Month-By-Month: 18

 This is a tad bit late but better late than never, right? :) Brayden turned 18 months on June 1st but due to some changes in our insurance stuff we were a little bit behind on his check-up so I thought I'd save the blog post until we had some stats!  Today we went in for it and while I knew he was a growing, big boy, I was kind of shocked at the numbers the doctor was throwing out there :) It's crazy to think 18 months (well, 19 now) have passed by so quickly - I never knew I could love a little guy as much as I love this one!!

Here's what you're up to:

* You are now 28 pounds 11 ounces (which is in the 95-97th percentile!) and probably about 35 inches tall which the doctor said was in the 99TH PERCENTILE (UM, crazy!) You'll more than likely be towering over your mom and dad by those teen years :)

* You're super happy (always have been) and you still keeping your mama on her toes more than ever!!  If you're awake - you're on a roll! :)

* Your favorite foods are: eggs (scrambled or boiled), you LOVE any kind of fruit (which is crazy because your mom isn't a fruit fan - yes, I'm weird!), CHICKEN!, all kinds of beans, cheese, and you LOVE ketchup - if you could dip everything in ketchup, you would!

*You've mastered the art of eating with a fork and do REALLY well with it.  You have gotten so you won't eat if you don't have your fork :)

* You have such a funny personality! You look almost exactly like your mama (especially her baby pictures compared to yours) but there is no doubt you have a personality like your daddy!

*You are talking a lot more which is really fun.  You will try to repeat almost anything we ask you to and have mastered the word "peaaaas" (translated as please) and sometimes think that word will get you anything you want...but are slowly learning it doesn't ;) You always LOVE to say "daddy" but never, ever say mommy anymore and when asked to you respond "daddy"...still pretty positive you're a mama's boy though ;)


*You LOVE the outdoors and always have.  You cry when we come inside, no matter how hot it is out there or how long you've been out there.  You have a weird obsession with playing in the car..just love to climb around in it and pretend you're driving :)

* You still take your paci when you go down for a nap or to bed - and you love your little lamb :) Mama is dreading the day we take the pacifier away :-/

*Speaking of bed, you decided that you'd show mom and dad you're too big for your crib by climbing out four times in the same night...so now we've moved onto the toddler bed which was quite an interesting transition but now you're doing much better with it!

*Your little personality is showing SO much and you are SO much fun...your mommy & daddy could not imagine life without our sweet Bray ;)

I love you, Bray!!! :)

Beauty within > Beauty on the outside

I was doing my devotions before going to bed last night and was reading in 1 Peter and came across a couple of verses I've read several times before but when I read it last night it really hit like a ton of bricks for some reason.  1 Peter 3:3-5 says, "Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful..." 

We live in a society that SCREAMS perfection in our physical appearance.  Don't get me wrong, I do  most definitely think we should take care of ourselves and be well-kept but the value our society places on our looks is really sad and honestly, unrealistic.  Magazine after magazine exists solely to tell us what clothes we should wear, what make-up we should wear and how we should wear it, what purses we should buy, what shoes we should shop for... and we focus so much on how other see us on the outside that we forget that the true beauty comes within.  Because we have focused and placed such a high value on our outward appearance we have a huge epidemic of eating disorders, people addicted to diet pills, obsessed with exercise, etc. so we can somehow try to achieve that "Hollywood" look.

I have to remind myself too, it isn't about "keeping up with the Jones'."  Yes, I do like clothes and shoes (I am a girl :) but sometimes we place such a high value on how we look on the outside that we forget it's a matter of the heart.  "We are to clothe ourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."  This should relieve so much burden from us all from trying to impress PEOPLE!  I was reading an article and they asked this question and I thought it was so perfect, "Whatever happened to what was inside of us was what really mattered and the outside was just a plus?"

Let's never forget beauty within far outweighs beauty on the outside!  Let us clothe ourselves with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit...because it is SO precious to God! :)

Piles of laundry & dusty baseboards :)

Control freak?! Me? No way! Yeah right! I do in fact have those tendencies... It can be a good and a bad thing. It definitely helps me keep organized, the house cleaned, etc. but sometimes I try to be in control TOO much in my own life (don't we all?)

I read a blog some time back by a Pastor's wife named Holly Furtick that was titled "Stop trying to balance everything." When I saw the title I was thinking...what?! How could you possibly stop trying to balance everything? I'm a mom, employee, a cook, a maid, now a pastors wife....I HAVE to balance everything! Wrong!

Lately, I've felt the pressure of a lot of life's tasks and circumstances and trying to balance it all becomes really overwhelming. Trying to be the best mom and wife I can, meeting deadlines with my job, making sure dinner is cooked each night, and not to mention staying on top of laundry and church related things! It can become really taxing because we are human...but it's amazing when we take a deep breath, step back, and realize what's truly important how much more enjoyable life can be!  Having balance in our lives IS definitely important but as moms sometimes we focus too much on how we are going to balance it all that we are missing the whole point of life itself because we are too busy being busy!

Holly Furtick said in her blog (I'm paraphrasing here :)) - It's OK if the laundry piles up sometimes and the baseboards get a little dusty, those are the trivial things in life :) She encouraged to make a conscious effort to be present IN the present. The precious moments I have with my 19 month-old, I will never regain!

Hopefully this will encourage another sometimes frazzled-feeling mom that it IS ok to let the laundry pile up sometimes and let the baseboards get a little dusty...never let the small, trivial things in life cause us to become too busy for what matters the most!

James 1:20

Last Friday Brayden and I went to the park with some friends.  Brayden got to play with some friends while I got to chat and catch up with a friend.  Win-win for us both :)  While sitting at the park talking I asked this friend about their views on discipline and how they disciplined at certain ages.  The toddler age is such a hard one when it comes to discipline.  Brayden understands simple commands really well and I really think he knows a lot more than sometimes we give him credit for, but because we aren't exactly sure what he does and doesn't understand - this makes discipline hard.  He definitely has reached the "toddler tantrum" age and we see those from time to time.  He's really strong-willed too which we have to be sure we don't let get out of hand :)  I've tried a handful of things myself and sometimes have wondered if any of them really work...then my mind goes back to, "does he even understand why he's being disciplined?" Mine and Josh's goal as parents is to discipline Brayden in a way that he would see God's love through his parents (so that we can teach him God's love) and not an angry parent coming at him because we're mad at him because he's doing wrong.  I have seen so many children of all different ages out in public with their parents acting up and the parent immediately jerks the child up and is screaming in their faces and yelling at them....in public.  It always makes me feel so sad for the child because not only is that humiliating but what is it teaching the child?

My friend mentioned this scripture that really stuck out to her and I came home and re-read it myself because it really sheds a whole new light on discipline.  It's James 1:20 and it says,  "Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires."  So true!!  If we discipline our children when we're angry or show them anger when we're upset with them...we AREN'T helping to produce the righteousness of God in them!  It is hard sometimes when a child deliberately does something they know they shouldn't do, or throw themselves on the floor having a "toddler tantrum" because they didn't get something they wanted to calmly but firmly take care of the situation.  Of course different things work for different kids, but I think it can all be done without showing the child anger :)  I have at times been guilty of letting my anger show towards Brayden when disciplining and I am DEFINITELY still learning myself, but this has really a whole new light to parenting and discipline for us :)

Turning the page to a new chaper...

I've been a little out of action with the blogging world lately...our world has been spinning a little faster than normal here lately, and I feel like it's slowed down a tad for me to try to get back into the routine!

We officially launched our church, Vertical Church, this past Sunday, May 6th! The months, weeks, days, and hours leading up to this point in time felt like they'd never get here, but we are finally here and I am so amazed at God's faithfulness in every aspect - from putting together a team of volunteers (we had a goal of 30 and we were able to meet that goal a few weeks before launch!), finances, getting a worship team together, etc.  It has been awesome to look back and see how He was piecing this puzzle together.

My husband, Josh, and I have for a while now felt a call to ministry but for a while we were a little unsure exactly what area in ministry.  We thought for a while it was youth ministry but after submitting our resume to several different churches and even getting some calls back for interviews, it just didn't feel "right."  During a fast in January my husband felt a deep call that he undeniably knew was the Lord, to plant a church.  I seriously was like "whoa, hold on, there's no way He wants US to do THAT." :)  We both definitely took several steps back and really thought the Lord was talking to the wrong two people :) But, sure enough, after much more prayer...and questions - He was speaking loud and clear to us that we were to plant a church. 

Months and months of planning and praying have gone into this church and I am so amazed at how God has had His hand on this thing from that very day we said yes to the Lord's call to plant a church back in January (not that I am surprised, because I firmly believe when you are in the smack dab center of God's will for your life, it's undeniably evident!) We have been so blessed with an amazing team of people that we know have been put into our lives for this very reason.  It's awesome to see how God has put this core team together and each person on our core team has a burden for a different area of ministry which really strengthens our church as a whole!  Not to mention our volunteer team - the Vert Crew as we call them ;) They are the wheels that help to keep this church moving forward!

Our first Sunday was awesome! (Of course I am a little biased :) From the worship, to our Straight Up Kidz ministry, to the message - God's presence was felt and lives were changed! We had four people give their heart to Christ for the very first time!! Just that alone makes it all SO worth it! We've had so many tell us they'll most definitely be back this week and they're bringing friends, family, and coworkers with them - that's what it's ALL about!

I am so excited to see what God has in store for Vertical Church and there is so much anticipation even already for this next week! There is no doubt in my mind that this is RIGHT where we are supposed to be RIGHT now :) 

Pictures of our grand opening Sunday this past Sunday are coming very soon! :)