Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July to all! I hope you had a great day with family and friends. We spent the day with my parents and my mom's brothers and their families. It was the first time in a long time that we had all been together. The day would have been perfect if my sister and her family could've been there. We missed you, Jennifer! The boys did great considering they were in a house with a lot of people they didn't know. We spent the day just hanging out, talking, laughing, and eating! My mom put together a KILLER 4th of July dinner. We had everything from brisket, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, deviled eggs, cornbread, Texas toast and HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! We all very successfully gained 5 lbs. by the end of the day! After gorging ourselves on the amazing meal, we went out to the backyard and watched my cousins shoot fireworks. (The beauty of living in the country!) The boys slept through all of it!

Speaking of the boys, they are doing great. Yesterday we celebrated 1 month of parenthood. They have lived with us for exactly 4 weeks and all is well. Zachary's going through a phase( I hope it's a phase) of not taking a very long nap. Because of not sleeping in the afternoon he isn't the most pleasant child to be with in the evening. I know he is tired because he slept until 7:45 this morning. He NEVER sleeps that late. Daniel is talking more and more. He is starting to put 2-3 words together and is very determined to make sure you know exactly what he wants/needs. He is entering into "I'm almost 2 and I WILL get my way by screaming" stage with flying colors! Pray for Mom and Dad...we're going to need it! :)

Sean and I realized this week that being good parents is hard. I know, I can hear the collective "duh" coming from everyone. What I mean is that we realize that we have to be very intentional about everything we do with the boys. If there is something that we want them to learn or unlearn, we have to be very intentional about it. I have also learned (the hard way!) that Satan does not want to see families happy and thriving. It is his greatest desire to see parents constantly grumpy and tired so that the word of God is never spoken or shared in homes. I learned this week that the only way I can be a good mom is to spend some serious time in prayer asking God to pour out His wisdom and grace. Again...this sounds so simple and like something I should have known by now but....call me a slow learner!

I was watching a video last night that goes along with the Beth Moore Bible study I'm doing right now and she was talking about the heritage we leave our children. She was talking about when Joshua led Israel across the Jordan to claim the Promised Land. The priests were sent out to collect 12 stones and set them up as a reminder of what the Lord had done. They were to tell their children and descendants all the Lord had done. I was so convicted by her words. Sean and I have prayed and talked about how our boys will know what the Lord did to bring us together as a family. What I realized last night is that it has to go beyond that. Our boys have to know that they are chosen by God to do amazing things. They need to know that they are a part of a heritage that is blessed and full of God's grace and mercy. They need to hear it now...at 2 1/2 years old and 22 months.

I think I'm done "preachin" for now. We're getting ready to spend the weekend with my parents and my sister's family. The grandkids are going to have a full weekend of playing together and getting their picture made. My mom wants a big picture of ALL the kids...from Sean all the way to Daniel and everyone in between. We're going to JCPenney's tomorrow. I'll blog about that next week...I'm sure it'll be interesting!