Time Flies When You're Having Fun ..

Wow, can y’all believe the “most wonderful time of the year” - Christmas - has passed! It's the end of the year; how did we get here already?? 2014 just began! 

Maybe it went so fast because it was SO good. 2014 was certainly good to me! I’ve traveled a bit, grown in faith, made new bonds, and made bonds that I already had stronger! Best of all I’ve got to watch my 2 1/2 year old (WOW!) grow! And y’all I can’t even believe how much he has grown. Not only is he tall as can be, but he is also talking (a little too much), and so so sooo smart! It amazes me (and yes, saddens me a little) to see how much he grows and develops each day! 

Well, today I would like to share with you a wonderful sermon we had  in church last Sunday. I go to a church called 12 stone, and the sermon began with the explanation of where we got our name from. The name came from the story told in Joshua where the Lord dried up the Jordan River, like he had done before to the Red Sea, so that the Israelites could cross. When everyone had crossed The Lord told Joshua to select 12 men to go back into the middle of the Jordan River to pick up one stone each., carry them over and place the 12 stones where they were staying that night.

Joshua 4:24

"He did this so that all the peoples of the Earth might know that the hand of t he Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

Our pastor went on to talk about two things we should do in our lives: 

1. Celebrate how far God has brought you. 

People seem to never be content in their present. How many times have you heard someone say “life was great back when…” or “life will be great when…”. For example, when I was in college, I often found myself saying “life will be great when I graduate” and then it was “life will be great when I get a big girl job..”. Why was I not saying “life is great NOW!” or “life is great because God has helped me reached a major goal of mine”! The main point I got from this is that I shouldn’t be stuck in my future or past, and I should celebrate my present! We live in a culture that tends to make one feel like they need more. We focus on "what's next?" or what the other person is doing, and how they are living. Focus on yourself and where you are now and be content! Plan for your future and take the needed steps to get to where you want to be, but everyone has their own story! Even if you are not where you want to be yet, you are also not where you used to be! 

2. Anticipate where God is leading you.

As I just stated, you should be content in your present, but you should also plan for your future! Before you of you do something think about how it will effect your future. Where do you feel like the Lord is leading you? Do you feel like you are supposed to work with children. Then take thought in your daily choices. You wouldn’t want to do anything that could hinder you from doing what you are chosen to do. Before you do something think “are you living as if God is finished with you?’. Know that God is not finished working on you. Your prime time was NOT back in high school when you were valedictorian and had a great body- God is still working! Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

I urge y'all to remember that God is faithful as David did in Psalm 40: 1-3. In these verses David is celebrating how far God has brought him! We should all take note from David and celebrate where we are now, how far we've come, and remember that God is faithful and will continue to work on us and mold us into the people we are destined to be as long as we trust in Him. So, I would like to end this post not telling you what I wish to accomplish in 2015, but instead telling you a few things I would like to celebrate from 2014!

I would like to celebrate: 

My growth in faith 

My growth in patience

My growth as a woman

My growth in being a mother

My growth in family

My growth in different relationships 

My growth in mind

My sons growth and development 

My sons health

The good Lord helping me obtain my degree 

AND

The Lord providing me with my jobs and a way to support myself and my family!!! 

I may not be where I want to be yet, but I am definitely not where I used to be!! 2014 you were good to me!!! 

Happy New Years!!! 

Finding Pleasure in Weakness

It’s been awhile I know… I find that I really want to keep up with my blog, but I have a very hard time doing this Being a mother and working full time (and more) makes it challenging to find the extra time. I’m a libra though so I should be able to find that balance.. it’s just taking me awhile. 

A lot has happened since my last post, in August (wow!). Mainly, I started working full time again. I am still working as a nurse aid which is not what I ultimately want to do, but I’ve got time and I am still working on achieving my bigger goals. I turned 24 on the 4th of this month! I’m getting pretty old .. but it feels good (: ! And I have had a lot of different revelations that have caused me to have a new found peace. I am very happy about where I am in my spirit right now, but more to come on that later. 

I wanted to take a moment to talk about our weaknesses. We all have them and wish that we did not. Whether your weakness is that you gossip too much, eat too much, envy others, whatever it is we have them, and NO ONE likes to feel weak hunny. However, do not be discouraged in your weaknesses - know that God is at work when you are confronted with a weakness. “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning’s that cannot be expressed in words. (NLT) Romans 8:26. 

When you realize a weakness, do not be discouraged just pray. Pray even if you do not know how or what exactly to pray for, the Holy Spirit will guide you. Lately, I have realized several weaknesses of my own. I’m only human, and I will never claim to be perfect, and y’all… I have a lot of weaknesses, but I am OK with that. I have been praying for God to work these weaknesses out, and oh have I seen him working! 

For example, I am very stuck in my ways and when I have made up my mind about something, I don’t care what anyone has to say- I shut them out and shut down. Now, being a mother there are many cons in having this particular trait. Especially because they’re TWO people involved in parenting. So recently, my son’s father’s grandfather passed away. A lot of Jesaad’s (Isaiah’s dad) family have not gotten a chance to meet Isaiah yet. Long story short he asked me if Isaiah could go up to Missouri with him. Now my first reaction was “oh, heck NO!”. I could not imagine my son being away from me in another state for that long. Now, I work all weekend long and would not get to spend that much time with Isaiah, but at least I would know where he was at and I would get to see him as soon I got off work. 

Now this was pretty selfish of me. I initially didn’t even stop to think about what Jesaad was saying to me or take time to pray and think about it. I didn't stop to consider Jesaad's feelings, and how inadequate I was making him feel as a father. A day after Jesaad made the request, I actually did take some time to pray about it. Well y’all I felt like I heard God say “let him go”. Well… I was like “are you sure God?” hahaha. Anyway, I had this tugging feeling that I needed to let Isaiah go with his father. So, even though I would have rather let him stay with me, I let him go, but not before I had a VERY long talk with Jesaad. Though I miss him terribly, I speak to him every chance I get, and he sounds so good, and so happy, and his father is happy to have him with him and all of that makes me HAPPY. 

I share this story because one of my weaknesses is stubbornness, and if I had not prayed to God, Isaiah would not have gone on that trip. I was set on not letting him go. God told me to let him go and helped me with my stubbornness in that situation. Now, I’m still pretty stubborn but he is working on me. 

When you’re confronted with one of your weaknesses, I challenge you all to take some time and pray about it. Don’t get frustrated, get excited! Know that God is trying to get your attention! You will be amazed in the ways you see God work on you. <3

Until next time! 

Too Much Going On !

Wow, I don't even want to talk about how long it has been since I last made a post. The summer is over, and I have yet to share with you the highlights of my summer! Isaiah turned 2 this June and I graduated with my Bachelors from the University I attend! Wow, there has been so much things going on that I never actual find the down time to blog, and I have fallen WAY behind!

I will have individual posts detailing Isaiah's 2nd birthday party, and all my emotions throughout that and having a 2 year old now (it's really exciting and kind of sad at the same time!), and a post about life as an Alumna later on (soon, I promise!).

Tonight, I just wanted to blog and let you guys know I am still alive! I have a little more free time now, so I should be blogging more, just bear with me! I wanted to share with you the goals I have reached from my list of 101 goals in 1001 days, so here are the goals I have completed so far:

2. Take Isaiah to the zoo. 

5. Let go of a floating lantern.  

13. Clean out the trunk of my car. 

19. Take Isaiah to a beach. 

20. Take a road trip. 

35. Watch the sunrise on the beach. 

36. Watch the sunset on the beach. 

62. Graduate college. 

63. Make A's and B's my last semester of college.

65. Get an A in my Maymester class.

83. Fly a kite with Isaiah.

Until next time!

Maymester [CHECK!]

Hi! It's been a nearly a month since I last posted anything, and yet I don't have a ton to blog about today... However, I did want to post something so you all know I am alive and well!

I have just completed my very first ever Maymester at my university. For those of y'all that are not clear on what exactly a Maymester is,  Maymester is a two week summer session and you meet in your class for four and a half hours Monday- Friday. Even though the class is only two weeks, the material you are required to learn is the same as if you took the class in a regular semester. That being said, one day of class is equivalent to almost two and a half weeks in a regular semester. It is A LOT. In my class I had a online quiz EVERYDAY, and a test in class EVERYDAY. WHEW! To make things a little more interesting I took a Human Sexuality course, I figured if I have to sit in a class for four and a half hours straight for two weeks, what better class than one we discussed sex all day?! I am so glad I took this course! While sometimes it seemed to be a lot- the material was so interesting and kept learning fun. I promise you I feel like I came home and told my friends and family something new I learned or about our guest speakers everyday! OHHH... and icing on the cake, I'm pretty sure I made an "A" in that class (woo hoo!), so I can mark that off my "101 bucket list"!

Now I just have three more courses to complete before graduation in July! I went to a early class my professor held for my Senior Seminar course, and graduation became so real. Everyone, in that class i also going to be graduating in Summer as well. 

I just wanted to check in and let everyone know where I have been and how I am doing. Before I end my post, my baby boy will be turning two next weekend on the 1st!! I will have a longer and more sap post about this later, because quite frankly I don't want to think about it right now- I don't know how he turned two so quickly! I feel like he was just born last month!! Hahaa. Anyway, I will post about his birthday weekend and post pictures and everything sometime next weekend (hopefully)! Until then and thanks for reading! 

Relaxing Wednesday

Hey guys!

I have been really slacking on my blog lately! A lot has been going on..

I finished with classes this past Friday, and I am now awaiting grades. So far I know I have at least 2 A's! I wish I could be really excited about summer, but I start a Maysession next week, so I will be right back in school! On the bright side, if everything goes as planned, I will be a college graduate come July! I am so ready to have that Bachelors degree in hand y'all don't even know. 

I still need to post an updated version of my 101 "bucket list" because I have completed some things on there.. I'll try to do that soon! But for now, I had promised to share some spring break pictures, so here are they are:

 starting our trip ! 

 on the road !

 Seesterrr !! 

 1st time on the beach ! 

 with grandma ! 

 & daddy ! 

 loving the water ! 

 mommy ! <3 

 family ! 

 exhausted after a long day at the beach !

 Isaiah met a little friend ! 

 Isaiah actually met a lot of friends at the beach .. all different ages ! haha

 sand castles !

 Isaiah size palm tree !

flying kites ! (yes, him and his daddy are matching) !

 Isaiah even made new four legged friends ! 

 ICE CREAM !!

 My fat fat ! 

 My favorite meal while we were away ! 

 Daddy & son !

 Watching a movie on the car ride home! (his straps were fixed right after this pic was taken)

Sleepy baby ! 

Sorry, I took so long to share these! We had a amazing time on our vacation and maybe we will make a tradition out of it.. maybe not, but we will definitely go again! I will be blogging again soon! 

Feeling Sentimental

Isn't it crazy how something so little can bring forward a whirlpool of memories. Something you were taking in at one time and may not have even realized it? Well that just happened to me.

I am sitting here avoiding thinking about all the school work I should be doing and browsing through Facebook. One of my friends recently took a quiz determining which One Tree Hill character they were most like. I LOVE One Tree Hill and used to watch it ALL the time, so I decided to take the quiz.

Before taking the quiz there is a link they ask you to press to set the mood. So, I click the link and the theme song to One Tree Hill, I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw begins to play. Now, I know I used to be obsessed with One Tree Hill and watch it all the time, but I couldn't quite place my finger on the time period. However, when I heard this song it all came rushing back to me. When I was pregnant and not doing too much extracurricular activities other than going back and fourth to school, I went on a Netflix binge. I started One Tree Hill from season one and watched almost everyday until I had my son.

I remember rubbing my belly and talking to Isaiah while watching this show. Falling in love with characters on the show, finding that I could relate to these characters and their problems and making promises to my unborn child. I know it sounds crazy, but all the memories that came rushing back to me when I heard this song really hit me because they were all memories of me being pregnant. Not all of them had to do with the show. I thought about the situation I was in, the house I lived in, the people I was surrounded by, and the people that supported me.

My pregnancy was not the easiest thing I have ever been through. It was unexpected and many people were disappointed in me. I am really thankful for the people that stuck by me and kept my spirits up! But at the end of really long days One Tree Hill was my escape. I got lost in the character's lives and problems. I spent time laughing and crying with my unborn son. When he was born and things got easier (but more hectic), I stopped watching One Tree Hill.

Anyway, hearing that song just made me think about a lot of things, and mostly about that intense bond I felt when Isaiah was still in my belly. I catch myself missing that bond sometimes. Don't get me wrong I am so glad he's here! Just sometimes I miss just having him so close and talking to him. I find it really hard to explain, but I hear a lot of mothers express feeling this way. Now my son is approaching two and I find myself lucky if I can get him to sit still and let me hold and talk to him for 15 minutes!

That's all I have for tonight. I'll probably go watch One Tree Hill on Netflix now! HA!
Goodnight y'all.

Back From Vacation

So, I just returned from a much needed vacation with my family! We went to St. Simons Island and we were there for 5 days, but the time just seemed to fly by! I wish I was still vacationing, but sadly life goes on and I'm back to the real world now- back to work and school.

The best part of my vacation for me was watching Isaiah on the beach! He surprises me every day. I thought he would be timid and nervous to get in the ocean, but all I had to say was "Isaiah let's go play in the water!" & he responded, "Okay!" and ran right in! I have so many pictures of him running in the sand and splashing in the water,  I could honestly stay out on the beach with him ALL day long! 

He amazes me daily. How he carries himself, how intelligent he is, just about every single thing about him! I thank God daily (and multiple times throughout each day) for blessing me with such a wonderful son! I just can't wait to see what's in store for his future.

Now I'm going to finish some homework I should have worked on while I had this break! I'll be posting pictures soon, just wanted to post something since I have been away from my blog for so long!