because who doesn't love a good makeover story

Have you heard of the show Fixer Upper on HGTV? If you haven't then I'm very sorry that you've been living under a rock for the past few months. It takes place in Waco, Texas...

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...home of the Dr. Pepper Museum, Baylor Bears, and McLane Stadium otherwise known as the House that RGIII Built. Waco has a special place in my heart because I attended Baylor during my freshman year in college and met some of the most wonderful people there. It's also where I realized that Luke and I were going to be more than just a summer adventure. Who knew?! So, despite the fact that I loved being a Bear, I said goodbye to Waco and transferred to Tulsa where Luke was going to school. 

Fast forward a few years, or several, and you'll find Luke and me parked on our couch on Tuesday nights watching our good friends Chip and Joanna transform a dated, ugly house into something worthy of a magazine cover. I have loved every single house they've remodeled. Seriously. Not an awful one in the bunch. But if I had to pick my favorite, this would be it.

They called this house The Dutch Door House because the front door was a beautiful, wide dutch door that just needed some TLC. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr...I have a dream...and that dream would be to own a house with a dutch door. All. Kinds. Of. Awesome. Anyway, about halfway through the show we find out that the couple is expecting their first baby. So obviously one of the rooms needs to be a nursery. I don't know this couple personally, but I have the highest respect for their ability to plan. They get a beautiful house and a nursery designed by Joanna Gaines. Genius.

The reveal is usually the point of the show where I turn to Luke and say, "We could be Chip and Joanna Gaines! We can remodel ugly houses and make them beautiful...TOGETHER!" His response is always less than ideal. Something about how our marriage wouldn't survive all my ideas that he couldn't make happen, and he likes being friends with me. I have no idea what he's talking about. I mean, we're raising children together how much harder could anything else be? 

I have always loved design and am constantly tweaking things around our house, which only increases Luke's love for me I'm sure. But there's something about seeing the potential in a place or thing that everyone else has discarded that thrills me to no end. More than anything, I think it gives me a glimpse into how God feels about me. He sees the possibilities and decides to invest His time and attention when everyone else would have just walked away. Since I'm pretty sure you won't see Luke and I on TV any time soon, you should watch our BFFs work their magic on HGTV. And just in case you missed a few shows while you were hiding under that rock, check out their website for more before and after pics.

Because who doesn't love a good makeover story? 

new year. new blog. new adventures.

Many years ago, I started a blog by a different name and began chronicling the life of our family. Austin was our only child and life was all about figuring out the parenthood thing without failing miserably. I'm still trying to figure out the parenting thing and some days I do fail miserably. 

But if there's one thing I've learned over the last seven and a half years, it's that being a mom takes 3 very important things:

 1} Faith: believing that God is sovereign over the lives of your kids and that if you pray for them to get caught when breaking the rules...they will.
2} Sense of Humor: this will get you through almost any situation you encounter on your parenting journey. Christmas card picture sessions, bedtime routines {or hostage negotiations as we like to refer to it. Parents typically play the role of the hostage}, church and school drop offs {suddenly the roles are reversed and your kids treat you as if you're sending them into a hostage situation.} Please note that "Trips to Walmart" was nowhere to be found on that list. Because there are some things that even a sense of humor can't help you survive.
3} The ability to find the beauty in the messy: make no mistake, your house will look like a wreck most of the time. There will be snot. And vomit. And also, days when your husband kindly informs you that if laundry is not done soon, he will be going to work sans pants in the immediate future. But most importantly, there will be laughter. And memory making. And moments when you want to stop time so that you will never forget the feel of their baby hand in yours. 

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. The sleepless nights, moments of worry, and tantrums threaten to break you, but then these short versions of yourself look at you in complete adoration. Suddenly you realize that, while you may not feel like it, in their eyes you are super mom capable of conquering mountains of laundry in a single day and destroying closet monsters at night. At least until they hit their teenage years, and by then I'm guessing our role looks more like the director of a drama that could win all sorts of academy awards. Not to mention some kind of Olympic gold medal. But for now, I think I'll savor these moments... 

I decided to start this new blog to celebrate the fact that we get to choose to either focus on the mess or look for the lovely not just in motherhood but life in general. I hope you'll excuse the crazy and come back as often as you can to join me in being thankful that He makes everything beautiful in His time.