Our Weekend

Weekends have increased in value since Isabella started school.  I don't remember being this excited for Friday night since I was in high school!  We turn off the alarm, let the kids watch morning cartoons, nap, and try to find something fun to do around town.

This past weekend found us hosting our first overnight guest.  As we were cooking breakfast on Saturday morning, sipping coffee, and catching up on the past few years with our friend, Bradley leaned over to me and said, "I forgot how much fun it was to have company."  

We made our way to the weekly downtown market, purchased some cinnamon rolls from a local farmer and his wife, and then grabbed some coffee from a local coffee shop.  Bradley convinced me to try their vanilla lattes--I was not disappointed--and one Saturday morning, I'm going back to sit outside of this place, drink coffee, eat a chocolate croissant, and people watch.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a community day in the park.  The girls got their Zumba on with a group of ladies and had fun playing some of the games that were set up throughout the park.

Mason tried making friends with everyone he saw.  His delight in people, even strangers, makes me smile.  We enjoyed dinner out on Saturday night, complete with sitting outside in the chilly air.  The summer in Florida has been hot and humid, so being outside without sweating and feeling the need for a sweater was a treat.

We have decided on a church to attend while we're here, and while it's a bit of a drive, and the kids are sleepy on the way home, we have been challenged and encouraged through the preaching and worship there each week.  Sundays are our day of rest, so we come home from church, eat, and spend the rest of the day relaxing at home and being together as a family.

The slightly chilly air and football season being in full swing has me wanting soup.  We've been making weekly trips to the seafood market, trying various kinds of fish, so this week we picked up some steamed shrimp and made gumbo.  With fall officially beginning tomorrow, I plan to grab some mums and spruce up our front porch.  The canned pumpkin is already in the pantry just waiting to be made into yummy bread and muffins.


Living here has been a challenge for me in many ways, but I can honestly say that I'm beginning to enjoy it.  I suppose that's what happens once you feel settled in a place. It's taken a few months for me, but now that we're halfway through our stint in Florida, I think I might miss it when we leave.  The beach, the seafood, the rhythm we have here....it's becoming normal and pleasant and comfortable.  

Happy Monday, friends!  Enjoy your day.

Rejoice.  Walk in the Spirit.  Honor God.

Finding Our Rhythm

Moving always has its way of shaking things up a bit.  I like consistency.  And that translates into just about every area of my life.  Each time we move I have to learn a new place, unpack our belongings and figure out a new home for the pictures and dishes in differently positioned spaces.  New jobs take time to become familiar, and relationships start from nothing.

All of this takes time.  Time that isn't so free when you're also trying to figure out change for the other five people in your family.

If it was just me, I could wander aimlessly around town, hang pictures on the walls a million times before getting it 'perfect', and go door-to-door visiting for hours with my new neighbors.  The reality is, that can't happen right now.

So, instead, I hustle to feel settled, easily become unglued and this makes me lose step to the beat that is happening around me.

//From Routine to Rhythm//

Routine has been my best friend for years. Through high school, college, single life, married, and even with children.  I realize to some people this seems absurd, maybe boring, but that's just how I always felt I functioned best.

Over the past two months that we've been living in this new place, I have been extremely frustrated at what I considered the lack of routine in my life.  Yes, there were fun elements to it:  we went to the beach, took walks, had spontaneous dinners out--all good things.  But, in my home I felt like things were out of control. Cleaning was sporadic. My two youngest always had sticky black legs from crawling around the dirty linoleum floors, and we ended up grocery shopping every few days because I couldn't decide what to plan for our meals.

Then, I read a post by the Nester on routine vs rhythm.  She defined routine and rhythm like this:

Routine: something cheerleaders did when I was in high school to 90s dance music. It had predetermined, robotic movements and it was either correct or incorrect, and it was obvious if you messed up. Routine focuses on rules and doesn’t like to be changed.

Rhythm: a frame of mind that suggests more of an art. If you have rhythm, then whatever you decide to do with intention fits in the dance. Rhythm feels like choice and nuance and paying attention to your surroundings. Rhythm is alive and open to adjustments based on the circumstance. Rhythm focuses on needs.

At first I kind of chuckled because I would definitely fall under the 'robotic movements' and I always felt like I was messing up because we hadn't settled into a good routine yet.  Later that day, as we were hanging out as a family after dinner, getting ready to start the bedtime 'routine' I realized that although we weren't following strict rules, we had a sweet rhythm.

For some reason I felt pressured to keep my consistencies in every area of my life.  Breakfast is at 8, laundry is on Friday, grocery shopping on Monday, plucking my eyebrows on Sunday, etc.  I was focusing on my own rules, hating that things were changing, and then berating myself for not keeping it all together.  The reality was that everything was going just fine.

Myquilin said it beautifully in her post:

Where I get into trouble with pre-planning my meals is when things change and I get all worked up over changing my precious plan. Suddenly it turns into a routine that’s the boss of me.

Routine had become the boss of me.  Instead of providing me with the freedom and direction it had previously given, I was feeling crushed beneath the weight of expectations for myself and basically flipping out.

Releasing the idea of a routine enabled me to feel the rhythm around me.  We were learning to embrace the changes, pay attention to what was taking place around us, and focus on the needs of our children. Our rhythm was good.

//Keeping the Beat//

I started taking piano lessons when I was eight years old.  It came pretty easily at first, learning how to plunk out simple tunes, memorizing the notes in each scale.  But then I progressed on to Beethoven, Chopin, and Mozart and somewhere between Mary had a Little Lamb and Fur Elise, I discovered that I could not keep a beat.  My teacher made me get a metronome and I would practice each day with that little machine tick-ticking away to keep time, giving me the beat I needed to stick with the rhythm.

There are a few practices in my daily life that help me to keep the beat, my metronome, if you will, making what I now call our rhythm seem not so harried, flow more smoothly, and help to keep me from getting unglued when things change.  They aren't all earth-shattering practices, but I share them with you to maybe help you notice some of those things that you do (or might need to do) in order to keep your beat.

Set the coffee the night before.  There's something about making coffee in the morning that just sort of sets me off.  When I discovered this, it became much easier to add coffee prep in with cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, rather than grumbling about having to start it in the morning.  It's also an added bonus to be lured out of bed at 5AM by the smell of fresh coffee brewing.

Plan out a grocery list and meals for one week at a time.  Buying in bulk is wonderful and in the past that has worked well for us.  The past two months have revealed that I dislike that right now.  It's less overwhelming to prepare for one week, and I find myself more excited about cooking dinner and being creative when I only have to think ahead for seven days.

Rearrange daily activities to fit into the rhythm.  As I mentioned above, breakfast has always been at 8, and my babies always stayed in bed in the morning until just before this.  With Isabella's school schedule, we leave the house at 7:10, so I lost almost an hour of my morning time.  This was hard for me at first, but there's no getting around it.  Our kids are all in bed now by 7:30 in the evenings, so if I'm disciplined (which isn't always), I can utilize that extra time in the evening to accomplish some of the things I had previously done in the morning.  Laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping get done.  But now they are squeezed into times between Mason's therapy sessions and picking Isabella up from school.  Errands don't have to take place first thing in the morning, and I have learned to be okay with that.  I'm just keeping with the rhythm.

Daily time with the Lord.  Some days this looks different than others, but as a general rule I get up and with that coffee that got me out of bed, I journal about life.  Emptying my mind of what's been running through it since the day before helps me prepare to read God's Word.  Generally, I read through a book of the Bible at a time, reading just a few verses.  I read and re-read, sometimes write down verbatim some of the passage, other times I might outline a little of what I understood, and often there is a prayer written down.  I need Truth, and for me, starting the day out by thinking and meditating on it keeps me grounded throughout the rest of the day.

Relax.  A few months ago I asked Bradley how I needed to change most.  He gently told me that I needed to relax.  About everything.  I would get worked up over the slightest thing and it negatively affected him, our kids, and certainly me.  Keeping to the beat doesn't happen very easily when we're uptight and resisting any change taking place.  My best performances on the piano happened when I was relaxed and let the music flow through my fingers to the rhythm.  As I relax I'm able to accept the changes that come and work with them to keep our family going.

Everybody's rhythm is different.  I don't expect you to keep to mine, and I won't try to march to yours.  But whatever rhythm you have, find those things that help you keep the beat, and when things change, you'll be okay to eat breakfast at 8:30, do laundry as needed, even if it isn't on Fridays, and pluck your eyebrows on Thursday instead of Sunday.

What do you do to keep the beat in your family?

First Weeks of School

We are three weeks into school and still going strong!  Isabella loves going and always comes out of the building with a smile on her face at the end of the day.  Watching her enjoy this new season of life has been a privilege for all of us, and we are so happy with our decision to send her to school this semester.

I've always known that she was a social girl, but this has come out even more in the past few weeks.  When I ask her about her day, the first things she tells me are what different people were wearing that day, including the little girls who have 'these beads in their hair, Mommy.  And, when they shake their heads, they jingle.  Can you do that to my hair, Mommy?'

She didn't finish her snack for the first week of school.  Initially I thought this was due to her talking to those around her.  Nope.  No talking allowed during their short snack time.  So, then I realized that she's not eating her snack because she's too busy looking around at everyone.  She takes it all in, and I love this about her.

After we hear about recess and who wore what at school, eventually she shares with us what they learned.  Right now they're focusing on phonics and letter/number writing.  Much of this we had already done together, but reinforcement is great, and there is oh, so much more to school than academics.  One of the things they learn in Kindergarten is to write in cursive.  She was bubbling over one day when she explained to me that they were learning to write like the teacher.

Mallory has had the hardest time adjusting to Isabella attending school.  The younger two don't understand how to 'play' with her, and so for four hours she's without a constant playmate.  Guess who this responsibility falls on?  Yep, me.  And, I'm learning how to better involve Mallory in some of my household tasks, as well as try to find ways to spend focused time just with her.  On the days when I get it right, she says to me, "That was the funnest day ever!"

 It took me a few days to figure out the drop-off and pick-up system at school (aka, minivan parade), but now I think we have it down.  We try to leave the house around 7:10 so I beat the crazy traffic, getting Isabella to school a little early for some extra time with her teacher.  I'm so thankful that the teacher encourages this, and always has something for the kids to do before the official start of school.

Mason and Jennavieve are pretty much clueless about the change in our family, which is a good thing.  They roll with whatever comes pretty well.  Mason now recognizes the parking lot of the school, and gets pretty excited when he knows we're picking up his big sister.

I'm still adjusting to our new schedule and working to figure out how to best manage everything and everyone.  Something tells me I'll always be working on this as our children get older, job schedules change, and moves with the military happen every few years.  The Lord is teaching me flexibility, something I learn over and over again, and Lord willing, I'll be back on Friday sharing a bit more about this.

Post-Vacation Catch Up

Last week we spent seven wonderful days with my parents, sisters and their families on the gorgeous Alabama Gulf Coast.  Although we weren't too far from our home, it still felt like getting away and coming back was pretty hard.

The alarm went off at 5 this morning and I had to hit snooze twice before finally turning on the lamp and forcing myself out of bed.  Reality stinks.

Not really, but that's how we feel right now when we are still tired from sleepless nights with our #4, who has the hardest time teething.  None of my other babies struggled with this, but when she gets teeth, only snuggling with Mommy calms her down in the middle of the night.  This equals little (or no) sleep for me, but precious moments of cuddling with my little girl.  Night time and nap times last week were spent much like the picture below. She obviously didn't get the memo that vacation means extra rest.

Today we're back to the grind of school for Isabella and figuring out a good routine for the rest of us during our mornings without her.  I'm hoping to order some preschool workbooks for Mallory, who is begging me to do 'homeschool' with her.  She is still trying to to find her way without her big sister around, and I'm learning more and more about my middle girl all the time.

We have some appointments to schedule for Mason's therapy--and hopefully all of that will be settled this week.  It's been a long road this time around, trying to find the best options for his care, and quite frankly, it exhausts me (more on that to come).

One of my goals last week was to spend limited time on the computer, and more time in some good books.  I didn't open my computer all week, and that felt really good.  I was able to squeeze in some quality reading time, and I'll share some book recommendations soon.

Now, we're back to our day-to-day.  The Lord is teaching me to be content and joyful, no matter how my circumstances make me feel.  There is joy in the Lord, and He is constant, so my joy should be constant if it's truly found in Him.  Right?  Preaching the truth to myself, over and over, and praying that I will live it out every moment of the day.

Happy Monday!

Emotions I Didn't Anticipate

Tomorrow is the big day.  Kindergarten begins and Isabella will sit in a classroom with 27 other students, learning and experiencing things that I'll only know about from what she shares with me at the end of the day.

Sending my oldest child to school has stirred emotions in me that I didn't anticipate.  The sadness about her growing up, jealousy of the teacher who will get to watch her learn everyday, and fear of leaving her in an unknown place--these are things I was prepared for.

What I hadn't expected was feeling nervous for me.  I have no reservations about Isabella's ability to be a good student, make friends, or even feel comfortable in a new place.  When we went to the open house this past Sunday, she waltzed into the school, steps ahead of the rest of us, like she had been going there for years.  She smiled and did an unprompted dance when I asked to take her picture.  She's going to love it.

Me?  I'm feeling nervous and jittery over the whole thing.  I remember driving back to school at the end of each summer to start a new semester of college.  As soon as I would turn off onto the exit of my University, my stomach would tie up into knots.  That's how I feel right now.

Will I make her late for school?  What if I forget to have her do her homework?  Will the teacher like me?  Will I be sure to fill out all the forms, show up for parent-teacher conferences, and remember all the other important dates?  How do I do this school-Mom thing??

Maybe I'm the only Mom that feels this way, maybe not.  It's one thing to be responsible for your own schoolwork, it's another to know that you are helping your child to be responsible and accountable to another authority.  I don't want to let her down.  And I want to help her to succeed.

I guess it's the same way with our children and the Lord.  We teach them about God.  We strive to live out our faith before them in humility and zeal.   We long to see them embrace the truth of the gospel and follow hard after Jesus.

At times I struggle with wondering if I've explained truths in a way my children can understand.  Did they get the reason for Jesus' sacrifice?  Are they coming to know God and His character?  Do they understand what it means to be pleasing to the Lord?  How are they ever going to learn how to walk in the Spirit if I keep losing it over the slightest irritations?

We do our best to present them with the truth, but the Holy Spirit must draw, convict, and renew.  The outcome of their faith is ultimately out of my control.

There are countless areas in the development of my children that are out of my control:  abilities, hobbies, career, relationships, faith.

I don't know if I'll always remember to show up for meetings on time, I'm sure there will be days when we miss a homework assignment, and it's possible she'll be late for school now and then.

But, I'm going to strive to do my best.  Just as in every other area, striving to teach and train, praying for wisdom and strength, seeking to live out every area of my life in a way that pleases the Lord, and in each area pointing my children to Jesus, entrusting them to the Lord over and over again.

A Great Date Night

Date nights since having kids have been few and far between.  We've never had the privilege of living near family, so we've relied either upon the generosity of offers from friends or the occasional hired babysitter. I could probably count on both hands the number of times we've gone out on a date since Isabella was born, almost six years ago.  

Saturday night, one of Bradley's classmates offered to watch all four of the kids!  She is a Mom herself, attending school here, and her family was unable to accompany her.  She misses her family, and was longing for the opportunity to be with children.  I can't imagine being in her shoes, but I'm thankful that she was willing to hang out with our crew so we could have a much needed few hours to ourselves.  

It was a beautiful night, so we took the opportunity to try out a new restaurant that sits on one of the marinas in town.  We watched the boats coming in and out, dreamed of having our own yacht one day, speculated on the immense amount of wealth that this one little marina represented.

We sat in silence at times, reveling in the sheer wonder of it. 

We talked about the kids, about how this season of raising small children is hard but wonderful.  Time seems to be standing still in some ways, and we just want to capture every moment and hold onto these precious days.

We laughed about the fact that come Thursday, when Isabella starts school, our lives will forever be changed.  We agreed that it had been nice to not worry about education for the past five years.  And we secretly confessed our relief that someone else would be teaching her.  

We ate some good food.  Pommes frittes dipped in roasted red pepper aioli.  Filet mignon.  Fish tacos with mango salsa {my new-found favorite, and I've taken it upon myself to critique the fish tacos around town}.  The dessert menu wasn't what we wanted, so we paid our bill and found another restaurant for dessert.  Key Lime pie and Tiramisu.

During one of the moments of silence, Bradley turned to me and said, "I need this."  

The quiet, the break from the kids, being together just the two of us.  

That, in its most simplest form, is a great date night.

Our Education Choice, for Now

Last summer we found out that we would be moving to Florida for Bradley to attend a six month long training.  We knew that this move would take place right before school started for Isabella, and that we would be moving again halfway through her Kindergarten year.  All year we would talk off and on about what to do for her education.  Public school?  Private school?  Homeschool?  There were, of course, pros and cons for each one, and we certainly tried our best to weigh all of the options, praying for wisdom as we made a decision.

Much of me wanted to homeschool.  The thought of pulling Isabella out of school halfway through to thrust her into a new school environment didn't thrill me.  If we homeschooled, we could be consistent for the whole year, and we'd be able to have a flexible schedule that would fit into our move this winter.

When we came to Florida in May to look for a place to live, Bradley and I visited a Christian school in the area that offered a half-day Kindergarten.  We observed a classroom of students and within about two minutes I knew that Isabella would thrive in that environment.

Isabella is the girl who will look for new people on the playground, make friends with them, and before we go home ask to have them over.  She waltzes into strange churches with confidence, longing to learn and participate in whatever everyone is doing.  Her love of learning and desire to make friends is a great combination.

I realized that my desire to homeschool this year was mostly about me.  My fears and my pride.

I was fearful of how she would handle a switch halfway through the year.  I was fearful that she wouldn't receive the kind of education I had always hoped.  If she went to school I wouldn't be able to 'control' her environment, her relationships or her experiences.

Deep down a big part of me wanted to homeschool so I could prove to myself that I could do it.  I could teach Latin, timelines, reading, do cool Science experiments and also take care of my other three non-school age children.  Somehow I felt like opting out of a homeschool education would make me a 'less-than' Mom.  I know that's not true, but I struggled with it.

I also worried about what some people would think of me if I didn't homeschool.  I feared judgment from all sides of the education opinion, not wanting anyone to think us foolish for choosing a particular educational route.  

Once I realized that I was making decisions based upon fears and pride, I was able to think more objectively about what was best for Isabella, and what was best for our family right now.

Right now we can afford the Christian school in our area.  I don't know if we will ever be able to again, but the cost of the school she's going to attend this year fits within our budget. 

I really like the idea of a half-day Kindergarten.  As much as I know Isabella is going to love school, I also think being away from home all day is going to be challenging for her.  Starting out with part of a day will help the transition.

If we had decided to homeschool I know I would have stuck with it and given it my best effort.  However, I also know myself and I know the needs of the rest of my children.  Providing Isabella with a good education right now would be challenging because of the immediate needs of my other children.  Our weeks are about to be filled with therapy sessions for Mason and we aren't able to choose the times for these appointments.  It's quite possible that we won't receive in-home therapy over the next few months, so having one less person to take will make it much easier.  Keeping to a regular schooling schedule may have been challenging, and ultimately frustrating for a routine person like me.

In short, I think Isabella's education would have seriously suffered if I tried to teach her this semester.  And, we have a great option that we're all excited about.

We won't know our next duty assignment until sometime late this fall, so we'll have to re-think the whole education thing again, and we may choose something different for next semester.

But for now, God has been so gracious to provide us with this option.  And I am so thankful.

It was a relief to put away the curriculum catalogs I had been pouring over for months.

I am rejoicing that I don't have to sit up at night looking over lesson plans, trying to figure out what to teach the next day.

I love that I'll be able to have a few hours in the morning with my three youngest.  Mallory is particularly excited about this, as she will be the oldest for a while, and I'm glad she has this opportunity.  It will be fun to see how all of our children develop over the next few months.

And, come 12PM every day, when we pick Isabella up from school, I can't wait to hear about her day, the friends she makes, and the ways that being in school will change her.

As we go through this big change for Isabella, and for all of us, we're continuing to pray for wisdom as I know there will be challenges along the way; this would be true no matter what type of education we chose.  

Our biggest prayer, though, is that we would continue on as parents who are training our children up in the fear of the Lord, and that Isabella would grow in her knowledge of God, believe the gospel, and have a deeply rooted faith that would bear much fruit.

All images via Callie Murray, Achor & Eden

These Two Couldn't Be Better For One Another

Jennavieve took her first steps the other night.  The pure delight on her face was priceless.  It's like she knew that her little legs were figuring something out and she nailed it.  She didn't go far, just a few steps a time, but that was enough for me.  We clapped, cheered, and squeezed her tight, reveling in her new found freedom.

Then, something amazing happened.  Mason scooted over to me, looked up at my face and I knew that he wanted to try.  I lifted him to his feet, helped him to get going and before we knew it he had walked across the whole room.

He had taken a few steps here and there, but never this far.  He just needed to see someone his size do it first.

Now, a few days later, they're both toddling all over the place.  Jennavieve is definitely stronger and getting closer to truly walking on her own.  But Mason is not far behind.  He delights in his little sister's accomplishments, and I think he really loves to watch her get around.  She gets going first and if he's able, he'll find something to pull up on and walk right along with her.  I can't wait to see them chasing each other, or better yet, holding hands walking together.

I had a lot of fears about having another baby so close in age to Mason.  Down syndrome causes developmental delays in children, and it's impossible to predict what those delays might be.  I wanted Mason to be his own person, reach milestones before his baby sister and truly be the big brother.

These two couldn't be better for one another.  Jennavieve pushes Mason to be stronger, more independent, and brave.  Although it's not exactly the way we would want her to communicate, Mason has taught Jennavieve how to get our attention, he is the one who showed her how to push their little cart.  He gives her kisses and hugs, waves to her from his crib in the morning and cares for her as only he can.  Mason is the big brother in every way.

I never thought I would sit and wonder at both of my children learning how to do things together.  But it's wonderful.  My heart bursts with pride and joy as I watch them learn and grow.

We don't always get an open window to see what God is doing, or has done.  Sometimes He keeps those things secret.  Every now and then, though, He gives us these glimpses to remind us that He is working something far more wonderful than we could ever imagine.

Our Weekend {& a little truth to begin your week}

The kids and I started our weekend early by taking a little trip to Alabama on Friday.  Isabella starts school in three weeks, and is in need of some clothes for school, so we went to the nearby outlets.  I was pleasantly surprised by my children's behavior.  I'm not sure if it was the promise of Chick-fil-a for lunch, or the grace of God, but they were great.  We found some good deals, had a good lunch, and headed home.  The drive is one of my favorites, as we pass pecan groves, beautiful countryside, produce stands, and lots of farms.  We took a little dirt road and found a farm about a mile off the road.  They had produce, pick your own zinnias, and some chickens to feed.  After feeding the chickens and getting back in the car, the girls said, "That was the best shopping trip ever."  We'll be going back to that farm in a few weeks; they have a vineyard and allow the kids to pick grapes.  I'm looking forward to experiencing that together.

Friday afternoon wrapped up swimming lessons for these girls.  This picture was actually taken at the beginning of last week.  These two are very ready to swim on their own.  I'm not sure what these faces are communicating, but I quote from Mallory on the first day, "I'm going to use every of my braves."  And she did.  They both did great!  They're still not quite ready to swim on their own, but they're a bit closer.

Saturday was beautiful, so we went down to the gulf for the morning.  Mason and Isabella love to play in the sand, Mallory and Jennavieve prefer the water.  I'm feeling the end of summer coming, so I want to enjoy the beach as much as possible before school starts.  

Saturday night was our family date night.  The girls got their nails painted, picked out their outfits (and mine) and we went to a restaurant on the water for dinner.  Going out to eat with four small children doesn't provide good conversation for Bradley and me, but the girls loved getting dressed up and having a night on the town.  

Sundays have been hard days for us.  We visit a new church each week, hoping to find one that we can settle in, and up to this point it has been rather discouraging.  We really miss our church in GA.  (Redeemer friends who might be reading this, you are all greatly missed!!) Yesterday, however, we visited a promising one, and when we picked the girls up from Children's Church they said, "We love this church!"  Our children are now old enough to have opinions about things like this and we're certainly trying to respect their input.

We wrapped up our Sunday with a walk by the water after dinner.  Bradley usually takes his fishing pole and last night he spotted a sting ray.  The girls had never seen one before so they were pretty thrilled watching it swim along the ocean floor.

That was our weekend!

And, today, I've been encouraged by this truth about God, so I leave it with you to begin your week:

"He knows we are sick, weak and subject to slips, stumbles and falls.  His heart is towards us and he carefully measures affliction lest we sink.  He does not pay in measure of our offence or we could not stand.  He spins out his patience to the utmost length.  He will count our little as much.  He will excuse the souls of his people, and lay the fault upon their flesh.  Christ our advocate stands as friend, and pleads for us as he does.  Christ pleads the infirmity of his people against Satan for our advantage.  Are we not saved from sin by grace?  

He has given us the Spirit of grace to help us, for we can do nothing good." 

~John Bunyan~

 

Little Bits of Our First Month

Over the weekend I realized that we've now been living in Florida for one month!  In some ways this doesn't seem possible, and in other ways it has stretched out in what seems like forever.  The first few weeks were challenging, first in a hotel room for a week, then in our home without any of our stuff for almost two weeks.  Now, I think we're finally feeling somewhat settled in our home and getting into a rhythm with Bradley's new work schedule.

For the first time we're living in military housing.  It's been a stretch for both of us, but we're only here for about seven months, so it ended up being the best solution for our family right now.  Our little townhome is about 1/3 the size of our home in GA, so we had to get creative in fitting everything in.  Thankfully, we have a storage shed out back, and a large utility closet inside, where we've kept some things boxed up for now.  The girls are excited to finally have bunkbeds, and you can see from the above picture that they enjoy playing in their room.  I am loving having a smaller space to clean, but I am NOT loving the little mice that find their way into my kitchen and dining room.

Everyone is happy when we eat at Waffle House.  We ate out a ton during our first three weeks here, and as a family it was decided that Waffle House is our 'go to'.  Mason even starts getting excited when we pull into the parking lot.  He only eats the grits, but I guess they must be his favorite. On nights when we just don't feel like cooking, we can be there, eat, and back home in an hour, and everyone is satisfied.  Maybe a little bit greasier on the inside, but hey, Waffle House never disappoints.

Living on the Gulf Coast certainly has its benefits...like the seafood market!  Joe Patti's is famous for the fresh seafood, and there are tons of options!  So far we've only purchased shrimp, but we're looking forward to trying out some of the other catches.

We live on a beautiful base!  It sits on one of the bayous, so we have access to a great beach, lots of walking, a museum, several playgrounds, a gym, and when I want to indulge myself, there's even a Starbucks less than a mile from my front door.  Taking walks, riding bikes, and fishing have become some of our favorite evening activities.  Yes, it's hot and humid, but the water is gorgeous and getting outside has been good for us all.

These girls have become great bike riders in the past two weeks.  Mallory is quite the adventurous spirit.  She rides past me saying, "Full speed ahead!"  I think we'll be able to take off the training wheels soon, and I know they'll be thrilled when they can really 'ride a bike'.

How is it possible that this girl is going to start school in a few weeks??  We registered her for Kindergarten, and she's super excited about going to school, making friends, and learning how to read.  This was a big decision for us, one we've talked about countless times over the past 5 1/2 years.  Maybe I'll write a post just on our decision, we'll see.  I can't wait to hear all the things she'll share with us when she gets home everyday.

These two rascals keep me hopping.  They are both into everything, together; we're eager to see who will walk first, although I'm secretly hoping it will be Mason; they're both learning how to feed themselves with a spoon; and they supply me with more kisses and cuddles than I ever dreamed possible.  Yes, they make me tired.  And, yes, to every stranger I encounter around town, my hands are full.  But as weary as I am most days, I wouldn't trade these little people for anything.

Bradley is in training right now, which means his schedule is fantastic {in my opinion} and we get to be together, which is always a blessing in the military.  Since we're only here for seven months, we can't help but wonder where our next assignment will be and how life might change come January.

There is never a dull moment, and God is teaching me everyday how to rely upon Him, rejoice in Him, and trust Him completely.