Wise Words

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Our lives' are meant to be lived in community with one another and God. I am so thankful for all the relationships that God has blessed me with that make me feel loved, supported, cared for, and encouraged. I also love to be that person for people in my life. I was once again reminded of this today when my wonderful friends and coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower. I will be posting about that tomorrow, but just wanted to encourage you all with this verse tonight. 

A Trip to the Candy Store

I am at the point where I have to go to my OBGYN every week now. This is exciting because it means the end is so close, but also super annoying because my doctor is always running behind. I see him fairly early in the morning, so how he gets off track, I have no idea. His nurse put him on blast this morning though and told me that his first appointment was at 8:30 and he didn't show up to work until 9:15. Must be nice. Our whole family was is tow for my appointment this morning and anyone with small children knows that waiting 5 minutes, let alone an hour, in any setting is challenging. The kids were extremely well behaved and Moses had a lot of questions about how the baby was going to come out, which took a lot of creativity and redirecting in the answers. Since the kids' morning was absorbed by the appointment we decided to reward them for their behavior.

There is a really cute local candy store that makes everything in house, so I took the kids. It was so fun to watch them press their faces up to the cases and run back and forth excitedly trying to decided what to get. They both landed on chocolate covered, sprinkle marshmallows on a stick.

After we made it home, I put the kid's down for a nap and nesting mode kicked in. I started digging through all the boxes of Emery's baby clothes and separating them into piles to be washed. I organized them by sizes and decided what could be used for the different seasons. (Emery was born in summer and Amariah will be here is fall, which is significantly colder here) After that I made a list of things that I need want. Today it really hit me how drastically our lives are about to change. I am really excited for Amariah, but am also want to make the most of out of our last couple weeks being a family of four. 

Moses and Emery were both late, so I am wondering when Amariah will be here. If you have kids, were they early or late? 

Books, Babies & a Prayer Request

A Collection of Current Thoughts:

*I have been reading a book called Recapture by Becky White and it is amazing. It has literally transformed my thinking regarding the hard situations in our lives. I strongly reccommend this book to anyone that is going through a divorce, can't have a child, has experienced the death of a loved one, has miscarriaged, has been abused, has poor health, or is experiencing any type of harship really. Becky is incredibly gifted at intertwining her story, the book of Ruth, and the rest of the Bible to challenge your thinking regarding what she calls the famines of your life. (Which she defines as anything we were created to need but do not have). I have the awesome privelege of working along side Becky and she is as amazing & inspirational as her book.



Her book can be purchased here.

 

*The other day Jarrell and I made a trip to the Fashion District in Los Angeles for work. It is always a blast to go down there and I will be back soon to do some personal shopping! Seriously, you can get the best deals in the world. A couple highlights of the trip were:

 

 #1- As most of you know, we finally decided on a name for Baby Peak #3

 

#2- We stopped at an outlet mall on the way back because Jarrell insited he needed new shoes. (Side Note: He didn't end up with new shoes but did end up with new skateboard wheels and bearings. I think I was switch and baited) While he was looking at shoes, I went into a store that sells baby clothes that I had never seen before called Janie and Jack. They have the most adorable clothes, but I would not recommend shopping there because the average price item (for baby clothes) is in the $40-$50 range. However, I was able to pick up this adorable shirt for $5.99. My favorite color is turquoise and I fell in love with the pattern.

 

 



 

*Moses doesn't like the name we chose for Baby Peak #3, Amariah. He said we needed a new name, but we told him it was staying Amariah. He informed me that he was going to call her, "Princess." We will see how long this lasts and how much Emery likes that idea :)

 

*Speaking of Amariah, she should be here in +/- 30 days! It is so close, I can't believe it.

 

*I can't even put into words how incredibly thankful I am for all the wonderful people in my life. This past week there were so many reminders, some big and others small, about how much the people around me care about me and my family.

 

*I am addicted to Sour Brite Crawlers right now. So good and so bad, all at the same time.

 

 

The last thing is more of a prayer request... God is moving in some really awesome ways in our family right now. Jarrell has been added onto a rotation of leading worship at our church, which is his passion, and it has been so amazing. There are some opportunities/passions that God has laid on our hearts that look really promising, so please pray that God just makes them clear for us either way.

 

 

 



 



 

 



Home Is Wherever I am With You

Basically since I started writing my blog I have been trying to come up with a name that I loved for it. I knew that it wouldn't stay My Beautiful Life, but didn't know what it would become. Yesterday we were coming back from Disneyland singing one of Moses' favorite songs, which is called Home. It is originally by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, but was covered by a father and his young daughter. Moses loves the version with the dad and daughter and likes to think that he is the little person singing the song. If you haven't listened to it, you should because it is super cute:

 

Anyway, there is a line in this song that says "Home is Wherever I'm With You" and it resonates so deeply with me. Since I mainly blog about my family and this line makes me think about them, it just made sense to me. So My Beautiful Life is now Home Is Wherever I'm With You permanatley. Thanks to all who read my blog and have encouraged me to continue to share my life and story with you.

PS- As a little present to all of you who do read our blog... We have landed on a name for Baby Peak #3. Her name will be Amariah Eleanor Peak. I have read a couple of meanings for Amariah (depending on how it is translated) which are Gift of God or Promised by God, either way, I LOVE it.



If Grace Is an Ocean...

One of my greatest struggles is trying to control my temper. I get really upset over things that I shouldn't and most of the time, it happens before I even realize it. This is an area I have grown in tremendously since having kids, because I do not want it to affect them, so I am even more conscious of it. When I react out of anger, especially towards them, it breaks my heart and I can't even begin to tell you how sad and ashamed I feel.

For a couple years, we have pretty much avoided eating in a sit down restaurant with the kids, because it seems to be the perfect environment for complete meltdowns. The other night we were out eating dinner as a family which always puts me on edge. The kids were being extremely well behaved, so I was able to relax and enjoy it. Moses became impatient and reached for something across the table and spilled Mimi's drink everywhere. As liquid came rushing down the table and into Jarrell's lap, I remained calm. So calm, I shocked myself. Normally a situation like this would turn me into a raging monster. As Moses apologized over and over again, I kept telling him, it is okay we all make mistakes. We can clean up the mess, but next time you need to be patient and wait for us to help you. I silently prayed and thanked God for the changes that He has made in my life regarding my temper. 

As I was sitting there, all of a sudden something clicked with me. How often do I hastily make decisions and cause messes? How often do I do something in my own strength and make a mess? We are all like Moses. I am so thankful that God is patient with us. That He doesn't lose his temper with us. That He gently encourages us, even in the midst of discipline. In that moment, I became even more aware of how good God's grace is and much more thankful for it. 

The Baby Whisperer

Friends, we have had a breakthrough in our house! I am a little hesitant to write about it, but hopefully it continues to happen. Moses started walking at 10 months old. Right around the same time, he figured out how to climb out of his crib, so when he was still a little guy we had to transition him into a bed so he wouldn't hurt himself. It was so hard to contain him and make him understand that he needed to stay in his bed because he wasn't even a year old! This started the habit of him coming into our room every single night and getting in bed with us. At the time I was pregnant with Emery, so I constantly was tired and let him take naps with me, so we just set him up to want to sleep with us. 

Look at how little Moses was when he started climbing out of his crib!

Fastforward two years later and the kid still comes in our room. Emery never really had this problem until recently, but about three months agos, when we put her in a bed, she decided mommy and daddy's bed was better too! Trying to sleep with two kids in a bed is nearly impossible. Saturday night Jarrell ended up sleeping on the floor in our room because the kids were just taking up too much space. His neck hurt him really bad the next day. He decided enough was enough and we became determined to make the kids stay in their beds all night. This really is a better option for everyone, plus with Baby #3 on the way, we need to make sure the kids are in their room so they don't wake up everytime she wakes up.

The kids are so cuddly, Moses decided to sleep with Mimi

I have very little willpower when it comes to our kids (and I LOVE my sleep). I am thankful for Jarrell in this situation because he was determined to make it happen. Sunday night the babies woke up and came to our room and Jarrell took them back. Monday night the babies work up and came to our room and Jarrell took them back. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were a huge success, the babies stayed in their room the entire night! I think my husband in the baby whisperer. I can't tell you how much more rested I feel without two little lumps (as cute as they are) sleeping in our bed.

A Lazy Rainy Day

Yesterday was a lazy day. If I didn't have a doctor's appointment in the morning, I wouldn't have left the house. It was pouring down rain and I don't know about you, but days like that make me want to sleep. We were able to get a lot of cuddles in with the kids. Moses has been showing an interest in music lately, so Jarrell played guitar with him. It is so cute hearing Moses sing. He kept strumming notes on the guitar and tried to match them with his voice.

 

After the rain let up in the late afternoon, we were able to spend some time outside. Moses practiced his skateboarding. He is getting so fearless, it scares me. He does look super cute in his helmet and all his safety gear though. Mimi mainly wanted to play in the mud puddles. We discovered a pretty little waterfall by our house and she splashed around in there for a while. She was having the time of her life. I love how the smallest things bring kids joy and it reminds me to be thankful for the little things too.

 

Also, I was on Pinerest a lot yesterday looking up crockpot recipes. I feel like the only way that we will have meals for a while after I have Baby #3 is if I use the crockpot. I came up with a couple and one we are trying today... I will let you know how it goes. With that being said, Do you have favorite Crockpot recipes that you use? If so, please email them to me at jdf922@cccb.edu.

 



{Saving} Money, Money, Money

I absolutely love a good deal. When it comes to clothes for my kids, I refuse to pay full price because they can be crazy expensive. At times, I think this annoys Jarrell because I am constantly checking the clearance racks in stores, even if we were there the day before. I have been in Target one day with stuff for 30% off and the next day it is 75%, so you never know. A lot of the time I don 't end up with sizes that we need, but I store the clothes for the right time, and it saves us so much money. I bought a skirt at Target for $2.20 today which inspired me to share some of my recent savings with you. I am focusing on stuff that I have purchased for Baby Peak #3, since I don't really need anything, EVERYTHING I have bought for her has been on sale. (As before, I apologize for the poor picture quality from my phone).

Aden+Anais Security Blankets 

Cherokee Skirt

Genuine Baby Top (this picture doesn't do this justice)

Twinkle Specks PettiRomper and Lace Leggings*

 So let's add up the savings of these items:

Security Blankets: Originally $19.95, paid $7.50

Cherokee Skirt: Originally $8.00, paid $2.20

Genuine Baby Top: Originally $9.00, paid $4.00

PettiRomper: Originally $17.95, FREE

Lace Leggings: Originally $7.95, paid $3.01

Orignal Totals: $62.85, paid $16.71

That is 74% of the total price!

*I would totally recommend this site www.twinklespecks.com for cute dressy clothes for girls. The quality if good and the clothes are adorable. 

If you haven't been much of a bargain shopper, I would seriously recommend trying it. It is one way that I have been able to be a good steward of our families' money.

Fun Day Trip





Los Angeles

Today was such a fun day. Jarrell worked a long weekend, so we took an extra day off this week. A friend of Jarrell's, named Blaire, from North Carolina had recently moved to LA so we went out to visit her. On the way, I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and it was absolutely delicious. It made me feel like fall is just around the corner.

We met Blaire at The Grove and headed to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I have never actually had a good experienec at The Cheesecake Factory, so I was a little weary, but it ended up being wonderful. I had an amazing Chinese Chicken Salad for lunch, which was massive. The kids actually behaved fairly well, minus a pretty entertaining/embarassing moment by Emery. The restaurant had two levels and we were seated at the top next to the edge where the escalator brought people up. Emery thought it would be a good idea to throw the pepper shaker over the side and it dropped 20-30 feet down. Luckily, no one was on the escalator. The pepper shaker rode it's way back up the escalator and rejoined our table thanks to a kind hostess. Needeless to say, we moved Emery after that!

There is an amazing candy store that stared in New York called Dylan's Candy Bar and much to  my delight they opened one at The Grove a couple weeks ago, so we had to stop in. The kids ended up getting suckers that were about as big as their faces. It is always so fun to spoil your kids a little.

The kids with their suckers watching the water fountain.

On the way home the kids were so cute. Emery and Moses kept tapping their suckers together and screaming, "Clink" while giggling. (If you have ever seen Despicable Me you will understand this) After a while, Emery fell asleep but kept waking her up. Moses grabbed her hand and said,"It is okay Emery, I am right here." It was the sweetest thing. He is such a good big brother and I love watching them interact together. Nothing makes me happier than my family and I am so incredibly blessed by them.

Moses comforting Emery

 

Mini Golf Fun

The other day Moses was watching an episode of Curious George in which George went miniature golfing with his friends. Moses was very interested with the concept, so today we took him to the miniature golf course at the camp we work at. It was such a beautiful day and a wonderful way to spend time together as a family. Mimi was not interested at all but she had fun twirling around in her skirt, making gardens in the forest, and cuddling with me on the benches. Overall, I would say it was a success. They were out of score cards so Jarrell and I decided to keep score by hole...I destroyed him. Seriously, 7-1 (we didn't count the wholes we tied on).

The kids in action. The phone on my camera takes the worst pictures, so sorry about the quality. Emery hasn't taken off her tutu since yesterday. She paired it with a Dora shirt today, that totally didn't match, and called herself a Dora Princess. I absolutely love how girly she is, but how tough she is as well. 

A Glimpse of God's Heart

I ran back into the store and found her this
cute play tutu in hopes of making her smile.

One of the smallest events of our day spoke to me in such a deep way that I haven't been able to keep my mind off of it. Before church we had to pick up wipes and the best place to do it in the area was the 99 Cent Store. This particular one has two coin operated rides out front and immediately the kids were begging me to ride them. I was in a hurry, but told them if the behaved really well in the store that they would be able to go. In the checkout line I exchanged a dollar for quarters and Emery's face lit up. She exclaimed, "I am so excited!" Her face was beaming and she kept clapping and squealing with excitement as she approached the horse. I put Moses on a rocket ship first while Emery carefully selected the horse she wanted to ride on. I walked over and put in my last two quarters and the machine didn't work. My heart sank because I knew how excited Emery was. I ran her over to finish out Moses' ride with him, but she was so disappointed.

Trust me, I know not being able to ride a horse at the store is not a big deal, but it started the thought process. This made me begin to think about the future and the disappointments and potential hardships my children could face. I know there are going to be so many things in this life that I will not be able to control or protect my children from and that is hard. My focus automatically shifted from my fears with my children to God's heart.

So often we see injustice in this world and it breaks our hearts. Sometimes it causes us to question God and His goodness. It causes us to become bitter and hopeless. I remember when I did ministry in the inner city with a friend and being completely broken about the circumstances of the people, especially the kids, that lived there. I remember yelling at God the whole way home with tears streaming down my face. I blamed Him for the terrible things in the world. While I did have a righteous anger, it was directed in the wrong place. As a parent, I have come to better understand God's heart for all His children. Trust me, if the disappointment in my child's face breaks my heart, I can't imagine how the huge injustices of our world break God's heart. We are talking about someone who sent His son to die for us, so that He could be in relationship with us. Trust me, he doesn't take sin, whether our own sin or the sin against us, lightly. He doesn't ignore our tears, it says in Psalm 56:8 "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

With that being said friends, God knows your present and past pain. It breaks His heart as much, if not more, than it breaks your own. He is the only person who can fully comprehend and understand. So whatever may be causing you to doubt his goodness, submit it to Him. Nothing is too big for Him.