Refocus and Redirect

Have you ever had those moments (or extended periods of time, as my case happens to be) in life when everything for whatever reason is shifting to some degree? From deep, personal relationships to the needs of your children to your very growth as an individual. Ecclesiastes 3 sings for fifteen verses about God's perfect, provisional timing and seasons for everything. I'm learning in this season of change to trust in His guidance. Seldom does He let me see past the very next step I'm about to take, but I know that my footing is firm and planted as long as it is in line with His will. 

I took a bit of a "break" from blogging. Aside from becoming another task to complete in the midst of wrangling two little ones, play dates, personal commitments, chasing runny noses, attempting a preschool curriculum, managing the ins and outs of our daily household chaos, and a barrage of illnesses, it just became a chore (and what mom needs another one of those?). So instead of blogging, I hope to start posting a little more about the boys, especially Everhett since most of Emory's milestones were documented and Everhett's life is currently sitting on my iCloud in hopes that I remember some of the details to write down. I also want to start focusing on ways to give back and get involved in truly being God's hands and feet.

I recently read several books that really caused me to pause and reevaluate a lot of decisions Phillip and I were making as a couple and some of the ways we were approaching ministry in our comfy, cozy Americanized style. I don't agree 100% with everything these authors wrote or continue to write, but I do know that I was convicted about our consumption, our naivety of the world around us, and our apathy towards the very people God COMMANDED us to love and minister to with abandon. So if you're interested in watching God potentially move you to action, I would highly suggest picking up 7 by Jen Hatmaker and Radical by David Platt. If not, you might want to stop reading because you're going to grow tired of my harping quickly.

As far as our family is concerned, we officially have a one-year-old. The feistiest, most vivacious, and definitely the most cheerful little redhead in the world, he's pure joy at this age. Everyone says time flies with the second one...and they aren't kidding! I catch myself trying to find a pause button on a daily basis. Even more shocking (at least to me), is that Emory will be hitting three in a a little more than a month. I have no idea how and it makes me want to cry thinking about it. It's so funny to watch them and how different they are, but their love and delight in each other is so incredibly pure. Everhett definitely has more of his Daddy's daredevil in him. He's scared of nothing and is largely the most enthusiastic baby in the world so long as he's attached to my hip or perched on Phillip's shoulders. I can't lie, Emory is my emotional child, but in this I praise God because he truly has a heart that MOVES for other people. There are challenging moments (but he's a toddler and I don't know of any parent that will sing the praises of learning boundaries as a two-year-old), but I can turn around and he will be kissing his brother on the head, or helping his sweet little girlfriends out of their shoes on the playground, or whispering in Gracie's ear as he's hugging her. Emory FEELS everything. I'm sure it's overwhelming, but I can't wait to see where God takes this strong characteristic. I'm so blessed to be able to watch these days firsthand.

Phillip and I are trying to enjoy our time together as a couple while balancing it with the demands of parenthood. I hate to admit it, but he's exponentially better at this than I am proving to be. This past weekend we took our first trip away. I only lasted a night, but it was great to get away in the midst of a lot of illness and stress. I pray we stay the course and this becomes more of a habit. (Shout out to Grammie for watching our buddies!)

I'll post in the next few days about a few organizations I've learned about over the past few months that we've become involved with. As for now, I'll post this from Everhett's one year session (My sweet friend, Erika Melson Palmer, ran her precious little preggo belly around for over two hours capturing tons of images of our boys. She's amazing! Check her out! :

This is life. This is what it's all about. It has nothing to do with status, looks, the size of our house, the money lying in your accounts, etc. All that matters at the end of the day is the love that binds us all together. We're not perfect, but we get up, dust ourselves off, hug it out, and start out anew. I believe God blesses our attempts to please Him and trust Him.

Check back soon to see how Emory is learning all about giving back!

Kristin

Taylorism: Mother-in-Law Edition 1.0

You might be wondering why anyone would write about their mother-in-law.  We have all seen enough Everyone Loves Raymond to know that the MIL/DIL relationship can be notorious for many things, but cherished moments hardly make the list.

While my MIL and I have a few things in common (I mean, hello, I did marry her favorite! It's ok, I think his siblings know.), we have a LOT of differences.  With that said, I have to say that I am blessed beyond measure to have an incredibly supportive, godly woman in my corner backing me as a wife and mother.  

Now, Linda (that's her name, didn't you know?) has three children.  All of whom do their fair share of picking on her.  I am no exception to this family past time, as it seems to be my husband's favorite way of relating to most everyone in his life...including me.

(Here's a hint Sweet P: a nice card and some M&Ms might win some brownie points!)

(Mmmmm...brownies!)

Anyway, Linda comes to visit much more now that she decided that she was too good to work.  Well, not really.  She retired after a very diligent 40+ years as a Deputy Clerk of Court.  Seriously.  FORTY+ YEARS!  She's 61 y'all.  Who does that these days?  

She does so many things that literally crack me up.  I get the biggest kick out of sitting back sometimes and just listening.  And when the time is right (and it's almost always right), I start picking on her for whatever the most recent Taylorism (Taylor is her maiden name) might be. 

Case in point:
Linda just spent five days here (a short tenure compared to the seven weeks she helped us after Everhett's birth).  I came home from the store on Monday evening because it's Labor Day and like all good Americans we were going to cook out, daggum it!

Aside from the fact that it's a holiday, my MIL was on the phone with Verizon complaining about their online system not accepting her payment...FOR OCTOBER.  Y'all, the bill had just come out for September.  She told the kind lady that she just likes to stay ahead on things like that and would like to pay.  The lady told her to check back later.  So, I think it's safe to say that we all know what Linda will be doing next Monday.

Now, what's sad is that this isn't the first run in she's had with Verizon not wanting to take her monies.  

No sir.  

Not at all.  

In fact, just a few short months ago I'll have you know that she went in to pay a bill (because it has to be done in the store, don't you know).  Well, that ornery little kiosk wouldn't take Linda's money.  So she went up to the counter and asked a nice gentleman why.  The exchange went something like this:

Linda: "I can't pay.  I pay on my bill in the store every two weeks when I get my check.  The machine won't take my payment.  I can't pay.  Why can't I pay?"
Gentleman: "Mrs. Harris, you do understand that you have a $200 credit, correct?"
Linda: "Yes sir, but I like to stay ahead on things like that.  So why can't I pay?"

Now, God bless this man.  I'm sure I would have been laughing at her.  Had my husband been there, he would have looked and him and told him to take the blessed money.  I'm not sure how this scenario turned out, but I'm 99.9% sure that SOMEHOW dear, sweet Linda got that man to take her money.  She can't fall behind, y'all!

Ladies and gents, meet Linda.  I hope you have enjoyed what I plan to continue as a new feature on the blog.  Be sure to check back soon for more Taylorisms: The Linda Editions.  I have a lot more where this came from!

In all seriousness, she's the best Grammie to our sons and our nieces...and I thank the Lord that I have this woman in my life.  She is, after all, free entertainment. ;-)


Kristin

Little Man is 2!

Emory hates pictures.  It literally took me until Mother's Day to get the one above.  I give up!

My how things change in 12 short months! Here's last year's picture:

Since his birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, we decided to pack up and head to South Carolina.  Daddy had to work, but I think he appreciated the break after the weekend zoo trip. 

Emory explored with Grammie by the pond, visited Uncle Chris at the fire station, taught those boys how real men wear their hats, devoured Aunt Diane's delicious Thomas cake, and blew bubbles with Taylor.  

Needless to say, the oh-so-essential daily nap was missed.  It didn't get nasty until mama wanted a posed picture.  This is the best I got during the ensuing meltdown:

Ah toddlerhood!  

(I fully intend to be THAT mom that keeps an arsenal of pictures like the one above in a secret box only to break them out during the most unfortunate times in their future. My boys are going to LOVE me.)

Until next time,

Kristin

Emory's 2nd Birthday!

I'm not even going to apologize for being absent for 4 months.  I have two sweet boys that pretty much consume my whole day, and rightfully so.  Not to mention, blogging felt more like a chore I had to complete before going to bed.  Therefore, I took a break.  I'm back, at least for a moment.  If I disappear again, you can safely assume that I'm buried under a pile of spit-up, Thomas trains, and happy grins.  Judge me if you dare!

So WAY back in April, our Sweet E turned 2!  Seriously folks, where are the breaks to this train?  It's going by way too fast.  Since I was a mere three months post-partum and still (justifiably) swarming from lack of sleep and around the clock feedings, we decided to skip the whole fuss of a party and spend some family time together.  I think we may keep this tradition going.  It seemed to mean more and was much less stressful.

The weekend before his birthday, we went to the zoo.  Phillip and I haven't been to Riverbanks Zoo in several years, but we packed up the boys, met my sister and her boyfriend and Grammie in Columbia for lunch, and then headed over for an afternoon of animals.  

Ok y'all, everyone in North and South Carolina must have had cabin fever that weekend because at least half of both states' combined population was at the zoo.  

No lie. 
(Ok, maybe a little lie.)  

Seriously though, there are a couple of Southern cities that prove to be hotter than 20 thousand hells and more humid than the Amazon during monsoon season.  May I introduce one of them: Columbia, South Carolina.  It wasn't pretty folks.  This girl wasn't glistening, I looked like a basted turkey when all was said and done.  We had fun, oh did we have fun, but next time we will be visiting on a weekday and when it is cooler!

I'm not commenting under each of these, but please note a few things:

1. My sons adoration for his father's interests.  This concerns me only because Phillip secretly moved a Columbian red-tailed boa into his mama's house when he was living there.  If one of y'all find me on your front porch with a suitcase, you are safe to assume something similar has just taken place at my humble abode.
2. My sister is, without fail, always inappropriate.  This is also why she and Phillip get along so well. 
3. We could have called it a day once we hit the bubble machine. Seriously, it was Emory's favorite part of the zoo.
4. You think that's a sweet picture of Phillip and Emory until I tell you that they are staring at the red butted baboons (come to think of it, are there any baboons without red butts?) and Phillip is threatening to do the same thing to Emory's butt if he doesn't straighten up.  Parenting at it's finest, ladies and gents.
5. Decent family pictures are a thing of the past.  This is the best I've got!

We grabbed dinner with Grammie before heading out of town. Little Man was OUT before we even left Columbia.

We survived! Praise Jesus! Glory, glory, hallelujah! We will try again when they are 15 or so.

The following weekend, the Powerses came to visit.  We grabbed the wee ones and headed off to the much anticipated Great Wolf Lodge.  Granted, this is a whopping 30 minutes from our house, but you have to stay in order to use the water parks.  So we made a night of it.  Holy craziness! Four adults (the maturity levels of which are a bit questionable), two 2-year-olds, and a 3 month old...let's just say we had fun!

I know what you're thinking: Poor Ella Kate having to deal with all those boys.  Well, let me tell you!  That girl can handle herself.  Good thing too!  Mama and Daddy Powers are adding little brother, Cooper into the mix sometime this December and we couldn't be more excited!

I'll post pictures from the actual day of his birthday soon.  I just wanted to throw up the celebratory ones. 

 Kristin

3 Months of Everhett Preciousness!

This post should have appeared on the blog in April; but as life with two little ones goes, when showering becomes a luxury blogging takes a back burner.

Everhett is quite a conversationalist.  He loves to be talked to and has recently taken to cooing back.  Unfortunately, as things have gone with the beginning of Everhett's sweet little life, he spent a good deal of time sick.  We had to take a trip in to visit the doctor a few days after the 10th, so we got to see how much he's gained (and boy is he good at gaining)!  Seriously, three months and 14 lbs. 10 oz.  This kid takes eating quite seriously!

That's definitely a 6 month onesie.

Caught him mid-convo. 

I love this little double chin.

Still has the blue eyes.  Maybe they will stick?

I am only including this picture because I captured a similar one of Emory at the same age.  Both make me laugh.

 

 
Everhett is quite a captive audience, especially for his older brother.  Emory's affection seems to be waning a bit.  As it turns out, he believes that every toy in our house belongs to him.  Normally, he shares with his lady friends, but has no interest in sharing with boys.  Everhett is no exception to this rule.  :-/ I'm hoping we will be able to breeze through some of these behavioral hiccups and the boys will grow up to be best buddies...I pray!


Kristin