Serving with Joy

I'm excited to join with Maegan @ The Modern Tulip for this month's "Monthly Focus". For about a week, I've been thinking over what I'd like to focus on for the month of April and it came to me sitting in our church service on Sunday.

Serving...with joy.

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In order to explain why I want to focus on this in April {and beyond}, I need to make a confession. For the past few weeks, I've had a really crappy attitude. And I didn't know why. I assumed it was hormones, or a lack of sleep, or the roller coaster "Spring" weather. But, really, it's been a selfish focus on myself that has caused my poor attitude.

My kids and husband are the ones who have faced the brunt of this attitude problem and they are the ones I want to be {and should be} loving and serving the most! Sure, the days can be long, but the years are so short and I don't want to miss a single moment of joy just because I have a self-centered attitude. So, it's time for a change. I'm ready to make that change.

I love being a wife and a mother. I really do! But I've been letting myself get in the way of joyfully serving Robert, Collin & Emma. During our church service on Sunday, we studied John 13, when Jesus washed the disciples feet, and what exactly that meant in that time period.

This is such an incredible and beautiful picture of Jesus, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, humbling Himself and taking the form of servant for the disciples...and me and you! And Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus willingly became a servant.

I want to be like Jesus. I want to willingly serve my family. And serve them joyfully. And this is the month to focus on doing just that. I'm going to wake up every morning, ready and thankful for another chance to serve my hubby and kiddos! Let's do this thing!

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What about you? Is there anything you'd like to focus on this month?

Also linking up with Sassy Wife/Classy Life, The Ledford Life & Frankly My Dear for Tuesday Tea.

5 sweet years

Today my (our) sweet boy turns 5 years old. Five! That's a big one!! Motherhood has rocked my world! As I reflect back on the last 5 years, what I feel the most is...gratitude. Extremely thankful that God blessed us with his precious life...and gave us the opportunity to be his parents.
He is such a sweet boy. Here are some of my favorite things about him.

His heart is tender and he's sensitive to the needs around him. A few months ago I wasn't feeling too well and laid down after Robert got home from work. Collin took it upon himself to make sure I had a steady supply of water, was comfortable in my bed and even laid with me and rubbed my arm to help me feel better. Such a sweetie!

He's smart and loves to learn. 

He loves to laugh and have a good time.

He loves to make people laugh and will do anything he thinks might accomplish that.

He loves his sister. They are truly best friends and I pray it stays that way.

He loves to play outside and be active.

He's the carbon copy of Robert. Even to the point of pushing my buttons. :)

He loves Jesus. I pray one day soon he comes to know Him as his personal Lord and Savior.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but just some of my favorite things about him. He's growing up so much every day, but when I tuck him into bed, I still see my sweet baby.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!! I love you so much!!

On Motherhood

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I adore being a Mom. Being Collin and Emma's Mommy. It's truly the best! I was talking with Robert the other day about how much I enjoy being a Mom. Sure, I reach my limit some days and have to put myself in time out. Or, I reach my limit and need a break, outside of the house, to refuel. But, even on those days, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a Mom, their Mom.

I have never done anything that has required absolutely everything in me...and then more, all the time. Some days can be tough, really tough. But at the end of the day, no matter how trying and tiring it was, my heart is overflowing as I look in on them sleeping peacefully. 

I have never known such deep, unending love until I became a Mom. This love that I get to experience as a Mom reminds me of how much the Lord loves me...and then more! Sometimes it leaves me speechless and in tears...at my love for my kids and the realization of His love for me.

I have never felt so inadequate or ill-equipped until I became a Mom. I'm learning right alongside my children. But He is so gracious and has surrounded me with incredible examples and encouragement as I walk this journey through motherhood.

I feel so honored to have the opportunity to stay home with our kiddos every day. Sure, there are sacrifices that have to made for that to happen. And there are days that can feel lonely and isolating. But those days are not the norm and the sacrifices are hardly noticed. I am so grateful to stay home with them.

I love being a Mom. I love being Collin and Emma's Mommy. May I never take my days with them for granted.

Christmas Pajama Party!

Today I'm participating in a fun link up with some lovely bloggers for a virtual Christmas pajama party. Please feel free to join in, too! The link up goes from now until the New Year on your blog or your Instagram. I had a ball taking pics of my cuties...and even scored our Christmas card photo from our little photo shoot!

 

 

Don't forget to check out my Christmas giveaway! It's open until December 16th.

My not-so-little boy

We enjoyed a fun evening at the Tulsa State Fair Monday night! We had corn dogs, BBQ sandwiches, spiral spuds, cotton candy, fresh squeezed lemonade...the whole nine yards. Collin even rode some of the kiddie rides. Now, I am not a fan of fair/carnival rides, at all! I mean, really, I know they have inspections to ensure their safety, but seriously, these things are taken down and put together so much...what if they miss a bolt? What if a screw is stripped? Just not my idea of safe fun. But, Robert is the fun parent, apparently, and assures me it's fine. So, Collin had a ball riding a few rides.

It hit me hard last night how much Collin has grown in his short 4 1/2 years of life. He insisted on riding the rides by himself. And since he was a couple inches taller than the 'ride with parent' limitation, we let him ride by himself. One of my favorite things is watching him thoroughly enjoy himself...and make friends no matter where we go. On every ride but one, he had a different little boy riding with him and they had the best time laughing together and enjoying themselves. And I love watching him grow and have fun! I'm trying to be very intentional about enjoying every moment with him, even the bad ones, because there is good in it all and it's going by so quickly.

Little mouths praising Jesus

In our home, I have worship music playing nearly non stop. When we wake up in the morning, I usually turn on KLove and have it on all day. Music is powerful and it's a great way to help me stay encouraged and focused on the important things. And it's a great ministry tool. Collin and Emma are little sponges, soaking in everything they hear and see.

While we were staying at my parent's house, in between our last house and current house, my dad introduced us to a wonderful song full of great truths. Collin and Emma immediately became enthralled with He's Alive!.

They quickly learned the words to the song and request to watch it over and over. I pray those words sink deep in their hearts and they claim the truth that He Is Alive!! in their lives, as early as they can truly understand what Jesus did for them and accept His precious gift of salvation. I haven't been able to get a good recording of them singing along, but I'll keep trying. Here's a picture, though, of sweet Emma intently watching along. :)

 

 

Another favorite song around our house is Great I am;

 

 This is another song chalked full of awesome truths!! We were driving home from church yesterday listening to this song and Collin was singing along to it. :) This is one of those songs that when it comes on during the day, we stop what we're doing, turn it way up and praise Jesus together. Few things melt my heart more, than when I hear their sweet voices praising Jesus! These truly are the best days of my life!!

 

(If you look closely, you'll see sweet Emma's little leg moving along to the music. She may not be able to fully sing along yet, but she's praising Jesus too :))

 

Until next time,

Kristal

 

 

 



 

Super Hero!

Everybody has a little super hero power within them and we all need to soar around with a cape sometimes....Enjoy! :)

 

 

 

Until next time,

Kristal

Homeschooling....

This fall we'll begin our first year of homeschooling. Well, not official as in starting kindergarten, yet, but a pre-k program. It has been an interesting journey coming to the decision to homeschool. It was never something I considered. Not because I had any negative thoughts or experiences with homeschooling; in fact, one of my best friends was homeschooled all the way through high school. It's just that I went to public school and Robert went to a private Christian school in Albuquerque. I just assumed we would send our children to a private Christian school, if we could afford it. But then we had Collin...and everything changed. Suddenly homeschooling was on the table and we both were ok with it. We weren't completely sure that it was the right fit for our family, but we did want to pray about it and learn more.

So, last year I attended a homeschooling convention in town. We were both feeling pretty confident that homeschooling was right for our family, but I wanted to attend the conference, hoping it would provide clear direction either way. And it did. Within the first few hours of the conference, I knew homeschooling was the right choice for our family. And after talking with Robert that night at dinner, we both committed to it. However, I definitely experience moments of "oh my goodness, can I do this?!"

I haven't been too vocal about our choice to homeschool. There are two responses I get, supportive or unsupportive. Thankfully, our family-specifically my parents and Robert's parents- and close friends are very supportive in our decision to homeschool Collin and Emma and any other children we may have (no I'm not pregnant :)). However, I do meet people who are not so supportive of our decision. I've been told many times "I could never homeschool my kids. I don't have the patience for that." On the one hand, it makes me panic because I don't always have patience with my kids. So will I really be able to homeschool them?! And on the other hand, I think I'm no more capable or "special" than anybody else, so if I can do it, you can do it...if you're called to do it. 

So, this fall we'll begin our first year of homeschooling. We won't start anything too intense. Collin will just be starting pre-k. I'm looking forward to it though. We have a great room that was used as a game room by the previous owners that we're transforming into our school room this summer.

A Dad and his Boy

Collin adores Robert. It's so precious!! He literally screams with excitement every evening when the garage door opens, knowing Daddy is home. And, Collin is completely Robert's mini-me, in every way. Facial expressions, mannerisms, walking...even the way he likes to push my buttons. :) I'm so thankful Collin has such an amazing Daddy to emulate as he grows up!

I absolutely love this picture! If you're able to zoom, you can see how much Collin adores his daddy.

They fell asleep one night watching basketball together. It cracks me up that they're even dressed alike!

They walk exactly the same...

 And are goofy in the same ways. :)

 

Until next time,

 

Kristal

Summer reading program

This summer we participated in the summer reading program the local library sponsors. I had heard about the program in years past, but this was our first time to participate. I really wanted the coupon book full of goodies of free and discount things to do with the kids. We completed that portion of the program and received the coupon book but they also earned themselves a badge. You would have thought it was the coolest thing ever! Collin was so excited that he declared "I'm going to wear this everyday! I'm going to wear this to church!" Well, he wore it for a couple days, but I did get some cute pics of them sporting their awesome medals.

Collin was cracking me up the way he was wearing his medal on his head. I don't know. That's all I can say about that silly boy. :) And Emma....somebody please tell me when she grew up!! She looks so big! Oh these two....I'm so in love with them!

 

 

Until next time,

Kristal

Summer splashing

One fun thing about our drainage issues (ha!), which should be fixed now, is that we have massive puddles after heavy rains. One morning, my dear friend Mia brought me some yummy coffee from our favorite coffee shop/store. While we were out front waving goodbye to her, I let the kids play in the puddle for a bit. Here are the little cuties...

It's fun being a kid!!

 

 

One more thing, you can know follow me with Bloglovin'. Follow here:

http://www.bloglovin.com/kristalstrong. Thanks!!

 

Until next time,

Kristal

Precious Moments

There are few things sweeter than when Collin or Emma shows me sweet love when they don't realize I'm paying attention. Both of my kiddos love it when I "go night night" with them for a little bit, either before naptime or bedtime. Collin is in a twin bed, so I'm able to lay with him for a little bit in his bed. But Emma is still in a crib, so we'll lay on "mommy and daddy's" bed for a little bit before resting. Two different occasions this week have absolutely melted my heart!

Nearly every night Collin will ask me to lay with him for a little bit. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. On this particular night that he asked me, I hadn't seen Robert all day and it had been a very stressful week at work for him, so I told Collin that I wanted to go out and see daddy, but that I'd lay with him the next day before he laid down to rest in the afternoon. So, that's what I did. The next day came and he hadn't forgotten what I said, so I laid down with him for quite some time. I was pretty tired that day and it felt nice to lay down and close my eyes a bit. Although I was resting my eyes, I didn't actually fall asleep. But while we were laying there, Collin took my arm so that it was laying across his chest and we were cuddling. That alone was precious, but then he completely melted my heart. He spent the next 15 minutes gently tickling/rubbing my arm and my hand. And then he'd stop and just pat my hand. Oh, it was so, so precious!! I kept peeking my eyes open to see if he was awake or asleep and he was awake, but getting so tired. He eventually got so tired he stopped and I quietly left so he could rest. Oh he just blessed my heart so much with his love!!

And tonight, sweet Emma topped it all off! She wanted to "go night night with Mommy", so we went and laid in my bed for awhile. I had the best time laying beside her, just watching her. She was so tired and kept rubbing her eyes. But then she turned to me and gently held my face with her hand and so softly and seriously said something to me. I'm not sure what she said, but I just smiled and said, yes I love you, too, Emma. She would turn her head and close her eyes, then turn back and do it again.  She did that 3 or 4 more times and I responded the same way. She would alternate between holding my face and rubbing my arm. Oh, so sweet!!!

Although our days are not always easy or "peaches and cream", I truly find myself thanking God daily for the two sweet blessings who call me mommy. I love being their mommy and can't imagine spending my days doing anything else than raising them.