Family Fun and Elijah turning Five!

This year we decided to do something very different.  Instead of  big birthday parties (which we are pretty good at) and a big lavish summer, we decided to focus more on family time and quality!  This is the first summer in a while we haven't been doing moving, trips, babysitting, homeschooling, etc.  We do like to stay busy, and we LOVE doing stuff with other people, but this much needed "us" time has been wonderful.

For Elijah's fifth birthday we decided to let him pick the location of our mini vacation.  Since he wants to grow up and be an astronaut, NASA it was!!  We had a wonderful trip with our family (and my parents) doing the Houston Zoo, NASA, and relaxing evenings on the beach.  Instead of a hotel and crazy plans, we took it easy, rented a house on the beach, and got to enjoy a very good vacation.  Elijah also preferred this over a house of friends and overwhelming day.  I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity to get away, and have good quality time.  The boys got to learn a lot, explore things they loved, and got good memories as a family.  I am thankful that my husband was healthy enough to enjoy the trip as well, and watching him with three boys following is one of my favorite things!  He is an amazing husband and father, and I'm so thankful that our boys love to follow their daddy.

Among the fun was also the Flying Pizza place (where yes, they THROW those Pizza's high), and walks on the beach.  Samuel got to practice riding the waves on the boogie board.  Elijah worked on being brave and got pretty deep in the ocean waves.  Ezekiel had a blast swimming in the ocean, and Mira learned that she did NOT like sand, or dirt!  These are the memories we will remember and cherish as a family.  I'm glad we've done big friends activities in the past, but a toned down family summer is just what we needed.

We are embracing the simpler things too!  Instead of a fancy cake, we got fun clearance cupcakes that were JUST as much fun!!  Instead of a big themed party, we had the fun adventure of NASA.  Instead of a stressed out mommy trying to keep up with everything else, we had a great family weekend!!

ON another note:  We took the boys in for eye checks and learned the Samuel needs reading glasses because he is far sighted, and Elijah inherited mommy's lazy eye and nearsightedness!  I am very glad we caught it early and they think it's "so cool" to have glasses like mommy and daddy now!  They were so excited to pick their own frames, and experience the eye doctor.  Once they are in next week they can't wait to show everyone their cool new look.  

Hope everyone is having a great summer so far!   We definitely are enjoying our new adventures all the time that range from eye doctors, to water parks, to lazy days, to NASA!  Focus on making life an adventure!  Your kids will remember how happy you were, not how many toys they had.  They will remember the good of a close family, not who had the biggest parties.  Focus on the important things, because we only have one shot at raising these amazing kids.

Ten years later.

Looking back, ten years ago I graduated high school.  That part of my life had lots of ups, down, and in the middles, but one thing I do remember was writing about "What do I want to be in ten years?"

In high school between health, homeschooling, private schooling, and lots of other things, my life was constantly changing!  I had grand ideas, and BIG plans, and a very detailed way of how to get there.  At the time, ten years away felt forever away, and now I can't believe just how quickly it came!!

Now, it's already ten years later!!!  Wow!

In high school where I saw myself in ten years was:
1) Career military (preferably officer)
2) Homeschooling mom (as a second choice)
3) Happily married with up to 4 kids
4) Serving in church ministry
5) Raising my children for Christ.

Now, that is the short of it.  There was a lot of details in the middle of how I would accomplish this, and things like that.  Throughout the last ten years there have been times where I honestly did not see any of this coming true.  I saw the extreme problems and trials I was in, but through it all God has blessed us and ended up fulfilling everything I had wanted!

I did end up briefly in the military.  I did end up in college.  I did end up a homeschooling mom!  I am happily married, with my four children and serving in ministry, raising them for Christ!!  All of my major "what I wanted" did come true.

I want to encourage and remind everyone that even when you look around and don't see how it can possibly work out, trust that God has a plan, and when you put your faith in him, he will end up giving you what you want and more!  It may not happen HOW you want it to, but the end it can still happen.  I could go all day on the situations I was in and how I saw no way out, but every single time, God ended up taking care of it in ways I never could imagine!

I can't wait to see where God puts us in the next ten years, and to see how our family grows and changes even more!!

Here is my graduation speech from ten years ago: check it out here!

Little bit of Grace goes a long way.

This last month has been a good reevaluating month for me.  It's the first time in two years I haven't been in college, having a new baby, or have a house full of other people's kids.  Now, yes, I do love and enjoy doing ALL of those things, but it makes for a very busy season of life that is constantly changing.  This summer I have been needing a HUGE break.  Break from friends, break from homeschooling, and overall break from life.   As many know, I struggle from depression (especially post pardum), and lots of other things.  Most days I manage it well, but this past year it has been helped that I have had an amazing group of moms that encourage and are there for each other.

This last month, so much of that changed.  Most of my moms I had been bonding with had other life changes as well, so it quickly stopped.  This makes for feeling isolated, alone, depressed, and other hurt emotions.  The problem with all of this is, as moms, we NEED encouragement and love and grace.  I read a quote earlier that hit me hard:

"Most of the time, moms who are on the verge of burnout are afraid to say so because they live in fear of being judged by others.  Oh that we would be known for our grace toward one another!" ~Heidi St. John

Moms spend so much time judging, opinionated, and making it hard to be gracious towards each other.  When we feel attacked and judged, we isolate, which often ends up to the detriment of our relationships, our health, and sometimes our sanity.

Realize that we all do things differently, we all react to things differently, and we all are going through struggles differently.  Instead of comparing, attacking, and judging, let's all be gracious and loving and lift each other up!

Dig into your Bibles, and pray for your friends.  When a mom is struggling alone, it is so much easier to fall into temptation, drift from church, and lose accountability in our life.

Lean on the Lord for strength and comfort, and as a mom, also pray and support your friends who are struggling and hurting!

2 Corinthians 12:9King James Version (KJV) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Matthew 7:7King James Version (KJV) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Psalm 18:1King James Version (KJV)  I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

Galatians 6:2King James Version (KJV) Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

I am so thankful for the moms that stick with me and are there for me during my hard days.  I'm also thankful for the moms that let me be there for them as well.  Even when we go through different griefs, losses, and struggles, it's important that we show love and grace to each other.

I am taking a much needed break from most of our "crazy" life, but learning to slow down and enjoy my family and pray and love on those around me more is much needed.  I didn't realize just how long I had been running non stop!  Thankful for the opportunity to do this as we pray and reflect on our past year as a family, and start making changes to make this year even better with our homeschooling and our family relationship!