A Life of Gratitude

We spent the morning at family fun day at All-A-Flutter Butterfly Farm. We all enjoyed learning about the Monarch Butterfly and feeding them with sugar pads. The butterflies flew all around us, landed on us, and especially loved my big belly. It was so much fun to watch the boys with the butterflies! Evan loves insects of all kinds so he really liked the butterfly farm! Today I am thankful for a fun day together at the butterfly farm. It was exciting to watch these beautiful creatures flying all around. The boys had a great time and so did Bryan and I! I am also grateful for the butterfly. The life cycle of a butterfly always amazes me, so just seeing the different stages of their lives today caused me to worship our Creator! He has done so many awesome things, the butterfly is just one example! 

Since Miss Allison's arrival could happen anytime now, Bryan and the boys surprised me with a special birthday celebration. My birthday is in 8 days and they were worried I might not be able to or feel like celebraitng on my real day. So, we had a delicious dinner at PFChang's and then walked around the Greensboro Aboretum. I enjoyed spending the evening with my fellas. The food was super yummy and the weather was perfect for walking around the gardens. The boys had so much fun running around the Arboretum. It was a wonderful, peaceful evening! Today I am thankful for an impromptu birthday celebration. My guys made me feel so special! I am also thankful for yummy food and beautiful gardens. It was such a lovely evening! I love spending time with my family. There is no better way to celebrate my (almost) birthday! Now, we just need our little girl to join in the fun!

I love homeschooling for many reasons but I have to say, one of my favorite things is the flexibility it allows. I've been having a whole lot of back pain with this pregnancy so today, instead of sitting in the homeschool room or even on the couch to read our chapter book, we went outside and relaxed in the hammock. It was so peaceful and enjoyable. We were out there for a while reading Charlotte's Web and we loved every minute of it. You can't do that in public school!  Today I am thankful, once again, for the ability to homeschool my children. This wasn't something I ever envisioned doing but God has led me down this path and He repeatedly shows me that this is the perfect path for my family. Sometimes, well actually all the time, His plans are better than ours! I am also grateful for some sweet moments in the hammock with my biggest boy. Pretty soon we'll have another little one and my time will feel much more limited. Homeschooling allows me so much tim...

Our worship service at church this morning was absolutely amazing! The Holy Spirit was so present, it was incredible. I never wanted it to end. God showed up in such a beautiful way. So many people were touched by His grace and love this morning. I was overwhelmed by it! Today I am thankful that I serve an awesome but personal God. He isn't too busy to bless the hearts of His people. He shows up in very real ways and His children are forever changed by it. I was so incredibly blessed by our church service this morning. I am grateful to be a part of a church body where God's spirit can be felt so strongly. I am also grateful for the presence of such a Holy God, a God who loves us so much that He invades our hearts and lives. I am thankful to be able to worship this mighty God!

On the way home from Mom2Mom at church today Evan was singing "Jesus Loves Me." It was absolutely adorable! He was belting it out at the top of his lungs. My favorite part was his way of singing, "Yeeeees, Jesus love me, Yeeeeees, Jesus loves me!" He screamed out "YEEEES!" with such certainty and repeated it over and over again. I loved hearing his little voice singing these precious words. May he always be so certain that Jesus loves him! Today I am thankful for the teachers at our church that reinforce what we teach our boys at home. They can never hear too much about how much Jesus loves them! These sweet little songs help children to learn some of the most important truths they can ever learn. I am also grateful for Evan's little voice. Hearing him scream out, "Yeeeeees, Jesus loves me" just brightened my day today. I just love hearing him sing!

There is one thing that I began praying for before Dylan was even born. I've probably prayed for that same thing at least once a week, every week of his little life. Tonight, I saw God answer my prayer and this Mommy couldn't be happier! On the way home from a birthday party Dylan brought up something he learned at church. He began explaining that every person has a black heart, that we are all sinners. He explained that the only way for our hearts to be clean is to give our lives to Jesus. He said he wanted to give his life to Jesus tonight! As soon as we got home we sat down, just Bryan, Dylan and me, and talked openly about our need for a Savior. I loved watching Dylan's little mind at work and answering his questions. It brought so much joy to my heart when I heard Dylan explaining that Jesus died for us because there is no other way and He loved us enough to do whatever it took for us to be able to come to Heaven with Him. And it brought tears to my eyes when ...

I have been having so much pain with this pregnancy, mostly because of my back issues but also because the little lady is so low! I've honestly had a hard time just getting my housework and Dylan's schoolwork done. I've been praying for relief and help, just to get through each day. Today, God answered my prayer in the most adorable way. Dylan and I were in the homeschool room and Evan was supposed to be watching a video about Shapes. We were working on Dylan's math assignment when Evan walked in and said, "Mommy, those brownies sure were good!" My mind started searching for the memory of us eating brownies but I knew we had not eaten brownies this morning. I quickly noticed the smear of chocolate on his face and the brownie crumbs under his nails. So I said, "Did you eat brownies just now?" He grinned and ran into the kitchen and sat right beside the pan of brownies. He was so proud of himself!  Normally I would probably get frustrated with...

Since moving into our new home we've made some new friends in our neighborhood. They have kids similar ages to our kids and they all love playing together! They recently offered to watch the boys so Bryan and I could go on a date before the baby comes. So, tonight, we took them up on their offer! We dropped the boys off at their house and headed out to dinner and a movie. It was so nice to have dinner out at Outback Steakhouse and then enjoy an adult movie, just the two of us! Tonight I am thankful for a date night with my honey. I never, ever, get tired of being with him! I am grateful for some time alone together before we add baby #3 to mix. I am also thankful for neighbors that were so generous with their offer to take care of our boys so that we could have some time away. I love our new neighborhood! Not only have our kids made some new friends but we have too!

I'm not really sure where the summer went but today our little family started our homeschool year. This year is a very exciting experience for all of us! I can't believe I have a second grade student and I can't believe we finally have a homeschool room to learn in! We also have little preschooler joining in the fun these days, which makes for even more excitement! The year a student turns 7 is the year that a homeschool officially begins in NC. So, since Dylan will be turning 7 years old during this school year, we recently had to name our school and we just got our School ID code! It's so neat to have our own little school! Our first day of 2nd grade was a success! We got everything accomplished and Dylan said he had a great time! He even said he couldn't wait to do more schoolwork tomorrow. Evan did well too. He loved sitting at the school table with us! He felt like such a big boy! My big 2nd Grader! Using our new chalkboard....compound...

I can hardly believe it but I am finally 34 weeks pregnant! Since this little lady has tried to make her entrance super duper early already, our doctor has been saying, "we just need to make it to 34 weeks!" So I have been awaiting this day for weeks now. Of course, we hope she continues to wait a few more weeks to arrive but apparently there is something "magical" about the 34th week. Most babies born after the 34th week do exceptionally well, especially those who have had the steriod shots, which we have had. So, even if she comes this week or next, I can breath a little easier now knowing she has made to this milestone. According to "The Bump" Allison is now the size of a butternut squash. We didn't have one of these laying around the house so I had to hold one up at the grocery store, just so the boys could see how big their sister is this week! Because of Allison's possible early arrival, I have done some heavy duty nesting! We are co...

Bryan and I watched "God's Not Dead"  earlier. I know we're a little behind, we never make it to the theater. We always end up renting the DVD when the movies we want to see come out though. I have to say, "God's Not Dead" is probably my new favorite movie! It was excellent! I love seeing films that openly share who God is and unashamedly share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone who watches it! Not only was it a great Christian film, it was very well made. The actors did a wonderful job!  Today I am thankful for this awesome movie! Everyone who participated with this film did terrific work! I am grateful for so many people who are willing be a part of this movie and any movie that might draw others closer to the Father. If you haven't seen "God's Not Dead," go rent it right away! Be a supporter of what these folks are doing! Help them spread the word, God's NOT Dead!!!

Do you ever drive down the road with the music blaring, singing at the top of your lungs? Some songs are just made for that! Today, on the way to my doctor's appointment, I listened to "Overwhelmed" by Big Daddy Weave over and over again. It is definitely my favorite song right now. I just love the lyrics because it gives words to the way I feel.  So I sang it, with one hand raised, tears flowing, at the top of my lungs, and I didn't care one bit that the people around me probably thought I looked ridiculous! I had planned on listening to a sermon on the way to and from the doctor but I couldn't get it to work so I decided to listen to "Overwhelmed." It was definitely God's plan. I needed to spend time just worshiping Him and allowing Him to overwhelm me with His presence. If you haven't heard this song, please take a minute to listen! You won't be disappointed!  Today I am thankful that God overwhelms me with His presence. Ther...

I have an app on my phone called "Baby Bump." The app updates me weekly on the progress of our sweet little bundle of joy. Today, at 33 weeks pregnant, the app explained that our little Allison is the size of a pineapple (not the leafy part).  I love seeing the different representations of her size. It gives us a really good idea of how big she is getting. So, of course, we bought a pineapple and took turns holding it.  Dylan couldn't believe that she is so big now! Holding the pineapple made me realize that we are really getting close! Both of my boys came 3 weeks early, so if Allison makes her entrance when her brothers did, she will arrive in exactly 4 weeks. Wow, that isn't long! Dylan guesses that his baby sister will be born on September 2.  My guess is August 30, which is also my brother's birthday. Bryan guesses September 6, which is also my birthday! If you'd like to make a guess, just click on the link below! I'd love to see all of...