Driving, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Kisses!

Driving...AGAIN!!!


Favorite little thing to eat...Chocolate Chip Cookies...From Nan!

A RARE happening...kisses from John Luke!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!

John Luke loves his bubbles! Usually we play with them outside but since it is so hot, we decided to just let them go in the house. I think he would chase bubbles for hours!



Hiding from Mama in the closet...

Precious Memories...

Last night I went to a sweet wedding and it brought back precious memories of this...


And this...


Our HONEYMOON! There can't be a more perfect place on earth than Hawaii! How I wish I could do it all over AGAIN!!!

"Editor-in-Chief"

This past week, John Luke and I received these sweet things...

{It says, A few things to be happy about: matching socks, having exact change, homemade anything, mail thats not a bill, getting all the green lights, and best of all knowing somebody cares a lot about you!}

{Today's forecast... There's a 100% chance I'm thinking about YOU!
{sorry, the scanner wouldn't work so they are very blurry}

From this sweet thing...

Thank you Sister/Aunt Kimberly! Apparently she knows her big sister LOVES to get mail!!! I also have to brag a little... A couple of weeks ago, she wrote an article for school and it was published in the Troy Newspaper! Way to Go Sister!


Kimberly, I didn't think you had seen this one...

We Love You!!!

Yum! Yum!

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 390
Total Fat: 21 grams
Saturated Fat: 13 grams
Total Carbohydrates: 44 grams
Sugars: 30 grams

Do you think there might be a reason it tastes sooooo delightful?!! I must have another!

Encouraging Words

The look he got straight from his daddy!

This morning as I was reading in the book "Feminine Appeal", Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother, I came across something that was so encouraging to me and I immediately thought of all my blogger friends. I wanted to share with y'all so you too could be encouraged.

The title of the chapter was "Anticipating The Rewards". Carolyn Mahaney is telling a story of a Valentine's Day card she received from her son when he was 3 years old. On the outside it said "Happy Valentine's Day, Mom! How bout' breakfast in bed?" On the inside it read "Just bring it on up! Not too early, though, OK?" She shared that because that sometimes is our children's attitudes {and spouses'}. Not always but a lot of times, we as wives and mothers are taken for granted and we never see a reward for the countless hours of service.
Carolyn writes: "While we may not serve it in bed each morning, we do prepare 1000's of breakfasts in our lifetime. Each and every day we cheerfully welcome our family members home. We listen with rapt attention to the same story-over and over again. We bring countless prayers and burdens before God's throne. We refrain from anger, even in the face of repeated wrongs. We reserve judgment once more. We plan a myriad of special memories. Faithfully we encourage, constantly we support, and above and beyond we forgive, "seventy times seven" {Matt. 18:22}. We work tirelessly to enrich our husbands' and childrens' lives, and yet our toil at times goes unappreciated. We may wonder if our families even notice our efforts of kindness and goodness. However, Proverbs 31 anticipates that for the godly woman, Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all {Prov. 31:28-29}. She continues to say, "I can tell you from experience that if you devote your life to advancing your family's happiness, the rewards will far exceed the sacrifices. It may be awhile yet before you receive many of your rewards, but being kind and doing good today will yield sweet fruit in the latter years of your life. Marriage will become more precious. Motherhood will grow more dear. However, our greatest returns are still to come, and they will far surpass what we can fathom here on earth. Eph. 6:8 promises, The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. As John Bunyan elaborates: "Whatever good thing you do for Him, if done according to the Word, is laid up for you as treasure in chests and coffers, to be brought out to be rewarded before both men and angels, to your eternal comfort". So regardless of who takes notice in this life, God is watching. He is recording every expression of kindness and every act of goodness. What greater incentive could there be to advance our families' happiness?"-- Carolyn Mahaney

So... keep smiling and singing as you do all those "everyday chores". God is watching and he doesn't miss a' thing! Have a wonderful day!

Before I start, I want to warn you: this is long! I read not too long ago on one of my favorite blogs {one I love to "stalk"} about this girl and her husband having a slight disagreement. {Okay, to start with, the reason I like her blog so much is because she is so darn honest!} I think more and more I am grasping the fact that it is okay to not be "perfect". Since none of us are anyway, why do we try to live up to an impossible image? This is something that I have been praying God would help me with. I want to be a REAL person. I want to teach my children to be genuine and to not worry about what the world thinks. I love the verses in I Cor. 3:18-20: "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, {the world's standards} he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight... the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise,{wise in the world} that they are vain." God knows our heart. So why not be honest? Why try to be "perfect" in any area? And why do we expect others to be perfect? I think some of the areas where I struggle are my marriage, the cleanliness of my house {as you already know}, and John Luke. I cringe when he gets dirty or if he has a booger in his nose or a scuff mark on his shoe. How insane! As for my marriage, I went into it floating around on love clouds and thought that I had it all figured out. I wanted to make my husband so proud and that was the problem. I was too concerned about pleasing him instead of HIM! In the book, "It's All About Him", by Dennis Jackson, she makes a profound statement: "No one is designed to be the center of my life. No human being could fill that place. Christ alone can truly be my all-in-all." How true! Yes, without a doubt I am instructed to be a helper to John and respect him, but not to be "perfect" in his eyes.

I guess the small disagreement {okay, large disagreement} I had with John this morning has sparked all of this thinking, and I have decided to be honest. Before marriage, I thought "love" would make everything alright. Well, I was wrong. I didn't {still don't} always like to say I'm sorry. Well, today was one of those times I HAD to. After a few hours of steeming, and then a fear tears {maybe more than a few}, and some talking really loudly to no one {well I guess John Luke was listening because he was staring at me like I had lost it}, I called John and apologized and invited him to join us at the park for lunch. {That should make it all better, right?}
I realized, Who am I to NOT forgive when Christ forgave me to the point of death?! A sweet lady in my Bible Study told us a really good way of reminding ourselves who we are without Jesus. She says, "All we deserve is death and hell." Wow! That'll humble you!

Of course I am a work in progress! I haven't got it all figured out yet and I know I never will. If any of you have any insight, please share.
I also want to say, I really love blogging! I love to look at all of your pictures and see what's new and exciting. I hope nothing ever happens to this Blogger thingy!!!

P.S. I want to clarify that I DO love my husband and I am so thankful God gave him to me! He is a blessing!

So... if you haven't left me yet, I have some pictures to share of our trip to the park...

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich wasn't as exciting as the french fries. As you can see, he liked the fries much better!

Since I was on the subject, I thought it was a perfect time to tell you about my latest read. A wonderful book about MARRIAGE! It points out the biggest differences in a man and woman. "A wife has one driving need - to feel loved. A husband has one driving need - to feel respected." HOW TRUE!!!