Hey, friends! Happy Monday! (Be sure to read the whole post because there are promo and discount codes for you!)

Poor Hayes has an ear infection and an eye infection and Hudson has a nasty cough. We definitely have a case of the Mondays. But the boys are both happy and full of life, so we’re surviving on giggles and play time!

I wanted to remind all of you that tomorrow is Build ‘Em Up: The Joy of Playing With Your Kids. So link up with Kelly, Jennifer, Courtney, and me tomorrow and share your stories of playing with your kiddos!

I can be so bad about posting giveaway winners, but please read this because there are discounts!

The winner of the Rodan+Fields giveaway is…  Lindsay Woods! Congratulations Lindsay! 

As a thank you for entering the giveaway, Marina is offering a $20 rebate to anyone who places their Preferred Customer order before April 1. She has also started a wait list for those who are interested in the new Macro Exfoliator tool (you can read details about it here).  Contact Marina at marinasimmons.rf@gmail.com if you have any questions, need help placing an order, or would like to get on the wait list for the Macro E! You can also visit her website here.

The 2 winners of the Scribble Linens giveaway are…  Andie and Heather Costello! Congratulations, girls!

Don’t forget to follow Scribble Linens on Facebook and Twitter for more updates on adorable products! 

I find myself getting caught somewhere between ambition and fear.

I have a little list of ideas, major projects, and goals. Just some things I think I’d like to try or maybe even a small business idea. But I am always held back by fear.

Fear of failing. Fear of rocking the boat a little too much. Fear of messing up our routine or adding more than we can handle to our routine.

Our life isn’t perfect. It isn’t always easy. But it’s familiar and we’re accustomed to it. And I enjoy it. I love it.

The day may come for me to take those tap dancing lessons. The day may come for me to finally dive head first into an event planning business. Maybe that day is next week.

But it’s hard to even think about getting a ball like that rolling along.

We have an event coming up where I’ll be meeting a lot of new people. And I already have a little bit of anxiety as I think about telling these new people that my job is being a mom. Taking care of the home. Will they look at me like I have six heads? Will they even know what to say to me after that? It wouldn’t be the first time that a conversation has ended because of my occupation.

I know that my role in life doesn’t define me. The decisions I’ve made to not use my degree and the decisions I’m making daily to keep putting off some things that I’d really like to do don’t define me.

As Jessi said earlier this week, no matter what we do, we are enough and not too much in our Father’s eyes.

I know deep in my heart that my Heavenly Father loves me right where I am, and that my insecurities concerning my occupation are completely overlooked. His grace covers my doubts and, when I am feeling brave one day, He will carry me through as I attempt to achieve a goal.

In this season of my life, the word “just” comes out of my mouth a lot. And when I think about how to answer the question about what I do, I say, “I just stay home with my kids.”

Seeing it right there makes me cringe a little bit. So when I love it, and I know how valuable my role is, why am I consumed with insecurity over it?

Deep down, I know that I’m not just anything. There are people that need me.

Some need kisses and hugs and band-aids and diapers changed. They need their train set put back together, they need me to turn on the iPod for dance parties in the living room, They need me to hold them until they fall asleep.

Some people need me to listen and encourage when they’re going through a hard time. Some need me to laugh with them as we escape the real world for five minutes to have a text conversation.

Some people need me to offer advice about a party or upcoming event. Or give an honest opinion about something they’ve written.

My schedule may just be consumed with my children, but it’s up to me to drop the “just.”

Do you ever find yourself caught somewhere between ambition and fear?

Where am I today?

Just click here to find out!

And in the meantime, since I forgot to share my weekend reading post with you last weekend, I’ll share my favorite links from around the blogosphere with you today!

Grace for Everyone Else, Especially Her from Life in the Green House

Joy in the Right Places from Home With the Boys

I Am a Mom Plus from Naptime Diaries

When the Days Are Long And the Minutes Are Longer from Chatting at the Sky

Dear God, Where Are You? from Lysa TerKeurst

Introducing Baby to Older Siblings from The Tiny Twig (I’m loving Hayley’s series on raising small children! Check it out!)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I’m not really down. It’s just kind of a gloomy Monday around here. And it seemed like a fitting title for a brain dump.

1. We had a great weekend. The weather was incredible, and we spent as much time as possible outside. Basically doing our best to run the boys until they couldn’t run anymore. Just so we could get them to take a decent nap so we could catch up on Celebrity Apprentice. (I’m just being honest.)

2. Celebrity Apprentice is absolutely ridiculous, but Todd and I love it. We laugh so much! Is there anything more hilarious than Gary Busey tickling an innocent Universal Studios guest?

3. We spent a lot of time this weekend going over our house plans with a fine tooth comb. Or really just a purple marker because that’s all we had. Going over all of the electrical plans and deciding what kinds of lights you want in which location. And where you want your light switches? I haven’t even set foot in the house. How can we know where we want the light switch to be? But we did it. We’re getting closer!

4. Easter is coming! I’m so excited about the celebrations our church is doing. On Good Friday, if you live in the Columbia area, you should come to Shandon Baptist Church for The Story musical production. If you’ve heard of the touring production, you should come see the one at our church. Tickets are free. Just come!

5. One of these days I’ll write an actual blog post. But I’ve just been enjoying every single bit of time I have with my family. I don’t feel like blogging or over-analyzing or anything, really.

6. This weekend, the four of us are heading to a great retreat facility with about 20 other families from our church. Back in January we were invited to be a part of this, and that’s when I decided to sell my ticket to Blissdom. I’m so excited about this weekend and can’t wait to see what God has in store for all of these families.

7. Dancing With the Stars starts tonight. Not sure if I’ll watch this season or not. I always judge it based on the first episode.

8. Now that warm weather is here, I need a pedicure. I am ashamed to admit that I haven’t had a pedicure since August. I pity the fool who works on my toes. I do. I do.

9. When I say “I pity the fool” I don’t think of Mr. T. I think of this.

10. I made this for supper last night and I highly recommend it. I left out the chicken because we just like the occasional meatless meal. It’s delicious. Try it!

11. I’ve been obsessed with metallic wallpaper lately. I’m thinking for my dining room and powder room. Oh, I can’t wait!