The Real Jesus

If you follow me on Insta or Twitter, or Facebook, or any other social media, then you know that Emmalee has been in swim lessons this week.  She has never feared being in the water, but she does fear going UNDER the water.  A few summers ago she would jump off diving boards and seemed to be fearless, but things have changed since she is a little older now (because 4 is the new 14, ya know).  So I thought it was important to put her in lessons so that she can learn to survive in the water by herself without her floaties if she ever needed to.  

A few weeks ago we were swimming at our neighbor’s house and we were trying to get Emmalee to jump off the diving board (arm floaties on, of course).  She absolutely refused.  She would get up there, and start to bounce, then run off.  She was so terrified of actually jumping in.  She finally agreed that she would jump if I was right below her, arms outstretch to instantly catch her so she wouldn’t go under.  So I swam to the diving board, treaded water with arms outstretched for what seemed like an eternity, and she still couldn’t overcome the fear.  

So I sat down with her so we could talk about it.  She said she was just scared.  I asked her if she trusted me…she said no (insert punch to the gut).  So I asked her if she trusted Jesus…she said yes (insert smiling mom because maybe I’m doing something right).  So I asked her if she trusted Jesus, then would she believe that Jesus would give me the strength to catch her and not let her go under?  Again, she said no.  She wanted “the real Jesus” to catch her.    

I sat speechless for a moment, not quite knowing how to answer.  I began to think of the things that I would do if “the real Jesus” was there to catch me, too.  Would I get out of the boat and walk on water if I saw the hand of “the real Jesus” beckoning me?  Would I talk to Him more if I saw Him listening intently to my heart?  Would I make decisions based solely on the words that He spoke to me rather than listening to everyone else?  I know for certain that I would introduce Him to everyone one I met so that they could see Him too.  But that is, of course, if I saw “the real Jesus.”

But the truth is that I don’t have to “see” Him because I know that He lives inside of me! So why is it that I, sometimes, have such a hard time believing Him, and trusting Him, and living for Him? It’s fear.  But I know that TRUTH overcomes all my fears.   

And here, my friends, is the TRUTH:

My faith is in Christ Jesus. And in that faith, I have an assurance of things not seen (Hebrews 11.)  The assurance that “the real Jesus” IS right beside me no matter where I go; the assurance that “the real Jesus” has His hand outstretched beckoning me to get out of the boat; the assurance that “the real Jesus” WILL catch me if I fall.  

But oh, what would I do if I saw “the real Jesus” face to face, in ALL of HIS glory? What would you do? What is the fear that is holding you back from getting out of the boat?  What is the fear that keeps you from jumping off that diving board? My prayer is that we all proclaim the TRUTH and live as if we are standing right beside "the real Jesus." 

And just in case you were wondering, that sweet little girl DID jump off that diving board! And those swimming lessons?  They're going great! 

But I Will ALWAYS Be Your Mom

The past week this sweet, yet sometimes sassy, 3 year old has turned into a full-fledged 13 year old!  The attitude and the sass are about to KILL me!  But I know she is three and I know she will (hopefully) grown out of it.

But I read this article today and loved it!  It's titled "9 Things We Should Get Rid of To Help Our Kids."  Number 5 got me!

I, in general nature, love for everyone around me to be happy.  I find myself often giving into my kids because I want them to be happy.  I want them to enjoy life and be in good spirits, especially during the Christmas season (mostly because it is my very favorite season and I don't want scrooges living in my house!) But the truth is that it's not my job to make my little dears happy; it's my job to be there mom.  

Last night's drama brought this whole truth to light. The scene played out like this.

All Emmalee wanted was to get down and play.  She hadn't eaten much dinner (literally A chicken nugget) but claimed she was full.  Being the wise mom that I am, I knew she was not in fact full, and that if she got down from that table, she would come to me in 30 minutes asking for a snack.   The compromise:  eat 2 more chicken nuggets and you may get down.  For over 20 minutes, we battled with her to eat these chicken nuggets.

Then it happened.

"Emmalee, I know you are not happy, but your tears will not help you in this situation.  If you want to get down from this table you MUST eat the other chicken nuggets on your plate."

With the tears falling down her cheeks, the saddest little eyes looked up at me to say "Mom, you're not my best friend anymore and I thought you would be my best friend forever."

And there it was.  A knife the size of Texas pierced my heart.  All I wanted to do was bend down and promise this precious little child that I would always be her best friend.  But that's not the truth.

The truth is that I will not always be her best friend, but I will always be her mom.  And sometimes being the mom isn't fun.  Being the mom means keeping my children healthy and protected.  Being the mom means making the not-so-fun decisions.  Being the mom means teaching and worrying and praying.  Being the mom means not always making her happy, but she will always be loved, and cherished, and prayed over.  And these are the things that I told her...

"My sweet girl, I know that I may not be your best friend right now, but I will ALWAYS be your momma.  And being your momma means that I want to keep your healthy and I want your tummy to be full so that you can keep growing to be big and strong.  No matter what, I will always love you and I will always want the very best for you...."

When it was all over, the chicken nuggets were eaten and we snuggled up together on the couch to read books with baby sister.  No, it didn't make her happy but I guess being a mom is not about always making our kids happy. 

Life Lately

Most of you know that I love to scrapbook, but I have been so bad about keeping up with it.  But for some reason, the past two weeks I have been on a scrappin' craze!!!!!  Here are a few of my favorite pages that I've been working on.









 

 





 

Rain Rain, Won't You Stay...

It's been raining here the past few days and when it was a light sprinkle this evening, I let Emmalee go outside in her rain gear to play.  I grabbed my camera just in case I could get a few pictures of her.  What I actually captured was something I can never replace.  These are the moments I hope I never forget. So if these are the things that happens when it rains, I'm ok if the rain is here to stay.

 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emmalee Caroline

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY 

EMMALEE CAROLINE!!!

Emmalee Caroline,
You are 3 years old today, and I simply cannot believe it.  It's hard to remember what life was like before you. You made all me dreams of being a momma come true just 3 short years ago, and life has only gotten sweeter.  

You have the sweetest spirit and love people unconditionally, especially your baby sister.  She is the first thing you usually ask for in the mornings and you're always telling me and daddy that you "want to keep her."  You love playing tea party with her and are always wanting to hug her, and kiss her, and help feed her and help burp her...you want to be involved in everything. 

You are so funny.  You constantly make me, your daddy, and your sister laugh.  You love to sing and are always making up songs for everything.  Sometimes I think you sing more than you speak.  You are so smart and incredibly inquisitive.  You ask some of the most deep questions and have a wonderful memory.  You like order - you're always wanting to know "the plan" and what is going to happen.  You are not a fan of bedtime, but still love taking baths or anything involving water.  You are a ball of energy that is constantly on the go.  You love the outdoors and playing pretend. 

Your favorite food is spaghetti.  Two days ago I asked you if you wanted to go out to dinner for your birthday or for momma to cook, and you said you wanted momma to cook.   When I asked you what you wanted me to cook, you quickly asked for spaghetti & meatballs, even though we just had it last week.  You were thrilled when I told you "yes!"  You also like most vegetables:  squash, broccoli. green beans, carrots, and tomatoes.  You like cheese, peanuts, vanilla wafers, and anything sweet.

More than anything, you fill our home with laughter and liveliness.  The Lord made you so special and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you.  Remember that your mommy and daddy are always so proud you, and love you more than you will ever know.

Happy birthday sweet baby girl; I love you!
Momma

These Two Have Stolen My Heart

There are some days when raising two girls makes me feel run down and exhausted, and then there are days when it blesses my heart beyond imagination.  Saturday was one of those days when they did both.

Daddy was working a double header at the ballpark, and I was at home trying to take care of both girls, do the laundry, pick up the house, clean the kitchen, plan the weekly dinner menu, oh, and give my kids the attention they craved. It absolutely wore me out. 

But then this happened, and the joy in my heart outweighed any exhaustion.  Seeing the two of these angels together is the sweetest thing, especially when Emmalee has Madeline laughing.  

Madeline's Birth Announcement

I have to say that making Madeline's birth announcement was so much fun, and so was the newborn photo shoot to get the pictures.  I know I've said it 100 times, but I'll say it again - there is nothing greater than having a sister who is an AMAZING photographer!  She knows how to capture just how small and fragile they are, and how precious and sweet.  I love it.

So without further ado, here is the birth announcement for our sweet and precious Madeline Grace.

front

 

back

We are beyond blessed by our two sweet girls.  Its funny because I never imagined my heart could be so full.  I'm reminded everyday how lucky I am to have my girls.  I still can't believe Madeline is 2 months old already, and I promise to do that post soon. 

If you're a mom struggling with infertility, know that I am praying for you.  I've been down that road; I've traveled that journey; I understand that heartache.  But know that the Lord's plan is always greater than our own...this baby girl is proof of that! 

She's A Big Girl Now

When we found out that Madeline was going to be a girl, I knew that I would keep the nursery the same and Emmalee would get a "big girl" room.  I wanted to make her big girl room a special place for her - a place that she liked and enjoyed playing in.  So I made the decision to let her make the room her own.

First, I had to pick out the bedspread.  I picked 3 different spreads that I liked, each having their own color scheme or theme.  Then I let her pick the one that she liked best.  She chose the American Sweetheart, which just happened to be my favorite!  I adore all the colors in it and its not too "girly," but still contains some pink so I was able to use several of her name and "E's" from her nursery.

Part of making this room her own was letting her help create things in this room.  She helped create pictures for the wall and she has a craft line that she can hang her artwork on.  Everyday she makes projects at Ms. Kim's house during their "school-time" and this has been a great way to reinforce the letters, colors & numbers she's learning.  

A lot of the decorative items in her room are ideas that I found off pinterest.  They were so great, and simple.  I posted on a "5 on Friday" about some of the projects I wanted to do and you can see it here.  Here are some close-ups of handmade items in her room...

Here's what we did.
1.  I found some beautiful scroll brackets at Canton before Emmalee was born.  I got some crystal knobs and wood and Brant made this shelf for her nursery.  It's perfect to hold the letters for her name.  I knew this would be something that I wanted in her big girl room.  This piece cost us a whopping $15 to create.

2.  I love that the girls' rooms have window seats and I enjoy making them a focal point.  To help make this simple red curtain pop, I used an idea from Pintrest to create this pennant banner to go across the window.  This was made with white cardboard, scrapbook paper, and ribbon - it was that simple.  I adhered the banner to the curtain rod with two bows and I honestly LOVE the touch it gives to the room.  Cost, MAYBE $3.00!!!

3.  If you look at the picture of the dresser area above, you can see that the mirror over the dresser was much smaller than the width of the dresser.  I loved the mirror and wanted to use it, but I needed something to help fill the space.  I found simple thin wood frames for only $2.99 each at Micheal's.  I spray painted the wood, then took the scrapbook paper used for the banner and simple adhered it to the back of the frame.  I absolutely adore the color this brings to the wall and fit perfectly over the dresser.

4.  This is one of my favorite parts of Emmalee's room, mainly because she helped create them - her button pictures.  I just happened to be at Micheal's when they had little containers of buttons for only $1.  I got a small set of craft paints and canvases, heated up my glue gun, then we got to work.  Again, this was another Pintrest idea and I spent maybe $15 on all of the materials.  Emmalee is so proud of her artwork and loves showing all of her friends what she created. This was a super fun project for us to do together.

I have to admit that I truly enjoy how this room turned out.  I feel like it took forever for it all to come together, but now it is one of my favorite rooms in the house.  Emmalee loves her room too, which was so important to me. 

Five on Friday

So, I never did post about my kitchen facelift, nor have I posted anything in almost 3 weeks....but I'm still here!  Life has just been a little busy - preparing for baby, moving Emmalee into a big girl room, going on vacation...oh, and did I mention preparing for baby???

But today is Friday, and everybody say "Praise the Lord for a 3-day weekend!"  So for today's Five on Friday, I thought I would post a few things that I am working on preparation of baby, which includes some of the project I want to do in Emmalee's new big-girl room!

We decided to leave the nursery as is, and move Emmalee to a big girl room because it was just an easier "plan," in my opinion.  But creating a whole new room on a budget is not the easiest thing.  The biggest problem I am running into with Emmalee's room is simple, but cute decorations, and I could use a few to spruce up the nursery, too.   Each of the ideas below are different things that I have now stuffed in my "book or ideas" for cute, but simple, craft or decoration ideas for the girls' rooms. 

So, without further ado, here is my Five on Friday!!

{ONE}

I am IN LOVE with this idea!  Let's be honest - paint samples are FREE!  You can get them at any home improvement store, and just a few of them gives you a ton of color options!  

This is also a great idea for holiday decorations!  Get a circle cutter & use hues of yellows, oranges, and other fall colors. Use some twine or raffia as your string, and you have an adorable Halloween or fall banner for any room of your house!  Heck, do the same for Christmas!  

If you have other paint sample projects that you have done, tell me!!!  I love these type of crafts because they are cheap and simple, but absolutely perfect for any room or occasion!  

{TWO}

 

This is another idea that I just love - button projects!  I actually plan on doing this on Monday with Em.  I thought it would be a fun project for her and I to do together for her new room.  On the wall with the window, the window is in the middle, but I need something on either side.  Since these projects can incorporate MANY colors, I love the idea of doing these (probably in a bit larger scale) on either side of the window.  I'll take pics and tell you how they turn out!!!

{THREE}

 I love this idea for an arrangement over a dresser.  Em's walls are light blue, and all of her furniture is white.  The dresser is long, like this pictured here, and I have been struggling with what to put above it.  I do have a mirror that I considered painting and putting up, but I'm worried about the scale of the mirror vs. the dresser.  So, I love the idea of making a wall arrangement like this one here.  

{FOUR}

You may have seen something similar to this before, because I know I have seen this style of door-hanger done many ways, but I was thinking this may be a great door-decoration for the girls' rooms.  My local Micheals has started carrying the thick cardboard frame in all these great boutique styles for just a few dollars.  I think I'll get some, paint them, then get a big "E" and "M" and put them on the front of the frames.  Then I can hang them on the doors to give a little added "somthin'" 

{FIVE}

I have fallen in love with this idea, too!!!  Emmalee has red curtains in her room, but they are simple and somewhat boring.  Madeline's are a little more "fru-fru", but they are still a solid pink, so I could do this in her room too.  But I love the pennant idea to put over the curtains just to add some pizzazz!  

I don't know about you, but each of these projects are so fun and simple, and I cannot WAIT to try them!  I promise to do a post next week of all the new things in the girls rooms!!! 

So what are your plans this weekend?  Can you guess what mine are????

Let Me Be A Child, Again

A few days ago, Kelly, from Kelly's Korner, wrote a blog post about how she is always telling her girls to "hurry up."  Her post made me stop and think about how often I say those same words to my sweet 2 year old.

Then I saw an article in the Huffington Post titled The Day I Stopped Saying "Hurry Up."  The article is written by a mother who was over-taken by guilt one day when she realized how often she orders her children to "hurry up" and try to do things on her schedule. 

All I could do after reading this article is think about the past 2 mornings.  Brant has been very sick and in bed, so I have had to get Emmalee to her sitter every morning, which then makes me late for work.  I think I've told my child to "hurry up" more in the past 2 mornings than I have in the past 2 months.  I would be trying to walk out the door and Em would be putting Baby Girl (her favorite baby doll) in Madeline's swing and kissing her goodbye.  So out the door we try to go again, but Baby Girl needs her blanket in the swing so she doesn't get cold, and don't forget to tell Dax bye, and maybe we should give Daddy another kiss on the head so he can feel better...the list of things this child wanted to do before we left the house was exhausting, but then she had to go potty....and since we are in the middle of potty training, I immediately drop everything and rush her to the potty. 

15 minutes after I tried to leave the house, we were finally in the car pulling away.  My thought..."Praise the Lord we are finally in the car, but I am going to be sooo late."



Do you ever think back on times in your life and wish you could do them all over again?  Well I wish I could take back these past 2 morning and do them all over again.  I wish I helped my sweet child "mother" her Baby Girl, I wish I had encouraged her to kiss her daddy again so he could maybe feel a little bit better, I wish I had encouraged her to love on her puppy Dax....I wish, I wish, I wish.  I wish I had slowed down to see the beauty of life in those precious moments.

Children seem to "get it."  They understand that to learn and grow, they should take every moment of every day to see new things, to inquire, to enjoy the small moments of life.

This morning I can't help but think about Matthew 18. This is the parable where Jesus teaches His disciples that the greatest in Heaven are those with a child-like faith.  And unless we become like those children, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today this passage has new meaning for me.  Yes, I want a child-like faith - one that does not have to see to believe.  But I also want to become a child so that maybe I can slow down again.  I want to slow down and see everything the Lord has for me.  I want to see His truth, see His plan, see His power!  I want to enjoy the family He has given me and life He has provided for me.  I want to slow down and know Him more. 

So today, I encourage you to see the world through the eyes of a child.  Take those extra moments and hold your babies longer.  Take the time to care for those around you. Take a moment to play in the rain.  Slow down.  Don't ever hurry up.  Oh, how life would be different if we were like children, again.

Five on Friday

 {ONE}

My sweet, darling child was up from 1:21am - 4:58am this morning.  When you get up at 5:45am to start your day, this little interruption makes for a VERY rough morning.  

Bring in the coffee!!!!

Brant and I tried this coffee creamer from International Delight several weeks ago and it has definitely become a favorite.  We love it. You can definitely taste the sweetness and cinnamon of a Cinnabon.  

 {TWO}

We are starting "Operation: Diaper Freedom" at our house this weekend!  We tried potty training in June, but it didn't work so well.  So we didn't force her to do it.  Well, now it's time!  So, I found this website that talks about fast and easy potty training.  I actually paid and bought the book because $17 is about the price of a small package of pull-ups!   And if we succeed at potty training, then it was well work it in my mind! 

{THREE}

This is definitely my new favorite paint - the Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex.  This is what we used to paint our kitchen cabinets last weekend and I couldn't be happier with the results.  It just looks amazing and this dried so quickly. 

I promise to dedicate an entire post soon on our kitchen facelift and include all of the items we used, and our step-by-step process on how we managed to paint an entire kitchen in a weekend!

{FOUR}

With Baby #2 on the way, I've been looking at different things to put into a special basket of goodies for Emmalee as her "Big Sister Basket."  But at the Rangers baseball game on Monday, I met a sweet older lady and we began talking.  She had 3 girls, and she said the best piece of advice she could give me was to make sure that the "Big Sister Basket" was a gift to Emmalee FROM Madeline!   I now consider this woman to be a complete genius! 

My idea for this basket was to make it have items that Emmalee can use on her baby dolls when momma is taking care of Madeline.  My thoughts are items like...

{FIVE}

Its been somewhat of a slow week at work, so I've been watching a new show.  I've seen episodes here and there, but never watched a whole season.  But thanks to Hulu, I can actually see an entire season of....

The Tears of a Parent

The past two years of being a parent has taught me more about my relationship with the Lord than I ever imagined it would. 

During my pregnancy with Emmalee I used to think "I want to be the most Godly woman I can be because that is what I want my child to be.  And how will she ever know how to become that woman if she doesn't see it in her own mother?"  I remember that during my pregnancy, my walk got deeper because I wanted to be stronger. 

Now, being a parent for the past two years, I don't see my walk getting "deeper," I see my understanding getting "stronger."

Emmalee has recently started battling us when its time to go to bed.  For her, this is completely unusual because she has always been so easy to put down. I've tried to blame is on the "terrible 2's", or my being pregnant, or her realizing that her world is about to change...but regardless of the reason, she has decided this is a battle she will fight...EVERY NIGHT!

One of the first nights we encountered this battle was last week.  We went through our typical routine, and I put her in her bed. She got out. I put her in again. She got out. And this went on for at least 10 minutes.  Then her daddy got involved. 

He went through the bedtime routine as well, and put her in her bed.  She got out.  He put her back in her bed, came out of her room, and held her door shut so she couldn't get out.  Which, she quickly tried to do, and when she realized she couldn't, she begged and sobbed for mommy. 

Can I tell you that it broke my heart into pieces.  I knew that my sweet little 2 year old needed to go to sleep, and by going into her room, I would make things worse.  So I was letting her daddy handle it.  But it still broke my heart, although pregnancy hormones were, I'm sure, playing a role. 

Brant went back into her room.  Five minutes later he emerged, feeling accomplished and exhausted because she was finally in bed, and he was certain she would not get up.  He was wrong.  About 5 minutes later, a figure emerged from her room and went down the hallway into the living room calling my name.  I could hear her from our bedroom, and after several minutes of hearing this tired little voice, I walked into the hallway.  My daughter turned to look at me and I looked at her.  I sat down on the floor in the hallway and she walked straight into my lap and buried her head in my chest.  She was exhausted.  I was exhausted. 

And  as I sat there on the floor holding my sweet baby girl, I let me tears fall.  They were tears of frustration, exhaustion, and pleading.  All I wanted was for this baby to understand she NEEDED to go to bed.  She needs rest.  Her little body can't "do it all" but doesn't grasp that.  I do.  And as her mother, I want only what is best for her, which was good rest. 

And as my tears fell, my mind finally began to understand our Father's love for us.  I can't "do it all", but sometimes I think I can.  But my Father wants only what is best for me, but how often do I fight Him?  If you're like me, I fight Him all the time. I battle with Him over what I think is best and what I think I need.  But He knows what is waiting for me on the "other side," just as I knew that a night full of rest would help Emmalee have a smile on her face in the morning light. 

So just as I cried over my child, how many times has He cried over me in anger, frustration, and as a simple plea to just trust Him?  And the honest answer is that I don't want to know the true number of times. 

So tell me, as a parent, how has your walk changed?  Is it deeper, do you have a better understanding of the Father's love? 

Scrap Happy

If you're looking for day 4 of Jenna's Commenting Challenge, keep scrolling down...you'll see it! 

So y'all know how I love my digital scrapbooking.  Well I am so behind on Emmalee's baby book that I am trying to kick my own rear into gear and get as much of it done before Madeline comes as I possibly can.  And you also know that I love showing off what I've done - its kind of like a motivator for me to keep going, LOL! 

And if you're a scrapper too, tell me!  I love looking at other's work and getting new ideas!!!

So here are some of the pages I've completed lately!