Love!

Less than 7 weeks until our wedding! WOW!

I had to show off what a thoughtful man Tyler is. He gave me these for our one year anniversary of dating! It's four, big, square scrabble tiles spelling LOVE that we can hang on the wall! I don't have time to go back and re-read my blog to see if I ever wrote about how we started "talking" so here's the short and sweet version: We started getting to know each other when I got my iphone last May and started playing "Words With Friends" (electronic scrabble.) Through the grapevine I heard the only people I know playing with this app were Tyler and my friend Leigh.  We started spelling words and using the messaging system within the game to "talk." Before this he seemed a little on the quiet side, but when we started playing this game I realized how sweet his is and what a funny sense of humor he has (I'm a sucker for someone who makes me laugh!) And the rest is history!

So now you know what an incredibly thoughtful gift this is for me to receive!! Wow, Tyler! You continue to amaze me each day with your kindness, compassion and love!

 We have been so blessed to have my parents living a few minutes away and they are always willing to keep the kiddos! Tyler and I have been able to have some 2 on 1 time with each of them lately and it is so fun! The dynamics are so different when no one is having to fight to be heard ;-) Here's a pic from our night out at the Promenade Mall with Caroline. Mimi's Cafe lets you order breakfast all day long so, of course, Caroline would order chocolate chip pancakes! She's such a sweetie pie. She still says "Lasterday" for "yesterday" and now she's been saying "Holy Guacamole!" (I plead the fifth on where she's heard that before...) She is so thoughtful and sweet. I love seeing her sounding out words when reading and singing songs she makes up herself. She says to Thomas "You are so cute, I could just eat you up!" 

 Here's a pic from our night out with Thomas! Pushing a stroller on Dickson Street sure makes you feel all of your 32 years! We ate at Chipotle (I'm not sure which of the 3 of us ate the most guacamole, but it was totally gone by the end of the meal.) We then walked quickly through the used bookstore, he wanted to show how good he was at de-shelving books and ended up in the garden of the Walton Arts Center. I love little hidden gems like that in a night out--I had just said to Tyler while leaving the bookstore "I wish we could let him out of the stroller in a safe place to run around" and we turn the corner into the garden. Thomas danced and climbed all over the place. (and no we did not end up eating frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf--Tyler and I started counting calories and working out last week, we are doing well so far...well except for the excessive guacamole eating.)

 When I was little all we had to play with was the gas meter...

 We LOVE the springdale aquatic center! Especially with a sweet friend like Luci!

 My BFF's 4 year old daughter, Aly. 

(Yes, I use "BFF" she's been my friend since we were 8, I think that is close to "forever.")

 Our dear Uncle Travis! He took Caroline on her first fishing adventure! She is a very sporty little girl. Well, yes, her fishing pole is pink and purple with Disney princesses on it, but it can snag a fish just like the other poles!

 Caroline helped Uncle Trav reel this one in! She was literally screaming at me to see what had happened! She's ready to catch her own fish all by herself next time.

No, it has not escaped me that Father's Day is tomorrow. Or for the fact that baby T is just about the age sweet Caroline was when her daddy went to heaven. But when I start to feel sad, I really make myself get down to the nitty gritty of our lives, and think about all that has happened. I keep realizing more and more that God has taught me the biggest lesson of my life. I'm blessed to have had it revealed to me at a young age and at a time where it will shape the future of my kids the most. It is to love. 

I tried to put a comma or a colon or something in that sentence to jazz it up, but it wouldn't be right. To love. What a simple concept, but it has so many layers and aspects to it that it takes millions of books, songs, poems and blogs to try and explain it. 

Oh, yes, and I forgot to mention, it is the greatest commandment in the bible. ; )

I definitely loved before the accident. But as God has shown me His love by taking care of me through strangers, friends and family over the past few years, it has taken this love thing to a whole new level for me.

I want to return the love poured into me and my sweet babies, by pouring it back out into my friends, family and even strangers. So instead of being sad on this Father's Day Eve for my sweet kiddos sleeping soundly in their beds, with visions of snowcones swimming in their heads, I am encouraged. I have an amazing love story to tell Caroline and Thomas about how their mommy and daddy came to be their parents, and I'm also right in the middle of another awesome love story that will unfold while they grow up.

I see love in their lives spilling out all over the place.

1 John 3:1 (msg)  What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.

This too shall pass…

My poor blog. Why have you been neglected? Because:

Relationships! (We are all still putting our Living Proof Live  knowledge to work in our lives! God is AWESOME!)

End of the semester grading-whew! Such an AMAZING group of students. I look forward to seeing them excel in their own classrooms!

   Saturdays at the Farmers’ Market!

 

Planting our herb garden, and tomatoes in our weed garden. It’s all about the experience, right?

Jett turns 2 with the coolest birthday party ever! Your parents rock!

   

Chick-fil-a? I’d like to place my daily order.

  

She had been asking for cotton candy for a long time, I think she likes it! Go Naturals!

     Caroline and Thomas had their end of the year program at their Sonshine School. We love this school! Caroline sang her heart out.

 

Most of our GFN (Girls’ Fellowship Night) group on our last night of the Breaking Free study by Beth Moore. The ultimate bible study if you are looking for one to do. It will teach you how to be free from areas in your life that keep you from experiencing all of the benefits of being a follower of Christ! (The one I’m working on the hardest is the benefit of God’s peace-the obstacle of having peace is prayerlessness. See earlier post…)

Caroline’s recital at The Academy of Dance! She won an award as Dancing Doll 2011!
 
 

Promotion Sunday at Mt Comfort Church of Christ! Our babies are now at the end of the hallway! Here’s her buddies Emma, Canaan and Sara. Next year: UPSTAIRS!? How time flies.

So why the blog title? Because this will pass. All of the good and the bad will pass on. I needed the reminder today as I carried a loud Thomas out of our church’s auditorium. People say it’s because he’s a boy and he’s approaching the age of two. I know they are right, but it still makes it hard to go through the stage.

I know this is such a tiny, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, type of issue to be blogging about, but I’ve always wanted to keep track of our highs and lows as a family on this blog. When I think of all my little family has been through in the last four years—it’s a lot. And yet, we are still moving forward one day at a time. This is just where we are right now and in a few months we will be laughing about how it was, just not today.

Here’s a picture that is probably representative of a snapshot 14 years in the future:

Thomas driving a jeep and looking not the least bit afraid of the bumps and jostles happening, and Caroline-my loyal, rule follower-looking very nervous and ready to come tell me what her brother was up to!

Lots of our pictures and time together involves me running after Thomas or him running out of the picture:

Our fun trip to Batesville to visit Papaw, (Tyler’s Dad) Kate and T.B.(Tyler’s sister and her husband.) I’m keeping Thomas out of the pond.

Easter egg dying! Notice Thomas is not in the picture. I chose to do this during his naptime. Terrible mom or is it okay for me to leave him out for the safety and sanity of others? Ps Becky wouldn’t mind me saying that this was a staged picture and it was hard even with just one sweet boy.

Summer has started at our house when the slip n slide comes out! Here’s our friend Luci and Thomas running away. By the way the cicadas are crazy right now! People are being swarmed by them when they come to visit us (sorry, Nellie!)

 

Or he’s running out of an otherwise precious picture. This is Tyler’s sister’s son, Tate. He is so sweet, but all boy. He reminds me a lot of our other cousin, William, who is about the same age. I’m hoping Thomas will turn out like these boys!

I’m not saying at all that Thomas is bad, he’s just making some bad choices (So sorry Mollie, Thomas pushed you down today to show how he loves you...)

He makes good choices, too:

He loves looking at his dad’s books. I put a few on the bottom shelf and he pulls out the huge ones, with zero pictures. I’ve found him like this several times. His favorite is Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne (if you were curious.)

And after church he crashes. This is a good choice, too.

He can be very sweet, too. He will randomly kiss and hug on us and say, “Peas” (please) over and over again when he wants something, and he loves to be tickled. His favorite words, are “No” “Nah” and “I did it,” but in a flash he’ll be in his room listening to his ipod and I’ll wish his screams for more grapes after he’s already had 20 too many, could be heard once again.

 

Thomas will hold Caroline’s hand and she will say, “Oh mom! Take a picture!” So I have at least 6 of these on my phone.

Tyler and I will be married in two months. Each day I get more excited! We’ve all four grown together as a family and we are ready to make it official.  Oh what blessings Thomas and Caroline are to us. We’ll take it all, the good times and the not-as-good times, because we know how this all will pass. We have our sights set on loving each other as God loves us and cherishing the time we have together.

Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."