Dragging My Feet...

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a good Monday!  :)

I know I haven't been posting many projects lately, but that is because I have really been dragging my feet. I've just been feeling so tired lately and find myself needing naps when my little one does!

Source

I thought this online image was adorable and had to post it. We don't have a cat, but this one is soooo cute!

Anyways, I apologize for not having many DIY projects up and for not posting as often, but I do have projects in the "works" and hope to post about them soon (which I know I've said before, but it will happen, people!)  :)

Right now, I'm just going to spend the rest of the day hanging out with my family and listening to some jams on the radio (or TV I should say). What can I say, we love music around here and our little one especially loves to dance around the house to it. It is the cutest thing everrrrr!!!

Thanks for stopping by!



Dear Stay-at-Home Mom article

Good morning, friends!

Today I wanted to share with you an article a friend of mine posted recently that I thought was very encouraging. :) It is taken from The Gospel Coalition website and is a very good read.

Enjoy!

Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,

You are a gift of God to your husband and your kids.

But you don't always feel that way, do you?

There's a low-level feeling of guilt that creeps into your heart from time to time. Sometimes it bubbles over into tears, usually on lonely, difficult days.

You scan blogs and read books about being a good mom. You find some helpful tidbits here and there, often from women who are grandmothers now. Women you can learn from but who seem to have forgotten the struggle. They seem to have it all together.

In your heart, you want to be the kind of mom who trains up kids to make a difference for the kingdom. You know it's an honor to be entrusted with these kids. You know you've only got one shot. You want to be the mom who teaches them the Bible, models how to pray, and trains them up in the fear of the Lord.

But most of the time you feel like you're barely holding it all together.

Your house cleaning can't keep up with your kids' mess-making.

The kids embarrass you by acting up right when your guests arrive.

Your husband doesn't get just how worn out you are by the end of the day.

You come to the end of your patience. You lose your temper. Then you feel worse.

The last thing you consider yourself to be is a "good mom." And you think to yourself, It'll be a miracle if my kids turn out okay.

And - surprisingly - that's right where God wants to meet you. The place where you admit your powerlessness and your need for Him.

It's only by God's grace that any kid grows up to be a force for the kingdom.

You see, there are no perfect kids and no perfect mothers. No matter what you read in blogs, see in magazines, and learn in books. There are sinful kids and sinful moms and dads.

And the only thing greater than both is the grace of God. The God who says "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." The God who loves to forgive, to transform, and empower.

God loves you - not because you are a good mother but just because you are His precious child.

God loves you - not because you've mastered all the skills of parenting but because He has.

It's divine grace that will transform your parenting - not guilt.

It's grace that will keep you going and serving and scrubbing when you're exhausted and worn out.

It's grace that will conquer your feelings of inadequacy and remind you of God's love for you in Christ.

It's grace that goes for the heart of your kids, not just their behavior.

God has demonstrated the fullness of His love for you through the cross of His Son, even while you were still a sinner.

He has promised you His presence.

He has spoken His approval over you in Christ.

He is the perfect Father who delights in you as a daughter.

Find in Him your Treasure and Joy. Be to others what He is to you.

So walk in freedom. Let Him hold you together when everything seems to be falling apart.

Bask in His unfailing love for you. And rest in His promise of power. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Park Fun & Weekend

Hi there! How was your weekend?

I hope it was great!

Our weekend was pretty good and relaxing overall. We spent much of it outdoors (even though it was pretty hot out here). Whenever we go places with our daughter, especially if it is outside somewhere, she always takes wonderful naps afterwards- sometimes for 2 1/2 to 3 hours!! :) How glorious!

Haha, don't you just love this picture! I think it's so cute.

Anyways, this morning my daughter and I are meeting up with some friends at a park and we are going to have a blast! I always love taking our little one places to see new things and explore around. She loves to run around these days and can't get enough of it. I guess that is what to expect with a 1 year old though. I do have to say it is fun to watch her look at new things and see places she is either not familiar with or is familiar with, like the park. It's funny though, because sometimes her interests lie more in playing with leaves or grass blades from the ground and she loves to pick them up and give them to me or anyone else who is around her. What can I say? She is a giver! :)

I plan on having some other DIY project posts up this week. Things that are on the list include painting (or repainting) the dining room, converting a storage ottoman to a coffee table (and adding new fabric to it), and rearranging the family room some more. There are other things on the to-do list such as putting up some wall shelves for our daughter's books in our loft. I am excited about that project to be done, but know it may take a while. The plans are still in my head so we haven't really executed anything out just yet. But when we do, it should be fantastic!! And I will be sure to post pictures of all of the steps and the before and after.

That's it for now, folks! Have a great rest of the day!

Thanks for stopping by!