Piece Collector

I heard a song this morning that really struck a cord with me. I can't stop listening. I am overwhelmed when I hear it for so many reasons. It has a very earthly meaning for me and a very spiritual meaning, as well. We all have a story, it is what helps make us who we are. And every once in a while someone happens to put our story into words! ;)

This song, Piece by Piece, is written by Kelly Clarkson, to a father, about how the man in her life found her and "pieced" her back together after he abandoned her as a girl. Her man restored faith and trust. He proved to her he wasn't going anywhere. He collected her pieces and filled in the holes. WOW!! What a message on this Friday morning! And apparently a message I needed because it was screaming at me, y'all! ;)

So, I am incredibly touched by the lyrics and feel so blessed by them, such a beautiful reminder to me. I have an earthly "piece collector" who is so so good to me. He's more than I ever deserve in this life, and he's all mine! ;) He's so patient with collecting me, the total mess I am, and helping me put it all back together. For years, he has so selflessly filled in the holes to overflowing. He is my person, and I am so blessed.

And beyond that, I have a Heavenly Father who found me early, accepted me, picked up my pieces...all of the mess, and put it all back together. And day after day, He proves His faithfulness, goodness, grace, and mercy. What a gift, an incredible, overwhelming, amazing gift. I am so so grateful for a father who loves me just because. I haven't earned it. I fail Him daily. Yet, He loves me. He proves our worth to Him over and over. And what an appropriate season to hear such a message. Easter is coming..when He proved to us all our worth. Thank you, Lord, for collecting our pieces, putting us back together, and loving us continuously, even when we don't deserve it. Thank you!

Piece by piece...

Piece by piece I fell far from the tree
I would never leave her like you left me
She will never have to wonder her worth...

He'll never walk away
He'll never break her heart
He'll take care of things
He'll love her
Piece by piece
He restored my faith
That a man can be kind
And a father should be great

Piece by piece...

16 Birthdays

There are certain people and things that happen in life, that kind of mark the beginning of LIFE for you. Meeting my person, would have to be one of those things. I had life before then, of course, but the 16 years that have followed meeting him have been so super, so full of love, and so unforgettable. He's our rock, our everything. I've watched him grow from a truck loving country teenage boy into a strong family man and business owner of God. He amazes me everyday. He works so selflessly so that we can have so much more than we deserve. We are so very grateful for him and all that he does. Today is his day. His special day. We are blessed to count another birthday together! 16! 16 birthdays we have spent together and it never gets old or redundant. We've walked each other through so many stages of life, but he and I can't get over the personal and relationship growth we have experienced this year, and I am so fortunate to have him to share it with. He makes me better. I would give him the world for his birthday if I could, because he deserves it! We will settle for a few homemade gifts and a lot of lovin'! He's our number one and we are his biggest fans! Happy happy birthday to the greatest man I know! Look forward to celebrating 16 more! 

14 Days of Love!

Well! February has almost come and gone! We have celebrated a little one's birthday, Valentines Day and next week will celebrate Daddy's birthday!

It's been a couple years since we did the 14 days of valentines but I decided to go for it this year! And it was a ton of fun! The big kids really got the little jokes and things so that made it quite enjoyable! :) I did get a little slack on the picture taking and got none of our special breakfast on Valentines. (Maybe I get a pass since it was on a Sunday morning? Sunday mornings already go faster than the others without throwing in a little holiday! ;) )

"I'm hooked on you"

"You're one in a minion"

"I chews you"

"you light up my life!"

These are his little valentines. ;) We had some "I <3 U" pancakes and got to share the morning with Rosey! Fun stuff! :) I enjoy every day with these incredible kids! My heart is full.

Sweet 6th To My Little Miss Magic

My precious baby girl, it feels like yesterday when I was laying on the couch and felt your very first kick. I didn't even know then if you were a boy or a girl (would've put money on a boy, though!) and I had no idea the sparkles and magic that would be in my future. You are everything happy and joyful with a tad bit of sass and a wonderful sense of humor. Your heart is pure gold and the twinkle in your eye is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You are my girl. Daddy melts at the very sight of you. And today we celebrate your 6th birthday!

You have a great sense of of the necessity of hard work and your determination is amazing. You are a tiny gymnast, a sweet little artist, a reader (like bookworm reader), and allll things princess! I was sure, when I had a girl, that I wouldn't really do princess-y...boy did you have something different in mind! We do princess-y...big time! So, thank you! Thank you for teaching me about princesses and sparkles, magic and wonder, and love. You have so much love to give and you give so freely! I hope you always keep your sweet innocent spirit and do great things for The Lord. You are such a precious gift to us. We love you more than we could ever say! I can hardly believe it's already been 6 years that we have been blessed to keep you! It's been so wonderful and precious and we cherish every minute of it! Can't wait to see what this year has in store for you, sweet girl! And today, we wish you the happiest birthday yet! With all our love, Happy Birthday, Little Miss Magic! <3

The Extras

The big kids have somewhat found their "thing"! I'm very happy about this. It's fun to see your kids do things with determination and passion. We have tried to let them try what they are interested in (within reason) until they find the one they love. And I think we have...for now! ;) We have found ourselves a little stretched thin with school extras and extra extras, so they will be cutting back to one sport and one extra next semester and Grayson picked his without question! He really wants to give football a try (eeek! Mama might not be able to handle that!) and is a little budding pianist who will definitely continue playing, he says. He absolutely loves it. He sits down and plays his assigned practice pieces and then "writes" his own music. It's fun to see. I think, for his little mind, piano has really been good. It's something he can focus and work at. Something that requires practice and thought, and for him...VERY big busy brain, this has been really great! He had his first piano recital in December and loved it. He did get a little nervous, but really did well and it definitely sparked a little passion in there!  Not to mention, he may have loved the fact that several people came just to see him play. ;) And the football may be just as good! He's a busy, competitive boy, who loves a challenge. He did decide to give up his art classes and cub scouts after this year to pursue football and continue piano. A little sad to let the scouts go, but any of you will know you can't do it all, and stay sane, especially with 3 children, and he seems very sure about his choice!

Ada is currently a tiny gymnast, girl scout, and takes art lessons. She has decided next semester that she will continue gym (because "I just LOVE it", she says) and she wants to stick with scouts and then "in 12 months, give piano a try," which I think will be great. She's a reader/writer so music may suit her very well and I think it's a valuable thing to be able to read/play music, but she's still young! I think 7 will be a great age to start. Once again sad to let the art lessons go (that girl has some natural artistic talent!) because she does love them, but hopefully these are things we can continue to develop at home. She began her second competition season in November. The first competition, she was so excited and jittery and had a few goofs, but she really enjoys herself and that is so fun to see! She still got a gold medal on her favorite event, bars! She did so well at the second competition a couple weeks ago, where she got 2 silver medals on bars and vault, 4th on floor and beam and silver all-around. She's loving it!! And always counting down to the next competition.

I must say, as fun as it is to see the interest sparked, we actually look forward to less on the calendar so we can do some more family adventuring as opposed to being on the go for different events and activities, all in different directions. We, of course, will finish out our committed years to these extras, but will be excited for some down time this summer and a new, lighter activity schedule (this however, doesn't actually give us a "light" schedule, as I don't think that exist with 3 children) in the Fall.

And as sad as it is, the little one will get his turn to try Tball and soccer this coming year, and boy is he excited!! He's already learned the basics from brother and sister, so he's ready to go! :)

I am grateful for a daddy who works so hard to allow his children to try the extra activities along with all the regular expenses of raising children! He's truly the best around! :)