Grace Upon Grace

This Thanksgiving I was more aware than normal of how completely and totally blessed we are. I was reminded of a life-changing devotional I read in a book called "Grace for the Moment" by Max Lucado. The title of the short, but poignant entry was "Grace Upon Grace." I want to share it on my blog....more as a reminder to me than to anyone else.

I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. Philippians 4:11

Test this question: What if God's only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him for this. You plead with him for that. What if his answer is, "My grace is enough." Would you be content? You see, from heaven's perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?...Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we bemoan earthly poverty?... If you have eyes to read these words, hands to hold this book, the means to own this volume, he has already given you grace upon grace.


Wow! I have been given grace, upon grace, upon grace.....to the infinite degree. I'm challenging myself, in this season of buying/giving/getting, to remember that I already have grace upon grace.

Pictures of some of my graces....

Me and my boyfriend spending the greatest getaway night at the Gaylord. Thanks to my awesome mother- & father-in-law!

Daddy and Adelyn at the Christmas parade in Ft. Worth

I have the sweetest bro- & sister-in-law in the world! And such cute neice and nephew too!!

The Fab Four watching Polar Express in 3-D.....so adorable!

Pure joy!

And the cutest baby IN THE WORLD! Man, I love this kid!

As beautiful as she can be....getting ready for bed in our new Christmas pjs :)

Football and friends

Last week was Caleb's last week of his first football season. I say "first", because he is absolutely in love with the sport and wishes he could play football every day, so I'm sure we will be signing up for football again next year. It really was so fun watching him play on a little team. Even though having games twice a week made our family's evening schedule crazy, it was a fun thing to do as a family. And his team was actually pretty dang good...in my unbiased opinion. :) He was also awarded a trophy at his last game (everyone was...but that didn't make it any less special). The boy already has three trophies, which is more than I've gotten in my whole life!

Here is my little star...


Also, I have a favor to ask of you. One of my dearest friends from high school, Kristen, has a beautiful baby girl, Jordan, who is just a couple of months older than Adelyn. This past week, Kristen and her family found out that Jordan has stage 4 neuroblastoma. Jordan is scheduled for surgery tomorrow to remove her tumor and then will begin chemotherapy. Please join me in praying for strength, comfort, and healing for this sweet family. They live in New Jersey, so I feel like there is not a lot I can do to help. But prayer is so powerful, and I want to just absolutely cover them in it during this difficult time. Thank you.

My Pretty Little Princess

A short three years ago....




My sweet Ellie turned 3 years old last weekend! It's crazy how time flies! But it's so different with her than it was with Caleb. When Caleb turned three, I remember thinking that I couldn't believe my baby was already so old. But with Ellie, I feel like she should be turning 12 or 13 ! She is already so sassy, and seems too grown-up. But she is also as sweet, and funny, and beautiful as she can be. She is such a blessing in our lives.

She is obsessed with everything princess and fairy right now, so it was no surprise when she requested a "Princess party." We decided to do a dress-up fashion show, and let all the girls dress up like princesses. My sweet sisters magically transformed Addie's nursery into a fairy tale dressing room. It was so much fun! Dawson and I made a princess castle cake....which definitely looked homeade, but Ellie loved it and that's all that mattered. Overall it was a big success, mainly because of the time we got to spend with our awesome friends and family.

Pictures from the big day....


My beautiful little princess....my precious gift.

Precious Ballerina

Ellie started her very first dance class this week! Ballet and tap lessons are my sweet parents' gift to her for her birthday. Such a super, fun gift!! And it's as much of a gift to me as it is to her because it has been so fun dressing her up and doing this with her! She was the cutest, most adorable thing I have ever seen! She looked so precious in her little pink dance attire, and she did such a great job at her first class! Apparently most of the girls in her class have been doing dance for a year or so already, but Ellie just jumped right in and tried to follow them. She did a great job listening to her teacher, and she tried to make some new friends too.

Sometimes I feel like she is definitely gypted (sp?) as the middle child. Caleb is so expressive, and Adelyn is so little, that they both demand my attention way more than she does. Hopefully that will change as the seasons of their lives change. But lately, I've been trying to be so intentional about giving her my undivided attention as much as I can. And in those times, while we're in the car, or at the lunch table, Ellie will usually say, "Mom, let's talk." like she's 18 years old or something. Then I'll say, o.k. Ellie, let's talk. Then every time, she proceeds to ask me, "What's your favorite color?" So, we talk about our favorite colors. Then she might say, "What did you do today?" even though we've been together all day. :) I just love it! I love having these little conversations with her, and I hope we will always have these little talks together. She is such a gift from God!

Pictures of my little "baddawina" as Ellie says :)

Living in Crazy Town

This blog is sometimes wildly unsatisfying, because I wish it was more like having a conversation with each of you...my fellow blogging friends. Sometimes I like the personal journaling feeling of blogging, but then sometimes I wish there was more dialogue. For instance, these days I feel like I'm barely hanging on to my sanity...and I want to know, am I the only resident in Crazy Town?!? :) I feel like I'm constantly behind on housework (the dishes now have a life of their own and I did SIX loads of laundry on Saturday....doesn't sound abnormal until I tell you that ALL SIX LOADS came from MY laundry basket!!! I seriously washed clothes that I wore last winter and have been in the bottom of my basket since then!!! I finally had to wash all of them because I could no longer close my closet door!!) Anyway, there's just been times lately when I feel like a terrible housekeeper, a mean mommy, an inattentive and uncaring wife, an on-again/off-again friend, and a whiney, ungrateful, flaky daughter of God.....I either need some serious time down on my knees, and/or some psychiatric drugs. I HATE when I allow my blessings to feel like burdens, and when I let stress and anxiety steal the joy and peace that God tries to give me.

Anyway....as much as I wish blogging was really group therapy, it's not. I do want to share some pictures from Halloween...Adelyn's first pumpkin day! It was a lot of fun!

The traditional carving of the pumpkin....Adelyn looks curious?!



The cutest "soldier pilot", "princess fairy" and daisy flower you'll ever see!!