What a fun day

We had a really fun day today. Jordan had his family picnic to end the school year. We go and get his report card tomorrow, and the Kindergarten year will be over. Claire had a lot of fun sitting with Jordan; she is really ready to start Kindergarten in the fall. She will get to be in Mrs. Bargatze's class; that was Jordan's teacher. We are really excited about that. She was wonderful. Luke had fun, too. He decided he needed to smush his cereal bar in his hands. What a mess! It was pretty cute, though.
Then I picked Jordan up and we headed to the pool. Luke is really loving the water. I am so glad since we spend so much of our summer there. I guess he knows he doesn't have much choice. Hope everyone had a good day.

My husband

I often take for granted how wonderful my husband is. But tonight, I was at a baby shower and got to spend some time with some of my very best friends and was so thankful to have a break for a couple of hours. I got to thinking how lucky I was to have a husband that was so helpful with the kids. Stephen's grandmother talks about how proud she is of Stephen and the way he helps me. She said that she loves watching us with the kids because we always seem so happy. While we have times that aren't so happy, we know how blessed we are.
But I also know that all husbands don't help as much as mine. All husbands won't do whatever they need to do so they can support their families. All husbands don't give their wives all of the breaks Stephen gives me. And the best part is not that he gives me those times, but he does it happily and without complaining.
I know that he feels like he has let me down is so many ways. I know that he feels like we should be in a better position financially. But I wouldn't trade what I have for all the money in the world. I feel like our experiences and our challenges that we have been through have made us who we are today. I know that they have made me trust God more. I have learned that He always provides what we need and always at just the right time. I have learned that money and things aren't important. I have learned that every minute I get to spend with my children is a precious gift, and I need to thank my husband for allowing me and wanting me to have that dream.
Honey, I love you more than words can describe and I thank God everyday that He blessed me with you. You are what I have always wanted and needed. There is a song that I hear on the radio sometimes that says, "When God made you, He must have been thinking of me." That captures my thoughts exactly. I love you.

The pictures I have been promising

The pool is open!

Our favorite thing to do in the summer is go to the pool at the Y. Of course I forgot my camera, but o well. Luke really liked it. I wasn't sure how he was going to do because he didn't really like the kids' pool at home. But he played and played. We took his "Measure Up Cups" and a ball. Claire got to play with Mackenzie, one of our friends that I have been keeping until her sisters and mom get done with school. It was a really fun time. We will probably go back tomorrow, so I will try and remember my camera. I hope everyone is enjoying these first days of summer.

Fun with friends

We have had a really fun few days. I have come to realize even more how incredibly blessed we are with the friends we have. The kids are really getting close as they get older. They love spending time together. We went to the Children's Discovery Center in Murfreesboro this week. It is a really neat learning center for kids. We took our lunch and ate it at the playground there. They had so much fun. I am overwhelmed everyday at God's blessings on our family. It is more than I deserve. Thank God for His mercy and grace.
(My computer is going really slow tonight, so I will post pictures tomorrow.)

Our small group

We just got home from our small group Bible study. We have been meeting for 2 years now I guess. I can't really remember when we started because I feel like I have always been friends with them. We love our group so much. It is so nice to be close to people who have kids around our kids' ages. We study the Bible together. We pray together. We have common goals when it comes to raising our kids. Our kids are getting to grow together. They even have their own Bible study time. I just love them so much. They help me grow in more ways than they probably even know. We talked tonight about how we can become even closer spiritually, holding each other accountable and praying for/with each other more. I feel like God is getting ready to do something amazing with our group. I am not sure what that is yet, but it will be fun to watch. I am so thankful for you guys! Thank you for opening your lives to us.

The weekend and other thoughts

Jordan completed his first soccer season on Saturday. He was so fun to watch. He decided to really get into it for the last game. He scored several times and really had a great time. We were supposed to go to the zoo today with our friends, but the weather is keeping us home. I think we are going to postpone the trip for a couple of weeks.



I have been thinking a lot about how I am raising my kids. Most people would say they are pretty well-behaved and use their manners, etc. And they do for the most part. But I feel like we have only been teaching them the "outer behaviors". I don't feel like we are really getting to their hearts and teaching them why they need to behave a certain way. We don't tell them why they don't need to complain or argue (Philippians 2:14). We don't tell them why they have to respect others. They know some Bible verses, but for the most part, when they ask why, we just say "Because I said so". And while they need to learn to obey without arguing, I feel like if they knew the purpose behind the things we tell them, they would be more inclined to want to obey. I want to teach them to love God, love Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and to love the Word. Maybe I don't love God the way I should and so I can't teach my kids to do it. I can tell them all the right things, but unless they see me living it out, it won't connect with them. I guess the saying is true: actions do speak louder than words. Maybe God is teaching me not to complain and argue when He tells me to do something. Until I learn the lesson for myself, I probably won't be effective when teaching my kids. I just long for them to be passionate lovers of God. I long for them to have a heart that longs for a relationship with Jesus and has an unquenchable thirst for his Word. I want them to know how deeply God loves them so they will want to love him back."We love because he first loved us." Maybe I should be praying these things for myself first, and then my kids will see them in me. Then I can teach them. Just some thoughts that have been weighing on my mind.

Her true self

This is the true nature of my daughter. This was taken at the Knoxville Zoo. Thanks, Uncle Mark!

Annie

Claire and I got to go see "Annie" at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center last night. My dad got some free tickets and wanted to take us. We didn't know where the seats were until we got there and we were expecting to be up in the balcony. Boy, were we surprised. Our tickets were on the FRONT ROW!!! We were so excited. My dad and I did a local production of the show when I was about 12 years old, so it was fun to see it on a big stage. Claire really enjoyed it, eventhough it was her bed time when the show started. She made almost all the way through before falling asleep. She was so much fun to watch. She was fascinated! I almost enjoyed watching her as much as the actual play. Anyway, we had a really great time. It really made me miss doing plays. I have only done two plays, but they are so much fun. Maybe when the kids get a little older and I can be gone a little more, I will start doing that again. It just takes so much time away with rehearsals and everything. O well. I get to see little performances everyday at home anyway! I hope you all have a blessed day.

graduation picture

This is a picture of Luke and me at Mark's graduation. Jordan is in the green shirt behind us and Stephen and Claire are to the left. Hopefully I will get some more pictures from the weekend soon. Being at the graduation really made me want to go to college. I only went for one semester before several circumstances put that on hold. Maybe I will be able to start back in the near future. Who knows?

Mother's Day

My mom and Claire My mom and Jordan
My mom and Luke

Luke makes this face all the time.

I had the best Mother's Day. Stephen got me a digital camera so I could post pictures on my blog. I was so excited. I had been wanting one for a while. He also got me an MP3 player to take to the Y. He told the kids to tell me they got me a car vacuum cleaner. Obviously, what I got was better! Anyway, it was a really good day. We went to church with my mom, who the kids call Meme, and a lot of my family was there. I have such a great mom. She has always been so supportive of me. She is very encouraging of me and loves my kids so much. I don't know what I would do without her. We spent the day with her and all went to eat at O'Charley's that afternoon. Stephen came down with some sort of stomach bug that morning, so he spent the day at home. I don't realize how much he really helps me until I have a whole day without him. He is the best father and does so much to help me at home. I am so blessed! I was pretty tired Sunday night when we finally got home, but it was still a really good day. We went to Knoxville on Friday to watch Stephen's brother, Mark, graduate from UT. On Saturday, we went to the zoo with the family. It was so much fun. The kids didn't want to leave. Stephen's grandparents went to the zoo with us. We love spending time with them. They still talk about each other with such love and admiration. It is so refreshing to spend time with them. I was telling Stephen about some of the things they said about each other over the weekend and he said that he was looking forward to us growing old together. Me too, honey. I will post pictures from that trip when I get them from PaPa. I didn't have my camera yet! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

We took some family pictures Sunday afternoon at Cannonsburg, one of the historic places in Murfreesboro. The three kids on the left are mine, Claire, Jordan and baby Luke. The other boy is Tristan, our nephew. They love each other so much. It is really fun to watch them play together.

Thankful for friends

I just got home from a great lunch with some of my friends. All of our kids are at their last full day of preschool before Summer, so we thought we would have one last outing. We went to Miller's Grocery, this really cool restaurant in Christiana, TN. It is in a really old building and has a really neat atmosphere. The food is awesome. My sister-in-law, Becky, kept Luke and Claire for me, so I even got to go alone! Claire is home sick today; she has very severe allergies and is in one of her bad spells right now. Anyway, it was really fun and much needed. I am truly blessed to have such great friends.

First time for everything

Well, this is the start of a new journey for me. I read other people's blogs all of the time and am always inspired, so today I thought I would start my own. I hope the details of my everyday life as a stay-at-home mom of three small kids will inspire someone.

Today, I took my youngest, Luke, 11 mos, to the ENT. He has had eight ear infections in the last six months. He is still such a sweet baby, though. He rarely cries and usually smiles. He is a good sleeper, good eater, and loves much. Anyway, he will have tubes put in his ears on June 9, the day before his first birthday. Some birthday present, but I know he will feel better once that is done. Claire, my very fun, creative 5 yr old, went with me to the appointment. We were there almost 3 hours, but she did great. She is very entertaining, so Luke enjoyed her company.
Jordan, my 6 yr old almost 1st grader, got to spend some quality time with his uncles while I was at the appointment. Jordan is my "high achiever". He loves school. He even wants to go in the summer! I never wanted to do that. But I am glad he does. He is so smart and fun to be around. I am amazed every day that God has given me such amazing, beautiful kids. One of these days I will figure out how to post pictures.

Stephen is my wonderful husband. He has a good job and works tirelessly so that I can stay home and be with the kids. He is an amazing father and husband. We have been married for almost 10 years.

And then there's me. Not much to me outside of taking care of my family, but I guess that is enough in and of itself. I love, love, love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything. I also love my relationship with God and love to study His word, although I don't have as much time for that as I would like. But I am trying to set aside time each day to spend with Him. I really don't have time NOT to. He is the Air I breathe. I also love to exercise and spend time with my wonderful friends.

Well, that should do it for today. Hope you enjoyed my very plain, but very fulfilling day.