Today, I am thankful for my family. God has given me a God fearing and loving husband, who has never left my side. He is my best friend and soul mate and I am grateful beyond words for him.
4 years ago, he blessed me with our first son, Hudson. He is so tenderhearted and loving.
2 years ago, he blessed us with our only daughter, Amirah. She is truly a little princess, wild and free, strong willed, and also sweet and very sensitive.
1 year ago, he blessed us by surprise, with our little Ezra. He has been a blessing like we never expected. I can’t imagine our family without his sweet presence in our home.
Thank you God for my family. I am not worthy to have them, and yet you have been faithful to supply them to me. You are so good.
“If Psalm 1 is to be believed, we must not allow our children to stand, sit or walk with those who deny biblical truth and morality. Instead, we must place them in situations that will aid them in meditating on the law of the Lord ‘day and night.’ Surely this involves how and where they are to be educated.” — Voddie T. Baucham Jr. (via monergism)
The other night we were at an older couples home from our church. They had pictures of their once little kids in frames around their house. After being there for over an hour, Hudson kept staring at the pictures and looking around. Finally, he walked up to the dad and said, “Where are your tiny children?” We all just laughed as the dad explained that all his children were grown and moved out of the house. Seriously, Hudson you make me smile. :)
“If you left the Church to get away from hypocritical people, you should also quit your job, drop out of school, disconnect yourself from all your friends and family, and lock yourself in your room while you’re at it. There will be flaws wherever there are humans. And, in fact, the Church is the only establishment on earth with the solution for this issue.” — Mattie Montgomery (via classyliving)
(via wandererwithasoul)
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Where does the time go? It seems like a couple months ago I was telling everyone I was pregnant with a baby boy, and this week my “baby boy” started school. I guess the only way I can describe it is, bittersweet. Happy that he is growing and learning (and finally out of diapers for good) :)— but sad that now I realizing how quickly it goes. Here is a picture of my little man on his first day of (Pre) school. He’s already excited for his next first day of school, because he knows that’s picture day :)
NOT HAVING TO GET UP AT 6AM TO DRESS MY KIDS AND DRIVE THEM TO SCHOOL.
Homeschool classroom wall.. we still have a ways to go.. but here is the start!
Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,
You are a gift of God to your husband and your kids.
But you don’t always feel that way, do you?
There’s a low-level feeling of guilt that creeps into your heart from time to time. Sometimes it bubbles over into tears, usually on lonely, difficult days.
You scan blogs and read books about being a good mom. You find some helpful tidbits here and there, often from women who are grandmothers now. Women you can learn from but who seem to have forgotten the struggle. They seem to have it all together.
In your heart, you want to be the kind of mom who trains up kids to make a difference for the kingdom. You know it’s an honor to be entrusted with these kids. You know you’ve only got one shot. You want to be the mom who teaches them the Bible, models how to pray, and trains them up in the fear of the Lord.
But most of the time you feel like you’re barely holding it all together.
Your house cleaning can’t keep up with your kids’ mess-making.
The kids embarrass you by acting up right when your guests arrive.
Your husband doesn’t get just how worn out you are by the end of the day.
You come to the end of your patience. You lose your temper. Then you feel worse.
The last thing you consider yourself to be is a “good mom.” And you think to yourself, It’ll be a miracle if my kids turn out okay.
And – surprisingly – that’s right where God wants to meet you. The place where you admit your powerlessness and your need for Him.
It’s only by God’s grace that any kid grows up to be a force for the kingdom.
You see, there are no perfect kids and no perfect mothers. No matter what you read in blogs, see in magazines, and learn in books. There are sinful kids and sinful moms and dads.
And the only thing greater than both is the grace of God. The God who says “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The God who loves to forgive, to transform, and empower.
God loves you – not because you are a good mother but just because you are His precious child.
God loves you – not because you’ve mastered all the skills of parenting but because He has.
It’s divine grace that will transform your parenting – not guilt.
It’s grace that will keep you going and serving and scrubbing when you’re exhausted and worn out.
It’s grace that will conquer your feelings of inadequacy and remind you of God’s love for you in Christ.
It’s grace that goes for the heart of your kids, not just their behavior.
God has demonstrated the fullness of His love for you through the cross of His Son, even while you were still a sinner.
He has promised you His presence.
He has spoken His approval over you in Christ.
He is the perfect Father who delights in you as a daughter.
Find in Him your Treasure and Joy. Be to others what He is to you.
So walk in freedom. Let Him hold you together when everything seems to be falling apart.
Bask in His unfailing love for you. And rest in His promise of power.
(Source: thegospelcoalition.org)
“Next week I get to start school home!” ~ Hudson”
Time for some homemade salsa.. YUM!
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” — Deuteronomy 6:5-7
So, as I sit here on the couch watching Hudson draw in his angry birds coloring book, I am thinking to myself “Wow, next week I become a teacher for the first time… and not just a teacher, but a teacher to my own children.” How did that happen so fast? Even though we are just starting simple with preschool, I know that God has entrusted me with so much in schooling my own children. As I gathered their new school supplies today and organized all their curriculum I have collected, I began to think about what a task I am taking on. I KNOW that this is something that I cannot do in my own strength, only His. Amirah (my 2 1/2 year old) will also be participating with us this year, as she is so into everything reading and learning.. and of course shadowing her big brother in everything she does. Can’t wait to watch them learn and discover. 
