I’m starting a new monthly tradition of giving you a little peek into our lives.  It is fun and beneficial to look back to be reminded of the Lord’s grace toward us and to share exciting happenings of our life together.  It’s been a busy month for us!  Lots of out of town relatives visiting, but the most exciting of all was to see my brother-in-law and to meet his girlfriend.  It has left me desirous of pursuing relationship with her because of the strength of godly character that shone through her lovely countenance.  

We’ve survived yet another transition of Blane going back to work full-time outside the home.  It was a hard first week for us at home, but I’ve got a routine down now that makes it much easier for all of us.  We were spoiled in the Army with his hours and privileges.  Civilian life is not quite as cushy.  The days are much longer for us both and Blane often has work to finish after the kids go to bed.  My heart has been sad and burdened for him, because of the weight he bears.  I want to help him carry it, but apart from what I already do, I can’t really help.  It has only increased my respect and admiration for him!

We have learned (the hard way) that we need to be very limited with our evening activities.  Since Tara was born, we’ve been really good about knowing what is healthy for our family in terms of activity.   However,  since moving, our social life has stepped up a notch.  Not that we’ve made many friends – that is going very slowly, but we spend a lot of time with family.  Since they are not in the same season of life with small children, they have a lot more flexibility.   We are stepping back and are seeking to protect sleep times (for both the kids and us!) better than we have as well as our time together as a family.  We also see the need to be more intentional about time alone together.  Our evenings are very short since he doesn’t arrive home from work until much later than what we’ve been used to in the past.

We celebrated Brant’s first birthday on Monday.  He also had his first home hair cut by daddy.  It has been a challenging year of adjustment (and several transitions along the way with two moves and a new job!) mostly for myself and Tara, and we survived!  There were moments when I wondered if we would.    We are still waiting on Brant to walk, which he is capable of doing, but not interested in pursuing beyond a few steps.  I’m okay with it because he’s already demonstrated several times that he’s a climber and that he’s going to be loads of trouble when he is on the go.  I’ll really have my hands full then!

I’ve started writing down a lot of “Tara-isms.”  She has cracked me up so many times this month by the funny things she says.  We had a garage repairman here one day and as he walked through the kitchen, she asked loud and clear “Mommy, is that man wearing underwear?”  All I could do was laugh.  And wait until he left the house to explain that yes, he probably was.  She walks around with her “cell phone” calling all sorts of people and having the most interesting, hilarious conversations.  I love this age.  She is a little person with whom you can have great conversations and is very impressionable.  We’ll celebrate her third birthday in August.

Spiritually, it has been a sweet time of experiencing more of the Holy Spirit’s work in my life.  I could spend many posts writing about this!  I have been so thankful for evidences of the Lord’s grace toward me through different ways the Spirit has been at work in my heart.  His Word has come alive anew and has carried me through many temptations and hard days.  I have been seeing a lot of answered prayer and help from the Holy Spirit in a few areas of my life that have been a struggle recently.  Believing God’s Word, walking in the Spirit, and seeking more of the Holy Spirit can sum up my month!

On the blog front, it is still a work in progress.  You may not know this, but I’ve not yet “officially launched.”  I am working on a launch series and two ebooks that will hopefully be ready by September.  It may be pushed back to October, but I’m really hoping to get a lot done this month that will enable my goal date to become reality.  You will notice several changes around here, including the appearance at some point.  I’m excited to see things take off! So keep in mind that soon I’ll be asking you to help by telling your friends about it!