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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

A New Leaf


goodness gracious. so much is going on in our lives right now. Ben is in school full time, he graduates in December with his masters! YAY! we have a sweet ministry to youth at our church. we have 2 adorably sweet kids & a thriving marriage. we truly have never been happier. this year has been such a year of change for us & it will continue to be until December.

Jovie brought the biggest change back in January. my little surprise blessing. i'm so thankful the Lord always knows what He is doing! just yesterday the Lord so sweetly revealed something to me. i was thanking Him for allowing me to be at home full time with our kids. (its honestly been the desire of my heart since before i had J & J.) if Jovie had not come along then i wouldn't be at home full time right now. when she came, i took a maternity leave. and during that Karrie called to say they didn't need me to keep Macy & Mara anymore. this was a bittersweet decision for her & a bittersweet revelation for me. i knew i would miss those sweet girls like crazy & we would be short a good bit in our budget. but i also knew that the Lord was finally answering our prayers of me being at home. we knew we just had to trust Him. but none of this would've happened if He hadn't given me sweet Jovie Claire. i am confident of that. it just goes to show He always has a will & a plan. her little life is such a blessing.

now that i'm at home full time, i'm completely engulfed in all things mommy. from sun up to sun down i am consumed with my children. the only moments i have to myself consist of hot showers & walks to the mail box. i am home mostly all day every day cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, chasing Jack, disciplining Jack, playing with Jack, feeding Jovie, snuggling Jovie, playing with Jovie and the list could go on forever! but even on the hardest & longest of days the Lord reminds me of how much i have to be thankful for & blessed i truly am. i may not have much of a social life or many date nights with Ben or much money but i can not complain. life is precious.

lately, Ben & I have decided to do a better job with our eating habits. we are just tired of being discontent with our bodies. and we want Jack to see us preparing & eating healthier meals. i have always tried to feed Jack little to no processed foods. sometimes, it happens. but most times he eats fresh fruits, whatever veggies i can get him to try, and chicken. i just don't want him to grow up on fatty processed junk. i know there will be nights that we need a quick fix & chick-fil-a may be the answer but as a whole i want to cook healthy for all of us. we have decided to cut some carbs out of our diets. we generally love all carbs. who doesn't?! but we just need to cut back some. i went to the store this week & bought tons of fresh fruits & veggies. i've even been researching some healthy recipes & side dishes. i'm pretty excited about our dinners for the next few weeks. we both want to lose some weight & just be healthier, for our kids & ourselves.

Ben & I have a small amount of debt. nothing big or insanely overwhelming. but just a few things that have accumulated over the years. but we sat down this week & had a good solid discussion about our financial stability. since i am not working anymore, we are short my income every month. so my hard working man decided he needed to pick up the slack. Ben's family (& us) own several Lenny's Sub Shops in memphis & little rock. so, ben has decided that once school is out he'll be working at his brother's store a few days a week to earn extra money. he'll be taking phone orders, delivering the catering & handling some marketing issues. he won't have set hours each day or week. but he will just be used as needed. in return, he will be paid a certain amount each month that will make up for me not working. i'm so proud of my husband for his creativity to come up with a way to provide for us. he works so hard & does such a good job. i'm also super thankful for my in-laws who are providing a way for our needs to be met. the Lord is so faithful. we sat down & planned it out & we will be completely debt free by November 14. yes, we have a date! what a HUGE blessing. the Lord always provides.

also. if you know our family, then you know we have more exciting things a brewing! all i can say is that we are looking forward to reaching people. i wish so badly that i could be really specific but b/c i'm not sure who all reads my blog, i can't. if you are curious, just ask me & i'll be thrilled to share with you. we are excited & we see the Lord moving in BIG ways in our life. He is able. (and no, i am NOT pregnant!) in the next 7 months Ben & I will be making some big decisions & seeking the Lord in very specific ways. we are thrilled with how He is revealing himself to us & we want to constantly seek His will for our family. but needless to say, i'm super excited.

when i step back & think about this year i have so many emotions & thoughts. its actually a pruning & teaching time in our lives. we are sacrificing a lot, living on a super tight budget & waiting. but we are also having a blast. we are learning so much. we have become so much more open & honest in our marriage. we are raising 2 insanely wonderful kids, we are forming very tight friendships that are going to last many years to come & we are becoming debt free within the next 6 months. and hopefully with the healthier eating, we'll look better too!

Thank you, Lord Jesus for your unwavering grace in our life. we are so unworthy. we are excited about the rest of 2010 & looking forward to 2011!



4 comments:

Ashley Fisher :) said...

love this post!! I need some healthy recipes; if you get time can you post some. (Believe me I know this might be impossible so whatever is fine!) So glad you will be debt free, what a blessing! Ben is such a great husband and dad I can tell and I know you are a wonderful mommy; I'm so thankful we are friends with ya'll! Love you!

Brittany said...

yeah for this year. i told Job yesterday if 6 months ago have told me what this year would hold i prob would have laughed, the Lord is so good!!! we are so excited for things that are coming, yeah! so much has changed & i'm pumped about it!

we are also tired of processed food. maybe its me or maybe its being preg but i can't hardly stand to look at some of that stuff! i'm just tired of it. i told Job we should start grilling more. chicken & vegetables on the grill are great!

Jessica Kenney said...

Sounds good! I am very proud of you guys!! Can't wait to see you Friday.

Audra Laney said...

Great post, Audrey! Your excitement for Jesus just overflows in all you do and write. What an awesome thing for people to see in you! You have exciting things coming your way (it seems) so I'm very happy for you! Tell me about it on FB when you have time. ;) I'd love to pray for you and your family's needs specifically. You make me excited to be a mommy to two and are such an encouragement when I read how you keep your chin up even when everything in life isn't rainbows and butterflies. :) Love you, friend!

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