Mom's Favorite Things

There are many things I love about being a stay-at-home Mom. Here are just a few:

1. Time to vacuum - daily. I HATE seeing stuff (especially dog hair) on my floors. Bird loves each morning's vacuuming. He gets great exercise running back and forth in front of the vacuum.

2. No alarm clock. Instead of waking up (at 5 am) to Baaaa - Baaaa - Baaaa, I wake up to Mommmmma (at 7am)!! Which do I prefer? Little Birdy chirps, no contest.

3. No schedule. Most days I have a few things I need to accomplish at some point, but for the most part I don't feel hurried or overwhelmed (which is nice!).

4. Time to feel yucky without worrying about it. I was working out in the mornings (gym or walking), but right now I'm not feeling so great in the mornings (understatement!). I'm wearing support hose on my legs, and it's helping a little, but I think I need some sort of full-body support stocking. Do they make those? Maybe I should produce them on my own etsy. (Not really thinking there's a big market for such a thing.) Being at home, I can sit and put my feet up if I need to - no problem. Bird just thinks it's time to read "Go Dog, Go" again. And again.

5. Doing dishes and picking up the house. Good grief! I thought things would be cleaner and more organized now that I'm at home, but I was wrong! Being at home just means Bird has more time to pull EVERYTHING out for play. Including shoes. From my closet. Every day. I'm currently missing a few.... not sure where he hid them.

6. Being with Jackson Bird, watching him do and say new things every day. He's really a funny kid, full of personality (if I do say so myself).  Lately, his favorite thing to do is crawl up and sit on the couch with me to eat a snack. He thinks he's big stuff.

7. Time to run errands during the day instead of in the evenings or on weekends. Although, if Bird's behavior today at the mall is any indication of things to come, we may not be leaving the house again for a W H I L E.

8. Nap time! Right now, Bird takes a morning AND afternoon nap. It's awesome! And he's really good about going down for naps without a fight. During his morning nap (usually 45 minutes), I have a cup of coffee while spending time with God. It really gets me in the right frame of mind for the day. During his afternoon nap (usually 2 hours),  I take care of Pampered Chef business and then take my own nap! Great stuff!

9. Time to start dinner before Jacin gets home. It's nice to have time to plan and fix dinner without feeling stressed about time constraints or worrying about all the other things I have to do before bedtime. Things are just much more relaxed.

Can you tell I'm loving my new job?!?!

Last Week

Last week we went to Hilton Head Island for our annual vacation with my side of the family. It was GREAT! The weather was nice, Bird loved the beach, and we loved spending time with my family. Here are a few highlights:

We went on a few bike rides. Bird chattered the whole time.

He LOVED playing in the sand with Daddy.

Fun in the water with Meme.

Being a Beach Bum is tough work!

Here's the whole gang!

Just for kicks, let's see a picture of the Bird LAST YEAR....

Add caption

And... a review of THIS year....

Time flies when you're havin fun!

A Few Favorite Things

Here are a few of Jackson's favorite things (subject to change tomorrow):

1. Just give the kid a spoon, hairbrush, or shoe and he's happy! It's the simple things in life.

2. The Bird loves his dog. I'm very thankful Rascal is patient.

Gettin some Rascal lovin.

3. Recently, Bird can't get enough of having books read to him. I've read Go, Dog! Go! so many times today, I think I'll probably dream about it!

4. Got a tight space or spare room underneath something? He's there. Over and over again. With his spoon. :)

A favorite spot - under the kitchen table. 

I feel so blessed that I'm able to be at home with him and watch him grow and learn.

4 Years Ago

4 years ago today yesterday, I married my sweetheart. Yes, yesterday was our anniversary, and I forgot to blog about it. Ooops! In my defense, though, it was just an ordinary day with pizza for supper, Vacation Bible School, baths, sandwich-making, and bed time. I must admit, though, that Jacin DID drive through McDonalds and bring me home a sundae on his way home from work. :) I love those sundaes (and him, of course!!).  So shame on me for forgetting. Sorry.

So 4 years ago yesterday...

Jace -
I love you! You are my best friend, and I'm thankful God is allowing us to build a family together.

The WHY

In preparing for my new adventure as a stay-at-home mom, a wise friend suggested that I take time to write a list of reasons WHY I am choosing to stay home. On tough days, I'll have something to give me encouragement and remind me of purpose.

This week I've taken her advice, and during my quiet times I've tried to ask myself WHY Jacin and I made the decision for me to stay home. There are many reasons, and it's hard to put a calling into words, but here is what I have so far:

1. Jesus tells us to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, not on Earth. Having this mindset, I must evaluate things based on their eternal worth. Investing in my child, showing him the gospel and teaching him by example to love Jesus and others is worth so much more than making money or teaching literature.

2. Because I cannot serve both God and money, I choose to invest my time and energy in my family instead of in financial gain. I will trust God to provide for us. He tells us to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added."

3. By spending more time at home, I will be able to better attend to the needs of my family and our household. I want to make our home a peaceful and stress-free place where we can give and receive the love of Christ with each other instead of worrying about getting everything done before bedtime. Things like taking time to clean, cook dinner, make Jacin's lunch, and come up with new meals for Jackson are all important to enable our family to focus on what's important.  As the proverb says, "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (24:3-4). I want this to be a description of our home.

I know that God wants me to become more like Jesus, and that's what I want for Jackson, too.  My prayer is that my life would be a living example of the incredible love of Jesus for my son to follow and emulate.

And finally, THIS is why I'm staying at home....

Peanut butter ... a new favorite!

Summer time!

So we've done a few fun little things this week.

1. We've discovered a new favorite treat - chocolate covered graham crackers! Yes, please!!!

2. Each night this week, I'm helping with VBS at Oostanaula Baptist. My title is "crowd control" in the three-year-old class. "Whew!" is all I can say about that.

3. Bird and I have run a few errands this week where he has behaved well enough to get out of the buggy and walk beside me. At Target with Mandy, he even pushed the cart!

4. Today we tried out our new $8 plastic wading pool. God bless it!!! What a wonderful invention, good for hours of fun! I'll post pics later this week.