Last Six Months 2

Ok, so I have always heard my mom say time flies as you get older. It's true. My kids have grown like weeds in front of my very eyes, and I wish I could put a brick on their heads to slow it down. I am amazed every day at the new phrases and accomplishments they acquire. When Olivia was in speech therapy her first year of life I never thought we'd come to they day where she'd talked so fast and ask so many questions i'd have a hard time keeping up. Well, we have reached the day...

She is my bright eyed girl who has so much independence it scares me sometimes. A friend asked me the other day while we were at "Pump It Up". Is Olivia afraid of anything? She scales walls, swings as high as she can, and jumps off the highest points. All while completely terrifying me. Apparently Kirk was the same way as I child, and hey, he made it. So I cling to God's ultimate protection over my little "dare-devil," and the fact that her father survived his childhood with no broken bones = ) Along with the independence comes a streak of stubborness you wish sometimes would just go away. Olivia WILL NOT go to the potty. She loves to talk about it, sit on the potty, read books about going potty, and pretend her dolls are going potty. Then she will get off the potty and GO in her diaper! It has been such a challenging experience and every time I ask her pediatrician...He tells me not to force it. So, Olivia will be 3 in June and she refuses to let herself go potty in the toilet. She is a stubborn little thing, but she will get it....maybe.

Olivia and Isaiah shared a bedroom for a long time. Then it came time for Olivia to switch to a "big girl bed." When we made the change she realized her freedom quickly. She could now get out of bed, and even climb into Isaiah's crib. So after all was quite, she would slip into Isaiah's crib and sleep in his bed. At first Isaiah loved it, they would laugh and share secrets. Then he realized he was going to get NO sleep. So it came to the point that it was best to put them into their own rooms. Olivia still loves to crawl out of bed and end up asleep on the floor. Isaiah sleeps soundly next door.

Being the parent of two toddlers is never boring and there is NEVER a slow day! = ) Enjoy the pictures.......

Last six months in a nut-shell

I have not sat down to pen a blog in quite a while. Life sorta snuck up on me and here I am 6 months later staring at an out of date blog. A lot has happened in our family in these past few months and I have enjoyed just soaking it all in. Kirk received a new job in August, thanks to a wonderful friend of the family. It's a wonderful job that Kirk just happens to be great at! I have so enjoyed these past months, seeing him blossom into his new role as head of Elementary Fundraising at Palmetto Sports. Kirk is now a rep in charge of running elementary school fundraisers. It's a really fun job, and he gets to do magic tricks. So what could be better, right?

Kirk has been able to grow in his gift of sales and working/leading people. It was a hard transition from being a High School Bible teacher to a sales rep, but he made it gracefully. He missed teaching apologetics, but the Lord in His perfect plan. Made it possible for Kirk to lead Priority One and FCA meetings in High Schools throughout the year. He loves being able to incorporate this gift and love of God's word and theology into his everyday work.

Not only did Kirk get a new job but we recently celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Our pre-marriatal counselor told us that once you have been married about 3-4 years you enter a new stage in your marriage. I had no clue what he was talking about at the time, but now that I am here. I totally get what he was saying and it's AWESOME! It's a new stage I believe, because your more used to one another, your comfortable. Yet it's still so new. My marriage with Kirk just keeps getting better and I cannot thank the Lord enough for bringing us together! This year has been such a growing time for us, with the teachings at our church and the community we have there. It's been an amazing time of growth and streching us to know the Lord in a more intimate way. Our church has been so faithful to teach Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and made it much easier to know what it means to be married, to be one flesh. So, I am feeling even more encouraged about the next 60 + years with this man!

I have recently started attending a study with a wonderful group of ladies written by the leadership at our church called Ezer: it focuses on the core calling of Women being to: Invite, Nuture, and Partner. The Hebrew words "ezer Kenegdo" means essential counterpart, indespensable companion, or one who comes along to lend strength. 16 times God indentifies himself as Ezer in the Old Testament. It has been such an eye opening study for me as a woman who is a wife, mother, friend, daughter, and sister. It has freed me from the confines of these certain "roles" I must fulfill and rather to follow my core calling of "being one who lends strength" to all of my relationships in whatever capacity that may mean. I am only skimming the surface of what is covered in the course, but I have been greatly blessed by what I have learned...I will update on my kiddos in another post, I have much to share about my little loves!