Twelve years ago today...

I married an amazing guy.  He's still pretty amazing and I am grateful for him everyday.  He's a wonderful husband and father.  I love you Darren!  Thank you for loving me and Nate so selflessly. 

We've had a great week hanging out at home.  Our summer has been so busy and this is the first week we haven't had any plans.  The highlight of my day today was playing in the rain with Nate.   I love this child so much!

Nate's Birthday Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Nate's 4th birthday.  We celebrated with family Saturday night.  Sunday morning he celebrated with friends at church.  Now that I think about it, I'm really surprised his birthday wasn't more emotional for me.  I usually get pretty weepy at some point around his birthday. I am always amazed that another year is over.

Family picture time!  I really wish the lighting was better in these.  Fluorescent lights and my photography skills do not go well together.  It probably doesn't help that the lens on my camera is warped.  I dropped it last fall and haven't replaced it yet. 

Nan and Pops

Uncle Gavan and Aunt Lynn 

Granna and Poppa Dub

One of Nate's favorite shows is Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  We went with a pirate cake on Saturday night and Lightening McQueen cupcakes on Sunday morning.

For the first time, Nate had a pretty specific list of things he wanted.  We also had to count down the days to his party and the presents...emphasis on the presents.  It was fun to watch him be excited, but it was also a little concerning to see how focused he was on presents.  The morning of his party we had to have a long talk because he was worried that he wasn't going to get what he wanted!  I had to pray that God would give me wisdom to know how to communicate to a 4 year old that life's not about stuff and we need to be truly grateful for any gift we receive - on our list or not.  It brought to my mind what his preschool teacher used to tell them on treasure box days:  "Get what you get and don't pitch a fit!"  I know this is just going to get worse.  I definitely need LOTS more wisdom to know how to gracefully handle these situations and model a  grateful attitude myself. 

Thankfully, our talk (and prayers) worked and Nate was very kind and grateful while opening gifts.  He also waited patiently to open his presents.  I did prepare him ahead of time that presents would be last.  He was so much fun to watch and listen to while opening cards and presents.  He would "read"  all of his cards.  He would make up a little story based on what ever picture/character was on his card and end the story with happy birthday Nate.  It was so cute.  Of course, we didn't have our video camera.  I thought we had an empty disc, but we didn't.  My mom always tells him that she loves him "too too much."  While opening gifts, he said "I love all of you too too much for all of these great presents."  It was precious.

The list:  Cars 2 cars, Cars 2 race track, Cars 2 airplane, Cars 2 puzzles, dinosaurs, dinosaur snakes (they are in the dollar bin with the dinosaurs so he calls them dinosaur snakes), and more super heroes.  He got it all and more. 



Happy 4th Birthday Nate!!!

We love you more than words and are so grateful that God gave us you!

Swim Lessons

Nate had swim lessons this week.  He did a great job.  I can tell a huge difference in his ability and desire to try this year.

Zoo Birthday Party

This morning we celebrated Faith's (and her little brother, Ash) birthday.  It was our first time to visit the B'ham zoo since the trails of Africa area opened.  We enjoyed seeing the new elephants and Nate really enjoyed the play area.


His favorite part of the morning was the soap sud area.  That was a first for him also.

Lately

Lately we've been busy, surprisingly busy.  I imagined lazy summer days when preschool was over.  We've had a few of those.  Casey and I have been working on two new towel designs for (Cover)ed - a cupcake and a bird.  I am very excited about them.  If you are local, you can check out our towels in person at the Peach Jam on Friday, June 24. 

About a week before we went to the beach, God put an idea in my head.  Our local library doesn't do story time in the summer (which I think is silly by the way).  I thought "I should do my own story time." (I do have a library science degree after all).  Then God gave me the idea of doing story time in the community as an outreach opportunity.  I called our church's children's minister and she was excited to help.  We kicked off story time in the park last week.  We got to meet several families in the community and are excited about building relationships with them. 

God has changed my heart so much the last couple of years.  One of the things I've learned is if God puts something on your heart, do it.  Be wise and pray, but DO NOT wait until all of the details are perfect (or even worked out) or until you have lots of support from family, friends, church family, etc.  If we wait until the time is "right" or everyone agrees on a plan, we may be waiting a long time or things may never get done.  In John 4:35 Jesus was talking to the disciples and said "Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'?  I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for the harvest." Jesus was emphasizing to the disciples the urgency of the gospel. 

I am, without a doubt, a people pleasing, overthinker.  I want everyone to "like" my ideas and be as excited about them as I am.  I want to think through things and all of the details over and over and over again before I share them with others, much less put them to action.  I am sure Satan loves these types of Christians who get so caught up in the questions and answers that they never do anything.  I don't want to be that person anymore.  God wants me to be a person of action and I want to be that person also.  Things may not always work out perfectly and things may not seem "successful" to the world or even other believers. But, God doesn't ask us to be perfect, just willing. 

On a lighter note, we've gone to a couple of birthday parties this summer and have another one coming up this weekend.  Here are some fun pictures from our cousins' party.  Haley knows how to do a birthday party!  She is super talented and makes a lot the decor herself.  (She also does a lot of our (Cover)ed towel designs).

The Birthday Boys

 Haley put this bandana on Nate's head.  It was so cute.  He looked like a mini Rambo.

 Sword fighting with Dad