Life is good!

This week may have not been the best one ever, but it was pretty great! We had a family date night aka mama don't want to cook night to Mexican. Well, it's safe to say that ALL my Mexican eating while pregnant resulted in postive association with the place. Beau had a blast!

Our next big event was heading to Monroe to see Emily and Caroline. We had a mishap on the way there... Resulting in Bubba loosing his tooth and REALLY looking like a bubba in spirit and in truth. So, we turned back around and he headed north to the best dentist there is! 

Beau and I continued our travels on Saturday to visit family and head to the Mardi Gras parade. Beau had a wild night with his Nana and Papa and got drunk on milk and passed out at 7:30. Party animal! 

Getting a picture of these two is hopeless but we never get to see each other so we take what we can get. 

Aunt Emily loving on B! 

Caroline mesmerized waiting for floats.

Fun night!! 

Sunday, we celebrated William's Baptism. It was such a sweet and special time. I am a terrible aunt and failed to take pictures of the precious boy, but he was looking his best. Of course, I teared up in the service. I love our buddy. We ate lunch after and Reba made the best meal ever. I could eat my weight in her yummy cheesy potatoes.  Sunday night, we hung out with Nana Sue and watched some of the Olympics. I missed my calling in life. I should have been an ice dancer. I know that my inner twizzle is spectacular!

We also got our new table!! Bubba's parents got us a table and 6 chairs for Christmas and I AM IN LOVE!!!!

Monday, we played with family some more. Reba, Nana Sue, the girls, and I all got pedicures and it was HEAVEN. My toes are so thankful. Leighton was the most adorable thing ever getting hers done. It was her first experience, and it is safe to say that she is hooked. That's my girl.

In other news, we think our boy B is starting to cut his first tooth. Awesome. What a sweet birthday gift to his mama...But we still love our slightly crabby baby! Hope this week is as good as the last!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Beau says, "Will you be my Valentine?"

Beau gave this Valentine to his teachers at school,  Ms. Camellia and Ms. Arianna.

Beau enjoyed his photo shoot this morning.

It is a GOOD thing I took these pictures on account of the little stinker spit up EVERYWHERE the second I dropped him off at school. Needless to say he is no longer in festive holiday wear. We will try again next year. 

Won't you be Beau's Valentine?

Beau is 5 months old!

I cannot believe my little baby is 5 months old! This is the last month that he will be closer to the day he was born than to one year old! That is crazy to me. He is getting HUGE. So, I figured I should record some stats here so one day I can fill his baby book. If I take after my mother, his baby book will be my project when I am retired and have grandchildren of my own! 

Beau looks like such a big boy these days, and he is SUPER long. I tried to measure the other day, but got all confused. We weighed him at my parents house, and he was almost 17 pounds. I realize now that these are TERRIBLE stats and will help me in no way with the baby book. Ha.

This is a video of him playing the way he does everyday.  He LOVES his playmat and loves whacking things with his Sophie. I always want to remember him at this stage. Fun, but immobile. I feel it is the sweet spot in babyhood.

Happy 5 months little boy! Cannot believe your 1/2 birthday is next month!!

Hello February!

I cannot believe that it is already February! This month will sure be filled with fun. Family birthdays, Mardi Gras, and lots of just "regular" days, but hey, those are fun too!  We already have had some fun this month! We started with a trip to Monroe to visit my daddy for his birthday. Monroe always involves fun and seriously delicious food.

Happy Birthday Papa!! Beau's look says wow, you are OLD. :)

Just a little taste of heaven on earth.

National Signing Day! LSU got a great recruiting class, but Beau is gearing up for NSD 2032.

Beau had a little cold this week, which led to ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTION. Seriously, these were 30 seconds apart. Can we say unstable!

All better today playing with Nana!

Hopefully this weekend brings a lot of rest and some WARM weather! It has been so cold this week! I live in the South for many reasons, but one is an expectation of warm, pleasant weather. 

Get it together Mother Nature!

Because everyone at times needs a listening ear.

Meet Whitney Caves, LPC.

Whitney is a counselor at Crossroads Counseling Center where she comes along side individuals whatever their circumstances may be to provide wise counsel and encouragement through biblical truths. (Her words from the website.) Whitney sees clients at the Ridgeland campus as well as the Clinton campus.

Now, my words. Whitney and I have been friends for almost ten years. For two of those ten, we were suitemates in college. For four of those ten, we lived in a two car garage together. To say that personally know Whitney is an understatement. Whitney is my friend that I always know I can count on to give me advice rooted in truth.  Her spiritual gift is discernment, and over the past ten years I have seen her passion for people to continue to grow.  She loves God and loves people.  Whitney's mission in life is to help people understand the Joy and Freedom that can be ours in this life.

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." Proverbs 19:20-21

So, what does that have to do with you. Maybe nothing. But too often, we go through life overwhelmed, confused, searching, or troubled. And guess what, there are people like Whitney who God has placed on this Earth to help us work through this things. In this day and age, there is such a stigma that goes along with going through counseling. Everyone assumes you must be in WAY over your head. Depressed. Unhappy. Weird. But those are lies that Satan tells you and me to make us go through life alone. Sometimes all we need is an impartial party with the same worldview that we have to help us over our ditch, valley, hill, or mountain.  Everyone is fighting some battle in life, but sometimes we just need help. Sometimes even in the most joyous times, like wedding planning can I get an AMEN, you need someone who will listen, help you form boundaries, and help you live in peace.

"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11:14

If you or someone you know could benefit from wise counsel or guidance, please contact Whitney for an appointment.  You will never regret it. I have the benefit of receiving her counseling sessions over dinner, but I can promise you without them I would need to find my Whitney and fast. Life is too hard and a lot of times it just doesn't have to be.

Letters to Beau #4

Dear Beau,

This month has been a month where your Mama has learned a lot. It seems like everywhere I turn the same theme keeps coming up. Some people say that things like that are a coincidence, but I believe almost always its the Lord trying to tell you/show you/grow you in some way. You see, we are dense people, so sometimes it takes BIG LETTERS for anything to seek into our heads and hearts.

At church, we have been going through a sermon series that is talking about shifting our focus from how the world views things, to how Christ views things. It sounds simply enough, but that is contrary to everything that is inside of us. And everything that is around us. Not only is it contrary to what comes natural, but its scary. It involves taking your faith to a level that rests solely on our Savior. Without being in control yourself. Trusting that in fact He is who He says he is. And that He will do what He says He will. And that.is.hard.

But, I have a secret that took me about 28 years to learn.  We were never in control to begin with anyways. This past Sunday, our pastor asked what seemed like a simple question. "Who is Christ to you?" My quick response was duh. He is the Son of God sent to earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Now, where is my Sunday School sticker? But then, I slowed down. (Not my strength). And really thought. What I said is true and I 100% believe that Christ is the Savior of our world, but he is also SO much more.

Before I go any further, I want to tell you that who Christ is to me is not who he will be to you. You will have to come into your own relationship with Him. You cannot inherit that from me or your Daddy. But, the legacy of who He is to me is one of the most important things I can give to you. Just like your Nana and Poppa and Nana and Ghee gave to your daddy and me. Also, you can't design your own Jesus like you do when we go get frozen yogurt. (I sure do hope that is still a "thing" for forever because I would be happy if that trend stays.) Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever." But, at the same time different attributes of Christ may be what you focus on the most in a certain season of your life.

So, who is Christ to me? Christ is Grace. When I was in high school and even college, I think that I thought that the Grace of Christ was started and completed on the Cross. And that not getting what I deserved from my sins was all that Grace had to offer. But, in the words of your Aunt Whitney, I was missing my blessing. His Grace is so much more. It's in the everyday. From the ability to rise above what you want to see the needs of others. His Grace gives us strength to meet our every need. Every day is more than we can handle on our own, but through his Grace he meets our every need. From our physical needs to our spiritual needs his Grace covers all of those needs. And for someone like me who prides herself on being pulled together, it is a great sense of comfort that I am never asked to do anything for one moment on my own. And neither are you.

His Grace takes us to places we would never go on our own. It carries us through things that we could never bear alone. It grants us greater Joy than we could have ever known without it. It gives us the desires of our hearts we didn't even know we had. It brings us Hope in the darkest times.

Always remember that His grace is sufficient.

I love you baby,

Mama

Snow Day!

Here in the Deep South, we get snow *maybe* once a year. So, as a person who has only seen snow about 15 times, and let's be honest most of those times it was sleet, I still get VERY excited when the white stuff floats down. We didn't get much at our house this time, but it was still enough to just tickle me. 

It turns out Beau shares my excitement for the powdery delight! We went outside for 1 minute to take our obligatory southern kid dressed in mismatched "snow gear" picture. Looking like a happy hobo! 

It was a fun day that we got to spend together in the warm! And who knows we may just have another day tomorrow...

Happy winter! Glad that our snow day was fun and not nearly as serious as other places. I'll take my tablespoon of snow! :)