iPhone

Yeah I'm cool, I got one...

after having an old school phone, this phone pretty much rocks...

one of my most favorite parts is the camera...

i love laying in bed at night looking back over my day...

after starting the the week extremely sleep deprived, with cold and flu symptoms on the rise... we jumped in the car to head to the Y this morning and well we never made it out of the driveway... someone's breakfast ended up all over the place. so, barrett and i have been eating toast and laying low... and its been nice.

so here's what we have been up too... and thanks to my sweet iphone camera, it helps me remember the details...

we've been making trips to visit nanny and pawpaw several times a week... its a nice little drive that gets us out of the house, and barrett enjoys getting all the attention, while i enjoy chatting with nanny... they are pretty special to us...

(pawpaw sneaking barrett cookies)

loving my little corner nook to read during B's naptime and enjoy my coffee... thankful for the little blessing each day... and my house just doesn't feel complete without some colorful flowers... this week, i'm craving anything PINK :)

the picture says it all, MY CHILD IS LEARNING TO FEED HIMSELF.... yiyiyi!!! he pretty much rocks at eating cereal, but anything else... not so much. its a milestone i just have to embrace.

(we take about 2 baths a day because of this whole learning to feed himself thing!)

barrett and one of his favorite buddies, ty... i have never laughed so hard watching these 2 play for hours.... mainly laughing at each other!! there was pushing, truck throwing, pulling each other in the wagon, and lots of balls everywhere... i guess this is how boys play... sweet!

ok, so i'm not on pinterest.... just cause i pretty much refuse. i know it would be a time waster for me... anyway, occasionally i will see people post there pinterest crafts on facebook... and well, this one was easy and i ABSOLUTELY love it... because it fits right in with my pink craving!! and its pretty tacky and cute for valentine's day!!! love it!

a little family trip to the zoo made for a fun outing... barrett loved watching the giraffes! we're still waiting for him to stop calling everything a dog!

and with all the warm days lately, park trips have been a MUST... i love watching him explore and try new things.

and a blog post of what we have been doing lately would not be complete without a picture of barrett's best little buddy... william :) thankfully, will's mom is pretty much one of the coolest moms ever and lets barrett hold will and kiss him and love on him... and that means alot to me too :) every night barrett puts his finger up to his lips and tell ray and i, "shhhh, baby sleeping." i guess he thinks william lives in the guest bedroom.... he's always very concerned that we are taking care of the baby... its really cute...

i am such a sucker for pink, red, valentines, & decorations.... and well, my husband says we need to get stock in Target.... yikes! i always get carried away in that store!!!

"Always kiss your children goodnight - even if they're already asleep." ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

never knew the love my heart was capable of... but it just somehow keeps growing and growing..

happy rest of the week!

Dreams, Direction, Desires, & Dallas!!

thoughts of future hopes and dreams have been filling my mind lately...

i usually come up with my new years resolutions and i am ready to jump in head first on january 1... this year, it has taken me a little longer...

honestly, i know that this year is going to be packed with CHANGE. a word that used to send me running to hide... but a big deep breath of change is sometimes just what we need... to push us into our calling or make us more of the person that we were meant to become.

when ray and i got married

we knew that we just didn't want

to settle down and live with our God

in a box.

but barrett came, jobs changed,

finances were tight, and the dreams that

used to fill our minds slowly drifted

away...

of coarse, loving Jesus, growing in grace, caring for my husband, raising our son, and being a compassionate nurse are at the top of my list for what i am living for... but something in my heart, His whisper, tells me there is more... more to live for... not more to things to add to my plate or more legalistic rituals to do... but,

people are hurting

children are dying

families are homeless

women are sold

sickness, cancer, & death

are all to close to home

i have been reading the book, Radical, and God has been opening my eyes to the nations... and to His call on each of our lives.

after returning from Africa (medical mission trip in 2009), i remember telling ray, you have to see this... it will change your life... and i guess it really did change mine, because i still can't get the images that i saw out of my mind... and i believe that is God's precious grace in my life. as much as i would like to forget most of what i saw... i can't. those are His children...

"Now, we know that each of us has different gifts, different skills, different passions, and different callings from God. God has gifted you and me in different ways. This was undoubtedly the case with the disciples. Peter and Paul had different callings. James and John had different callings. However, each follower of Christ in the New Testament, regardless of his or her calling, was intended to take up the mantle of proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth. That's the reason why he gave each of them his Spirit and why he gave them all the same plan: make disciples of all nations." (Radical, 73)

again, we're not all missionaries, we're not all pastors, we're not all businessmen... but we are all called to PROCLAIM HIS NAME TO THE WORLD...

so for us, for our family,

we have to decided where that

calling lies. where to put our

passions. where God is directing us.

what that will look like, and how it all will play out is unknown to us... but our hearts are full of faith... and we are ready. like one of my favorite worship songs by Chris Tomlin says, "Where you go I'll go, where you stay I'll stay, when you move I'll move. I will follow you."

what i love is that God is with us, He is for us, and He has much to accomplish through us... not because of us, but because of His great love for us! how can we just sit and watch our lives pass by... having the newest car, prettiest outfit, best behaved kids, perfect marriage, nice facebook quotes and pictures, and having the most pins on our pinterest boards with hopeful decorations for our home. i'm guilty of it all!! i spend so much of my life with this inner tug... but Lord, i want all the newest things! i want the most beautiful house! i want people to think our marriage is perfect! etc... but the truth is, do i really want all that?? can i really relate to my friends that are struggling in their marriage if God hadn't taken us through difficult times? how easily would my heart be filled up with idols if i really had everything i wanted? what are His dreams for our family?

we all have to ask ourselves these questions.

we all will struggle, because we are human

and our hearts are idol factories.

and we are drawn to living the American Dream...

where does our satisfaction come?

how are we fulfilling His purpose right where we are?

are we proclaiming the gospel... to the nations?

all that to say, we are heading to Dallas, Texas to visit Christ for the Nations Institute next week. over the past 9 months, the Lord has been opening our hearts to His call and opening doors for us to walk through in this direction. this is kind of the final door... to see Dallas, to see the school, to meet people, look at job opportunities, and get a sense from the Holy Spirit if this is where the Lord is moving us. please keep us in your prayers as you think of it... we are wanting more of Jesus... and needing Him so desperately to lead us...

David Platt says in his book, Radical, "After spending a week around precious children who eat a small cup of porridge a day, the question I have come back to Birmingham asking God is why he has blessed me when others have so little. And this is what He has shown me: 'I have blessed you for my glory. Not so you will have a comfortable life with a big house and a nice car. Not so you can spend lots of money on vacations, education, or clothing. Those aren't bad things, but I've blessed you so that the nations will know me and see my glory.'"

so whether we end up in Dallas or Africa....

Let the Adventure begin :)