Joshua is 2!

My little bud turned two today...

I don't know why it makes me sad to say that, but it does. When I found out I was pregnant with this sweet child of mine, I was not happy. No lie. I was so upset! And when he was born he was so beautiful and I just fell in love with him but, the first year was hard. I mean, really hard. And now, I sit here and think about the last two years of my life (and really the last three and a half years that I've been a parent) and I think "Wow! What an incredible blessing to be on this journey of parenthood!" To experience the gift of finding out you're pregnant and have that life grow inside of you and then to meet that baby for the first time. To watch them grow and become and to see God at work in these little lives, and to see how He works in me and grows me during this time. What an awesome gift! It's such a huge responsibility, and it takes so much out of me, but the reward is so great.

Anyway, the real meaning of this post is to give a glimpse into the life of this sweet little guy that's been placed in my care. So, here it goes.

He's big. About 33 pounds big...maybe more. He wears pants/shirts made for three year olds, shoes and socks made for four year olds, and if he has to be carried it's usually on his Daddy's shoulders (which is not a bad spot to be). He loves to sing, especially the song "Deep and Wide". He loves to play the guitar...it's the first thing he grabs when we go over to the Stokely's house. He loves Carley. Yes, he fights with her, but he always wants to know where she is and what she's doing. He loves to eat....all the wrong things: french fries, pizza, cupcakes (cu-cakes), ice cream, cookies, you get the idea. He loves horsies, especially Didi and Pop's horsies. He loves his "Kiki" and his doggie. He sleeps with them every night and drags them around the house during the day. He loves hunting deer in our living room and shooting his bow with Daddy. He loves his Daddy. I'd say he loves him more than he loves me. Don't worry, my feelings aren't hurt. :) I'm pretty grateful that he feels that way.

So, that's our Joshua. We gave him the name Joshua Daniel for a reason, and I always pray that God makes him strong and courageous like the men in the Bible, like the wonderful men he's named after, and like his daddy.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Happy Birthday Joshua! You are such a gift and you are so loved!

A little update...

So, apparently I stink at blogging! :) That's okay, though. I'm pretty sure 75% of other bloggers stink at it, too...so I'll just lump myself in with the majority.

If I attempted to update you on my life since my last post, we would sit here forever. (Or, I would sit here forever and you would exit the page instead of reading through the entire post.) So, I'll spare myself and just write the important things.

Carley is 3 1/2. She is everything that a 3 1/2 year old should be, which means that she drives me crazy to the point of wanting to pull my hair out and I'm crazy in love with her to the point of wanting to hold onto her a little too tight. She loves to dance, sing, play dress up, be a princess, entertain, read books, watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, tell me when I'm not being nice, boss Joshua around, shower her family with hugs and kisses, and tell me she loves me. She's stubborn, slightly defiant, really smart, loveable and sweet, and she's the girliest girl I know. I wouldn't change her for the world...but I might consider the thought.



Joshua is going to be two on Wednesday! (AAAHHHH!!!) Where did my baby go??? I'm getting teary-eyed as I write this, because it's just amazing to me that the first two years of his life have just flown by. He is the most amazing little boy...and he is all boy. He loves guns, feeding the horses with Pop, guitars, hunting, wrestling with Daddy, playing with Sister, singing "Jesus Loves Me" and a lot of other songs, dancing, puzzles, blocks, anything outdoors, and snuggling with Mommy (my personal favorite). He is serious, but funny. He is stubborn, but tender. And he is so stinkin adorable, I sometimes consider squeezing his face as hard as I can. (Don't worry, I haven't given into temptation...yet.)



Logan and I are still together. I know you didn't think it would last, but somehow we've managed to keep the love alive! ;) He is wonderful, and breathtakingly handsome, and he is so patient with my neurotic/irrational tendency's, so I can't help but love him. He's smart, talented, sweet, and is seeking after God with more and more passion as he grow's. And he knows how to work hard...thank you, Lord!



I am a mess. :) A joyful, crazy, happy mess! I have a temper that I pray for God to take away all the time. He hasn't yet, so I figure it's going to do some good somewhere! I am passionate and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love baking and cooking. I hate cleaning, but love the feel of a clean house. I never turn down a pedicure or a shopping trip, and Tuesday night Bible Study is one of my favorite parts of the week. I absolutely love my family and am so thankful I get to stay home with my kids. I struggle with being selfish and wanting my own time, but then realize that time with my kids is not going to last forever and I try to soak up moments with them. I'm striving after God and His will for my life. My only purpose is to glorify Him, and it looks different everyday. I mess up all the time, so I'm even more grateful for grace. One of my favorite verses is Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Love. :)

I hope to update this more often, but I won't make any promises.

Does life ever slow down???

I feel like we have been going 100 miles an hour lately. We've been everywhere, at least it feels like we have. And it seems like every time we put our foot down and think "no more", something else pops up. In two weeks time we went on two major trips and one weekend trip. We've been on 8 different planes and in four different states (sure, one was just during a layover, but it counts).

The first trip was to Tennessee. Logan's grandpa passed away and we went up for the funeral and to visit with family. I believe Grandpa Ingram was around 85 years old and had lived a very good life. It wasn't a time of sadness or mourning, but a time to reflect on "a life well lived" (as the family said). He was ready to go home to the Lord. His body was worn out and he had accomplished everything he felt he needed to. He was ready for his new body and his new home! It was inspiring to know how confident he was in his eternal fate. It's a valuable tool to live every moment knowing that your home is not here, but is eternally in Heaven with our Father. How scary and awesome and wonderful that thought is!

We really enjoyed our time in Tennessee. We loved introducing our kiddos to Logan's family up there. We were able to spend an evening around the campfire just enjoying nature and visiting with one another. I met some new family members, and old ones, that I'd never seen before. All in all, it was worth the effort! We love our extended families! We're thankful for the examples of how to live life for God and take care of your family.

Our next trip was to South Texas for some good old hunting with the Stokely family! It was a great weekend getaway. We met little baby Colton (Joshua's new best friend/hunting buddy) and were able to see Paige master motherhood with two children. Chad and Logan had their precious time together. ;) Logan shot a turkey and Chad shot a hog. Carley and Parker smooched on each other and held hands and we took a lot of pictures so that we can blackmail them in about 15 years. Paige's brother and girlfriend also came, along with Chad's boss and his wife (who cooked up the best ribs I've ever had!!!) We had a lot of fun hanging out in nature, and by Sunday we were all ready to go home.

The last trip we went on was to California for a family reunion on my mom's side. It was a long trip, and it was pretty hard, but it was so great to see my family. We spent time with cousins we hadn't seen in a few years. We showed off our babies. We ate really good food. We drove through beautiful parts of California. We ate In-n-Out Burger (if you haven't had it you're missing out). We celebrated Easter with candy and eggs and family and church. I found out I'm allergic to Aleve (swollen eyes and sinuses for about 12 hours). Carley had a fever and was sick for two days, one of those days being the reunion. We had seven women, two men, a 5 year old, a 2 year old, and a 6 month old, all staying in a four bedroom house. Logan was surrounded by estrogen. (While we were at Steckel Park, where the reunion was held, Logan took off walking in the woods for awhile to gain back his manliness.) The flight home was miserable. The first flight the kids cried the whole time, but finally fell asleep as we were landing. The second flight they were out (thank goodness!) We landed in Texas at 11:45pm, and got to bed at 1:30am. LONG DAY!!! But, it was all worth it!! Don't ask me when I'll do it again, but I'm glad I did it.

So, that's the past two weeks in a nutshell!! It's been a whirlwind, and I'm glad it's over. Are we staying home this weekend, you ask? No! The Beast Feast is taking place and we don't miss out on the Beast Feast! (I'll explain later.) We'll be driving to Magnolia on Friday or Saturday. At least our kids will be adventurous...right??

I have to say, despite all of this running around and craziness that's been taking place, it's been an awesome experience. One of the things that really stood out to me is how wonderful it is to have a partner during all of this. God really has blessed me with a solid marriage. Logan and I could have been picking at each other and taking all of our stresses out on one another, but we stood as a united front! We were a team, and we worked so well together. When we started getting stressed out and frustrated, we talked it through. When the kids were driving us crazy, we looked at each other and said "I love you" and got through it together. I'm so thankful to God for blessing me this way. It's the best gift I could have ever prayed for.

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:10-12

Super-Mom! (not so much...)

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

I feel that sometimes being a mom is about surviving the day! And with two children under the age of 2, it seems like I have a lot of days like that. Some of you know how much of a struggle it's been to get Joshua to sleep at night. I've had so many nights of every 1 or 2 or 3 hour feedings. I can't remember the last time I slept for more than 3 hours. It wears me down a lot at times. So, I have days where it's all about making it to naptime, or bedtime (if naptime is a disaster).

Lately, however, I find myself wanting to do more than just survive the day. I want to make memories with my kids, and I want to end the day with them feeling like they were fully loved by me. I have found that the only way to have days like this is by asking God for them. I know I can't be Mary Poppins every day :), but I can do more than just survive. Recently, I've been asking God (especially after a rough night) for supernatural mom-powers. I got the idea from the leader of my "Mom-to-Mom" group. She prayed that prayer one day and it made complete sense to me! The only way to truly be involved in my children's day, fully engaged with an unnatural level of patience, is for God to give it to me. It's made such a difference. Being a mom is hard enough, but doing it by myself is nearly impossible. Sure, if my only goal is to get through the day, I can do that on my own. But, if my goal is bigger than that, if it is more about showing my babies how truly loved and special they are throughout the entire day, then I need God to walk with me and give me those "Supernatural powers" that only He can give.

It is really amazing what this has done for my level of patience, as well as my level of stress. I've also come to discover through this that God gave me my children so close together in age because He wanted me to truly need Him, and I do. My walk has gotten so much stronger and I grow closer to Him every day because I need Him to make me a better mom than I am on my own. I know that this doesn't mean that I won't have any more days where it's all about survival, but it means that on most days I can be more than just a walking zombie, I can be a godly mom.

As I've mentioned before, I'm reading a lot of different books right now, especially ones that are geared towards marriage and family. I want to share a book that I've recently read called "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. It is an amazing book that has opened my eyes to the inner workings of men, in particular, my husband. This book answered so many questions I had about why Logan (and most other men) thinks or acts certain ways, for example: why he doesn't see the messy house that I see, or how confusing it is for him that I ask him to come home when he feels the strong need to work an extra hour, etc. I recommend the book to every woman, married or single. There's also "For Men Only" by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn, and it explains the inner workings of women to men. Logan read it and if you decide to buy one, you should go ahead and buy both. :) It's a very interesting read!

My little sister, Christelle, was here with us this past week. It was really awesome to have her. She was such a help and Carley loved to have her "Aunt Stelly" to play with. We went to the park, and had a shopping day, and we went down to San Antonio to eat lunch with Logan. We had a lot of fun with her and hope she enjoyed spending her Spring Break with us.

I brought Christelle back to Houston on Friday and was able to visit with some friends while I was in town. I met my two best friends from high school, Erika and Ashley, at Davids Bridal in Houston where we tried on bridesmaids dresses for Erika's wedding in July. I'm so excited for her!! It was a lot of fun to have that time with my friends and to celebrate this memorable time in Erika's life. I was also able to visit with my friend Dawn before I left town on Saturday. I brought the kids to her house and Carley just took to Dawn immediately. She was resting her head on Dawn's shoulder and was pretty much attached to her hip the entire time!! It was cute, and Dawn was great about it. Dawn also took some pictures of the kids, and I'm just hoping one or two of them turn out (Carley and Joshua were ready for a nap). If they do, I'll have to post them on here for everyone to see. Dawn took some pictures of Carley when she was about 5 months old and we have them hanging up in the house, they turned out great. So, I'm hopeful that we can get some of both of them.

(I should add that I came to home to a nice, clean house on Saturday. Logan spent a lot of his free time scrubbing the kitchen, sweeping and mopping floors, and organizing some of the "kiddie clutter" in our house. That's a pretty good husband!!!)

I'm posting some pictures from Averie's 5th (I can't believe it!!) birthday party. It was last Saturday in the park by my parents house. After her party we went back to Mom and Dad's and sang on her new karaoke machine, which was pretty funny. She's a sweet girl and I'm glad we were able to celebrate together.