A Momma’s Muse: The Good Life

Showing posts with label The Good Life. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

A Cheesecake Kind of Birthday

Today we celebrated Dale’s 34th Birthday! We celebrated at our favorite restaurant, Ghengis

Grill. Then we picked up a cheesecake that he’d requested. But not just any cheesecake—Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake.

I joked with him saying, “You know that saying as couples age they start looking like each other? Well we don’t look like each other but we have started liking the same things!” Meaning that eight days later on January 4th, we will be celebrating my birthday the exact same way. Ha!

As I looked back on all the pictures today I had to smile. His day was pretty much perfect. We had each other to celebrate with, the kids each woke up shouting, “Happy Birthday Daddy!” At the dinner table they all guessed how old he was. Tiny Blessing thought he was 2. Baby Boy thought he was 100. And of course the oldest, Baby Girl guessed right.

Days like today, I’m glad we have each other. Living in Richmond, we are far from any extended family. Sometimes that can be hard, especially when you miss them, need a date night babysitter or just a one hour break. But God placed us in Richmond for a reason and we can’t stomp our feet on God’s plan.

As we near 2018, I want to focus more on the positive aspects of living here. I want to wake up saying, "Thank you God for my loving husband and three beautiful blessings. You are so good to me.” I want to teach my kids that we have each other, a strong family unit. We will make it and one day when they’re adults, I hope that we will have instilled in them the value of family.

Happy Birthday Dale! I love you more each day! Let’s grow old together.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I did something so unique today that it really takes a blog to explain. I had made plans with a friend to go window shopping but we had to cancel because one of her children was sick. This is something I totally understand as a mother of three. It seems like one of them will be sick everyday for the next 18 years. So we rescheduled and I thought,"Hmmm, what am I going to do today?"

I decided to go walking and fill up my soul with Jesus. Nature often does that for me. I dropped off Tiny at the gym for childcare and went walking outside. The weather was perfectly Fall, a cool damp breeze blew the changing leaves and the quietness of morning was still in the air.

I found myself walking a very familiar path from five years ago. When I got where I wanted to be, I briefly stopped and looked around. There in front of me was the neighborhood and exact house we had rented when we first moved to Richmond. A bit of nostalgia overtook me as I walked past our mailbox and looked up at the brick house.

"Aw, that's where Baby Girl used to sleep," I thought. "And that's where she touched snow for the first time- and hated it."

Memories flooded my mind and the Lord so gently placed a peaceful memory of a blog I had written while living in that house.

Bloom Where You're Planted was the second blog I had ever wrote. I was struggling with living in a place with so few trees and too many people. This Country Mouse felt lost in the Big City. On a very similar walk, when Baby Girl was just a toddler, we ended up discovering a soccer field with trees all around us and no people to be found. I had determined at that time to call it, My Peaceful Place. It was the place I could find rest in the Lord. It was the place I felt that God saw me. The verse I quoted originally was Ephesians 3:16-21

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:16-21 NLT

Oh what a powerful set of verses that is to read-especially now! To look back at life and see the inner struggle I faced to feel at home. And to think it didn't take God moving us once but twice to feel fully at home. I look back at the last five years and think,"Wow! God must have been whispering in my ear,"Just wait. Just be still. I have plans for you.Things you can't even imagine." And oh how I struggled with letting God work!

But what's even more impressive is to think,"What will the next five years contain? What battles will I face? What times of joy will I embrace?" I hear these specific verses loud and clear now.

"Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."

Wow! Oh yes it's true. Even for you, friend. Here, do this. Stop for a minute and think back to where you were five years ago. Can you see any blessings in your life? Do you see clearly the struggles you went through and how you came out a CHAMPION on the other side? That's God for you. That's Him showing how wide, long, high and deep His love is for you.

So even now when it's hard to see through to the other side, go on a walk. Shut down your phone, turn off the tv, do whatever it is you need to do to find His blessings.

My walk today left me feeling full of His Spirit and oh so thankful to be a follower of Jesus. Life isn't supposed to be easy because if it were, how could we appreciate the blessings that come after?

Wishing You Sweet Uninterrupted Time With Jesus Today,

Kim

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Charleston, West Virginia Mini Trip

The Hubs had to go to Charleston, West Virginia for a meeting with work and I dreaded being alone for two days. I just don't like being apart from him. So he graciously took three preschoolers and his dear wife with him :) What a great dad, aye! It was such a fun mini-trip. Some of the highlights were exploring the Kanawha River, visiting the Charleston Town Center Mall Play Patch and swimming in the pool one evening at the hotel. Here's some pictures we took of our little adventure.

Breathtaking views of the mountains.

On our walk we found a little park right beside the hotel.

Exploring the Kanawha River.

Baby Girl couldn't believe she got to dance on the whole stage by herself.A little singer/dancer in the making. Baby Boy was more interested in running, running and more running.

On our walk, all of the residents from Charleston wanted to talk to us on the dock. They were soooo friendly. It's rare to have anyone be so friendly with us in Richmond.

The big ship thing that came to my rescue the next day.

The Charleston Town Center Mall had a great play area called The Play Patch. Baby Girl was so excited to play in the Big Broccoli.

Tiny thought this was so much fun.

Cuteness overload.

Daddy was in his meeting, so the kids and I went on our own adventure. It happened to involve candy and Build a Bear.

Baby Boy went straight to the dinosaur :)

Baby Girl had to have My Little Pony's Twilight Sparkle.

He had to hold it the whole way back to the hotel.

Baby Girl fell and bloodied her knee so I smushed her into the diaper bag compartment of the stroller and pushed them the whole way back.

We got slightly lost on the way back. But saw some amazing buildings and finally the big ship thing which meant we had made it back to the hotel.

How do you keep a baby quiet while her brother sleeps in the hotel room? Lay some towels in the tub and let her play there!

Yes we all hung out in the bathroom for 2 hours. Ha!

For some reason, it was really cool to playon top of the air conditioner in the hotel room ;)

I'm so glad I get to spend my life with him. I never imagined that 15 years ago, when I saw this cute boy in choir class that we would eventually marry, have three kids and serve God through the day to day joys and trials of our marriage. I'm so glad he's my partner in crime ;)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Plain and Simple

Oh my! Where to begin? I guess I could begin by saying that since 2011, we have been traveling to Pennsylvania every Fall. It has become my favorite family tradition. Just seeing the leaves change, feeling the cool crisp air and getting to return to a plain and simple life is all I need to feel recharged.

I am obsessed with the Amish lifestyle and have probably read every book by Beverly Lewis...and even a few biographies of breaking free from the Amish. I think part of me craves the simple life more than "fancy" things. Sometimes, I crave the quiet solitude of the lifestyle. And sometimes I even crave their moral code; their desire to please the Lord at all times, their need to always glorify Him in every action.

We stayed at Eby's Bed and Breakfast, a farmhouse built in 1814 but also full of history since the 1700's. Currently, it is a dairy farm and fresh milk is served each morning with your breakfast casserole or chocolate chip pancakes. The small attached apartment we slept in was exactly what we wanted...simple. You don't need much when you are with your family...just a clean and warm place to lie your head at night. It was perfect. It even came with a private little kitchen so we could eat in our pajamas and not feel worried about Baby Boy getting food everywhere. So peaceful. Did I mention how much the kids loved it-especially Baby Girl. All she wanted to do was play and run. We stayed outside most of the time. Baby Boy was amazed at the cows. Each morning when you'd step on your front porch, cows would be grazing in the fields.

"Oooohhh woahhhh," he'd say.

Baby Girl spent a lot of time chasing the kittens and both kids became very comfortable around the calves as they were allowed to feed them.

To The Hubs and I, this was exactly the kind of vacation we needed. It was easy. It was simple. Our kids were happy and so of course we were beyond thrilled. I see Eby's Bed and Breakfast becoming a definite part of our family fall tradition. I will leave you with this verse. It's always on my mind when thinking about simplicity, joy, and peace.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8