Being a Mom.

There's really nothing that can fully prepare you for becoming a Mom.  Sure, you can read the hundreds of books out there on parenting, but until you have a itty bitty tiny human in your arms, you can't quite understand.

As quickly as they started, the newborn days are over, and suddenly we have tiny humans on our hands.  They're rolling, crawling, walking, then running and each night you realize you will never have these days again.

Then, you enter the tunnel.  The days of dreading dinner time... it's loud, chaotic, and always a fight.  One of the boys is banging their fork against the plate, while the other is yelling "ahhh aaahhhh ahhhhhh", just to try and out-do the other.  These are also the days that you wave your white flag, even though its only 8:30am.  And of course the days that you think your child spent more time in his room in time-out, than he did outside his room.  You know the ones I'm talking about.

Through the chaos that abounds and also through the happy and silly times, above all, I want our home to be a place of refuge.  The place that our kids WANT to come home to... where they know they are loved and their voice is heard.  The place they want to go when they've been mistreated, or made fun of... or when they were chosen last.  As well as the place they run home to when they are so excited they can hardly speak.  I want to be the person that they want to share their secrets with.

Our Pastor talked this morning about the legacy we leave and have, not only on our children, but our grandbabies and beyond.  How similar our parenting style is to our own parents, because that's what we know.  Sure, we can tweak things here and there, but the bottom line for most of us is that we parent how we were parented.  Which, most likely is the same as our parents... and our grandparents.  The values, the traditions, the way we speak and talk to each other. The way we love our spouse will someday affect how our kids love theirs.  The amount of affection we show to our kids will someday affect how loving they are.  The way we react to positive and negative will most likely be how our children do as well.

We have such an important role to play.

Today, I'm especially thankful for my Mom, who is an amazing example and role model for me... who raised me in a Christian home, instilling Godly values in me that affect me daily.  I never fully understood the way she loved me, until I became a Mom myself.

I'm thankful for my Mother-in-law, who raised my husband to love God with all his heart.

I'm grateful for our grandparents... without them, we (literally) wouldn't be.

And today, I'm thankful for the blessing of being a Mom.  For the exhausting, terrifying, overwhelming moments that give me opportunities to show my complete dependence on the Lord.  I'm thankful for the chance to put my boys' needs above my own, on a daily basis.  And more than anything, I'm so grateful for the sweet and tender moments that put everything else into perspective.

Thank you, Jesus for my boys.  Being a Mom is one of my greatest blessings.

"Before you were conceived, I wanted you.  Before you were born, I loved you.  Before you were an hour old, I would die for you.  

This is the miracle of love." 

-Maureen Hawkins 

Tidbits + Giveaway winner.

- The garage sale this past weekend was so.much.fun!  I'm admittedly a total dork when it comes to this and didn't want to leave the sale, even to use the restroom!  I don't know what it is, but it's so interesting to me to see what people are buying... the saying "one man's junk is another man's treasure" is DEFINITELY the case at these sales... ha!  We had a fun time with the family, as usual, and I came home with $350 in my pocket and an (almost) empty trunk, so it was a win-win all around.  Everyone keeps asking if we're going to buy anything fun with the money... yep, gas money to Canada!

- Have you tried the new chocolate chip cookie from ChickFilA?  Oh heavens, they are so so good.  Drive-thru warm delicious cookies are dangerous!

- Jaxon has slept through the night for years now, so last night when he was crying and yelling for me, I was pretty quick to jump off the couch to see what was wrong.  With the sweetest, yet whiniest voice, he said "I want to rock with you, Mommy."  I have no idea where this came from, but I sat and rocked and sang my boy to sleep.  I remember the last time I rocked him as a baby like it was yesterday... it was the night before Mother's Day 2 years ago. A little strange that it's within days of Mother's Day again that he asked, but I loved it.  Soaked it in.  

- I am on the hunt for a super cute maxi dress for summer... it seems like an essential part of a wardrobe.  I ordered one yesterday from AE, so we'll see how it looks once it gets here.

- A couple days ago our music pastor from Waco posted a picture of a HUGE...HUGE snake that he said his wife found while out on her run in their neighborhood.  He posted the street corner it was found at, and I looked it up on the map only to find it was 2 BLOCKS from our old house.  I don't know if I've ever shared, but I don't go a day without fearing snakes.  Aside from losing my family, I would confidently say they are my biggest fear.

- Our lease is up in 5 days, and we still haven't heard from our landlord about signing another lease.  I assume this means we're on a month-to-month basis until we do sign another one, but it's so strange that we haven't heard from them.  I mean, not really, since we haven't heard from them in over 6 months, but it still feels strange to me.  I am really trying hard to be happy and content here... but seriously, I can't wait to own again some day.

- I am adding "attend a Whatever craft weekend" to my bucket list.  Anyone else want to go with me?  For real.

- I'm still itching to hit the pavement and start running again, but am SO hesitant because of my knees.  My Dad, who also has major knee issues, has started running and plans to run a marathon with my Sister this fall, so that has inspired me to try try try again.  I just need to get my jogging stroller fixed!

- I've heard 2 different people testify about provision this past week, and am so thankful to serve a God who promises to provide for our every need.  I love hearing testimonies like these.  So encouraging!

- I am getting excited about summer with the beautiful weather we've had this past week.  As much as I dislike the heat and humidity, being outdoors with my boys just screams fun.  I want to have lots of BBQ's with friends, travels out of the city, tons of time in the water, and multiple campfires.  Who's in?

- One last random thing.... Starbucks has HAPPY HOUR from 3-5 each day until May 15, half price frappucino's!  I would be lying if I said I haven't gone already... twice.  :)

- The winner of the printable invitation design from Life Well Lived is KARI!  Congrats, friend... Send me an email and I'll get you more info!  

Recipe love.

Unfortunately cooking each night is a mandatory thing, so to help keep it spicy in my kitchen, I love to try out new recipes.  My goal is to try 1-3 new dishes a week... it keeps us on our toes so we don't fall in the routine of eating the same thing.

I love when people do things like this, so here are a few recipes from Pinterest that we've tried and really enjoyed.  

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Megan on Pinterest

We LOVE these... one of my favorite things to throw in the crock pot before church and come home to. So easy!

Source: recipe-diaries.com via Megan on Pinterest

A yummy weight watchers recipe... even my hubby liked these.

Source: afarmgirlsdabbles.com via Megan on Pinterest

One of my favorite Pinterest finds... I accidentally doubled the pasta the first time I made it, which made the soup VERY thick, which made Tyler happy since he's not a huge soup lover.

Source: tidymom.net via Megan on Pinterest

Not much to say, other than yummy.

Source: whataboutpie.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Another one of our favorites... these are EASY and good.

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Oh my, another good one.  This also makes a very large batch, so I could easily cut this in half for our family... but we love the leftovers.

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Megan on Pinterest

I think I've only made these once, but we liked them.

Source: recipegirl.com via Megan on Pinterest

Ahhhh... my "go to" breakfast when we have guests.  SO rich, but SO good.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Megan on Pinterest

Another "go to" of mine... if I ever bring you a meal, this is what it will most likely be.  It is easy to double and keep half for our family, and give the other half to someone who needs it!

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Megan on Pinterest

Not for the vegetarians or dieters.  :)  We add pepperjack cheese and mushrooms to this, and LOVE them.

Source: goo.gl via Megan on Pinterest

A fun twist on Mexican/taco night.  I loved these, Tyler thought they were just okay... but he doesn't really like tacos to begin with.

Source: tandriantastytidbits.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Really really really enjoyed this one.  Next time I'll cut the recipe in half, because the leftovers weren't great.

Try out some of these recipes and let me know what you think!

What about you... have you found anything good to eat lately?  You know me... always on the look-out for something new!  Ha!

Cute boys + A giveaway

Just a few weeks late to show you my cute boys at Easter...

How does that saying go...  Better late than never?

We had a really fun Easter day at my Sister's house this year... her first time to host! I told her she didn't have to do an egg hunt for my boys and she replied totally appalled, "What kind of Aunt would I be if I didn't have one!?!?"

Apparently the Indian-style parka was also a necessity.

She makes me laugh.

 

 

Chocolate covered mouth's make the best pictures, don't they?


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A friend of mine just started up her own Etsy business, Life Well Lived, and has offered to give away a custom printable invitation OR printable recipe cards to one of my readers!

How cute are these?!

I'm in love with this Anthro-inspired shower invitation...

And an outdoor BBQ... how fun would that be this summer!

To see more of their work, check out their etsy page!

To enter, simply go to Facebook and "like" their page, Life Well Lived...
Then leave me a comment saying you did just that... super easy! 

The winner will receive 1 printable invitation design OR set of printable recipe cards of your choice.  The invitations are perfect for the next bridal/baby shower, kids birthday, etc that you are throwing!

Giveaway ends next Thursday, May 10.


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My parents subdivision holds a HUGE garage sale each year that is so very chaotic but so much fun.  I have been busy all week prepping for that... I have LOTS of stuff to sell that has been in storage for a couple years  now.  You know when you have a big house how you buy stuff just to fill it up?  And then you move to a smaller house and realize how silly it is to keep all that stuff?  Yep... lots of items to sell.  :)

I need to finish my laundry, say a little prayer that everything fits in my car, and load it up to go.

What about you ... what are you up to today?

Marriage retreat.

re·treat: 

a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy.

It hasn't been long since Tyler and I got away for an evening.  Just a couple months ago we stayed downtown for a "Staycation", and while we thoroughly enjoyed that night away, this one felt much different.


Friday night we arrived at the hotel to check-in and pretty quickly joined up with our group from church.  The leaders gave some quick instructions, handed out our packets, and sent us on our way... to be alone for the night.  Best.idea.ever.  The leader commented saying she always hated going on retreats or conferences and never getting any alone or "down" time with her spouse, so we were running things differently this time around.  Right on, lady.

Tyler and I decided to find a coffee shop.  It's one of my favorite places on earth... find a quiet corner, a cup of joe, and I'm good for hours on end.  Our only "task" Friday night was to do some homework, which I gladly obliged.  My husband isn't much of a DEEP talker, so it's pretty rare that we get to sit and have some GOOD heart to heart conversation that isn't fueled by a need to make decisions, or by something that happened.  The type of conversations we had all weekend long were solely fueled in love, and genuine concern for each other and our marriage. 

Saturday was spent in sessions with the group, but there was so much time reserved for talking one-on-one as well.  We reminisced about the past... one of my favorite sections of the workbook was taking a trip down memory lane.  We talked about the present, we prayed for forgiveness.  Another favorite session of mine was when we affirmed and encouraged each other... hello my love language!  And most importantly, the couple hours we spent studying and discussing where God is in our relationship was eye-opening and challenged us to be better.  Honestly?  There wasn't a single part of the retreat that I didn't like or didn't gain something from.  

We were away from distractions.

Away from stress.

Away from worry.

Away from responsibility.

Away from interrupted conversations.

I love the way that God showed up and met us where we are.  He not only spoke to us individually, but together in our relationship as well.  I love the illustration used that without God in our triangle, we are simply a straight line.  He is the core of our relationship... and as our wise Pastor reminded us, the safest place to be in your spouse's heart is number two, with God being first.

I can't say it enough what a great time we had. 

Do you even know how many times we raced each other to the car?!

It was child-like fun, all weekend long.

Also, a huge...huge...HUGE thank you to my brother and his wife (and kids!) for hanging out with our boys.  There are not sufficient words to thank you enough... for loving us and helping us any time we need it. 

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7