tiny horsy, and remembering the Author.

This weekend we got to spend some time with Parker's cousins that live about an hour away from us here in Oklahoma.

Abigail had a blast seeing the cows and the "tiny horsy"!

(we had really built up the tiny horsy, but then she was scared of it...oh well, next time.)

We got to do some swimming, drink some cold beers, and just enjoy being with family!

These are the nephews and family of Parker's dad, Steve.

Steve would have turned 65 last Wednesday, and we were sad to not get to celebrate such a big day with him this side of Heaven, but also know he got one amazing celebration with Jesus.

We lost Parker's dad very suddenly almost 3 years ago, and though we know he is fully free now, we still miss him greatly.

He had been on my mind a lot last week with his birthday,

so it meant a lot to us to be able to spend time with Steve's family.

I know Steve was watching and smiling!

Thanks Tim and Debbie for opening your home and

loving on us and our girls so well!

(that is Parker's truck that he inherited from his dad...it's a special truck to us.)

It was so fun to swim, see the cows, and (try) to pet the horsy.

And also was such a blessing to know that we have family close by, that I am getting to know now. So thankful for that!

And obviously, with the sudden loss of Steve and then the Colorado shooting on my mind,

I am trying to commit my thoughts this week to knowing that we are not promised tomorrow.

As cliche as that sounds, it's true y'all.

I am thankful that I know the One who is the author of life and death,

and I have to trust His goodness for us in the midst of it all.

So here's to living each day with the knowledge that it is a blessing.

And thankful to the blessings He gives us.

@HonestToddler: Funniest. Tweeter. Ever.

Get ready to ROLL.

You need to follow "Honest Toddler" on twitter, facebook, or their blog.

It's all from the toddler-brain perspective. SO funny!!!!

It Makes me laugh every. single. day.

Get ready to literally LOL.

(these are all random tweets from @HonestToddler)

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Back tapping. Don't try to rush it. Don't lean on my crib either. Use your core.

Mommy likes to call daddy at work to talk about feelings. He loves little gestures like that.

Someone's in the bathroom. Be right back. Want to watch.

Am I mistaken or do most newborns regularly throw out gang signs? So sad. Little street babies.

We're all in makeup right now prepping for spontaneous Facebook photos of us "just hanging out."

The only caption on the photos will be "blessed."

My mama is so brave. Not many people would feel comfortable walking out of the house with their hair looking like that.

Up early. Packing. Rushing. Not sure if we're going to the beach or leaving for an international flight.

Juice, frozen fruit, & wine in the magic bullet she never made me baby food with.

Dear mama's friend. I don't have a fever. She just doesn't want to go. Don't worry, she lies to me, too.

Being carried surfboard style to the car. Overall, I'd give this trip an F-

Toddler Tip: Interrupt the bedtime story at least two times per page with questions that have nothing to do with anything.

They need to choose. Teeth or hair. We're not going to brush both daily.

Hi daddy. Hurry home. She just changed into different pajamas and Googled "how to make mojitos."

Not even noon and mama is fading. Extended blinks. Wake up, lady. We've got 6 hours to go. YAY!!! :)

Got into the pantry and helped myself to the bottom tip of several ice cream cones. Stuffed!

I'd like to see the Wonderpets show up at an actual emergency singing about teamwork.

Laughcrying.

Gummy vitamin. Feel my strength coming back. I'm ready to move forward.

Emptied a family size box of cereal on the tile. Sounded just like a cool summer rain. Mmmmm. It really is the little things in life.

I know why they call it "high" fructose. I'm so messed up right now.

"Each day I learn some more." Obviously not, Caillou. Elmo isn't even human and he's doing laps around you daily when it comes to wisdom.

Watching daddy shower. Family is more important than privacy.

Sometimes when mama says, "I can't deal with this crap," she is being literal. #diapersforlife

Why does my mom assume I want to play with every kid around my size? Do adults select friends by height?

Every single one of my childhood photos has been Instagramed making it look like I've spent my life submerged in Earl Grey.

Mommy's looking for her phone. It's hiding. :)

Miss my placenta sometimes. We were as close as Tom Hanks and that volleyball in Cast Away.

Time to enter deep sleep. My goal for the night is simple: wake up in the big bed. You know this!

Almost 4PM and we've yet to visit the park. Lowering my expectations for life.

Every time a shirt comes on or off I feel like I'm being pushed through the birth canal again. #toddlerproblems

Found a boo boo from several weeks ago on my leg. Made up a new backstory and angled for a fresh band-aid. Denied.

No story tonight. Guess the 8PM primetime television lineup is more important than my growing mind.

Just saw one of my drawings in the trash. OMG. :(

Accidentally said I wanted an Awful for breakfast. Meant Waffle.

She laughed in my face and told Facebook. :(

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Hilarious, right?! Hope that made your mommy day. :)

Thanks for letting me share, Honest Toddler!!

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Yall have a great weekend!

oh hey

Been hanging with my little crew,

and thought I'd pop in to say hey there to the bloggy world....

and share whats on my heart for the 5 minutes I have with you today.

God has shown up in a really powerful way to me this week...I am experiencing His constant presence like I haven't in a very long time.

It is refreshing and needed.

I am hearing Him speak and drop things into my heart that I know are from Him.

He is good like that, ya know.

and He does speak, y'all.

It may be an audible voice, or just a prompting, or a feeling in your spirit, or even a word through scripture or from someone else.

But He DOES speak.

He is alive and very much powerful and real.

In our relationship,

I have seen Him provide, protect, and pursue in supernatural ways.

I have even experienced His healing more than once, for myself and in others.

And I mean like miraculous healing...

like there yesterday, gone today.

{feel free to ask me about that...I have yet to share my healing stories here, but def will when the Lord leads me to}

And this week...He is reminding me that he cares for me enough to speak to my heart.

To remind me about things He has done and will do.

He has given me words of knowledge for my family and myself,

encouragements that will hopefully propel us further into His presence and His will.

all that (jumbled thoughts) to say...

He is showing up, He is real, He is GOOD.

So..I am making every effort to bask in that goodness right now.

Yall have a great week...be blessed!!

a legacy of worship

Parker and I were given an amazing gift to have a couple in our life, Joe and Kim, that we call our spiritual parents.

They have been a huge part of our lives for about 15 years now.

We even met each other at their house, where they hosted youth to worship and pray every friday night while I was in high school.

I could go on and on about the incredible impact they have had on us, as individuals and as a married couple.

This weekend, we get to go home to celebrate Joe's 60th birthday.

But it's not going to be just a birthday party.

It is going to be an amazing night full of worship and testimony about the impact Joe has made in so many lives.

(I am crying as I write this, just reflecting on how my life has been touched.)

One of the ways he touched me most was that he facilitated a love and desire in me

to WORSHIP God.

To EXPERIENCE His presence, to be ministered to through Spirit and Truth, and a worshipful heart.

Joe gave us a legacy of worship, and for that I am forever grateful.

Now we get to pass this on to our children.

One thing I learned from Joe and Kim, well from the Lord through Joe and Kim,

was that there is FREEDOM to worship Jesus however He led me.

That it didn't look like religious duty or rote meditation.

It was not something that was expected of me or something that could be taught in a lesson.

But that it was a way, through song and prayer, to MEET with Jesus.

To know Him better, to taste His presence closely and sweetly.

Worship and meeting together in this group at Joe and Kim's house taught me that there was more to God.

That He is a sweet, gentle, caring, loving Father who loves to draw near to ME as I draw near to Him.

There are so many ways to worship God...art, music, dance, writing, teaching...and on and on.

One of my favorite ways to worship is through music and song.

That is something I learned from Joe and Kim.

I have learned that when I stop and worship...as I GIVE to Him...

HE gives back to me.

Their willingness to simply step back and let the Lord move in the lives of those that were meeting in their home was such a gift.

It allowed for the Holy Spirit to move and speak and touch us.

And it facilitated a desire for more of His presence.

I pray that I will be able to facilitate this same desire in my own children.

That they would know the deep goodness and character of God by meeting with Him,

by learning His Truth, by interceeding for each other,

and by honoring Him through worship.

"For a time is coming - and indeed it is here now - when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way.

For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth."

John 4:23-24

Not only did Joe and Kim teach us the things of the Lord,

but they have loved us, counseled us, supported us, cried with us.

Joe married us, and also spoke at Parker's Dad's funeral.

He has walked though business decisions with Parker, and has encouraged me in my blogging.

He is an amazing man of God who I love deeply and dearly.

We pray that that our children will also be blessed with spiritual family who walk closely with them.

Thank you Joe and Kim for the gift you have given us.

You have not only blessed us, but now Abigail and Bethany get to taste what we have tasted because you were obedient to the Lord's calling.

I cant wait to share more with y'all next week about the celebration...

it's going to be powerful. Have a great weekend!

making it up the stairs

Mamas...

In the midst of feeling like you need more grace that you can "muster" in moments with your littles...it is paradigm-shifting to remember that

HE is enough.

HIM. HIS love, His perfect love and grace and favor for us.

Like today, when I was carrying a crying, (way) overtired 6 month old up the stairs to put her down,

following behind my 2 year old as she climbed with us.

Then Abigail jammed her finger into one of the steps and lost it. like, LOST it people.

So here I was, in the middle of my very steep stairwell, two crying babies, now one on each arm, trying to keep everyone from falling,

including myself.

Kissing the flowing finger-jammed tears while shhh-ing my tired infant.

My heart became overwhelmed with how to "do it all" in that quick moment.

How am I supposed to comfort these two crying babies, convince an injured Abigail to keep climbing so we can get up the dangerous stairs, keep Bethany from crying even louder which made Abigail cry even louder...

I wanted to just sit there on the steep stairs and cry myself.

You get the picture. You've been there.

But as I looked at Abigail's big sad eyes, I remembered:

God is with me on these stairs.

God is with my babies on these stairs.

I need HIS strength right now.

It was like a sudden wave of supernatural peace came over me,

encouraging me to make it back up to the top.

And telling me that He was near and close to us.

That HIS ability was all I needed.

And so we did. And both girls immediately stopped crying as we reached the top.

And i can say without a doubt that it was NOT because we were off the stairs.

It was because they too sensed His nearness and His comfort.

It sounds little and silly I know.

But it was just one of those small moments that became a HUGE moment...

all because I recognized His Presence was with me.

I was blessed by a post the other day, and I think you mamas will be too...

Click here to read it.

Just a powerful reminder that we DO have the ability to apply His grace and His gospel and His love to every situation in motherhood.

Even when sometimes the application is just making up the stairs.