Fathers day

Happy Father's Day!!

I wanted to give a shout out to all the dads out there. That's any day out there biological, adoption dad, step-dad, father-in-law, god-father, etc. you all play a very important role in the life of your children. Thank you for loving them.

I wanted to give a special shout out to those in my life who have helped me grow in this life. Those who continue to teach and guide not only me but my precious babies.  Loosing my own dad at the age of 15 used to be very hard on me. Every Father's Day was just another day on the calendar because I had no dad to celebrate. A few years or more ago on a Father's Day Sunday the Lord really convicted my heart and my attitude! What I heard from the Lord that day was to open my eyes. Open them to the many blessings of "fathers" who he has strategically placed in my life to help fill the void. He also convicted my heart about remembering my Heavenly Father who loves me more than I deserve. Enough to give me the desires of my heart.

To the fathers who loved me as their own:

Buddy Owens - my god-father. My mom chose my aunt Wanda and uncle buddy to be our god parents when we were little.  Buddy made an amazing impact in my life that I never got the chance to tell him how thankful I am. He led me to Christ Jesus. The most important decision I have ever made and he was the person to show me the way. As Father's Day falls on the1 year anniversary of his death I pray his family my aunt Wanda and cousins find comfort in remembering the good and wonderful times they had with him. How his smile could light up a room. Sometimes I wonder if my aunt Wanda's love for beautiful smiles comes from a life of looking into his big smile. Love you, guys. Remembering you today and always.

My father-in-law, Donnie Inman - what a wonderful father you have been throughout the years and who you continue to be. You helped raise two amazing children who love and adore you. The respect and gratitude I hear in Dustin's voice when he talks about you never fails. I didn't have the kind of father Dustin had so I am always in owe of the things you would do for him, with him. I am thankful for the example you have been for him so he can be such a wonderful father to his and my two boys. I  am forever grateful that you have taken this little girl in and shown her how a father loves his children above his own desires.  Thank you for also loving your grandchildren above and beyond.  The way their eyes light up at the very mention of you brings joy to my soul.  Proverbs 22:6 says "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it".  Just watching Dustin in every aspect of his life shows what a great father you were to him.  For that and the many other reasons.... I am thankful.

To my loving Husband, the father of our two beautiful children.  What an amazing dad you are to the both of them.  Both of them are a part of you in different ways.  They are both so different and yet when I look at them I see you in their differences.  I love the way they love and adore you.  I love the way they will run to the door several times in the day thinking it is you if they think the garage door is lifting.  They do this whenever the washing machine is on.  I love the way Dexter has always been a daddy's boy and how he looks/thinks so much like you.  I love that you are so patient with them.  Taking the time to teach them things or explain things to them.  I am always in owe of how well you relate to them when explaining things especially to Dexter.  I love that you love the Lord and work to set an amazing example of what a Godly man is supposed to be/do in a family.  I love that you take the time after work to wrestle with them.  I'm pretty sure it's their favorite time of the day.  Mommy is so boring.  All she wants to do is clean.  ha!  I love that you show them daily how a daddy treats a mommy or how a husband should treat his wife.  I love that you work so hard to provide for your family.  I still giggle when Dexter asks for things in the stores and I tell him we can't buy it because it cost money and his response is "Well, daddy can just go to work and get some money and bring it to us".  Oh, to be a kid again and think money just comes from walking into a building without putting in the time and effort.  Above all else I love that you are devoted to not only them but to your family.  I could go on and on about how much I adore everything about you, but I'll save the rest for another day. Maybe anniversary post?  haha.  Don't be scared...  

There has been many men introduced in my life who have set examples of the way men provide for their family.  I am thankful to know all of them and to be able to continue watching how they provide and love their families.  It's a love that no one can replace.  Love your fathers out there.  Learn to forgive them where they fail.  You never know when they will no longer be with you.  If you find yourself in my shoes like I did so many years ago... look around and appreciate those men who God places in your life and remember that our heavenly father has a plan for that space.  While it may never be completely filled that hole can be changed to hope/faith/love/light if you allow it.

~Enjoy~

Emotions run high sometimes.

Life can be so hard emotionally sometimes you guys!  Tonight I am sad.  There is just so much going around right now that is hard to swallow at times.  People I love and care about are hurting.  They are hurting in their bodies and in their minds.  I am sad for my friends.  I am sad for my family.  I am sad for those I see struggling.  My top spiritual gift is Mercy.  I praise God for this gift but at times I don't feel like it's a gift.  I hurt when you hurt.  I see your tears and I hear your struggles.  I am your friend and your family.  I am that person that people can always tell anything to and I praise God for it.  Tonight it makes me sad.  It makes me sad because I love these people.  I want to fix their problems and make it all better but I can't.  I can't bring back their loved one.  I can't take away their sicknesses.  I can't fix their bodies.  I can't make them stop doing detrimental things.  However, I CAN be their person to cry with.  I can be their person to tell those worries, fears, concerns, problems to.  I can be their FRIEND.

God gives me this special gift and he worked everything into line to help me see it.  To help me develop it so I could shine light on Jesus.  He is the reason I can sit their patiently listening as a family member comes to me with their concerns.  OR when I can cry with a friend.  I am sad now, but tomorrow is a new day.  All I can do is lay these down at the feet of Jesus.  He is my rock when I am sad.  He places people in my life that inspire and uplift me.  He gave me a wonderful husband who will no doubt hug me if I tell him I need a hug(he doesn't pick up on emotional cues real well so I have to tell him... haha.  and I love him for it).  He gave me a kid who runs to me with his arms open wide in delight because I have just returned from being gone for a few hours.  I say one because the other is choosy when he wants to do this... I think he's getting too "old" for that kind of stuff or maybe that's my excuse because he's never been too big on that.  He is too much like his daddy.  He gives me a blog to pour my heart into so that maybe I can reach others.  As I type this out I can already feel the weight of the day lifting off my chest.  Just know that if you're going through things you need to get it out!  Let someone help you.  Let someone listen to you.  Emotional stressors can and will lead to physical complications.  Know that you are loved.  Not only by me, but God loves you too!  He loves you more than you've ever dreamed of being loved.  I can't promise that your problems will suddenly disappear, but I can promise you that with Jesus there is hope. Love you, friends.  Thank you for "hearing" me out.  

Home updates

School is out!!!!  Hooray!  What have I been doing with all of my "free" time?  I am glad you asked! I have chosen to take the summer off from school to be with my "baby" and intentionally spend time with him before he starts kindergarten this fall.  I am really looking forward to all the things that we are planning to do. 

I am also looking forward to getting a few projects done that have been on the back burner for a while.  Some of these projects include: Staining our cabinets a darker color, new countertops/backsplash, re-organizing my pantry, working on the front side flower bed, planting grass, re-painting upstairs, making DIY's for the house, painting our kitchen table, and various other things.  I really hope I can get to all of them.  We will see how it turns out and if I can get it all done.  I have already started on one of these and I'll show you how that turned out.  Our kitchen table was previously hand painted by someone who did a great job.  However, it was unique to their taste, and their taste did not match up to mine or the new decor of the kitchen.  So, it was time to re-paint it.  

I started out by stripping as much of the paint that was on there off and then I sanded it all down until it was smooth.

Then, I applied a coat of white primer and let that dry for a day. 

Then, I applied the first coat of our paint.

I ended up applying 3 coats of paint.  In-between the coats of paint I would sand the table.  After I was finished painting I applied a thin layer of furniture wax and then let the table sit for 2 days before putting anything on it or letting the boys "touch" it.  I am in love with how it turned out, and it looks so much better in our kitchen.  !  

Along with painting the table the latest updates to the house was to buy new curtains.  I saw some curtains at pottery barn that I fell in love with but they were a bit on the pricey side.  So, I decided to look around and also look at purchasing fabric to make my own curtains.  However, I could never find anything that just "fit" our home like those pottery barn curtains.  So what is a girl to do when faced with such a decision?  Save your shopping budget money for a while and purchase them when you have enough and when they go on sale.  It took me a while to be able to get them but I finally saved enough money and caught them on sale!  I am so happy with my decision to wait on them.  They are perfect for our house!  The room is brightened up so much and they look fantastic.  In my opinion. 

Here is a before...

 This was 2.5 years ago, but it shows the curtains we had prior

After

 I decided to go with a different curtain for the window on the other side of the room.  This was on the recommendation of my friend, Ashlea.  It saved me money and they look fantastic.  I found these curtains at home goods for only $16 (I think.. could have been cheaper, but I know they were not over $16) for the two panels.  Whoop whoop.  

I hope you like it as much as I do.  After I took down the old curtains I noticed that our living room walls were terrible looking.  We have paint missing in some spots, marks all over them, and kids hand prints on them.  I need to touch up but don't have the paint color to do that.  So, looks like I am going to have to add painting the living room to my list.  I love this color so I am going to have to paint match.  I'm wondering if I take on this task should I go through the trouble of removing the wallpaper in the hallway and painting it as well?  If I decide to do this I will need to paint the hallway a different color because one side of the hallway is a dark green that does not match the sage green color of the living room.  It goes well with the wallpaper but that wallpaper may be coming down.  I don't know what to do.  I will figure it out.  It just wasn't in the "plan".  

Sorry for the long post!  

~Enjoy~

A year of goals a little late

You guys!  It is March, and I just realized that I did not do a review of my yearly goals from last year and the updated yearly goals for this year.  So, lets get this party started!

2016 in review:

1. Grow in my relationship with God. -  My relationship with God and Jesus continue to grow, but I have seen a lot of growth in the last year.

2.  Date night once a month with my husband and  boys ( each of them seperately) - I love date night.  For the most part Dustin and I have a date night once a month.  I didn't do so well with taking Carter on date night but I did take Dexter out quite a bit.

3. Quality family time - Check

4. Become strong with fitness - It is always a struggle, but for the most part I am in the gym enough to keep me from getting fat.  HA!  I have to do better!

5. Cleaning schedule - NOPE

6. Make all a's in my classes - AGGGGGHHHHHH  Does all B's count?  =(  In all honesty I had A's and B's.  The last semester is the only semester I made a B in though so I guess that is good considering it was STATS!

7.  Pay off my car and start saving for a new car - CHECK.  The saving for a new car will continue until we actually need to buy a car.  Hopefully that is not soon.

8.  Make Carter a blanket - NOPE - Bad mommy award!

9.  Learn a new talent - nope.  Suggestions?

Okay, for a year in review I didn't do so bad.  Some things I excelled in and others not so much.  We win some and we lose some.

Here are this years goals for 2017

1.  Continued growth with my lord and savior!

2. Lead a bible study or a few.

3.  Date nights

4. Be a light for those who don't know Christ

5. Become better at crotchet - you guys I finally managed to learn how to crotchet; a rag! Anyways... I want to advance in the skill

6.  Health/fitness is always on the list

7.  Sew more.

8.  Stain our cabinets, get new counter tops and backsplash, and paint my kitchen table. - Coming summer 2017

9. Enjoy my summer with my boys!

I hope you enjoy reading about how I did on my yearly goals in 2016 and reading about the future goals of 2017.  Do you have any goals that you have created for yourself and your family?

~Enjoy~

Calling all mothers

Ladies, specifically moms. Be kind to one another. We're all in this boat together. Each of us may be in different stages, but we're all mothers and we all need grace, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. You never know what someone is going through in their personal lives that even if you're a part of they may or may not be letting you in on. I know feelings can run high and we can tend to react instead of respond. All I ask is that you take a moment to think about what your actions should be before you respond. Are your words or actions something you would like in that circumstance? Are you showing mercy, kindness or forgiveness? Are you showing that person Grace? Just remember that we are all NOT perfect. We all mess up. We all have different areas that we are more worked up over than others. Just take a deep breath and know that God is in control. Sometimes things don't happen the way that we think they should go or be. Relax and give it up to God. I know that is easier said than done sometimes, but it shouldn't stop us from constantly trying to give it up to him.

On a much lighter note I will give you the horror story of the weekend. This is real life parenting and real life what children will do sometimes. I promise he will be okay. I promise that I am not a terrible parent. I don't care what you say about my parenting. My children will always be well taken care of and never put in harms way! If you have anything negative to say about the following thing, please stay quite and keep your comments to yourself. Chances are they are not from God. So the story continues.....

Every morning the boys are allowed to brush their own teeth. At night time I brush them so to make sure they are brushed really good. Sunday morning while I am running around getting everyone ready for church by myself(my husband plays in the praise band so he is not with me on Sunday mornings to help get the kids ready) I hand the boys their toothbrushes to start brushing their teeth and I continue on with getting everything ready. I happen to walk by the bathroom door to see my youngest open the toilet lid in which I think nothing of because he likes to spit his tooth paste out into the toilet water and then watch it flush. Well, thank the lord above that I decided to stay in the doorway to watch for a second because my oh so sweet 2 year old decides that he needs to rinse his tooth brush off in the toilet and continue brushing his teeth! Nothing will get you moving faster than a kid sticking his toothbrush in the toilet and back into his mouth. After I live the horror of this and go through the steps of telling him we don't stick his toothbrush in the toilet I throw the toothbrush away and go about my business. We go to church, we come home, we eat, we play. we nap, we eat again, we play again, and we go to get ready for bed. To my horror someone has found the old toothbrush in the garbage can and put it back into the toothbrush holder. I assure you it wasn't me. I can only hope that it wasn't the same child. I can also hope that he didn't decide to brush his teeth again with it before sticking it in the holder. p.s. I can't promise you he hasn't done this before because he brushes his own teeth every morning. Sometimes I am not in the room because I am trying to get ready. So who knows. I do know that from now on I will be watching or put him out of the bathroom to brush his teeth.

If you're lucky enough you may get to see him smile and show a little teeth.

~Enjoy~