I am so, so blessed to have a husband who is an awesome Daddy to our little girls and the best husband to me and a Dad who is amazing! God really gave me more than I deserve by giving them to me. To add to that, I have a great father-in-law who has always treated me like I was one of his own. I'm so thankful for all of the Dads who are in my life. Paul, thank you for being the wonderful Daddy that you are to our girls. Thank you for showing them what a true Daddy looks like! Thank you for teaching them who Jesus is everyday, and thank you for showing them how a husband should love his wife! You are more than I could've ever hoped for! Dad, thank you for always loving me no matter how much I messed up and for showing me who Jesus is! I'll always be your little girl...and your favorite! ;) Mike, you are a wonderful father-in-law who has always treated me with lots of love and respect and I'm truly thankful for you! Happy Father's Day to all of you!
Paul & His Girls
Left: My Dad with Me, Caleb, and Gracie Right: Paul with His Dad and brother Jeremy
ALERT: I HAVE POSTED LOTS TODAY...SO, BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE! :)
This year's Summer Spectacular was, as it always is, AWESOME! It was very much anticipated in our house this year as the theme for this year was "Esther: For Such a Time as This." Esther, being a Queen, interested my big girl tons. We read the story lots, had many discussions about it, and counted down the days until Summer Spectacular arrived. Gracie Claire and Sydney both loved their classes and LOVED the musical. Molly loved her class too. I won't say names, but I was told that Molly was voted "Class Favorite" by a very reliable source. ;) Anyway, we loved watching the story unfold and the highlights of the whole thing were watching Nkere perform (he was Haman) and meeting the characters...especially that brave Queen!
Here are the girls SOOO ready to go! They were very excited!
Uncle Nkere played a GREAT Haman...
Our Little Family...
Gracie Claire was totally star-struck when she met the the Queen! She loved seeing one of her favorite Bible stories come to life! I LOVE that she loved it! Sydney was even a little struck!
We are so thankful that we belong to a church who loves their children and wants to see them grow up loving the Lord. Our family loved it!
All in one day, Molly started crawling, pulling up, and sitting herself up! It was a huge day of milestones! She has been our fastest mover. Gracie Claire and Sydney were 8 months and older when all of this happened for them. She is 7 months and is growing up way too fast, but I'm loving every second of watching it happen. She is such a huge joy to us!
We've continued to have lots of summer fun! Here are some more of the highlights...
Great Grandma's Visit
This time my Mom's mom came and had a great time loving on her great grand kids! I'm so glad that they will know who their great-grandmas are!
Fun With Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins
Caleb, Sandra, and Sam came over for a cook-out one night and the cousins had tons of fun on the swingset. That first picture of Gracie Claire makes me laugh. She looks so full of thought. Probably dreaming about what dress-up outfit she was going to put on next.
Gracie has brought Dre over several times and the girls have loved getting to cuddle him and spend time with him. He is just the most precious thing!
Sam's Birthday
Our sweet little nephew Sam turned 2! That's unbelievable in itself, but Sandra and Caleb pulled off the cutest little golf party ever too! We had lots of fun celebrating Sam!
Randomness
Of course we've also had Father's Day and Summer Spectacular, but those two events deserve separate posts of their own. Here are some random photos from the past couple of weeks. We're having a great summer and can't wait to continue the fun!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
I have so much updating to do with pictures and such...but, that will have to wait for another day. I didn't want to put this off. As most of you probably know, we've been waiting for answers about what God has in store for us. Paul was laid off in February and since then has been working HARD to find a job. Some of what seemed to be the most "perfect" jobs for him came and went and we couldn't figure out why. If you know my hubby, you know he's very employable. He's educated, smart, has lots of experience in his field, and he's good to look at too! Sometimes finding out "why" is not part of the God's plan. The person we go to so much for advice (my Dad) suggested that we start thinking outside of the box. What could we be doing differently? What if I started looking for a teaching job? My first reaction was sadness. What if I did that and God answered by giving ME a job. I'm a stay-at-home Mommy. In my head, that meant I'm not suppose to go back to work until all of my girls were in school. It's what I'd always wanted and planned for. We've quickly learned that our plans are not God's plans. After we prayed about it, I decided that it wouldn't hurt anything to fill out applications and contact people that I knew when I taught. After a couple of days I felt a peace that I don't understand about the possibility of going back to work. I made phone calls, wrote e-mails, and prayed a lot. Without going into lots of detail (this post could turn into a book) I had an interview for a 4th grade position one week and an interview for a 1st grade position the next. I was just thrilled to have interviews. Throughout all of this, I still felt a peace. Being at home with my girls has been the best job that I've ever had. But, if I can't do that, there is nothing I would rather do than teach. I love teaching. This week has become the week of answers. I feel incredibly blessed. God has said "no" and closed so many doors over the past several months. This week he opened two doors for me and I was so thankful to be able to choose which one to walk through. I only say this to emphasize just how amazing and faithful God is. He said "no" to us so many times and then gave me a choice of which "yes" I wanted to take. (I hope this makes sense...if not, I'll explain in person.) Not only did he say "yes" to a job for me, but he said "yes" to Paul going back to school. He was officially notified that he's been accepted into the grad program he'd applied for. We are anxious and really excited to see where all of this leads us.
Even though God has given me a peace about not being able to stay home with my girls, I've had my days when I've struggled with it. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'll probably cry the first day that I leave them to work for the first time since any of them have been born. It'll happen. I guarantee it. :) Even so, God has been faithful. He's allowing me to go back to do something that I love and he's reminded me how being a Mommy can affect my profession. A few weeks ago at church, they played this video. The story behind it is amazing, but there was one line that Pam Cope says that made the flood gates open. She says, "I now understand that being a Mother means that we make ourselves available to other children." That's how I'm going to go into this. I'm going to look at the kids in my classroom through new eyes. When I taught before, I wasn't a Mom. I'm not saying that you can't be a wonderful teacher if you're not a Mommy, but I know that I will be a different teacher this time around. I will be a better teacher because I'm a Mommy. (Meaning better than I was...not better than anyone else. Just so no one will misinterpret. :)) I want my girls to someday know that they helped me become better. And they have. I can't even explain with words the love that explodes from my heart for them. My cup runneth over.
Molly is 7 months old! Seriously?! She is constantly making us smile and is just the best! How are we so blessed to have the three best daughters ever?! Anyway...I tried her first meat the other day (turkey in turkey broth...gag.) Turns out she felt the same way! :o)
And...I just have to include these of Molly lovin' some Daddy kisses!
BTW...keep scrolling down. I just finished lots of new stuff!
I am the wife of the best husband, the mommy of the greatest, most precious girls, the teacher of the most awesome students, and the child of the Most High King! I have been given the best life and I strive to live it for Him!
