I got to spend the day with this munchkin all by himself. That’s kind of our typical Tuesday routine. Hayes and I go to his speech therapy session every Tuesday morning. And then we have the rest of the morning to play until we go pick up Hudson from school.

When Hudson was Hayes’s age, I was about 7 months pregnant. So I have really enjoyed having these uninterrupted days with Hayes. I’m not big and pregnant, so I can run around with him and do the things that little boys like to do.

Hayes’s speech therapist, Sarah, has become such a great, encouraging friend to me. We try to sneak in quick talks before and after Hayes’s sessions. We’re in the same Bible study and I’ve just really enjoyed getting to know her and having a few minutes each week to share some things with her.

I’m so thankful that God provided us with a therapist that Hayes loves and someone that I obviously needed in my life, too.

Today, while Sarah and I were catching up, we got on the subject of the importance in taking time to be a great friend. I’m so fortunate to have really kind, really thoughtful people in my life who show love to me when I need it most. And that’s the kind of friend that I want to be, too.

My boys are watching me as I interact with others and I want to set the example for them of how to show love and be a light in this world. The body of Christ is at its strongest when we are showing the love of Christ to others.

So after a particularly tough week, this has been my new mission. I’ve felt so much love lately from friends, and it is on my heart to pay that love forward. And to take action when showing love. Get out there and doing something tangible. And don’t take “no” for an answer.

We all need help. We need an ear to listen, an extra set of hands, a meal, someone to hug our kids and show them how important friendship is- even to adults. It’s the little things that go the farthest. I feel so fortunate to have people in my life that have done those things for me in hard times, and I want to be someone who notices and does something about it, too.

It’s hard work, and it takes planning. And extra time. But, in the end, it’s worth it when we open up our kitchen to share coffee and tears with another mom. And we stop by with dinner just because. Or call and offer to keep her kids so she and her husband can have a long overdue date night.

The gestures are small, but the mutual impact is lasting.

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Are you following on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest?

A few months ago, my friend Molly introduced me to the cutest little online boutique called Ella Madison.

I absolutely love everything in this shop.

They have clothing, personalized items, accessories, jewelry, gifts, and little necessities. It’s really the perfect little stop for finding a gift.

I received the most beautiful little Royal Blue Pave Cross Bracelet to review. And I’m giving one away today on my blog!

I love these cross bracelets and I was so excited to finally have one of my own.

The royal blue beads are wooden and create the perfect blend of casual and sparkle with the pretty pave cross. I like being able to pair it with other bracelets or my watch. It’s elastic so it’s easy to get on and off.

I think it’s the perfect little addition to an outfit.

To enter to win the pave cross bracelet, just leave a comment on my blog and go over and “like” Ella Madison on Facebook! 

Our weekend got started on Friday morning with a very special event at preschool.

For many, many years (in fact, a sweet girl left me a comment on Instagram that she had participated in this event when she was Hudson’s age), Hudson preschool has put on a circus for the 3 year olds.

All four of the 3 year old classes get together to perform a circus for their parents and friends. The kids get to choose what they want to be out of a clown, lion, tiger, acrobat, strong man, horseback rider, or an elephant.

The clowns opened the show by riding their bikes and performing funny little skits. They were all so cute and so silly!

Hudson chose to be a tiger. The lions and tigers came out in a row and crawled across the chairs and then “jumped” through the hoop at the end of the line.

My little ferocious tiger, Hudson, did a great job!

At the end of their little routine they all gave us their biggest “roar.” Ridiculously cute!

Hudson’s good buddy, Dolan, was a “strong man.” The circus was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I’m already excited about the day that Hayes gets to participate. The preschool provided all of the costumes for the kids. So the parents just had to show up and be entertained!

On Friday night, our church had “Kids Night In.” The church provides child care for the kids while the parents go out to eat or hang out with their Sunday school classes. We had a great time with our friends at Pasta Fresca, and the boys had a great night at church with their friends.

On Saturday, we had two birthday parties to attend. The first was a super hero party for a little boy in Hudson’s class. All the little boys in the class were invited and they were encouraged to wear their super hero costumes.

Hudson wanted to be Spider Man.

The mother of the birthday boy did the best job putting on this party for the boys. It was so cute! She thought of every super hero detail. The boys had to complete an obstacle course to earn their “medal” to be able to serve and protect people.

And then they each got their own, personalized, super hero cape.

We went to Mary Elizabeth’s birthday party and played with lots of friends from Hayes’s class that night.

On Saturday night we got to Face Time with KK and Poppie while they were in Louisiana. Hayes loves Face Time. I think he thinks that we should always be able to see people when we’re talking on the phone.

We had a great morning at church on Sunday and then got the boys out so Hudson could ride his bike. He is doing so well! He pedals really well. He has a difficult time getting started again once he stops, but I’m so excited about how well he’s doing.

And Hayes just likes to ride around in his Cozy Coupe police car that Santa brought him. He mostly goes backwards and then spends his time getting in and out of the car over and over again. But, boy, he loves that car!

I have lots more pictures from Christmas and January to share, but I may just go back and do that later.

We had a really great weekend. I was so tired and felt pretty down a lot of the weekend, but my boys kept me busy and being with my family just makes me so happy. I’m so thankful for them.

I got to end the weekend with a sushi girls night with six friends. It was great to catch up with everyone!

How was your weekend?

 

That’s right, y’all! If I’m coming back, why not come back with my favorite way to blog? It’s a brain dump.

And I guess I just need to fill everyone in on what we’ve been up to.

1. House hunting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s new, right? We’ve been house hunting since December 2011. We sold our house in November 2012 and we’re still house hunting. But guess what? We’ve made a decision! We’re meeting with a builder today and we’re getting started. For months, we went back and forth on whether or not we wanted to stay in town or move a little farther out to a neighborhood we’ve loved for a long time. But in the end, we never felt quite at peace about the longer drive, and we kept finding major things wrong with the houses we liked in these neighborhoods.

We’ve found the perfect compromise, we feel. Staying in town and still having new construction– with a garage. A garage! One of the non-negotiables from our original wish list. We’ll still be near our church, our preschool, so many friends (but our friends are scattered all over town, too), and the part of town that we’ve loved for 8 years.

2. TV. I’ve been watching an obscene amount of TV on Netflix and iTunes. I watched all of Pretty Little Liars, Parenthood, West Wing, and Downton Abbey. When the boys go to bed, Todd does a little work (or listens to the Dan Patrick podcast) and I watch a show.

3. Cooking. I’ve loved being back in the habit of meal planning and cooking in 2013. I cook 4 nights a week on average. Wednesday nights we eat at church and the rest of the time we have leftovers. I’ve done my best to make myself at home in Nana’s kitchen. And it’s been fun for us to sit down to eat every night with the boys and with Nana.

4. One of our dearest family friends passed away this week. Mrs. Lewis was a mentor to my parents, and she practically introduced them to each other. She was like a grandmother to me, and her love for my brother and me was so evident. I love the way she loved my parents as if they were her own. And her children and grandchildren are going to miss her so much, too. I’m so sad that I’m not able to go to Louisiana for the funeral this weekend with my parents. She will be missed.

5. Fiona and I have had a lot more quality time together in the past few weeks. She’s such a great little cuddler.

6. Hayes is making great strides in speech therapy. I have absolutely loved watching his progress and getting to know his speech therapist. It’s the neatest thing just watching him learn to correct habits, and I love that his speech therapist is teaching me different ways to work with Hayes.

7. I just have to say that we serve an amazing God. I am so thankful for His protection over our family and that each day He calms my fears and shows me that He is guiding us down each path. So often I am so caught up in the details, but I just need to leave those to Him. Because, guess what? He’s in the details, too. It’s been a tough week, and I’ve felt so much peace in the midst of it all.

8. Watching my boys grow up is the most bittersweet thing. I love seeing who they’re becoming, but when I look at them, especially Hudson, I just have no idea where the time has gone. I know every single mother says this every day, but it’s so true. So many parts of parenthood are just heartbreaking. Looking at my 3.5 year old and not being able to see a trace of chubby belly or a cheek to pinch just tears me up inside.

9. I feel pretty bad that I took a blogging break right after Christmas and I never really blogged about Christmas. It was wonderful. So much fun. So relaxing. But December hit me like a ton of breaks and left me in the dust. I’ve loved the quiet January and the time I’ve had with my family.

10. Today is a big day in the life of preschool. It’s the day that the 3 year olds put on their “Circus.” Hudson is going to be a tiger, much to his daddy’s dismay. (Sorry, Clemson fans.) He’s so excited about his role as a tiger, and I’ll look forward to sharing pictures.

If you stuck around through my break, thank you so much! I’ll try not to let it happen again, but I can’t make any promises.