Summer is Near!!!!

 Summer is coming! and it is moving fast already. Jesse and Hadley have one week left of MMO. Emery follows close behind and will be officially a 1st grader! I can not believe how fast her first year of school went. She has grown so much and has become such a little person. I love spending one on one time with her, I feel like we are soul mates. I love her so.

Hadley is finally walking. At 14 months I didn't think she would ever start but she has. Today she walked around the entire house, just like Frankenstein, with her arms out stretched in front of her. I love it so much. She has been a blast. I'm not saying my days haven't been hairy,  LORD YES they have. But I am so glad we took the plunge and decided to add a 3rd into our mix.

All 3 of my kids constantly run their mouths. So no issue on the talking milestones. We've had a great start to spring with trips to Georgia to see family and tons of time spent here with friends.

 On a sadder note, our dear closest friends on staff at our church are moving (just 45 minutes away) so that David can be the senior pastor at a church near Clemson. I am so excited for them, its their hometown, he is an amazing talented, gifted pastor, can sing AND preach like nobody's biznas and is one of the funniest, craziest guys you will meet. The worst part about it is he is taking his wife, my friend, with him. When we first moved here and started at the church they were so kind and gracious to us. David took Benji under his wing and showed him the ropes around the church. Jocelyn took me under her wing and showed me all the great shopping stops! ha. No really she has been the most encouraging person in my life for the past six years. The role of Minister's wife is a role like no other. Pastor's work Dr's hours, are always, always on call no matter what. They have mountains of expectations and responsibilities thrown on them everyday. They are excepted to be everywhere at once, all while being an example of a Godly husband, father, friend, shepherd, teacher, disciplinarian, etc....it is sometimes OVERWHELMING.

All that to say we would have not made it these first 6 years without the love and support of this family. Benji and I are happy, settled in and more confident now after six years. We will be okay without them, and we know it is for the best and we also know it is apart of ministry. But I would be lying if I didn't say there is a tiny whole in my heart where my friends the Kay's used to reside. I wish them nothing but success, and I know that will come. God be glorified in His work through David and Jocelyn.

So that's about caught all my faithful readers up with our life. I'm still working on getting this stay at home mom thing down. The mundane gets to me and somedays are still bad days. But I am doing so much better mentally and physically. I'm about to start working with a Naturopath/Nutritionist to see if I can continue to heal myself from the inside out. I've been on a long journey and so has my poor family. BUT it is what it is. Everyone has their battles. Thing are looking up and I'm excited about the future. 

Hello Spring!

    I was hoping I would continue posting here regular. But y'all 3 kids and Benji working 2 jobs aint no joke. we run a 100 miles an hour all week. Emery has homework every night. Church on Weds night and Sunday night (and a.m. obviously).... Jesse has preschool 2 days a week. You would think I would get more done with the littles off at school a few days, but I just spend all my time in the CAR!!!!! 

We are all so glad it is spring finally. This weather has been brutal! 30* one day 70* the next. Emery is so confused about what to wear to school. AND so am I! ha. 

Benji's schedule is slowly picking up and will swing into full spring break/summer mode in a few months. I always say summer is his busiest time, but actually he's just always busy! 

This has been a great past few months. Hadley turned ONE!!!! I've started clearing out, selling, donating, all my baby stuff. I have not been sad at all! I am so thrilled that I have 3 healthy children that are growing and thriving. Who would want their kids to always "fit in a baby swing???" that's how I have to look at it. :) 

We are Dave Ramseying it up in this hizzous. I aint gonna lie. It was hard the 1st month. Now I am actually enjoying the challenge (and benefits!) We are both ready to start getting serious about our future. We do have two weddings and 3 colleges to pay for! NOT to mention 3 kids that will need cars....oh mercy! 

I've been administering my own allergy shots for a few months now. Through my family Dr. of course. He has an allergy specialist that trains you to give your own. Each month I go back to get the next dose. Hopefully it will knock out my allergies for good in about a year, year and a half! It's really just like giving insulin to yourself i guess, except I do it every other day. 

I got this cool EPI pen I get to carry around in case I have a reaction. Ha. 

Now if ya know me, ya know I'm a little granola, a little hard core modern meds. Im a FIERCELY Pro- Vaccine, it's totally my soap box... (another post). Im also very pro mental health medication/ therapy. I am convinced now more than ever, after suffering from PPD for basically 5 years, that it is a hormonal, chemical imbalance. I believe that medicine and therapy are the BEST ways to combat this illness. I also do believe that it can go into "remission" with the right therapist and support system. 

I can't tell you how much I've learned about myself through therapy. The medication and counseling LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE. I hate that I had to go through it, each time with each baby, but I am thankful that I can let other moms know they are not alone. It is SO REAL and SO HARD. Please don't be too proud to ask for help. A healthy Mother = a healthy child/family. 

Which also leads to my polar opposite side. ha. Im talking straight granola hippy here. I've started using Young Living Essential Oils. Short story of it is that Ive always been a huge proponent of aroma therapy. I have always been intrigued by the chemistry of perfumes,  and the psychological impact they have on our memory, our brain and our emotions. Now I'm not looking for oils to cure cancer, autism, heart disease, my depression or OCD. (not yet anyway) BUT I do believe that they can help me with my stress and tension. They are good for antibacterial uses. They SMELL amazing when you diffuse them. There are some that are great for stomach issues, headaches and allergy symptoms. That's what Im in it for as of now. No selling just buying and learning. If you are interested in Young Living Essential Oils let me know and I will steer you in the right direction. There is still a ton I don't understand/know. I do know that they help my headaches and congestion and make my house smell amazing. So. Those 3 things are worth it too me. :) 

Don't worry Im not praying to Buddha or stopping modern meds for "snake oil" I'm just interested in seeing how far God's natural products can take us in the name of health. 

So when I heard about all the great benefits of E.O's It made perfect sense to me. I have loved getting to know my Young Living Essential Oil Premium Starter kit. I've also found out about the benefits of Oil Pulling. (google it) anyway. I am slowly transforming my life into the life I am most authentic in. It's going to take me this entire year I am sure of it. But everyday I see myself making improvements and steps in the right direction. I'm finally excited about the future for the 1st time in awhile. It feels great! 

AND SERIOUSLY how beautiful are my girls? I am so blessed with such an amazing family. My cup runs over daily. Life is good and I am so, so happy to be exactly where I am. 

Late Night With KLadd

I freakin love Jimmy Fallon. And I am so pumped that he has taken over The Tonight Show. Benji and I DVR it and watch it at 8pm after the kids have gone to bed. ha.

Sooooooo I haven't blogged in awhile. Partly to blame is Instagram. I feel like I share my photos, which is most important, so blogging took a back burner. I've also started reading like a mad woman again. I've always been a big reader. Especially in my young teen years. In Seminary I got out of the habit of reading for "fun" just because I had so much to read for school. But! finally I am getting back into reading. Having spare time sitting in the car line to pick up Emery has given me great time to catch up. There are so many classics and so many recent books that are true gems. I've missed out on so much taking an academic approach to reading. I forgot how much joy there is in reading a book purely because you want to.

So have you all read The Hunger Games series? FOR REALLLL..... I was a skeptic. For along time. I was like that's trash, that's science fiction....man was I wrong. One of my good friends recommended them to me and i trust her book choices. So I gave it a chance. One of the best series I've ever read. So compelling and smart and tragic and beautiful. I am on the edge of my seat for the DVDs to come out. Anyway.

I've also been doing a lot of "work" on myself. It's no secret that becoming a stay at home wife and mother (and pastor's wife) completely rocked my world.  I've been on a sort of self rediscovery journey. I've made peace with a lot in my past, and I've realized how blessed I am with the PRESENT.  I am trying my best to not worry about the future. I know who holds it in His hands. God has been so apparent to me in the past year.

I do however, want to keep this blog active. There is so much good going on in my life right now. SO many break throughs, recoveries, renewed passions, freedom from bondage, redeeming grace. The list really goes on and on. I feel like I am truly alive again for the first time in a long, LONG time.

We had a hard first of the year. Two family tragedies in the span of one week. So January was spent in transit from here to Gainesville and back.

But February was full of snow, birthday parties for Hadley (1) and Jesse (3). I now have one day, Thursday, that all my kids are at school. Emery in kindergarten and Jesse and Hadley in MMO at our church. I still haven't figured out quite what to do with all that free time (4 hours! ha) but I'm planning on making the most of it.

Sorry for not being present in the past few months.

But not to worry, I'm back and believe me, I'm better THAN EVER!