Focus

I will have a TON of new things to post. I just got a new computer because SOMEONE spilled their chocolate milk on my other one (no it wasn't Scotty). So all of my info is being transferred over, including my pictures. For now I will leave you with this focus that Scotty and I taught to our Bible study this week:
In Matthew 8 Jesus and His disciples get on a boat together. A large tempest (huge windstorm- think Castaway) overtakes the waters. The disciples are frightened to death and they search for Jesus, who is found to be asleep on the ship. They panic saying "Save us we are perishing!!" (paraphrased) Jesus responds with "O Ye of little faith" and with a WORD calms the storm. They marvel at Him saying "Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?!"
God is never surprised by our circumstances. He led the disciples onto the boat, surely He would protect them there. He knows our circumstances and He is in control of them. With a word He can speak anything into existence. Our Creator is in control of NATURE. How much more is He in charge of our small problems? This week let us all acknowledge His presence and Divine power over even the largest temptests in our own lives. God Bless you all. xoxo-KK

This Little Lucky...

Had a two day birthday extravaganza this year at Disneyland! We splurged and got Disney passes in September and have been there no less than 20 times since then. It is so much more fun to go with your kids and see the reaction on their faces when they get excited about certain things!! We had an absolute blast. We started out with lunch at Goofy's Kitchen with my family and a few friends. All of the characters come around and say hello as you are eating. So exciting, yet terrifying for a two year old. Brinks chose to dress up as "Lella" (Cinderella) for the day.






We then came BACK the next day and met up with our friends Tim and Christine who LOVE to spoil this little girl rotten.







All in all, the best way to celebrate two years with our girl and all of the people who love and adore her almost as much as we do. She is such a blessing to everyone around her and Scotty and I feel so privileged to be chosen to be her parents.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

A couple of weeks ago, there were two specific things calling my name in Oklahoma. I know, random, right? First of all, I have family that lives in a TINY little "town" called Welch. I use the word town here very loosely, as it is basically code for one gas station, and one general store and lots o land. My grandparents live on a farm here and I used to spend every summer there as a child. The other thing that was occurring in Oklahoma were two of our dear friends, Jeff and Chelsea's wedding! So, my father and B and I flew out to visit my grandparents at the beginning of the week and the Love flew out and met us at the wedding rehearsal on Friday. We had a lovely time with my grandparents, except for the fact that Miss B and I somehow got the stomach flu on the first night we got there! Little B didn't stop throwing up for FOUR DAYS. Poor B!! And poor 8 months pregnant me! I thought I was going to die! I was having nightmares of a preterm labor in the barn because the nearest hospital is hours away. Although both of us felt positively awful for a good portion of the time, we did manage to sneak in a few things I remember from my childhood.

fishing with great- grandpa


catching frogs


going on nature walks


finding walking sticks


picking wild flowers


searching for barn cats


i love my grandparents old barn and their property




It was amazing to me that Miss B could be so entertained by, well, NOTHING to be honest with you. We live such a different life here in southern California. We think our kids need STUFF to make them happy. Ipods, Ipads, XBOX, Wii, various sports, activities, playgroups etc for them to be content. But really, they just need a walking stick and the endless road. I think perhaps WE are the ones that need this stuff. That by purchasing it for them it somehow makes us better parents. Miss B could have entertained herself for HOURS picking up walnuts in my grandparents yard and putting them in a bucket. We saw a turtle lazily strolling by the road one afternoon. We picked it up and B was so happy to watch it move around slowly and eat what she put in front of it. She was enthralled by the cows in the pasture and the "horsies" that ran wild. It reminded me of a verse in Matthew,

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

we complicate things so much as we grow up. But truly we can learn a lot from our little babes about being content. It was so fascinating for me to watch my little girl share some of the same experiences that I had had as a child. How simple life is. How simple life can be. The Lord calls us to have a child-like faith. One that seeks after Him with a pure and unadulterated heart.

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

He wants our fellowship. He wants a simple, innocent and humble relationship with His children. Let us all be reminded of this fact when we watch our little ones.

The wedding later that weekend, of course was a blast. Some highlight photos:

It's Been 2 Years...

since this beauty came into the world.



And I was made the happiest mommy in the whole world. Happy Birthday to my sweet Brinkley. You have changed me in ways I didn't know possible.

Drawing us Closer

Last month the Love and I were able to get away for a weekend for our anniversary. It was a much needed time of catching up for the both of us since we had had my parents living with us for the better part of six months. SIX MONTHS. I once heard a saying that both fish and relatives stink after 3 days. Imagine what six months will do to you. Especially because we live in such a small place (2 bedroom) apartment. And really, we get along remarkably well with my family, but well, as I'm sure you could guess, living with that many adults in such tight quarters began to feel like a refugee camp. Anyways, so Scotty and I DESPERATELY needed some alone time and he surprised me and took me to Santa Barbara for the weekend. The entire trip was planned out. He told me to pack on Thurs night and then he drove me to the train station Fri morning (after he took me to get a mani/pedi). We rode business class to Santa Barbara and arrived at our bed and breakfast a few hours later. He had packed me plenty of magazines and snacks for the ride, and well, the time together was just perfect. Here are a couple photos from our trip...







So long story short, the Love and I were discussing what a whirlwind our life has been this last year. And it brought us to some very real conclusions about who our God is. And who I had previously understood Him to be before this year. Our God is a jealous God. He is jealous over our time, our attention, our focus and our lives. And though He doesn't always CAUSE the hardships to come in to our lives, He ALLOWS them for some very specific reasons. The most important of which is to draw us closer to Him. You see, I feel like before all of this happened in my life (some other major things that happened will be reserved for future posts) I knew God loved me, but I didn't really KNOW God loved me. There is so much inconsistency and turmoil in this world that the only REAL thing we can count on is Christ's love. That's it. I have read the book of James over and over and over again and I never understood why we were to consider it joy when we had trials. Yes patience is important, yes, testing our faith is important but I believe above all these things that the Lord wants to draw us closer to Him. He wants to use these trials as an opportunity to reveal Himself to us in a more intimate and personal way. If we never encounter difficulties, how is it that we can join in Christ's suffering and truly reveal His glory?

Phillipians 1:29 "It has been granted to you... to suffer for Him."

God chooses us to endure difficulty after difficulty in our lives so that we are reliant, dependent and completely desperate for Him. It is in these times that He can reveal to us His perfect peace, and His perfect love. Peace and love that come from nowhere else, but Him alone. So I suppose this was the greatest lesson I learned through my year. And yes, love and I had an INCREDIBLE time drawing closer to one another on our Santa Barbara trip. But we had an even more incredible time drawing close to our Lord this year.

"The human trials of life are burned into us numerous times, and through God's grace, beautiful colors are formed in us and made to shine forever." Cortland Myers

My Life as a SAHM

Stay at home mom. Those words used to send shivers down my spine. "How boring." I used to think to myself. "What a waste of talent." And to be completely honest, I'm sure that is precisely the attitude that most of America has towards us moms that choose to stay at home. We are taught now from a very young age that we can "do it all," "have it all" and "become whatever we want." And to some extent... we can. But the question is, SHOULD we?! SHOULD we be spreading ourselves thin to everyone and anyone and give our kids and our husbands the leftovers? And not only that, can we without paying a price? The answer is NO. We become the tired, ragged, burnt out wife and mom that we won't let anyone else see. It's thought provoking, is it not? For the first year and a half after I had Brinkley I did precisely that. I did not cut back on any of my commitments, on any of my work hours, or on any of my pressing social engagements and I ran myself completely ragged. I felt exhausted all of the time trying to keep up with everything and everyone. And I felt time go by so quickly that I constantly felt torn between my family and all of my obligations. "Is this the way it is supposed to be?" I wondered. So I began to do some research. I dug in to God's word and examined other families who I admired and loved. The results came in staggeringly slanted to one side. TIME is such a precious commodity that it has to be guarded. It sounds like such a foreign concept. Guarding time.
The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1
What does this mean, to build a house? I think that it possibly means that our #1 commitment is first to the Lord and 2nd to our families. We are to be spending our time BUILDING our houses. Investing TIME in our families. What good am I if I am President of the PTA, room mom for my kid's class, and Sunday school coordinator, but my own family is suffering?
So with the Lord's help, this is what I have been attempting to do. Spend my time at home investing in my family. The sense of fulfillment and contentment that I have had has been overwhelming. So these have been some of the activities that Miss B and I have been up to...

met some friends to pick strawberries







Titus 2:3-4
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Busy at home. Occupying ourselves with our roles at moms and wives. In Voddie Baucham's book, Family Driven Faith (which I highly recommend to anyone who has not read it) he explains that "anything that causes you to sacrifice your family on the altar of prosperity is not of God." He encourages women that being a wife and a mother is an honorable calling. We are investing in the future. We have SO FEW years where our children are in our homes and under our influence. Why not make the most of them? Slowly, I have noticed my own attitude change. I look forward to my days with my girl, and also with my future children. I am proud of this life that I have and I wouldn't trade it for anything or anyone else's. I know that I am called to an honorable calling. And I am proud to fulfill that role. xoxo- KK

B and I spend our Mondays at ballet, then sometimes we meet up with Papa to feed the ducks.

P.S.

Somehow I neglected to mention I am 33 weeks pregnant with a boy!! Due in Nov. Praise God!

It's Been a Long Time

Hi Friends-
I have had a transformation. The Lord has truly brought me over to the other side. Though so much time has passed between my last post and this one, I can assure you that I have truly been seeking His will, His desires, and feel as though I have some direction and motivation to keep this blog going. I have learned SO MUCH in the past 6 months and am so excited to share it all with you, my blogging friends. The first of which is why God has called me to have this blog. I wholeheartedly have sought Him on this topic and feel as though He has a plan for it. Maybe just for me to be an encouragement to other women like me who are just trying to figure this thing called life out. Though how sweet it is to know that the Lord is the one who is directing my steps. It is so interesting to me that we all enjoy painting a picture of the way we feel our lives "ought" to be. And we become obsessed with living up to this ideal. Our marriage must look like this, or our children must have these specific talents, or behave in this particular manner. But life never works out this way, does it?

Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

And although initially as a younger, more immature Christian, I would have thought to myself "Darnit!!! Why can't God just do things MY WAY?!" I feel like there have been several situations where I can now look back and I think "PRAISE GOD that I didn't get what I wanted." I would have made a royal mess of my life by now, amen? He seems to know exactly what it is that we need, when we need it. So hallelujah that He has the master plan.



Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.




Lately, I've been so struck with this verse, because God has really shown me that although we have our desires, and our plans, life is ultimately not in our control. It reminds me of the ocean. Though we can predict high tide and low, and we enjoy playing in the water, or surfing, we ultimately cannot overpower the waves. And if the Lord MADE the waves, then why do we try to overpower His plans?




We may as well just enjoy the gifts He has given us, and likewise be a gift to others as well.





Sooooooooo, (drumroll please) this blog is now dedicated to all of you. Wives, moms, sisters in Christ. I hope this blog is real, a real depiction of my life as I try to follow Christ and live out all of these roles that God has called me to in this life of mine. I hope to provide some solace to you if you feel you are going it alone, and some inspiration to you, if you feel you have reached the end of your own. But mostly, I hope that this blog will be about a journey, and it will follow me as I follow Him. xoxo-KK