Encouragement for Today...

Through e-mail, I receive a daily devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries, and one that I got last week was particularly encouraging for me...I hope that this might be an encouragement for some of the ladies who'll read this as much as it was for me! And like it says, always remember...no matter what...that Jesus Christ, who loves you more than you know has purposefully, and perfectly planned your life! How awesome!



The Principal's Office
2 Apr 2009
Lysa TerKeurst

"…for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." Psalm 26:3 (NIV)

Recently, one of my kids got called to the principal's office. On the very day I received an invitation to speak at a national parenting conference. Thank you very much.

Have you ever struggled with letting a circumstance that came your way suddenly define you?
This seems to be a lesson God lets me live over and over. He wants to be my only definition of who I am. I am a child of God, holy and dearly loved. I know this. I teach this. I believe this in the very depths of my soul.

Yet, it is so easy for me to slip into redefining myself when situations arise.

With my head, I was able to see the "principal's office" situation for what it was . My child is in a process of being shaped. My child is strong and while this will serve her well later in life, strength in an immature little person begs to be disciplined. She is a sweet child who made a not-so-sweet choice. All of this is part of the process of growing her up.

I could see all of that with my head.

However, with my heart, I felt like a failure. I wanted to decline the opportunity to speak at that conference and go crawl in a hole somewhere. A hole stocked with chips and salsa, brownies made from a box mix, and ice-cold diet soda.

A part of me felt like I'd been called to the principal's office as the voice of condemnation started haunting me, "You are a bad mom. You have a bad child. You have a bad home."

So, quietly, I slipped away with Jesus. And I did what I've done a hundred times before. I held those condemnations up to the Lord and asked him to help me see this situation the way He wants me to see it. Not the way others see it. Not the way my heart is tempted to see it. But the way He sees it.

And once again He reassured me.

I am not a bad mom.

My child is not a bad child.

My home is not a bad home.

This situation is a call to action. There is a character issue that needs to be addressed within the heart of my child. And kids are supposed to have character issues that need to be addressed.

That's why God gave them parents. That's why God gave me this specific child. God sees within me the ability to be the one He's perfectly designed to raise up this strong little person.

Today is a new day. A day where we can choose to only be defined by God's truth and grace as we navigate this wild wonder called parenthood.

Dear Lord, help me to realize that You have perfectly and purposefully planned my life. Today I am going to make the choice to see the good in each situation with my child. Please help me to be a parent that pleases You with my every though t, word and deed. I admit my dependence on You Lord, and ask for Your guidance. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Mulch Ado About Nothing...

This weekend was another busy, yet fun one for our family! I feel like we got so much accomplished, but we were also able to spend some good quality time together.
Saturday, we had beautiful weather, so Preston and I decided it was a good day to do yard work! I bought some new flowers (yellow and black pansies) for the pots on our front porch, and also for the hanging baskets on our side porch. We also went and got 2 loads of mulch and put that down. Everything looks GREAT, and these are some of the pictures I took outside the house after we were finished! Mom and Dad came over that afternoon, and Mom helped keep an eye on Sawyer, while Preston, Dad, and I put down the mulch...once again, I was thanking the Lord for all the help my parents give us! Sawyer, of course enjoyed playing the the dirt all day, and once again was in need of a LONG bath by the end of the day! That evening we were all finished with our work, so after we got Sawyer to bed, Preston and I were able to hang out and watch a movie together. We saw "Flywheel," which was done by the same people who made the movie "Fireproof," if any of you have seen it. It's a low budget film, and while it didn't have the best Cinematography, that was far outweighed by the amazing message it sent. We really enjoyed it, and would highly recommend!
Sunday, Sawyer did awesome going to the nursery. This time she didn't even cry at all, and actually ran right in there! It gets better and better every time...THANK YOU LORD! Preston and I have really enjoyed our new Sunday school class over the past few weeks, and this week we decided to officially join! It is filled with such sweet people, and most importantly, good teaching. I'm just so thankful for our church.
Today is quite a gloomy day, and it seems the cold weather has made it's way back to Louisville! Hopefully it's stay will be short, and we'll be back outside in the sun soon! Sawyer and I are hanging out at home today...playing, relaxing and getting some laundry done!

Feeling Nostalgic...

I just got off the phone with my friend Jordan and we were reminiscing about our wedding days, and how wonderfully perfect they were...
I wish so bad that I could go back and re-live that day over again. I told my friend that I look at my wedding photo's just about every month or so. I just love looking at them and remembering everything about that day, and how happy and excited we were! It's very had for me to believe that this October will be our 4 year anniversary, because in so many ways, it feels like our wedding was just last week! Looking back, I can recall thinking that there was no way I could ever love Preston more than I did on that day, but now I know that was so untrue. While I was so INCREDIBLY in LOVE with him then, I love him even more today...and I know I'll be able to say that very same thing another 4 years from now.
Nope, I'll never forget what a beautiful day that was...and I don't think Preston will either :) I can't wait until Sawyer is old enough to look at, and appreciate these pictures as much as I do.

"Big" Bunny...

Sawyer often carries around a small pink bunny (actually it's a bear in a bunny suit) which we have lovingly named "crazy bunny." However, there's a new bunny in town.
Preston went out to his friend Jason's house last week, and his mom, Debbie, gave Sawyer a new bunny rabbit, and it has such a sweet little face! It's much bigger than "crazy bunny," but she still manages to drag it all over the house wherever she goes!
As for other Sawyer news...Ive decided it's getting very close to potty-training time. She is showing some pretty clear signs of being ready, so yesterday we went to buy a new potty chair (and stickers to decorate it!), some big girl undies, and mom chipped in on the effort with a new "potty-time doll" which actually goes to the bathroom! The things toy-makers come up with...
Tomorrow, Sawyer and I were supposed to be going to the the zoo on one of our church play-dates, but the weather isn't supposed to be great (bummer) and she's already got a little bit of a cold. Hopefully, we'll get some more nice weather sooner than later!

Cant Believe I Forgot to Mention This....

I can't believe I forgot to tell you this in my post earlier...
Today, I had to pull another "mission impossible" stunt. It's true, I locked myself (along with Sawyer) out of our home once again. I tend to think I'm not at all a forgetful or "scatterbrained" person, so I don't know how this keeps happening to me! My theory: I think when you have a child you lose a small portion of your brain. I'm my case, it was the part that helped me to remember the small things, like for instance, my house key. I had taken it off my key ring yesterday, and so when I left the house today then came back home to get in, I was locked out, because I'd forgotten to put it back on last night.
I discovered we were locked out 10 minutes before Sawyer's nap time, so this of course made me freak out even more...I'm all about keeping schedule. But what really did it for me, was that there was NO ONE who had a spare key! So I'm running around my house to all the doors like a mad woman, and Sawyer is patiently standing on the side porch eating away at her pretzels. I'm praying OUT LOUD, "Please, give me a way in, Lord! PLEASE don't let this happen today!"
The previous time we had locked ourselves out we had to break open a basement window to get in, which was very messy business. I seriously would have broken it again, but I didn't have a key to our shed either, so I had NO WAY of using something to bust it open. So, I started barely pushing on the edge of the window, and all of a sudden, it just popped open! Now, I just had to climb through, which, guys...I'll admit, It wasn't a pretty sight. At least I didn't have to replace yet another window! All is well...but Preston will still have to put that window back up when he gets home later!

Lots of things to tell...

Yesterday was the BIG day...Preston and I officially put our home on the market! My sweet family came over AGAIN to help us finish some small projects we needed to get done before we put it up for sale. We got all the outside doors re-painted, and the basement is clean and in order (thank you Mamaw, for slaving away down there for so long! And of course for making time to take a break and play with Sawyer in her bouncy for a while!) There are still a few things left to do, but nothing huge. We're excited to see what happens...and if nothing happens, well, that's okay too. We put our sign in the yard last night, and of course Sawyer wanted to get in on the action, while wearing her "Elton John" glasses (as you can see in the picture...I'll never know why she likes walking around wearing those things.) She just wanted to be a big girl and walk around holding it! She's quite independent these days...well, except when goes to church nursery. However, HOPE is on the horizon! Yesterday, I began my women's Thursday morning bible study at church, and I was getting really anxious because I knew I would be leaving Sawyer in the nursery for TWO HOURS. Normally, I would have just not signed up for something like that because I'd have to leave her, but I knew I needed be there, so I decided (with much encouragement from other women) that I wasn't going to let her "nursery meltdowns" hinder me from being where I should be. The days leading up to Thursday I prayed so hard that she would be okay, and if God wanted me to be there that He would make it alright for Sawyer. So, Thursday morning rolls around and when we walk in church she starts crying, like she does every Sunday morning for the past 3 weeks, because she knows whats coming next. I told her calmly that I was coming back to get her in just a little while, gave her a kiss, and then quickly handed her over to the nursery worker. When I was walking down the hall to class, I could still hear her screaming, so I was just waiting all through the study for them to come and get me because she was so out of control.
But you know what happened? Nothing. She did great! After class was over I went to get her, and when I peeked in her room she was sitting there at a tiny little table with about 8 other children having a snack! The workers said she did "tremendous!" They told me it only took her about 10 minutes to calm down, and then she played the rest of the time! Praise the LORD! God answered my prayers, and I left church feeling so thankful, encouraged..and of course proud of my Sawyer-girl!
Tonight, Preston and I are planning on going to a small get-together at a couple's house from our new Sunday school class. We'll be having dinner there, and then the girls are all going to a kids consignment sale while the men stay home and watch the kids for a little while. Hopefully there will no no major catastrophes! I made chocolate covered strawberries to bring, and they turned out yummy. Preston actually helped me make them last night...he's a wonderful assistant chef!
Lastly, I had posted a few days ago my dread over Sawyer's shots she was going to get at her well check-up with the pediatrician. It turned out she only had to get one shot, which was bad, but not horrible. She was such a little trooper. The visit mainly consisted of them checking her cognitive skills, asking her to do certain tasks. Later that day she kept saying her leg hurt, and she was limping around a little, which was pitiful, but overall it went well! Okay, so I'm not big on bragging about my kid, because honestly, I don't like it when other people do it, but I have to say this one thing...Her doctor said that she was "significantly advanced" for her age. She said she couldn't believe how articulate she was...and of course, those things make EVERY parent as proud as a peacock!
This must be the longest post in the history of blogs, so I'm going to go now. I have so much to do in the next few hours! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend!!!

Reminiscing....

I posted these pictures for one reason only...I LOVE THEM.



I have HUNDREDS (probably thousands) of pictures of Sawyer, and these are just a few of my favorites. Isn't she sweet? I like to look back at her when she was "little" and see how much she's changed...God gave me such a precious baby girl.
(Notice in the last picture her cute "bubble horns" I gave her while she was taking her bath...this is when she was still small enough to bath in our kitchen sink!)