School has Started!

We officially started homeschooling today! Callie is super excited and I am eager to begin this journey. Check out more about our homschooling adventures on my other blog Busy at Home. I will be journaling our experiences in home education, along with my thoughts on faith, family, ministry, parenting, etc.

Here is a pic from our first day at the "Reid Academy."

A Page Is Turned...

When Trey and I began dating 8 years ago, I don't think it was long before we knew that we would get married. The story of how we met is kind of long, but ultimately God brought us together. There is no doubt in my mind that Trey is the man that God created to be my spiritual leader, best friend, and partner in life.

One night after Trey and I had been dating a while, he told me about a song that meant a lot to him. He said that he wanted to have it played at his wedding. It was called "A Page is Turned" by Bebo Norman.

A little less than a year later, we did have that song played during our wedding ceremony. As I listen to the lyrics of that song today, on our seventh wedding anniversary, I realize how true they are to me. We have gone through a lot of trials and had many challenges in the last seven years. We have also had some amazing blessings, the most important being our two daughters!

I am so proud to call Trey my husband. While he is not perfect, he has been exactly what I've needed. I know that God created us for each other. Trey has consistently been a godly spiritual leader for me. He encourages me, supports me, listens to me. He is a wonderful father to our girls. I can't imagine life without him.

Just as these lyrics say, he has been the one "to hold me up when I come undone." Happy Anniversary Trey, I love you!


"A Page is Turned"

A page is turned by the wind to a boy in curly grin
With a world to conquer at the age of ten
But as history unfolds and the storybook is told
He finds salvation but not at the hands of man

And the God of second chance
Picked him up and He let him dance
Through a world that is not kind
And all this time, preparing him, the one
To hold him up when he comes undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And now a man, here you stand
Your day has come

A page is turned in this world to reveal a little girl
With a heart that's bigger, as it is unfurled
By the language in her soul, that's teaching her to grow
With a careful cover of love that will not fail

And the God of second chance
Picked her up and He let her dance
Through a world that isn't kind
And all this time, preparing her the one
To hold her up when she comes undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And grown up tall, here you are
Your day has come

Beneath the air of autumn, she took him by his hand
And warm within the ardor, she took his heart instead
And high upon the mountain, he asked her for her hand
Just for her hand

A page is turned in this life, he's making her his wife
And there is no secret to the source of this much life
When the grace that falls like rain is washing them again
Just a chance to somehow rise above this land

Where the God of second chance
Will pick them up and he'll let them dance
Through a world that is not kind
And all this time, they're sharing with the one
That holds them up when they come undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And once again, here you stand
And once again, here you stand
Your day has come

Almost time for School...

I can hardly believe that the time is fast approaching for Callie to begin school. When she was born almost 5 years ago, I felt I had all the time in the world before she would start school. Wow...time sure flies!

As Trey and I were starting to think about Preschool, and discussing what we felt was best for Callie, I had this strong urge to look at homeschooling. I never in a million years thought I would consider homeschooling my children. The idea was pretty much foreign to me. I honestly thought it was for "strange" families that wanted to shelter their kids from the "real world."

My first year of college I made a GREAT friend. She had been homeschooled, and she was NORMAL! (haha) It really changed my view of what I thought "homeschooled kids" were like. Even with that, I still thought I wanted my kids to attend public school and be involved in all the extra curriculars, school dances, etc.

Last fall God really started to change my heart. We moved and I have met several families in our church that are or have homeschooled their children. I realized that while I don't want to completely shelter my kids from the world, I do want to make every effort to teach them God's Word. I want their education to come from a Christian perspective. I want them to know the truth. I really started to feel like God was calling me to homeschool Callie.

I talked to Trey about it, and honestly he wasn't sold on the idea. After researching some curriculum and info on homeschooling, and talking to other families that have done it, we decided to compromise. We agreed that I would homeschool Callie for this school year (preschool). After we see how that goes we will decide if we want to continue homeschooling or enroll her in public school for kindergarten.

I am so excited to start preschool with her this fall! Even though I am a little worried to start something new like this, and take on such a big task, I feel at peace. I know this is what God is calling me to at this time. Please be in prayer for us as we begin this new journey!

Children are a BLESSING

I have had this on my mind a lot lately. I wanted to share my feelings on children and what a blessing they truly are.

Raising children is not easy. Being a stay-at-home-mom is not necessarily a "glamorous job." In fact, some days are just down right exhausting. BUT, I can not imagine my life any other way. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with each of my children, I was in LOVE with them. There is no way to adequately describe the love a mother has for her child. I was amazed when my oldest was born how much I unconditionally loved her. I would do anything for her. I never knew it was possible to love another person that much!

After I had Callie, I felt like there was no way I could love another child as much as her. My mom told me what her mother had told her, "God gives you enough love for each child." When I found out we were expecting our second child, I realized that was true. Little Ashtyn has filled a void in our lives that we didn't know existed! I can not even picture our family without both of these little blessings.

I tell my children every day how much I love them. Even when they are being stubborn, annoying, defiant, and cranky. I still love them.

The other day, we had a rough half an hour. As I was cleaning up messes and getting the girls under control, Callie said very matter-of-fact, "This is why you shouldn't have kids." I quickly told her, "Mommy loves you and Ashtyn SO much. And there will never be a time that I don't want you."

I want my children to know that I wanted them. That I have loved them from day one. That there is nothing that they could ever do to change that.

Our culture today doesn't love children. Women abort their babies every day. People abuse or neglect their kids. People see children as a burden, or inconvenience. There are too many children in the world that aren't wanted, cherished or loved.

I want to teach my kids something different. Teach them what the Bible teaches. Children are a blessing.

The Fourth Of July

This post is a little late, but we have been VERY busy. Last week was our church's VBS and we were gone a lot. Not to mention, that I had a horrible cold...

Anyway, we had a great 4th of July at the beginning of the month. We were visiting in Illinois and got to go to the annual cook-out with friends and family. Which of course included lots of great food and homemade ice cream. Poor little Ashtyn wasn't feeling great all day though, she was running a low fever and just wasn't her usual happy self! So, when it was time for my niece and nephews 3rd birthday party, we kept Ashtyn at my parents house and Callie went with my parents to celebrate with the triplets.

That night we took Callie to the fireworks in Robinson, and she really enjoyed it. We brought some ear plugs this year, but I think she would've been fine without them. We sat literally right underneath the fireworks and it was really pretty. All in all, we had a pretty good day:)

Patriotic Girls

One of the things I really LOVE about having two little girls is dressing them up in the same dresses and getting pretty hairbows! My mom bought our girls these dresses for the 4th of July, and I must say they look adoreable. These pictures were taken after church on Sunday.

What We've Been Up To...

So, I have to say that we are LOVING summer!! I have the girls outside as much as possible, to take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather. In addition to our daily walks through our subdivision, and playtime on the swingset, we have added WATER fun.

We got a pass to our city pool which also has a "splash pad." Basically it has all kinds of fountains shooting out water, and the girls love to run through it. Ashtyn has a blast!! Callie is doing really well learning to swim this year. We are hoping to start offical lessons soon, but she has a great start.

We also joined the Country Club here, so we have been utilizing their kiddie pool and regular pool. This summer has been a lot of fun so far!!

Summer Fun!

We are so thankful that we have a new form of entertainment for our kiddos this summer! It only took Trey and my dad 5 hours to complete, which is pretty impressive. Callie has LOVED going down the slide and learning to swing. Ashtyn wasn't too sure about swinging at first, but now she really enjoys it, giggling the whole time! I know we will get MANY hours of fun on this swingset:)

New Wheels

Callie got a new bike this year. She picked it out herself, because it was PRINCESS. And it had a spot for her baby doll in the back and her puppy in the front basket. We even found a PRINCESS helmet.

She has done really well learning to pedal, and it will be no time before she's leaving us in the dust!

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year! It is hard to believe that just 5 years ago on Mother's Day I was pregnant with Callie, and now she is almost 4.5 years old! This was the first year that she was really starting to understand about Mother's Day, so it made the whole day extra special.

We went to church Sunday morning, and Callie came bounding up to me after Sunday School with a cute picture of herself and "flowers." They were cut-outs of her hands on top of straws, very creative!

Trey and the girls took me out to eat at our Mexican restaurant, and they were giving free ice cream to all mothers! We had a great time together and shared the dessert:)

The rest of the afternoon we played with the girls, rested, and finished the day out with a walk in the beautiful weather! Callie gave me extra hugs and kisses the whole day, and kept saying "You're the best mom ever." I had a great day with my family, and enjoyed loving on my little girls all day!



My "flowers" from Callie

A Godly Example

As Mother's Day is approaching, it makes me really stop and think. It makes me think about myself as a mother, but even above that I think of my own mother.

Let me tell you, I have not met many women that come close to that wonderful Proverbs 31 woman (myself included). But, my mother is as close as any woman can be! Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and how amazing she is!

When I think about being a mother, I think of the example I have seen in my own mom. Everything I have learned about being a good mother has come from her! These are the things I learned about my mom while growing up: she is a hard worker, she loves my dad with all her heart, she loves and enjoys her children, she is not lazy, she joyfully takes care of her home and family, she is a comforter, she is a listener, and above all she loves the Lord.

My mom has been with me through everything. She is my best friend and has been beside me through school, relationships, marriage, loss, and children. She has never been judgmental or uncaring, she has always been supportive and loving. I love that she takes time to talk to me almost everyday (even if it is just about what we ate that day!). I love how she adores my children. I love that no matter how old I get, there is NOTHING in the world like having your mom with you when you don't feel well!

I am so thankful for the amazing example that my mom has been for me! I hope that I can live up to that with my own children. I hope that when my kids are older they can say these same things about me. As Callie was giving me hugs today, I asked her what she loved most about me and she replied, "Because you do nice things for me." :)

Ashtyn Gives Kisses

This week Ashtyn has started giving kisses, she walks around smacking her little lips!

Similar Faces

There are times I look at Ashtyn and can see similarities between her and Callie. But, Ashtyn also has her own unique look. These are pics of them at about the same age...you can definetly tell they are sisters!



Ashtyn at 15 months



Callie at 15 months

Happy Easter

We celebrated our first Easter in Batesville this Sunday. We had a nice Sunrise Service, it would have been even better if the SUN had actually been shining! The girls enjoyed all the treats from their Easter baskets and we spent the rest of the day just resting. Trying to get a nice picture where both girls are cooperating is not so easy...so here is what we were able to get!

A Dream Come True!

So, the beginning of April we got to do what every child dream of...go to Disney World! I had not been since I was 7, so I was just as excited as Callie:) We are so very thankful to Trey's parents (George and Jana) for paying for our trip to Disney, and all the fun things we got to do there!

I have to admit that I was REALLY worried about how the girls would do for the LONG drive down to Florida. I had anticipated it to be a horrific experience! The first day we took several breaks, including a 2 hour one, and made it to Trey's sister, Jill's house (in Georgia) late at night. Surprisingly the girls did well! The next day the whole crew headed down to Florida. Even through stops and traffic, the girls did great with the drive!

We got to stay at a really nice house that had a private pool. It was called "Minnie's Mansion" and Callie actually believed that Minnie lived there:) The first day we went to Magic Kingdom. Callie was so excited the whole drive to the park and her reaction to seeing Cinderella's Castle for the first time was priceless!! She even brought tears to her daddy's eyes:)

The first thing we did was eat breakfast with the princesses. While we were waiting to go into the breakfast, Cinderella emerged from an elevator right in front of us, and Callie just ran up to her and hugged her! Then, we got to meet Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Ariel. It was by far the BEST experience and so worth it, for Callie's enjoyment!! We rode lots of rides, and Callie's favorite was "Winnie the Pooh."

The next day at Disney, we went to Disney Hollywood Studios. We went to a Disney Junior Live show and both the girls loved it. There was also a "Little Mermaid" show that we saw that was really neat, and made you feel like you were "under the sea." To end our day at that park we saw a live "Beauty and the Beast" show in an outside amphitheatre. The actors were really good and Callie had a lot of fun:)

Our last day we went back to Magic Kingdom. We got to see Mickey and Minnie and that was by far the best part for Ashtyn. She was in awe over her favorite characters and they gave her lots of hugs and kisses. We decided to ride all the rides we loved again and Callie was even a trooper and rode the Haunted Mansion with us!

We keep saying that this was the BEST vacation we have ever been on! Disney World is such a magical place, not just for kids. And honestly I feel like I had more fun watching Callie enjoy everything, then when I went as a kid 20 years ago!! We are already planning our next trip to Disney when Ashtyn is a little older and will be able to really enjoy everything.

To end our vacation we drove (ok, Trey drove, we rode) the whole way home. We left at 8:30am and got back to Indiana about 2:00am the next day.

Here are some pics of our wonderful trip, we can't wait to go back!!

Warming Up...

We are so glad that spring has arrived!! They told us when we moved to Batesville that it would be a COLD winter, full of snow...and they were right. My girls get so tired of being cooped inside, so the first sign of 60 degree weather, we went OUT! We had a few days of really nice weather in March, and the girls thouroughly enjoyed their time outdoors.

Callie picked out some fun outside toys, including sidewalk chalk. She has a lot of fun drawing on our driveway, and Ashtyn loves to watch. We also enjoy taking walks around our subdivision! Ashtyn wasn't such a fan of the stroller last year, but this year so far she LOVES it. She takes in all the scenery and is especially fond of dogs in our neighborhood:)

Goodbye

The day finally came...where we said "goodbye" to our first home. When we first walked through that house, we immediately fell in love! We barely had enough furniture to fill all the rooms. Of course it wasn't long before we were painting the nursery and adding to our family:).

There are a lot of memories in that home. I remember the first week we were there, my sister-in-law and brother sent us a weeping willow tree to plant in the backyard. There was a drought that fall and it shortly died. Then there was the Sunday morning that I groggily awoke and saw something "scurry" into our closet...our first mouse! There was the day we brought Callie home from the hopsital. And I remember days and nights of being awake and walking "laps" through the house with a colicky baby.

I remember decorating the house for Christmas, and how everything had its place. When Trey would put Christmas lights on the outside of the house, and complain about it, EVERY year:). There was the Super Bowl Sunday night in 2008 where Callie first walked across our living room floor. I remember every birthday party we had there. All the rooms that I had Trey paint...haha. The many walks that we took as a family down our street and to downtown Princeton. The days and evenings that we sat on the front porch swing. Carving pumpkins in the dining room.

And most recently, I remember the day we brought Ashtyn home from the hospital. Her sleeping in her cradle in our bedroom. Then when she finally moved into the pistachio green "Winnie the Pooh" nursery, I would rock her to sleep in the glider next to her crib.

These are all things I love and miss about that home. But, there were plenty of things I won't miss about that house as well. The mice, the creepy attic, no closet space, the neighbor's dog poop all over our yard, tiny bathrooms, and a lot of floors to mop.

It seems that once you don't have something anymore you only remember the good things about it. That's not necessarily the case. It is just the realization that, that chapter of our life is offically done now. The house wasn't perfect by any means...but it was ours. Our first home.

A lesson I learned from my 4 year old

We seemed to make it past the "terrible twos" without too many tantrums or attitudes. When we hit the "trying threes" our days were often filled with fits and spankings, time outs, or whatever would work! And now we are in what I like to call the "frustrating fours."

Callie is very opinionated. She knows exactly what she wants and she wants it RIGHT NOW. We recently had to get onto her for telling mommy and daddy, "I want it NOW." We explained to her that we can't always have things immediately. Of course, that's very difficult for a child that was pretty much the CENTER OF ATTENTION for her first 3 years of life, to understand. We have talked to her about being patient, and that sometimes we have to wait for things.

In this process of learning to be patient, Callie has started to show signs of anger. Yesterday evening I heard her tell her dad "I'm so mad at you." I couldn't believe my ears! We quickly told her that was not polite and not something that we said to our parents. She said, "I'm mad because you won't let me do things." We started listing ALL the things she had done that day, treats she had received, and special attention she'd had. Callie then replied, "Yes, but I'm mad because you wouldn't let me pick out my shirt, and you said I couldn't have a snack when I wanted one." WOW! We used this is a time to tell her that we can't always have exactly what we want.

I figured we probably wouldn't have to deal with this scenerio again anytime soon. But, I was wrong! Trey and Callie spent almost an hour playing together while Ashtyn took a nap this morning and I chatted with my mom on the phone. We love when we can give Callie some special one-on-one attention! Well, after they had played for a while and Ash woke up from her nap, we got busy doing other things. Callie asked for something and was told "no." She responded, "Ugh, I'm so mad because you won't let me have what I want or do what I want to do."

While she was in a time-out for this, Trey and I discussed how ungrateful she is. She had an entire morning full of treats, playtime, favorite cartoons and undivided attention. But the second she didn't get something she wanted, she was upset. She couldn't understand why she can't just have everything she wants, whenever she wants it. We told her that mommy and daddy know what is best for her. And, sometimes we just don't get what we want.

As I was thinking about all this, I couldn't help but think that we are so much like a little child when we relate to our Heavenly Father. We accept all the blessings that God gives us, and love when He answers our prayers in the way we wanted. But, when God tells us "wait" or "no," we pout and get angry. No matter how many things the Lord has provided us with, we are ungrateful. We can't see all the good things, because we are so focused on the negative, the unanswered prayers.

I believe God uses our children to teach us valuable truths. I didn't need my 4 year old to act in this way for me to realize that I am ungrateful. But, just as we used this as a teachable moment to talk to Callie about patience and acceptance, God used it as an opportunity to teach me about the same things.

Fun Times

Ashtyn has started to really get into playing. Her favorite thing is to go in Callie's room and play with all the "big girl" toys. For the longest time the first items she would grab would be the toy phone from the play kitchen and the toy timer. Not sure why, but sure enough every time she came out of Callie's room that's what she was carrying.

Now Ash loves playing with Callie's McDonalds's Drive-Thru that she got for Christmas. And just the other day she found a "light saber" that really lights up. Of course, she does enjoy just playing with an empty diaper box or tearing up a magazine. All I can say is this girl has fun, no matter what she does!

A Messy House

I grew up in a VERY clean home. And I mean VERY clean. My parents are both fanatical when it comes to cleaning. Growing up I never really cared much about having a clean room. My mom always cleaned it for me and picked up after me. And I never understood why they cared so much about things being neat and orderly.


Then I moved out on my own...My mom was no longer there, picking up my dirty clothes, washing my dishes and dusting. Apparently my parents did in fact teach me something about cleaning, because I cleaned my dorm room EVERY week. I kept things picked up.


And then I got married. I suddenly realized the frustration my parents must have felt having to clean up after me and my siblings! I HATE clutter. It makes me crazy. My husband's idea of "cleaning up" was to make piles of everything. There were piles of books, papers, clothes, etc. I finally showed him how to go through each pile and decide if it was trash or something to keep, and then find a place where it belonged.


I realized that I didn't care about keeping things clean when someone else (my mom) had the responsibility of keeping it that way! When the responsibility was suddenly on me, I decided things DID need to be orderly.


My hubby adjusted quite well to OCD way of cleaning and organization. And then... we had KIDS. *SIGH* I try my hardest to keep things in order now. I can guarantee at least for the first few minutes after I clean the house it will stay that way. But, like most mothers have found out, it is impossible to have a spotless house when you have children.


I have resigned myself to the fact that I can do my very best to keep up with everything...but there will STILL be cheerios in the couch cushions, sippy cups in the play kitchen, and a living room floor covered with toys. And...I am okay with that.


P.S.- I clean my home from top to bottom when my parents come to visit. If there is any place I neglect to clean my dad WILL find it...the last time they came it was underneath my fridge!







My two little "mess makers"