Rain

I've been feeling a little blue lately.

I'm kinda worn out.

Burnt out.

I dunno....just tired.

Sometimes we forget to stop trying to do everything on our own and just rest in Jesus. 

Why am I always forgetting that?

Back after I had Owen I was going through a really down period and I would play this song over and over and it really ministered to me during that period.

I ran across another blog the other day where the author is having a really rough patch and I shared this song with her, in hopes that it might minister to her like it did me.

I decided since I'm feeling kinda blue again lately there is probably someone else out there who this might bless too.

We are blessed to be led into worship by these guys every week at corporate worship.

New Stuff...BABY stuff!

....in my Etsy shop! 

I decided to list some baby items.

I've been making baby sets as gifts for friends and since people always say I should be selling these sets I decided it was about time I did.

We're saving for our vacation so any sales will go towards that.

After that we'll be saving towards Christmas and finishing our bedroom addition.

We're trying to give in an even bigger way this Christmas.
Once August hits I feel like it means we should star getting serious about how we're gonna give and what we're gonna give to this Christmas season. 

Anyways, visit my shop and buy some items :)

And refer your friends.

If you refer someone and they purchase something have them mention

Because He Gave and YOUR name

and I'll knock $5 off their order 

and you'll get a $5 credit. 

That means refer 3 friends who place orders and you'll get 3 FREE burp cloths!

You can do free, right?

I can also do custom orders. 

Like this: 2 burp cloths, guitar bib, tie onsie and initial onsie.

Or a custom order like this:
Ruffle back (not pictured) appliqued onsie, matching chenille bib and chenille burp cloth.

Or custom clothing orders like this:

If you're interested in anything I pictured but don't have listed in my shop email me at Lindslane82@gmail.com and put ETSY in the subject line. And we'll talk prices and setting up a custom order for you!

Visit Homegrown Bows On Etsy!

The Lindsay Files- Part 7

If I thought 4th grade brought good and bad experiences I never would have expected what 5th grade would bring. 

A new school. 

More death.

And, the realization that sometimes being cool trumps friendship.

My 5th grade teacher was Mrs. Auer. I really liked her. She was tall, thin, elegant and had really good handwriting. She was also a neighbor of my moms best friend. When we'd visit my moms friend I'd pop down the street and say hello to my teacher. I thought that was pretty cool.

We were the first 5th grade class at Morningside Elementary. 

Once again I was in the same class as my good friends Tiffany, Amy, Natalie and Katie. I was still in LEAP and loving it. I ran to be President of our student council and made Vice President (the principles daughter won for President. I'm sure it had nothing to do with her last name or anything. Just sayin'.... *smile*). My mom started working from home that year so I got to spend alot more time with her. 

 Im in the white shirt on the left. The girl leaning over is my friend Natalie.

We also started going to a new church. A church that would change the course of my life. {more on that later}

My brother Corey joined the Navy and was shipped off to Chicago. Before he left he bought me a pair of K-Swiss. Those shoes meant the world to me! 

That was the year that I began to realize that sometimes being cool means choosing not to do what was right or good. Some of my close friends (not the ones mentioned above) decided I wasn't cool enough to be good friends with anymore because well, I was a good girl. It wasn't too bad and I didn't really suffer any bullying because fortunately being good girl was still a good thing in the 5th grade. 

In 4th grade I had been Mrs. Claus {as in Santas wife}, a lead part, in our school play. In 5th grade my friend Amy {she was the one with the matching outfit in 4th grade} and I tried out to be extras in a production of The Music Man that our local high school was putting on. We both made the cut and we got to perform in the high school productions as 5th graders. That was a great experience!

My oldest brother Shawn {well, his first name is Mark but since he's a junior the family calls him Shawn} had moved back home and gotten a dog that year. He picked this irresistible bouncing black lab pup and named her Hannah. The personality that at first was irresistible turned into a the dog from...well you know. She chewed everything. Ruined lots of my brothers shoes and books. He was done with her and wanted her gone. By this time though I had fallen in love with her. So, I convinced my mom she couldn't go anywhere. And she didnt. Hannah did have a problem with getting out the yard though. She would jump our fence and get picked up by animal control. At one point Hannah was found by a sweet woman. She fell in love with Hannah but soon realized we were her owners. My mom had told the lady she could keep Hannah because Hannah caused so much trouble getting out constantly. And, she was an extra expense my mom didn't need. The lady asked my mom if we wanted Hannah and we did, she just cost a little too much to keep. So, instead of keeping Hannah the lady arrived at our door one day with a few HUGE bags of dog food and a specially made dog house just for Hannah. What a sweet woman she was!

That year wasn't all good though. My dad, step mom and step sister had moved back to Dallas. My step moms cancer had been in remission but in August they found out it had returned. My step sister was only 4 months older than me but a year older in school. My step mom faught the returning cancer until December when she lost her battle and died on December 5th. My 11th birthday. Since she had passed away in her sleep I remember wishing they could change the date so that the date of her death was not my 11th birthday. My relationship was never the same with my dad from that point on. It took until I was 16 for him to even acknowledge my birthday again. But, really, that didn't even matter. I honestly didn't care too much. I believe the Lord allowed my heart to not grow bitter and even at such a young age to understand the hurt of others and to heave forgiveness undeservingly, just like our Savior has done for us. I had just wished my step sister didn't have to lose her mom and that my dad didn't have to lose his wife. My step sister ended up moving in with her real dad and her step mom and we pretty much lost touch for the most part. {Not anymore thanks to Facebook though. :)}

I look back on my years through elementary and can really appreciate all the things I experienced. The good and the bad. I was so outgoing and involved in everything at school. I had lots of close friends and a mom who put an Eternal focus on life. 

We left 5th grade being the big kids on campus and entered the world of 6th grade. A grade full of experiences that changed my life. We entered the world of middle school.....

The Lindsay Files-

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

9 years

Last week our biggest baby turned 9 years old.

Really, 9 years??

It seems like just yesterday she entered the world and forever changed our future. 

The Lord used that little life to change the course of 2 big lives all for His glory. 

Like the song says 'a baby changes everything'  and so it was for 2 young parents starting their lives together. 

We could have never imagined 9 years ago that the Lord would draw us closer to Him through the birth of our first child.

A girl.

Our Miss Liss.

From just a little thing she has always had compassion and encouragement for others and been full of life! She seems to excel at everything she pursues and even at a young age showed a love for the Father.

She is a huge helper and makes the perfect oldest child in our family.

We thank God that He chose to use her little life to change the course of our big lives.

She is our first blessing and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Photo Challenges

I'm participating in the Iheartfaces and Paper Mama photo challenges for the very first time! This weeks theme is "over the head" and "action" so I thought this picture was perfect for both of them! 
Here is Derek throwing Owen up in my parents swimming pool on the 4th of July.

Raw{e} Mirror Images

This weeks Raw{e} theme over at Sailor & Company is Mirror Images. My first thought was the obvious; a mirror. But, then I thought  there are other surfaces that make mirror images besides mirrors. 

So, here is a picture of Owen when he was about 6-7 months playing on my parents hardwood floors. I love how the floors reflected the toys and him as he was sitting there. 

My Flower Girl

Saturday Ava was the flower girl in Derek's cousins wedding. I've become good friends with the bride and when they asked Ava to be their flower girls she was beyond excited!

I know some wondered why we would let Ava if Elisa wasnt included (assuming Audrey wouldnt know the difference) but we felt like this was a perfect way for Ava to feel special. Being the second girl, and the middle child for awhile, there are few times when she gets special attention for just her. Elisa has had many opportunities in her life to be the star, whether it be through excelling in sports (when she played them) or just being the oldest child in general, so this gave Ava her chance.

Getting dressed up like a princess is right up Ava's alley so she had such a memorable experience! Dereks cousin, who is 4 months younger than Ava, was the ring bearer and they just made such a cute little duo!

I was so excited to have my own camera to get to capture her all dressed up and not have to rely on the wedding photographer to get some good shots. 

The Little Things

I am constantly amazed and awed at the Lords care and provision for things in life. We can go to Him with a need and He's there to meet it. Whether it be providing a job for someone without one or providing comfort for someone hurting. 

But, sometimes, its the little things that He cares about that amaze me most. 

Ava is a flower girl in a wedding this weekend. We've had the dress for a long time but I've needed to get her some shoes to match the dress. Because we're saving for our vacation - we've never taken a family vacation just because, its always had a purpose - we've put ourselves on a very tight budget. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on shoes she'd wear once. 

I also had put of getting shoes because, well, shopping with 4 kids by myself is kinda hard and often times a bit stressful. Especially when I'm looking something very specific like ivory colored dress shoes that would match her dress. 

Since the wedding was this weekend I figured I had no more time to put off buying the shoes. So, off we went to shoe shop before the rehearsal dinner last night. A friend had told me Target had a bunch of shoes clearanced so I thought I'd start there. Honestly, I had little hope of finding a pair a shoes that would be perfect for the dress at Target but I wanted to give it a shot. And, what do you know? I found a pair of Ivory sparkle dress shoes in Ava's size! Unbelievable! The first store I was at! 

And, ready for this? They were marked down to $3.24!!!! I could not have been happier! I was so excited to have found the perfect shoes not only at the first store I looked at but also clearanced down to less than $4!! 

As I packed everyone back in the car I was reminded at what faithful God we serve. No, in the grand scheme of life the shoes really dont matter. They have no Eternal value but the Lord heard the muttered prayer of a stressed out mama (and apparently a Mimi who was praying the same thing!) and saw fit to answer it in a big way!

Thank you, Lord for sparkley ivory colored dress shoes in a size 12!

The Lindsay Files- Part 6

Fourth grade, oh fourth grade. 

You were a good and bad year.

That year I developed friendships I still carry on to this day and experienced death closer than I ever had before.

Ms. Fry was my 4th grade teacher. That year our classroom was actually a portable building in the back of the school. The very last and furthest portable building mind you. That pretty much nailed in that we were part of the oldest kids at school. Because, you know, the older kids were in the portables. :) 

Do you remember the show Coach? 

Well, Ms. Frys dad was the real life coach that that show was written about. Yep, believe it or not {and you should believe it} its true. So, we all kinda felt like our teacher was famous...in a roundabout way. Her dad was friends with the writer behind the show idea.

That year in my class were my friends Kerri,  Katie, Tiffany, Amy and Natalie. And that year I developed a really close friendship with Tiffany, Amy and Natalie. {On a side note, TIff and I are still friends. We dont see each other very often due to distance but we still keep in touch. And Amy, well I just found her on Facebook after not having talked to her since 2004!} All 3 were Christians and being raised in homes where the Lord was put first. Natalies mom was our principle and Tiffany and Amys moms worked in the office...so I was kinda the odd man out in that department. 

I remember playing a class game {around the world I think} one day and Tiffany laughing so hard she started snorting. From then on we called her Snortin' Thornton. At another point of class games during the year someone started coughing really loud and Tiffany stood up and yelled 'hurry someone do the hiney remover!!!' What she meant to say was the Heimlich maneuver. {yes, I totally searched on swagbucks for the correct spelling there!} TIffany was such a cut up and you couldn't help but love her! From then on every.single.time I would call and have to leave a message on her answering machine I would say something about looking for some hiney remover. We would kill ourselves in laughter. Actually, thinking about it makes me laugh even now. {Yes, Im aware its probably  one of those 'you had to be there' type of situations}

My second oldest brother was a senior in high school that year. Our school had a program that had high school students come and befriend and mentor kids in our school. I remember one of the girls who would come was friends with my brother. I also remember thinking that everytime she came I was wearing the same outfit and feeling embarrassed about that. Apparently I was aware of the lack of amount of clothes we were able to afford back then because I remember being self concious about it. Being raised by a single mom meant not having a huge wardrobe with tons of clothes over flowing. I think subconciously that contributed to my clothing addiction when I started having kids. And still, to this day, why I have a clothing hoarding problem. {There, I admited Mom and Derek, happ?? lol}

In this picture I am wearing the outfit I felt like I wore all the time. My friend Amy had the matching outfit so we planned to wear it on the same day one time. The girl in green was my friend Katie. Her mom babysat me after school that year.

Amy and I are inside the tube here. The girl to the far right is my friend Kerri. Her and I had been in the same class every year so far. Her mom made all her clothes. It was back when fabric painted clothes were all the rage. She also had matching hairbows for every outfit. Her mom also always had her and her younger sister matching. I remember wishing I had clothes like her. I am certain those feelings have affected me as a mom dressing my girls. I love them to match and wanting them in cute, boutique outfits is what got me started sewing.

I'm on the far left here. The 2 boys right in front of me were my first good friends that were boys. 

That year was the last year attending Peters Colony Elementary. A new school was being built and that's where I was zoned too. We had the option of staying at our current school but all my clothes friends, except Kerri, were going to the new school. I'm pretty sure Kerri's mom tried to get a job at the new school so she could send Kerri there, with all her friends, but for some reason that didn't work out. That year was pretty much the last year of close friendship with her.

Since we were leaving the school and ending friendships and leaving classmates we had spent school with over the previous 4 years Tiffany, Amy, Natalie and I decided to sing a song for the talent show. Can you take a wild guess what it was? Friends are Friends Forever. {Again, if you were a Christian in the early 90's I'm sure you still know all the words to this song) I had sang in the talent show every year up until this point. I had a name to live up to {ha!} so when we were standing in front of the whole school and I hear our song start with the singer singing along {vs. just the music} I had a look of horror on my face! I was so upset! I knew we could sing it with just the music and some teacher had put the tape on the wrong side! The expression on my face was priceless when we went back to watch the video.

This was the day of the talent show. I'm the one standing in front with my leg up. The hand print shirt is the shirts we made to wear for the talent show. A random fact...the girl who looks like shes wearing all white, her great great, who knows how many greats, grandpa was President Van Buren. Her name was Jessica Van Buren and I thought it was fascinating that she had a famous relative like that. {Apparently, I had lots of famous connections that year}

In 4th grade I encountered death of a close family member for the first time. We were in Colorado for Spring Break visiting some friends and I remember my mom getting a call that my Uncle Slade had died. It wasn't some awful car accident or an expected death due to health.
No, it was a murder/suicide. 
It was my dads half brother, who also lived in California. He was the cool Uncle who was building his acting career and would always take us to the movie theater when we were in Cali visiting my dad. He'd point out all the names of the people in the credits that he knew. And we thought that was super cool. He was close friends with the guy who played the green Ninja Turtle in the movies. {ha! another famous connection, lol} My brother Corey and him had a pretty close relationship.  He had planned on spending some time that summer after graduation with my Uncle Slade so that death was really hard on him. 


I think this was also the year my step mom got cancer for the first time. They were still living in California at the time but moved back to Dallas some time that year. 


I have such mixed emotions when I think back to 4th grade. On a whole it was a great year with the building of life long friendships. But, there is the sadness that comes up when I think about the death of my uncle. 
It's also kind of weird to think about the fact that Elisa will be starting 4th grade this year. To think about all those memories and know I was about the same age as her is kinda of a weird feeling as a mom.









The Lindsay Files 
Part 1
Part 2 
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

What do you do? {Wordless Wednesday}

What do you do with a baby who has REALLY enjoyed his dinner?

Take him outside and hose him off of course!

{Happy Birthday, Tiffany!}

How easy we grumble

At corporate worship on Sunday we were reminded of the Israelites and their exodus from Egypt. Once out of Egypt they were really craving some meat and grumbling and complaining about their lack of good food. So, our wonderful God, in His great mercy gave them quail to eat. He then told them He would provide Manna from Heaven for their food. As they wandered year after year, for 40 years, they often fell into the same grumbling and complaining.

It's so easy for us to look back at their story - our story - and wonder why on earth, after many miracles and provisions from the Lord, they would even have the nerve to complain! 

But, their story - our story  as adopted sons and daughters into the family of God- really just represents our hearts. We are so blessed in this nation, in our every day lives. But, how often we fall into the grumbling and complaining trap! Time and again we catch ourselves complaining about the things in our lives which are actually blessings. 

We don't like what we have available in the pantry to cook for dinner. What most of the world would give for a hot meal.

We're sick of our clothes. We want new ones. I'm sure there are plenty who would like to replace the rags they're wearing on the other side of the world.

Our car isn't new or nice enough. At least we have a car that can get us from point A to point B.

We don't feel like cleaning {oh...maybe that's just me!} the house. Most people in the world would love a house to live in.

Our family, yet again, has rubbed us the wrong way.  How about the orphans around the world? I'm sure they long for a family to 'rub them the wrong way'.

How shameful it is to know that I actually think these thoughts! Oh, Lord, forgive me!

It seems like year after year people get the 'think of others' mentality around Christmas time but by this time of year the majority of us have fallen back into the me me me trap.

Grumbling.

Complaining.

Wanting more, more, more.

So, I've decided every Wednesday I'm going to try and start listing some of my blessings. That way, when I find myself falling into the trap of grumbling and complaining about blessings from the Lord I can look back and be reminded that I have NOTHING to complain about. For out of the mouth the heart flows......

Today some of my blessings are:

1. Getting to stay home with my kids.

2. Having a husband who willing goes to work everyday to provide for us.

3. A God who has chosen and adopted me into His family.

4. Four precious babies who are healthy and happy {most of the time}.

5. A paid for small 2 bedroom house that comfortably holds all 6 of us.

6. A life that allows my 2 year old to wear a Snow White dress all day. To where her only concern need be the matching shoes. Not whether or not she'll get to eat the next meal or whether or not her mommy or daddy will come home.

How many of your grumlings are actually blessings?