She is growing up too fast!

With the sudden influx of friends having babies these days it has made me stop and realize how quickly my little one is growing up. Being with her every day I think I miss that sometimes. I am amazed to watch her grow and discover and learn. She has so many new loves and wants to be independent. I confess this is a little hard because she has been literally attached to me since the day she was born. But at least for today her explorations can only take her as far as the area of our cozy home.
Through this I have been burdened to pray Titus chapter 2 verses 3-5 for us each day.
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. "
My prayer is that she will be able to grow into that type of young lady and that I will be able to lead her in that. I am grateful for my sweet daughter and praying for years of learning ahead for us both!

Comparison will get you no where

Today I was trying my hardest to find a website that would give me the perfect schedule for my day with my little CE. Little did I know that God would use this to convict me of sin! As I was looking around at various websites I began to be anxious thinking that my little one was not as advanced as other children were, that maybe I was doing something wrong in the way that I was taking care of her. In my mind I was considering if she would be better off at a day care with a trained professional and other children to socialize with. In all this God starting quickening my heart of a major sin: comparison.
I struggle daily with the need to measure myself to those around me. Either by what my home looks like, what my child is able to do, or how I am looking. In the end I always feel somehow inadequate. The problem is that my heart is focused on me, myself and I!
I was reminded in such a gentle way today that:
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
As a wife and mom I will struggle, but praise God, He has redeemed me from a life of jealousy! He has created me to be something new in Him! I know that in and through Him my life will be made whole and without Him I will find myself back in that abyss of self-loathing and envy! 

Mommy Memories

This past weekend my husband and I braved going to Chuck E. Cheese with some dear friends children and our own little one. It only took a moment for all the memories of why I HATE, LOATHE, DESPISE places like that to flood back in. There were countless children running about unsupervised, bumping into us and others without a care. But there were some major highlights to this trip. One being that I was able to see what great gain there is in training a child in servant hood really looks like. The two children we took time and time again stood back and let others go ahead of them, even when they had been waiting. There was never a voice of impatience or ingratitude. Both children shared their tokens with our little one.
       Thus bringing another incredible memory to mind. Our little CE was able to ride her first big girl ride there. She was so proud sitting beside Stuart Little, driving him around, and of course honking her horn! There was also the proud moment when she got to go into the toddler tunnel with the other children. Even prouder moment when she walked up to the window to wave hello at my husband and I. And the grand finale when she came down the slide. All in all it was completely worth the 45 minutes it to took to trade our tickets in for prizes that could have easily come from a gum ball machine, the endless amount of worry I had at the amount of germs we were being exposed to, and the onslaught of children bumping and ramming into us!

Mommy on a mission

I laid in bed last night thinking about how much I enjoy my life these days. Don't get me wrong there are times when I feel like I am hitting a brick wall with my little one or that the pile of laundry makes me want to cry. But when I really started to think about it I am more content with my life than I have ever been. Being a wife and mom have brought me more fulfillment than any other vocation that I have ever had. I loved teaching and poured my heart into the children that came into my classroom each day, but being here at home day in and day out has brought me so much joy! I know that there is mundane aspects of our days for stay at home moms, but there is a greater calling that we must see. God is calling us to lead our children, to provide a haven of safety for them. He is calling us to love and serve our husbands to make our home a place of love and encouragement. May the words of Proverbs 31:28-29 be said of us:
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

Praying today that God will grant me the wisdom and strength to continue to love this calling on my life!

Virginia on my mind

I thought today would be a great day to start a blog. My husband and our beautiful daughter CE just spent the last 48 hours driving to Lynchburg, VA, helping our best friends move in to their new apartment and then driving back home. There was a little sleep here and there but that was mainly what happened. As we drove back home my mind kept thinking of how much life has changed for us in the last few years. I am hoping that this blog will be helpful for me to remember to take time to enjoy and remember the simple things that are happening around me every day!