I want you to know...

 This blog is a way to share inspiration, connect with others and record memories. Yes.

But, I want it to be so much MORE than just that.

I also want it to be REAL.


I don't want you to think I have it all together...'cuz what's the point of that anyway? It only makes people feel intimidated and unable to relate to a "normal" person.

And let's face it, we're all normal.

Some of us just fake it better than others.

I know, because I used to be a faker.

I'm still working on not being a faker.


***


So, I want you to know...

I am not perfect. 

I am far far away from perfect.

I often feel incredibly lazy.

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I yell at my kids sometimes.

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I do not cook meals every night.

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And if I do, I usually complain about it.

I do not clean my house every day.

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Except when the laptop isn't working of course.

I disappoint others.

I disappoint myself.

In short, I am a sinner.

BUT......

I am forgiven.

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I am treasured.

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And I have a Father who loves me...

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...more than I will ever know.


***


Decorating. Organizing. Raising kids. Being a wife. Cooking. Cleaning.

Those are just things I do. They are not who I am.


I am His.

I do those things for Him.

Date your husband

About four months ago I was organizing our family photos and I discovered something:

There were hardly any pictures of Greg and I in the past few years! Sure....there were tons of pictures of the kids. And a fair amount of good "family pics", with all four of us in the same shot.

But, pics of just the two of us? Not so much.


At least not like the pics we took while dating in college. When all we could think about was the next fun date we would plan and the next cute picture we would snap. Oh those were some fun days....

This last one still cracks me up!

So, I created a new folder on my desktop titled "Date Nights". The goal was to start taking pics of when we would go on dates! I loved the idea and couldn't wait to fill my new folder.

How many dates are represented in my fancy new folder??

Ummm two. At least two that are documented. I know we've been on more than but failed to pull out the camera!

Here's what we've got so far....

DATE #1

I did a post on THIS if you want the details.

We went ice skating with Santa! This was such a fun date...we felt like total teenagers!

DATE #2

Just last night. We went to a wedding and then randomly grabbed six friends to go watch the Hunger Games afterwards. PS--totally LOVED the movie!

Snapped these pics while going through the car wash. Why didn't we take one at the actual wedding or at the movies with friends?? 



Don't ask. We're a work in progress okay?

 The car wash pic is what you get.

***

Here's hoping to fill our album with some more over the next few months!! I have to keep telling myself it will be SO fun to look back on them 50 years from now.

I have a button!

Yep. It's about time. 

I'm moving up in the blogging world with my very own blog button! It took me approximately two whole days to figure it out. 

Here she is!

Not too fancy shmancy. 

Pretty plain and simple.

But, I like it.

***

And another thing....

I changed my comment section {below} so I can now reply directly to your comments!!

I know.

Totally just made your day, right?!

Rough patch

Kensie turned two and a half on March 6th. Just over a month ago.

She has always been a sweet kid. Soft little voice. Sweet giggles. Bright blue eyes. Loves to cuddle. Greg and I often wonder how she is ours. Why did God bless us with such an adorable girl?

However, the last month has been rough to say the least. Crying at the slightest thing. Constantly pushing Mason over and stealing all his toys. Fighting mealtimes. Fighting naps. Fighting bedtime. When you say yes, she says NO!

At first, I thought it was because she was tired or hungry or teething or not feeling well or, or, OR! I kept racking my brain for reasons. Why is she acting like this all of a sudden? Am I not spending enough one-on-one time with her? Am I not disciplining her enough? Am I disciplining her too much? Who is this child and where did my sweet Kensie go???

Then we went on vacation and I thought that would help. There would be different scenery and we'd be around lots of friends. More distractions might keep her occupied?? NOPE. It only seemed to get worse! We stopped at some outlet malls on the way home and my shopping was cut short when she threw the most embarrassing fit in public I have ever seen out of that little girl! Oiy. Greg and I were very calm and just held her hand as we walked back to the car in between stomps and screams. I was at the point where all I thought was "Whatever. I don't even care what people think. Let's just get home."

I came to my conclusion this week: 

She's just two and this is just a rough patch. 

Kids sure do keep us humble eh?

How to center your header {I did it!}

I was so thankful when one my sweet followers left a very helpful link on how to fix my header. Thank you so much Angie! You should check out her gorgeous blog...

Anyway, I'm passing on this awesome website! It has TONS of great tips and advice on everything related to designing your blog. This is my new go to!

Click HERE for help on how to center your blog title!

Our trip in review

Where to start!

Let's begin with this:


Do you ever start a family road trip with prayer? After the last bag is thrown into the car and you get the kids all buckled in. Do ever just sit for a minute? While you're still parked in the driveway, do you hold hands with your spouse and kids and ask the Lord for safety, for good health, for everyone to get along? Or even the tougher prayers....like asking God to do whatever it takes to draw your family closer to Him no matter what the circumstances are on your trip? 


MY ANSWER: I didn't pray and it showed.

That's right. Not long after we left the house things started going downhill. You see, we had this magnificent plan to leave around 7pm on a Friday night. This is usually when the kids go to bed. We suited them up in their jammies and blankies and figured they would fall asleep for the night. We would then drive approximately 4 hours and carry our pleasantly sleeping children into our hotel pit-stop before heading out again the next day.

Uhhhhh WRONG.

They stayed awake the ENTIRE TIME. These were not happy kids either. The later it got the crabbier they became. And the crabbier the kids got, the crazier I became. Don't even get me started on what happened once we actually arrived at our hotel that first night. Getting two children in two different pack n' plays to sleep all in the same room as their parents {they have separate rooms at home} when it was hours past their bedtime and they were overtired...it was a nightmare. And then Greg's phone went off in the middle of the night and woke everyone up. I 'bout lost it.

We still had a long day of driving the next day. To put it nicely, I turned into quite the bleepity bleep. And what was Greg like during all of this? Mr. Calm as usual. I'm so thankful to have such a calm companion in the middle of chaos!

The calmest moments in the car.

Needless to say, we arrived to all our destinations. It just wasn't the most pleasant experience. And I'm ashamed to say I didn't handle it very well. All I can say is I should have started out on my knees. Praying may not have changed the circumstances. The kids would have still cried. There still would have been traffic. I still would not have slept much all week. But, my reactions to all of those things would have been much better had I asked God to give me grace, peace, and guidance. Ahhh, pride. Always gets the best of me.

Stuck in traffic.

The toughest parts of the week:

- I hardly slept all week.

- Mason had a nasty cough the first 3 days and passed it on to Kensie for the last 3 days. Coughing ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. Super fun.

- Road trips have never really been my thing. And road trips with little kids only makes it less appealing.

The best parts of the week:

- Being AWAY from the computer and TV.

- Watching Kensie ride a horse for the first time.

- Hanging out with friends from church for a whole week.

- Seeing God's work through the hands of people.

- Not having to cook.

- Family time.
- Visiting some friends on the way down that we hardly get to see. 

We did have a good time overall and made lots of good memories. Take a peek at our week!

We first stopped to visit our dear friends, Todd and Julianne. We see them about once a year {never enough!}. 

Their sweet little Jay is just one month younger than Mason. They were adorable together.

We had to drive a few more hours to get to the camp. Once we finally arrived, the kids were in heaven!

Someone definitely has a love for animals!

They spent A LOT of time swinging

A favorite "toy" for the week

Family walks taking in the views around camp.

First ride on a horse! She was fearless and loved it.

She kept saying, "I like a princess Mama!" Oh brother...

She would feed the goats all day

We did some work too. I mostly stuffed envelopes all week. That's about all you get done when you are running after two little rascals. Greg always picks the hardest jobs...like spending all day every day roofing!

My hard working honey! They finished two different roof projects in one week.

This was the last day. The wall has been hit here. They were both DONE. So I took them for lots of walks.

The best view ever.

One of the sheep had two lambs while we were there. Kensie fell in love with them.

Tennessee has lots of hills that's for sure!

So that's our trip to TN! Next time....PRAY FIRST Shannon!

Easter {and we're back!}

We are home from our week long adventure into the hills of Tennessee!

Just in time to wish you a happy and blessed Easter.

We are still recovering from our trip but, I hope to update you all tomorrow!

Here's the short version:

Life with young kids can be incredibly fun.

Watching your kids experience things for the first time can bring so much joy it will make you cry.

Traveling with kids at these ages can also be terribly exhausting.

I want to have an honest and accurate memory of raising children.

So, you will get a little of everything tomorrow.

Feel me?