A sweet soul

My Great Great Great Great Great Aunt Peggy went to be with Jesus last week.  I always forget if she was 3 Greats or 5.  The family line seems to fade somewhere.  All I know is that she was one of the strongest women I know.  Stubborn, but strong, with a heart of gold.

She was 98 years old.  NINETY EIGHT.  I can't even imagine the life she has seen.  The change she has witnessed.  The good times and the bad times she has experienced.  All in 98 years time.  We miss her dearly, but I know that heaven gained an strong soldier.  An angel who has a sweet family to watch over.  Future grandbabies who will love to hear stories of her faith and life.  What a legacy she has.

The Boy

Everyday is a new adventure with this boy.  When I get him out of bed each morning, it's pretty much a gamble at how the day will play out.  If he'll even be in a good mood.  Welcome to the world of a toddler boy, right?  Most days I feel like I was thrown to a pack of wolves.  You know, because I had two girls first.  It's an entirely different ball game, raising this boy.

Right now, his favorite things to do are to climb on the dining table.  If we just happen to be there eating our dinner, he tries to feed us.  Or throw our food.  This is just after he has thrown all of his on the floor.  And the iPad.  Or "hipa" as he calls it.  He thinks it his, as is everything else in the house. 

One weird thing though - this boy loves to have his picture taken.  GASP!  Who the heck is he?  The girls hate it when I pull out the camera.  He says "CHEEEEEEE" and stands there staring at the flash. But I get lots of pictures, which is the main reason he's featured more on here than the other two. 

He may be a mess.  He may seem a bit bipolar at times (aren't most toddlers?).  He may be causing new gray hairs to sprout on my scalp each day.  But this is one adventure that I'm so glad I'm on.

Scripture Reading

Psalm 116:2 has been on my heart lately as I've spent so much more time in prayer.  I'm absolutely not bragging about that.  Honestly, it's a rare occurrence for me to constantly pray.  Not because I don't believe prayer is a powerful thing, but because I get so caught up in life that I put my conversations with Him on the back burner "until I have time".  It happens to all of us at some point, I'm sure.  So many things continue to happen in our world though that can only bring me to my knees.  I wake up in prayer these days.  I fall asleep in prayer.  And I pray as much as I can throughout the day.  And, actually, I love my days that I spend in prayer.  LOVE them.

This verse stuck out to me a few weeks ago when a sweet friend of ours went into the hospital with what we found out was a serious lung condition.  She's only 18 and has gone through an incredible amount of pain, surgery, PT, and so much more than I can ever imagine going through, especially at her age.  Yet her and her family have remained prayerful.  They've remained faithful.  They've remained close, if not closer.  They've clung to the cross and probably have also prayed more than ever before.  They've taught so many people, through their trials, that prayer is important.  Remaining faithful is important.  Even if we don't understand it.  They've truly amazed me and I've joined them in praying for Miranda as often as I can throughout my days, that God would breathe a breath of freshness and life into her lungs. 

I thoroughly enjoy my time in prayer now.  So much so that I want to pray for YOU too.  We all have something, big or small, that needs lifting up.  So, tell me ...

Just leave a comment if you'd like or send me an email if it's too personal for you to share.

IG Photo Collage 7.5.14

The summer is going by way too fast!!  It's about time to share some of my recent favorites that I've posted on Instagram - to give you a peak into our life last week.

1 - Confession : Sometimes we take a drive just to keep Kid3 happy.  True story.  You know you've done it before.  The toddler isn't happy.  "Wanna go bye-bye?" flows right out of your mouth and he screams with excitement.  Thankfully the swagger wagon was loaded with gas, mama had a sonic drink, and a new movie was in the DVD player.

2.  I've been a slacker when it comes to my Bible reading, so I decided to keep a journal.  I still haven't been as diligent as I need to be this summer, but hopefully July is slower for us and I can get back into a good routine.

3.  One day - which seems like such a blur - the girls were able to lay down together at rest time with the iPad.  There were no ugly words spoken.  No "she's touching me" or "she's breathing on me" were heard.  It was heavenly!  Honestly, they are pretty good together.  They get along fairly well most of the time.  Maybe that's because Kid1 is usually at school all day.  They've done really well together this summer.

4.  The hubs and I got to go to a Texas Rangers game together.  Just us.  It was marvelous!  I love baseball because it's such an American sport.  I love their salutes to the military and their respect for the flag.  Plus, the nachos are pretty amazing.

5.  A pool pass was the best purchase ever.  We have gone to the pool more this summer than ever before.  The kids LOVE it and I love it because it wears them out.  Our friend, T, comes to our house sometimes so he gets to go to the pool with us a lot.  When you have 3, what's one more?  Right?

6.  This was just a fun picture I took of the hubs as we sat on our patio one night.

7.  And the next morning, we had breakfast on the patio.  It's so nice out there when it's not 900*.

8.  We have a sweet, sweet friend who has been in the hospital for well over 30 days now with a serious lung condition.  Her family has been by her side since the beginning, but, as you can imagine, the medical bills add up and family expenses change.  There have been a few benefits around town for them and we try to make each one.  This specific one was at Bahama Bucks the other night, so we went and had a fantastic sno cone treat!  It was YUMMY!

9.  While the hubs and I were in Dallas last weekend, we found this cute little pie shop - Emporium Pies.  It was AMAZING and made me want to come straight home and open up a pie shop.  The only thing stopping me - I don't bake.  We had an apple pie that was to die for.