The World Through My Eyes

Goodness!  I had no idea how long it had been since I last posted.  My last post was on my 30th birthday and that was over two years ago.  I just turned 32 this past January.  Much has changed in the last two years so I thought it might be a good time to update my profile and write a new post.  I've been meaning to get back to blogging for a while now.  I have a really good friend who blogs frequently and when I read her posts it inspires me to do the same.   I really enjoy writing, but making time for it these days seems to be increasingly more difficult.  So here I am now and I will try to post more frequently.    Justin and I are now raising four children.  Our fourth child, Gavin, was born on December 12, 2011.  He's a super precious baby boy!!  Our oldest daughter Sidney will soon turn 9 a...

I'm thirty today! First I was going to make a list of 30 things I wanted to do in my thirties that I didn't do in my twenties like write a book, get out of debt, visit New York City, etc...., but then all of it seemed a little shallow and empty. Then I was going to write about my fears of being 30 and the higher level of expecations of others now that I'm no longer a baby in my twenties. But that just turned out really depressing. So, I started again. Not sure what really to write about, but I thought being that it is my thirtieth birthday I should blog something. I guess I felt like I needed to blog on this day because it seems like new chapter of my life. My twenties were great! I got married, got a degree, had three amazing children, and we bought our first house. I had lots of life altering events in one decade. I doubt the thirties can top it. But I don't think that's what getting older is about. God doesn't necessarily intend for us all to do b...

I just got back from a much needed getaway to Houston and Galveston with my sweet husband. We were celebrating our 9Th anniversary. It was a very relaxing and fun trip. Not only did Justin and I enjoy our time together, I really did some soul searching and realized some things about myself and my life. It's so easy to go through life as a busy mom and wife and put your spiritual walk on "autopilot." I know I've been coasting for quite some time now and I see how it has negatively impacted my life and those whom I love dearly. I've realized that I've been living my life in survival mode, looking forward to the end of the day when all the arguing, cleaning, cooking, explaining, working, fixing, and breaking comes to an end and the kids are in bed. I look at the day as something to get through instead of something to enjoy and look forward to. I've been living as a grouchy babysitter/maid which in turn produces grouchy non-compliant children. The vicious cycl...

Well, everybody, my husband and I celebrated 8 years of marriage yesterday. We had a great date night while my awesome mom kept our little ones for us. I thought I would share a little 8 year wisdom (yeah right) on my view of marriage. I'm no expert, obviously, but from my own personal experience I beleive there are a few, dare I say, "rules" to follow that will encourage a successful lasting relationship that Justin and I have done pretty well at following. Rule #1: Anything you don't like about the person you are considering marrying is more than likely not going to change after you say your wedding vows. You will not change the person you marry and you will have to learn to live with your differences. In fact, some of the things you do like about your relationship may even stop or become less frequent. It's important that you aren't merely in love with the "idea" of marriage, but that you actually love the person - bad breath, messy hair, no make-...

This post is the full version of the "Hall of Fame Hubby" entry that is in the June edition of The Journey magazine. I was going to wait until Father's Day to post it, but I changed my mind. Happy Father's Day, Babe!! I’ve been married to my husband Justin for nearly eight years now, and it’s hard to believe we’ve been together that long. We married pretty young (20 and 22), finished college two years later and quickly entered the world of parenthood. It has been nothing short of a privilege sharing the joys, as well as frustrations, of raising three children with him. I truly would not want to do this with anyone else. I don’t think marriage gets the credit it deserves sometimes. It has been an honor to be Justin’s wife and watch him grow into a respected Christian man and father over the past eight years. Although Justin has many great qualities and characteristics as a husband and father, his simple kindness and gentleness is what makes him so great! Justin has a...

I think Justin and I have had to clean up a mess of poop in Paisley's bed about 20 times now. It happened again today. I am determined to find her some one piece suits for her to wear to bed so she can't take her pants off anymore, but I haven't been able to locate them yet. Anyway, after I got her all bathed cleaned up and changed her bed sheet, I layed her back in her crib and decided to give her Sidney's Dora doll to snuggle up to. She stopped crying right away and later I went to peek in on her and found her like this. I had to take a picture it was too cute. I never really thought about giving her a stuffed toy to sleep with; maybe that's all I needed to to do to stop her from playing with her diaper contents. This is what I like to see in my sweet little girl's crib. So sweet!! Lachlan loves to make messes whether it's dumping an entire toy box full of toys out on the floor or entire can of formula, he's the best boy for the job. The most recent me...

I went to a psychologist, Dr. Sid Epperson, today to see about getting tested for ADD. My family Doctor referred me to him. The following happenings and situations should prove that I have ADD and do not need a test to tell me this....... -My appt. was at 1:00 and they told me to get there early. I planned to leave my house at 12:40 and didn't walk out the door until 12:50 and then still had to go back inside to get my phone which I could not find and ended up being under the sheets on my bed... yes, I made the bed with my phone in it. So, I didn't actually leave until 12:56. -I had to call on the way to find out where they were located b/c, no, I hadn't even done THAT yet.......ugh!!!!! Luckily I knew right where it was and it wasn't too far away. -I have no clue what time it was when i walked in the door and they just put me straight back and let me fill out my paper work afterwards (since I was late, obviously). It didn't even cross my mind to tell them on ...