Boy's will be boy's!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17

It has been over a month since my last blog. I would love to post a new blog everyday, and I would if I could!
However, I hardly have the time because I have a sweet, 10 month old, typical boy, who at 9 months learned to walk. Since then, my days have been consumed with keeping him out of trouble and harms way!
Not to mention, he is now no longer interested in walking, but running to his momentary place of interest...
He is no longer satisfied with sitting in front of Mommy and playing "pat-a-cake", moving a toy truck back and forth, or looking at the pictures in his animals book.

Instead, he likes to tear things up....and make huge messes....and plunder through the fridge...and put everything in his mouth while looking directly at us and running away as we say no, no and chase behind him.
To say i'm exhausted after chasing behind him on a daily basis is putting it mildly, but I wouldn't change it for the world! 

Besides, how could anyone get mad at a face like this?!

Ahhh..Boy's will be boy's right?
Of course. Even though my baby boy gets into way more now that he is fast approaching the toddler stage, he is still my sweet, joyful, silly, baby Jude.

He loves for Ellie Kate and me to chase behind him while his little blue blanket is clenched tightly in his fists. Then, he will stop, turn around and play a game of "peek-a-boo" with it before we catch him. This game goes on until we are all worn out!

He also loves to be Mommy's little helper, to be held by me, and to cuddle up on my chest.

One of my favorite things about being this sweet, joyful, rambunctious, little boy's Mommy is: When I am holding him while multi-tasking around the house or putting him to sleep,  I will sometimes look down and find him staring at me with the sweetest smile, and a look that says he loves and adores his Mommy.
I'm so thankful God chose me to be Jude's AND Ellie Kate's Mommy. They truly are a perfect gift!

A childhood worth remembering

For some reason, I have been thinking about my childhood alot lately. I'm sure that raising two kids has made me think about it more, but that's not the only reason.
I really enjoy replaying the great memories I have of growing up in such a close-knit family and growing up in the company of such caring people in this small town of Yemassee.
I have found myself not only replaying those great memories; but also sharing those memories.
There is something about sharing the stories and memories of my childhood that warms me inside and out. I know it's because of the love and stability that was provided for me growing up- the sense of security each parent, grand-parent, aunt, uncle and cousin filled me with.
I grew up knowing several members of both sides of my family. I can honestly say ALL of them were and are wonderful, kind, caring people. Each of them always placed emphasis on the importance of their faith in the Lord and their relationship with Him. They placed value on living their lives with strong morals and self-respect, and the importance of a close family.
I can go on and on about the events in my childhood that stand out to me in a good way. Most of the things that stand out to me are things that were small but meant so much.
Things like:
Visiting my Meme and Pa and walking to Vincent's drug store with Meme to get freshly squeezed orange juice, listening to the stories she would tell about her Aunt Do and showing me the things in her home that Aunt Do left her when she passed away. My favorite childhood memory with Meme is baking christmas cookies(which we still do). Every year for as long as I remember we have used Aunt Do's recipe's for homemade christmas cookies and they are delicious!
My Meme taught me everything I know about baking and serving my family.

And visiting my Dad's( my momma's daddy) family in North Carolina. I was always so excited to go visit them. Our first stop was always his sister Naomi's house. She always made us feel so welcome.(and cooked the best biscuits!!) My favorite thing to do while we were there was go searching for rocks at my Aunt Rebecca's house. I was a serious rock and arrowhead collector when I was little, and the town she lived in had lots of gems and arrowheads to be dug up. She always took time to help me along my quests to find a new rock, gem or arrowhead. Dad's family taught me everything I know about genuine love for one another and encouragement.

And of course, most of my childhood memories are right here in Yemassee. Living in Yemassee and having most of my Momma's family here, I learned that I had more than just my Momma's mothering eyes watching over me and keeping me "in line". My Cousin Mallory and her family lived next door to us on one side and my Aunt Patsy lived next door to us on the other side. My cousin Travis and his family lived next to her. Needless to say, nothing I did went unseen or un-noticed, but more than that, I knew I was surrounded by family who loved me and were there if I needed ANYTHING.
Most of all I had the friendship of my cousins who were my age, all on one street. We played for hours and hours, daily!
While I mostly grew up hanging out with my cousins, the only other friends I had here were my cousin Travis' friends who were of course, boys. I learned real quick to either get tough or get lost. I got tough real quick!

So many things from my childhood made me the person I am today but the one person who truly influenced who I am is My Momma.
There are so many teachable moments in the life of a child. I was reminded today that the influence of a mother is one of the greatest influences in the world.
Today, Ellie Kate said to me, " You know Mom, someday God is going to give me children to stay home with and take care of, and I will be a Mom just like you."
I said to her," Yes Ellie Kate someday you will be a Mommy-just like me. Do you want to be the kind of Mommy I am to you?" Ok, I know that was a loaded question to ask Ellie Kate,(for those of you who know her,You know she is brutally honest) She said, "Yeah Mom, I want to be just like you."
I almost burst into tears knowing that even though I have made countless mistakes as a mother, and will probably make a million more, she still wanted to be like me.
Mothers make mistakes but I feel like it's how we handle our mistakes and the people we surround our children with that determines the outcome.
I know my Momma made mistakes along the way in raising me, but I always knew and I still know that her intentions are for my good, my well-being and for my safety, and no matter what she will always love me.
She has always been there when I need her and often puts my needs above hers.
When I was little, she always had the opportunity to be involved in things at school and she ALWAYS made sure I was in sunday school and Church.
My Momma was and is a constant teacher and woman of influence in my life. She knows me better than I know myself and she will always be there to guide me and lead me.
My Momma was a stay-at-home mom and she taught me everything I know about being a Mother.
While there are so many more stories I could share about my childhood and the things I learned during those formative years, these are the one's that are on my mind tonight.
What are the things in your childhood that are worth remembering?

We were created for so much more!

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

I was thinking a few nights ago about how easy it is to get wrapped up in ourselves. To get wrapped up in our feelings, our desires, our wants, our needs, etc.... I was so consumed with ME that I was kind of getting sick of ME.
Then I thought, if anything good could come out of this brief period of narcissistic behavior, it would be that focusing so much on me forced me to examine myself and come to the realization that if our lives were as superficial as I was making it, then we have no lasting value- our lives are of no importance in the end.
Thankfully, that is not the case at all. God wants our lives as christians to bring glory to Him and to lead others to an eternity with Him.
We were all created by a living, breathing almighty God. Our lives are held in the hands of a God, who knows us by name and knows the number of hairs on our head.
We were created for so much more than the superficial things that we often times desire.
God created us for His glory. He created us to worship Him; to love, to live, and make his name known in all the earth!
As I was examining some of the things that I allowed myself to be consumed with, this is the passage of scripture I was reminded of-

Psalm 115
 
 ¹ Not to us, LORD, not to us
   but to your name be the glory,
   because of your love and faithfulness.
 ² Why do the nations say,
   “Where is their God?”
³ Our God is in heaven;
   he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold,
   made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
   eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear,
   noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel,
   feet, but cannot walk,
   nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
   and so will all who trust in them.
 ⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the LORD—
   he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the LORD—
   he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the LORD—
   he is their help and shield.
 ¹² The LORD remembers us and will bless us:
   He will bless his people Israel,
   he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the LORD—
   small and great alike.
 ¹⁴ May the LORD cause you to flourish,
   both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.
 ¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
   but the earth he has given to mankind.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
   those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the LORD,
   both now and forevermore.
   Praise the LORD.