Teachable {MOM}ents

It's been a while, a long while, since I have blogged. But a few weeks ago God sat me down at the computer one day and made me write this...seriously I just had to put into words the transformation that is happening in my life. So, I am going to step outside of my usual self and post something very vulnerable. The funny thing is that this blog is the perfect place to do it, because I created this blog really wanting to be perfect. To show others that I am a perfect mom and wife, haha! So, now I will break open my heart and show you the real Emily, the raw Emily. Perfectionism - at it's worst I have been a perfectionist my entire life. As a child I would get physically sick, if things didn’t go the way I planned. In some ways it was a good thing, because I set really high expectations for myself. I had goals I wanted achieve and for the most part, if I set my mind to it, I did it. However, there were some things that I just didn’t do well, and in those cases, I would quit. See, ...

A Not So Charming Prince… Last Friday night I took my almost two-year-old daughter to see Disney’s new animated movie, “The Princess and the Frog”. I have to be honest, I was sorely disappointed with this film. Having grown up in the generation of, “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Aladdin”; I felt that Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation left much to be desired. My biggest concern with the movie was the lack of positive character development and connection, specifically speaking, Prince Naveen. What happened to Prince Charming? Well, there was nothing charming about this Prince - in fact, he was the opposite of charming. A better name for him might be Prince Self-indulged, or Prince Entitlement. Prince Naveen’s opening scene in the movie depicts him mucking it up with lots of woman. He was coming to visit New Orleans for the sole purpose of finding a rich girl to marry. He was, what my family calls, a “schmoozer”. Now, I don’t have a problem with a character havi...

"I'm waiting, waiting on you Lord And I am hopeful, waiting on you Lord Though it's painful, patiently I will wait." I want to be obedient to the Lord. I have been falling short, however. I have been trying to make my own path, and plan my own future. Today, I was reading a book and it talked about not putting a period in our lives where God has placed a comma. I loved that! That is what I am doing. There are some exciting opportunities on the horizon, but because of my fears and insecurities I have taken this time of "waiting" as a sign that God was closing the door. Maybe He is, but maybe He isn't and I just need to wait... I haven't had much chance to blog lately. We did get our laptop fixed but our internet no longer worked, so we still have to get new internet...Things are going well at the Powers home. Evelyn is learning about farms this week and next. We are doing some fun projects including; marshmallow sheep, oreo cows, milk experiments and ...

Today, I read this passage in my bible: "Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work. I'm making you as impregnable as a castle, Immovable as a steel post, solid as a concrete block wall. You're a one-man defense system against this culture, Against Judah's kings and princes, against the priests and local leaders. They'll fight you, but they won't even scratch you. I'll back you up every inch of the way." ~Jeremiah 1:18-19 "You're a one-man defense system against this culture ". This whole passage spoke to me but I was particularly drawn to this line. As I was reading it, God just pulled this line out to my attention. And as strange as it may seem, it got me thinking about my children and their futures. I was thinking about the kind of "culture" they will be faced with in their lives. God is asking of Jeremiah to go into the world and do His work, He is preparing him for what is to come. As parents, God has laid t...

So it has been a rough day. I literally knocked our laptop off of it's tray, and it died. I mean for real, goodbye, money down the drain, never to be revived again DEAD! It has all of of our family photos & videos saved on it (which we think can be salvaged, yay!)...so I was just really emotional (hormonal?!?) about the whole thing. I needed an escape. I wanted to go hide in my bedroom and cry, maybe take a relaxing bath, listen to some soothing music. But life goes on, and I had to pull myself together. It seems so silly that I would be emotional about that. It is material possession and completely replaceable. I think about losing something more important to me, something irreplaceable like my family or my freedom or my faith...and I realize that life is too short to sweat the small stuff and too good to take things for granted. On another note, last week we finished "THE VERY HUNGRY EVELYN" book (pics to come whenever I have a working computer at home again...I am ...

I have been thinking about Jesus being the ultimate teacher. Jesus created "teachable moments", isn't that exactly what the parables are? Jesus took 'every-day' moments and turned them into 'teachable' ones. Jesus really used every moment as a teachable moment, and as I strive to be more like Him, that is definitely an area that I hope to improve upon. So it was Day 4 of "The Very Hungry Evelyn" book, and she 'ate' through four red strawberries. She painted strawberries with strawberry Jell0, and ate some real strawberries as well (she liked the Jello better!). I had to let some cleaning go so that I could get this done and get us all ready to go on a family outing (read below), but sometimes it is good to have days when you realize that your children are more important than the dishes in the sink :) My friend, Amanda , actually just blogged about this as well. We went to a soccer game for the school my husband teaches at (Mansfield Chris...

So during the night (Tuesday) Beckett started coughing and having a hard time breathing out of his nose...I can't help but feel extremely frustrated that my one month old baby is sick! I am breastfeeding and none of the rest of us have been sick...plus the few places we have taken him, we have not really allowed people to hold him. It is hard when you try and take every precaution and they still end up sick. I had RSV when I was about his age, and so I am just praying that this cold does not turn into something more serious, which I know with infants, it can. I would certainly appreciate prayers for Beckett :) Yesterday was "Day 3" of "The Very Hungry Evelyn" book project. She painted 3 plums using watercolors and then ate a plum for the very first time...and she LOVED it! If nothing else this project is a great way to try some new fruits, and see if your children like them. Here are some pics: I love fall...Everything about it. I love the smells, the breeze, ...