a day in our life

6:45  Say goodbye to Luke. Not entirely sure what he's wearing since it's still dark in our room. However, of this I am sure, he looks good. Can't wait for him to get home already.

7:10   I hear "Mommy! Is it light in my room? Come and get me!!" over the monitor. Love his sweet voice!

7:11  Stumble out of bed and feed Savannah...who has been shoving me with her nose in an effort to convey that she is STARVING!! Message received, Sannah. Thanks.

7:15  Tell my little ray of sunshine good morning while getting his clothes out for the day.

7:16  Ask him to bring his little bottom over here {while pointing to the ground in front of me} so I can get him dressed.

7:17  Ask him to get out of bed the right way and "Please hurry! I really have to go to the bathroom."

7:20  Finally dressed!! Headed downstairs.

7:25  Toys are out and Mickey Mouse is on the tv. Time to play!!

8:00  It's not long before certain areas of my house look like this...

...maybe we should break for some breakfast.

8:05  Orange juice and a "cookie" {or cereal bar}~ Breakfast of Champions

8:30  Walk into the living room to see Austin hiding beside the couch. When asked if he needs to go potty he says,

Nope!

Note to self: Hiding means that some serious business is going on.

8:31  While changing a dirty diaper, I explain to Austin the importance of telling Mommy "before you go poo poo so that we can go sit on the potty."

8:32  Marvel at the fact that this time 5 years ago I was about to get married. Translation: Potty Training Pep Talks were no where near my radar. 

8:35  Austin informs me he needs to go pee-pee on the potty. So off we go. 

8:37  Success!!  

8:38  Marvel again at the fact that in the last 2 years I've traded sleeping in for a 7:00 wake-up call, lunch dates for play dates...

...quiet for constant chatter, planning get-aways for planning Easter traditions...

...and grown-up conversations for high fives over small accomplishments. I wouldn't trade a single day! God is good.

10:30  Showered, dressed, and heading out the door to run some errands.

10:40  FINALLY in the car. Austin decides to tell me then that...

I think I'm going poo poo again....  Uh oh. Not again!!

My thoughts exactly.

10:41  We're out of the car and headed BACK to the potty.

10:43  Turns out jokes on me and Austin doesn't really have to go potty. Awesome.

10:50  Back in the car again. Praying, in Jesus name, I don't end up changing a dirty diaper in the back of my car at Costco.

11:00  Walking around Costco makes me think of Brittany and how much we miss those Yeagers!

11:05  Hello, Stuffed Salmon. Hello, Dinner! Score!!

11:25  Headed to the check-out with food, a book for Austin, and some flowers I decided to bless myself with. Three words: Worth. Every. Penny.

12:00  Lunch with Papa B!! Earl of Sandwich is calling our names.

We're only too happy to answer that call.

12:30  Ask how Claire is doing. Realize how excited I am for summer. Looking forward to some quality time with our C!

1:00  Home from lunch. Nap time but not before another trip to the potty. Success again. Turns out peanut butter M&Ms are quite the motivator. However, when they're not motivating, they're mocking me. Unfortunately, M&Ms of any kind are not on my diet. Bummer.

4:00 Still waiting for Austin to wake up from his nap. Say what?! It's been almost THREE hours since I put him down?!

4:30  Austin's awake. :) Trying to decide if we should go run. Think I'll just snuggle with Haha on the couch while we watch a little behind the scenes at DWTS on Oprah. Don't judge.

5:00  Talked to Luke who will be home any minute. YES! Running can wait.

5:30  Off to run. By myself. The boys are off to Academy. You know...the right stuff, the right price. Or something like that.

6:00  Let the torture begin. At least I got to see my mom for a minute. Too bad Austin wasn't with me. He does love his Gigi.

6:30  Headed home to start dinner. Remember the stuffed salmon? Hoping it tastes as good as it looks.  

7:30  Dinner. A half-hearted attempt at best. But hey! At least I made it instead of "bringing it from afar."

8:30  Austin's in bed, kitchen's cleaned, and living room is picked up. Time to relax.

8:45  Luke informs me that he may have bought his birthday gift...

And his anniversary gift...

Tonight.

Glad to know I'm influencing him in the important areas of life. 

10:30  Time to call it a night. Final thought of the day: didn't do my quiet time :( At least tomorrow's another day.  Still. Today was a great day!

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.

Isaiah 26:8

nothin' but time...

Hurry up and wait.

That's the motto I feel best describes my life these last 2 weeks. Over the last couple of months, Luke and I have been on a mission to get things done on our house. It all started with the washing of the downstairs windows.

All fourteen of them.

By ourselves.

No. We were not smoking crack at the time. Although we were strongly considering it toward the end.

Anyway. Most of you know that we did a TON of work on the house before we moved in. And by "we" I mean our contractor Richard and myself. Luke got sent to Dallas for 3 weeks right after we closed, otherwise, we would've done more ourselves. But alas, God said no. And I said "OKAY!" because I was a single parent to an infant at the time.

Due to the fact that our new house did not have a money tree growing in the backyard, some of the bigger projects were put on the back burner for a little bit. We saved for things like landscaping, wood floors, and tile for the upstairs bathrooms. And oh yeah, the panty in the kitchen.

Don't ask.

Well. We waited, God blessed, and we were able to tackle the landscaping last year and the flooring just this last week. After getting a couple of estimates, we decided to hire people to prep the floor downstairs for wood and tile the upstairs...aaaand the pantry. We helped my brother and sister-in-law put wood floors in their house about a year ago so I was confident we {or more accurately LUKE} could do a fabulous job again. And now I would like to say a big thank you to my father-in-law who took one for the team and came down to help my husband, therefore; allowing me to do what I do best, which is supervise.

Everything was going according to plan {and Luke and I know how to work a plan like nobody's business}until the tile guys got thrown into the mix.

I waited the first day. They showed up 5 hours late.

I waited again the next day. This time only one of them paid us a visit. An hour and a half late. I thought,

Hey! We're making progress.

He left after working for about 4 hours.

And then, of course, I waited some more the next day. Apparently, I forgot to take off the sign I usually wear around my neck when Austin's climbing into his carseat. It reads:

Don't worry. I've got nothin' but time on my hands.

Four words: Hurry. Up. And. Wait.

I tried to remind myself to be Jesus to these guys. That I may be the only glimpse of Him they get. But I have to be honest and tell you that patience, well, it's still a virtue I don't have alot of yet. So I vented to my dad. And Luke. And my mother-in-law. Aaaaand my mom. When I was finished and my doorbell rang...much later than I was expecting... I smiled, opened the door to our home, and offered them a bottle of water when I started feeling guilty about my bad attitude.

When it was all said and done, they did a great job. Minus all the waiting. So good in fact that Luke talked to them about re-tiling our shower.

I KNOW!!

All this waiting has given me some good opportunities to reflect on some areas in my life that may need a little work. Or rather, it's given Jesus the opportunity to give me my next "assignment" if you will. Not that I've completely mastered the others. Much like our house, I'm a work in progress. I'm so glad He's always gentle with us, aren't you? Let me tell you, if I were Him I would've given me a serious attitude adjustment long before now. I imagine it would've looked alot like the Trips To The Car we threaten Austin with from time to time. Even if you don't have kids, you know the ones I'm talkin' about because we all experienced it a time or two. And some of us may have felt them as well.

Looking back over this past week, I've realized that if Jesus gave report cards, there would be an "N" {for Needs Improvement}next to Patience in mine. When will I learn to savor the fact that it takes a toddler FOR. EV. ER to do something because he's just so busy soaking up life? When will I accept the fact that it takes the love of my life a little more time to express his thoughts because he's doing a good job GATHERING them all? And WHEN will I embrace the fact that His timing is always different from mine because it's perfect?

I feel like I spend so much time hurrying from one thing to the next that I'm not taking the time to fully be in this moment before it passes. I already know time is flying, but the moments are flying even faster. It doesn't matter how much money we spend on our house. It's all a waste if the time spent here isn't sweet.

Whenever Luke and I reminisce about our childhoods, we don't remember the house. We remember the time spent there with our families. We remember playdates with neighbors. Modeling pictures by the pool. Pizza nights and sleepovers. Family dinners and lots of laughter. All these memories might not have been made in our moms' dream houses but they were the stuff dreams, or more importantly, legacies are made of.

I've given alot of thought to what I want this house to be to my own little family. I want it to be a place of refuge. A place we know we can return to and let the cares of the world fall off our shoulders as we walk in the door. I want it to be a place that you can feel the presence of Jesus. I want His name and promises spoken here everyday. I want our home to be a place of rest and relaxation. I want those that leave here to feel refreshed and ready for what may lie ahead. I want this house to be filled with memories made with friends and family. I want our home to be a place where we can laugh, have meltdowns, and just be...together.

This week, I realized that I need to stop stressing about the floors that didn't get mopped. Or the dirty dishes in the sink. Or Mt. Laundry spewing dirty clothes all over the floor.

This week Jesus whispered to my heart that it's not the floors or furniture that makes a home. It's the time spent here and what we choose to do with it.

So I'm choosing to celebrate the fact that for this season we've got nothin' but time on our hands.

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

has it really been a month??

I can't believe it. It's been over a month since I've posted. I guess it goes without saying that alot has happend in the last month. Nothing earth shattering, just a bunch of random stuff. I promise to share it with all of you but first a little Easter recap. You know, before I forget the details.

We had a great weekend! Austin went to College Station for a couple of days to get spoiled by his Uncle Jon and Aunt B or Bwitty as he calls her. That means that it was just Luke and I for a couple of days. After we got over the weirdness that was complete silence whenever one of us was not talking, we thoroughly enjoyed our quality time together. We decided to go to church on Friday night so as to avoid the massive amounts of people that were sure to be present at the remaining weekend services.

Good call on our part.

Besides the obvious, the highlight of the night was watching Luke's face light up while he played with our friends' son Jack. In fact, about .2 seconds after I stole him from his Mommy, Luke stole him from me. You will never see 2 people get more excited about a tiny foam book about farm animals. Just when I think I can't love him more, he does something like that and completely melts my heart. I got myself a keeper for sure!

On Saturday, we met up with Brittany and Jon in Bastrop to pick up the light of our lives. Claire came with us, which was a real treat. Since I wasn't driving, I appointed myself as the Roadtrip DJ complete with a few spontaneous dance moves.

Luke asked me if I'd been drinking.

I think he was just jealous.

And so were the people in the car next to us.

I worked up quite an appetite after all that dancing. Luckily, our lunch stop was at this hamburger place called Roadhouse. It. Was. Amazing! Voted "Best Burgers in Bastrop" as a matter of fact, which is a real accomplishment in a small town. Oh, I kid.

We had the best time. We laughed, took pictures, and caught up. I felt dangerously close to tears as I hugged my sister goodbye. I officially lost the battle when she started crying. You see, Brittany and Jon are moving to Boston this summer after they lead a mission trip to Greece. The reality of how quickly that day is coming has hit me square in the face, giving my husband a few good opportunities to practice his Comforting Skills.

You're welcome, Sweetie.

I guess that's why times like Saturday are so sweet. All too soon, those opportunities will be harder to come by. I take comfort in the fact that we got a little taste of how fun those times together will be last Saturday. I am so proud of the two of them. God is going to use them to impact the East coast in mighty ways! I just hope Boston is ready.  

Sunday was pretty low key. We had my parents and grandparents over for an Easter lunch and of course we hid eggs for Austin. I felt so guilty about the two pieces of pie I ate that I went to visit the Bauerlein Gym. In other words, I had a date with their treadmill.

Today we're recovering from the fun times that were had by all. So far, I've cleaned our bathroom, done some laundry, and said goodbye to my other sister. It was refreshingly less sad seeing as how in just one short month, she'll be home for summer. I can't wait!! And speaking of summer, how great is this weather we've been having?! I wore a dress today and couldn't be happier about all the green I've been seeing. The bluebonnets aren't bad either.

I hope your Easter weekend was just as wonderful as ours. We have alot to celebrate. Because of His sacrifice, we have the privilege of living an abundant life. Happy Monday, friends!!