Month of Thankfulness: Day 6

Today I am thankful for the flexibility of being able to stay home with my girls (and future little one). While obviously there are times where it would be nice to have a two income family, I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade the ability to be the one to raise our children, to teach them, to influence them, to spend special time bonding with them for a little extra financial freedom. To me, the time I am spending with these little beings that have been entrusted to my care cannot be replaced with money. It is worth so much more than anything money can buy. (Besides, this is a season. When they are older, we can become a 2 income family that will allow us to help them through college, and be able to bless them by spoiling our future grandchildren.)
The time that I am with them now is laying the foundation of who they will be when they grow up. What kind of adults will they be? What kind of parents will they be? Will they love God and strive to follow His word? Will they make a difference in their world? These are things that matter in the long run - not what brand clothes or shoes they wear now, or whether or not they had the best toys, or grew up in the largest, fanciest house, or even rode in a brand new car. These things are merely material possessions that just don't matter in the long run. What does matter are the values I am able to instill in them when we have our moments together; the lessons I am able to teach them as we explore the world together; the chance for them to see these lessons being modeled out for them by their parents; the relationship that is created allowing them to feel safe, secure, and able to trust their parents. It is my hope and prayer that all of this effort now will help them as they grow and make wise choices.
As I stated earlier, this is a season. My babies will only be little for a little while. This season will leave us all too quickly. I want to be able to soak up all the time I possibly can with these precious souls. To make my mark on their lives. And to do my best to be a good steward of the responsibility God has placed before me. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has created me to be a mom and a homemaker. And while I am no where perfect at this job and I know I have SO much to learn still, I know that I am exactly where I need to be. This is exactly the job God has called me to be. And if He has called me, He will equip me. I have already seen how He has provided for us as a one income family - even when times seem tight. I know He will continue to bless and provide for us as we try to model our family after the design He created just for us. And for this, I am very thankful!

Please note: I completely understand that this is not ideal for every family. I fully respect moms and dads who work hard to support their families - whatever that looks like for their individual family.
There is no one-size-fits-all for families. This post was simply me expressing what I feel God has planned for my specific family and how I see this played out in our own personal situation.

Month of Thankfulness: Day 5

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for this little one growing inside of me. As I sit here and type this, I am feeling the precious movements that reassure me of a healthy babe. Having a child grow inside of me and then bringing it into this world is hands down the most amazing experience I will ever have. 

There is simply something so breathtaking knowing that God has specifically chosen David and I to be parents to a little being that He has fashioned and designed to be the perfect fit with our family. Even now as my little one has been growing for only 20 weeks, God is busy shaping the uniqueness of our special one to come. 

I am thankful to have another opportunity to have God create something out of myself and my husband, and the love we share for each other. To bond with someone so precious even before I lay eyes on him or her. To experience love at first sight.

I am excited to add to our family, to watch our girls be big sisters to this little one, and to feel all of our hearts grow just a little bit more as we embrace another member to our precious family.

Can't wait to meet you little one :) I love you already!

Month of Thanksgiving: Day 4

Today I am thankful for my little ball of 3 year old energy and spunk ... Miss Kathryn Elena. She is such a Mama's girl. This little girl can get me to smile and laugh with the flash of her cute little face, but can get my blood boiling with her stubborn defiance. At the end of the day, she is a very smart, independent, three year old. Her personality shines so bright. I love how she looks up to her sister and wants to do everything she does; but in the same breath, she demonstrates just how different her desires and sense of style are from her sister's.
I have been blessed with the opportunity to raise sisters who are close in age. It is so fun to see each of them blossom as an individual. This journey is probably one of the most challenging ones I have ever encountered. I yearn to raise them to be daughters of Christ, who are able to make the right choices even when society is screaming for them to follow a different path. I have been blessed in more ways than I can count as I am traveling along this journey - even if I have many moments I want to scream (and in the heart of this 3rd year of Kathryn's life, she has made me want to scream more times than I am proud of).
But my heart is so full when she is overwhelmed with excitement or pride that her reaction is to squeeze my neck tight and kiss me. Her love language is, without a doubt, touch. She loves to cuddle with me, touch me, hug me, kiss me, run her fingers through my hair, or just sit close to me. Her go to phrase (mostly when she doesn't want to sleep in her own bed) is "I need you." As much as I want her to sleep in her own bed, I know that as a small three year old, that phrase is so true. She truly needs me. And as her mom, I am honored to satisfy her needs. To just hold her and love on her. To simply cherish these moments before I blink and find a young woman standing before me. I love this fiery little girl with all my heart.
When I was pregnant with her, it was hard to imagine loving another child as much as I loved Carissa. But now, I couldn't imagine life without her. I thank God for her and for what she adds to our family.
I love you, Kathryn!

Month of Thankfulness: Day 3

Today I am thankful for my firstborn ... Miss Carissa Hope. A little over 5 years ago she made me a mommy - a title I hold with the greatest honor. I cannot even begin to explain the overwhelming joy that comes with knowing I have been entrusted with such a precious being, someone to raise, to teach, to take care of, to love.

My heart melts every time she runs and hugs me, or kisses my face all over. I absolutely love when she asks me to snuggle with her - knowing it won't be long before those snuggles become fewer and fewer. 

Watching her grow into a big girl who is thoughtful towards others, whose heart is bigger than she is, and who finds joy in being a silly girl is one of my greatest privileges. 

Helping her learn how to think thru the choices she makes to grow into a girl after God's own heart is one of my greatest responsibilities.

As much as I want to keep her a little girl in my arms forever, I do look forward to watching her grow. My heart is so full!

I love you, Carissa! <3

Month of Thankfulness: Day 2

Today I am thankful for my amazing husband! I can look around and easily see many divorces or relationships that are struggling, but then I look at our marriage and I KNOW that I am blessed! Over 13 years ago I met this boy when we were still young, silly teenagers. Only God could have ordained something so beautiful to begin when we were so young and to carry us to where we are now. 

I look at how much we have both grown up and changed over these last 13 years - and sometimes I laugh to think he stuck with me when I was so immature. But boy am I glad he did. 

I love that we have a relationship that is securely founded on God, and that thru Him we have been able to learn the lessons we need to continue growing together. 

Over the last 13 years we have learned how to communicate (not just talk to or at each other). We have learned a lot about the balance it takes to run a household and raise children. We have helped each other grow as individuals, as a couple, and as parents. We have encouraged each other to be the best we can be, and supported one another's goals and desires. We have walked ups and downs together ... not just the easy times. And all these lessons and more we are committed to continuous learning as we fulfill our vows to one another.

I thank God for this man! I simply cannot imagine my life without him in it, and I wouldn't want to.

I am very thankful for these last 13 years and I am ever so thankful for the years to come as we spend the rest of our lives together! 

I love you, David!

Month of Thankfulness: Day 1

I am first and foremost thankful for my God who was and is and is to come. He has great plans for me and my life; and as I reflect on my life thus far, I have no doubt whatsoever that He has used all for the purpose of good to bring me to where I am now. I know that if He has guided me this far, then the greatness He has for me in the future is beyond what I can fathom. I cannot imagine life without having my God who loves me enough to care about the intimate details of my life! How incredible!

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20 NLT)

Dora Lapbook

Over the last 3+ years, God has been tenderly kindling a growing desire in me to homeschool my children. So often I think about what all that means, and I can quickly become overwhelmed or feel inadequate. However, the older the girls become, the  stronger this desire becomes; which ultimately leads to more motivation to "get my act together." I will totally have to learn as I go, but I figure now is a good time to start laying some foundations and getting us all used to learning together. As I am embarking this mission, I have found I am not alone. Thankfully, there are so many moms who have gotten off the ground successfully and have decided to share the wisdom and resources with moms like me who are just getting started!

  

I have decided to start with making lapbooks/packs.

Here is my first one!

All of my printables came from 1+1+1=1 Tot School

 I printed everything out, let the girls help me color some things, laminated it all, cut all of that out, and then put it all together on a file folder.

There is a Color Matching envelope. It has little squares inside. Each with a picture of Dora printed completely in one color. The English word of the color printed below the Dora. There is a matching one that has the Spanish word of the color printed below.

 

There is also a pocket that is for ABCs.
There are squares with 2-3 letters each.

One set has capital letters,
and one set has lower case letters

so they can match the capitals with the lower case letters.

We have a color book ... Each page has Dora colored a specific color, with a sentence below that says "Dora is ___" (the blank is filled with the word of a color that has been printed in that same color). The back page of the book is hot glued to the folder. All the pages have been hole punched and tied together with ribbon.

 

This accordion book has pictures of Dora and Boots doing things, and below the actions there is a sentence that says what they are doing.

The girls really enjoyed playing with the pieces as I was putting it together! I am anxious to see how they like using this one ... and I can't wait to make more! :)