He played them well.

Funny story:

We recently went to a family funeral. That isn't the funny part. That was sad. At the graveside, Hudson began to wander off, and I tagged along. He found chimes on a grave several yards away. I couldn't hear the ceremony, so I figured they couldn't hear us. So, I let Hudson play away.

Later, we heard a few ladies mention how beautiful the chimes sounded during the service. No one was sure where they were coming from....

I guess I can tell Hudson that he played the chimes at his great great uncle's funeral. He played them well.

Lately

We are back in our normal "soccer" routine around here! We are so spoiled by having Will home tons in the summer, and then, every afternoon in the fall. We even get him for two whole weeks during Christmas break. By the time soccer season arrives in January, I am unprepared for the long days.

I love being a stay at home mom. I know that conversations can get really heated on this subject, and I in no way believe that this is what every family should do. I am grateful for these days. I love the flexibility it give us. I cherish being Hudson's teacher.

Of course, I deal with insecurities with my "occupation." I sometimes don't want to answer the "what do you do?" question. I wonder if I should have a talent or trade that helps my family. I get insecure when I realize how much money I spend and worry that we will be really poor because of me. I am pretty sure all this is normal.

Being a stay at home mom sometimes gets rough this time of year. It is usually to cold or rainy to go outside. We are often stuck indoors, and Will doesn't get home til Hudson's bedtime. We both crave interaction with people.

So, we go out lots! I know this will change when more kiddos come in the picture, but as for know, it works great for both of us. In addition to Hudson helping me grocery shop and run errands, we attend playgroup, Bible Study, (Hud's goes to nursery) and story time every week. We also try to set up play dates every week either at our house or someone else's house. We usually have a weekly Chick-fil-a date on Friday. As the weather permits, we will start visiting Will and his soccer guys some too.

He learns when he is out. He meets people. He gets energy out. I love being the one introducing this little guy to the world.

He is a big guy too. 20 months old! He is talking more. He isn't stringing words together, but he is getting there! He knows how to climb the Chick-fil-a tunnel. He loves to play at the park, and he has become an expert of taking the stairs to the slide. Which he will do over and over and over. He is interacting with his peers more. I love to watch him play and interact. I think it has hit me that he is a real person. He has a personality. He needs friends. So weird.

As for the rest of us, Will and I are joining a church plant in Helena this Sunday. We are excited to be involved in our community through a local church. We have loved attending and are thrilled to become members!

Will has been snapping pictures on his phone lately. I wanted to share a few:

2012 Goals

Last year we made a few resolutions. As a family, we wanted to pray together everyday and memorize scripture. My personal goal was to read the Bible in a year, do a little gardening, and invite people over more often. Will's goals included limiting his complaining and reading two books. Hudson by far had the most goals this time last year. He planned to walk, talk, run, dance, and be off the bottle by the year 2012.

I'm happy to say we did great on our goals. As a family, we failed to pray together each day, but having it as a goal helped us to pray more. We ended up memorizing two chunks of scripture together. Will read a couple books...including all 3 of the Hunger Games. He also learned lots of self-control with trying not to complain, and in the process, he has encouraged me to watch my complaining spirit. I read the Bible, planted tomatoes, and tried to invite people over more. Of course, Hudson beat us all. He mastered all of his goals way before the end of the year.

As for this next year, I think our main goal as a family is to have family time every night at dinner. This will include a little scripture and prayer. We may throw in some songs or scripture memory. Some nights we may only get in one of these, and we know that sometimes it won't be possible at all. Nevertheless, we know it is important. We want to intentionally seek God together as a family. I don't want Hudson to remember a time that we didn't read, pray, and sing with him.

Personally, we want to be diligent in reading God's Word, praying, and being with God's people. We decided that we would limit our "goals" this year, and rather, we could keep our focus on this! As for Hudson, I really just want to be more intentional with him. There are so many opportunities to teach him. I just want to maximize our time.

As I write this, I really want to check my heart and discover why I am sharing this. I don't want to attempt to appear that we have it all figured out. We are simply trying to raise a family on the foundation of Jesus. I blog for several reasons. Mainly, I want this to be a journal for my family. Secondly, I want this be an avenue to encourage others. This being said, lots goes on in between blog posts. I have days that I simply fail as a wife and mother. We argue. We spend an entire week without having one intentional conversation with each other, let alone praying together. Yet, by the grace of Jesus, we continue pressing forward. We walk in the truth that we are dearly loved the by one that created us.