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Friday, January 24, 2014

Capturing time.

I love using pictures as a way to reflect, and sometimes pictures capture time far better than words...our little man is so grown up!
It's also glaringly obvious that it is now all but impossible to capture him for any still posed pictures...thus is life with a 2 year old boy!






Friday, January 17, 2014

A 2 year old.

Dear Owen,

How can it be that tomorrow you will be 2 years old? Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that our home was filled with family & friends celebrating your first birthday. And on other days, it even feels like I was walking beside Daddy as we carried you into our home for the first time.

These two years with you have been an adventure & a blessing. I have loved watching you grow from a completely dependent squirmy baby to a constantly on-the-go little man seeking all the independence you can find.

You are curious, smart, loving, handsome, and full of fun. You love music, books, church, and of course-anything the color green. You love going to school, but you also love the days that you know we get to stay home together all day. You love weekend with Daddy home, and I love watching you two play together.

I wish I could capture all of our moments together in words. I pray that they will always be fresh in my mind. Being your mommy is my greatest joy!

I love you more & more every day. 

Love, 

Mommy




2014.

I have spent the first 17 days of this new year pondering over what I should resolve to accomplish in 2014. To be honest, I can't even remember my resolutions from last year, or the year before that. I don't want to end up in that same boat in a year from now. So...I'm keeping it simple. In fact, "keeping it simple" is my motto for 2014. I need to simplify my life...my stuff, my time, my plans.

Keeping it simple in 2014 directly relates to my 3 resolutions for 2014...
(1) Spending more time with God. I know that spending time with God should always be #1 on my to-do list everyday, but last year I just didn't make it happen regularly & because of it I suffered as a Christian & my relationships with others suffered as well. I resolve that it will not be that way in 2014.

(2) Devoting more time to my husband. Unfortunately, by the time Chris arrives home in the evening he's getting less than the best of his wife. I've been up for at least 12 hours already, I've worked all day (either outside the home, at home, or both), and I'm often just done with the day. "Our time" together from 8:30 p.m.-whenever I fall asleep on the couch is not truly the quality time that it needs to be. I resolve to focus on being more present and more of the wife I should be.

(3) Being a better mother. I don't think I'm a bad mother, but there are a few specific things I want to focus on in 2014 that I believe will make me a better mom.
    a) See resolutions 1 & 2.
    b) Parenting with more grace. We all need grace, every moment of every day. I need to be role
        modeling to Owen the most amazing grace that has been offered to each of us by Christ.
    c) Taking better care of me. Although my mind knows that I need to take care of me so I can take
        care of my family, my hands & feet often get in the way. I find myself looking to 'do' instead of
        looking to 'be'. I resolve to just 'be' more- to think more, to read more, & to laugh more.

And so, what am I doing about my resolutions already?

(1) Spending more time with God. I'm waking up a few minutes earlier every morning & am reading the daily devotion from "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. It's not a new book & I've considered reading it before, but 2014 is the year. I love how God is already using it to speak to me & to change me.

(2) Devoting more time to my husband. I am trying to make our time together more meaningful. For us, it has to be about quality rather than quantity. It's a work in progress so far! Chris & I have also vowed to go on 6 dates this year-3 that he plans & 3 that I plan. I can't wait to see what fun we'll have together!

(3) Being a better mother. I am working on reminding myself every day that some things can wait. When Owen naps on days I'm home, I'm working on taking some of that time to sit, to read, to think. I'm putting together a reading list for 2014 (soon to come) so that I'm never without something to read. I'm also trying to take better care of my physical body & have committed to a spin class once a week on Thursday mornings at 6:30 a.m. (yikes!). I'm 2 weeks in & love it so far. (I know that 1 day of exercise/week isn't sufficient, but it's a start!)

I'm always refreshed by the promise of a new year and am looking forward to reflecting back on where God takes me in 2014.


Thursday, January 9, 2014

A gift for our little man.

For months I have wanted Owen to have his own little table & chairs.
We searched around & couldn't settle on an affordable option & so I tried to put it out of my mind. However, Pinterest gets the best of me some time (that's another story!) and I stumbled upon this piece of inspiration back in October. I loved this particular one because the table sits high enough and the chairs are big enough that he can use it for years.

The author of this blog and the designer of the plans convinced me that it was do-able, but that was the easy part. Convincing Chris was a bit more challenging! After pondering over it for a while, he agreed that we could do it.

It definitely took us longer to construct than the plans suggest, but that's to be expected for 2 pretty much novice carpenters!

The second weekend we worked on it it was so cold that we did most of our construction in the house. Chris let Owen help with the drill which he thought was amazing. I of course love that we have pictures of him 'working' on his own table.

We're both so happy with our workmanship. It's definitely not perfect, but it is a most special gift that will last for many years to come (we hope!).





Holiday recap.

Happy New Year!
We had a hectic, yet wonderful Christmas season. I wish I had more time to share all of the moments we shared, but a quick recap will have to suffice.

Just a few days prior to Christmas, Owen seemed to have a heightened interest in Christmas so we spent lots of sweet moments talking about "baby Jesus", Joseph, Mary, shepherds, and donkeys. One day Owen told me that "baby Jesus didn't cry". It took me a minute, but then I remembered that we had been learning Away in a Manger and he was remembering that lyric.

Chris, Owen, & I spent our first Christmas Eve & Christmas Day here in Nashville. From reindeer pancakes for Christmas Eve breakfast to Woodmont's candlelight Christmas Eve service, we enjoyed lots of memorable moments.

Christmas morning was so fun as Owen really enjoyed opening a few wrapped packages and playing with his new toys (a toy leaf blower, a tent with a tunnel, a doctor's kit, & a small train set). We all enjoyed our time as a family of 3.

Chris & I built Owen his very own table and chairs which was our big gift to him. More on that later...

We then spent the day after Christmas through New Year's Day in Atlanta with our families which we also enjoyed.

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from our holiday...