Look a-likes

I always knew BubbaJ looked like Sissy and Precious.  I just didn't realize exactly how much until I was looking at some old photos.


BubbaJ



 

 



Sissy



Precious



Missed Opportunity

I realized that the other day God gave me an opportunity to bring Him some glory, but I totally missed it.  So this is me trying to make up for that.

I have always been really shy.  No I mean REALLY shy.  I barely talked in school until around junior high.  Even after that I had one friend that was a crutch for me.  She was very social and I just sort of hung around her to break the ice.  Dating my husband really pushed me because he is extremely social.  I was pushed into a huge extended family and lots and lots of friends.  These are all baby steps that God has used to work through my anxiety.  Moving here was another step in that process.  I was forced to make new friends and be around people I didn't know all the time.  God connected me with a wonderful group of Bible study women.  Women who encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone.  Mainly to learn to pray out loud.  I realize this comes very natural to some people and is very stressful for others.  We would stand in a circle and pray for the person next to us.  No judgement, no expectations, no pressure.  It was amazing.  I grew so much that year.  Around the same time me and a friend of mine ended up being co-coordinators of our local MOPS group.  I was definitely not equipped for this role, but God showed me that He doesn't always prepare us before He calls us to do something.  Sometimes the call comes first and He simply provides as it's needed.  He gave me the courage to not only speak in front of a group of 20-30 women, but also to pray in front of them.  I've gotten to know Him and rely on Him even more since then.

Sunday was the first day of a new class at church that two friends of mine and I put together.  I ended up starting us off with a prayer and some discussion.  Four years ago this would not have happened.  A woman I've known since then came up to me after class and told me how impressed she was that I had done that because I used to be so shy.  I should have told her how God has been working on that in me and how God gives me courage every time I have to speak in front of people.  But all I said was, "Yeah, it's totally outside of my comfort zone."  How could I not give God the credit for that.  He is the only reason I can do it.  Without Him I would be shying away in the corner like I used to.  I would be nothing without Him. 

Father,  Thank you for standing by me through every step of my life.  For giving me strength and courage when I need it most.  Thank you for putting my husband and I together.  For bringing that group of women together at that time in my life.  Thank you for continuing to work in me every single day.  I am nothing without you.  Amen.

Things I Hope I Never Forget Cont.

Sissy:  The way you get tears in your eyes when you think about how much you love your mom and dad or when you see someone else hurting.  You have such a big heart.  I know God will use that to His glory some day.

No Sleep

Bubba J has not been sleeping well lately.  I know, I know, he's a baby and that's what babies do.  It's easy to say that when you're not smack in the middle of it.  Yesterday, I was talking to a friend about how he is not sleeping and there is no reason for it.  She shared with me how God had worked in her when her kids were babies.  I believe her words were, "There's a reason.  It may not have anything to do with Bubba J, but there's a reason."  When she was going through this she learned that if she was up at night with the kids, God would either give her time the next day for a nap or give her the strength to get through the day.  So last night when Bubba J was up three times, I chose to trust God that he would get me through today.  To my surprise this morning, I woke up at 7:10 to my husband getting the kids ready.  He told me to go back to sleep and he would take the kids to school.  It was such a blessing to me and confirmed that I need to trust God for my strength and comfort.  Both my friend and my husband allowed God to use them in very different ways.  Praise God for Christian friends and a wonderful husband.

A couple of things I've learned while jogging

So I'm new to jogging, but I've already made a few observations.

1.  People do their laundry at night, so I get to smell lavender and springtime as I jog.

2.  You only notice the wind when you're running against it.

3.  The street lights remind me of being a kid.  The whole, be home when the street lights come on thing.  Having fun with my friends, no worries, and not realizing how lucky I was to not have any responsibilities.

Talk Radio

If you remember not long ago, I joined a new group.  Nerds.  I started to enjoy reading.  Well, now I have crossed over into a new age group.  Old!!  No, I did not have a birthday.  I started enjoying Christian talk radio.  Only old people like that, right?  So, I guess I'm old.

Things I Never Want to Forget Cont.

The way Bubba J flaps his arms when he is SO excited!

As we were reading a book yesterday, there were some kids eating cookies in it.  Sissy says, "Hey, no fair."  Like she should get a cookie too.

Fantastic Find Friday on Steroids

I hit the best garage sale today.  Here is all the loot I came away with:

My favorite find is a dress.  Precious tried on many like it this weekend when I took her shopping for her birthday.  They all cost around $40.  I got this one for $1.  Yeah, that's right, $1!

He Speaks

When I was a young Christian it was hard for me to understand how God could actually speak to us.  I sort of thought people who said that were a little crazy.  As my relationship with God has grown and strengthened, He has given me the privelege of hearing Him speak more and more.  Sometimes it is an ever-so-slight nudge, but yesterday I felt like He was scolding, almost yelling, at me. 

I know that the Bible says not to worry about anything. 

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"

Matthew 6:27  "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

But why is it that I seem to give myself a pass when it comes to my kids?  Because, after all, what good mother wouldn't worry about her kids?  Precious has been having a little girlfriend drama going on at school and it put me into a worry talespin.  I spent most of the day yesterday trying to figure out how to fix her problem.  And that's when God started yelling.  I have to learn to trust Him with my kids.  Just think how many lessons I would keep them from having by trying to fix everything for them.  We all want our kids to grow up to be good people.  Did you ever stop and think about how that will happen?  How did you learn your life's most important lessons?  God knows we learn so much better through experiences.  I can think of many times in my life when God has allowed me to go through a valley in order to learn a lesson and come out on the other side a better person.  I want my girls to be better people.  So I stopped worrying, got down on my knees, and turned Precious' situation over to Him.  Even if that meant she had to walk through a valley with only God by her side.  I also want Precious to know that she is smart enough and kind enough to handle these situations without me.  I'll still keep a good line of communication open with her though.  Just in case she needs her momma for something.

P.S.  Turns out the situation pretty much resolved itself while she was at school.  I was worrying about it when it wasn't even an issue anymore.

It has always been hard for me to put into words the peace I feel about sending my kids to public school.  I knwo that's what God's plan is for my family, but trying to explain it to someone else has always eluded me.  My friend sent her first child to kindergarten this year and posted this on her blog.  It happened to be the entry in the book she was reading for a few days before her daughter's first day at school.  It put into words the feelings that I have about letting go of my kids so that they can become better people.  It is from the Jesus Calling book by Sarah Young.

"Entrust your loved ones to Me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. If you let your loved one become an idol in your heart, you endanger that one - as well as yourself."

"When you release loved ones to Me, you are free to cling to My hand. As you entrust others into My care, I am free to shower blessings on them. My Presence will go with them wherever they go, and I will give them rest. This same Presence stays with you as you relax and place your trust in Me. Watch and see what I will do."

Father, As I cling to you for comfort and peace, please use every experience my kids have for your glory.  Shower them with all the blessings that only you can give.  Show our family your overwhelming, magnificent glory and grace.  Amen.

Bubba J

My brother-in-law was visiting a few weekends ago, so I was telling him the story about when I said, "Bubba!"  in a scolding tone and my husband turned around even though I was talking to Babby Bubba.  I have always called my husband Bubba and that has carried over to our son. My brother-in-law decided the baby should be Bubba Junior or Bubba J, so from now on Babby Bubba will be Bubba J:)

I'm a different mom this time.

I know people always say that when you have kids far apart, you change the way you parent, but I never thought I'd be one of those parents.  We were deliberate about everything we did with the kids.  Every decision we made, we thought about carefully before we made it.  Why would we do anything differently?  But I can't forget all the things I've learned and stories I've heard since the girls were little.  I can't forget about my friend telling me about the babies in Ethiopia that don't cry because no one ever comes.  I can't forget about the many friends that I have that have lost precious babies before they ever got to meet them.  I can't forget how fast this time goes by.  How quickly my girls have become young ladies.  So when Baby Bubba is crying, I will pick him up.  When he wakes up in the middle of the night (even though he should be fine),  I will go feed him, rock him, or just snuggle him.  Later, I'll read him that book for the tenth time today and play monster trucks or dinosaurs for a little longer.  Because I can't forget.

Things I NEVER Want to Forget

I wish I could put all of these things in one post, but I can't think of them all at once, so I am going to start a series of things about the kids that I hope I never forget.

Baby Bubba:
The way he reaches for my face and grabs hold like he never wants to let go.
The way it takes all of his concentration to hold onto a small object and move it from hand to hand.
The feeling I get when he's fussing and I'm the only one that can make him smile:)
The way he nuzzles my shoulder when he's so tired but won't go to sleep.

Sissy: 
The way she hugs me so tight in the morning before school and in the afternoon afterward like she truly missed me while she was gone all day.  If you've never gotten to be on the receiving end of one of her hugs, she gives the best bear hugs ever!

Precious: 
The way she sees the good in people no matter what.  She loves people that have hurt her with all the love that she did before they hurt her.  I could take a lesson from that.

Sewing Project

Here is what I spent part of my day doing today.  I saw this on Pinterest and thought, "I can make that."  One of my friends makes a wrap similar to the Moby that I have and LOVE, but sometimes when I'm just running in to a store to grab a few things it takes too long to get on.  This, I can simply put over my head and slip Baby Bubba in and go.  I already used it once and it worked really well.

First Day of School

10 Years Scares Me

This month my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.  I wish this was going to be a mushy post where I say how much I love him and how wonderful marriage is.  I do love him very much and marriage is wonderful, but this post is not about that.  I know I should be whole-heartedly celebrating, but there's something in the back of my mind that keeps saying, "The best years are behind you."  I have heard of a lot of marriages that make it to 10 years.  It's after that that things seem to fall apart.  Whether it's an affair, financial problems, or just growing apart, people get divorced.  I am trying to work through that fear as we speak.  I don't fear that my husband will have an affair or that we'll have financial problems or that we'll grow apart.  I know our relationship is strong and we are both committed to working through any problems that might creep up.  This fear is simply an unsubstantiated attack.  An attack by the Evil One.  So, I'm trying to use a technique that a friend taught me at MOPS(Mothers of Preschoolers).  Replace fear with truth.  Here goes:

My husband and I love each other very much.
We both agreed when we got married(and still do) that "divorce" is not in our vocabulary.
Our children have added to the joy that we have in our lives.
We can work through anything with God's help.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for bringing my husband and I together.  I would not be whole without him.  As I look back, I can see how you led us to each other and prepared my heart to meet him.  Thank you for using our circumstances to bring us closer together through the last 10 years and for being with us as we have made this journey together.  Your constant reminder that only you can meet all my needs has made me a better wife.  Thank you for the many blessings you have given us, especially our kids.  I could not have picked a better father for them.  Please continue to be with us, grow us, and bless us for the next 10 years too. 
In Jesus Name, Amen.

Happy Tooth Day!

Sissy lost her first tooth last night. It took her a while to loose a tooth so the whole family was excited for her. Precious threw her a loosing-your-first-tooth party complete with a happy tooth day card. All the important people were in attendance. Doggy, Kitty, and Bunny all cleared their schedules to attend. Sissy thought she was big stuff. Good thing the tooth fairy remembered to come.


Speaking of tooth fairy, Precious figured out last night that if Santa wasn't real, then the tooth fairy probably wasn't either. She could barely contain herself as we went to bed last night. Hopefully she can keep her mouth shut long enough for Sissy to have some fun with it.

Sissyisms

Sissy:  "Some people are crazy!  They don't like ice cream."

Sissy:  "I love God a million degrees.  And then even more than that."

I love her SO much!!

Mud Soup

When I picked the girls up from school today, I told them we were going to make dirt cake.  My kids are so deprived because they've never had it before.  They both stuck their tongues out and said, "Blah, we don't want to eat that!"  Precious kept asking me if we were really going to eat the "mud soup."  It was hilarious!

Last weekend my husband took a weekend to go fishing with the guys.  He doesn't do this very often so I highly encourage it when the opportunity presents itself.  And that's why, even though he is not much of a fisherman, he jetted off to Oklahoma to go spoonbill fishing.  Neither one of us really knew what a spoonbill was or how you fish for them.  Imagine my surprise when he texted me this picture on Saturday

So that's what a spoonbill is!!  Each of the three guys caught four of these huge fish.  You catch them by "snagging"  which is basically dragging a fishing line with a bunch of hooks on it through the water hoping you'll "snag" one of these big puppies.  They can only keep one fish each according to state law and the state cleans them for you because they harvest the caviar for themselves.  Works out for everyone:)  I'll have to update this post after we have a fish fry and let you know how they taste, although I have heard they aren't very good.  I'm sure the guys will be walking around with their chests puffed up that day though because they actually caught our supper for us.  And before you get to feeling too sorry for me, the kids and I spent the night at my parent's house.  The girls got to play with their cousins and Baby Bubba got Grammy and Auntie snuggles.  I got some much needed girltalk with my mom and sister.

Nursing in Public

This topic has come to mind since I am nursing a newborn and don't always have an extra 30 minutes to blow sitting in the car feeding my baby when we are out-and-about.  With my first baby, I would have died at the thought of nursing in front of anyone other than my husband, mother, and sister.  Then with my second, I was okay nursing in front of all of our family (covered of course).  Now that I am much wiser and much more comfortable with myself, I will nurse in a public place.  I am still self-conscious about it, but I decided I shouldn't live my life a certain way because of other people's opinions.  Then my friend told me a story about her friend.  She was nursing in a restaurant near here and their waiter I'm sure very innocently asked her if she would go to the restroom to nurse.  He thought he was being so nice by adding that they had put a chair in there for her.  Apparently the people at the table next to them had complained.  Part of me gets furious when I hear this because 1) she has every legal right to nurse there and 2) there is nothing gross or unnatural about nursing your baby.  The other part of me makes excuses like, "They've just never been around a nursing mother." and "They're probably just really young."  Luckily this woman's husband stuck up for her and she was confident enough to handle the situation.  I probably would have gone crying to my car never to return.  So now I'm trying to prepare myself with something to say if I am ever in that situation.  I decided I should tell the waiter to tell the people complaining that they are welcome to eat their meal in the restroom because my baby will not be eating in there.  Have any of you ever been put in this situation or something similar?  What did you do or say?

Sissyisms

Grandma is staying with us while we await the arrival of Baby Bubba so she can stay with the girls while we are in the hospital.  She has been knitting a blanket for some friends of ours for a wedding gift and Sissy was full of questions.  Now, according to Sissy, grandma is knitting a "napkin" which translates afghan.  Grandma keeps correcting her but she finally just told grandma that she knew what it was, but she was going to call it a napkin.


She also always talks about being "born."  She has said this enough that the whole family knows she means that she's bored and we have given up on correcting her.  Well, the other day, Precious was talking about the baby being born.  Sissy said with a confused look on her face, "I don't think the baby will be born.  He'll be having lots of fun."

My 'push' playlist

Have I mentioned that I am really nervous about delivering this baby?  The anxiety keeps increasing as I get closer and closer to my due date.  One of the things I am doing to try to relax during pregnancy is putting together a playlist of some of my favorite songs that will hopefully take my mind off all the PAIN.  Here are the songs I have so far:

Better Than A Hallelujah - Amy Grant
Blink - Revive
Born Again - Third Day
Butterfly Fly Away - Miley Cyrus (I have two young girls.  What else can I say?)
The Climb - Miley again
By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North
City On Our Knees - Tobymac
Finally Home - MercyMe
Free To Be Me - Francesca Battistelli
Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath
God of Wonders - Rebecca St. James
Holy Is The Lord - Chris Tomlin
Gone - Tobymac
Hope Now - Addison Road
How He Loves - David Crowder Band
Human - Natalie Grant
I Can Only Imagine - Steven Anderson
Lead Me - Sanctus Real
Light Up the Sky - The Afters
More Beautiful You - Jonny Diaz
More Like Falling In Love - Jason Gray
The Motions - Matthew West
O Praise Him - David Crowder Band
Praise You In This Storm - Casting Crowns
Realize - Colbie Caillat
Sea of Faces - Kutless
Song of Hope - Robbie Seay Band
Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle
To God Alone - Aaron Shust
Untitled Hymn(Come to Jesus) - Christ Rice
We Fall Down - Kutless
What Faith Can Do - Kutless
What Love Really Means - JJ Heller
Word of God Speak - MercyMe
The Words I Would Say - Sidewalk Prophets
You Are More - Tenth Avenue North
You Reign - MercyMe

Let me know if you can think of anything to add.

What do you do on a snow day?....Fashion Show!!!

The girls put together this fashion show for me yesterday.  When it was over I even got to purchase some of the merchandise.  How is a boy going to fit into this??  Here is just a taste of the show I got.

 

 

 

Shower

Here are some pictures from the shower that my awesome friends threw for Baby Bubba and me. 

Here's a little back story so you will be in on the joke.  When my friend had her baby, she decided to use cloth diapers.  I know crazy!  Then, my other friend thought she would try them and ended up loving them.  Apparently the insanity was contagious and another friend that is due soon is using them too.  Two of them had cloth diaper-themed showers.  So I jokingly told the girls that I wanted an anti-cloth diaper shower.  Fast-forward to the shower where they made tiny picket signs.  Sorry the picture didn't turn out the best.

One of them gave me a diaper cake and put a sign on top as the center piece.  Down With Cloth Diapers!

I love that they can share in my sense of humor and not be hurt that I call them crazy.  The truth is I admire them for being so dedicated.  Not enough to join the madness though.  My sister even made the trip, despite the threat of bad weather, to be there for the shower.

I had a great time at the shower.  There's just something about a group of women getting together to celebrate one of the greatest blessings God can give. 

Sensibility

Since I tend to post all of the crazy, outrageous things my kids say, I thought I better post something they said that was actually sensible.  Recently, we had another girls-night-out, so we went to our favorite restaurant, Olive Garden.  We have had many meaningful conversations there and this evening did not disappoint.  As you know, Precious has, we'll say, a fascination with boys.  She always has.  Normally she talks about whether or not they like her or think she's pretty.  The conversation started pretty much the same with her telling me that her friend D(the one she has planned to marry since preschool) now wants to marry a different girl in her class.  I was bracing myself for where this conversation was going to go, but she continued to tell me that that was okay because she could marry someone else.  "After all, mom, there are lots of boys I haven't even met yet!"  Praise the Lord, she is making some sense.

Staying present in pregnancy...

...is easy when you are hanging over the toilet because that's all you can think about.  And it's not difficult when your belly starts growing because you're so excited that your baby is developing.  But when you are in the last weeks of pregnancy, it is oh-so-hard not to wake up every morning wondering if today will be the day when you get to meet your new, little bundle of joy.  To not spend every moment wondering what the delivery will be like, what he will look like, how much you will love him.  I know that some anticipation is good, but lately I have been consumed by it, barely able to function or think about anything else.  So today, I pledge to be present for the rest of my pregnancy.  To waddle every where I go.  To go to the bathroom at least five times a night.  And to enjoy every last kick and hiccup that only I get to feel for now.  Because this is probably the last time I will get to do all those things and I want to know that I enjoyed it to the fullest instead of missing out because I was anticipating whatever comes next.

Throughout this whole pregnancy I have been asking God to give me a verse that would help me get through everything.  Mainly the delivery because my past deliveries were, well, very painful.  I kept searching, but only found very generic, not meaningful-at-all verses.  Thursday night, I started having contractions.  I've had some braxton hicks contractions for the last few weeks, but these were actually painful.  I sort of panicked at the thought of how much pain I was in for, but then they slowed down and stopped.  The next day I opened up the Max Lucado newsletter that I get once a week.  Honestly, for the last few months I have just been deleting them because I haven't had the time to commit to reading them, but for some reason I decided to read this one.  Now I know why.  Through this, God gave me the verse I have been praying for. 

When you pass through waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.  For I am the Lord your God.   Isaiah 43:2-3

Not only was the verse what I have been searching for, but the entire newsletter contained very meaningful and applicable information.  Here are a few excerpts from the newsletter.

"We live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of our lives and delights in doing us good."  This part reminds me that no matter how much pain there is to bring him here, we will have a wonderful baby boy to love in the end.

"God's ways are always right.  They may not make sense to us.  They may be mysterious, inexplicable, difficult, and even painful.  But they are right." 

"Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.  Yet I want your will, not mine.  Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him."  Luke 22:42-43  If the glory of God outranks the comfort of Christ, who am I to ask for more?

Thank you, Father, for giving me exactly what I need, exactly when I need it.

Shot down by a drifter.

When I read the book Outflow, I was pretty good about getting outside of my comfort zone to do something to bless someone else.  Recently; however, I have only done small things that fit completely inside my bubble of comfort.  This morning as I was pulling out of McDonalds, there was a man obviously carrying all of his belongings, standing in the freezing cold.  I wasn't sure what I should do, so I made an agreement with God that if the man was still there after I ran a few errands, I would do something for him.  He had switched sides of the road but was still there when I was done, so I grabbed $5.00 out of my wallet and pulled up next to him.  I asked him if he could use some money to which he responded, "How much is that?"  So I told him $5.00.  Then he simply turned his back to me.  What?!  I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing so I sat there for a minute with my arm reached out with the money, but he just ignored me, so I left.  I know that God does not want me to stop stepping out of my comfort zone to help others, but this one is going to take me a while to get over.

Infomercials

Ugh!  Who came up with these things!  My kids think we need everything they advertise.  These commercials are like a breeding ground for discontentment.  My kids think Baby Bubba needs the "your baby can read" DVDs.  Sissy also thinks I need every cleaning implement every made.  It's funny that she thinks that it would make me SO happy to have a new mop or vacuum.  Thank goodness for DVR and the fast forward button!

What if...?

I was prepared for all the "why" questions when my kids were toddlers, but I have now entered a new phase of questions.  Precious has started asking me "what if" questions.  Here is one of our conversations from the other day.

Precious:  What if a baby was walking down the street and fell in one of those big holes where the water goes? (She's referring to those long culverts that drain the water from the streets.)

Me:  Well, a baby would not be walking down the street.

Precious:  But what if one was?

Me:  Well, a baby would probably have an adult with them that would protect them.

Precious:  But what if they didn't?

This could go on forever just like the why questions.  Most of the time I just have to say, "It's just not going to happen."  Which often sends us back to the "why" questions.