It's Friday Friends!

Can't believe my crazy week of being ALONE with the kids went by so fast, and so without a hitch! Before my husband left bright and early last Saturday morning I had been struggling in my inner woman with my kids..... letting their frustrations frustrate me. Not good for a week alone with the kids, and one in which they'd be joining me at the office more often than not. So I knew I had to repent of my selfish attitude and change my perspective fast! Thankfully, the Lord changed my heart, and the kids and I had a great week while the hubs was in Alabama for the NANC/ACBC Conference!

And it's once again time for my High Five for Friday post, linking up with The Lauren Elizabeth!

1. I've had a heart for Biblical Counseling since my senior year of college. God opened my eyes to the sufficiency of His Word through an Apologetics course with Dr. Christopher (info for the BBC alum who are readers), and the counseling and theology courses I took over the next few years with Dr. Kevin Carson and Dr. Wayne Slusser, and others as I completed my Master's Degree in Biblical Counseling dramatically changed my life and perspective. The Holy Spirit made something click in my brain that never had before. The Gospel literally changes everything, starting with my heart, and He instilled in me a passion for women and girls to know God's Word and to let it change them that has yet to quiet down. Chris has a similar passion (although not aimed at girls in particular as mine is;) and I was excited when he was given the opportunity to go to this year's NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counseling) Conference. It was somewhat of a historic event as they changed the name of NANC To ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors), and he was honored to be there for the decision. We have plans to work on our certification over the next year. We both have all the training completed, and just need to test and be observed. I've been counseling girls and women in our church's Biblical Counseling Ministry for the last 6 years, so it will be nice to have that certification completed! I love that he was able to go and be inspired and have fellowship with one of our pastors the head of our counseling ministry!

2.  You already know all about the little lady's 3rd Birthday Bash, but did you know my little man helped make the cup cakes? Can I just squeeze him? He asked if he could help. He loves his little sis so much!

3.  This isn't the greatest pic, but post party I turned her big '3' made out of Instagram pics into a heart for her room. I love having some new pics up in her room for her to enjoy!

4. While the hubs was gone I tried to get the kids out and enjoy the incredible weather we've had over the last week.... it's finally starting to feel a bit like fall! I caught this pretty pic along a local river and it had an almost magical feel to it. They both are growing so fast and they love taking bike rides. I'm gonna need to get my own soon to keep up with them!

They got to come with me a few times to work with this week and I made sure to get them out to the park for a mid day lunch break. This little lady loves to swing! 

She also enjoys a good ride through the car wash. (That makes my week sound fascinating huh :) 

5. And then there was this..... how on earth could I make them stay in their own bed when daddy was gone. It was a camp out with mommy this week! 

All in all I hada  great time this week hanging with the kids and snagging some extra time with them. Thank you Lord for changing my perspective and allowing me to enjoy this beautiful season of life! 

The Little Lady's 3rd Birthday

Call us weird but we probably won't throw huge birthday parties for our kids every year. So far we've done parties on their 1st and 3rd Birthdays, but just a simple family gathering for their 2nd and 4th.

Families have different traditions and I for one love birthdays. It's a day to celebrate the entrance into this world of the ones I love. And my children are some of my favorite people to celebrate. So their birthdays are a big deal. But I also know the depths of depravity in my heart and my own desire for others to celebrate ME.... and I want my children to be loved and celebrated.... but not expect it as my own heart can sometimes do.

How on earth do you find that balance in teaching your kids?!

We're working through that. But not having HUGE parties every year is one way we're trying to flesh that out.

This year though was the 3rd Birthday for our little lady and we wanted to throw her a little shebang. She has literally been talking about her party since at least March (when her big brother had his last Birthday) and she had pretty high hopes for a 3 year old. We tried to make it a fun time for her and even got to spread out the celebration over two days since her actual birthday was on Friday and her party was on Saturday.

So I left work a little early and we did some running around. She wore her new tutu from Grandma Perry and I'm pretty sure she felt very dressed up. Look at that grin!

Daddy treated her to her first rose and a little balloon. That was the icing on her cake. Pretty special stuff.

Then we spent the evening at Aunt Brittany and Uncle Matt's house to eat a pizza dinner, sing her Happy Birthday (she sang along!), open 1 present (a special outfit for her party from Aunt Britt) and watch the much anticipated Jake the Pirate MOVIE that Brittany DVR'd for the kids.

Obviously they were entranced. And I think it was a good day for her.

However Saturday was her PaRtY! (And let's face it.... that's what she's been waiting for all these months).

Chris had to leave to go out of town on Saturday morning for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors Conference in Alabama and the decision to go was a bit last minute, so I was left to party prep by myself. Thank you Connor for coming over and helping out. I never would have gotten it all done without you! As I was going through my phone I found this lovely little creation that the Birthday Girl made! Ha! Love it! 

My sister found some pretty Martha Stewart party decorations on a recent trip to the JC Penny Home store. I had no idea they carried that line and their sale prices weren't bad. The Birthday Girl requested Strawberry Cupcakes for her party so I made the same recipe I used for her 1st Birthday party from Sprinkles Cupcakes. They always turn out so good! 

I got Instagram pictures of the little lady printed up at Walgreens (did you know they print them in 4x4?!) and made this big '3' on the wall. Afterwards I took them down and made a heart on her bedroom wall with them. I love looking back at all the fun photos from her 3 years of life! So many good memories for both her and I. It amazes me what she remembers! 

Next check out these grins. She is so hard to photograph. The girl won't sit still. But she was SO happy! 

And of course present time. Her friends were so kind and each brought a sweet gift for her. Lots of new coloring books and 3 baby dolls! Look at the open mouth. She was pretty excited to have her very own Tangled dress and doll. (it's been a favorite movie for awhile)

Bad picture (girl doesn't stop moving!), but she was pretty pleased. 

All in all I think her party was a success! I did forget to get a group picture. I just realized that. Bummer. Wish I had one of all her friends. 

That evening I took the kids (by myself!) to see the new Monster's University movie at our little discount theater. We barely squeezed in... nabbing two of the last seats in the house. The little lady sat on my lap the whole time (squeezing her Boo doll I might add that she had just opened!) and had such fun. 

They've only been to 2 other movies.... both with their aunt Britt, so it was a fun new experience for me taking them. And my little man said to me on the way out, 'Mom, that was fun!' So it was a good night in my book. 

All in all, we got to celebrate our favorite little girl and the 3 years God has blessed us with allowing her to be a part of our family. It still blows me away sometimes when I consider the privilege it is to be her mom and the grace God shows us in allowing us these relationships. I'm tearing up even now just thinking about it, the light in her eyes, her fierce little spirit, her spunk and song in her step. It all blows me away, that God allows me to be a part of her life and loans her to us with the responsibility of raising her for His glory..... it's big stuff and my heart is so full. 

We love you our Little Lady! 

It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday

Weeks with a holiday to start off always feel like they take forever to go by. Anyone else ever feel that way. They should feel shorter, but they feel longer. Craziness.

1. I was thumbing through some old pics and found this sweet little prophetic gem. Just 2.5 years later we were getting married. We had NO idea that would happen when we were on this 'court'. Crazy wonderful how God works life out.

2. Chris set the pool up for the kiddos and they had a ball splashing around. We're finally having 'summer' around here with warmer temps and I'm ready to put on corduroys and chambray shirts. Isn't that how it always works :) 

 3. Saturday we got my sis and her hubby all moved into their new house. Slowly they're getting settled! And we're right down the street from each other now. 

4. Labor Day was a wonderful and much needed day off and family day. We started the day with a little Play-Doh time, took a 2.5 mile bike ride, I ran back to our car, and we topped it off with some ice cream at a local place. The kids had chocolate all over themselves by the time we were done, so I'm pretty sure it was a success! 

5. Cool mornings have meant breakfast on the patio for me! Love. Love. Love.

6. Chris took the kids to Jump Mania for the first time this week. They had SUCH a good time. Pretty sure we'll be making this a more regular activity.

7. Anyone else feed their kids moldy yogurt. Whoops. Thankful they figured out the issue and are getting it resolved. My kids love this yogurt! 

How has your week been? 

 

It's FRIDAY! (Plus a 3 day weekend!)

Something about this weekend has me slightly giddy inside. With my hubs being around the house all day right now (he is SUCH a good dad!) I seriously miss not hanging out with my 3 fave people all day. So I think I'm just excited for a three day weekend! Plus, my heart is just full lately. God has been stretching and growing me and my heart is trusting Him, which is a wonderful place to be in.

I'm hooking up with The Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday and Darci of The Good Life Blog!

1. I've been really working at running over the last few months (this night I think I ran/walked 2.75 miles) and I've been fortunate to have had a cool summer. But I'm seriously itching for fall right about now (the hottest weeks of the summer) and this little pile of leaves a few streets over from mine got me more than a little excited!

2. We've been having a great time working with the college students and singles at our church recently. They are a great group that love the Lord and love life and I love that we're getting to know them! Saturday night we hung out with a few at Pineapple Whip. 

3. As you can see we don't give the kids donuts very often. For some reason Chris decided to buy them each one at Casey's. 

A. gas. station.

Whatever.

They loved it. 

4. Um...... this one's just because she's growing up way too fast on me. 

All of a sudden she's 2 going on 22. 

5. Chris attended the plantMIDWEST conference on Tuesday that focuses on church planting throughout the midwest and this one particular in the Ozarks. It was a refreshing time for him to interact with area church planters and a few local pastors. In the mean time our kids got to hang at their favorite babysitters house and Kelli snapped this pic of the Little Lady with Greg. Too cute.

What have you been up to lately? Tell me about it! 

High Five for Friday!

Fridays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week this summer! Due to summer scheduling at the college where my office is I get to work from home on Fridays, which basically means stay close to the internet and get your stuff done. For me, that means I can hang out pool side with my kiddos at my sister's apartment. I can answer my phone and I'm close enough to the internet that it's all good, and in-between, I'm working on my tan and hanging out with my kiddos, all while (actually!) getting my work done. It's a total win win for everyone! Did I say that I LOVE Fridays?! Here's a few other segments of my week....

1. Blueberry Pancakes on a Friday morning

2. Fridays. Need I say more?

    

3. Visits from friends are the best

    

4. Running through the rain! 

5. The hard part of the week

1. I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast last week. They were utterly delicious with the fresh, farmer's market, pure maple syrup my step-dad sent me home with last month. Weird thing was the little lady took one bite and spit them out. Crazy girl! Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed them.

2. A picture of our typical Friday's this summer. Utter perfection in my book. I plan on being there today too.

3. Last weekend a young lady who was in the youth group my husband was youth pastor of in Tulsa visited us. She just graduated from college (gulp.... time goes too fast!) and had a few weeks before taking off for a fun summer job (teaching Theater at a posh summer camp in Massachusetts!). I was so glad she came to visit. It's such a joy to interact with people God has allowed your life to intersect with. She was just a young Jr. Higher when I first met her and seeing the lovely young lady that God has grown her into is just a joy. I really can't wait to see where God takes her next! (Springfield, MO?! Springfield, MO?!) Love you girl!

4. Saturday morning we headed into town to go grocery shopping and needed to let the kids run off some energy beforehand. It was pouring, so the mall was our best bet. Our kids love the play area. Heading in we were all in our rain jackets running through the rain. Running through the rain with two toddlers is an adventure all it's own, but I adore it.

5. Chris had his 2nd eye surgery on Wednesday. You can find my blog post about it here and my blog post about his first surgery here. Things came out well. The doctor was able to repair the retina and didn't have to do cataracts. He chose to remove the oil he put in last time and put a gas bubble in his eye. Now he's in a one week period where he has 'face down recovery.' Like his face is down all the time, allowing this bubble to rise to the back of his eye, holding the retina in place. This is probably the most annoying part of it all. I've been reminding him all day to put his head down. It should be an interesting week!

Lots of ups and downs this week, but God if faithful through it all and we are thankful for what He has accomplished!

High Five for Friday!

On Friday's I'm going to be linking up with The Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday! This will be a chance to reflect back on my week and all of God's goodness, and let's face it, perhaps the difficulties, because those stem from His goodness too.

I hope this will challenge me to make sure I'm taking good pictures throughout my week, and not all of my kids, as is what is usual for me. Although they are certainly fun to take pictures of!

1. Friday night's bike ride

2. Birthday Party

3. 50th Wedding Anniversary

4. Dropping off the kids for swimming! 

5. Wednesday Morning

1. Friday night we took the kids out to Springfield Lake. Chris and our little man rode their bikes. I pushed the little lady around on her tricycle and tried to run a little. It was a beautiful evening before all the heat hit this week. While there we saw this hot air balloon come so close! We really thought it was going to land, but instead it skimmed over the water and kept on going. The kids loved it. They had never been that close to a hot air balloon. 

2. On Saturday we attended a birthday part for a friend from church. The little lady apparently liked the frosting on the cupcakes so much that just hers wasn't enough. She needed to steal some from a the birthday boy! 

3. On Sunday we had the privilege of celebrating a 50th Wedding Anniversary with a dear friend from church. She had her dress on display from 1963. It had a beautiful neckline. I loved that she did that. 

4. Dropping the kids off each morning is so hard. But I know they are having such a great time this summer hanging out a few days a week with their Aunt Brittany. They love getting to swim with her! 

5. Isn't this just a precious moment?! The kids have really taken to our dog and I'm so glad. I've never been a big fan of this dog, but she's growing on me and I'm glad we kept her for the kids sake. 

How was your week? What has God been doing in your life?