I used to blog...

I used to blog...a lot!

The last time I sat down to blog about what was happening in our lives was in July of 2013!

2013!!!

What the what??????

Dang.. a LOT has happened in four years....

 Since I can't even come close to catching up on the past four years  I won't even try #lostcause (hashtags didn't even exist in my world back then). 

But I'm ready to get back in the saddle. 

I think.

Back in the day I actually started blogging so I could document the blissful moments of becoming a mom and everything in between. I loved sharing things about my sweet boys, posting pics, etc. And then somewhere along the way I just stopped.

I don't even remember why.

I thought about it often.

I remember making reminder notes to myself that I should blog about this or that.

But for some reason I just stopped.

Maybe it had something to do with raising not one but two little boys, one of which at the time was like a human tick. Yes..a TICK!! Finn stayed attached to me for the better part of ages 1 and 2!

Who knows...could be that life just got so hectic that I had to make a choice:

raise the kids or write the blog?

I think I made the right choice at the time.

So, how are things different now?

Aren't I still raising to little hellions boys?

While I am still in the bowels of bringing up boys,  I see now that they are becoming more and more independent. Therefore I have a few extra minutes to myself these days (we're talking like maybe 5 tops).

So, the other day Tyler and I were talking and Finn (who is now 4 almost 5) came running into the kitchen and said "bye you tooty rudder heads!" 

Tyler and I just laughed because for the last year or so this has been his thing....making up SUPER random names as he comes whizzing by us usually running from his older brother.

Finnisms include:

"I'm just a dojo mustard dodo"

"That's not a good situation"

"That smells disgusting!!!"

"My toy's are just being num num dodo heads"

"You can call me rock dasher!"

Some of this stuff I really don't even know where he gets it!!!

And, as I was standing there I just thought, I should write this stuff down that he says because I know one day I will wish I could remember it.

And then it hit me....

why don't I blog about this kinda stuff anymore?

Why was it only important to blog when my kids were having their first bath as a baby, learning to roll over for the first time, first taste of real food, first steps, etc., etc?

Why did I think only those times were blog worthy?

HOLY COW! I have missed out on documenting some of the best parts!

Now, to make myself feel better I'm going to say that I didn't blog about it because I was simply enjoying the moment! Living in the moment!!

And I don't think I was wrong for doing so! And I certainly don't think that others that don't blog are wrong for not blogging about all their child's milestones or successes. MOST people like to live in the moment and not feel like they have to document every. single. moment. of. every. single. day!

(Even though technichally we already do it because we take thousands of pictures with our phones and post them to Instagram, Facebook, etc.)

And a picture is worth a thousand words right?

But what about the actual words my kids are saying?

What about all the funny stories they tell me ..daily??

What about all the mannerisms that simply cannot be captured in a photo alone?

All of these things must have hit me at once.

I just must have had this ah ha moment and realized that I had this perfect reason to pick up where I left off!

So alllllll this to say that I am going to try and make it a habit of documenting something from each day....something that makes me smile...something that makes me cry (gah I hope that is not often)...something that makes this momma heart happy!

I may blog about something totally random.

I may just need to get on here and have a little bitch sesh to make myself feel better (we all have need those moments so don't judge)!!

I find this to be very therapeutic at the very least.

But what I want more than anything is to be able to look back on this years from now and be reminded of how much fun it was to be a mom to my boys! 

Maybe I'll look back during those moments when my boys have left me with wanting to pull my hair out of my freaking head because they are fighting for the 900th time in one day. 

Or maybe I will look back on some of the sweet moments and pictures to remind me of a time when I was the only female in their life that they loved this much (#tear).

If nothing else I can have a digital footprint of what it was like to mother my boys that I have been so blessed to call mine!

So, here's to getting back in the saddle....

Let's see how long this lasts!

Here is a pic of what was happening as I was writing this blog and dodging lightsabers at the same time.

 Darth Vader vs. Luke Sky Walker

"Luke, I am your father!" -Darth Vader

I AM WONDERFULLY MADE!

Tonight was our first attempt at our Sunday to Sunday devotional lesson with Cohen.

Let me start off by saying this....

Apparently our child is completely spoiled in the fact that he thinks evening time is a time for playing on his Ipad, watching tv, or running around like a wild banshee! 

This is somewhat our fault as his parents.

We have let him do this every night.

Anyway, to stay that it was difficult to reign him in is an understatement.

We started by turning off the TV (which I actually enjoyed not having any background noise for a change) and made a little pallet on the floor.

Within maybe the first ten seconds I could tell this was not going to be as easy as I had imagined.

I didn't want to punish Cohen for not wanting to do devo because then he might think that when we do devo we are punishing him by MAKING him do it.

We pray that he WANTS to spend time wrapped up in God's word.

There was some whining involved.

A few tears shed while trying to reign Cohen in.

But after teaching for seven years I have learned not to get discouraged when things quickly go array.

So I used by best tactic......bribery.

I know.  I know. 

It's not the best way to go about it.

But sometimes its all I've got.

Don't judge me.

Anyway, after a little tweaking and a few gummies later we were finally getting somewhere.

Our first lesson was on God's creation. This was an easy concept for Cohen to understand because we actually reiterate all the time that God makes all things including animals, stars, the earth, the land, the sea, etc.

Cohen did really well with making his Gods Creations booklet and with his memory verse.

I think tomorrow we will pretty much go over the same thing and teach him the hand motions to his bible verse.

His verse for this week is:

"Let us make man in our image..." Genesis 1:23

I think the most precious thing about his lesson tonight was having him pull two names out of his prayer jar and say a prayer for those people.

And whose names did he pull:

Mommy and Baby Finn:)

I want to also say that having Tyler do the devo was so helpful.

I am blessed beyond words to have a husband who is willing to put time and effort into making sure that his children know and have a love for God!

What a blessing!

Here are a few pics from tonight:

Sweetest little blessing:)

Supplies..check!

It may have taken me ALL DAY to get my supplies and lessons ready to begin our devotion, but I think I have everything situated and ready to go!

This afternoon Cohen and I put together our prayer jar. We talked about all the people that he loves and wanted to pray for:) It is so precious to hear him name off all the family members and friends that are important to him.

I am hoping to use the prayer jar at the end of each devotion and also on the nights that we don't do devotion, I would like for Cohen to pull a name from the jar to pray for!

Instead of purchasing a bible study I just printed from a website that I really thought would be most beneficial for Cohen.

He has a toddler bible that we will use to go along with our lessons and of course we can always use mommy or daddy's bible if we need to.

I have been trying to figure out what time of day would be best to do our devo.

It is quite obvious that evening ours between 5 and 7 would be a negative as this is the time of evening when my children usually scream, cry, pout, and have complete meltdowns.

It is also the time of evening when mommy usually screams, cries, pouts and has meltdowns as well!!!

I thought about maybe doing it after supper?? But I am not sure if having Finn around is going to work since he can be a distraction for Cohen.

Hmmm...

Maybe right before bed time in Cohen's room?

I'm still not quite sure.

I guess I wont really know until I try.

So, without further ado...We will shoot for tomorrow night being our first night for family devo!

It's so late tonight I will not be able to take a picture of all my supplies but I will take one before our lesson tomorrow:)

Love

l

I had to post a picture of one of my sweet babies:)

Sunday to Sunday

Wow! I have been a bad bad blogger.

It's only been....seven months since my last post??

I have not forgotten about my blog completely.

I think about it often.

Sometimes I even get my computer out to post a blog.

But, ultimately wind up looking at other things on my computer. Pinterest generally gets all my full attention while browsing the Internet.

I am ready to get back in the saddle again but for a different purpose.

Hear me out.

Tyler and I were recently at church one Sunday and the pastor was preaching a sermon called "Sunday to Sunday".

The basis of his message was, "How do we spend our time between each Sabbath?"

It's easy to get up on Sunday, go to church, get totally involved in the sermon, leave on a high note feeling empowered by God's word and say, "I'm gonna leave here and read my bible during the week, pray with my husband, pray with my kids, maybe volunteer to work in the daycare at church, spread God's word to anyone that will listen, walk with God, talk with God, etc".

But, if you are like me, as soon as Monday rolls around you have gotten completely wrapped up in your own busy life (and let me just tell you that mine is pretty busy with two toddlers), and you keep putting off all that you had said you wanted to do for God in order to do what you need want to do with your time.

I truly believe/know that God wants us to spend our time wrapped up in him. So, I tried to think of a way to spend more time with God during the week from Sunday to Sunday.

Now, I think the key to this is to start small.

It's kinda like going on a diet. 

If you start off with too large of a goal in mind it's really easy to give up quickly.

God wants us to use our talents to glorify him.

Well, what is my talent??

That is a very easy question for me to answer.

I truly believe that God put me on this earth to teach.

Who better to teach than my own children right?

I will never be able to tell God how grateful I am for the children he has blessed me with. They are such a blessing and I want to please God and show him that I can be the mother that he wants me to be to these little boys of mine.

Proverbs 22:6

Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

So, here is my way to make it from Sunday to Sunday:

Devotion with my children.

Three days a week.

Remember, baby steps.

I have done a lot of research on how I want to approach devotion time with Cohen.

There are many different directions I could go in but I think I have found the right way.

Since he is only three I had to find ways to share God's word in a way he would understand. I wanted to make sure that he could relate to the lessons and give him activities that can hold his attention.

My main goals are:

-Share a story from the bible

-Learn a bible verse related to the story

-Teach him how to pray

I don't think any of this will be as beneficial if I don't pray for guidance through this experience.  I pray that Cohen will come to know Christ at an early age. I pray that he has the knowledge to share with others one day. I pray through this experience someone else will be motivated to do the same thing with their own children.

I hope that by blogging through this experience it will make me accountable to continue even when it gets difficult.

I am getting all of my materials printed and gathering all my supplies needed to accomplish bible study time. I would like to post before I actually begin to give an example of what I will be going over first.

So to all two of my followers, if I even have that many, I will be back tomorrow:)

Please pray for us as we begin teaching our child to walk with Christ!

P.S.  I have not forgotten about sweet Finn. It is every bit as important for him to know Christ as it is for Cohen. However, Finn is a little young to try and do devo but I am praying that I can hold his attention with the singing song portion of each lesson:)

Check back in with you tomorrow!

Love, 

l

More Random Pictures!!

Me and My superhero's at Halloween!

Baby's First taste of food!

Mickey Mouse love!

Precious brotherly love!

Adorable!

Big brother will help you Finn!

I could eat him up!

This is what Cohen looked like when he saw Santa Claus! 

Baby food sure will wear you out!

Gotta have Buzz, Woody and Jessie for nap time!

Sweet sleep:)

Thanksgiving pic!

Little Turkey! I could gobble those cheeks up!

Finn and Uncle Curtis! And tigger too!

I'm gonna get you tigger!

Cohen is ready to Deck the halls!

Or just pull the deer ornaments off the tree!

Finn and Aunt Angie!

Look at that grin!! From both of them:)

Ahh, nap time after a big Thanksgiving meal!

Hmmm, what does Cohen want for Christmas??!!

Sitting in his bumbo like a big boy!!

Yummy little lamb!!

Such a happy baby!

And again!

This kid was so tired that he fell asleep with his hand in the bowl of pancakes!

Like I said.....a ball of happiness!!!!

Let's compare again!!

The top picture is Finn and the bottom is Cohen!

Pretty similar little grins if you ask me!!

Wow! It's been a while!!

So much has gone on in the past 5 months since my last blog! Baby Finn is growing like a weed and is such a joy to have! I don't think I have ever seen a baby so happy and content! He just warms our hearts and we enjoy every minute we get to spend with him! Cohen is growing like a weed as well! He has such an awesome personality and keeps us laughing all the time! He has been a great big brother and I can tell you that he gets some of the biggest grins from baby Finn:) 

We are moving into our new home TOMORROW!! We have renovated a family home and are getting ready to start a new adventure! I must say that I am so sad in a way to leave our first home that holds so many wonderful memories:( (As I type this with tears rolling down my cheeks) But, the memories will come with us in our hearts and minds and we will continue to make new ones:)

I want to share some photo's from the past few months!! If you are a facebook and instagram follower of mine then you will notice that these are all the same photo's that you have probably already seen:)

Merry Christmas everybody!!