Superyard = Baby Jail .... and I love it!

Okay so before I was a mother, I used to look at this product for children and mock it because I thought it looked like a jail for babies and was a crazy idea! Well..... let's just say that I changed my mind and it is being shipped to me as we speak!

There are two-fold reasons as to why I chose to surrender and purchase this superyard. First, my son started crawling a week ago and I have never had to say the word "no" more in my life. Second, I need to be able to get things done throughout the day and it seems like the perfect solution for playtime/mommy needs to clean time!

In addition to the above reasons, I have given it much thought (partly because this massive piece of plastic is costing me a pretty penny) and I have come up with another perk. This superyard is another way of teaching my son his first lessons on boundaries. I think this is important due to the fact that learning boundaries is an essential part of life and growing up.... physical, social, emotional boundaries.... they are all important!

Well, I guess those are all my justifications as to why my child will be going to baby jail for playtime! :) Haha It should arrive within the week and I will let you know how it works out for us!

I am so proud of my husband!

I start this blog today beaming with pride because I am so proud to be Adam's wife! I am blown away that God chose me to bless with such a wonderful husband! He exceeds my expectations and even when he falters, he is by far a better person than I have ever been or will be! 

The reason for such gushing..... Adam got to preach in "big church" today (and for those who grew up in the bible belt, you know exactly what I mean by that phrase) and he did such a good job! The topic... Time.... time with God, spouse, family, and community. I know that I am biased but it was nothing short of amazing. It is so awesome to see God at work through him as he preaches not only from his heart, but from a lot of hard lessons due to a tough first year of marriage! :) God has really done some amazing interventions in our relationship with the whole "quality time" issue and so for him to be able to share what God has accomplished and is still doing was a great opportunity! 

Adam, I don't always give you the encouragement or uplift that you deserve, but I want you to know that words only seem inadequate when it comes to telling you how much I love you and am so proud of who you are, what you are doing for God, and what you are becoming in God! Babe, this one's for you! I am radiant today because of your love and leadership!

My Baby's First Zoo Trip

Today was a great day! I took my son to the Zoo with some of the other stay-at-home moms from our church and their children! It was a great time! He was really not that interested in the animals but he did love smiling at the little girls that went with us! What can I say? Already a ladies' man!!!

I was really impressed with the Denver Zoo. I can say that it is not even comparable to the one in OKC. There were so many exhibits and the animals were always visible (it is a pet peeve to go to the zoo and never see the animals because they are tucked away in their little caves)! I saw so many different animals that I had never seen before!

Well, I obviously enjoyed the zoo trip a little more than my son did! haha! Next time we will take Daddy! He was really sad that he couldn't go!

A Long Awaited Date with My Husband!

I am so excited! Tonight, for the first time since Valentine's Day, I get to go on a date with my wonderful husband. Why so long you ask?? Well, we moved away from all of our family and friends and do not have a bajillion (not a word I know) babysitters on hand like we used to! Don't ever take that for granted if you live near your family!

However, I have been blessed with an amazing pastor's wife that loves Beckett so much and watches him every now and then so that Adam and I can get away! She has been super busy with school(she is a school teacher) and her own children but she offers whenever she has a free weekend! God has truly blessed us with great leadership here in Colorado and we truly feel as though they are family!

As for our date.... it will probably be lame on your account, but I LOVE going to the movies and especially now that it is a luxury and not an every weekend occurrence! Don't get me wrong, I also love spending my time with my little man but I am a better momma when I get away for a few hours every now and then! Well, I hope you all have a great weekend! I have to go get spiffy for my date! :)

I'm Back!!!

I just got back from a trip to Oklahoma to visit family for Mother's Day! It was so good see everyone and catch up, but oh so tiring! I feel like I need another vacation just to rest up. The weekend was filled with going and doing and letting Grandma show off her grandson. Believe me, I had plans from the moment I stepped off the plane to the moment I boarded to come back to home! We spent time with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and a few family friends.

The time away was bittersweet on all accounts. Adam did not get to go with us, so it was hard on all of us to be apart from each other. I had to spend my first Mother's Day AND our 2 Year Anniversary apart from my hubby!!!! We obviously did not look at the dates very close when we planned the trip. I just thought it would be good for my mom if I took Beck to see her on the holiday weekend. On the upside, time with family was priceless and getting to see the joy on their face when they spent time with my precious son was irreplaceable!

All in all, it was wonderful but I am sooooo glad to be home! I missed my husband tremendously and Beckett missed his Daddy!

Trusting God

Trusting God is supposed to come easy for Christians right!?! I lived with that notion for many years and always doubted my relationship with God because to be honest, trusting Him does not come easy for me! I am finding out that more and more people seem to deal with this issue which leads me to the conclusion that it is not supposed to be easy. I think God desires to see us trust him even though it is hard and when we do He is able to and usually does exceed our expectations (even if He did not give us exactly what we wanted). When He proves himself to us, if you will, it may be easier to lay the next situation at His feet and wait on Him! 

I have to be transparent and say that I seem to teeter-totter with the whole trust vs. mistrust. It actually depends on if I feel as though I have enough strength myself and if I feel I have control! If I don't feel experience either of these feelings then I might just let God have it, but usually not until then. Stupid I know, because in all actuality, I have no control... only He does! Why don't I just trust??? It seems so tough to do but it would actually relieve a lot of pressure and make like much easier! In my mind I say "yes, that is what I want to do" but my actions speak nothing of the sort.  I am fully aware that God never meant for you to do life alone (as my husband always says)! He blessed us with friends and family, but more importantly He has blessed us with the opportunity to have the closest relationship with the God whose love knows no boundaries and His desire to provide and care for His people never fades! If you are like me, you have a hard time believing this even though it has been ingrained into your head from a young age... well, I guess we should not just listen but grasp and cling to what His word says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.  

Proverbs 3:5-6

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

 Proverbs 29:25

Believe me, I am preaching at myself with these verses!

Denial... a Silent War With Yourself!

So I get a phone call the other day and my mom is on the other end informing me that my father was going in to have yet another arteriogram on his heart to assess whether or not he had blockage in his arteries. Yes, my dad has a history of heart disease (he had his first heart attack at 39) but it never gets any easier to see him go in and know that there is a risk (getting smaller as technology improves, Thank God) that he won't come out!

Today was the day and I was waiting on the phone call to let me know the outcome. By the way, this is the first time I have not been able to be with my family during his heart procedures. My mom finally calls and tells me that he had blockage, they were taking care of it, and that he had to have more tests run in a couple of weeks because there was another artery that did not look good! On the upside, he was recovering fine and would get to go home soon!

Well, I would handle this better if I knew that my dad would do what it takes to ward off future attacks, but you see, my dad is in denial! I don't think he is trying to be stupid and careless with his life but I think he is human and does what we all do.... try to act like there is not a problem and hope that it goes away! This tends to make me really angry at him because I don't want to lose him sooner than I have to, but I am trying to evaluate if there is anything in my life I am in denial about. Usually when something in someone else angers you, it might just be a hint that you deal with the same thing in your own life.

As I am self-evaluating, I realize that there are so many ways that denial can inhibit life and the growing process. It could be "I don't have a TV addiction", "I can quit caffeine anytime I want to", "Our marriage is so good that there is no need to really work on it right now"! Those are just some personal ways of thinking that I have found can really interfere with my life and my marriage and I am sure there are a ton more. I've realized we all have our battles with denial, my dad just happens to deal with a real life/death issue. I am praying that I have the utmost compassion for his situation and God reveals to me how it feels to be in his shoes! I plan to apologize for not always being understanding.... I just don't want to lose my dad! I love him so much!

Please say a prayer for him if it crosses your mind!