Five Minute Friday: In Between

Today's prompt is: In Between

GO:

Snuggled up close to my husband in bed trying to get some sleep before the chaos of tomorrow comes barreling at us once again, I hear the beginning of it...

He tosses and turns a few times and tries to settle himself. He sits up and begins searching for his favorite comfort... his nini. In my mommy brain I can visualize his moves perfectly. He will lay back down and rub his blanky against his face, again trying to seek comfort. I lay as still as I can silently praying that our littlest one will go back to sleep. Most of the time he will but last night wasn't one of those times. He cried and I went to him. I tried to calm him down but he kept saying "Daddy! Out!!" I am usually really good about sticking to my guns and making him stay in his own bed as I have learned from my previous 3 that is a hard habit to break! 

Last night was different. He needed me. He needed his daddy. He needed the comfort that being in between brings him. I scooped him and his beloved blanky up and carried him to my bed. Daddy rolled over and gave me the look. The one that says "once you start this it is not going to stop". I shake my head and tuck our little guy in snug as a bug. It only takes a few moments before his breathing levels out and he is fast asleep, comforted and safe in the in between.

There are times that we all need to be comforted like this. I, myself, find that even though I am in between a million things...school, projects, to-do lists, bible studies, friendships, housework, ect, and it should be crazy, it really isn't. It's something to relish, to take comfort in, to enjoy. It is something that I am learning to embrace and be thankful for. I am learning that this in between time is full of the anticipation of what is next. What does God have planned for us and how is it going to play out?

STOP 

Five minutes is NOT a long time to write but it is fun to see what my brain comes up with in that short amount of time. If you would like to learn more and give it a try link up with Lisa-Jo and hundreds of fellow bloggers for Five Minute Friday!

My Guy Graduates...Ahhh Bittersweet!

Why does it seem like just yesterday he was crawling into my lap to snuggle and watch cartoons with me?? How come it feels like I just blinked my eyes and he went from an adorable little chubby baby to the handsome young man that stands before me today??

My heart is fighting this battle between being proud of who he is becoming and sad because it's all happening too fast. 8th grade graduation, girlfriends, talking about how he can't wait to turn 15 so he can get a job and save for his first car, and making plans for college as well as back up plans for just in case the MLB don't take him has this mommas head spinning! I just want to put this into slow motion because I feel like I am missing it all! 

Words can not express how proud I am of this kid! He really is a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. He is witty and smart and funny! He has amazing taste in music (that he gets from his mother) and is the best big brother anyone could ask for. He only complains a little and is usually first to jump up and help out. He has dreams and ambitions and determination and as much as it kills me to see him growing up I know he is on the right path. I know he is going to be successful and happy in whatever he chooses to do in his adult life.

Congratulations Colten, on completing this chapter of your life and moving on to bigger and better ones. Your father and I could not be any more proud of you and consider it a privilege to be your parents! I love you with all of my heart Boo and I can't wait to see what the future and God has in store for you!

So proud of our boy!!

Cousins :)

Proud grandparents!!

Best friends for life!....(just missing Hondro) I love these boys!

Five Minute Friday: Rhythm

GO: 

Rhythm... 

I have to say that I am kinda in love with the rhythm of our lives right now. We are just coming off of this really big change (relocating back to Texas after a 10 month struggle in hell Arizona) and are getting settled into this new rhythm of things.

 This new life that really isn't new at all. 

Isn't that funny? How when we were here last time, in this same place with almost these exact same circumstances, we doubted that this was the place for us. We questioned God and His plan for us even though the rhythm had started feeling good, natural even. So He gave us the desires of our hearts....

Oh boy! If that wasn't proof enough that what we desire and what God wants for us are two very different things sometimes then I don't know what is. I rest assured though, that the experiences that we went through had reason behind them. As bad as it seemed then (and trust me it was bad at some points) were all part of Gods plan for us. To help us grow and learn and become stronger.  

Now here we are, not quite a month since we made the move back to the amazing state they call Texas and things are going well. This new rhythm was a little unsteady at first but is leveling off. We are jumping in head first and trying to dig deep for God and seek all that He has to offer us. We are happy and content and we feel blessed!

STOP

(Wow, that was totally random and not at all what I expected it to be! I love it!)


I am linking up with Lisa-Jo and an amazing community of fellow bloggers, as I do every Friday, to blog for five minutes straight on a given topic. Head on over and check out what Five Minute Friday is all about and join us!

Five Minute Friday: Listen

This weeks word is: Listen

GO:

Listen.... It's a word that I am constantly saying to my children. 

Listen to what I am telling you!! 

Did you just hear what I said? 

Why don't you listen to me??!!

I feel like I am on repeat sometimes. I swear that it goes in one ear and out the other and I lose count of how many times I repeat myself. If they would just stop and listen to me it woul save them a lot of time and a lot of unhappiness. 

I wonder if God feels like this with me sometimes? 

I am stubborn and hardheaded sometimes. (I wonder where my kids get it) Sometimes I insist on doing things my own way even though I am sure God is screaming at me to LISTEN! Just be still and listen!! 

I am working on this! It's been something that has been on my heart for awhile now. To just "be still and listen!". I feel like the ordeal that we have gone through over the last year is a prime example of this. If both my husband and I would have just stopped, would have just stood still, and listened perhaps we would have heard what He was trying to tell us! Instead of letting fear of the unknown or emotions control us we should have just listened and trusted in the path that God had us on. But like my children tend to do we let it go in one ear and out the other and look where that got us! 

I am also trying to listen more to my children. Be the person you want them to be, lead by example, right? I need to work on listening to them more and not tuning them out. This is a completely different blog topic that is currently in the works so stay tuned friends! 

STOP! 

I am linking up with Lisa-Jo and an amazing community of fellow bloggers, as I do every Friday, to blog for five minutes straight on a given topic. Head on over and check out what Five Minute Friday is all about and join us!

Five Minute Friday: Fall

Today's prompt word is FALL....
 

GO:

Once again my mind goes straight to music. This should be no surprise by now I reckon'. This time I think of Clay Walker and his amazingly accurate song FALL. This song is a favorite of mine because it reminds me of my husband and how amazing he is.... especially when I fall.

We all have those types of days. The days where you just want to throw your hands up and cry or go hide in a closet for a mommy time out. Not just from the craziness motherhood brings but because sometimes life just gets too hard, too heavy. We are only human and can only take so much.

The last year has been hard on me and as much as I hate to admit it I don't always handle stress well. Sometimes I break and I yell and I can be ugly. Unfortunately, most of this is aimed at the person that I am closest to, my husband. Wrong? Yes, it is very wrong and I feel horrible because of it. But he handles it so well. 

The past 6-12 months were really bad, as far as stress goes, for both of us. I can't even count the number of times that I lost it. Even though I knew he was carrying the same load as I was I couldn't help it. He was so amazing and was there to catch me EVERY SINGLE TIME. He did as much as he could to take the stress off of me and it honestly was more then I deserved. I can't express how thankful I am to him for being there. For staying positive and encouraging and supportive. For being the one person in this would world that understands me and my issues and still loves me unconditionally. I can't imagine my life with out him by my side and I pray to God I will never have to experience that! 

Thank you Cowboy, for always being there to catch me when I fall! I love you more then words can describe! 

STOP

 Today I am linking up with Lisa-Jo and the wonderful ladies for Five Minute Friday. Come join me and this awesome community of bloggers!

Hello Summer!!!!

I can NOT believe it is summer time already!! Seriously, where have the last 6 months gone? It seems like they have flown by in a blur.

With the hopes of keeping my sanity I am looking for stuff to keep the kids busy. Next week kicks off VBS at our church and that will keep us all occupied but for now I am struggling. I don't think it would be so hard if they were closer in age and all enjoyed the same things however at 14, 10, 5, and 1.5 its a challenge. As I mentioned in a the last post, any suggestions are welcome. 

Today we decided that it was a good day for slip and slide. Daddy just mowed the lawn and it was calling our name. The kids had a blast and I was able to sit in the grass and snap some of these pictures.

 

Katie was a pro and had to show the boys how it was done! She also discovered that she can practice sliding easy enough on here and that was enough to make me laugh! 

Caden, my born water dog, didn't get the concept that you had to run and slide. He sort of ran and flopped! Even so, he got the job done. He even stopped at the end a few times to sun bathe. Haha

It took Waylon a little bit to warm up to the water. For some reason he is hesitant around water but once he gets wet he loves it! 

"You expect me to get on that thing??!!"

Colten opted out of the water day to work out. He says, "I have to keep my endurance up for baseball!" He would eat, sleep, and breathe baseball if he could! I was able to snap a quick photo before he yelled at me! :-) 

They had a fun day and my plan worked amazingly. Waylon is down for a nap and the others are chilling out watching Life of Pi. All is calm in the Tipton household and this, my friends, is a rarity that I am relishing in!!  

Sunday Update: Welcome Home

What a week!! Lets talk about busy!! Yep that's me! Go, go go! I have come to realize a couple of things. 

1- I loath moving!!! LOATH IT! 

2- Unpacking and cleaning is impossible with 4 kids in the house!!

3- It's entertaining to see how a couple who has no kids react to living in a house with four of them for a week and a half! (Hehe)

4- My kids are getting SO big right before my eyes!! When did this happen!!! 

5- There is no better feeling then walking into church and feeling like finally, at last, you are home. 

As you know by now I am partial to lists. They make me happy happy happy! I will now elaborate on the above mentioned list. Haha (bare with me I am in a I-think-I-am-funny-tonight-so-you-should-too kinda mood)

Yes, as you all know we have moved a lot (what seems like a million times) in the last 4 years. I could not be anymore serious when I tell you that I am D.O.N.E! Like really just done with it! We have lived and learned. We have made mistakes and hastily rash decisions that we later regretted (haven't we all?). We have strayed from the path that God has put us on and for that we have all struggled. As individuals and as a family unit. We have seen what I hope is the worst of it and I am looking forward to things getting better. I feel like we are back on track and are headed in the right direction now and I thank God for that. I want roots. I want stability. I want to thrive and for my children to thrive where He has set us! And for goodness sake I never want to see a moving box again!!! 

Speaking of boxes, I am excited to say that 88% of our stuff is unpacked and put away. Talk about an accomplishment! Those of you with kids know exactly what I am talking about. You clean/organize one area only to turn around and realize that they have destroyed two other areas. I feel like a drill Sargent but if you don't keep at them the madness will over take you and you will lose the battle! Sad but true! 

I was fortunate enough to get to witness the chaos that is my house through a different point of view this past week. My brother and sister in law came with us to Texas and stayed until this morning. They have a ton of four legged fuzzy kids but they don't have any screaming, back talking, fighting with each other every chance they get, loud ones...yet! Haha I told Aubrey that by the time they left they would never want kids! It was funny to see the realization of just how crazy having 4 kids (5 if you count Randy) can be. To me it's normal everyday chaos that I have grown accustomed to. To them it's like they have stepped into a third world country filled with constant ear piercing noise! LOL They handled it pretty well and we were sad to see them go but perhaps now Jerrod will think twice before he tells me how sweet and innocent his niece and nephews are!!! 

Speaking of kids, it hit me today (Not literally) that they are getting SO big so fast! Colten volunteered at the baseball fields all weekend. He was so proud/happy because he was "working for free food" and it wasn't "really work cause its baseball". It made me think that in just a few years he will really be graduating high school and working for real and that just makes me sad to think about! 

Of course that also makes me think about Caden starting Kindergarten soon and all the fun that comes with that! (that is said sarcastically by the way) He is going to be a challenge and I pray I have prepared myself for that! But that in itself is sad. He is my little Cowboy and I am not sure if I want him to be a big boy and go to school yet. Guess it depends on the day haha! 

We can't forget about Mr. Waylon! This little guy has mastered SO much this week. He can tell you yes AND no when you ask him something. (Do you want milk? No. Juice? Yes) He is very smart for his age and when he doesn't like something he tells you about it. For example when Caden pushed him down he came to me with his pitiful cry and you bet he told me all about it. Yes, it was mostly just jibberish and pointing of his finger at the culprit but he got his point across! LOL gotta love it!

 Then you have Katie.. Oh sweet Katie.. Who is so excited about a upcoming mission trip that she will be joining the church on this month. In her words, "we get to tell people about God mom!!!" I love the enthusiasm she has for church and for God and I am so thankful that the church we go to has such an amazing youth program and youth leaders. Katie is one of the main reasons why we even tried this church to begin with (she had been going for awhile with her friend before we started) and I am so glad for it! 

Today was the first day that we attended since being back and I can not put into words how great it felt! As I was dropping the kids off someone said, "Welcome Home!" The words alone were enough to bring tears to my eyes and the sincerity behind them made it even more special. It still amazes me that both Randy and I feel so at home at this church, a church that we had only attended a handful of times before leaving last summer, then we have felt at any church we have ever attended! Ever! Now, I just have to get Waylon used to the nursery and all will be great! (Easier said then done huh!) :-)

It's all part of the plan, His plan, of this I am sure! I am so excited to see what the future holds for us, for the kids. I know its going to be wonderful and more then we could have imagined! 

Don't get me wrong, I miss the family we left behind in Arizona everyday. I know the kids do too and it hurts to think about what they are missing out on but I am confident that it will be ok. That it will all work out in the end. We had to make this decision for our family, the six of us, and I am thankful that, even though its not easy, they understand that and are supportive of us. 

Wow! I didn't intend for this to be so long. See what happens when I get started! Haha I hope y'all have a great week and if anyone has good tips on how to keep my clan busy for the summer I'd be happy to hear them! (Duct tape and the closet are not options either! lol

Good night y'all!