I Love....

I love that my everyday attire is usually sweat pants and t-shirts, because they have proven to almost be childproof. I also love that said childproof clothing is usually used as a rag to clean up messes as Ava Grace displayed today when she got dirt on her hands and promptly wiped it off on my pants. 


I love that when people come to our home and ask for something to drink they are usually served in sippy cups without the lid because Ava Grace has broken nearly every nice glass we owned and the one good glass left , my husband placed on top of the toaster to belt butter and cracked it. 


I love that almost all of my lip gloss’s don’t have lids because Ava Grace loves to pull them off and lose them. 


I love that occasionally when we crawl into bed we find  children’s socks and toys under our covers around our feet, I love that I slept all night on a passy and didn’t know it until morning. 


I love that almost every picture frame we own is taped on the back because its been broken by curious hands. 


I love that our washer had to be repaired because of all the tiny socks in the drum.


I love that I have to play the same children’s praise song over and over and over during our car rides. 


I love that I can’t take a shower without Ava Grace flinging the curtain back at some point and screaming “its me!”  I also love that I typically slip on bath toys left on the floor of the shower.


I love that my foot always finds that one toy we missed cleaning up as I’m walking through the living room in the dark.


I love that my refrigerator is covered in ABC magnets and scribbled drawings, long gone are the days of cute glass magnets. 


I love that almost every time I’m ready to walk out the door  I hear, “I pooped mommy”


I love that occasionally Ava Grace refuses to eat breakfast, but then sneaks bites of mine until its almost all gone. 


I love that I’ve seen THE GRINCH more times then I can count and I can quote it. (On a side note: Jim Carry is amazing!) 


I love that I can’t even go to the bathroom without an audience. 


 I love that I spent 30 minutes today scrubbing crayon marks and fingerprints of our TV screen and another 15 minutes cleaning food spots off our couch.


I love that I carry a diaper bag instead of a cute purse


I love that  EARLY every morning, while I’m in a deep peaceful sleep, I hear Ava Grace’s door swing open and bang into the wall, because Ava Grace does nothing quietly. 


I love that every time I have a hot cup of coffee ready to drink someone wakes up, needs their diaper changed, is hungry or thirsty or just wants my undivided attention and coffee is not welcome. 


I love that our computer screen displays Ava Grace’s “art show” (as she put it) of crayon scribbles. 


What I REALLY love though are the countless smiles, laughs, thank you’s, hugs and cuddles that help me to love all the hard stuff and that my entire world has been turned upside down by these two cuties and will never be the same again! 

Backseat prayer

What better way to get back on the “writing a blog bandwagon” then to share what my daughter taught me last night. 


Never underestimate two things; 1. The power of our God and 2. A two year olds ability to understand God! 


On our Journey home from “Bible Power Hour”, my husband I were arguing…yes, I just admitted to arguing following church and arguing about something incredibly stupid ,like which car to take to the airport next week! I’m a very transparent person, I find the imperfections in people and myself to be what is most beautiful because it where we see the fingerprints of God at work. As I was saying, we were arguing and our precious 2 ½ year old daughter pipes up from the backseat and says; “Jesus, help mommy and daddy right now, amen.” My husband and I both stopped  and stared at each other. I was lost for words…our argument halted and we were both quiet the rest of the way home. 


I was instantly humbled, convicted, astounded and thankful all at once. I was humbled by the faith of my small child. I was convicted by the realization that she understood our arguments and doesn’t like them. I was astounded that she knew what to do in distress, who to go to and who was capable of “fixing” it and finally, I was thankful for the heart of my daughter and the gentle ways God gets our attention. 


My husband and I don’t usually fight, we argue... like kids cause we are still working out this marriage thing and we are both selfish and stubborn at times. We have yet to realize that to be selfless and look out for the other persons best interest, is the best decision 100% of the time. We will get there, maybe in another five years haha. In all seriousness when we argue, as silly as it is, I am keenly aware that our children are present and listening. However, while they are this young I like to use the excuse that they don’t understand and can’t become effected yet, clearly Ava Grace taught me different. Being right is not worth disturbing my child’s peace in the car or the home. I want my children to have one definitive thing stand out in their memories of childhood and that is that they were raised in a peaceful environment. The topic of peace is an entirely different post for another day, but there is a way to remain peaceful amidst total chaos. Peace isn’t  found in the atmosphere, peace is found in how we respond to the atmosphere and in God's presence in the midst of the chaos.


As of last night I set my heart and mind to never argue in front of them again. Arguing isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, its how you argue, so at times we will argue. However, I pray that when we do the Holy Spirit will bring to my mind the words of my daughter during her backseat prayer.