i'm totally okay with that

it really is okay that i'm just a mom.

wanna know why that's okay? because God said so. seriously. he totally did. and now i'm okay with being just a mom.

really? i'm just a mom? no fancy side business, no professional career, no thing that takes my time other than being just a mom?

yes. exactly.

it's okay that i spend my days being wrestled to the floor and making animal noises. that i play cars and trucks and trains. that i spend my days correcting and correcting again. oh and correcting again. that my baby won't take a bottle because i am available all day every day to nurse him. that i wipe little booties a whole heck of a lot. that i draw pumpkins for my two year old every single solitary morning. that i spend countless hours answering grey's questions. that i have "helpers" in the grocery store. that i can cuddle and affirm my boys at any point in the day that i desire.

it's okay to devote all of myself to my children to be just a mom.

 

it's okay because it's God's design for me. 

i was apparently struggling with my design to be just a mom and totally didn't realize it. until a few weeks ago. 

i was running on the treadmill during naptime. and clear as day God spoke to me. clear as day. in my heart down to my toes. "just be where I have you. don't look around. just be 150% for your boys."

so here i am. just a mom. and i am more than okay with it.

my boys need all of me. not part of me. not the leftovers after i've given myself to some side job, a career. they need me to wipe their booties. they need me to play on the floor. to build snowmen out of playdoh and draw pumpkin trains. they need me to read to them and answer their questions. to clean up their messes and show them who God is when we're talking, walking, or sitting. they need me to be okay with being just a mom.

so as i have a fresh perspective on where i am in this journey, the Lord continues to draw me toward Himself.   He is faithfully breaking me down and making me childlike again in my faith. in this overwhelming assignment of being just a mom.

 

i have three boys who will be men. they will lead their wives and their families. they will be employees, confidants, leaders. now is the time for me to be just a mom to help shape and guide with all that i've got. and nothing less. they will be doing the shaping and the guiding before too long. and from generation to generation i want them to share who God is and what He has done.

it starts with me being just a mom. 

and i'm totally okay with that.

weekend things

 this young man is sportin' two new pearly whites. they poked through last week. he has been rockin' frozen peaches quite frequently. he is fairing well with his two new friends but certainly is losing a little sleep over the matter. which means i am too.

we had a camp out in our living room this weekend, complete with s'mores. woody and woody enjoyed numerous hours of playtime, movies, snacks, and trapping oscar in the tent. it's the littlest things that can really set the stage for a good time. you know, like a tent in the living room.

we eventually moved it into their room and set it up like a real camp site. the twilight turtle illuminated the stars above them and they each had their own flashlight! we read books and tucked them in. only seconds later grey started crying and got in his bed but the tuck bomb slept like a rock in the tent all night long. 

we also went to the fresh market which is always an experience with the three little ones. grey and tuck each got to carry the veggies we purchased. the highlight for them is getting to occasionally touch the vegetables they have a million questions about and bag them up for us. 

they also loved the idea of picking out our family pumpkin until the guy told me the one i wanted was $30. THIRTY DOLLARS for a medium sized pumpkin. no way i said and continued to let the boys touch all of their precious pumpkins. 

we'll try our favorite market next weekend!

 

we finished off our saturday cheering the tigers on to ANOTHER victory! grey has really gotten into tiger rag and C L E M S OOOO N! so we cheered and cheered and cheered some more. 

a delightful rainy, fall weekend!

every year

every year about this time, i get very nostalgic. 

{just} three reasons i love my alma mater. 

one.

i love the enthusiasm of that man. character goes a long way.

and the incredible excitement that surrounds game day in death valley. nothing like it.

two.

“I remember when I was coaching down at Florida, we would always lose kids in recruiting battles to Clemson. I would tell my coaches that we shouldn't be losing kids to Clemson. Charlie Strong responded ‘coach have you ever actually been to Clemson?’ I hadn’t but I’ll tell you what, I’ve been here now and I get it. This is an exceptional, special place.” 

Urban Meyer

three.

training them up right.

wrc.6 months

i say this every day at least 20 times a day but this baby is such a JOY. 

a JOY i tell ya.

i took him for his six month check up and you would have thought he was a celebrity in our doctor's office. he was swooning all the ladies with his grins and coos, he impressed everyone by responding to his name, and won everybody over with his striking good looks.

what can i say, he is one handsome fella!

at six months, will is full of all kinds of crazy antics. here's a visual.

he spends his days watching his big brothers. therefore he is revin' up to join them sooner than later. i am so not ready for this. so NOT ready. he can't be that old yet. there's no way.

oh this baby loves to swing!

he loves his jumparoo.

and he loves grey.

he loves his daddy and the excitement that always surrounds him.

i was remembering just yesterday what i expressed in this post about will being the third boy in our family. i can't imagine life any different than having him as my third boy. i love every single thing about that baby. i am loving more and more each day seeing more and more of who he is. he is just perfect for our family. matthew and i constantly marvel at the blessing of all three of them, each so unique and intentionally created. 

 

precious are these days.

our sunday

uncle nathan, aunt allison, garrett, and wyatt spent the afternoon with us on their way back to jacksonville. we have 5 boys between us. the oldest three enjoyed every minute together. 

they were all in grey and tuck's room for a while and then we heard them bounding down the stairs, each with a different piece of band equipment. they prepared "a special song" {according to tuck} for us. tuck on the drums, garrett was the lead singer, and grey on the guitar.

 we caught some classic pictures.

then they hit the yard to play a little baseball. they took turns hitting, catching, pitching, and running the bases. uncle nathan is garrett's t-ball coach so he was showing grey all the ropes.

seriously, how cute are they?! 

and how cute is this one! i got to snuggle wyatt for most of the afternoon while aunt allison entertained will baby.

what a fun sunday! we were all sad to see them go.

even though it was a short visit, we were so thankful for it. bonus cousin time, we finally got meet wyatt, and we planned a trip to jacksonville for october!

school days.tuck edition

the T MAN had his first day of "school" today.

you would have thought i left him to a pack of starving wolves. 

let me preface this with the fact that he is apparently in a phase of separation from some of his favorite people. he is majorly distressed when his daddy leaves for work in the morning, when adam and krista have to go home in the afternoon, when grey goes to school, etc.  it's dramatic with a capital D.

today was no less. drama to the max. 

i prepped and prepared him for exactly what was going to happen. he was so big with his bag, holding grey's hand as they walked into school together. we got to his room and he walked straight in and said "bye mommy!" i was ecstatic! 

then, oh then...he realized i really was going to leave. i was holding will so he grabbed my leg and would not let go. i finally shook him loose and coaxed him back in his room and he slithered, yes slithered his screaming little body back out into the hall. i was trying to make a quick break with no such luck. 

once mrs. alissa peeled him off of me i left with a smile on my face confident he was going to enjoy himself. i KNOW without a doubt he is going to do fine. and this is just a phase. he has awesome teachers with nothing but fun planned for the year. i can't wait to see him run in that room ready to play in a month or so. 

let's be honest, we are at church a whole lot. he's been left with others a whole lot. he's going to love it when he can get past these first few times. i know it. we all need this time twice a week!

when i picked up little man, marsha, the director, told me she spent a lot of time with tucker today and he loves his mommy. he apparently talked about me a lot. and about the fact that i was indeed coming back to get him. that sweet thing has always been a momma's boy. i gave him lots of extra love when we got home.

oh my. we'll do it all again next tuesday!

school days

we enjoyed a "happy school days" dinner tonight. one that i hope will become tradition in the years to come. we'll eat their favorite meal, a special dessert, decorations, and be on our knees as a family asking the Lord to work and move in friends, teachers, and us each school year. 

now this year we had an abbreviated version of the aforementioned activities. this year i made some of their favorite foods, a special dessert, decorated the table, and attempted praying together as a family. will screamed through the entire meal {i'm pretty sure his tummy was hurting because he burped and started smiling}, i didn't even get to sit down to eat with the family, and prayer time didn't happen until bedtime due to many circumstances. just keepin' it real.

grey started 4k today! he could hardly wait. he was most excited about going to the "tigers" classroom UPSTAIRS!

here's a few snapshots from the morning. he is one silly boy.

his favorite part of his day was playing with his friends josh and alex outside on the playground. but he LOVES his new teachers. it's going to be a good year!

the tuck man starts tomorrow...