Whatever is lovely...

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Philippians 4:8

With all the negativity that happens and is constantly begging for my attention, focusing on the lovely, good parts of my life are what get me through the tough days.  Days when it's raining, the kids are fighting, the napping isn't happening, hubby is working late, and I feel like I just need a break before I break down!

There are a number of things that are lovely about my life. My kids.

See...doesn't this picture make negative thoughts disappear?

More lovely things:
Heaven, that will definitely be lovely when we get there!
My marriage is lovely
My friends are lovely
My job (stay at home mom) that's really lovely!
My dog--he can be lovely...sometimes :)

So when things in life fight to make me crazy, I think of this verse and relate it to my life.
Either way, even if I feel like things in life will make me crazy, God tells me this...
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND mind. :)
God sure covers every aspect of life for us in His word, doesn't he? He doesn't give us any excuse for unacceptable behavior. 

To my kids...

When they placed you in my arms, you slipped into my heart. -Unknown
You help me love.
You take my breath away.
You give me energy.  
You inspire me to be better.
You give me patience.
You surprise me.
You teach me.
You bring joy.
You made me a mommy.
You help me find the good stuff in life.

Firsts...

This last Saturday morning was a morning of a first...Melanie got up while I was still sleeping and went downstairs without me! I woke to the sound of little feet running around downstairs.  I got out of bed and found her playing.  I asked "Did you wake up and come downstairs to play by yourself?" and she just started laughing like it was the best thing she'd ever done.  Luckily she can't get into much in the fridge otherwise she might have pulled what my sister and I used to do when we were little, eating licorice and whipped cream for breakfast. (luckily we don't have either of those things in our house right now)
In the last couple weeks little tummy tumblers have become normal for our newest addition.  It usually happens after I eat or drink something.  It feels like a little gold fish is swimming and flipping around my belly and even though that seems like it would be a weird feeling, I. love. it.  Makes the pregnancy seem more real, and I realize that I don't have 2 kids anymore, I have 3!
When I was younger I thought I would only have one baby, because I didn't believe I'd be able to go through child birth more than once.  Turns out mamas have high pain tolerances. I didn't have to go through child birth, c-sections became my normal.  And being cut open and sewn back together is so worth the love that is placed in my arms afterwards.
Easton started brushing his own teeth and he actually does a better job than Melanie.  It used to be I would have to pin him down and shove the brush in his mouth to get them clean.  Now he opens his mouth voluntarily, (says awe!) lets me brush around, and then finishes by brushing them himself.
While lots of firsts bring joy, there are other firsts that bring heartache and tears.  But it is these firsts that also put things into a greater perspective, bring your heart closer to God, and remind us that it is only through Jesus that we have a hope that inspires us to move on and live better, love stronger, and visit with friends and family more often.
This week brought news that a good friend has cancer.  Since then, I've been in constant prayer and I am asking you all, my friends and family to be in prayer with me.  I'm praying for healing and hope and strength for everyone involved.  Please pray the same and let us all be reminded about what is most important in life and let the trivial things slide.

oh the little things...

It's been the little things lately that make me smile and even shed a tear of joy these days. The tiny daily details that might be forgotten if they didn't make me smile so darn big and make enough of an impression on my heart that I feel compelled to write about it.

For example, Easton's routine of getting really excited and pounding on the table when he sees his breakfast coming in the morning makes me smile big.  Hearing Melanie explain to Easton, "no Eastie, not daddy, daddy working!" when she hears him say "dada?", Guapo being told to go nigh night, while being forced into his bed and covered with any blanket in sight in the middle of the day by both kids, the toilet randomly flushing because Easton has snuck into the bathroom AGAIN. It's these teeny tid bits of our days together that keep me going and it's these little memories that will be fun to share with them when they're older.

Today started something new.  A little jig Easton started dancing to make us laugh.  I caught it on video.  He does it whether there is music or not.  He does it because he is just plain happy! What if we all did that? Pretty sure we'd be laughing more and in better moods.  The first time he started his jig was in the bathroom, trying to entertain Melanie as she was going potty.  Really cute, super funny and I grabbed the camera just in time.  Take a gander...I'm sure you'll enjoy--happy weekend everyone!