Confessions

I believe God the Father, Maker of Heaven and Earth, cares about every single part of my day. I believe He has called me to deal with my children in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Furthermore, I believe that I am equipped with everything to do His will, which means that I am already equipped with every single thing He calls me to clothe myself in. Nothing shall separate me from the Love of God, nothing. Not a temper tantrum. Not disobedience. Not anger, wrath, or shame.... nothing.

Isn't in awesome that Paul says he has learned to be content in every circumstance, BEFORE he says that he can do everything through Christ who strengthens him? I appreciate the fact that he admits he had to learn it. Sometimes, I feel like it's bad to admit I have to learn something. But I do, we all do.... let's just be candid. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience do not come automatically to me. I am learning. And there are days, like yesterday, when I feel like I failed miserably. Yet there is not one event that happened yesterday that sticks out, because most of the battle was in my mind. Whew, let me take hold to the promise that I have weapons with divine power to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretension that sets it up against the knowledge of (who I am in) God.

Yep.... these are my confessions. I confess that I'm learning to be a SAHM. I'm learning to be a mom, period. I only have pieces of what being a "good" mom looks like, and I'm looking for the rest of that vision. But what I do know.... is I'm done with beating myself up for not being perfect. I'm done with giving in to the lies that says I'm not a good mom. I'm going to go through this journey day by day, and I am equipped by God to do everything He's called me to.

Forgiveness. Maybe that's what I'll post about tomorrow morning. Because I'm choosing to walk in it, starting right now. I'll start with forgiving myself for not being perfect, forgiving my husband for not being perfect, forgiving my two year old for not being perfect, forgiving my baby for not being perfect. Holy batman - you mean none of us are perfect??!! Father God, give me the insight to remember this all day long - to treat my family, friends, strangers with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, knowing that I am not anymore perfect than they are or vice versa. Amena.

Thoughts

After spending the day with my kiddos, walking w/ a friend, and having a girls' night out, I'm left with such reflective thoughts. I became a stay at home mom in May when I went on maternity leave, though I didn't really experience the stay at home by myself until Keith went back to work in August. There is much to post and catch up on, so before I start blogging about all my reflectiveness, let me tell you about my boys.

Joshua turned 2 in June, three weeks to the day after his little brother was born. So now he's almost 2 and a half, and he's the best little big boy ever! He is newly potty trained (meaning we still have mess ups sometimes!) and got a new big boy bed on Friday. He still loves to read and play with vacuums, and now he loves to watch Elmo. Joshua is getting better every day at communicating!

Caleb was born on June 7th, so in roughly 2 hours he'll be 6 months old. He coos, buzzes, drools, sleeps, eats, and rolls over. He's the sweetest little guy ever, and what a talker!! We had a rough couple of months at the beginning, but he has turned out to be such a good baby. We're so blessed.

As mentioned above, after maternity leave, we decided I'd stay at home. We finally sold our house, and we now live in an apartment. We're hoping to move to a house soon so that we can have a yard to play in and a neighborhood to walk in. The last 6 months have been an adventure and an adjustment. God is so good, because without Him, my staying at home would be just a dream.

My dear hubby is still working hard. His band is growing more and more every year, and he is reaping the benefits of being a hard worker. Keith is so good about spending time with his boys, too. Whether it's playing the horn with Joshua when Caleb's not around, or giving rides to Joshua, he's the best daddy. I'm so blessed to have him.

As for me, I'm learning to be a stay at home mom. Trying to decide what that looks like to me. I never experienced it growing up, and I'm realizing it's different for every family. I want to make it work. I like where we're heading, and I don't want to miss the todays as we get there. That's more of my reflecting, which I'll talk to you more about tomorrow, or in a couple of days.

glasses and cuddling

Joshua got glasses this February to fix a slight lazy eye. He's done so well, and we are so proud of him. He'll even fuss if we forget to put them on his!

The second picture is Joshua being...Joshua. A phone in one hand and cuddling with his leopard in another - he IS as sweet as he looks!




The last picture is our smarty with his favorite book, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? He can be found reading by himself all the time. Makes his teacher parents pretty proud!!

Our Fall & Winter

Are you as happy as we are that winter is coming to a close? It has been so busy and so cold! Here are some pictures to illustrate all we've experienced the last few months. I'll have to do another new post for some more, so keep on the lookout. :)

Joshua was a dinosaur for Halloween















Joshua loves peanut butter - just like Mommy!















Joshua cuddling with Daddy!














Fun sledding (on a rubbermaid lid)















Early morning block building