Autumn Just Crawled! (So I won't forget)

At 8.5 months, Autumn Mae just put her first knee forward to crawl!  For what you might ask?  A plastic sword.  I will take this as a sign that my sweetie will grow to be passionate for God's Word, the Sword of Truth, LOL!  A mother can think that way right?  Anyway, just had to pop on here to commemorate the milestone so I won't forget.  And that makes her my earliest crawler I do believe, the girl is going places, yikes! 

Sick Lessons

Lessons during times of sickness:

1.  if you think getting up once a night with a baby makes you tired, remember it could always be worse... like being sick with a cold yourself and getting up with multiple children all night long.  Lesson?  Don't complain, it could always be worse.

2.  When mama is sick, housework doesn't get done... but it certainly continues to pile up.  Lesson?  Ask for specific help from well family members when your sick, they aren't mind readers after all.

3.  A baby's cough can wake a mama from the deepest sleep and spring her to her feet faster than lightning.  Lesson?  Stop worrying that you won't hear them or wake up if they need you, I'm pretty sure the angels shake mamas awake when they are needed.

4.  Sometimes, the whole family just needs to sit around and watch movies all day.  Mindless snuggles when you're sick are very important.  Lesson?  It's really okay to do this, don't feel guilty about it!  It takes voice power to read to the kids, mama's sore throat no likey, give yourself a break!

5.  Even the nastiest virus's/ infections do go away eventually, so take heart!  I always try to remember this when I think of those with terminal illnesses.  Again, it could always be worse.

So what am I going to do right now?  Go snuggle with Chloe:).

A Concerted Effort

So I think I'm ready for some more bloggy action!  Yes, I want to post on here more and be on facebook less, lofty goals I know, but if you aim for nothing you'll hit it every time right!;).  So here I am with a random post to relieve the pressure I feel to only write the deep and eloquent.
- Chloe had her nursery rhyme festival at school today.  She made an adorable Little Miss Muffet!  Each student was to recite their nursery rhyme to the class, but Chloe has a bad case of stage fright, so guess who ended up saying her rhyme for her, DADDY!  Now that's real heroism!
-I'm getting my football gear on tonight for our mom's ministry's annual fund raising auction.  There is a homemade nativity calendar, made by my friend Lindsey, with my name on it!! I WILL be the highest bidder, so just keep your paddles down ladies!
-Chloe wants me to play with her, and they only do that for so long right?, so I'm saying yes!:)  Gotta run!

Sacred Marriage- Chapter 2

This was a great chapter!  I love how Gary brought us back to the Biblical and primary purpose of marriage, which is to model God's love for and relationship to the church.  Our marriages are supposed to be a picture of divine reconciliation.  A reconciliation that involved commitment and sacrifice and complete selflessness.  Gary says, "If I believe the primary purpose of marriage is to model God's love for his church, I will enter this relationship and maintain it with an entirely new motivation, one hinted at by Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians: "So we make it our goal to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9)."  We have been given so much in the Salvation we received because of what Christ did on the cross, it should be our priority in marriage and in every other area of our lives to please God.  It's an act of worship, a big "thank you" that we can't say enough.  God is clear in the Word that committed, lasting marriages are what pleases Him.  He gave the analogy of how extremely wet forests rarely have devastating forest fires, so there are some extremely old trees in those forests.  I'm going to get quote happy here, but I underlined a lot in this chapter.  Gary says, "Strong Christian marriages will still be struck by lightning- sexual temptation, communication problems, frustrations, unrealized expectations- but if the marriages are heavily watered with an unwavering commitment to please God above everything else, the conditions won't be ripe for a devastating fire to follow the lightning strike."  The thing that really struck me while reading this chapter is how we  need to guard ourselves against the world's view of what marriage should be.  Gary says, "The key question is this: Will we approach marriage from a God-centered view or a man-centered view?  In a man-centered view, we will maintain our marriage as long as our earthly comforts, desires, and expectations are met.  In a God-centered view, we preserve our marriage because it brings glory to God and points a sinful world to a reconciling Creator."  And really what it all boils down to is that the world teaches us to be selfish, to always be looking out for our best interests instead of going to God for all our needs and then laying our lives down for others.  My prayer as we continue in this study is that I will be constantly reminded to put my relationship with God first, to go to Him when I have need or struggle before burdening Travis with unrealistic and misplaced expectations.  I praise the Lord for giving me a renewed sense of "for better or worse" after reading this chapter, a renewed commitment to making our marriage one of those oldest trees in the forest, for His glory, as we water ourselves with God's word and presence and power to "do all things through Him who gives us strength"!

Oh Little Blog of Mine!

Oh little blog of mine, all dusty and neglected.  I have not forgotten you, sweet place where my heart gets voice.  You see, dear friend, life is full... full of good things and people who need my love and serving.  Your season will come again, so sit tight.  But for now, living life well is far more important than writing about it and time is limited, I must be a good steward of it, for the days are evil and time slips away all too quickly.  Thank you for waiting...

Our Story- "Sacred Marriage Study"

Okay folks, don't faint with shock, but I'm actually going to do a thinking  post!  At least I'm praying my thoughts come coherently.  I'm starting a study on the book titled, "Sacred Marriage".  My dear childhood friend Jenn (and current bestie, yes Jenn, I just reverted to junior high and called you that;)) is hosting this study and I'm so excited to dig in.  A couple of years ago I attended a conference that Gary Thomas, the author of the book, spoke at.  I remember being particularly drawn to this book and his message about it, but never did buy the book, sort of put it on the mental back shelf as a "when I have time to go to the bathroom, let alone read a book" book.  I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to arrive in the mail so I can crack it open.  Going in to this study, I'm ready to go deeper.  Here's the description of the book: 

"Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully, and love him more deeply. Scores of books have been written that offer guidance for building the marriage of your dreams. But what if God's primary intent for your marriage isn't to make you happy. . . but holy? And what if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God" 

For those who may not know, Travis and I have a long history.  We've known each other for over half our lives actually.  We met in Junior High, 7th and 8th grade (I'm a year and a half older than him, yes a craddle robber).  Having met so young and having been so young in our walks to boot, we were not short of struggles in our dating relationship, many to do with the temptation of physical intimacy.  But looking back, even though our struggles in our physical relationship seemed to be the all-encompassing struggle, I can now see that there were many other things going on that have shaped what our marriage is today.  My dad was dying of brain cancer shortly after we met.  Travis and his family became an escape for me as a self centered teenager, it was the way I found normal in a very overwhelming family crisis.  My dependence on Travis became immense, I was very needy and I counted on Travis, not the Lord, to meet all of my needs.  It set the stage for a very claustrophobic Travis who started to pull away as my grip tightened.  We had a brief separation during our dating years when my neediness got to a boiling point which forced me to the well I had been neglecting, my relationship with God.  I finally found what I really needed all along and Travis and I experienced great freedom from it, which brought us back together.  Through all of our struggles and triumphs, we are continually humbled to see God at work in our individual hearts and in our marriage.  My hope for this study is that God would get to the deep places in my heart that need refining, that He would continue to bless and grow our marriage as we are open and moldable before Him.  I am so thankful for the blessing of Travis, this man that God has entrusted to me to love and honor and care for!  I am thankful for his friendship and commitment and openness, for his willingness to share his heart without holding back, to confess his temptations, sins, hopes, and convictions and to listen when I need to share my own heart.  I am thankful for the ways he serves and provides for our family, the ways he lays down his own life and interests for us on a daily basis, the way he partners with me in the care and raising of our four children, often up in the night with them even more than I am.  He is a treasure to me, a treasure I never want to take for granted.  And I am convinced, now more than ever, that our story is not a story about us, but rather a story about God and what He can do.  It is a story of His glory despite ourselves, a story that I pray will point all who know us to the One who is the source of all life and hope and true joy, the author and perfecter of our faiths.  I'll be back with more thoughts from the study as we go along, but if you are so inclined, please pray that this study would be used by God in my life and the lives of all who are participating.  And join in if you'd like!

Sawyer is three!

I'm so late getting this up, I try to get these birthday posts up day of, but I digress.  Sawyer turned three on Friday!  Yes, my baby boy isn't a baby anymore (although he'll always be mine).  I feel like Sawyer has changed so much from two to three.  His language has taken off, it's now very rare that I can't understand what he's saying.  And his will has taken shape to be sure, and he gets right in there playing with the girls. He's no longer the annoying toddler, but rather the much desired cast member to many dramas.  In fact, Emma and Chloe often fight over who Sawyer seems to favor on a given day, shmoozing him with sweet talk and promises of treats and toys in order to come out on top.  He knows his power and it's pretty cute to watch him revel in it. Oh what sweetness escapes every pore of my little man's being!  Travis often says he's got me wrapped around his little finger, and I really can't deny it, after all, he is my only son.  And truly, after seeing these pictures, is there any wonder why I'm so smitten?  Sawyer Michael, you are such a gift!