some glimpses into life with my two girls . . .

With a new little one around,

I have been in full swing mommy paparazzi mode...

so thought I'd share a few random glimpses into life

with my two little girly girls. :)

gettin glammed up in her Nonni's hair roller...

(are those eyes not stunning?!)

sweet sister snuggles...

Bethany loves ridin in my sling...

a glimpse into the playroom with two littles...

(sweet tiny Bethany loves to swing while Abigail and I play)

I mastered my first double-child doctor appoinment for

Bethany's 2 week and Abigail's 2 year.

Abigail catching up on what I need to know with a new baby...

"I feed baby milk!" - trying to be like mama with her dolly.

Abigail shared her "groceries"...

Anywho...

Hope you have a great day! :)

if you are from Texas, you will laugh!!

yep.

hope that made you smile today!!

I heart Texas.

Blessings y'all.

not in the limelight . . .

Sometimes when I am nursing Bethany at 1:00 AM, at 3:00 AM,

(and so on...)

I think to myself,

"If only people knew how much of myself I give as a mommy."

I really don't need or even want the recognition.

I think it's just a human, fleshly response to desire acknowledgement for

enduring whatever journey or job God has laid before us.

But I don't want to live in that human reaction

to doing what God has put before me to do.

I want to just do it, easy or hard.

and for HIS recognition to be all I need.

and to take pleasure in just doing it.

Don't get me wrong,

i take such JOY in making the daily and nightly

sacrifices I have to make

in my job as a mother.

But the minute I start needing recognition for the job placed before me,

is when I need HIM the most.

HIS love, HIS approval...

things man cannot give.

one of my favorite pieces of poetry was given to me

when I worked as a camp counselor years ago.

I don't remember the whole thing, but the part I remember is the important part.

"You know Lord, how I serve you

with great emotional ferver

in the limelight...

But how would I react, I wonder,

if You pointed to a basin of water

And asked me to wash the callused feet

of a beat and wrinkled old woman.

Day after day,

Month after Month,

In a room where nobody saw

And nobody knew.

whew.

those words have always stuck with me.

how WOULD I react, how DO I react,

when God asks me to do something that noone sees or knows about,

that no other human can acknowledge my work in.

does my pride take over and desire that recognition?

yep, it does... A lot of the time.

I want to tell people of my accomplishment,

of my hard work, of my sacrifice.

And sometimes there is a time and place to do that.

But usually with the hard stuff, it IS in a room

"where nobody sees".

Giving my pride up to the Lord, day by day (and night by night...)

to do what is set before me to do.

for HIS glory, not for my own.

linking up and sharing hearts

1 Year Blogiversary - Giveaway!!

1 year ago today,

I started this little blog as a way to keep up with family and friends...

to share our life and what God was up to.

(read my very first post here)

I had read maybe 2-3 blogs, maybe 2-3 times ever.

When this started, I had NO idea how much a part of my life it would become,

and how much I would be blessed by it.

I am truly truly blessed to be

part of the blogging community

that God has introduced me to.

Seriously, I have "met" other ladies through this blog that have become true friends,

and I have been impacted so greatly by the hearts that are shared here.

My little family has grown a lot in the last year...

so i feel like I've shared a lot with you through this blog.

{read some of my most-read posts from the last year here}

I want to say THANK YOU today.

Thanks to you who have kept up with our life through this little blog,

Thanks to you who I have never met or talked to but

read my little story here.

Thanks to those who just pop in every once in a while to catch up.

Thanks to my bloggy friends who I treasure so dearly...

you mean a lot to me.

I thank you because this blesses me...this little blog.

I am daily encouraged by other bloggers, readers, and friends,

and I literally had NO idea how much I would value the LIFE that this blog has brought me...

through my own sharing, and through the sharing of others.

SO to thank you...

I have a lovely necklace to give you,

from one of my favorite girls!

{who I get to meet in real life next month - yippee!}

Ashley from The Shine Project makes these cute necklaces,

and I thought what better way to say thank you for encouraging me

through this first year of blogging, than to pass on a "Shine" necklace to you!!

{and it benefits her precious project too!}

I have one myself and love it!

and i love that it says SHINE on it...

such a good reminder to let yourself be who God made you to be,

to shine in this world, no matter how you do it.

{oh and PS Ill be wearing mine to this event - you should come if you're in Dallas!}

to enter this giveaway:

mandatory:

1. be a follower of my blog (and leave a comment that you are!)

2. leave a comment to this post (about anything!)

additional:

1. follow Ashley at The Shine Project

2. tweet, FB or blog about this special giveaway

(=1 comment for each)

*leave a comment for each entry!*

closes Wednesday night, winner announced on Thursday!

so

THANK YOU, thank you.

from the bottom of my heart,

for making this blogging experience an amazing one, and

for adding so much to my life.

love yall. :)

{linking up here for Life Made Lovely Monday...

because this blog has added SO much lovely to my life!!}

bef frens

the other day, Abigail hugged Bethany and said

"Bef Frens"

(Best Friends)

and yes, my heart did melt.

I am so excited to be raising sisters,

and I look so forward to what lies ahead with these two bef frens!