Ending on a POSITIVE note

It was a ROUGH baseball season for Luke this year. His team had a wonderful year in our Kings league last year so they were bumped to a VERY competetive Knothole league this year. We were playing teams that were hand selected with the best players, using big barrelled bats and teams that travel to other tournaments. Our team is full of boys who have been playing with one another since t-ball, no hand selection, no big barrel bats, just good old fashioned baseball for fun.


Well, it wasn't fun this year. It's not fun being run-ruled EVERY single game. It's not fun striking out against great pitchers. It's not fun to FINALLY get a hit but playing against teams who are so perfect in the field you don't have a prayer of getting to first. It was a LONG season for the boys AND the parents.

We were THRILLED that when it was tournament time  the league took a look at our record this year and bumped us down into a bracket we could actually compete at..... and we WON the championship game last night.

 

 

 

Luke found out it is FUN playing in the outfield knowing you aren't going to get KILLED:

 

He found out that it is FUN to get a hit, make it to first and get ready to steal second with your dad as your first base coach:

 

 

He found out it's FUN to make it to third and then STEAL home and score for your team as your family and team cheers you on!

 

 

Baseball can be FUN, and it doesn't hurt to go home with a big trophy either : )

GRATEFUL!

I have so much to blog about and don't want to go on and on forever so I decided instead to just make this into a grateful journal of sorts.
Right now in my life:
-I am grateful for a strong and healthy marriage, being married to my best friend who makes me laugh, take deep breaths and appreciate life daily.
-I am grateful for my two lovely children who are growing up (against my wishes to stop time) into wonderful human beings.
-I am grateful for the Lord blessing us so we are able to go on many wonderful vacations together and create memories to last a lifetime.
-I am even grateful for going to Girlscout camp, enduring 95 degree temperatures and sleeping on the floor on an empty stomach to look over and see my daughter smiling and hearing her say "thank you so much for taking me here with you momma!"
-I am grateful to have summers off with my family.
-I am grateful for the beautiful days without humidity. The blue skies, cool breezes and birds chirping arent lost on me, I love every minute of it!
-I am grateful for the ability to lounge by the pool, and put goggles on and play games under water with my kids.
-I am grateful for my family, living close to my family and Tim's family and all of the blessings and memories we have made together and the wonderful effects it has had on Luke and Lauren.
-I am grateful for ice cream.
-I am grateful that my kids still reach out and hold my hand as we are walking ANYWHERE together, even in front of their friends.
-I am grateful for great friends both old and new.
-I am grateful for the way my dog loves me and is my faithful friend, and for a purring cat who rubs lovingly on my forehead as he sits on my chest.
-I am grateful that God created wine : )
-I am grateful for Luke winning a baseball game!!!!
-I'm grateful for movies like Toy Story 3 that let me experience a full range of emmotions including crying like a baby knowing my babies are growing up.
-I am grateful for summertime bonfires under the stars in our backyard, and of course Smores.
-I am grateful for the Lord, my salvation and knowing that I will see loved ones again.
I am just so blessed, so GRATEFUL, and enjoying life.......... so GRATEFUL! I encourage you to make your own "grateful" list, I think you will be amazed at how truly blessed you really are.

Off to our Happy Place!!!!

It's my FAVORITE time of year, school is almost out and we are going to get in the car and head to the Happiest Place on Earth in 7 days!!!!
I'm so excited because we are actually pulling off a surprise for the kids this year. We are staying one night at the Nick hotel and they have NO idea, can't wait to pull into the parking lot and surprise them. We are also going to the Blue Man Group show, we scored 2nd row PONCHO section and we are going to the show on my birthday, can't wait!
More than anything I can't wait to just make Disney memories with my family:

It has become more and more apparant to me lately how quickly my kids are growing up. Luke actually held my hand on a long walk the other day in our neighborhood and I was thinking to myself that my soon to be 4th grader won't be caught dead holding his mom's hand soon. Lauren is entering 1st grade and I just can't believe how fast they are growing up. So I am ready to escape with my family and enjoy some good old fashioned family bonding in the Happiest Place on Earth.........

BRING IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Freaking Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a huge Jason Mraz fan and read his blog daily. Something he posted this past week has stuck with me and I have been showing it to others and watching them smile and decided I had to post it here.
Why is it in this life it is so easy to put ourselves down, and think negatively of ourselves. What happened to our innocent selves in our youth who LOVED ourselves!?! Imagine what it would do for your life and your self esteem to start your day off like this young lady in this Youtube video, JUST LOVE THIS... I think she has it all figured out (sooooo reminds me of Lauren):


So.................. start singing your own praises...............

HOUSE

Our church (River Hills Christian Church) started a new series this past Sunday called "HOUSE". What a wonderful series and I am so excited about it already. I learned so much at the first service that I wanted to share the outline for you here.

Essential Investments From God's Word to Build a Blessed Life at Home............

1). Invest in Mutual Acceptance
- This is HUGE isn't it. None of us are perfect, we each have our own quirks. My favorite thing they shared was "stop judging each other". In our families we need to accept and love one another for who we are, not hoping to change them into something they are not.
Accept one another just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7
2). Invest in Effective Communication
-You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry James 1:19
That's a HARD one isn't it. Do you know that the AVERAGE couple talks to eachother alone only FOUR MINUTES per day!?! AND they watch an average of 47 hours per week of television together. What a sad and startling statistic. I will make sure that our home does not ever live out this statistic.

3). Invest in Considerate Behavior
-Show your love by being helpful to each other Ephesians 4:2
SO important. This was such a touch one in the beginning of our marriage as we had to let go of the "I" and concentrate on the feelings of the other person. I think Tim and I have grown so much in this area and I'm proud of how strong our marriage has become as a result, NOW the struggle is getting our children to learn these lessons and apply it to their lives as well.

4). Invest in Deliberate Surrender
-Love does not demand its own way 1 Corinthians 13:5
-Love one another deeply, from the heart 1 Peter 1:22

5). Invest in Encouraging Words
-This one really struck home with me and Tim and I talked about it and we have really concentrated on encouraging one another this week as well as encouraging the children. We have always done a decent job at this, but we know it can be better and it WILL be better.
-Ephesians 4:19 "Don't say anything that would hurt another person"
-"Encourage one another and build each other up" 1 Thessalonians 5:11

6). Invest in Real Affection
"Love one another with genuine affection" Romans 12:10
"Let the husband render to his wife the affection owed her, and likewise also the wife to her husband" 1 Corinthians 7:3
Tim and I do not hide our affection from our children. Luke and Lauren have grown up in a home where their mom and dad hug and kiss eachother daily and they see this. I kiss my kids and hug my kids and tell them "I love you" every chance I get. I think it is important for them to be surrounded by love and for them to have the example of what a loving marriage is, that should not be hidden from them.

7). Invest in Ongoing Forgiveness(this one of course can ALWAYS be a struggle).
-"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colassians 3:13
-Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32.WOW, that can be a tough one, but I will be working on it.

I want to have a strong marriage and to have a positive relationship with my kids. I am taking these steps to invest in our HOME by following these biblical principals that will make our HOME BLESSED.

-Lesley

Beautiful Inside and Out

My sister n' law took this picture of Lauren on Mother's Day, when I opened it I was just taken aback by her beauty:



What I love about my daughter is that she is just as beautiful (if not more so) on the inside than on the outside. What a blessing she is to me.............
-Lesley

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you have had a wonderful Mother's Day today.

I spent it with my two wonderful children who the Lord has blessed me with and my amazing husband. I was able to spend time with my own mother who I am fortunate enough to live close to and we shared a fun day together as well. I also was with my brother and his wife and got some cuddle time in with my nephew.



Today I spent a lot of time reflecting on how fast my children have grown. It seems like only yesterday I was carrying each of them in my belly,bringing them home from the hospital for the first time. I just can't wrap my mind around how blessed I am by my amazing children, I just love them so very very much! I cherish these days where I am still the center of their universe. They still say "mom, will you play with me?" "Mom, can you snuggle with me?" Ohhhhhhhh how I cherish that and I know that it will be gone all too soon and it makes me cry.

I am thankful for my own mother and for her example to me over the years of how to be a mother.

I hope that one day my own children will grow up and view me as a true friend as I view my own mother.
Happy Mother's Day! I hope it was a great one for each of you, I know it was for me!
-Lesley