Don't judge a Facebook page by it's cover...

A few short years ago everyone didn't have Facebook. Only the friends we called or emailed knew what was really happening on a daily basis. Only our close friends or the relatives at our family reunions saw all of the pictures from our family vacations, or of our children's birthday parties. Who would have ever even thought about taking a picture of our trip to the grocery store? But now we do. With this new "Facebook world" we feel compelled to put "it" all out there for everyone to see. Unfortunately, for most of us the way we're represented on Facebook is the way we're perceived these days.

I find myself sitting at the computer for minutes at a time trying to come up with a good status often to just erase it all and scrap the idea. What am I trying to say? Who am I trying to impress? What idea am I trying to convey? Who do I want to laugh at my funniness? Of course I don't want to constantly be a Debbie Downer type of person. I want my statuses to be positive even when I'm having a bad day. I wouldn't want anyone to know all that about me, right?

Knowing I'm not the only one who has this issue, why do I find myself comparing my life to the pictures and statuses of others? I'm sure these people had a wonderful time on their vacation, but was it any better than the time I had on mine? Did I just determine all that based on a beautiful picture of the Grand Canyon? Did that status I read just make me feel less blessed than they are? At times that has happened, but today as I read through Psalm 144 in my quiet time I decided that I'm wrong in that. My life is overflowing with blessings and happiness, and if the only snapshot I take of it is in my head then that's all I need. A Facebook status is so temporary, it changes day to day, and for some hour to hour, so why would I judge my life by someone else's information? I shouldn't. Our world is ever changing and social networking isn't going anywhere so it's important to keep our perspective on these things. For now, Happy Facebooking!

Where did the time go?

Looks like maybe, just maybe, I'm not quite the blogger that I think I am. Once school started I seemed to have vanished into the piles of papers and workbooks. Well, I'm back and can't wait to catch you (and by you, I mean my 3 loyal followers) up on a few things that I have going...Until then, happy day!

July 4th weekend...

A great Summer weekend can be equal to a week's vacation, in my humble opinion. This past weekend was filled with family, friends, fireworks, and great food.

We started the weekend at the pool....(my crazy brothers)

Then we moved on to fireworks at a picnic with family and friends. There will, however, be no pictures of that since I was not quite up to par with the fireworks mode on my camera. Every picture I took had a crazy bright flash and everyone was squinting in all of the pictures...even the fireworks paled in contrast to my ridiculously bright flash!! Ugh!!


Next, we moved onto "Lobsterfest" at my parents' house. My mom happens to celebrate a July 4th birthday so she chose lobster as her dinner. Yum! Yum!

And we finished the weekend with a family diving contest. Sigh! I kept my dignity yet another year and simply organized the whole event. (or at least that's how I'm putting it for the sake of this blog post!!! :)
All in all it was a great Independence Day weekend. Lots of memories were made. We are so blessed to be a part of this great country...

And what can celebrate that more than a weekend spent with loved ones and a good case of "goggle face":

Somewhere Out There....

For some reason today I'm in a mood of reminiscing. I've been looking at the kids' baby pictures and just thinking about my life for the last 15 years or so. It could be that I'm turning yet another year older in the near future, but today just seems like a good day to remember.
I keep coming back to one period of my life in particular. I was a senior in high school. It seemed like every girl in my class had a steady boyfriend but me. I used to feel so left out when they'd all get together and talk about being so in "love". I'd come home and cry to my mom about how left out I was feeling. Now I remember that she always said the same thing. It went something like this:

"Steph, please don't get yourself so upset. You have so many years ahead to find the perfect mate that God has for you. I know that somewhere out there in this great big world some wonderful young man's parents are saying the same thing to him and when you meet and fall in love you'll know that this was God's gift to you."

Well, I'm here today to say....She was right!!! Not long after all those tears, in my freshman year away at college I met my wonderful husband. He was perfect for me. He was raised to be such a gentlemen. He loved God too, and he was ridiculously handsome. I do what I can now to encourage my children to seek God's face in every decision. I'm already praying that they'll grow up and find the mate God has just for them. I suppose someday I'll be repeating my mother's words to my daughter, and it will be just then that I glance over at my husband and know that every word is coming straight from my heart.

This little guy....

We can't imagine what life would be like without our little Noah...

Since the day he was born there hasn't been one dull moment... 

from broken bones....

to all the laughs we get...we love you so much...Happy 4th Birthday, Monkey!!!

Figuring Life Out - One Thousand Gifts

Ever find a book that just touches your heart with every chapter? In addition to my Bible reading I like to have a book on my nightstand that inspires me. I've read a few really good ones, but this one stands out by far. As a busy wife and mom, I often find myself so hurried that I don't really get a chance to appreciate the special moments. I mean, of course, there are the big monumental moments like our wedding, the birth of our children, and the milestones that come along in life, but what about the precious little moments that can bring us such joy if we learn to appreciate them. I hope this is a reminder that I can carry throughout the rest of my life to slow down and cherish what God has given to me.

Five minute Friday...Waking Up

Today I'm linking up with Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday. The rule is you can only write for five minutes. The topic we're sharing is....

Waking Up...

I usually try to get up before my three children in the morning. I like to get a quiet head start on the day. I am generally a morning person so I don't mind getting up early and heading down to the kitchen for my coffee and some quiet reading. Then I come upstairs and jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes(give or take 10 or 15 or 20 minutes).
.....But some days that's all out the window and I end up as I am today. When Daddy gets up to start his day I move over to his spot and three kiddos make their way into our big bed to snuggle and watch cartoons. Either way I'm a happy mama!