MORE: From Messes to Miracles book review

When I was asked if I would like to read and review MORE: From Messes to Miracles by Tammie Head, I knew by the title alone that I would. First off, who doesn't want to become a miracle from the mess of this earthly life? Secondly, I feel like there have been days that I just wanted more. More of what?  I didn't know. So, I quickly responded, "YES!" And, man, am I glad I did. As soon as the book got here I got my little post-it note flags (which made me feel very official, by the way ;) ) and went to town. After the first chapter I had flagged at least twice a page. You think God was speaking to me through Tammie? Yeah, I do too. 

This book is one that will make you think and just down right yearn to be in God's presence. She tells her story of how she went from a girl working in the sex industry to someone who realized that the "more" she was wanting, was actually God. That He could fill that hole up "more" and then some! In the book she says,

 "I think our need for more stems from the same empty well in all of us-even if our attempts to satisfy our emptiness play out differently in each of our lives. I think this emptiness was created in us by God and for God. I think the "more" we're longing for is God."

Her raw honesty is exactly what I needed. It gave me hope, reminded me of God's never ending love and gave me a renewed sense of urgency to get back in His word. And that I will feel better than I ever have before if I just let Him become that "more"

Who doesn't want authentic Joy and Adventure??? I know I do!!! To order your copy of MORE: From Messes to Miracles you can find it here on Amazon. But, how about a chance to win a copy?? Enter into the rafflecopter below!!!

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Weekend for the record books

This past weekend was one of pretty much perfection. It was perfect ratio of busy/relaxing. The perfect ratio of eating whatever we wanted to/working out. The perfect ratio of kids needing us to love on them/letting us do our own thing. Like I said, one for the record books. 

We kicked it off by going to get donuts Friday morning with BeBe and D-daddy. They had kept Row and Isla the night before, so it was a good chance to get to see them before they had to go back. We went to a local bakery called Clayborns and I happen to believe that they have the best donuts around.  In particular, their cinnamon roll. Connor loves it there and could probably make himself sick if I'd let him. He comes by it honestly! 

It has been rainy around these parts, which means there has been a lot of crafting and inside playing going on. It has made for a lot of extra giggles, actually, and that is something I'll never complain about! 

Saturday morning, Matt was participating in a local half marathon. The boys and I got up early to make the drive there to support him and BeBe. We had such a good time looking for them and cheering for the runners. Having been one of those a couple of times I can assure you that they do appreciate every clap and cheer they hear...whether they know you or not! 

This race is one of the smaller ones, so it was easy to find everyone. We set up first in between mile 6 and 7. As soon as we saw Daddy and BeBe, we headed to the finish line. I was so diligent the night before and google mapped four different places we could go to watch at our first stop....and then forgot to look up how to get to the finish line! Thankfully, it wasn't that difficult and we made it in time. Matt's goal was to run it in 1 hr 50 min. I saw him enter into the track (where you have about maybe .20 left) and I looked at the clock to see it at 1:49ish. I knew that if he was going to make it, he didn't need to slow down at all. I was a nervous wreck and kept thinking, "Don't slow down. Don't slow down. " And he didn't! Finished at a 1:49:39! So proud of him!

Sunday involved a little working out (with the help of some peppermint essential oils!)

and some one on one time with my cute little assistant. We made some GF brownies, which tasted more like cake. Which is fine, because I now have a great and fluffy GF chocolate cake recipe! HA!

The boys played so well together.. to the point that I mentioned it at least 3 times that night and the next day. Makes my heart happy to see them becoming best friends right before my eyes. 

Can you tell someone had a lick of the spatula when we were baking?!?!

Cade's vocabulary has exploded and I pretty much think he has the cutest little voice ever. One of my favorites that he says is "Right There or Over There...only because it's like THU-AIR.
 
 Connor's new thing is to figure out what every single word he comes across starts with. Which is so fun and sometimes equally exhausting. Cade has picked up on it, too!

It's Fall Y'all: Apple picking edition

So, a little 3 month hiatus never hurt anybody, right?! Don't answer that, Mom.  I am going to try my hardest to post some of the big stuff (like their birthday party back in March. Or our FL trip in July??? Geez)! 

Summer flew by and in true Summer fashion, it was awesome. I can't say I was overly thrilled to be saying goodbye to it and hello to Fall, but at only 10 days into October I have fallen back in love with this month. We have had a few more rainy days this week than I ever remember in the past, but if anything that just makes everything look more vibrant on those sunny days. Funny how that works ;) For some reason every single year it is declared Fall, I am immediately decide it's time to go pick apples. There are two things wrong with this picture. 1) Almost all of the apples are gone by then. 2)Even though it is "fall" the temperature is still BLAZING HOT and the boys sweat because I make them wear fall clothes. I am such a mean mom. 

Aren't they cute picking their apples? That is the only one either of them picked because, seriously, they were all gone! 

The second we got there Connor muttered the dreaded 7 word phrase that no mom wants to hear when they are at a public place that has no bathroom. You got it. He said, "Mommy. I need to go to the bathroom." Big fat fail on my end for not making him go before we left. Off we went to the port-a-potty. Not only was it ridiculously hot in there, but flies were swarming and some type of big bug was crawling all around the part where you actually....umm...pee in. I left Cade outside, instructed Connor not to touch  single thing and just held the door open so I could watch him and Cade at the same time. Cade of course had to go too and they both thought it was awesome to pee on the bug. Needless to say, I was sweating buckets afterwards and laughed about it after bathing them in some sanitizer. ;)

The rest of our time there was uneventful, thankfully, and even though it was slim pickins, the boys had a good time. Connor wasn't ready to leave despite the sweat rolling down his nose. Bless him. 

On the way out, I made Cade stop so I could get some pictures of him. He is looking so big to me these days and it's hard to believe that he is our baby. Just as I suspected, he is losing it even more so since he has started talking. 

The child is so full of expressions and personality. You never have to wonder what he thinks about something. It is written all over his face. The snarl above is the one he uses when asking a question. "Where's bubba?", he asked. And that is the face he attaches with it. Love him. 

Excited to see what else this fall will hold for us. I am soaking in all of my lasts with my big boy before he starts kindergarten. It will be here before I know it! 

Cade's potty party!

As of June 9th, we have been diaper free in this house!!!! (Well aside from pull ups at night) I guess the first time Cade told me he had a dirty diaper was when he was 18 months old. Shortly thereafter, I would put him on the potty every time I could tell he needed to go. About a month before the potty party, he was regularly telling me when he had to "poop". But, I could never catch him when he needed to pee. Until one weekend we had a sleepover with Ella. And after seeing her and Connor wake up and go to the bathroom, he wanted to do it too! And he continued to ask all weekend. So, on a whim, I just decided to have the full blown party on Monday.

I did the whole shebang, just like I did with Connor. I talked to Connor about it beforehand, because I wanted him to understand what was going on. He immediately asked if he could have a potty party. I told him no, of course. So he said, "Well, what about a coloring in the lines party? Because I'm not so good at that yet!" HA! That child is a mess.

I chose for Cade to teach Buzz how to go to the potty. He wasn't too thrilled with having to take time away from playing to make this happen, but once he started realizing that he got Buzz' treats, he was all about it. Even to the point of taking Buzz potty himself :). After he woke up, it was go time for him. He peed every single time I put him on (I also gave Connor treats when he peed and I'm pretty sure he used the bathroom more that day than he does in 2 days combined!) and had a great time celebrating. The first full afternoon went great!

It's that second day that always gets you, though. You are over it, they are over it. Connor wasn't. He was primed and ready to get some more candy! We had quite a few little accidents that morning and by that afternoon I was ready to throw in the towel. It wasn't the last time I thought that, either. He was still having accidents and didn't even seem to care that he had them. They weren't big ones, like I remembered Connor's being, either. Which kept leading me back to his bladder not being mature enough. And then, two days later, something just clicked. He started telling me when he needed to go and even holding it longer. He still sometimes catches himself about to go and will run to the bathroom, but I remember Connor doing that, too. I've heard it's a boy thing.. just not wanting to stop what they are doing. Either way, the fact that he does that at all tells me he was ready. I was nervous because it was quite a bit younger than Connor was, but I followed my gut and his signs!

Because why wouldn't using the potty require shades?!

He still sleeps in a pull up at night and will go back and forth on if he wakes up dry or not.  He just started going down for naps without one, though, and is doing great! I'm so so proud of our big, but still our baby, boy!

4th of July!

I started off pulling up pinterest and looking up blogging ideas, because, folks that is what it appears my blogging has come to.  Then I just decided I'd start on the most recent event, July 4th weekend. I'm not saying I won't have to go back to those lists, because I might. But for now, this is where I'll start. My hope is to one day get to the point where I just ramble about our day every day. More like a journal. Because like Trace Adkins says, "you're gonna miss this."

I love long weekends. I know most people do. But, I love them because that means that daddy is home. And I've kind of come to the terms that daddy is pretty much "ALL THAT" right now. I've had my time in the "ALL THAT" spotlight, but Daddy is pretty much stealing the show right now. More on that in a bit! 

Friday started off with Matt heading to a local men's shelter and grilling some burgers for them while the boys and I stayed at home and got the house cleaned up. We don't make pancakes a whole lot around here, so I try to make them every holiday and make them theme related.

Connor thinks it's the best thing in the world. Cade is just always frustrated I make him wait to eat until I take a picture :).

showing me the damage from the cake pop he had at lunch. He might be the messiest eater EVER.

As soon as Daddy got home, we packed everything up and headed to the pool. It was surprisingly not crowded, so the boys had a great time.

It was honestly a little too chilly to fully swim as their lips were turning blue if they were in too long. We took advantage of the breaks and warmed up each time.

After a few hours there, we headed back home to let the boys rest before we headed out to watch fireworks. 

Cade wanted to sit in Connor's lap almost the entire time. Never would sit with me! Connor ate.it.up!

They loved the fireworks show! 

Saturday was spent relaxing at one of our friends parent's pool. It's a shame Connor has it so tough ;)

Sunday we were at our church for the first time in what felt like weeks! Connor was excited to be back, which makes my heart happy.

Connor looked at this picture and said, "Oh, man.  I need this one for my room." And I melted!

Matt and I got some much needed yard work done while the boys napped.. Is it weird that I love doing stuff like that with him?  I just love doing life with him, really. And what's more real life than pulling weeds?! As soon as the boys woke up, he got in their pool with them while I laid in the hammock and read a book. GLOR-I-OUS. 

And this is where the "ALL THAT" status comes in. He is just so much fun with them. Whether it be playing ninja turtles or going down this tiny slide with them, he just makes it fun. And when I really start to think about it, that is what I loved about him from day 1. He made the mundane things fun for me and now I am seeing him do the same for our kids. I can honestly say that when I married him I wasn't dreaming of what he would be like as a daddy. I obviously wasn't worried about him not being a good one, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead just yet. If I had only known then just how much more I would fall in love with him while watching him with our boys...well... I don't know if I could have even handled it! 

We had a wonderful 3 day weekend and I am already looking forward to the next one!

Cade is TWO!!!

I cannot believe that I don't have a baby anymore.  In fact, I might go as far as to say I am in a weeeeee bit of denial about it. The fact that I haven't even lowered his crib all the way kind of proves it. Oh, and the fact that I still call him baby Cade ;). Oh, well. He can be 55 and he will still be my baby, right?!

There are so many things that I could say about this sweet boy. The first thing to come to mind is that he is just FUNNY. He makes me laugh all day. Half of the time I don't even know where he came from. He is just that funny to me. Whether it be the expressions he makes or his actions, he's just a mess! I say a lot that I feel like I have two 4 year olds instead of a 2 year old and 4 year old, because he doesn't realize he is the little brother. He is brave, which once again, goes back to thinking he is older.  If Connor's doing it, you better believe he will be doing it. For Christmas the boys got a new swing set that has a rock wall to climb up to get to the swing. He had it figured out and was climbing it after watching Connor twice. I love seeing that adventurous side and would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing him play sports! 

He gives the best kisses, but you better get them quick because he never slows down. Brother is on.the.move if he is awake. We nicknamed him the destroyer at a young age and that name pretty much still sticks! Which goes right along with how aggressive he is! The face he makes when he is "wrestling" proves he is out for blood! 

 He is easily Connor's biggest fan. First thing he says when he wakes up is "Bubba" and don't even think about letting Connor go somewhere without him. He will cry and scream the whole time. One day he will appreciate that one on one time with us! 

The boy loves food. Especially meat. He is our meat man, for sure! The only thing I have found he isn't a huge fan of is sandwiches. I can't say I blame him! While his language is still a little behind, he is starting to get more words every day. I just love hearing that sweet voice more and more. I, of course, talked to his doctor about it and we have a date of July 4th to see if he has progressed any. If not, we will move to the next step of having an evaluation done. If this past week is any indication, I think we'll be fine, but it's nice to have a doctor that is so supportive! 

Goodness does he love movies. All things Disney, really. Frozen is probably his favorite movie and you can constantly hear him asking for "et it do (let it go)" or "mo mummer (in summer)" pretty often.  In fact, he requests us to sing them every night. Pretty sure Daddy wasn't expecting that one, but he does it! 

He is showing so much more interest in the potty at this age than Connor did. I really think if I did the whole potty party shebang like I did with Connor, he would have it. And, honestly, I'm not sure what's holding me back since one of his favorite words is "poop" (and the day Connor found out he could say that will go down as one of my favorite memories. I have never heard such loud, deep from the gut, laughter out of him! It was a fall on the floor, tears coming out of his eyes moment. All because of the word poop. I'm in for it!!) His doctor said not to let his lack of vocabulary hold me back, so we'll see! 

Overall he is an absolute joy. He might keep us on our toes, but at least we are laughing while doing it. I know this next year is going to be huge in terms of how much he grows and changes, so I am trying my hardest to soak up this last little bit of baby that he has left! 

We love you so, so much our sweet baby Cade!!!!


Here is a quick list of some cute things I want to remember at 2!

Things I want to remember: 

-Is the sweetest when you lay him down for a nap. You put him in his bed with all his animals surrounding him (the lineup changes, but the constants are his two lovies and the stuffed bear he got for his 1st birthday from Aunt April and Uncle Josh), give him a kiss and he says "Bye Bye, Mommy (or Ah-Dee) and Nigh-Nigh. It's rare when we rock him to sleep anymore, but getting to see that sweet little smile is just as...well, sweet!

-he does not share his food. Like ever. If he even thinks you are going to get something off his plate he starts yelling at you and may even start crying. It cracks us up!

-knows all of his colors. And everything green is bubba's and everything pink and purple is Ella's.

-can point out a few letters.

-loves jumping. He started really working on getting both feet off the floor the week before his birthday and got it down a few days ago. It's so cute!

-loves choo-choo trains and will scream "CHOO CHOO" super excitedly when we go over the tracks. We are planning on taking the train into Nashville this summer with them and I cannot wait to see his reaction!

-we figured out a few months ago that he knew everyone's first names (obviously I am talking about us and his grandparents..people that he typically doesn't hear their first name). He understands and takes everything in!

-loves to wrestle. If you are sitting down on the floor, he is going to tackle you. If you are standing up he is going to come at your knees.

-with that said, he is surprisingly gentle with babies and pretty much points them out everywhere we go and will just lovingly pat them if given the chance. I think it's because he knows he is bigger! HA! Now, he has tried to give Isla (our 5 month old niece) a high five once or twice, but we will work on that ;)

Connor is 4!

Connor, 

You turned 4 last month. How that is even possible, I don't know. I can still remember that moment that you were laid upon my chest for the first time. The first time I got to physically touch you and kiss you. My heart swells just thinking about it! And now, here we are four years later. You have taught me so much about life and have made me a better person. I have no doubt you are going to do that for other people around you for the rest of your life. We love you, baby boy!

Here are some things you are doing at 4!

*weighed in at 36 lbs and was 39.5 inches tall. You did NOT like putting on the gown because you didn't have pants on! You are much, much better at the doctor now and will even talk and joke with him. You got your shots for kindergarten and did great. I was afraid you would lose it when I told you what was about to happen, but you asked if it would hurt and was ok with that. You didn't even cry once she stuck the needle in, only when the vaccine went in. You stopped crying after a minute or so and was over it. I was SO proud of you.

*have the most tender heart for people, but especially your mommy! I'd say you are still a pretty big momma's boy, but that definitely doesn't mean you aren't a huge fan of your daddy! If I am giving Cade a hard time for not giving me a hug or kiss you will stop whatever you are doing and give me one. In fact, I'm not sure you have ever denied me that privilege, unlike your little brother! I would say that every other day or so you will beg me to just cuddle with you. Momma's boy, I tell ya!

*love to learn. You ask to play "school" frequently and have gotten really good at writing your letters.  Your new thing is asking what letter certain words start with. You can sound some of them out by yourself, but for the most part still need my help with that. When we were filling out the form at the doctors office you were eating it up that I was testing you.

*becoming more and more brave. You are slowly letting go of the need to be in control and are more willing to test the waters. Speaking of water, though, that is one place you prefer to have all the control. Your first swim lesson you pretty much tried to take the reigns and tell the instructor what you were going to do next. It is your defense mechanism, for sure!

*you sleep with every single stuffed animal you own and a few other odd things. And I swear you go through them each night to make sure they are all there. There have been many nights that you have been in your room for 30+ minutes, but you will come out saying you are missing something. Pretty sure it takes you that long to figure it out!

*are all boy. Love every superhero and can turn anything into fighting. Anything into a sword. Thankfully, we haven't gotten into the guns, but I can only imagine that is next.

*keep everyone around you in line. You are constantly telling daddy that he needs to pick up his stuff and correcting me if I say something wrong ;)! You asked me the other day if you could do something and I said, "I guess".  You said, "Mommy, you know that I guess really means yes?" HA! It is a very rare day when we get ANYTHING by you!!!

*really just love life and we can make the littlest things an adventure with you. Your sweet, shy smile is contagious!

Last year we had a little interview with Connor (find it here) and did the same this year!