Don't forget

Natalie,
I spent the morning doing nothing but a few little chores around the house and intentionally playing and spending time with Walker. Do not forget. Never forget. These days go so fast!! I just read through several years of blog posts and my heart feels like it's both breaking in two and also exploding with the preciousness of that little days with Jasper and Brody, and also with the sadness that I'll never get those days back. Oh, how priceless that time was, and still is. The floors don't matter, playdates don't matter, having coordinating outfits or fancy walls don't matter. Enjoying the boys, loving them, investing in them, discipling them, teaching them about Jesus, playing with them, laughing and exploring with them. These are the things that matter and these are the days, which are so fleeting, in which to do them. Natalie, live these days to the fullest like your life, and THEIR SOULS, depend on it. Do not forget.

Happy!!

We got a golf cart!!!! And we named him "Happy"!! Tomorrow is the last day of Coram Deo, and then it's summer. Hooray!!! I'm so, so thankful that Lord brought us to this place and this time. There were many days that I didn't think I would make it.

 It's been so long since I've written, but that's ok. My time has been incredibly filled up  with very important things concerning the kiddos, the hubs, the house, ministry, school for the littles, and friends. I've had very little extra time in my life to do anything, so blogging has gotten neglected. While I wish I could have written a little more these past few months, I know it's ok. It's been crazy busy and very overwhelming.

Coram Deo (and homschooling in general) were a major trial for me this past year. Everyone needed me all the time, and I was never enough for anyone. The Lord was incredible gracious to help me, and my husband was my saving grace. 

And now, praise the Lord, we're in the other side of this school year, j is going to Liberty tech in the fall, b is going to Providence preschool in the fall, w will get all thethe morn naps he wants to go heart's content, and..... Most exciting of all.... The Lord and my husband got us a golf cart! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

this is the stuff

Tonight, Andrew and Jasper were wrestling in the living room by the Christmas tree shortly after we finished facetiming Jamal and then Nana and Papa. I was in our bedroom, reapplying vaseline to my new tat and Brody was so sweetly and tenderly playing peek-a-boo with Walker on the bed. Walker was wearing only a diaper since he had just had a huge pee explosion all over his clothes, and his chubby wubby rolls jiggled as he giggled and smiled and cooed and giggled some more at Brody. From other room, Jasper yells, "Brody, come help!" as he's pinned down by Andrew. Brody instantly stops what he's doing, says, "Sorry, Walk. I aint got no more time!" and raced as fast as his little legs could take him out of our room and out into the living room to save Jasper.


These boys are the most precious brothers! They love each other, the hold fast to each other, and they're FAST as they race around and around and around the house all day long. Oh, how precious it is!!

As Brody raced out of the room to go save Jasper, I thought to myself, "yep. this is what dreams are made of."

God is so incredibly kind!!!

ok- gotta go feed Walk now.

Walker's here!!!

Oh my gracious. I knew it would be sweet. I knew we would love precious Walker with all our hearts. But boy. Little did I know just HOW sweet it would be, and just HOW overwhelming our love for him would be!!

I'm often moved to sweet tears with the preciousness of life, and my love for my family, and the thought that we almost never had a third child and oh, how THANKFUL I am that we did!! Praise God that His ways are higher than mine, and His thoughts greater than mine! He knew what we needed long before we ourselves knew, and I'm so thankful He did! Walker's just the perfect little missing piece of our family. And I can't stop kissing him!!

Andrew's been off work for a week, and it's been amazing!! He has another 5 days or so at home, and I wish he could stay forever. lol. He's been so good to me and the boys. I don't deserve him at all!!

J and B have just been angels! They are so, so loving toward Walker and so eager to help me and have had such great attitudes about everything! They are just so joyful and loving and patient. There has been no resentment or jealousy (yet) toward the little guy who occasionally needs all my attention. I know this is nothing short of the grace of God in our family!! I'm so thankful!

Charley has been very, extremely loyal to Walker. It's been crazy to see her loyalty shift so much. Now that she's not quite so intense (for which I'm thankful), it's been sweet to watch.

It's been a very rainy week. No swimming, but lots of indoor activities, so that's been nice.

My incision is healing very well, my pain is minimal, and my milk supply is abundant. All things to praise God for!

Our church body has just been amazing! Bringing us meals and gifts and groceries and texting to see how they can help and pray. They have just been awesome and such a gift from God!

I just finished an hour and half in the Word, and it was so refreshing for my soul! The Word of God really does bring life to the soul!

I'm in Galatians 4, and learning about the purpose of the law (demands explicit obedience, revealed sin, very conditional, showed men their need and guilt, given by angels to Moses, prepared men for Christ, was a stern jailor, was also a preperatory tutor, introduced a period of imprisonment, and introduced a universal sense of need, moral helplessness, and utter condemnation) verses the promise given to Abraham (which was gracious, had power to bless, defines the very disposition and purpose of God, found it's fulfillment in Christ, unconditional gift of grace, given directly by God and thus on a higher plane than the law, was found in the incarnation of Christ which was to prepare for the redemption, redemption was for the grace of adoption for those who have faith, and b/c of adoption there has been the gift of the Holy Spirit by which our hearts can cry "Abba, Father", a loving and trusting entreaty.) It's been such a great study! Praise God for the grace of adoption!

Ok, I'll sign off for now, bc I want to go snuggle with the tiniest love.

I love him so much, my heart might just explode. I'll never, ever grow tired of loving this sweet boy!!

2 days!!!

Walker's coming in two days and we're so excited!! We can't wait! Jasper and Brody are really, realllly excited, and B keeps saying, "It's gonna be so much fun when Walker comes out!" I think we're all ready for this to happen. :o) I know my body sure is ready, and our pictures are hung, the car seat is buckeled, the freezer meals are made. the jam is canned, babysitters are lined up for the boys and the dog while we're in the hospital, we've figured out the breast pump and the bassinet and the swing, etc. I think we're ready! The Lord is so kind!

Memorial Day weekend

The Clausons came down and spent the weekend with us!!! It was such a joy! we went swimming a lot and ate a lot of great food. It was a dream! Then today, mom and dad meade came over for hot dogs on the grill, then we all went to the Senoia parade and festivities, then we came home, had naps, and now Jasper and Andrew are playing games on Jasper's tablet while I eat apples and peanut butter and Brody finishes up his nap. Andrew and I are having a date in tonight after the boys go to bed- steak on the new grill! It's just another day in paradise.

dreams are made of this

Almost daily, I find myself stopping, looking around our home, watching my husband and sons interact and laugh, and I think to myself, "people dream of this kind of life. How blessed we are to have such sweet days where dreams are made of." Daily life here is such a joy. Don't get me wrong, there are still tensions between the boys or Jasper being bossy and Brody being defiant, Andrew and I aren't always perfectly harmonized (mostly always my fault), sin creeps in, and such. But overall, when I step back from those few frustrating moments and look at our life from a little bigger perspective, it's such a precious, precious life. And I'm so thankful to God for giving it to us!

It's been a bit of an eventful month, both with great joys and also great trials, both of which have caused us to look to our Savior and either thank Him or feast on His promises in Scripture. It's been a joy, though, to have our trials, bc it's truly through these hard times that we lean on and learn more about our faithful God and His goodness to us.

A few of the afore mentioned joys from the past month:
- Walker's growing and getting big and active!
- Jasper turned 6! We took the fam to Panama City for a long weekend to celebrate his birthday. Oh my goodness!! What a HUGE JOY that was!
- Brody's potty trained and completely in undies now, except at night time and naps, and continues to grow and mature into a spunky, joyful boy!
- Andrew and I had our babymoon staycation and discovered Palmers, a new favorite restaurant in PTC.
- Jasper graduated from Kindergarten and is a rising 1st grader.
- I have made a ton of freezer meals and strawberry jam, which is my jam.
- we've been swimming with a lot of friends a lot of times.
- we went to Chris and Anna's wedding yesterday as a fam, So fun!
- We got to meet cousin Ang and her boyfriend John for lunch in Atlanta today at Six Feet Under. What a treat!
- Clausons are coming down next weekend for Memorial Day Weekend- we can't wait!

A few of the afore mentioned trials from the past month:
- During hour 1 of our babymoon staycation, Panasonic told Andrew they were transferring hi to Detroit. He could decline the transfer, but if he did, he would lose his job effective August 4th. We had a few days to decide. The Lord, in His abundant kindness, made it clear that we were to decline the transfer, which we did, and we've not felt a moment's regret.
- Also in the Lord's kindness and providence, we had the whole babymoon to pray about and process this news while the boys were with mom and dad meade.
- Andrew's been job hunting now, which is always a bit of a taxing experience, I feel. But The Lord promises to make our path clear, and to hem us in behind and before and to lay His hand upon us, and He promises that He will act. So we're trusting Him and thanking Him for unfolding some possibilities at Eaton and LTI and possibly Panasonic and we're waiting to see what He does. I've been begging the Lord to make it clear to us what He has planned, which I'm sure He will b/c he's not in the business of being murky with His children. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will mkae your paths straight." Proverbs 3:4-5. Also, "Delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him. Trust in Him, and He will act." Psalm 11something. our bathroom mirror has become a place of God's sweet promises to us, as I write down and tape up promises of God from Scripture. That's another reason why trails are so precious.
- my mom has been having health issues with her autoimmune disorder. It's never fun to see your parents suffer, and this is no exception.

In every aspect of these trails, the Lord has been so kind (From the timing of the news about Panasonic to the fact that Andrew's insurance will conintue after Walker's birth) and He has clearly led us and clearly laid His hand on us. We're so excited to see what happens with Andrew's job, and I know when we're on the other side of this job trial, we'll look back with great joy and say, "great is thy faihtfulness!"