Come Home

Elias loves his daddy and cannot wait for him to get home each day. This is Elias looking out the window waiting for that fateful moment when Mark will walk through the door.

This is what it looks like when Mark comes in!

Life as a Wife

When I was first smitten with my husband, I was ready to jump on the back of his stallion and ride off into the sunset. I had no idea where ‘said’ stallion would take us, but I was ready with cheerful abandon. I recklessly let ‘single’ me go, and was ready to revel in the new mysteriously married me.  

This week our little stallion has led us to seminary. I’m really getting to experience life as a seminary wife. Although I have been a seminary wife for a few years–and Mark has been able to take a lot of classes where we live– there are a few times he has to go to Louisville to take classes. I am having so much fun getting to be with him. And I love getting to know the school a little better.

We love campus! They have an awesome buildings, pools, as well as open fields, walking paths, kid play areas, etc..   

Mark showed us around a little bit between classes. 

After a little tour, we ate lunch together outside.

 

I am so glad that we get to be together, and that I am getting to know a little more about Southern.

p.s. Don’t forget to enter our fun giveaway. I’ll be announcing three winners on Saturday.

Sloppily Floundering

Elias almost died again!

He didn’t mean to but when he stepped into the pool–that didn’t have a step–he went straight under water. He chaotically sank. Before I could blink, piranha mouth was emerging from the water with horror on his little face. Elias sloppily floundered through the water until I (with Owen in my arms) had to jump into the kiddy pool and save him. I grabbed his little arm and yanked my little doggy paddler above water as quickly as I could.

Completely soaked and still choking Elias looked at me with a quirky smile and said, “I fell down.” I wanted to burst into tears and laughter all at the same time. “I saw that, son…” was all I said.  After that the intensity withered, and we were able to enjoy the sun, splashing, and laying out.

Zoo Day

I love summer because we get to go to the zoo with our friends, Lauren and Ezra!

When we visit the zoo Elias enjoys seeing the animals and tries to make the noises the animals make. He is at the perfect age to really enjoy the zoo. Owen enjoys riding in the stroller and crawling all over when we have a picnic lunch.

Recently our zoo added a splash pad, and that made my little water bugs very happy. When we go to the zoo, we usually go all morning and then stay for lunch. After looking at animals, playing in the water and then having lunch everyone is usually ready to go home for naps.

Big Mama

Elias calls me “big mama!”

I shared how I felt about that here. Well all of this “big mama” talk it is getting out of control. Lately, every time we are in the car Elias will lean over to Owen and say, “big mama!” This of course makes Owen laugh hysterically. Enjoy this little video, filmed by none other than “big mama.”

 

Brothers Are For…

 

Brothers are for loving.

Brothers are for staring at.

Brothers are for sitting on.

Brothers are for high fiving.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! -Psalm 133:1

 

 

P.s. If you have a few extra minutes and want to win some awesome stuff head over to Casey Leigh’s blog. Pencilled Daydream is giving something away!!

25 Ways To Encourage A New Mom

So many of my friends are having babies! And there are even more coming. Today I thought it would be fun to share 25 ways to support and encourage new mommies. I remember how blessed I was when I had Elias and Owen, and would love for more people to feel the same kind of  encouragement.

25 Ways To Encourage A New Mom

1. Take her a meal.  
2. Listen to her.
3. Don’t compare her kids to others.
4. Fold her laundry.
5. Tell her what a  great mom she is.
6. Don’t act like she should have all of the answers. Remind her that where she is weak, Jesus is strong.
7. Support her in following her husband’s leadership. Each man has different ways of leading his family.
8. If you feel the need to ask about how much sleep she had last night… ask something like: “Did you get more than a minute of sleep last night?” This will make her feel better about the fact that she only got twenty minutes of sleep all night long.
9. Babysit for her. Let her take a nap or have a few minutes to shower alone.
10. Clean her house. Put the dishes away. Vacuum. etc..
11. Bring her a fun little surprise. Coffee, cupcakes, cookies, candy…what does she like? Bring it to her.
12. Promise her that she will be able to go to the movies again one day.
13. Tell her how great she looks for having just had a baby.
14. Leave when the baby goes down for a nap. She needs a nap too.
15. Bring a gift for her and the baby.
16. Promise her that she will get out of the house.
17. Promise her that she will sleep again.
18. Don’t tell your stories about how your baby was the perfect sleeper, never fussed, and always cuddled.
19. Only visit when it is convenient for Momma and baby.
20. Send her a little card of encouragement.
21. Call and ask if she needs anything from the store.
22. Pray for her.
23. Don’t expect her to fulfil her normal social obligations. She needs a little time to adjust to her new life with a baby.
24. Make yourself available for her to ask you questions.
25. Tell her that she is the perfect mother for this baby! God has fully equipped her to care for this little one.  

Summer Fun

Today was the perfect day to take the boys to the splash pad. The sun was bright and water felt just right. While we were there we had a little family picnic.  

5 Reasons To Rent A Cabin

As you may know, last week my little family loaded up and went to a cabin for our summer vacation. We enjoyed a lot of time talking and resting in the cabin and then went to Dollywood. Because we had so much fun today I want to share 5 reasons we chose to rent a cabin instead of a hotel. These benefits can be applied to beach house as well.

1. You can eat in. A great way to save money on your vacation is by eating in. Even though my energy sometimes runs out of the room when I have to make dinner eating out every day can get expensive. With a rental cabin/beach house you can stock up on groceries and use your own fridge, microwave, stove, and oven.

2. You can have multiple rooms. If you are a family with small kids you will need multiple rooms so that the kids can take their naps. A good nap equals a happy baby. A happy baby equals a fun vacation.

3. You can do laundry. Nobody wants to have a weeks worth of dirty clothes piling up. Having a washer and drying in your rental allows you to cut down on what you bring. You can do a mid-week wash if you need to.  

4. You have privacy. In a cabin or a fun beach house you have secluded entryways, balconies, hot tubs, etc. I loved this benefit with our cabin. We sat on our balcony and rocked each morning and night.

5. You have the luxuries of home. In a rental you can spread out in a living room, pop open the fridge to find a coke, do laundry, have your own private bathroom, and watch TV from your own bed. Having the comforts of home on vacation is a definite plus.

We loved our time at the cabin! I’m so glad we chose to rent a house instead of getting a hotel.

We were sad to go home, but I think that is a good sign that we had a lot of fun! Or maybe we were simply dreading unloading all of this stuff. Tell me… who really needs that much stuff???

Adventurous Afternoon with Crumpled Hippies

Secretly being laid-back hippies (people that can bop around for hours) it is a wonder we made it to Dollywood.  We were glad we did. We enjoyed train rides, splash pads, roller coasters, fun snacks, and little shows. Elias loved the rides and water, and Owen spent most of his day napping in the stroller. We had so much fun… until the moment I though I was going to die.