15 minutes

In 5 days Hannah, our oldest daughter will be turning 14.  As I reflect on the past 14 years I realize I have not cherished every minute with these 3 precious gifts God has given me.  So many days our feet hit the ground running...Getting out the door for school on time (of course we are always running a few minutes later than planned), after school the hustle and bustle continues.  Get to the store grab a snack and  finish any homework that needs to be done from the day, change into practice clothes...Hannah you're practicing in Bolivar tonight, Allee you're in Springfield tonight, Emma your practice begins in 30 minutes.  By the time everyone gets to the house at the end of the day it's 8 PM or later on most nights.  Then on top of all the running... I let myself get caught up in so many things that really aren't going to make a difference in the future.  I stress and worry about so many trivial things that I think people care about.  How clean my house is...the piles of dirty laundry that seem to overflow our laundry room ALL the time...trying to keep my van clean...dinner for 5...paying bills...plus trying to run a business....these are just a few of the things that I let myself get weighted down with!  And standing in front of me this whole time...3 beautiful young faces!  I try so hard to take 15 minutes with each one of them as I tuck them in at night.  Just 15 minutes to talk about their day...what happened at school...read a story or a bible devotion to them.  15 minutes is all I give them some days.  WOW...and then on some nights I cut them short of that 15 minutes....because the laundry is beeping, the dishes need to be done, or "Girls we are getting you in bed late tonight, so you need to get to sleep for school tomorrow."

So to all my friends with young children, cherish, CHERISH every little minute!  Those days that seem to be dragging on forever because you didn't get much sleep last night because of crying babies or those days that you just want a little time out for yourself because your toddler just dumped their plate of food on the floor for the 5th time...Take that nap and snuggle those babies, play with your sweet little gifts!  Because you too will soon be looking at this little 15 minutes with your kiddos in the face before you know it!

Our Hannah should still be that sweet little toddler with the strawberry curls...saying things like "Be careful with Hannah"...or calling Aunt Sarah's car..."the stinky car."  Don't get me wrong...I love this stage of life we are in...But MAN do I miss the stage of life when I could do crafts, take naps, or bake cookies with my little girls because we didn't have a laundry list of things to get done!

ENJOY life's LITTLE moments!!!

Beautiful Wedding of an Old Friend of Ours!

 We were blessed to be invited to the wedding of an old friend of ours!  It was a gorgeous night and an absolutely wonderful ceremony!  So glad that we were able to share in this very special day for Heath and Brittney!

My brother and his beautiful wife, Aubrey

Allee, our niece Gracie, and Emma trying to catch a peek!

What little girl doesn't enjoy a wedding?  :)

A Friend Blessed My Heart Today!

A friend of mine shared this beautiful beautiful gift with me today.  I hope it blesses your day as much as it has mine :)  Enjoy life's little moments!

Good Times with Old Friends and their Kiddos

We were able to enjoy time with some of our sweet friends and our whole crew of kiddos!  It's AMAZING that so many beautiful babies came from all of us :)  Thanks girls for such a fun day together!  I hope there are many more days like these!

Spending Time With GREAT Friends!

 Well we headed to Kansas City on Friday evening for Allee's soccer tournament.  We decided since we were going to be in the area that we would spend some time with some of our dear friends that moved.  We miss them dearly and were so happy to spend some time with them.  Thanks Collins for a great weekend!  We were so happy to see all of you.

Hannah with her stylin sunglasses ;)

Allee and Emma on our way to KC!

Sweet Friends and Sweet Memories!



SWEETEST NEIGHBOR BOYS!

Yesterday afternoon we pulled into our subdivision and was greeted by the cutest smiles on our neighbor boys' faces it was so refreshing after a long weekend of soccer tournaments.   As we were unloading our van we heard a soft knock on our front door...Hannah opened the door to find our 2 favorite neighbor boys standing there holding freshly picked daffodils!   I asked the youngest one if I could give him a hug and he gave me the cutest smile and shook his head no...but the older one said "Sure" :)  Those 2 sweet boys not only made my night I even thought of them today and it brought a SMILE to my face :)  How AWESOME it is to have such great neighbors!  Thanks Sawyer and Brody for making us SMILE!  We LOVE being neighbors with you guys!

Such simple acts of kindness make the world a better place!

Friends

One of my precious friends that I love very dearly always inspires me with her blog! (I hope she never feels like I am stealing ideas from her:) She is several years younger than me but I know that God placed her in my life back when we lived in St. James because he knew that I could learn a lot from her! She is one of those girls that is incredibly beautiful inside and out! Today she posted a very special blog! It has been one of those mornings for me that I have been looking at my life and the many things God has done in my life to show his presence. I just pray that I will let God use me and keep showing his presence in my life. Thanks my special friend for always inspiring me! Thanks to all my precious friends for teaching me many different life lessons. You all have a special place in my heart!