I LOVE...

Helpful hands... ♥
Frequent hugs... ♥
Multiple, "I love You's"... ♥
Smiling faces... ♥
Content hearts... ♥
Creative minds... ♥
Belly laughs... ♥

I would honestly say that... I LOVE being a mom! ♥

Let me tell ya, I enjoyed MaKayla & Mal when they were little things. Loving on them. Kissing on them. Playing with them. Teaching them new things. I mean, babies and toddlers are so much fun. Who can disagree? But this season of life with our girls is simply wonderful. Each & every morning I awake, many times tired, but always eager and excited for the new day that greets me. Anticipating the time that the three of us girls get to spend together...chatting, laughing, creating, learning, sipping hot coffee/tea/cocoa, cooking...BEING TOGETHER! ♥

The older our girls get, the more I appreciate them...as individuals, as sisters, as daughters, as children of God. ♥

I daily get to see their creativity shine forth. I discern what irritates them, what motivates them, what makes them "tick". I am enlightened to their learning styles, what hobbies they connect with and what household chores they are uniquely proficient at. ♥

I daily get to see them interact with one another. I see them laugh together. I see them disagree. I see them learn to work together despite their differences. I see them lean on each other and love beyond explanation. ♥

I daily am blessed by their affection, their commitment to make our family complete, their desire to encourage, support, uplift, and their willingness to make our house a home. A home that is filled with love. ♥

I daily get to witness and observe the young women that the Lord is transforming them into. Daily, I get to see them becoming more like Him. Daily, I get to partake in their spiritual journey with Jesus. Encouraging them to be in the Word and helping to answer their questions along the way. ♥

And although some days are tiring and wearing with very little to no time for myself, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I may have no retirement or 401K. I won't have a sum of Social Security or pension. But...that which I will have, will be worth so much more. Bank accounts run dry. Pensions run out. The moments I have been afforded with our girls is a priceless blessing that can never be taken away. I savor each day and tuck each memory safely in my heart. ♥

I am indebted and more than grateful to Kyle for willingly working so hard to provide for our family in order for me to be home investing in the lives that God has entrusted unto us. ♥

I LOVE BEING A MOM! ♥

Faces That I Love... Thoughts From MaKayla...

I love the people to whom these faces belong so very, very much!!!

Me and My Gorgeous Momma...

Fun summer memories... We're close "homies"... :0)

Grandpa G's 65th Birthday...

Never a dull moment with Bri...

Mal, and the two men in her life...

Sharing a special supper with best bud Becca...

Crazy Uncle Troy...

Inseparable...

Mr. TJ...

Soul Sisters from the beginning...

Oh how I love my Grandpa B...

Note: Danielle's belly has definitely grown since this picture... and I am SO glad...

The "Three Amigos"...

My Handsome "Mr. Darcy"...

My Uncle Mark...

We're not real sure that we are sane...

My AMAZING Momma and Daddy...


"I Praise you God, for these faces that make my life so very, very special! I pray that I never have to live without them!"

What I Was Created For...

The past few days I have been in a nasty slump! One of those slumps where you don't feel good mentally, physically, emotionally and to a degree spiritually. I will humbly and regretfully admit that I've been on the solid side of cranky...

As I awoke this morning feeling disgruntled, I sought the Lord for direction, correction and insight into this less-than-desirable demeanor. He ever so gently reminded me of what I was created for...

Life has been seriously crazy, busy and this woman doesn't do well when she is on the go continuously day-after-day-after-day-after-day... Hopping from one thing to the next, from one place to the next. Now, I know if I shared with some women how I was feeling and why, they would view me as weak, lacking and frail yet God reminds me of what I was created for...

I was created to be a "keeper of the home"...

A helpmeet to the love of my life...


A momma to my two most valuable possessions...


A devoted and faithful child of the King...

I can only speak for myself however when I step outside of my calling, busy myself with the demands of the world and fail to spend adequate time with my Savior, the giver of life, I grow weary and cease to bear fruit.

Much of what we have had going on could not be helped however...

It's time for me to slow down, commune with the Lord and regain my vision. The vision of what I was created for!

The Lord gives strength to His people;
the Lord blesses His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11

Life...

Life... I often catch myself wondering what life is supposed to look like...what its supposed to consist of...what our days are to be filled with...where our time is to be spent...what we are to give our attention to... Lately Kyle and I both have been doing some evaluating on our "roles" as husband/wife, parents, teachers to our children... It's been a painful time of reflection yet we are learning much. As we sat with some of our closest friends last Friday night visiting over these things, we came to the conclusion that our society and our world in general has lost the true meaning and purpose of who God created us to be...as husbands, as wives, as parents... We've steered so far away from the roles He designed us to fulfill in life. Needless-to-say, we're looking deep into the Blueprint and diligently seeking the counsel of our Creator. There's alot of reversal of roles taking place in our lives and in our home. Life is beginning to look a whole lot different for a husband, a wife, a daddy, a momma and two amazingly wonderful girls. As revelation comes, the weight lightens and the burden is lifted. We're seeing life in a whole new light.

Just Mal & Me...

Today has been quite a different day for me...a different day, but a very GOOD day!

I used to take days like these to catch-up, regroup, clean house, do "my thing", but today, today was different...

MaKayla is out-and-about on a "girly" day with Bri (my niece, her cousin) so it's just Mal and Me here at home. Since Mal and I don't get many days like today, it's been her day...a day where she gets to choose.

I got up with Kyle as usual this morning but then as soon as he called on his way to work, I woke Mal up from her restful slumber and asked her if she would like to join me in Daddy and Momma's bed to snuggle (something she and I used to do ALL the time when she was a little thing). She quickly jumped up and made her way to our room and without thought chose Daddy's side of the bed to nestle in to. We snuggled and drifted in-and-out of sleep with the bright warm sunshine streaming in on our faces until after 9:00 a.m. That NEVER happens so it was a treat for both of us.

When I asked Mal what she wanted for breakfast, she listed all the options she could think of: cereal, toast, pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs...,"Let's see how about pancakes. Chocolate-chip pancakes!" Pancakes it was...with lots of chocolate chips. It was fun listening to her chatter about how Daddy makes the best waffles and MaKayla detests chocolate-chip pancakes because they're too rich and they make her stomach feel yucky. :o) She measured all the ingredients, thought the sour milk looked disgusting, warmed the syrup and waited...


*During breakfast she watched a McGee & Me movie...
*Then got a perfect score on her spelling test...
*Did her final writing assignment for the week...

We agreed that doing school together on the couch sounded like much more fun than books at the school table so I got on-line, found some neat work pages on the animals that live in the Grand Canyon, she ran down to the printer to snatch them up and then we settled on the couch to learn... It was a great time and she commented more than once how nice it was to do school "together"! :o)

Believe me, when Mal first found out that MaKayla was going to be "missing" yesterday afternoon, last night and today, the prospect was a little taunting...she relies a whole lot on MaKayla...always has!?! I informed her that we all need "our time" and this was MaKayla's time and in time, her time will come...

I heard of yet another adolescent in our area who I am presuming committed suicide this past week and my heart was saddened. I wondered what was so hopeless that this young man felt as though life weren't worth living. My heart broke imagining what went through his mind prior to the determined action that carried out his drastic decision and what should have been different that would have made him feel loved, valuable, special. It made me think of the "Mal and Me" time we have had today and how these times cement in her heart and mind how much she is loved, adored and valued. These hours of independent, affirmation are precious and necessary investments...moments that neither she nor I will ever forget. It seems as MaKayla grows older and our interests fall in line with one another, we have lots of alone time together that "just happens". As well, the four-of-us spend loads of time as a family, but this time, one-on-one time, is rare but wonderful! Much like the time she and Kyle spent in the yard last night kicking the soccer ball around, playing catch with the softball and talking about her day.

Op, pizza's on the menu for lunch and my girl is hungry... (Pizza's on the menu for supper tonight as well...homemade, not Totino's...but hey, who needs rules on days like today!?! We can eat the same meal twice...)

Need to get back to our Mal & Me time...

Kindred Spirits... Thoughts from MaKayla...

This past couple of weeks Mal and I, along with Mom and Dad have been watching the "Anne of Green Gables" series of an evening after supper is over. These movies are some of my very favorite and through the years we have acquired all six, making a complete set. If you have ever seen these treasures you would know that one of Anne's favorite things is finding "kindred spirits"... those people that you have a connection with that just can't be explained. It got me to thinking about the kindred spirits in my life...

My Daddy,"Mr. Darcy" :-), My Authority, My Hero,
My Mentor, My Friend ...

My Momma, My Example, My Teacher, My Mentor,
My Strongest Encourager/Listener, My Friend...

Mal, Best Friend, Sister, and Constant Companion...

Bri, My "Twin", My Soul Sister...

Julie, "Adopted Big Sis" #1...

Megan, "Adopted Big Sis" #2...

Becca, My Best Bud...

My Grandpa Billy, My Side Kick, My Amigo,
My Favorite Person to Annoy :-) ...

"Thank you Father, for the kindred spirits in my life! Thank you for their friendship, their support, their love, their encouragement, and for the blessing that they are to me on a day-to-day basis! I love them so very much!"