Testing, testing....

HEYYYY there, blog world! I'm trying to fix my blog... get it normal looking so I can write again.  It's 2016, and I lost a couple years of my life. Technology on blogs has changed.  ha!  In fact, we moved from Georgia to Kentucky to Florida.  We had a baby girl!  As I look at these five and six year old boys in front of me, and as I search for friends in Florida, I feel like I have to look back on the years.  These popped up on my blog roll, so I'm just posting them in this first post back.  

The #1 reason I'm sad we had to leave Kentucky.... our family!! I absolutely love going to the houseboat to hang out with my mom and dad and enjoy the beautiful surroundings! 

Look at these beauties!! I could just cry thinking of all of them!! What an amazing, beautiful season of life!! Stephanie is the ONLY one who is still in Columbus. This blows my mind.  What a beautiful group of mamas that just got to be together for a season!! 

Fighting for the right to have hips in the back 😂😂😂

Cruz is as small here as my boys are now...and Livvy is the size of Gradie.  I just can't handle...how does time pass so fast? I sure do miss these friends!!

Just a little of us...

Where does time go?  What is happening in my life right now? What? Oh, that's right. Two toddlers are happening. And it's no joke.

I love this child.  He is naughty and defiant right now. But so, so sweet.  I love his heart.  I love that his face is messy even right after I wipe it down.  I love how he shakes off an ouchie with his whole body :)

Although these boys have not yet mastered "Sharing"...they sure do play together well.  They tackle and wrestle and laugh it off. They are so cute together!

They LOVE balloons.  Luckily when they come along on a photo shoot...they get to see balloons all over the place :)

What is up with us?

1. The terrible twos are hitting the Whitis house with one particular boy whose name rhymes with Beeli.  I never believed that the terrible twos happened, but now I am a believer.  I understand now.

It's pretty terrible. :)

He is a wonderful child, so much fun. We have a great time playing every day.

We are hitting the stage where "no" is hard to hear.

Distraction isn't working.

And life as a two year old is challenging.

2.  We are doing ISR Infant swim lessons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI_XzNfxjlY

I don't like watching my sweet boys struggle, but I also love it.  It's fun to see them starting to swim on their own.

We go to our second day tomorrow. We go every day, but only for 10 minutes at a time.

3.  I am up late editing pictures and I feel so productive.  

Thus, why my blog is being updated.

4.  The end for now. :)

Out of the Spin Cycle...Poems and rambles..

Seems like the Lord is speaking to me lately, since I just started Jen Hatmaker's devotional and the prologue is this poem.  Clearly I can relax and just remember that I'm not alone in my thoughts...that we should all just take it easy and pursue God.  She is a fun person to read.  Does that even make sense? I enjoy reading her writing, because she writes to authentically. I value that.

Before I let you read that...we can talk about a couple things.

I just made these.

and these.

I had these Medjool dates and a hankering for something yummy, but I don't want sugar. So...boom.

Dates can work magic people.  

Dates and Coconut Oil.

Ugly but awesome.

Aren't some of the best of us? 

Oh, give it a rest, just kidding.

We closed on our old house today. 

Official end of a chapter of our lives.

I went over and took some pictures the other day of the boys, sitting in front of the house.

It's hard to get two year olds to sit still. I digress, this topic for another post.

With my NEW (old) camera.

Remember, (oh, wait, you don't remember because I didn't blog at all in December...) that my camera got stolen out of my car while I was running? Well, I just got insurance to give me more money to buy a new one.

Then, I bought from online vendors because Columbus, GA doesn't have good places to buy nice cameras.  So, alas, (9weeks later) I finally  have a new camera.

But it's the same as my old one.

So, not that thrilling.

And it didn't come with a cute ruffled camera strap.

Alright. Life is pretty sweet. Sitting on the front porch of my rental house. Enjoying a nice Georgia March day (the only month you can sit outside without freezing or burning alive...).  Life is good.

I hope you have a fabulous day. Especially after you read this.

A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers

An ode to the marvelous woman called "Mother"

Though not one of us is exactly like another.

From the second we're born to the minute we die

Our preferences are as limitless as stars in the sky.

We might have been perfectly gracious before

But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War.

Rather than letting everyone else be

We criticize parenting that isn't exactly like . . . me.

So once and for all let me put this to rest

None of us owns the title of "best."

Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy 

Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy.

In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed

We all got a baby with limbs and a head.

Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong

But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along.

This is a choice for each mom - it's her route

So it's just A + B and everyone else can C their way out.

Schedules and timers do not make you cruel

Feeding on demand does not make you a fool.

In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed

Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head.

If I see one more mom roll her eyes at "organic . . . "

"Partially hydrogenated" throws some of us into panic.

But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries

Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die.

Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori

Listen, my friends, and I'll tell you a story:

Two moms differed on favorite school trends

Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end.

If a girl gets the title of "mom" accidentally

The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally.

How about some love, some help, some advice?

She needs our love and we shouldn't think twice.

Discipline through various methods will prevail

Look, we're all just trying to keep our kids out of jail.

These things are just preferences, not right or wrong

What matters more is teaching our kids to get along -

To love and to share, to speak gently and kind,

To obey so that mom won't go out of her mind.

Showing them Jesus is our common ground

Teaching them how he can always be found.

He's present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy)

He's over at Whole Food but also at Wendy's.

Jesus never cared about these sorts of things

It's our hearts that he wants and the worship we bring.

It's time for us moms to declare a truce

Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice.

My way is not your way, and your way isn't mine

But both of our kids will turn out just fine.

Rather than judging and looking down our noses

Let's enjoy the common ground motherhood poses.

As believers, we all love the same good Lord

We all have children who tell us "I'm bored."

We all need more sleep that these tiny five hours

Most of us struggle to find time for a shower.

We haven't been to the bathroom alone in an age

Our mothers have all told us, "Relax, this is just a stage."

We all love our babies so much we could die

We'd take a bullet for each one without batting an eye.

Though we are different , we're in the same tribe

Motherhood requires a similar vibe-

Love and affection, sacrifice and grace

Laugher, which keeps the whole mechanism in place.

Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect:

ALL our children will rise up and call us collect.

A little rusty, but I'm back. Judging you!

Oh, blog friends. it has been a while. November 29, to be exact.
I guess you can take that as a good sign. :) I am fully engaged in my parenting.
That...and.. since the beginning of the year I have started a job (a very fun one), moved, unpacked, closed on a house and made an offer on a new house...with the closing in 30 days if it gets approved on Monday.  WOW.  
Life with two toddlers is immeasurably more busy than I could have anticipated. But honestly, I. LOVE. IT.

this post...it must stand alone about something near and dear to me. judgement. No, i don't love judgement. I don't love when others judge me. And I don't love judging others.
But let's be honest. You judge me. That's right, I'm talking to you. We ALL do it. Unintentionally. Intentionally. It just happens. You walk by me and my kids, and you make judgements whether you mean to or not.  I walk by your kids and make judgements whether I mean to or not.  They range from sweet to quite snarky.
 "They are cute", "They are snotty and gross, if they were mine I would clean them up"(surely you have never thought that about my snotty snotty children?? :)  "Wow, I love how she talks to her kids, I want to be that way" "Wow, I wonder how she has two children, one black and one white..."  "I can't believe she feeds her children processed foods" "Why does she work when she could be at home?" "Why does she complain about money if she's going to stay at home?" "Why doesn't she homeschool if she was a teacher" "Why would they EVER homeschool? It's such a weird thing to do" "Why do they choose to spend money on this and not that?" "Why don't they .... (it goes on and on and on...)
Do you know what's funny? How drastically my judgements changed after one child. How SORRY I was for many judgements I had made. I lost a baby. I had to choose whether to carry a life. I will never EVER judge someone in that spot. I would have before. But now I get it. I had Finn.  I thought, "Oh goodness, if I knew how hard this was, I never would have judged" "If I knew how awesome but challenging nursing was, I would have given moms grace"
Oh, but then number two came along. And those of you with two children....you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.
The perfectly manicured finger nails. The bathtime every night. A thing of the past. The well groomed hair? We're lucky to have hair that is washed, mmkay?  The snot on the face. The hair smattered to the forehead with ketchup. "Well, at least they aren't biting each other", us mothers of two think.
But then some of us, who really have it together, we judge others on their friends food choices or choices of schooling.  "Why doesn't she feed her kids whole foods?"  "Why does she choose public school when she could home school"? 
Do you know what's pretty funny? AFTER we go through something, if we are compassionate people, SUDDENLY, we have GRACE for others that have walked the same path.  Other paths? NO! The path we walked? Of course!  
Do you know what I think? I think we should all take it easy and give each other some grace. I think we should listen to what Jesus says and love one another as we would love ourselves. I think we should remember that in this world....we will have trouble. WE will SIN.  (ROMANS 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God) We will make mistakes. We will JUDGE. (JAMES 4:12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?)   But instead of sitting by and looking at our brothers and sisters in christ thinking "Why did they do that?"...why don't we come alongside them and say, "Let's walk through this together, whether I agree with you or not".  
And I don't know about you...but I want others to see my faults. Disagree with me. Love me ANYWAY.   See my mess. My disorganization. LOVE ME ANYWAY. See my timeliness (LACK OF), my tardy, swift driving to make it seem like I just got stuck at stoplights but really couldn't quite get myself out the door in time...LOVE ME ANWAY See the corndogs that your child ate from my child's bag at the church nursery...and LOVE ME ANYWAY (Because the rest of the week, I SWEAR, we are corn dog free...)

We're a mess. We need grace. ESPECIALLY my husband and kids.  BWAHAHAHA>  JK. This past weekend at the marriage retreat our church put on, the speaker talked about how we see our sin as tiny and everyone else (especially our spouse's) sin as GREAT.  This is true for me. I think it might be at the root of our judgement. So I will give grace.

GRACE=forgiveness (that we don't deserve)

It's the hardest thing to give.

Through God alone I can give grace to my family..my friends.

My sin is small you see :) 

Okay, so as we give each other grace.  and love each other well... Well, I just needed to add another picture, plus, I should just tell you... I'll show you my new job.  This is a picture for the bio I made for it. It's something that I have been a part of for a while. It's called "STROLLER STRONG MOMS". It's very little time commitment. When I say job, I mean 2-6 hours a week, FYI. :) I'll leave it at that and give you some more to look at tomorrow...or the next time I have a moment to breathe and type...could be months...

I've got so much to tell you about...so much on my mind... Created for Care Adoption Retreat...Moving...Life in Georgia...Life on a church staff....Eating healthy...working out....BALANCING LIFE... :) Blog world, I've missed you.

Brothers Birthday BASH: What a Journey

I wanted to throw a joint party for the boys. I wanted it to be a fun carnival type atmosphere for the kids. I didn't have a ton of time to prepare (note: I kept my apron on the whole time, because I never really had time to get ready).  I didn't take any photos, but my friend/great babysitter Kerry did, with my camera. I was so glad that my parents came into town

The "theme" was "What a Journey".  I wanted to celebrate the journey we have taken, from Briar, to having Finn to finally bringing Eli home.  It has not been an easy journey.  it has not been without pain and heartache and hardship....but oh, how it has been worth it.  Two sweet boys that make me SO HAPPY.  Even in the midst of discipline and training these little guys every day.

Don't know what else to say about the day other than it was a great time!

The beauty of the Lord

This weekend is Briar's due date.  Two years ago he was due to be born. But he was already born. And I grieved again when this weekend hit. The due date that never actually happened.
This year, on accident, I planned my boy's joint "Brothers Birthday Bash" this weekend. Finn celebrating his first bday and Eli his second. Well, it was meant to be.
Briar, we wish we were celebrating with you on earth.  Tomorrow, we will go to a birthday party of the sweet boy who is our great friend who was due on the same day as you.  We will celebrate him, and remember that your purpose was never to walk on this earth, but to simply make your appearance and touch lives in a different way.  We pray for peace as we try to wrap our minds around that this weekend. 

Our lives have changed so much in the past several years. We have grown so much in our knowledge of the Lord and his REAL and divine power.  
Today, on national adoption day...I'm just having a crazy moment.  The Lord KNEW that Briar's due date was right at national adoption day. No coincidence there.  I love that. How the details work together. So beautiful, the way the Lord weaves our story!  The beauty of the Lord is awesome.  Sometimes painful, but awesome.
It is also no coincidence that I am studying James 1. Verse by verse. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." Amen.

So true...

I have so much to say, but very little time to write it. This post explains pretty well how life has been going lately :) Not all of it is BAD, per say, but it does make me laugh.  Sometimes it makes me sad. The other day when I got "What is this?"  "A daycare field trip??".  Oh no, just my family....
I was just thinking today how well Eli has transitioned into our family.  He is just a natural part of our family.  i can't imagine if he weren't here!
I will write more, later :) I have a break, where my time is precious.  Shower, laundry, photo editing...lots to do..not much time to do it in!