Calverette Chronicles: happiness

Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

4.07.2014

{fifteen}

April 7, 2014

i LOVE that i have a very fun and entertaining birth story to tell
i LOVE that I KNEW you were a girl no matter what any ultrasound may or may not have said
i LOVE that you have blue eyes, just like i prayed for
i LOVE that you have way more self-confidence than i could ever pretend to muster
i LOVE that you have a personal and strong relationship with GOD
i LOVE that you trust me
i LOVE how self-motivated and driven you are
i LOVE that you are trustworthy and responsible
i LOVE that you work hard for the things you want even though they don't come easily
i LOVE that you call football uniforms costumes & correct anyone who calls a turn a spin
i LOVE that you have grown into a girly girl who loves all things glittery & high heels
i LOVE our relationship & i treasure you
i LOVE when you put your feet in my bath and the talks that naturally follow
i LOVE how wise you are beyond your years
i LOVE the beautiful YOU that God so graciously has shared with me!

Happy Birthday, Karli!

{and many more}

3.26.2014

March 26, 2014

I sit here.
One week before teenager #2 joins our family.
How did I get here?

He asked me last night,
"Mom, on a scale from 1-10, how attractive am I?"
I look at him in a different light.
The boy { MY boy} becoming man, too fast.
Pure perfection..
In this moment my heart smiles at the rare memory I have of him as a "baby".
His dirty blonde hair and big, brown, curious eyes.
I remember always thinking how gorgeous he is.

the TORTURE of having an older sister

I don't know why, but I cannot recall very much of him as a baby.
I remember once, breastfeeding Brant-
I think that kid was constantly hooked up to the milk jugs-
Anyway, I was hooked up to the baby and I turned to my right
and there was my little, two year old Drake sitting on the floor
about ten feet from the rocker I was in
moving his hands to his mouth holding the BIGGEST butcher knife I had in my house.
Needless to say, Brant was very rudely and abruptly ripped from his feeding post and
all but thrown to the floor as I darted to rescue the inevitable disaster that was about to ensue.

Another memory I have of baby Drake is when, once again, I was feeding Brant
and I could hear Drake down the hallway in his bathroom.
Curious, I managed to finish the meal and sneak in to see what was going on.
My little boy was in the toilet with nothing on but his diaper
having a fun little "bath" with the baby soap.
It's one of my favorite stories to tell.

One other time, I must have made Drake really mad because
he ran away from home to my mom's next door.
Poor little boy.
Once he realized what he had done and that he actually had to return home
he started to panic.
He didn't want to come home to certain discipline,
but he knew he couldn't stay at Grammie's forever.
Let's just say this was definitely one time that his amazing good looks came in handy.

"9.9", I tell him.
And he smiles.
Satisfied with the result.

I whisper a prayer that he will always believe me.
I pray that God always lets Drake's ears hear His truth about who he is.
I never want his heart to be confused with any message that the world might feed him
that would contradict the Word of God.
I want my son to walk in confidence and the knowledge that he is SO loved!

Time is constant.
It is not slow.
I knew this day would come.
And I knew it would come quickly.
I am grateful that I have been blessed to be present in so many of the moments
that make up the years.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." Psalm 139:13-16

2.04.2014

{it's raining, it's pouring}

February 4, 2014

{LOVE}.
It's where I've purposed to live this year.
But the funny thing is, God is full of surprises.
I thought that I was going to be the only one exercising my heart.
And then, He sends the showers to drench me, violently and swiftly~
everywhere I turn it's thundering and lightening with those who rain {LOVE}.
What a blessing it is to know that I am {LOVEd} by the Creator.

Sometimes it's hardest to {love} yourself.
Or to let yourself be {loved}.
I'm learning that it may be one of the most important parts of being able to {love} others well.

I find myself in a season that I don't particularly want to be in.
It's a hassle.
A change.
An awakening.
And as soon as I reach out for help, just the tiniest bit,
I've got an army of girls, armed to the teeth,
standing at attention, ready to go to the Throne on my behalf.
They empty their hearts of {love} all over me.

This is a lesson.
I must mark it down in red and underline it.
Even the smallest gesture I can give in {love}~
Like an encouraging word,
Or an earnest prayer~
Can make such an impact and help to lighten the load of the weary.
{love}
It's that simple.
Who would've thought that this journey would begin with me receiving what I've set out to give?

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." 1John 4:16-19

1.08.2014

{resolve}

January 8, 2014

Happy New Year!

November called for Thankfulness.

December called for Giving.

January calls for Resolutions.

Have you jumped on that bandwagon and

made a list of things that you want to accomplish

just to realize that in a few short weeks

you'll be slapped in the face with the reality

that you may have been just a tad too ambitious?

You'll find that you're in way over your head

and you'll abandon The List

and promptly begin beating yourself up

because you're a failure.

I'm all for growth, progress, & change.

But I also know that I am human.

Don't fall into the trap of setting yourself up for disappointment.

Am I saying that you shouldn't try to lose those few extra pounds that found you last year

or try to shake off that character flaw that you're not happy with?

No. Not at all.

I'm saying that you should go about it in a different way.

Here's what I'm trying to say...

I totally believe that God has sent the Holy Spirit to us~

To guide us and speak to us.

It's not magic, and it's not out of reach.

It's not something that only happens for other people.

God will totally meet us where we are and give us all that we need.

We just need to listen.

I have discovered that God wants us to accomplish things in a certain order.

We may not be ready for some things before others.

For the past several years,

as I have made a conscious effort to grow closer to God,

I have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit within me

telling me where I need to focus my energy.

I've dedicated each "new year" with a WORD

that I've been given to purpose toward.

Growth. Service. Faith.

Whatever your word is, you should write it down~

somewhere, anywhere, everywhere!

And then begin to seek out God's will in your life through prayer.

{I've learned that when I am sincere in lining myself up with the will of God, my prayer life bears more fruit. It's one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced.}

Make yourself available to opportunities that stretch you in that area.

Educate yourself on what the Bible says about it.

Exercise it.

And pretty soon, you'll find out that

you've wandered into a space you've wanted to be all along.

Everything starts falling beautifully into place.

Those challenges start to become smaller

and you can more easily discern & conquer what doesn't belong in your life.

Success!

Then, without fail, you'll hear another whisper.

Oh, the places you can go!

It's a precious journey and the thing is, instead of getting weary,

each "new year" finds you eager for new challenges.

And it's because you fall into God and let Him carry you where He leads.

Stay tuned...

I'll tell you about my new WORD soon.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

12.17.2013

{twenty thirteen}

December 17, 2013

What a year we have had!
This is the year that Aubree FINALLY turns 6. She has been waiting and dreaming of being six for as long as I can remember. This year was filled with so many new friends for her~ and our social butterfly has enjoyed every minute of it. She is learning to read and I am pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. She is doing mostly first grade work.

Brant has been making such large strides in spite of his dyslexia. I am so proud of his progress. It has not been easy at all. We have both cried our fair share of tears, hung on for dear life at the end of our ropes, and climbed our way back up. This year, our little man played Quarter Back for his football team. He did such a good job and it was pure joy to watch him week after week.

Drake is turning into a teenager before our very eyes. This year, I have seen him struggle with saying good-bye to the child and try to find himself as he grows and matures. He could not be more excited as the first signs of facial hair begin to shadow his lip. If you know Drake at all, you know how THRILLING this is for him. He has wanted "man hair" forever! He aged out of rec ball this year and joined a Home School football league {AHSA}. It was precious to see the transition. He still has a lot of growing to do over the next few years, but I am eager to have a front row seat to see how it all unfolds! He struggled so much at his first practice and it was simply amazing to see my kid doing such a good job by the end of the season.

Karli has had such a wonderful year. She has not ceased to amaze me. With the help and support of so many of you, our family and cherished friends, she was able to attend Model & Talent EXPO this past summer. The experiences she had there both rocked her to the core and strengthened her spirit. She tried out and made the competition team at her dance studio. Every single week it is evident that all of her constant hard work is paying off because she is consistently improving so much as a dancer. It's been so special to see her finding herself and settling in to who she really is~ and it's even more beautiful to see her drawing close to God and building a personal relationship with Him.

Freddie & I celebrated 21 years of marriage this year. I am proud to stand next to this man as his wife. I love him more each and every day, and I pray he feels the same way about me. This year we were able to go on a family vacation- our first one in four years. It was an amazing time and we completely enjoyed every moment. As a family, we were able to sponsor a little boy from Honduras. He is a precious six year old and we pray God's favor on his life. The kids are so excited to love on him in letters and share God's love with him. I spent a lot of this year giving of myself and my time. I have gotten back so much more than I could ever give. It has been so important for me to be a good example to my children this way. This year I also reached a personal goal of reading the Bible through. It was a lovely experience and I hope to go deeper into Scripture next year. Freddie has been working as hard as ever, and our hope is for him to be able to take a little more time off and work like "normal" people are supposed to. We are continuing to be committed to becoming debt free and look forward to what God has in store for our family as we faithfully serve and worship Him.
This year has had it's share of challenges and disappointments, but it has given us BLESSINGS running over! We are honored to have made so many new friends and share another wonderful year with old friends and family. We enter the new year in prayer for you and yours for health & favor for the New Year. Thank you for sharing 2013 with us. You are forever a very important part of Our Story!
Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!
Love~ the CALVERETTE's