My Belated Birthday Celebration

For my birthday my husband, Eric, surprised me with tickets to go see a Tyler Perry play in Durham, NC!! And believe you me, it was definitely a surprise! I love to go to the theater and I think Tyler Perry's character Madea is Hilarious, Eric on the other hand is not such a fan, but he wanted to do something special for my birthday (isn't he sweet).  Even though my Bday was Jan 31st the play wasn't until February 25th, which actually worked out Great because we already had plans to be out of town that weekend for a conference & my Mom had agreed to watch the boys for us!

So Saturday, Feb 25th Eric & I jumped in the car and headed for Durham, NC

Before the show we went out to eat at a DELICIOUS little hole in the wall seafood restaurant called Blu

The opportunity to sit and enjoy a meal, just the two of us, is a rare treat for Eric & I so we made the most of it!  We started with a Calamari Appetizer

 For dinner I ordered the Diver Scallops & Shrimp with asian bbq & soy butter, 

roasted shiitakes & bok choy served on top of jasmine rice

Every Bite was amazing!! I had never had Bok Choy before and was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it was :)  Eric ordered a steak that came with a red wine glaze & blue cheese butter paired with garlic mashed potatoes, his meal was also super yummy :)

When we finished our main course we ordered Coffee and shared a hot chocolate cobbler with ice cream for dessert! Truly one of the best dinning experiences of my life -- like I've mentioned the food was amazing but so was the chance to enjoy an interruption free dinner with my Husband.

After dinner and dessert we headed over to the theater, now I had never heard of this play before and unfortunately Madea wasn't a character in it, so I was kinda worried maybe it wouldn't be that funny, and well like I said Tyler Perry really isn't Eric's thing. However we were both pleasantly surprised!

The play was called: "The Haves and the Have Nots"

One character in particular, the chef, Floyd, played by Palmer Williams Jr., was HILARIOUS! 

All in all I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration

blogfail and a lesson learned

So when I set off on this blog journey back in January I decided to start with a "30 day photo challenge" which seemed like an Awesome idea at the time and then LIFE happened! 

Out of the 30 days I completed 11, not even half of the challenge! 

So the lesson learned is: Know Your Limits

The handful of times that I actually had the opportunity to sit down and blog

I have enjoyed it but I definitely placed unrealistic expectations on myself to find the time to blog 

Everyday.  One of my favorite bloggers is also a stay at home Mom with 2 little boys, she is super cute & crafty and blogs Everyday which is very impressive, so I thought "hey if she can do it so can I" 

W R O N G

This brings me back to a lesson I have to  learn and continue to re-learn on a daily basis

Stop trying to be someone I'm not


This concept has been a bit of a struggle for me over the past 3 years, basically ever since I made the transition from working full time to being a stay at home Mom.  I admit most of it comes from my
own insecurities. When I was working, I knew my Job, I was trained in my field & I had a certain amount of control over things. But once I entered Motherhood I felt like all my confidence flew out the window! I am of the opinion that no matter how many "what to expect when expecting" type books
you read, there are certain things you just have to figure out for your own and the only way you're
going to survive is to cut yourself some slack.

There will be days when you want to pull your hair out but that doesn't mean you don't love your children. There will be days when you leave the dishes in the sink and choose to sit on the couch & days when you can't possibly get it together and the idea of cooking dinner is overwhelming so you pop a frozen pizza in the oven instead, that doesn't make you a bad housekeeper. Now I'm not saying it okay to constantly slack off on your responsibilities. I'm just saying that its okay to just BE sometimes instead of constantly chasing after impossible expectations you've set for yourself, remember what's important.

I have recently come to the realization that all my running around trying to make everything perfect was robbing me of some precious time with my family. I had to stop and ask myself, "Kim what is more important right now doing the dishes or stopping and actively listening to what Beckham is trying to tell me?" Becks is a talker, in-fact at times Eric & I feel like he hasn't stopped talking all day! Unfortunately with the constant noise I found myself tuning it all out and missing out on some excellent opportunities to get to know my little boy by listening to what he has to say. I was constantly feeling like "I don't have time for this" But I had to stop and ask myself "who says?"
Who says right now I have to wash the dishes or fold the laundry, or check my facebook (ouch)
I had to evaluate my priorities and realize that Weston is almost a year old (when did that happen) and  Beckham is 3 yrs old and he will be going to preK in August, am I wasting my last precious months of having his full attention on things that I feel I must do instead of allowing myself to enjoy my time as a Mom.

I  have to step back and look at where the pressure I  feel to be perfect is coming from? I realized that it  is not coming from my husband or my kids, or most importantly God. It was coming from me and who I "thought" I was supposed to be, not who I am called to be.  It is absolutely exhausting and joy robbing to spend all my time running around comparing myself to other Moms and feeling like I have to measure up to them.  Eric and I recently attended a conference for church planter's called Velocity and there was a
"wives" track that had encouraging workshops for the wives attending the conference.  In one of the sessions I heard a quote that goes something like this, (I can't find my notes where I wrote it down)
Comparing yourself to someone's PUBLIC life can cause you to feel Inadequate
This statement carries 2 truths for me:
#1. People do not have it together as much as we think they do, we all want to put our best foot forward when we walk out of the house or when we go to Church (ouch again)  But just because someone looks like they have it all together & their life is perfect does not mean that it is, no one is perfect
#2. Trying to be perfect all the time not only hurts me but can hurt others :(

So cut yourself some slack & stop putting unrealistic expectations on yourself, and be okay with the seasons life brings -- your kiddos will not always be little so instead of driving yourself crazy to get it all done, enjoy the journey and encourage someone else you know by letting them know you don't have it all together either.

My dear friend, & fellow momma, Kate, shared a very encouraging blog about being yourself -
check it out here: Called Out One

photo challenge: Movement

Today I began my 8th week of training for my 1st 5k race!

This is quite the personal accomplishment for me, in the past the only time I would consider running would be away from something scary or towards something yummy! The thought of running for "fun" never crossed my mind.  However after my 1st son was born I was really struggling to loose my "baby" weight and my husband in an act of encouragement suggested we start running together...In a moment of desperation I agreed. Thankfully he knew of a plan that would not kill me, so I was introduced to the "couch to 5k" running. I can not rave enough about this plan, especially if you've never ran before, because its very "do-able" its a 8 week plan that starts off as simple as run/jog 60 secs, walk 90 secs, repeat until you've been at it for 20 mins. Seriously, anyone can do this, and week by week the intervals change and before you know it you're running for 30 mins straight!!

The 1st time I attempted this program I believe I made it to week 3 before I quite making running a priority and allowed myself to get busy with other stuff. Fast forward 2 yrs into the future, baby #2  has been born and once again I decide to start the C25K program all over again..this time I made it about 2 weeks in before our life got super crazy with packing and moving to VA.
Well I guess the 3rd time is a charm, like I mentioned at the beginning of this post I have made it 8 weeks in & am now able to run/jog for 28 mins straight & I am registered for my 1st 5k, the Shamrock 5k on March 17th.

As a reward to myself for my dedication and also as a way to motivate myself to keep running, I went to a specialty running store,Off n' Running, this past weekend and got fitted for running shoes.

When I started running I began to experience throbbing pain in my knees, I just chalked it up to being out of shape, but come to find out my pain was caused by the lack of support in my shoes, allowing my feet to roll inward as I ran. Who Knew?!?

So now I have to run in shoes with crazy support, some of the ones I tried on looked like old lady orthopedic shoes, thankfully the Sauconys I ended up with don't look too bad, However long gone are the days when I chose my running shoes based on how "cute" they looked, whammy :(

I have come to have a sort of love/dislike relationship with running. I know some runners talk about  experiencing a "runners high"while running but I have to get there yet... maybe I never will. Running hasn't gotten much easier for me either, I still have to get on the treadmill and tell my brain to shut up and just keep going! But with the hassle has come some rewards! I have lost 10 lbs and drop down a size in my jeans :)

Here are a few "keys" of success for me:

1) I am blessed with a gym membership that includes childcare! 

2) I made achievable goals / rewards - my 1st goal/reward is: loose 10 lbs = get a haircut :)

3)being okay with the process, I know that I am not going to run a marathon tomorrow or get to my ideal weight in 3 months.

4) blabbing about it on Facebook, this may sound odd but seriously knowing that almost everyone I know, knows I'm doing the c25k encourages me to keep going when I want to quit!

photo challenge: Something New

A major event taking place during my 30th year is the start of Venture Christian Church

Eric & I moved to Danville, VA in september of last year to begin this journey that has become Venture. Truthfully I had never heard of "church planting" until I had graduated College and good friends of ours were involved in starting a new church. When I stopped to think about it, it makes sense, all the churches around had to start somewhere. Now that we're involved in Church planting I feel like I hear about new churches and people we know or know of being part of a church plant, its like when you buy a new car and then all the sudden you start to see the same make & model all over the road when before you purchased it you never noticed them. Okay, back to Venture.
Our 1st offical Sunday or our "Launch" as its known in the church planting world is April 1st
just little over a month & 1/2 away and things are really starting to get exciting and BUSY ~
A lot goes into starting a new church.

In January Venture introduced itself to Danville by hosting a night of Free Bowling open to everyone!
We had a great time meeting new people and watching families enjoy a night of fun.

We have 2 more community events coming up in March along with some "preview" services building up to our 1st official Sunday morning service.

This Journey has been trying at times, but its during those times that I've seen God move.
I am learning to daily live out Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds 
as you live in Christ Jesus."
Take notice how this passage does not say "Tell God what you need and he will give it to you" instead this passage tells us to remind ourselves of what God has done for us and we will experience God's peace. I think this is important to understand.  What this passage says to me is that God wants me to come to him with my concerns, but he is also asking me to trust him And when I step back and remind myself of how God has taken care of me in the past, I can experience the peace that comes with knowing HE is in control, not me, THANK GOODNESS!
I know without a doubt that we have been called to Danville for such a time as this. Our continued challenge is seeking God's will in all of this and making sure Venture is the church God has called it to be and not allow ourselves to get in the way of that.

I want to leave you with song called "Skeleton Bones" by John Mark McMillan
One of Venture's core values is "cultivate renewal"
I can't help but think of renewal when I hear this song :)

John Mark McMillan - Skeleton Bones from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.

photo challenge: Hands

"We came into the world like brother and brother; And now lets go hand in hand,

not one before another." --William Shakespeare

Today for my photo challenge of "Hands" I want to share about my boys, Beckham & Weston. 

this picture was taken on the day that Weston was born. If you can tell in the photo Beckham is trying to shake/hold Weston's hand. Beckham was super cute and introduced himself to Weston, saying "Hi, my name is Beckham, I want you to play monster trucks with me." It was P R E C I  O U S!

When Eric and I found out that our 2nd bundle of joy would be a little boy we were so excited for Beckham to have a brother. I'm pretty sure Beckham would have made an awesome big brother to a little sister just as much as he does to Weston, but when I think of Brothers I think of best friends. 

We look forward to the boys sharing a room and having bunk beds, playing sports together, running around the house playing pretend.

Sometimes being in the ministry means you have to move from time to time, I grew up in the military, so we moved every couple of years and I know first hand what its like to have to move and feel lonely until you make new friends,  but Beckham and Weston will always have each other :)

I love watching the boys interact, catching Beckham being sweet to Weston, or asking if Weston can come play in his room. Weston ADORES Beckham, no one can get Weston to laugh the way Beckham can, but Weston doesn't always let Beckham get away with taking toys from him, If its something Weston wants he will "fight" for it,  lets just say that even though Weston is the "little" brother he can definitely hold his own!

One of the main reasons I decided to talk about my boys when the challenge was "Hands" is because they love to hold hands, its super cute! Often when I set them next to each other to take their picture they will hold hands without me prompting them to. It melts my heart. 

here they are holding hands on Christmas Eve 2011 before we left for Church

I also caught them holding hands on Halloween too

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero" -- Marc Brown

We recently moved Weston's carseat over to the seat next to Beckham in the van so its easier for people to climb in and out of the backseat, Beckham's one complaint was "Mom I can't reach Wessy's hand"

photo challenge: Inspiring Person

Today I want to tell you about someone who inspires me, my Mom. 

My Mom is amazing for countless reasons and once again I find myself struggling for the right words, the following are just a few of the things that inspire me:

She is a strong woman of God 

She is a fighter, and does not accept defeat

She is super creative, I get all my craftiness from her

She was brave enough to be okay with me being mad at her when I was younger

She taught me about Jesus

She cried with me when my heart got broken

She made sure I had positive male influences in my life when my Dad wasn't around

She taught me to be a good steward of what I have been blessed with

She walked me down the aisle on my wedding day

She loves animals and allowed me to have lots of pets

She encouraged me to do the things I didn't think I was capable of

She always makes sure my Birthdays are special

She got up with Weston every night for the 1st 2 weeks of his life so I could recover

When faced with a task she gives it her 110%

She is an amazing "Grammie" to my boys

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. -- Adabella Radici

My mom is also an inspiration to her community. She is the center director of an amazing ministry called Hope House. Hope House offers opportunities for young moms to receive mentoring and parenting classes, along with supplies like diapers and formula. My Mom meets with a number of young woman face to face each day offering help, guidance, & encouragement. 

Love you Mom!!

(mom surprised me with Tickets to WICKED for my 28th birthday)

photo challenge: Favorite Color

"Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah they were all yellow" 

Yellow by Coldplay

I'm not sure I would boldly say I have a "Favorite" color, when I was younger I loved blue and I still do, but recently I have found myself gravitating towards the color yellow. I think yellow is such a happy color and I love to use it as an accent.  A little pop of yellow here & there, my favorite combos are Yellow & Navy or Yellow & Gray. Since moving to VA I updated my kitchen decor and now have a Yellow & Gray color pallet

I made 3 valances for my kitchen out of a table cloth from Target!

I am not a fan of wearing yellow clothing, again just accent pieces, I have a yellow scarf that I L O V E and my in-laws got me this awesome yellow crossbody purse that is big enough to hold the essentials (iphone & wallet) when I am lucky enough to get to leave the house without the diaper bag in tow.