Closing out April!

I had to. I laugh every. single. year. I really miss 1998.

I can't believe it is April 30th! April was a month full of celebrations and enjoying a very rainy month of Spring!

Last week was Camryn's first day of horseback riding! She was over the moon excited and I was too for her!! She is the perfect child to be around animals.



Last week we also ended our school year with our academic Co-Op. The girls really enjoyed participating in their Presentation Night!

 

 

They worked so hard all year and we are so proud of them.We closed out our school year with an End of the Year party at Camp Southern Ground. The girls had fun playing and the weather turned out to be great!





After the party we came home and made gluten-free Mickey Mouse shaped sugar cookies for Charleigh's birthday the next day.

After the party Saturday, we spent the rest of the day at home working on the project that never ends tree house with Kyle's parents, and getting ready for worship on Sunday.

Finally got up all four walls! So close to being done!

Aunt Sarah and Logan came to visit us on Sunday for church & lunch at Green Ginger since it was Charleigh's actual birthday. Sarah spoiled both me and Charleigh with birthday presents and we loved getting to catch up on hugs! :)

One of the many gifts she received from Aunt Sarah! Her favorites were the dollar tree sunglasses and cup though. So funny!

She loves Aunt Sarah!!

a very pretty birthday girl.

Sunday night was a celebration at church for the kids Lads to Leaders program that they participate in every year. Our good friend Mr. Chris made it super special by having everyone sing happy birthday to Charleigh.  A perfect way to end her birthday!!

Monday was our season one dinner finale event for Becoming. As usual it was a lot of work in a very short amount of time, but so rewarding! I am so grateful for my team and everything that this ministry has brought to our church family. I will write more on that soon. :)

Tuesday Cam had her second day of Riding Lessons that afternoon.

 The little girls and Preston really enjoyed getting to watch her and all of the horses. They even let Callie hop on for a short ride. 







I am feeling really good with our decision of where we chose for her to take lessons. It has worked out really great so far!!

Wednesday was back to school and back to normal, finally!!! After nearly a month of all kinds of breaks here and there for various reasons, it feels so good to know that here on out all through summer we are doing relaxed schooling (reading & math only) mixed in with a whole lot of homemaking! I already got back to organizing, starting with Preston's clothes- he's growing so fast! Now that we are done with our main curriculum and Becoming is on a break until Fall, I am truly looking forward to just focusing on our family and home life with no other to-do's for a while. I've never been more excited to meal plan! The neighborhood pools open up this weekend so I'm also excited to join our friends at the pool each morning while everyone else is still in school ;) #perksofhomeschooling

May is going to be relaxing and exciting! We are officially counting down the days until our family beach trip, Preston's first trip to the beach!! Can't wait to see his little baby toes in the sand. The rest of May will hopefully be spent outside soaking up the last of the nice not-too-hot weather outside before summer hits and the Georgia Heat takes over!

Coming up next on my little blog... more of In Case You Were Wondering, more about Becoming, and as I promised last week, my favorite weeknight dinner recipes and as a little bonus, my favorite desserts I've been whippin' up lately for local activities. Happy (almost) May!!!

To my Charleigh, for your 3rd Birthday.

To my Charleigh...

My sweet Char. Where to even begin.

Tomorrow, April 26th, will be your 3rd Birthday. We have had three whole years being your parents. I have had three whole years of being your mama. Each of your siblings hold a special place in my heart, and birthdays always remind me of where I was in my life when God gave each of you to us.

You were the most beautiful baby ever. I partially named you after our sweet friend Leigha, who was a big part of our life when you were born. Leigha was sick and went to Heaven since your last birthday, and while we miss her dearly, we know she is one of your guardian angels. :)
Since your last birthday, we got to have a sweet visit with your "milk mama" Anne and "milk sister" Millie over the summer last year.

These two will always hold such a special place in our hearts, and I love knowing that you and Millie will be bonded for life over such an amazing God story. You may only be turning three, but you already have more tangible evidence of a loving, heavenly Father, and are such an amazing example of a precious testimony for Christ and His love for the little children.

Your health in the beginning of your life brought a lot of challenges our way and unfortunately, those challenges also brought some heartache along as well, but your birthday is always a reminder of the strength that we have within us from Christ, and what all we have overcome together as a family.

 Since your last birthday, you were diagnosed with an auto-immune disease and while it has been a struggle at times, I know that you feel so much better now that we know how to treat it. You have been so brave while we were trying to figure it all out, and you continue to amaze me in how you handle it all. I am so proud of you sweet girl!! We joke that you are going to grow up and be a vegan that eats bacon. You LOVE bacon, pancakes, biscuits, goat milk & cheese, and "apple sauce" which is what you call juice boxes. You rarely ever argue with me about what you can't eat if it will hurt your tummy. You love dinner time around the table at home, and making us all laugh at your silly ways. You love saying the prayer for us. 

Your favorite prayer that you say the most often is always, " Dear Dog. neh neh neh neh neh. MEN."

You finally have hair!! :) 

Just as a typical daughter of mine, your hair finally is starting to lose the baby-hair look and you have more of a short hair style. It still has a long way to go, but we are excited that we can play with it, braid it, and brush it each day just like your big sisters.

You are, in true third-child fashion, fierce when it comes to what belongs to you and what does not belong to others. You make us laugh daily with the way you cut your eyes at anyone and anything, regardless of how you actually feel about them/it. You are such a tough little cookie, yet you are probably our most emotional child yet. You don't really throw temper-tantrums as much as you get heartbroken over the smallest things and therefore punish us by hysterically sobbing about it for about 30 minutes.

You love to change your mind. A lot.

You love your Daddy so much. So, so much. You love to announce when he's home as soon as you hear the garage door opening. You love to run and play with him, and tell him all about your day.You love climbing all over him and letting him make you cackle over and over. You like telling jokes with him and riding places with him any chance you get. You love to sit in his lap in the big chair and goof off. You also know that you can sometimes get away with more from Daddy, so you like giving him a visit or two every now and then after bedtime. :)

You are eager to be just like- AND polar opposite- of your sister Callie. You love to compete with her, you love to beat her in competition, and you ask for her a dozen times a minute any time she's not with you.

You always to refer to her as "Cow-ey Wedders!!" any time you're bossing her around.

You love for Camryn to protect you, help you when you need it, and also stand up to Callie for you, in case you're losing in the current competition.

 You love for Cam to read to you, braid your hair, and help you get water from the fridge. You love to let her kiss your boo-boo's, you love to hold her hand, and you love to have her sleep right beside you in your bed, between you and Callie, on your Friday Night Sister Sleepovers. :) 

Oh, and during those sleepovers, you love to make her scratch your back until you fall asleep. ;)

You don't mind one bit being the youngest sister. You loved having the baby in the family role for 2.5 years, but you have embraced being a big sister to Preston and very well. You still have a bit of the baby role, as you are the youngest of the big girls, so you haven't struggled being jealous. We are so proud of you!!

You love to climb up on the chair in his room and talk to him in his crib.

 You love to call him Bud Bud and rub his head while you kiss him a thousand times. He looks the most like you, and I have a feeling you two are going to be best friends one day. 

He loves it when you sing the mickey mouse clubhouse theme song to him (the only song you're ever willing to sing period) and he loves it when you say to him " It's okay Bud Bud, it's okay..." if he's crying. You are such a sweet sister!!

You love Mickey Mouse. Since about November, you have said to us about ten times a day, " Hey mama! Guess Shwat? My Birt-day is MICKEY!".

You also love Clifford. And dogs, cats, and animals. You love to say " Oh, SO CUTE" when you see one.

You love our dog, Ollie. My, how you love him. You love being his boss and loving on him, and playing with his tail.

So today you were over the moon excited to have a Mickey mouse birthday party at Truett's Luau. Nana made you a cute " I can't keep calm, it's my birthday!!" t-shirt and you loved it. 

You loved having your friends Jackson, Logan, Isabelle, Brennen, and cousin Titus there to celebrate your big day. 

You loved all your presents, and your favorite present was from mama and your family. It was a boys red Mickey Mouse t-shirt. You insisted on changing shirts right then and there in the restaurant. 

You loved your Mickey & Minnie sugar cookies and you loved playing with your new guitar.

You have grown so much over the last year, Charleigh. The little girl who quietly rode in the middle row of the car by herself, separate from her big sisters, has quickly changed into a big girl who insists on riding in the third row right in the middle of both of them, so you can't miss a beat of conversation.

You love to chat and repeat what we all say. You love to politely say "Mama, pwease turn it up." over and over and over again until I do.

You are so polite and well-mannered for a girl your age, and you rarely get into something that you haven't asked to do first.

You love to ask me, " Mama I need to hold you!!!" if you want me to pick you up. You love to come up and tap me real hard on my arm if I am sitting down somewhere or feeding your brother and you want to ask me something.

You are quiet and we have to check on where you are- a lot. You tend to wander off pretty easily and we have to check often where you are. You love to not answer back when someone is calling for you, leaving mama always wondering if you've escaped the house or not. We usually find you playing quietly somewhere when that happens, knowing we were calling you, but just choosing to ignore it. :)

You have the longest, most beautiful dark eye lashes, and your bright blonde hair makes your eyes pop even more. You are beautiful.

You love to tell us " I love too, mama." when you give the biggest hugs in the world.

You love pointing out colors and shapes, and you love shouting " I DID IT!" every time you go potty.

You are a wonderful blend of both of your big sisters and we LOVE seeing the three of you play together so well every single day.

I am writing this after having said goodbye to the two-years-old Charleigh when I put you to bed. I am really going to miss her. I have loved seeing the wonder in your eyes as you've taken in and experienced the world so quietly up until this point. Your little life has taught me so much in such a short amount of time. I am so thankful for your individual spirit, and it reminds me daily that no two of my children are the same. You made me feel confident as a mother. You helped teach me to always listen to my own intuition, to trust my inner-voice, and the important lesson in the power of prayer. You are my visual as a constant, daily reminder that God is with us and you help drive me to always have a heart of gratitude, and to praise Him in the good times and in the bad times.  I am so thankful that God trusted us to be your parents.  I am thankful that God gave us you when He did. You have been such a joy to raise from a baby until now, and I am so excited at what kind of little girl you are going to become over the next year of your life. We love you, Char!!!

In Case You Were Wondering: Favorite Devotionals

Today I am going to share some of my favorite devotionals that I've done over the last few years.

Doing individual bible studies, group bible studies, or just reading books written by Christian authors, are absolutely my favorite ways to dig deeper in to the Word. Aside from attending weekly worship and bible class, I just love how reading and going deeper into what God has to say about a specific topic really helps me to understand more about how He wants me to live my life. It helps me to be a more purposeful wife, mother, friend, daughter, and servant of the Lord.

The first book is one that truly changed my life when I first read it about four years ago. 

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp will truly change your perspective of how you view your life and how you live it. This book is perfect for anyone at any place in their life. In my opinion,it is not an "easy" read, as in it is not the kind of book I want to read while my kids play at my feet and ask 50 questions an hour. So be sure to carve out some quiet time for you to be able to sit and read and really take in all that she is saying. I loved reading this book about a chapter a night before bed so I could really focus and think about it throughout my day the next day. She also has a ton of resources available all over the internet for encouragement and inspiration. I follow her on Instagram and love her deep views and poetic thoughts.

The next book I highly recommend is Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge.

Let me just go ahead and tell ya. As a woman, this is hands-down the best therapy you could get aside from prayer with God Himself. This book speaks so much Truth and really puts it all out there. These are the same authors who wrote the book Wild at Heart (the same type of book but for men). I have not read it but I've heard it is also a great one for women to read to help understand men better. I am so in love with Captivating though! I always go back to it and read it again and again. It is powerful. 

The next few are some of my favorite Beth Moore studies. Beth has a way of speaking that is exciting, loud, and straight to the point. I really love every study I've done of her's, and any time I am starting a girls bible study or looking for one to do on my own, they are the first place I go to for a good selection of what I know will be a great study! The studies I have done are Daniel, Breaking Free, and Esther. All are wonderful studies! There have been seasons of life where I was able to really dig in and do all of the homework, and then other seasons where I really could just read and watch the videos with my group, but I really feel like I took away a lot either way.

The thing I love most about Beth's studies are that she is so great at breaking scripture down one at a time, giving you a history of what was happening during that specific time period on the Earth, teaching everything in the exact context as it was written, so you can better understand how God intended for it to apply to your life today. Plus she is a spunky little southern woman and I love her.

I'm also a fan of Jonah, Life: Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer. I did a group study of this one with my bible class girls and I'm sure each and every one of them can testify that the timing of that study and what we were all facing during that time in our spiritual lives was unbelievable. God works in mysterious ways! Priscilla is an amazing speaker and writer, and what I love most about her is that she has young children so she has a fresh perspective for a season of life I am currently in. In my head I picture her and Beth Moore being BFF's and grabbing coffee together while writing the world's greatest bible studies in their free time. ;)


For daily bible study, or even just a quick moment of encouragement, I love my Jesus Calling book by Sarah young.

A sweet friend of mine who I've known most of my life (I used to babysit her children when I was younger) was one of our guest speakers for the Becoming, and she brought me a leather copy of this book with my name on it. I love how I think of her every time I open it! I keep it in my night stand. Some days I read it first thing in the morning, some days I read it at the end of the day before bed. It is amazing at how much each devotional applies to what I'm facing that exact day. I highly recommend this book if you are simply interested in adding a little more Jesus to your every day life, but aren't exactly ready to do a full and intense bible study. Either way, it is a great devo for all Christians, young and old!


One of my favorite, most thought-provoking studies I did was Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

I love how I ended each chapter feeling more prepared than ever before to love God passionately and to really have a deeper prayer life with Him. This book opened my eyes to how I pray, aside from praying for others. This book really showed me how to put every single thing in my life aside and to focus on Him. Loved it.


Similar to Captivating, this book really hit home for me, but more specifically for my role as a Mother.

Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. It has been several years since I have read this and I just decided today, after starting this blog post, that I would pick it back up and re-read it. I think it is especially a saving grace during a season of babies and young children in the home. The first time I read it I only had two children, and I did not home school. I cannot wait to grab a cup of coffee, sit down and re-read it to see how it applies to my life now!



Well, that is all I am going to write about today on this subject. I have many more books I look forward to sharing in the future, but that is for a different post. :) What are some of your favorite devotionals or women's bible studies to read? I am in the market for one to do over this summer so I would love some recommendations!