Samantha:

Age 10

Loves Soccer

Loves plays

Loves being busy

Not too fond of her brother Bo (but I know she loves him deep inside)

Loves Loves her brother Baylen

thinks her brother McRae is okay....

Full of emotion....

Full of it and pouring over

Is the sweetest thing ever

but is spicy

She is all flavors wrapped into one

She can be soooo sweet

the next minute full of spice 

and the very next very sour

But all in all

she is the most perfect little girl I could ever wish for

Praying for the next few years of changes

that they will bring us even closer

and not split us

Even though lately she has split a lot of hairs on this mommies head....

B0:

Age 7

Loves being a tiger cub

Loves selling popcorn 

Loves to play outside, make up his own adventures and decorate

He is madly inlove with Batman

But usually gets stuck on one thing and you think it will never pass

Halloween

Lego Ninjago

Lone Ranger

now 

Batman

Loves to hug and cuddle

my biggest hugger or all of them

He loves mission work

he begs to go build houses for the homeless

He loves to give out crackers and water to homeless we pass by

He worries often about children being hurt

He asks sooooooo many questions

On the way to school today he asked them faster then I could answer

and he did not even notice

I could not even keep up

"Why do they call people with glasses nerds"

"Where does the water go after you flush it"

"Is that grass real grass or pretend grass"

Is tommorrow the day after yesterday or the day before Friday" WHAT?

And lastly...and yes all the questions came to me within a 30 sec window as we were walking to school

It is dark right now so why are we going to school so late....it is past my bedtime....wow

all I can say sometimes is wow...and smile

Baylen:

Age 3

loves or hates piper

Loves chocolate milk and gummies

would eat junk all day if he could

loves to copy his sisters fits

and his brothers ability to jump off everything

Is so dang smart 

Knows 22 of his letters without even pushing it

loves books 

loves to play with legos

loves to play outside

thinks Bo is the coolest thing out there

thinks McRae is annoying

adores his sister

loves to jump on the trampoline

Does not like footy pjs because they bother his feet and

"I do not like my pants to connect to my shirt"

Also why he does not like overalls I guess

Has to have everything just sooooooo just right 

My look alike

McRae:

Age 10 months

Has the sweetest smile

Smiles with his eyes

full of life

love every little thing about you

can't wait to see what you become

right now I just love

 feeding you

changing you

hugging you

and repeating....

baylens first preschool pic cracks me up

love my Georgia wreath for the month of September

 This sums up what happens just about every afternoon around 3:00

 Bo spends about an hour outside each day changing up the decorations

 Baylen making sure batman fits.....

 And now for the real batman

 Some soccer shots....season twelve

 At touch a truck....baylen makes the funniest faces
Here they are in a fire truck....

 And the city bus...whoop whoop!

 Bo had an actual conversation with "Mr Recyle Man" as he called him....they bonded...only Bo

 Oh Pepper....

 Three boys and a girl in a digger....what more could you ask for?

 GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Dawgs...we still love you

 My only girl...and she still begs for bows......I told her I would always do them for her....and that you never outgrew a bow in year hair....especially a southern girl :)

 Oh Boy, your first badge....Bo earning his Bobcat badge....way to GOOOOOO BOOOOOO

 McRae is in LOVE with the shower...he would spend his life in there if he could

 NO MORE PASSY FOR BAYLEN I am the BIG brother now!!!!! Mailing them away here is the envelope

 And that night we had a Big Boy PARTY!!!!!! And he gave Mcrae new passies...and then he cried...he cried ALOT!!!!!Mommy did too

 McRae using Butt Paste on the wrong end

 Night two...baylen finally falls asleep without a passy!!! Yeah!!!

 After hours of selling popcorn...effortlessly....we headed down to the halloween carnival at the church with the pumpkin patch....got balloon animals, made cupcakes, ate pizza, dunked pumpkins, drank apple cider ad best of all......

 Rode the spooky BuS!!!!!! Love Love it.....

Today was a good day
a very good day
and to God be the glory
Every step and moment belonged to Him
thank you for the gifts of my kids.....
knowing as they grow help me to enjoy each stage and not yearn for the past
But know that each stage and new stage will be just as treasured.....

Bo's Halloween Party was just as he wanted.....

I do not know who had more fun today...me or Baylen...look at this super cool building we made with all the figures...love spiderman check out the cool detail...and yes bo FREAKED when he came in...note the batman to the left of spidy....big mistake...

 McRae and I had a Grammy/Hawk sighting tonight....soooooo neat

 I won't even write about what it took to get these pictures....but it was all worth it....I just love my little family love love love them....

Love this devotion today so I have to share.....

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23  For every step you take, something knocks you back three feet. I encourage you,keep at it She gets up each morning and follows through with her commitments, despite how she feels. Her feet are firmly positioned in the day's tasks. While quitting may seem like an option, she refuses to become someone others or God can't count on. Her heart understands that she must be found faithful in small steps to be trusted with big steps.  2. She approaches the Word of God with reverence. She opens God's Word and believes each day He has a personal message for her. She listens to sermons and teachings. Instead of automatically thinking of the friend who needs to hear that message, she knows there's something there for her.  3. She longs for the grace of refinement rather than the grace of relief. she trusts how God will use this season of growth. She accepts the perspective godly people offer her in difficult situations. And she embraces the process of becoming better through her mistakes.  4. She chooses to invest in the world with joy. Though life may turn on her, she chooses not to reciprocate. Instead, she strives to be emotionally generous towards others by investing in them with joy.  5. She has a spirit of unbreakable determination. Though she may feel a little bent many days, she never lets the bending break her perseverance toward the things God has assigned her. In the midst of rejection, she thrives by standing firm on this verse, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10  I love how Mcrae giggles, baylen talks with a passy in his mouth, samantha is so polite (atleast to others :) I love rolling the ball with McRae, Jumping on the trampoline with Baylen and watching Bo be exciting about writing and math.... I love having a day where we do not have to really be anywhere I love seeing my kids run off the bus asking if cookies are ready As I have Baylen on my back I love how Bo gives hugs and kisses all the time I love dinner time conversations I love how I am slowly being okay with leaving my kids in small doses when before I would only be okay if they were leaving me. I am slowly being able to stand strong and not having to remind them constantly how I love them and asking for reassurance, but just trusting that they know it already I love McRaes chubby legs and sweet smile  I love storytime I love how Baylen sings all the time and how he gets his words mixed up "Who that is" and "Mommy lets see it go" instead of go see it I love being surrounded by my family  I love my little town and my comfort of being here.... Now if they would only stop growing....

I read this on a moms blog tonight and it blew me away!!!1 Can identify on soooo many levels

Not too long ago a young woman was over at my house for some reason that I cannot remember. Now on a typical day  at my house you would find dishes in the sink, junk on the floor, a baby unloading a drawer, laundry on the stairs, and about 410 things on my to-do list. Children are always coloring and gluing things on the window when I’m not looking. Hopefully, you would also find me running around in the midst of it, because long experience has taught me that giving up on it won’t get results. I don’t remember what exactly was going on when she came by, but at some point she commented that she was the sort of person who liked things to be really orderly. It wasn’t a criticism and it wasn’t offensive, although it did make me laugh. Because, lol. Me too.

The thing is, when I look over my past I feel that God has written it on the wall here, there, and everywhere that He doesn’t care about that. That part of my personality that used to seem like a positive attribute  is something that God didn’t treasure. He has asked me to put that on the altar. When push comes to shove and it is either the house or the kids, God chooses the kids, and He tells me to. When it is the laundry all done or the kids all loved, it had better be the kids. When it is mom as an uptight dictator about the shoe placement or the mom who is laughing at the huge spill in the kitchen, I know which one God wants me to be.  He wants me to be  joyful, hard-working, full of gratitude, laughter, and above all He wants me to have spit-spot closets. Wait. Does He? All but that last bit.

Of course God is honored when I am combining joy with closet organizing. Laughter with clean floors. Gratitude with getting all the dishes done. But you know what? If something has got to go around our house, it better not be my attitude. Because that is the one thing that God actually told me to keep track of.

“God just keeps not letting me be happy! He knew that I need a certain amount of alone time every day and He keeps not giving it to me!”

But this is the way that I see it. Those things that I consider part of my personality – loving to decorate, loving to cook, wanting things to be beautiful and organized and perfectly crafty and satisfying. I believe in these things. But I believe in them as things that I can use to honor my Creator. Back in the days when I wasn’t being challenged, these things came naturally, But they primarily came from my own strength. He made it take more than the capacity I think I have to do these things. He said to me, “I know you like it, and you think you believe it. Now I’d like to see you do it without yourself.” God isn’t interested in my strength. He is interested in my obedience in weakness. Do you hear that? God said enough with my hobbies and my preferences. Lets see about her obedience and her faith.

When we believe something, we can sign our names on the dotted line. Children are a blessing? Check! You should be full of joy? Check! You should honor your husband and love your children? Check! Enjoy all the days of your life? Check! 

So then God gives us those children. And now we believe something that He has told us, but we are not dancing around ready to sign our names on it anymore. Why not? Well because we feel like fussing about the laundry. Because it is messing us up to believe this, because now our faith about this is not abstract. So we feel broken. Like the things that we believe aren’t coordinating with our emotions anymore. Like we can’t find ourselves.

God wants to see action. Take that belief, and live it. Not when you have all the emotional strength to do that, but when you don’t.

This is a pattern. I felt capable of being a mother, back before I was. God gave me more to handle than I could possibly handle on my own strength. I felt capable of keeping house. I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can stop laughing about that. Anything that I felt capable of doing,  God will both make it seem impossible and simultaneously ask me to do it. And there I am – in the sweetest place you can ever be – relying on Him. Walking in faith. Living in joy. This broken feeling is only broken if it stays there. If it stops in self-pity. 

We are not broken. We are being healed. We are not alone. We are in His hands. We are not overwhelmed. We are not stupid. We are being made wise. We are not weak. For He is not weak. We are not hopeless.  For we are His.