Stevie and Rachel

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is one of my favorite holidays and the main reason is not the romance of it all. My husband sent me beautiful flowers today and I loved them but he shows me he loves me more than just today. I really am reminded of all my friends and family that I am blessed to have in my life because I love them too! Josh and I have two very dear friends that are about to embark on an exciting time in their lives. However, it means they are leaving Memphis to do it. I have been so sad to think about them going! After they left our house the other night I just cried and cried. I told myself...Laura! Get a grip, you have lots of family and many other friends still in your life, why are you so bothered by their leaving? We have known them basically forever so there is familiarty in them being around. But there is one moment in our friendship that I will cherish for the rest of my life. As most have heard the story many times, Joshua was born with a birthmark on his forehead which meant he may have a neurological disorder. Needless to say, we were heartbroken at the thought and with my new motherly hormones I was a basket case. We asked everyone to pray that the CT scan would have good results and he would be a healthy baby. Of course everyone told us they would and I believe they did but this sweet couple did more than just nod their head and go to their homes to pray. That stood in Joshua's nursery and said, "Of course, let's do that right now." They held our hands AND they prayed for our precious baby boy. The next night, their fathers came over and prayed over Joshua. Love me and I am grateful...Love my babies like that and I am in your corner for life! I saw Jesus in them that night and I will never be the same because of it.

I pray I will be a blessing like that to someone one day. I pray people will see Jesus in me...just as I saw Him in my friends. I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for them. Who has been a blessing to you? Who has shown you Jesus? Have you thanked God for them lately?

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Where's my Focus?

I have to be honest and say...it's been one of those days! You know, the kind where nothing seems to go right. It started with me oversleeping...definitely not living the Proverbs 31 "gets up while it's still dark and provides food" verse today. Shortly after, here comes my three year old, "mommy when you get off work, will you paint my room red?" Seriously! Then came the total meltdown, because of course I'm not painting his room. "Wahhhhh!! But red is my fravrite...not yucky blue. Wahhh!!"
I get to work & realize I have lost something rather important! Search the office...nothing. Search the car...nothing. Back home to search the house...nothing. I use my lunch break to search my husband's car...nothing! Just great, now I have to admit to several people that yes, over the past 3 and half years something (or some things) has caused most of my brain to be sucked out and now I tend to lose things, which never happened to me in the past.
Ok...I'm getting over it, I'm moving on and then a conversation is brought up about soccer. Oh yea, I have promised Joshua he can play this year. Hmm...wonder when I need to sign him up. Oh...15 DAYS AGO! Nice...now I get worst mommy of the year award.
Then I'm reminded of Matthew West Song "My Own Little World"

Start breaking my heart for what breaks yours
Give me open hands and open doors
Put your light in my eyes and let me see
That my own little world is not about me

Ouch. I made this entire day about ME. I worried about how others would perceive ME, if MY kids would like ME, and how to get control of MY day back. Forgive me God. Each day should be about YOU. May I be a light for you & put my selfish ways behind me!

Who Would Have Thought?

We were recently blessed with the opportunity to go to Disney World on vacation. For Josh and I, knowing the trip would include a 15 hour drive, the dreaded double stroller, diaper bags, nap time, mad dashes to a public "potty" & then a 15 hour drive to get back home, knew this may not be the place where dreams come true for us. But I was determined to seize the moment and make these memories with the boys. The trip went surprisingly well! No major catastrophes or even meltdowns and there were several moments that I will cherish...Joshua's pure excitement to meet the characters (especially Lightening & Mater), Eli's first hair cut at the Barber Shop in Magic Kingdom, Joshua's laugh when he rode Goofy's Wild Ride roller coaster, & the way Eli kept smacking Daisey Duck when she was trying to sign their autograph book. However, none of them compare to that one priceless moment that makes the whole trip worth it and just when I least expected it...Boom! there it was. One night, we had decided to stay and watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. I figured we may not last through the whole thing because Joshua scares easily at loud noises and after all, it was just fireworks. We had surely experienced more exciting things that day. Those fireworks started shooting off one after the other and my very active three year old froze in his place. He was in awe. It literally took his breath away to watch them. "Mommy, Mickey is doing this for us!" And then...the moment...the four words that made the trip ALL worth it...right in the middle of that beautiful fireworks show..."I LOVE YOU MOMMY". That was it, my heart melted, my mom got teary eyed (we still tease her about it) and for the rest of the show we all watched that precious boy instead of any fireworks.

It made me think...when is the last time I have stopped and been in awe of God's glory? How must He feel when I rush about by day and never pause to say "I love you?" Wow! The blessings He has given us is overflowing. The next time you have a moment that takes your breath away, stop and praise God for it. He does these awesome wonders for us, is it not the least we can do for Him?

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

where morning dawns, where evening fades,

you call forth sounds of joy.

Psalm 65:8

Some Times You Just Have to Get Knocked Down

It has been so long since I blogged, I'm not sure where to start! Basically, I got sick and fell out of the habit. The fall of 2010 proved to be a challenging time in my life. As most of you know, I ended up in the hospital three times due to pancreatitis /my gallbladder. It has only been within the last month that I started feeling like myself again. Although I wouldn't say it's the best time of my life, I learned several things these past few months:


1. I have never been more in love with my husband than when I was laying in the hospital crying out in pain, throwing up, & recovering from surgery. Sound romantic enough for you? But he was right beside me the whole time...drove me to the emergency room, held my hand (and throw up bucket), & never left my side. Now, I'm sure he can think of other times that were more enjoyable in our marriage but I would not trade that for anything. God showed me the wonderful man I am blessed with having as my husband. I take him for granted way too much. I am THANKFUL to have Josh as my soul mate.


2. I could not help but think about those that are really sick. So many people around us are suffering with terminal illness; or even worse, their children. I hated not being home with the boys. I missed Joshua being a ring bearer in a wedding & I had to allow others to take care of my children. After I came home, I was still not able to pick them up or let them climb all over me for several weeks. Joshua would ask "Is your tummy better yet, mommy?". I was able to see the huge blessings God has given me. Although I had a few bumps in the road, I was getting better and I had two healthy little boys to be THANKFUL to make many memories with in the future.


3. I am a definite control freak! It totally unnerves me to let others "do" for me. Well, there is nothing like having a suprise week long stay in the hospital (on more than one occasion) to allow others to help out. Our parents kept the boys so Josh could stay with me, family & friends brought us dinner, came up to the hospital, & prayed for my health to get better. I was overwhelmed with the love and support we received. Once again, I saw more blessings from God. I am THANKFUL for the people He has placed in our life who we can always count on to be there for us. But I am also THANKFUL for the people that do not even know us that well but just wanted to show us God's love. Nothing was expected of them, yet they were there for us anyway.


So maybe to sum it up...I really just learned one thing: God has blessed me beyond measure & I am grateful for this wonderful life He has given me. Too bad it took all that to remind me of it. :)

Oh the Joys of Motherhood

Wow! It's been a while since I've posted. Time is going by too fast!

This past weekend I was looking forward to my friend's baby shower. This is her first and it's always fun and exciting to celebrate how much her life is about to change. Well...I made it to the last turn (30 minutes away from my house) when my husband sent me a text...would it be bad if you had to leave. I immediately knew something was wrong with one of our kids. As I'm turning the car around to head home, I call my husband to find out that our 9 month old, Eli, would not stop throwing up. He was acting very strange, wouldn't suck on his pacifier and kept coughing. He was breathing fine so he wasn't choking on anything. I call our doctor's office and meet my husband there. As we are waiting with the room full of sick kids at the weekend clinic, Eli started crying again. He threw his head back and I caught a glimpse of something shiny covering the roof of his mouth. Now, do I immediately lay him back and start examining his mouth? Of course NOT! I don't want all these mothers to see that I brought my child to the doctor because he found some garbage to chew on. So I glance around, make sure no one is looking, and pull out a piece of hard plastic from his mouth. Of course from that point on Eli seemed perfectly fine. We go see the doctor and when he ask what's wrong, I simply reply "I'm not going to lie. I just pulled plastic from his mouth and now he is fine. But I've paid my $25 so I thought I would see a doctor while we were here."

Now this is and example of when we as moms, can either cry and get upset with the situation or just laugh at one of our many "oh the joys of motherhood" moments. I tried to focus on the positive: he wasn't really sick and he could have really choked on the plastic, I saved on all the calories I would have consumed at the baby shower, and I came home to a freshly picked up and vacuumed house by my husband.

It's in these moments I repeat to myself: This is the day the Lord has made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24