Refined By Design: Oh the joy!

So for one...I have GOT to get my camera fixed! I am missing all these amazing moments and my blog is looking a bit drab. My phone SM card isn't working either so I can't take pics on my phone. So in the next week (hopefully) be looking for some posts with some pictures :)

So today has just been fabulous!! Other than the allergies that I'm fighting, it has been beautiful. My sweet niece, Ashlyn, is here visiting from Texas so my grandparents picked him up from school to visit with her. So I've been here all morning with my sweet Leah. I get asked alot if we are going to have more kids or not. When I think about this I have this wonderful feeling of JOY. Yes, when I think about managing it all, I get a little overwhelmed at the "todos", but what greater blessing or joy?! No jumping to conclusions, haha! JOY has been resounding in my heart for weeks now and I have prayed for more times to feel joy and recognize joy in my life in the little everyday moments. I have been wanting to get fit, lose a few or more pounds, and feel good about my body again. Doing something for me, with MY hard work, and MY determination. No one can do it for me. So I was outside doing jumping jacks, and stretching, and here is this beautiful angel beside me doing everything I am doing. Counting up to as high as she can then starting over. We stretched and did the "jumpy things", then started on our walk to soak up this day. I prayed in my heart that I would find joy in every moment, and that's what I found. We were walking and she had a hold of my finger and she was just jabbering away! I can pick up her words but this was a special conversation. Something was so exciting that she was talking a hundred miles a minute. I had to stop her and say "leah, baby, slow down!" She looked up and said "I love you more mommy"....brought tears to my eyes! This is something we hear all day long. She loves so much! And she tells us often. She wakes us up in the morning to "i love you daddy, or I love you mommy". But this was just so precious, and unexpected.

So we walked and we sat down for a while and laughed at everything! She was so giddy! I sat there wishing that I took more moments like this everyday. Throw out my schedule or to do list, stopped working, and took a second to love and spend time with my kids. The work of a mom is exhausting. And No, men will NEVER get it!! Matt can clean the house top to bottom in a few hours and wonder why it takes me so long. Don't worry Ladies...he has NEVER said anything like that, because he knows that wouldn't end well, but sometimes I feel like he's thinking it. Then I think, why is it so hard for me to get things accomplished around the house. My job description is not to just cook, clean, and look fantastic at the end of the day (bahahahaha!!). It includes incredible amounts of teaching, disciplining, inspiring, and loving. I would love to have more kids, and we do hope to adopt one day as well, but If God blesses us with more children, I can't wait to pour out our love on them! It is a powerful thing!!

One thing my kids will always be able to say is that they felt loved by Matt and I. They hear it often, we hug them often, and make sure they know that. I hope when they have their own families that they love even more than we did! Jacob and Leah both are quick to tell others that they love them, and I hope their love for others grows more and more everyday. Love it the most powerful thing in the world!! And I hope they feel it always.

Take time out of your day and love on your kids! You'll miss these moments when they grow up!! :)

From this....