A Good Long Time.

I know it has been a while. 

A long while. 

But it has been worth it. Worth every second. 

I wish I could sit down with you and explain; tell you face to face and heart to heart how difficult yet how rewarding this last year has been for my little family. Learning to adapt as our three person family blossomed into a four person family. Sleeping little and giving a lot. Learning to provide and help Lily as she adapts from being the single most important person in our lives to being an equal with another. Figuring out how to run on little sleep and a lot of love and yet quite often starkly realizing that we can't do it on our own at all. 

God has placed Leon in our little family and we are so grateful. He is tenderhearted, loving, funny, quick to smile, and all boy. There had been a lot of learning curves for us in realizing that boys and girls are different in how they think and react and in their interests. 

Life has been a whirlwind this past year, but I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world. 

Xoxo,
Samantha

No Shame, Momma.

I'm having one of those days, where I can't seem to get myself together and everything my sweet child does is irritating. Have you been there?

Well, I'm here to help out that momma guilt because my friend, you are not alone. It's time like these when for your sake and for theirs you need to put them in their bed or crib or create a brand spankin new reason for a quite time and stick yourself in your bathroom or bedroom and closet even!

No shame momma, no shame. We've all been there, and for you to be the best mom that you can be, your glass needs to be overflowing. So take this time to seek Jesus. Pray for patience, and the grace you need to show your kiddos, because no matter how much you love them, you can't do this alone. Especially when they are driving you up a wall. 

So take some time today, and when you can't handle anymore, stick yourself wherever you can and worship the God who gives us peace, and pray and rest. We all know that there is no such person as a supermom, and sometimes that stinkin sin natures rears it's head and we can't do anything to stop it. 

But Jesus can. 

My dear momma, know that you aren't alone in this, to be honest, I just put my baby to bed early because I just couldn't handle it right then. Her crying for no reason put me over the edge. So there is nothing wrong with you taking the time to invest in yourself and in your walk with Him, because my love, you can't give your kiddos anything when you are running on fumes yourself. 

I promise you aren't ruining them. They probably won't remember the time you locked yourself in the bathroom and cried, or you can even put music on and have a dance party with your kiddos. You get to worship and be filled and they get to dance and have fun! Now that's a win-win right??

If you only get one thing out of this my friend, then know that it's ok. Take the time you need to be filled, because parenting isn't easy, and you are not supposed to do it alone. 

Xoxo,

Samantha

Let Her Be.

So first off, I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving. I definitely enjoyed spending time with my hubby's family and watching Lily interact with her second cousin, Jack. They are one month apart to the day and so it makes for a fun time getting them together.

Even though there is a TON to be thankful for, I wanted to share something that was so very encouraging to my momma heart.

Let's start at the beginning of the story. You see, Lily is the first baby since Matthew was born, 23 years ago. So everyone loves her and just can't get enough, which is rather funny, but for those of you with grandkids or nieces and nephews, you know the overwhelming desire to give that little one everything they want.

Well, as the parent to the first child in a long time in the family, it can sometimes be difficult to reign in people's desire to give our daughter everything.

This brings us to today's story and super encouraging moment. On thanksgiving there is dessert, obviously lol. Well, to the parent who drove two hours to thanksgiving and now has a napless toddler, dessert and sweets after dinner are a no go. No one wants a hyped up toddler who hasn't napped today.

So as Matt and I started talking about dessert for her and figuring out if any would be appropriate, those aunts, uncles, and grandparents, who love her so much and are ensnared by her adorable babiness lol, argued against our decision to not give our baby desserts.

(Disclaimer here: I know that my loving family, who will most likely read this, never meant to be overbearing or anything along those lines, so there are no hard feelings. Really :]. )

Anyway, as I was listening to multiple family members tell me how I should give our daughter dessert for multiple reasons, my husbands aunt said something that truly struck me and encouraged my heart.

She said "Let her be the mom."

Short and sweet, but oh so impactful. You see, as a young parent with so many loving family members, it can be hard to be second guessed or questioned on our decisions, and after a long hard day, no parent wants to have to argue with family over how to raise their child. Even well meaning family.

So when she said that, it really encouraged me, it's such a wonderful feeling to have someone respect your role as the parent and decision maker for your child. Because honestly, no one wants to come off rude to family or say something that could be hurtful, but it's hard to be questioned and try to find the right words that won't be disrespectful but remind people of who you are in this child's life. Ya know?

So just a shout out to those who have grandkids, nieces, nephews, or just little ones in the family, please please Please respect the parents as the authority they are in the child's life. I know that you love the little one and the dessert or toy at the time doesn't seem like a big deal, but the parents know the child best, and they know what is beneficial and what needs to be temporarily avoided. So the next time they say no to the dessert after dinner, or decline the toy for the child, just say ok and let them parent. It's hard enough knowing you are responsible for a tiny life without having to argue their decisions.

And to the worn down parents, we both know how much your families love these little ones, and how hard it is to raise them. I also know that it's hard to stand your ground without coming off as rude, so please give them an extra dose of patience when they forget that you're the mom or dad, but don't be afraid to gently stand firm when your decisions are questioned or argued, because at the end of the day, this is your child and your are responsible to take care of their tiny lives.

And to my loving family, thank you for caring so much for Lily.

Xoxo,

Samantha

Parenting is Rough...

Hey!

So now that my once adorable stationary baby, now cruiser, almost toddler is wandering around the house, things are getting tough! She gets into everything, especially tupperware, books, and funny enough, she constantly goes back into her room. (We usually play in the living room where I can keep an eye on her and still get things done.)

Seriously though, does anyone out there have any ideas or advice on training your children to not climb on certain things or try to eat certain things? I lightly tapped Lily's hand when she bit my phone for the umpteenth time... and she cried.. I'm such a wuss haha. I can hardly handle it.

Does anyone else run into this problem?...that's probably a stupid question lol. I'm sure everyone else has had the same problem at some point.

So I guess what I'm asking for is...what did you do? How did you lovingly train your children with grace? How do you do it??

Because I'm obviously having trouble haha.

On a side note, I have officially run 3 miles for the first time since my first 5k six weeks after Lily was born! I'm super excited!! I am using an app called Gipis that tells me my training schedule for a race I'm doing in August with the family. :) Isn't that great? I'm kinda sore but also ridiculously excited about starting to go running again. It isn't necessarily my favorite thing to do, but I LOVED running in my first race and I think, that's the only reason why I will to run.


So that's all folks!

For now at least ;)

Xoxo,

Samantha