The Coffee Mom's Devotional

So I have to talk about this new devotional I've started...if you are a mom...especially a new mom who as we all know...we're totally clueless about what we're doing. Trying to figure it all out, running on empty trying to get it all done...then this is for you! Oh, and of course you have to love (require) coffee every day!

Before Bo I always enjoyed coffee in the mornings and sometimes after dinner, especially with dessert, but I didn't "need" it all day. Now...I HAVE TO HAVE coffee to survive! Every morning I stumble to the coffee pot for my wake up call, hoping and praying it will open my eyes for me. By 3pm...time for more! If I'm home I'll make a pot, if I'm out, Starbucks here we come! Grande, fat-free, sugar-free vanilla latte, usually with an extra shot! Yep, that's how I'm surviving the toddler world! Because let's face it...toddlers don't need coffee. I've come to the conclusion that toddlers come equipped with a caffeine fairy that goes into their rooms at night and pumps them full of the stuff so by morning...WOO HOO LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!! How else would they possibly have the energy they do?

Going from corporate America where I was always "on top of it" every little detail, everything organized, professional, well dressed, daily schedule, etc...to a stay at home mom...I think people keep the details of a stay at home mom's day a secret because otherwise we'd have no stay at home moms. At least when I worked I could recruit Jarrod's help on cleaning, laundry, if we ate Lean cuisines for dinner it was fine, because we were both working. Now...it's all on mommy and today's world puts so much pressure on mom's to "get it all done" and do it perfect! I need to cook dinner and finish laundry, but then there's no time to take Bo to the park...no running and playing. I could do it during nap time, but then guess who doesn't get to sit down and rest for a minute! Oh yea, and what about exercise? Hmmm, showering? Nope...when daddy gets home and can take him for a few minutes, that's about it! And when I do get "down time" my head is racing with all the things I need to do, grocery lists, returning phone calls, emails, etc...

I love being a SAHM (stay at home mom), but I went from being able to schedule my day, have it all laid out nice and neat on my calender to...total chaos! You go from one corporate title to...wife, mother, teacher, cheerleader, maid, nurse, CFO, personal shopper, landscaper, interior designer, psychologist, counselor, chauffeur...the list goes on and on. SAHMs handle everything from food to finances! So when exactly do we get time for ourselves? Again, I absolutely LOVE being home with Bo and I realize I am unbelievably blessed beyond measure, to be able to stay with him every day, there are so many working moms out there and that's a whole other post....NO IDEA how you do it! I just with there was something out there that laid it all out for you..."Here's how your day should go to get it all done..." I have yet to find this, if you know of this will you please forward it on to me.

This devotion helps in letting us mommys know we aren't alone on this crazy, wild, unorganized journey! It is a reminder that whether you prefer coffee, diet soda, etc...there is Someone better to quench our thirst, Someone who can give us a much better of a pick-me-up on the days where we feel like we have no more to give! There's always going to be the pressure to do everything perfect...have a clean house, delicious dinner, 3.5 hours of quality time with your child every day, exercise, be dressed and ready to conquer the world, etc... But I have to remind myself every day about what's important...he won't be a toddler forever and by the time I do have everything perfect he'll be too old to play with mommy or even want to be around me. So I need to step back, relax, and enjoy these moments! Every mom should read this...

Going to the Chapel

This past weekend we went to MS for my brother's engagement party. We had a great time even though this was the quickest trip I've ever made home. We got in Friday around 5:30 and left Sunday morning at 10am! Too short for me!

The party was a hit, even though we were caught in the middle of horrible storms! Oh and speaking of hits...Bo was definitely the hit of the party. He flirted with every girl there, regardless of age, ran around playing, and showed out like I've never seen before. At one point he was falling down on the outside deck and landing in puddles of water, just cracking himself up. He was having fun and that's what the party was all about so I just let him enjoy himself. Needless to say his outfit went right into the wash as soon as we got home and it actually came clean, I was shocked!

I still can't believe my baby brother is getting married. We're just so excited that he has found such a wonderful woman to marry.

Bride and Groom!

Falling in the water to show out!

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that

The funniest part was when he first put these on he put them on his head and not his face...trying to copy mommy!

All by myself!!!

Right before he decided to eat a big wad of it!!

this was from our visit to Aunt Kim and Uncle Jay's on the 4th

And of course our days are filled of LOTS of this!!!

Learning The Hard Way

Another one of the great devotions I receive. Hmmmm, I wonder if the person who wrote this had a look into our house?

"A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke." Proverbs 13:1 (NIV)

As of January, I am now the mother of three boys under four years of age. Our house is full of testosterone and a loud, unbridled enthusiasm for life. This is most true of our middle son Dylan. He is wild and rambunctious - a boy through and through.

If you were to watch him enter a room, you would notice that he makes a mental list of every structure that he can scale, leap off of or turn over. He is as creative as he is fearless. It's a dangerous combination.

To make matters worse, he has an extremely high tolerance for pain. My husband Chad and I are regularly amazed at the bumps, scrapes and knots that do not elicit tears or pleas for comfort. He is remarkably tough. Or stubborn. I am not sure which.

Unfortunately, he has gotten more brazen in his attempts of late. He has noticed that I spend most of my day incapacitated with a nursing child in my arms as my primary responsibility. This has greatly slowed or halted my efforts to keep Dylan from his version of "extreme sports." If the mere warning from my voice was enough to stop my little acrobat, he'd be fine. However, my two-year old doesn't always listen the first time I say, "No."

So I have resigned myself to the fact that he is going to learn a few lessons the hard way. He is going to fall. He might even get hurt. I can't always be there to physically remove him from every obstacle he scales. I can't prevent every painful consequence of doing precisely what he chooses.

While I was praying for him the other night I asked God to make him more sensitive to my voice and to protect him when he ignores me and falls. I prayed for a graci ous and forgiving attitude when he does need my comfort. In the quiet of my bedroom the Creator whispered, "I'm pretty good at that; that's how I often parent you.

"I knew in an instant what God meant. I regularly dive head-first into a situation analyzing how I'll attack it. It's not long after God has chastened my heart that I move onto the next dangerous display of independence. If I would simply listen to His voice, I'd be fine. He has desired on many occasions to protect me from painful consequences, to protect me from myself. Instead I chose to learn the lessons the hard way. I wish I could say it only happened once or twice, but like my two year-old, I am remarkably tough, or stubborn. Neither is a good characteristic for a child.I finished my prayer that night asking my Heavenly Father to forgive my toddler-like ways. I am trying to listen more carefully to His voice. I want to respond immediately. I am sure to encounter fewer bumps and bruises along the way. More importantly, I am sure to enjoy the smile and warm embrace of my all-gracious Father.

Lawson Family Fun

So lately Jarrod has been working ALL the time. Many mornings he's gone before we wake up and if we're lucky he'll get about 30 minutes with Bo before bedtime. After that he goes for a run, showers, eats dinner, back to work downstairs. Then during the weekend he's usually working Sunday afternoon and night. Thursday night we talked about how much he works and how we need a "family day"...no phones, computers, voicemails, etc...and we decided Saturday would be the day!

We woke up that morning and headed downtown to the Aquarium. Great aquarium and I highly recommend it, but not on a Saturday. Luckily we got there pretty early because by the time we left you could not move. Think Times Square with kids and fish!! We knew it would be crowded, but Saturday's are our only day to do outings like this so we do what we can. Bo really loved looking at all of the fish and all of the people, I swear he thought they were all there to see him!!

After the Aquarium, lunch, and a nap at home we headed out to spend the afternoon at another great park we have found called Sims Lake Park. It has a great walking trail, very peaceful! There's a little waterfall/creek Bo likes to play in and we usually feed the ducks. Saturday night we had a very tired little boy so after he went to bed Jarrod and I grilled some steaks and shrimp and enjoyed a much needed night together! We rented a movie too, but by 10:30 I was fast asleep on the couch, but I heard it was good!

Beluga Whales, they were great!

He was absolutely mesmerized by this...I think we need a tank like this at home!

Time for lunch!

Looking at the sharks and stingrays with daddy...you could reach in and touch them!

Feeding the ducks with dad at Sims Lake Park

It took a little while, but he finally realized the bread was for the ducks and not for him to eat!

No day is complete without a little Cars before bed!

New Buddies

I just had to get these up asap, because they are too stinkin' cute! A few weeks ago we made some new friends while playing at the Mall of Ga. They have a great toddler area, almost exactly like they had in Austin where I took Bo a lot. I noticed these two adorable, active, little twin boys and I just had to meet their mom. Her name is Kathy, and she is so cute and totally someone I see myself being friends with! She also has a beautiful 4 yr old little girl Lilliana. Ever since then we meet up just about every Friday at 10:30 and let the kids play, we have some adult conversation (so refreshing), lunch at Chick fil A, then home for nap time! We all have a great time. Nate and Noah are 2 months older than Bo. It is so nice to have someone with little boys the same age that I can say "do they do this", "is this normal", "should I be concerned" etc...Especially right now as we enter this crazy toddler phase!!! Something tells me the boys are going to be big buds! Here are some pictures from this morning...

Bo, Nate, & Noah...here comes TROUBLE!!!!

The boys here with Kathy...the kiddos were more interested in the train!

Again...the train takes precedence over mommy with the camera! But aren't they SO cute!!!

Family

Last week my parents came to town for the first time since we moved into our new house! It was so great to have them here. For the most part Bo did great, however he has entered the mommy phase and I couldn't even leave the room without him running after me screaming and crying. He loves Pop and Bebe so much, he just wants to make sure he can see mommy!

While they were here we went shopping, went to the park, out to dinner, and had all of my family over for dinner. It was such a treat to have everyone together. My Aunt Becky was in town from NC so we were even able to see her. I think the last time I saw her was 6 years ago!

Bo had so much fun playing with his grandparents and he loved to watch Cars with Pop down on the floor! I don't think they realized what having a toddler is all about, since it's been about 30 years for them. They definitely were worn by the end of the day. And the screaming and trantrums...well Bo is not a mild mannered child, he never will be so if you plan to visit you may want to bring ear plugs! Thanks so much for making the trip, we love you both so much.

One of the many times we had Cars on.

Mom, Uncle David, Uncle Sam, and Grandmoms

My aunt Amy trying to entertain Bo

Mommy, Bo, Bebe, & Grandmoms

3 out of the 6 kids...Aunt Becky, Aunt Amy, Mom, and Grandmoms