[dear katelyn]

Two of my very favorite shots from our mini family session this past weekend…

My Dear Katelyn,

You are such a delight to me!  I praise God every single day that he allows me to be your mom.  You are a ray of sunshine!  My prayer for you is that you would rest in the knowledge that you are a daughter of the King!  May you find peace in knowing you are created perfectly in His image.  I read some wise words last week that I want to share with you as you continue to grow into a beautiful young lady…

-Do not worry about being popular.  Just be a friend to the friendless.

-Do not worry about the boys who don’t notice you.  Wait patiently for the one God created with you in mind.

-Do not worry about being as good as someone else.  Just be the best you can be.

-Do not worry about your past mistakes.  They do not define you.

-Do not worry about disappointing me.  Being your mom is the joy of my heart.

-Do not worry when something seems hopeless.  The God of all hope and comfort is in control.  [from the MODSquad blog 10/11/12]

You see, the world is always going to try and bring you down and tell you are not enough.  Don’t listen.  You are more than enough because you have the living God dwelling within you.  Do not fear the future.  God has perfect plans for you and in his perfect time they will be revealed.  In the meantime, keep seeking God with your whole heart.  Search for him and you will find him.  Talk to him and learn from him.

You are loved fiercely. 

With all my love,

Mom

[like father, like son]

If you’re friends with me on facebook, you’ve already seen this one, but I wanted to share it here as well!  This past Monday, we had the privilege of attending our very first band concert to hear our son, Matthew, play his trombone.  Initially, I’ll admit, I wasn’t too sure about this whole band thing … and neither was Matthew.  But it has turned out to be such a positive experience.  Several of his good friends are also in the band (which is kind of the only reason he decided to join in the first place!) and he has really taken to learning how to play a new instrument, after taking piano lessons for six years.  And what’s really special about it, is the fact that his Daddy was also a trombone player in middle and high school!  I love it when they both pull out their trombones and play together – even if it does get a little loud in the living room!

I don’t know if band will stick long term for Matthew or not, but I’m really hoping it does.  I have dreams of watching him in the half time show of the high school football games or going to marching band competitions.  There’s just something about the pomp & circumstance … the precision of it all … the camaraderie … the formality … that is appealing.  Regardless, though, of what he chooses in the future, I’m grateful for the experience he’s enjoying right now.  And plus, he looks awfully cute in his band “uniform!”

[Linking up with Deb for This or That Thursday]

[a first]

Yesterday, for the first time, I sat in the tree stand with my boy and I learned (or was reminded of) a few things in the process…

1.  Hunting is kind of boring

2.  Tree stands are not very comfortable

3.  Climbing up a very tall, skinny ladder is a little scary

4.  It is hard, as a mom, to not feel extremely overprotective of my son in that tree stand that is high off the ground

5.  Being still and quiet for long periods of time is not easy

6.  My son has more courage than I give him credit for

7.  It is very gratifying to watch your child doing something they love

8.  Children feel very blessed when their parents are willing to actively participate in what they enjoy

9.  Our woods are truly beautiful in the fall

10.  It is definitely a privilege to be Andrew’s mom

[beauty]

 

Beauty is about

authenticity not applause

character not cosmetics

thoughtfulness not thinness

modesty not modeling

purity not perfection

kindness not keeping up

reality not running away

wisdom not wildness

servanthood not sexiness

influence not imitation

unmasking not masking

being you not being theirs

(from the MODSquad.com blog 4/12)

 

Oh how I pray for the heart of my girl … that she would embrace what beauty is, not what it isn’t.

1st day of school!

 

Yesterday was the first day of school for our family!  I shared recently about some of my fears in regards to this new school year and so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of the things I wrote in my gratitude journal yesterday:

#2361 … for the reminder to my children on the eve of their 1st day of school to put on the armor of God

#2362 … for prayers and time in the Word as a family

#2363 … for the expectation of seeing God at work

#2364 … for a sweet time of prayer and fellowship before bed with my sweet girl who was so full of worry

#2365 … for being able to physically see the worry leave her as I prayed over her

#2366 … for four simple words – “I trust you God!”

#2367 … for the note left on the kitchen counter before school from brother to sister, assuring her of prayers and love

#2368 … for fresh tears on my face as I say goodbye for the day

#2369 … for knowing they’ll return

#2370 … for peace in knowing they’re in God’s care

#2371 … for a morning alone with my Love

#2372 … for a sushi lunch with my forever date

#2373 … for good reports and successful days for all three

#2374 … for the gift of lunch buddies for both boys

#2375 … for hearing Katelyn tell of how God answered her prayers

God is faithful, my friends!

[her hair]

It’s been been almost two years since she’s had a haircut.  This week, however, this precious girl got a new look … and in the process she was able to donate her cut hair to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.  Win-win situation!

Playing in the rain!

Yesterday morning we awoke to the most amazing sight … RAIN!!  It’s been awhile since we’ve seen any substantial rainfall so it was almost as if we were waking up on Christmas morning.  We were that excited!

The kids (well, two of them anyway) immediately asked if they could go out and play in the rain which led to them having a blast prancing around the yard with and without umbrellas in hand.  Such fun!

Psalm 135:7 … He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth.  He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

Andrew’s 8th grade pictures

In just a few days, we will officially have a high schooler among us!  In our area, there is no 8th grade graduation, but that doesn’t mean we won’t celebrate the achievement of finishing middle school.  I’m so proud of this boy!  We have definitely experienced growing pains this past year and we’re still fumbling our way through knowing how to parent a teenager, but when I look at the overall picture, I am thrilled with who Andrew is becoming and I love having a front row seat to see what God is doing in his life.  I have no doubt that this next year is going to bring about a whole new set of changes (and challenges!), but I’m also excited to see where the journey is going to take us … as parents and as a family.

Without further adieu, allow me to present my soon-to-be freshman…

Wordless Wednesday: Our DARE Graduate!

 

[this girl]

I really, really like this girl and who she’s growing up to be…

Wordless Wednesday

 

Little Miss Cutie Pie

Katelyn’s hair is getting super long so we’ve been experimenting with different hair styles.  Yesterday’s style looked so cute that we had to capture a few shots before school…

It’s such a blessing to have such a lovely model living right here under my roof!

Unfortunately there is another side of the story … I literally had a minute – maybe two – to capture these shots before we needed to leave for school.  Since we live in the woods, our house doesn’t get a ton of natural light in every room, however, we do have a sunroom that tends to be pretty bright.  So I positioned her towards the sliding glass doors to ensure that there was enough light on her face.  I checked my settings on my camera and snapped away, but in every single shot Katelyn was squinting her eyes (or so I thought!).  After repeatedly asking her to stop squinting and open her eyes, I got frustrated and she ended up in tears.  Not exactly the “mini session” I had in mind.

Needless to say, this Momma had to do some major apologizing for loosing her cool over something so petty. 

And then, as if I weren’t feeling guilty enough, when I uploaded the pictures to my computer, I realized that I had actually captured some pretty great shots – with her eyes open!

Note to self:  don’t try to take pictures of the kids in a hurry, stay calm and don’t overreact, and perhaps most important, trying to capture the “perfect” shot of my kids is never more important than their feelings.

Point taken!

[Linking up with Deb for This or That Thursday]

Crazy Socks!

Yesterday was crazy socks day at school and this is what Katelyn came up with…  not overly crazy, but not something she’d wear on a regular basis either!

[not quite] Wordless Wednesday

After opening a box that did not contain all the necessary pieces, a call to Lego customer service requesting the missing pieces, a package that came in the mail that still had missing pieces, another call to customer service, the sending of the entire set back to Lego and the receiving of a replacement that finally contained all the pieces … Matthew’s birthday present is complete – all 1000+ pieces!

Despite all the headaches, we are still BIG fans of Legos at our house!  In fact, I think this boy could eat, sleep, and breathe Legos if we let him – although that might be painful!  They are his absolute favorite though.  He even has big plans of working for Lego as a designer someday.  I love his 12 year old ambitions!

These two

These two are my stronger personality, extroverted kids.  They tend to get under each other’s skin more than either of them do with their older brother, who is quieter and less confrontational.

But we’ve always told our boys that they have a responsibility to look out for and defend their younger sister should the need arise and last Friday Matthew came through for Katelyn big-time! Unfortunately she has been struggling a bit with girl drama amongst a couple of her friends recently which ultimately led to her being bullied and pushed around on the school bus on the way home from school by a girl who isn’t in her circle of friends but who had heard about the drama and the accusations that were being made against Katelyn.  When she burst into tears and Matthew finally became aware of what was going on, he approached the other girl and in his most intimidating voice said, “You will not mess with my sister any longer!”  The other girl immediately let him know that she was not afraid of him to which he replied, “I don’t care if you’re afraid of me or not, you will not mess with my sister!”  She eventually backed down and uttered some half-hearted apology (to which he also called her out on) and the situation was diffused.  They got off the bus and walked up the driveway to our house arm in arm.

Since then, I’ve noticed a deepened bond between them … a trust that maybe wasn’t there before.

In fact, this morning as Matthew was getting ready to walk out the door to go to chess club, he stopped and hugged his sister and told her he loved her and would see her at school.

These are the moments that motherhood is made for.  Yes, these two fight and annoy each other, but they also love each other and look out for each other when need be.  I couldn’t hope for anything more!

Just because…

…she’s cute!

I love this capture of my sweet girl from last week!  One of her absolute favorite things to do right now is listen to Adventures in Odyssey on her mp3 player.  It’s not unusual to see her walking around the house with her headphones on, but I got so tickled to find her, recently out of a shower and with a towel on her wet hair, with those headphones on over top the towel!  This might be one of those times when ear buds are more appropriate, but she made it work!

Double Digits!

Today my Baby turns 10!  No more single-digit birthdays at our house.

I love this girl with my whole heart!  She is the perfect combination of sassy and sweet and she compliments her two older brothers perfectly.  She completed our family on the day of her birth and she completes our family now.  We are so thankful for our sweet girl!

Celebrating a dozen!

What a blessing it is to be this kid’s momma!  I’m so grateful that God gave him to us twelve years ago today.  He lights up our world and brings joy to our family!

It thrills me to no end to watch him growing into the person God created him to be and I absolutely cannot wait to see how God will continue to work in his life.  I know God’s got big things planned for this boy with so much potential!

Yep, I’m his biggest fan!

This guy!

The blog has been quiet this week.  Reason #1 – I haven’t had my camera out as much lately.  Reason #2 – it’s birthday week at our house … two birthdays, four days of celebrating, two parties and a lot of other details to think through.

Since the kids were off school on Monday because of MLK day, I did manage to rope them into a mini photo session in honor of their birthdays.

I’ll let this one go first since his special day is tomorrow.  He is my Lego-loving kid so we tried to incorporate them into at least one shot.

Tomorrow I’ll share another shot from our little session that was based off an idea I saw on Pinterest recently.

[This or That Thursday]

Building “Frosty”

No White Christmas for us this year.  But, we did get a few inches of snow a few days after.  And since Joel is off this work this week, the five of us headed out to play.  Well, actually four headed out to play with snow while one went out to play with her camera!  The snow players eventually sucked her into their fun, however, and the result was the biggest snowman we’ve ever built!

Since we haven’t had a lot of snow yet this winter, we’re all hoping for much, much more (just not when I have to drive in it!).  That’s not too much to ask, is it?