Brian by my side. That was my favorite.
So there it is our tenth anniversary trip done. I will be thinking about this trip for a long while with such good memories. And thanks to my mom who came to stay with the kiddos. They all had a great time and I didn’t worry once. That is priceless.
And now after 3 weekends being in 3 different states this momma is ready to put her suitcase away for awhile. My traveling days are over. It’s the husbands turn now. The journey continues…