The Blessing Box {Our Parents}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!  

This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well.

Shon and I both have awesome parents.  They are huge blessings in our lives!

I know not everyone gets along with their in-laws, but I have definitely been blessed in that department. Couldn't ask for better!  Shon's parents are always willing to drive an hour to our house to babysit so we can go out/get away for a little bit.  They are great with the kids... as they should be after having six children of their own and having a total of fifteen grandchildren!  Holden calls them "Mamaw and Papaw" and he is crazy about them!  He loves going to their house and heading straight to the toy closet to get toys out.  He also loves to play outside there- which includes swinging, jumping on the trampoline, and usually getting a four-wheeler ride with Papaw.  They are really great about just being present and giving their full time and attention. They are wonderful Christian people and great examples for us all.  I am just so glad they are my kids' grandparents.  And, of course, I think they did a pretty great job raising their son.  I like him quite a bit. ;)

My parents are always happy to have us stay at their house.  We live an hour away (from both sets of our parents) and so when we go to visit, we usually stay a night or two.  We cause clutter, messes, and probably make their weekends a little more chaotic and less peaceful than they would be otherwise.  But they claim to love having us and miss us when we're gone!  They are always willing to do anything for us as well.  My dad is great at watching Holden while we girls go out to do a little shopping, etc.  I know my dad especially enjoys having grandsons because he has two daughters. ;)  My mom is wonderful and loving with the boys as well- always singing songs and reading stories (and very animatedly so!) with them.  My mom has recently started teaching a toddler Sunday School class for Holden's age and she has taken Holden with her twice recently and says he does great and loves it!  I also have to mention my little sister, Sophia, since she still lives at home.  Holden calls her, "SoSo" and thinks she hung the moon.  Holden loves SoSo and I can already tell that Brooks does, too!

It is just such a big blessing to still be able to go back "home" to families that we love and that our children love.  I am so thankful for the health and well-being of our families and for all they do for us.  I'm so grateful that our kids have such amazing grandparents and that we have been blessed with such great parents.  Beyond blessed to have them in our lives!

Link up below and tell us what God has been blessing you with lately!

The Blessing Box {Friends}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!  

This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well.   

 

This week I'm thankful to have friends in the same stage of life.  The picture above is from a recent shopping trip with two of my closest friends and our babies.  I am pretty sure we looked a bit ridiculous with all of those kiddos - five 2 and under - but we had a good time!  As my friend, Megan, told someone while we were out that day, "We refuse to let the fact that we continue to procreate interfere with our shopping habits" or something like that.  I know she said it better because she is much more witty and funny than I am. ;)  Sometimes it is worth it to get brave and wrestle the kiddos so we can get out of the house and spend some time together.  If we only got together when we could get together without babies, we'd never get together. 

 

It is so nice to have close friends who "get" what you're going through when it comes to parenting.  It is also a blessing that these little ones have playmates in each other.  It still seems a little surreal to see our babies together.  Seems like it was just yesterday that we were in college only daydreaming about these babies.  Our other college roomie is currently very pregnant with her first and we can't wait for her to join in on the madness fun!

 

 

 Link Up below!

 

The Blessing Box {By Holden!}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!  

This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well. This week, I'm handing the blog over to Holden so he can tell you about the blessings in his life! ;)

Best friends to play with and birthday parties to go to! (Emery and Lola...a.k.a. Emmy and Wo-wuh.)

Swinging at the park!

Pizza!

Cake!

Getting tucked in under a cozy quilt!

Doug the Pug!

Coloring!

Walks outside and feeling better after being sick.

Mama!

Dada!

Baby!

Mama says to grab the button and link up below to share your blessings!  Sharing is nice!

The Blessing Box {A Date}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!  

This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well. Grab the button above and link-up at the end of this post! ***
Shon and I got to go out for a "date day" this past Friday.  We don't get to go out alone as much as I would like. But I guess that makes it that much more special when we do!  I am blessed with wonderful in-laws.  Could not ask for better!  They often offer to come up and watch the kids so we can go out- which is an hour drive for them.  They love their grandbabies and I know they enjoy the time alone with them... while we enjoy our time alone without them.  Win-win for everyone!  Holden LOVES both sets of grandparents and is pretty much in Heaven when they come to visit or babysit.  
For our day out, we went out to eat at PF Chang's which I had been craving for a while.  Then we went to the mall to shop around a bit.  We bought a few things for OURSELVES!  We got Starbucks while there of course.  To finish the day, we went to Trader Joe's (which isn't close enough to us to be convenient) and got some fun treats.  It was a great day out and went by too fast as usual.  
Brooks is a stinker and will not take a bottle...but he was still a good boy for them.  We are so blessed to have great parents that are also great grandparents to our kids.  And we are blessed to be able to go out for date day every once in a while and to enjoy spending time together.  We like each other a lot. :)

The Blessing Box {Days at Home}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!   This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well. Grab the button above and link-up at the end of this post!
I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with my babies. We have made sacrifices and have gone without things we would like to have, but it is so worth it for us.

Staying home isn't always easy. I get overwhelmed with the constant messes, the constant diaper changes, just the constant in general. Sometimes I just have to get out of the house and need a break and I'm very thankful for a hubby who totally understands that.

Regardless of those days that leave me feeling defeated, there is still no place I would rather be. I feel called to stay home and raise my babies right now and I cherish the sweet moments with them while they are so little. I know there will be times in my future when I wish I could get these days back.

The Blessing Box {Our Firstborn}

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Back for another week of The Blessing Box!   This link-up, hosted by Natalie, Cait, Jordan, and myself, is an opportunity  for you to share your blessings each week  and to read about the good that God is working in others' lives as well. Grab the button above and link-up at the end of this post! *** Well, last week I focused on the blessing of our precious little surprise...our second son, Brooks.  So today, I would like to focus on our firstborn - Holden Ezra. Holden just turned TWO this past Friday, September 27th!

Holden will always be the one who made me a mama here on Earth.   His existence is an answer to many prayers and a great triumph after heartache. It is hard to believe he is two and yet every day, life before him gets fuzzier and fuzzier. Holden is sweet, smart, and funny. He likes to cuddle (on his own terms), gives us lots of kisses, and returns our "I love you's." He amazes us by how smart he is - counting, shapes, alphabet, colors, word recognition. He makes us laugh with his silly antics -  dancing and singing with great enthusiasm,  fake laughing, jibber-jabber. He's also a challenge at times. Temper tantrums, stubbornness, lack of reasoning. But that comes with the territory of having a two year old, right?   Especially a two year old BOY I'm told.

No matter how frustrating a day has been though, the good still far outweighs the not-so-good. I am blessed every minute to be this boy's mama. I never lose sight of the fact that there are so many  people out there who would love to be in my shoes. I was there once and I will never forget. It's a great privilege and blessing to be a mom, and I'm so glad I get to be Holden's.

The Blessing Box {Link-Up}

It's Tuesday again (already?!) so that means it's time for another edition of The Blessing Box!  If you haven't linked up with us yet, let today be the day!  I really do love the opportunity it gives me to sit down and reflect and just get wrapped up in God's goodness!  After last week's post, I kept thinking about "The Blessing Box" and how we all have so many blessings... and it is sad to think that we tend to keep them "in a box" at times.  I love that this link-up allows us to keep our box open and share our blessings with others!

{I co-host this link-up with Natalie, Jordan, Cait, Mallorie, and Allie!}

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Obviously, two of my most precious blessings are my baby boys! I love them both like crazy and thank God for them every day. Today, I would like to focus on one of them. Is that allowed? Haha. Today, I want to focus on the blessing that is this guy:

If you've been around this blog, then you know that Brooks wasn't exactly planned. Well, his timing wasn't. We were absolutely going to have more children...so in a sense, we had planned on him... just not on having him 18 months after Holden. ;)
When I took Brooks for his 4 month well-check, I was waiting for the elevator when a doctor (our ped's office is part of a hospital) who was also waiting, asked me how old Brooks was. We started chatting and he asked me if I had other children, so I told him. He then said that he had 6 (!) kids and that the most recent was a bit of a surprise. I then blurted out that Brooks was a bit of a surprise, too. His response was, "Yeah...that's the best though, you know?!" He just seemed so happy and genuine about that statement and it really stuck with me. Why? Because it's true.
After 6 months of trying to conceive, a miscarriage at 10 weeks gestation, and 10 more months of trying to conceive before Holden came along... it was hard to imagine that a "surprise" pregnancy even existed...much less that we would ever have one. It really was/is such a blessing to not have had to "try" for Brooks. We did not have to go through that process again and for that I am very grateful. We didn't even have to make the big decision of when to have another child - it was made for us!
Sometimes, having two under two is overwhelming. It is busy and non-stop. Sometimes I feel like 18 months apart is not an "ideal" age difference. Sometimes I think things would be easier if big brother, Holden, was a little older and more mature - better able to understand and to be a little more independent. But I am constantly mindful of the great blessing that Brooks is and that God's timing is truly the best. I believe that their age difference was chosen by God and trust that He knows what He's doing!
I am so grateful for the blessing of an unexpected, but wonderful, surprise! A surprise of the best kind.

The Blessing Box {Link-Up}

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It's Tuesday so that means it is time for The Blessing Box link-up! Hope you will join us and link up today. It is so refreshing to take time out to focus on the blessings in our lives. I know it puts me in a better mood and puts things in perspective! It is fun to see what God is doing in others' lives as well!

It was a real blessing to go to church with my hubby and boys this past Sunday. I/we have taken both boys to our home church when visiting our parents, but we hadn't taken them to church where we live since Brooks was born. Honestly, we've watched church on television instead. It just seemed too overwhelming to take both to church- especially since Holden had bawled and had to be picked up from nursery in the past. (Also, sometimes Shon works.) But this past Sunday, we decided it was time to brave it. I prayed for Holden while getting ready. We didn't quite know what to expect. We knew he wouldn't be gung-ho about it but also thought he might like it a little more now that he was a little bit older. I took him to his "class" and had to walk him in but he immediately took interest in a few toys and I left him (snuck out) happily playing. I'm happy to report that he stayed the whole time! And Brooks was an angel during the service. When we picked Holden up, he was crying...a caretaker said he hadn't been like that the whole time...that he had been "off and on." So, not perfect but it's a step in the right direction. It was great to be in church. Now I'm worried about Holden liking it less next time because he will know we're going to leave him...but I'm going to pray, pray, pray and trust God to take care of it! 

- This may sound funny, but Goodwill was a blessing to me on Sunday as well! I ran out to get some groceries (Daddy kept kiddos) and decided on a whim to go to Goodwill first. I found all six of these adorable Old Navy pants for Brooks! I'm pretty sure they are all new and one pair still had the tag attached. I had actually just ordered him the gray and white striped pair! It won't hurt to have a back-up! ;) When I recently ordered ON clothes for the boys, I was thinking about how much I love those sweet, simple, comfy pants for baby boys for fall/winter. Next thing I know, I was picking them off the Goodwill rack for 99 cents each. Love it!

Hubby had Sat, Sun, Mon off work. Having him home with us is always a huge blessing. We wish he never had to go to work but we are so thankful for his hard work and dedication that provides for our family.

As always, these boys of mine are my most precious blessings. I just love them to pieces.

The Blessing Box

1. Natalie	2. Leigh Anne @ Simply Swarbrick	3. Cait
4. Jordan	5. Mallorie	6. Beth Ann @ My Life More Abundant
7. Amanda	8. Allie @ Living the Adventures	9. One year of motherhood

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