Join the Movement!

The Lord is so cool. When He convicts and we're obedient, He blesses in a big way! This year's "Forget the Frock" movement is no exception! 

If you don't know what "Forget the Frock" is please check out this post by the faithful, obedient, and just a bit sassy Emily Fox. She was the voice of one calling in the desert this winter, encouraging all of us to make a difference this Easter and love on JUST ONE orphan. 

This is our 3rd year to Forget the Frock. You can read about the first two years here and here. This year, we're supporting 18000for18000 and Feeding the Orphans. We have been convicted more and more lately about being intentional with every penny we spend. From shopping locally and seasonally for produce to making sure the clothes we purchase make a difference in the lives of just one person.

More than just the "cool thing" to do, looking after orphans and widows in their distress is asked of us in scripture (James 1:27, is one of many that come to mind). But if you ask me, loving the least of these and putting food in the belly of just one sweet baby in an orphanage somewhere is a pretty cool thing to do. 

This year, our family will be celebrating Easter at the happiest place on earth. Yes! DISNEYWORLD! We finally get to "open" our Christmas present from my parents. :) My sister asked if it would be weird to wear our orphan shirts in the home of excess in America, if ever there were one. But I think not. We might get some stares from people because our party of 8 is rocking coordinating shirts (but not near as many stares as we'll get the day we all--yep all 8-- wear MATCHING shirts!), but what a great reminder for us, and for everyone standing behind us in line, and as we bow our heads to pray over every excessive meal on our Disney Dining Plan, that not everyone eats like we do. Not every sweet child will experience the magic of Disney, or even the magic of a momma's snuggle or three solid meals a day. 

I shared this post on Facebook and Emily said she prayed God would do a mighty work during "Occupy Disney". "Oh to see the person's face that gets to be the first to ask about the shirts... I feel a sermon coming with noted excerpts from James and maybe even an alter call." An altar call on Main Street?! Excuse me, Small World, we're gonna need that river to do some baptizin'! ;) The God I serve can most definitely turn Disneyworld into the most orphan-lovin' place on earth!

So, go for it. Buy a new outfit for Easter this year-- but make it an outfit with a purpose! LOVE ONE!

breaking winter boredom

I am going to start by being honest. While I am posting about how fun my toddler is, today is actually more like this:

Ha!

Dane is nearly 19 months and has quickly learned that he has an opinion. And that it can differ from mommy's. Which is awesome. So there have been a lot of "are you kidding me's" and "If you do that ONE MORE TIME!'s" today. 

BUT we really do have a lot of fun around here! :) This week we introduced shaving cream paint to the tub. He thought this was pretty much the greatest thing ever and kept asking for "moh" (more). :)

We've also experimented with homemade paint (water, cornstarch, and food coloring). Better suited for outside on the sidewalk. It was messy and flaked everywhere after it dried. 

This baby also loooves to cook and "wash dishes". Future wife, know that not only do I pray for you already, I'm teaching him a thing or two in the kitchen. You're welcome.

Winter in our neck of the woods is unpredictable. After a few days of rainy/icy, cold weather, we decided we could bring the outdoor fun inside! For the record, I did once say that my living room wouldn't be full of gaudy, plastic ugliness. In my defense, this does not count! This was an outside toy brought inside to break the winter monotony. It is back outside...and my living is so full of wooden kitchen pieces and food and library books that we have no room for plastic junk. ;)

When the weather is nice though, this boy begs to be "ou-si". In true Kentucky fashion, this child is horse lover. Really an animal lover just like momma. :) He will pet any "puuuupppy", "tit tat" (kitty cat) or other furry creature. But he really, really loves "hoh-ses". Like really, really. Tevie's family has a horse and mule farm so on visit's to the Goodens' he gets in plenty of kisses and snuggles with his faves. But in the meantime, the horses in the pasture that sits directly in front of us help him get his fix. 

We were told spring was on it's way! Let's hope so because we're ready to enjoy the pool, sandbox and running barefoot in the grass!

chalk it up

If you've spent any time on Pinterest, you've seen the wonder that is chalk paint. Not CHALKBOARD paint you write on, I am talking about this beautiful, magic medium that can transform just about anything. 

Some of use are lucky enough to have some creative talent. I am not one, BUT I am blessed with a family full of creative, entrepreneurial geniuses. One of those is my aunt Lori, owner of 101 North Vintage. Check. her. out! Amazingly cute stuff! 

Our Thanksgiving break was spent at my parents' home surrounded by 17 family members for a whole week! That week, of course, including a crash course in chalk painting and shopping for the perfect vintage pieces. One of which was a hidden-leaf Duncan Fife dining table that I am STILL mad at myself for not snagging!! :( 

I sat around this dining room table as a little girl. Playing playdoh, eating supper, celebrating birthdays. My parents gifted it to me when I got married in all it's pine glory. 

 My tutorial with Lori was done using a charcoaly/blue paint. We redid some chairs for mom and the blue tone was so perfect for her basement. After seeing it on my table for a few weeks though I just decided it didn't work. So, I took that puppy to the back deck, gave her a gently sanding-- the best part about chalk paint is that is rubs off pretty easily with some sandpaper, making it very easy to distress, or completely start over! Paint, sand, and then finish with finishing wax which is buffed with fine steel wool. How easy is that?

I chose not to completely remove the blue, instead it looks great peeking through the white in places. 

For a detailed tutorial or more information you can check out Inspired, Wired & Fired or 101 North Vintage.

the Lord did it

“So the Lord did it.” Exodus 8:24 NIRV

Just like that. He sent a plague across the land of Egypt. He didn’t have to work hard or be convinced to do it. He just did it. As I sit here absolutely stressing about how He is going to move next, I read that He just did it. He’s not going to give me any fair warning. He’s not going to send a flashing neon sign. When God moves, He moves. It’s fast. It’s usually pretty huge. And it’s always undeniably Him at work. And He doesn’t need my help to do it. 

So, is going back to work full-time my way of helping Him? Is He putting all these current struggles in front of us to make it very clear that I need to be back at work? After all, if I was working we wouldn’t be concerned with how much all of this is going to cost. Or, instead, is He trying to teach me a lesson in reliance, in patience, in His faithfulness? Is He preparing  to shower us with a blessing we can’t imagine—one so big that satan knows we will give only God glory for it, so he is doing everything in his power to make me rely on me, to turn from God and “take care of myself”. Something tells me it’s that one.

I feel sort of like the Israelites. I prayed my sun stand still prayer that God would provide a way for me to be home with Dane. And here I sit a stay-at-home mom. The Israelites begged the Lord to deliver them from Egypt. And he did. He did exactly what they asked. But what they meant was they wanted to be delivered straight to the land flowing with milk and honey. They didn’t want the 40 year detour through the desert. They didn’t want manna and quail, they wanted steak and all the fixin’s.

I feel so amazingly blessed to be home with Dane. The Lord “delivered” me, so to speak, from work. But now that I’m here, with just enough to survive—just enough manna for each day (Ex16:4)—I am complaining. I am unhappy. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom who could afford to be a stay-at-home mom. I want my steak… I’m kinda tired of the manna.

As we pray for more manna, I cry to my husband like the Israelites cried out to God. I tell him I should go back to work. We could make more money do this or that. We put our car and our house up for sale. But there still is just enough for each day. No breadcrumb trail to ensure me that as long as I keep walking there will be more manna. No picture of the heaping pile of manna in the distance. Nope. We just open the door each morning and find exactly enough manna for that day. And do you know what the Bible says about my complaining? When I cry out to my husband it’s not to him, instead Moses told the Israelites, “You aren’t speaking against us. You are speaking against the Lord.” Ouch.

I am grateful my sweet husband works hard for us. He bears a heavy burden as the spiritual leader and breadwinner for our home. It’s a burden I am grateful he bears because it would be too heavy for me. It is not because he doesn’t make enough, it’s because we are over committed to things we cannot do anything about yet. A house that won’t sell. A car that’s worth less than we owe on it. Two words: student loans. This week one car needed the transmission fixed, we thought the battery had died in the other, the dishwasher died, and I fell through the ceiling while walking in the attic. Our manna for today is that 1) the battery only needed to be charged and 2) fixing the transmission isn’t going to cost what we thought.  

While Tevie was home for lunch I went to work out. Thanks to Jesus Culture radio on Pandora, I had a full-on worship jam session on the treadmill and was trying to keep from weeping and raising my hands in praise in fear the college students on either side of me might think I was some fat, old lady about to pass out. J When the Lord wants to get my attention He strategically plants “Revelation Song” somewhere for me to hear. I am then reminded that He is Holy. He is my breath and Living Water and all I need. And, even if for a moment, satan’s voice is silenced, I stepped onto less shaky ground and regain confidence that He is all I will ever need.

In the Big Picture, this earthly life is so very, very short. In this illustration, Francis Chan talks about just how short this life is compared to eternity. It seems kind of silly to spend so much time worrying about such a short period of time.

Through all the conviction I have felt recently while reading Exodus (I’m doing the Canonical reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app—try it!), there has been one phrase that brings comfort instead:

“The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.” Exodus 14:14 NIRV

To my 18month old

Perry Dane,

How on earth are you already 18 months old? Everyone we know is having babies and it doesn't seem like it was all that long ago we were sitting in that hospital bed counting all of your fingers and toes and relishing every inch of you.

You are a most independent child. You have learned to voice your opinion (loudly!) when it is different from momma and daddy's. You love watching Despicable Me, Rio and you also like Cars and Monsters, Inc. But "pickapick" (Despicable) and "eeeoooo" (Rio) are your favorites. :) You know so many different signs, too! You can tell us when you want momma or daddy, when you want to eat, drink milk, or go see the horses. :) Sometimes we think you make up your own signs because you know that moving your hands in a certain way will get you things! You can say:
ma-ma
da-da
papa
anna (Granna)
Dess (Jess)
B (Brynn)
I-an (Ryan)
Chess (Chase)
Ettie (Elphie)
horse
nack (snack)
do! (go!)
and you're really good at telling Ettie "nah,nah,nah!" which means "no, no no!" because she's usually trying to take your food!

We love you so very much sweet boy. You grow and change everyday. And every single day we grow more prouder of you. We aren't allowed to begin eating until we pray-- by your command. You will put your fork down and fold your hands together-- and it melts our hearts every time. I continue to pray that you love the Lord and His people and you hide His word in your heart.

We wouldn't mind a bit if you stopped growing! Love you sweet boy!

Welcome to the future.

I have finally joined this century as a proud iPhone owner. The best part about it?? Taking 15million photos of my sweet boy and family. Here are a few from our big week with family for Thanksgiving. 17 people under one roof provided numerous photo opps.

runner

Not once in my life has anyone accused me of being athletic. Even when I played volleyball in high school, I think everyone was just nice to me and let me play. If I hadn't played with one of the most brutal coaches high school volleyball has ever seen, I might have never learned I could run a little, or that when done routinely you can actually start to see a noticeable difference in your body. 

Have you seen this? It cracks me up because it is so ME! I look at pre-baby pictures and think, "What the heck was I complaining about?!" While having a baby and then nursing that baby for a year gives you a whole new appreciation for how amazing your body really is, I would feel more amazing if I could wear some of the pants I did prior to having that baby. :)

I blamed nursing for a while. I was NOT one of those who lost all their baby weight and then some. In fact, my body seemed to lock down on weight. Even when watching calories, my milk supply would dip but the scale would not! I treasured nursing my boy so I decided to eat as healthfully as I could and worry about the weight later. 

I heard a quote the other day that said something along the lines of, "If you run, you are a runner." So, I am embracing that and doing something "athletic" for once. :) I've started a new routine of getting up before Dane and spending time with The Lord, and making time to go for a run a couple days a week. While the scale hasn't budged yet, I feel so much better about myself. Spending time in the word helps me focus throughout the day and running clears my lungs (because I'm breathing really, really hard!) and my head. There's no room for satan to berate me and tell me my body isn't good enough when I've spent time in scripture and can fight back with Psalms that say that I am "fearfully and wonderfully made". 

The best part of running for me is listening to praise and worship music. My neighbors may think I'm nuts running with my hands raised, but sometimes the Spirit moves even while I'm running, so with tears streaming and legs moving, Jesus and I have a moment right there on the pavement. There's something about the imagery of Casting Crowns "Set me Free" that gets me every time-- and the rockin' beat motivates me to run a pretty quick mile (for me!). 

I think im only telling the internet about my running routine so that it's public knowldge and someone will hold me accountable! :) So, here's to hoping this new routine pays off and I'm back in the skinny jeans before long! 

giving up

So, here we are. We made it to the last day of this month of 7. The challenge this month was to give away 7 things a day for 30 days. 210 things. Tevie and I felt that we should each give away 210 things-- 420 total items. I lost count somewhere in the 150's for myself and counted over 100 things for him. I don't doubt we reached or exceeded our 420 goal. 

I knew this month was going to be tough when conviction set in before the month even began. It was easy to glean that first layer of crap off the top. We all have junk drawers full of stuff. Clothes in our closet that are too big, too small or out of style. Making that first run through is refreshing and liberating. Drawers clothes easily. Closets don't scare you any more. Then you realized you're only at 105 things and you better get serious because it's the 15th of the month. 

The hardest part for me was getting rid of stuff I knew I didn't need anymore, but wanted to keep just to say I had it. How ridiculous is that? I will probably never wear that too-small raincoat but it is soo beautiful, it makes the closet prettier... Wow. I need help. In the book, Jen Hatmaker mentions not getting rid of stuff just to make room for more stuff. To be honest, I kind of started out with that mindset. I would put a dress in the giveaway bag and think, "Now I have room for another one!" 

And then reality set in-- this Stay-at-home mom budget doesn't allow for replacing all the stuff I am giving away... and that's when satan tried to defeat the work the Lord was doing in my heart. I wanted to keep things just to have them and because I knew I couldn't afford to buy them again. Gone are the days when I can run into Brooks Brothers and pick up a few new buttondown shirts. But, gone too, are the days when I need things like that. I don't need to wear an $80 shirt while I am playing playdoh or digging in the mud. My days are filled with yoga pants and Target t-shirts-- and they are so much more comfortable, and my days more fulfilling, than the days when I ran around in too-tall high heels and starched shirts. 

It's rewarding to see the boxes and boxes and bags and bags and bags of clothes going away to someone who really needs them. Some stuff I'm sending to my sister or gave to my sister-in-law or friends. And it is sooooo freeing not being weighed down with stuff. Our closets are clean and organized and I am blessing Goodwill with an abundance of plastic clothes hangers.

I had to hurry up and right this today during naptime because tomorrow begins Media Month. 30 days without 7 media items. For us it is the following:

1. TV
2. iPad and apps
3. internet
4. facebook
5. Netflix
6. radio
7. texting (can be used only when you can't make a phone call)

I'm dreading the radio most because I spend ALL NOVEMBER listening to Christmas music. :( I am really looking forward to the peace and quiet. I thought about "signing off" of facebook and letting people know what we were doing. But I want to see if people even notice. I think that will prove something too. While we think we can't live without facebook, most people are so caught up in themselves they won't notice you're "missing". And just so the grandparents know, no iPad/apps does not apply to Dane's ability to facetime or for you receiving pictures of him. :)

Again, I challenge you to get your hands on this book. The Lord is using it rock our world!

milk memories

Making the decision to have a child is one of the biggest ones you'll ever make. It's stressful. It's exciting. It's exhausting (The italics does not stress enough just how tired you will be). It's months of waiting to get pregnant. It's months of agonizing over everything that could possibly go wrong with the pregnancy. It's praying over their safety and asking for mercy when you screw up as a parent. It's making decisions and saying "I'll nevers" and then eating a lot of words. :)

There are things I thought I would sail through. Take delivery... mine ended in c-section. Ok, then. Hmmm, that's not how that was supposed to go!

Take nursing. It's natural. Everyone can do it! You'll take right to it! 

Fast forward to a fragile postpartum momma rocking her baby while her momma holds her hand and tells her she's gonna make it! "You can do this!" "Your milk will come in!" "I know it hurts but just count to 10!"

Nursing sucked at the beginning. Ha. I guess that pun was intended. It was so. very. hard. And the hospital didn't help any sending me home with that little can of crack formula. When my baby is crying because he's hungry and I just nursed him 45 minutes ago, that little devil can whispered my name from the pantry. Thankfully my husband told me I was a "trooper" and that I could "do this" and we would cry through another night of non-stop nursing. 

And then. I had made it two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!! 

And then one morning I woke up and it had been a month. ONE WHOLE MONTH!!!

And by the time Dane was four months old we were on total cruise control. It was the easiest thing ever! I could nurse in a restaurant. In the pew at church. I even managed to nurse him while he remained buckled in his carseat driving down the road. Desperate times call for desperate measures! 

And then my baby turned one. One year old? I nursed a baby for a whole year. I NURSED A BABY FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!! The girl who wanted to quit when her 4 day old baby was screaming in hunger because her milk had yet to come in had nursed her baby for 365 consecutive days. I can't explain to you how victorious I felt! 

I love nursing. Love it. There is something so very special about snuggling your newborn baby and realizing that you are sustaining him. The milk you make is giving him life. To look at those droopy cheeks and rolly thighs and understand that your milk put that weight on those sweet little bones. And the specialness that is a nursing baby wanting his momma so he can nurse. I ate it up. This is not meant at all to discount the special relationship a momma who formula feeds has with her baby. Even if you only nursed a day, you know the "wow factor" of seeing that baby latch on and relax as he melted against you, feeling perfectly content and safe. 

Dane will fall asleep for anyone but me. ANYONE. Daddy puts him to bed every night. It's become their special time together. Tevie loves getting to snuggle up with him and I love getting to relax and unwind--or finish the dinner dishes (usually)-- while they settle in for the night. If he's with momma though, he wants his milk. So much so that if he had fallen asleep in the carseat or something, Tevie would have to move him to his bed because I got close enough for him to even smell milk, he would wake up and beg to nurse. Sometimes he would be so tired he would barely latch on before falling asleep. I treasured that when he was tiny but as he grew and grew, I began to worry that I wasn't doing him any favors. I tried timing our sessions and stopping at 10 minutes and rocking him. He didn't stand for that and would be fighting mad when I put him in crib to sleep. After going to facebook to ask friends what I should do and getting a resounding "ENJOY IT!", I decided that's what we'd do. His pediatrician said that she would pleased if he nursed until his 2nd birthday and as long as he was weaned before kindergarten she had no concerns. Love that lady! :) So, enjoy it I did. 

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here. We spent one Saturday playing on Tevie's parents' farm. Dane didn't get a morning nap and while we road around the farm he fell sound asleep in his Gran's arms. That night Tevie put him to bed. 

One whole day without nursing. 

The next day, Sunday, we went to late service at church. Dane must have played hard in children's church because he fell asleep in the car on the way home. Again, Daddy put him to sleep that night. 

Two whole days without nursing.

Monday he drank some whole milk from his cup and I rocked him to sleep at naptime. He fell the next day ( a pretty bad one that left a nasty bruise on his cheek) and in an effort to soothe him I tried to get him to nurse. He latched on for about ten seconds-- long enough stop crying-- and that was all he wanted. 

Just like that, we were done nursing. Have you ever had that moment when you realized you really should have been careful what you wished for? I did want my boy to just let me rock him to sleep. I did not want us to stop nursing. And it happened, really without us even trying. Life got busy, and my baby began growing up on me.

I knew there was a possibility it could happen like that. But my baby LOVED nursing so much, I was relieved when our doctor referenced kindergarten-- I thought it might take that long! To be honest, I wanted it to last longer than 14 months. Eighteen months was my goal (after we reached the year mark). I can't help but feeling like a little bit of a failure because we didn't quite make the mark. I know, I know, that 14 months is really good- great even. I will now admit that I was one of the few who was not weirded out by the lady nursing her toddler on the cover of Time Magazine a couple months ago. When you're nursing a baby, and plan on extended nursing, I could easily see how one day you look at the calendar and three years have past. At least in our situation, at the end Dane was only nursing 2-3 times a day. And it wasn't a weird thing. It's a very special connection, an amazing thing, really, that God gives us. He creates life in us and then allows us to carry it and, then, to sustain it for months (or years). Plus, there are numerous benefits to nursing for momma and toddler. 

So, to the momma who's struggling with a newborn marathon feeder, or the momma of a toddler who feels a little like a worn out old cow-- HANG IN THERE! I think Trace Adkins said it best when he sang, "You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast." You will really will miss it because when it's gone, it's gone. Maybe when you least expect it. Soak it up. Memorize the look of his sweet grin when he smiles at you mid-latch and milk dribbles down his cheek. Treasure the smell of his sweet post-bath skin, soaked in lotion and snuggled up against yours as he settles in to sleep. Nibble those chubby little fingers as they pinch and scratch your chest. :) (HA! Isn't that the worst?!). "It won't be like this for long." (Thank you, Darius Rucker, for making me weep like a baby every.single.time that song comes on-- even if it's the middle of the bread aisle at the grocery!)

Thanks for the milk memories, Baby Dane. Here's to a new stage and watching you grow into a big boy. 
Love, 
Momma

Uncle Bruce

As young college students you make a lot of friends in those four formative years on campus. Some are for a season, and some friendships you know are going to last a lifetime. Bruce is that kind of friend. The kind that's worth driving all the way to Birmingham to watch him receive his white coat for pharmacy school. The kind who comes up for the weekend just to take care of your dogs. 

A few weeks ago, Uncle Bruce came to visit. He's developed a soft spot for our little guy. Dane is has been kind of weary of people lately, but he took right to Uncle Bruce and made him sit for an hour and read every book and play every iPad game he has. ;)

Poor Elphie, Uncle Bruce used to be her man. Looks like she's going to have share. :)