Little Dancer

I seriously can't believe it's already May! Time for the Blossom Festival, AWANA closing program, and the dance recital! Livy had her last day of dance practice this Tuesday. She has changed so much just since last August! She dances this Saturday at the Blossom Festival and then her recital is next week. We can't wait to watch her dance!

 First day of dance & last day of dance

2013-2014

K-LOVE Livy

A few weeks ago it was my turn to sing the special for Sunday evening service. I picked the song "Let Them See You" by JJ Weeks Band, and Olivia sang along with me every time I practiced it. 

Fast forward to this afternoon... I had to run in Walmart to grab one thing and since Charlotte was asleep I decided it would be a lot easier just to leave the girls in the truck. I told Livy I would be right back and she gladly agreed to keep an eye on Charlotte for me. 

About 5 minutes later I got back to the truck, opened the door (halfway expecting to hear Charlotte crying), but instead I heard Livy singing along loudly with the radio...

Let them see You in me. 

Let them hear You when I speak. 

Let them feel You when I sing. 

Let them see You, 

Let them see You in me. 

Some moments in the midst of motherhood make you want to pluck your eyelashes out, and then there are moments like these... Moments where you completely forget what you're doing because you think your heart might literally burst out of your chest with pride! 

There is nothing like hearing your child singing praises to The Lord! 

Pillow Talk

Livy is a great sleeper. For the most part, she goes right to sleep at night and doesn't wake up until mid-late morning. However, on the nights that she's not really sleepy yet, she'll try anything to keep from going to bed. 

The other night, Drew had tucked her in 3 different times already when we heard,

"Daddy!"

"What?"

"I see some hangers in my closet that don't have clothes on 'em!"

"It's OK, baby. Just go to sleep."

"But I can't. I need to hang some clothes on 'em. They're empty!"

About 20 minutes later, Drew had fallen asleep and I heard,

"Daddy!"

"Daddy's asleep. What do you need?"

"I don't know where to lay down."

"Seriously? Just lay down anywhere and go to sleep!"

"But I don't know which part to put my head on."

"Livy, put it on your pillow and go to sleep!"

"But I don't know if I should lay my head on the end or the middle or the other end?"

"JUST PUT IT ANYWHERE AND GO TO SLEEP!"

It always starts out humorous. Drew and I usually lay in bed and laugh at whatever she tries to come up with. But after an hour or so, it's not so funny anymore. I gotta hand it to her though... She can really come up with some doozies!

Vilonia, AR

I had the privilege of riding along to Vilonia to deliver all of the donations our church collected. We had a trailer FULL of everything from water bottles and canned goods to bed sheets and dog food.

As soon as we entered Vilonia, it was like entering another world. A disaster zone. Immediately, I had a pit in my stomach and a knot in my throat trying to fight back tears. Seeing pictures on the news or from Facebook just isn't the same experience as seeing it for myself in person. The devastation was just unbelievable.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay very long. If it would've been up to me, I would've put on some work gloves and gone to work trying to be of some help. But we were limited on time. We were, however, able to ride around and get a good look at what was left of the town. The pastor at the church we took the donations to gave us the "tour" and introduced us to some of his church members. We even got to eat lunch with some people who had lost their home in the tornado.

I left there that afternoon feeling humbled. And sad. And guilty. And strangely uplifted. It's amazing to see a town come together to help their neighbors, and what's even more amazing is hearing personal testimonies of the people who lost everything, literally everything, in the tornado but still praise God's name. The couple we ate lunch with lost their home and everything in it, but instead of questioning or doubting God, they just put everything in His hands, knowing that God would provide a way to carry on. They are already rebuilding their new house and I have a picture of it below...

The Zoo and Disney on Ice

A few months ago I got an email from Disney letting me know that Disney on Ice was coming to Little Rock in May, and I could buy tickets before they went on sale to the public. Me and Disney are tight like that. Of course I jumped on that opportunity seeing as how Livy LOVED the show last year. 

We had also been telling her since Charlotte was born that one day when the weather was nice we'd take her to the zoo. The entire month of April was slam packed with things to do filling up every weekend on our calendar. The first chance we had to go to the zoo was the same weekend as Disney on Ice, and since we'd already be in Little Rock, we decided to make a weekend of it.

Leading up to last weekend, Drew had been working extremely long days so it was the perfect time for him to take a day off. It also just so happened to be Mother's Day weekend... and what better gift for me than to spend some time with my family on a little getaway?!

We left early Friday morning and headed to Little Rock. We had lunch at All Aboard and then hit the zoo. The weather was perfect! It was cloudy and had been threatening rain all morning, but never did. It wasn't hot and it wasn't cold... it was just a perfect day for the zoo!

 

 The zoo proved to be too much for this one to handle.

 Livy loved these silly things. We had to take pictures at every single one.

After the zoo, we made our way over to the hotel right at check-in time. We had just enough time to splash around in the pool before we needed to get ready for Disney on Ice. We stayed at Comfort Suites and it was super nice. I could tell it was brand new. So clean! The indoor pool even had a "splash park" which was the whole reason we chose the hotel, but it was a little too cold for Livy to play in. She did love swimming with her daddy in the pool though.

 Crazy8 had a "buy 1 get 1 for 88¢" sale. Seeing them match in their swimsuits was totally worth that 88¢!

 The water was a little too cold for Miss Charlotte, so we hung out on the side of the pool and watched Daddy and Livy Lou swim.

Then we got dressed, went to Samurai for some sushi, and went to Disney on Ice, or Disney World as Livy called it. She sat between us with her hand over her mouth in amazement for about 90% of the show. I think Drew and I watched her more than the actual show so we could see her reaction to everything. It was priceless. She was definitely in her element as she watched all of the princesses sing and skate around. 

We ended the evening with ice cream from Cold Stone and then enjoyed breakfast at Cracker Barrel before going home the next morning. We had such a fun time. I can't wait for our next getaway!

This Mother's Day

All I ever wanted to be was a mom. And a wife, too, but that's a given. I've always wanted a big family. Every time I would day dream about my future family I always imagined having several kids. So when we struggled through infertility after Olivia, my heart was just broken fearing that what I've always wanted may be out of my reach.

Infertility is one of the most heart wrenching things a couple can experience. It's out of your control. Even when you try to take control, it doesn't guarantee you success. We tried for 23 months to get pregnant after Olivia. 23. That's 23 negative pregnancy tests for a normal person, and about 148 negative tests for me. I always tested too early and way too much! Those 23 months consisted of 2 different clinics, 4 different doctors, thousands of miles traveled, several different medicines/steroids/booster shots, lots of ultrasounds, countless blood work, 2 double IUIs, and a miscarriage.

On May 12, 2013, Mother's Day, we were scheduled to go in for another IUI. I remember all the nurses telling me that morning that it would work this time... this was it, because it was Mother's Day. I had my doubts but I was hopeful! And guess what?

It worked.

All I thought about today was how thankful I am for my two daughters. I remember so vividly what it's like to wonder if I'll ever have another baby, and my heart aches for my friends that are still struggling through it. Every time I glanced at Charlotte today, on this Mother's Day, I smiled.


It's so hard to accept it while we're in the midst of a struggle, whether it's infertility or something else, but I always clung to this verse. Even when I didn't really want to. One morning I woke up and checked my emails and found this devotional from Drew. It was exactly what I needed to hear. It applied then and it still applies now, but to different aspects of my life. Funny how God's Word can do that!

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord 

-Psalm 27:14

Strength And Encouragement

The blind poet John Milton, a devout Christian, famously observed: "they also serve who only stand and wait." This kind of service-the service of patiently waiting on God's timing, on God's direction, on God's plan-can be the most difficult and grueling to render to God.

We are tempted, in a time of uncertainty or calamity, to rush to our own set of solutions; we might even feel irresponsible to simply wait prayerfully for the Lord to give clear direction. And yet we must.

Twice the command is repeated in this single verse: wait. Our answers are usually not the right answers. Our instincts cannot be trusted. Our hurried assessment will doubtless yield an inadequate response. So, dear believer, wait.

Wait on the Lord because he will strengthen your heart. He will answer your prayers. He will give the direction you need. He will send the help you require. In his own good time and in his right way, God will come to you when you wait on him.

So be of good courage! Do not despair because the solution has not presented itself yet. Do not presume that God will not keep his appointments. He has promised to strengthen you, so wait, I say, on the Lord.

So today I thank God!

I thank Him for bringing me through the struggle.

I thank Him for blessing me with a faithful husband who stands strong even when I have doubts.

I thank Him for my beautiful, sweet, kind-hearted, imaginative Olivia Ellis.

And I thank Him for my adorable, snuggly, precious little Charlotte Emily who I thought I would never have.

This has been a wonderful Mother's Day!

Blue's Clues

When I was younger, my sister LOVED Blue's Clues. At the time, I was about 9 years old and obviously too mature for a silly show like that. I constantly made fun it (and maybe Lori, too, for liking the show). Anyway... I'm here to make a public apology. I'm sorry for every slandering, degrading remark I ever made about the show, because...


Blue's Clues is awesome.


Really. It is incredibly educational! That has quickly become Olivia's new favorite show. Here are some things that Livy has picked up from the show:


"Hey Mom, can you make paella? It's a Mexican dish that Periwinkle brought to the neighborhood festival. A festival is just like an outside party."


"Charlotte is blinking her eyes! That means she's moistening her eyeballs to keep them wet and clean."


"Dad, did you know that inside your ear you have an eardrum?"
"Ooo, can I play it? Like a drum?"
"No, silly. It's not an instrument. It's an eardrum! And did you know you have people in your eyes? When the light shines on them, they get little, and when the light goes off, they get big!"
"You are so smart, Liv."
"I know, I just learned it on Blue's Clues. And did you know you have tastbugs on your tongue that help you taste food?"


Granted, she has the words a little mixed up, but hey, she's 3! The fact that she knows all of that just blows my mind. I can't wait to see what the next episodes teach her. I'm off to go enroll her for college courses! :)