"...your baby boy won't always WANT to be held..."

"Just remember that the laundry and dishes will always be there, but your baby boy won't always WANT to be held ;)"

That is the text I received from a dear friend earlier today. I was sitting down with Silas in my arms trying to comfort him as Truett ran around throwing his toys everywhere like most one year olds do. I had just made my "to-do" list for the day (except it should really be called my "wish" list). This first month with Silas has been a lot different than our first month with Truett, and not just because we have two kids. Truett rarely cried as a newborn. Silas is a different story. Our sweet one month old does not like to be put down if he is awake, and he is not the easiest to get to go to sleep.So what this means is I am holding Silas a lot throughout the day. As I was holding Silas this morning trying to comfort him my first thought, which was a sinful one full of selfishness, was that I was not going to be able to get anything done today. I didn't know how I was going to be able to clean the things I needed to clean or do anything else if Silas would never let me put him down.

Then I received that text from my friend. It was just what I needed to hear. As I was sitting in the chair rocking Silas I became aware of my sinfulness. I was being selfish. I was more concerned about the things I wanted to get done instead of being joyful and thankful for these moments with Silas and caring for him. I started thinking about my role as a wife and a mother. My identity first is in Christ. I am a follower of Christ before anything else. Then I am a wife to my amazing husband. And then a mother. In the role of being a wife and a mother I am also a homemaker. And I truly believe I have the best job in the world. But I was mixing my priorities this morning. I was putting the cleaning and other tasks above being a mom. I love being able to stay home and take care of our home, but I  love even more getting the chance to spend every day with my two sons at home. It is true what my friend told me, the laundry and dishes, or anything else on the "to-do" list can wait. What a sweet season this is where Silas wants me to hold him! I know soon enough he will be off running around with his big brother all day, and there will be a day when I can no longer hold them. I need to cherish these moments while they are here. I need to be thankful to the Lord everyday for this season. My role as a mom is more important than my role of cleaning our home. I need to be careful to not be lazy and neglect the things I need to do to take care of our home, but I need to also remember that it is not laziness if I am tending to our children instead of these other things.

I was reminded today what a great blessing it is to be a stay at home wife and mom. I am so thankful for my husband's hard work to provide for our family and for the job the Lord has provided Kyle to have so that I am able to stay home with our boys. It is such a joy that I am able to do this.

Yes I am still called to take care of my home, which means cleaning and keeping things orderly, but there are days where that may not happen. There are days where I will need to throw my "to-do" list away, and simply care for my children. As a mom of a 15 month old and a 1 month old, I may have a lot of those right now. But what a joy it is to be able to just sit with my son, holding him, hugging him, and loving him when he needs it. If that laundry doesn't get done, it's ok. I will try tomorrow.

A Snapshot of Our Summer (Long Overdue)

This post is long overdue. Getting to the blog this summer was not the easiest thing to do. So, even though it is October and fall is officially here (even though the weather doesn't feel like it), I am finally getting on our blog to do a post of our summer. Instead of writing about everything this summer, here is a snapshot of our summer through pictures!

Kyle and Truett in San Francisco. This was Kyle's first time in San Francisco. Though it was a short trip (about 3 hours and then we went to Templeton) we had a great time exploring the city. We also were able to see Kyle's lifelong friend Clayton. President Obama was also in San Francisco that day!

Us in San Francisco

My good friend Kate and I at the U of A Regionals Baseball game!

Truett celebrating U of A being CWS Champs!

At the zoo with the birthday boy! Truett on his first birthday.

Kyle surprised me and took me to Ventana Canyon for my birthday.

Lisa's husband Ernie surprised her too! We had a blast celebrating our birthdays together at dinner, eating smores by a fire, and swimming the next day. I am very thankful for this girl!

Truett and Makaila joined us the next day for some swimming!

Mak visited us for two weeks this summer!! 

Cousins and best buds. Truett loves his cousin Mak!

We were able to go to California twice this summer. I was able to see some great friends like Brianna!

Truett's happy to be at the fair!

After three years of hearing about it, Kyle FINALLY was able to go to the fair and see one of my favorite childhood places.

We were never able to convince Truett that swimming was fun this summer.

Zoo time with Aunt Ash and Aunt Hannah.

And we patiently waited for our second boy to arrive!!

We had a very blessed summer. These pictures are only a glimpse of what our summer was like. We are thankful for the many memories we made and the fun we had!