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? 

This Parenting Gig

I've struggled with this whole parenting gig lately. I'm utterly crazy about my kiddos. Seriously, I don't think I had any idea that I had this much love in my heart before having kids. I know it's cliche, but it's true. There is just something so incredible about having little combined versions of yourself and your best friend to take care of. You can look at them and just see pieces of yourself and this man that you're madly in love with. God had a neat plan with people having kids. What's frustrating though is when your kids start sinning. Am I right?

I knew that I'd have sinful children, but really, I don't think I ever imagined that it would look like this, or that it would evoke in me the kind of emotions that I feel about it all! This is rough stuff friends! So I'm working through a few things:

1) I am reminding myself that this little person is a person that God has purposefully placed in our family. He is perfectly suited to us as parents and that even in the times when I feel really incompetent to handle what the little guy (or girl) is throwing at me, I am competent in Christ. He has given him the perfect parents for HIM and he has given us the perfect children for US. He is growing all of us in His perfect way though these relationships and the struggles that come with them. And the end result for all of us who trust in Christ will be looking like Christ. It will be beautiful!





2) I always knew that I was going to have kind of a rough time in these early years. Babies and toddlers are most certainly not my forte! I can't even tell you the feeling of freedom I felt when I stopped working in the nursery a few months ago, or the feelings of fear that grip my heart when I think about helping my husband teach our new 3-5 year old class at church. I told him he's going to have to do a lot of the teaching! But while kids this age range might not be my strength as far as communicating goes, I am still MY kids' mom and I can't skip over these very, very important years. For one, I don't want to miss it! There are so many moments of pure joy watching them grow and learn and say the most adorable things. So even in the ugly times of fits and tears and flat out defiance, I have to consistently discipline them in love, showing them Christ and the gospel.

3) And I pray. Pray, pray, pray. I pray for myself-that I would be wise in my choice of words and actions. That I would not be controlled by my own emotions in times of disobedience. That I would be more concerned about the hearts of my children than the image I'm projecting to those around me of myself. Oh, so many things to pray for. I also pray for my kids' salvation. I have to recognize that they have unregenerate hearts at this point in their life. They are depraved. And they don't have the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts like a believer does. And it's my job to share the gospel with them.

4) So I try to turn times of disobedience into Gospel moments in their lives. It's hard, at some level impossible, for them to fight sin. My children aren't Christians. They don't have the Holy Spirit. Not that they can't choose right. But it is hard. And it's ok to tell them that. The book Give them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick talks about this extensively and gives some great examples of conversations to have with your kids (although some of them are pretty long). Here's what some of mine have sounded like. 'L, I know that it's really hard to do what's right. The incredible thing though, is that Jesus came to die for your sins. He lived a perfect life and then died to become the perfect sacrifice for the sin that you just committed in your heart and in your actions. He died so that you can be forgiven! Isn't that incredible. We have a loving God who wholeheartedly extends grace to us in our darkest moments. He loves us more than we can ever imagine.' It's not perfect, but slowly, I think he's starting to understand. Before I read that book I thought it was going to be about giving your kids a break (like don't hold them to too high of a standard, don't discipline them when they sin.... give them grace.) Thankfully I read the book and got the concept right.... give them grace--give them the gospel of grace. Give them the gospel. It's really the most important thing I can do as a parent. So my husband and I try to turn these moments into moments when we can tell them about Jesus. As my son has gotten older, this has gotten easier and more fun.

So.... while I'm struggling, I'm not despairing. I'm working through this time, knowing that it's a season. Parenting is not easy. No one has ever claimed it to be. And it is lots and lots of fun. But in those rough moments, the ones where I kind of want to hide in my closet, I take a deep breath, say a quick prayer, and dive in. Because my kiddos need me to be their mom, to shower them with love, and to teach them the gospel... and I'm happy to do so!