In This Season

 It feels like each day we accomplish something new, or just stay the course on our current goals. We both signed up for 5 and 6 week bible studies at our new church and they have already passed. This week the women's bible study I have been a part of is having a 7th week session just for fellowship and food. I'm happy to spend another week in the presence of women of different ages, all in their own varying seasons of life. Being home with a toddler all day can be so daunting, as I'm sure you've read in parenting articles and mommy blogs alike. It's the greatest blessing to be home all day with our child but having a once a week get together with other women and hearing their prayer requests and trials has been so helpful. It makes an isolating season much less lonely and less self centered. 

What 7am looks like around here.

Staying the course on our goals has made time pass quickly. We keep our heads down for the most part, just knocking out the next student loan in our debt payoff journey. We work the extra job of cleaning two businesses on Saturdays and now with finding a church our family loves, Sundays tend to go quickly as well. We love Sundays regardless of the pace. It's such a blessing to be in fellowship with other believers. We are now going through membership at church and something about being in a class with Josh makes me so happy and refreshed. I think things have been so scattered in terms of our schedule. Bible studies, extra jobs, etc., so being together for that time period syncs us back up. We also enjoy putting in a movie once Leighton goes down for the night around 7:45. We don't stream anything right now to save the money, but our libraries have so many options to choose from and also the free options on the Roku Channel are often great. We've been filtering our entertainment down to clean movies only. We've almost always done this but have been more intentional about it lately. I hope to put together a list of clean/family friendly movies to share here, but until then a resource we have come to love is https://dove.org. I'm not sure if they review any movies other than Christian films, but I recommend checking it out if you are curious why a movie has a certain rating.

A great blessing we have in this season is the ability to begin walking from our apartment and can choose from 3 different beautiful and well cared for trails to take. We've walked hundreds of miles on these trails over the years & for a time I became 'used to' them and lost gratitude. After enduring a significant back injury over the past year, I am thankful for each walk and time spent on these trails. 

Josh has taken on a promotion at work so his work day is a bit different but it's including more things that he has a passion for so I am happy about that. He also is not expected to work more hours than his usual 40 hour work week which is such a blessing to us. I cannot imagine having a spouse that travels for work frequently. I think Leighton would hide his keys if that were the case! 

A rainy day activity we enjoy is shutting off all the lights, bringing out her Frozen tent and Minion blankets and using 'her' flashlight. She requests many snacks during this activity.

Lately I've been wanting an outlet to document this season of life. The little things are so important to cherish now because time is so fleeting. Leighton is growing so much these days and her sentences become more and more complicated. She's practically potty training herself and that will likely soon be the norm. We've not purchased a big girl bed for her just yet, because after a few weeks of very interrupted sleep which we assumed was due to outgrowing her crib, she went back to sleeping just fine. I will keep her in the crib as long as she is sleeping well! I know comparing to other children's timelines is something we often do (a good reason to unfollow or step away from social media if it is not serving you well--a talk I have to have with myself often!) I thought it was a must to change her sleeping arrangement at this age. Now I'm hoping to hold out until she turns three! Only time will tell. She does wake up every now and then and asks for a snack. Her daddy handles most nightly wake ups and that is such a blessing to this sleepy mama!

I read a blog post recently that said 'we should live today like we're 60.' They were in the 'toddler trenches' and were elbow deep in diapers and tantrums. They decided that they would combat the situation with living like they were many years older, missing those days with littles running about and needing them for the most simple things. Phones were put away and they got on their level, played with tractors and held their children a little longer. This has stuck with me as we are also elbow deep in the toddler years, but I know these days are going to be so very missed. I can't even hum 'You're Gonna Miss This' by Trace Adkins without getting teary, so the thought of missing these days motivates me to be more intentional. An intentional mama and wife, living in a little 2 bedroom apartment in Arkansas, working toward debt freedom, budgeting and cooking good home cooked meals, crafting when my hands are free, reading my bible on our very old and stained sofa and trying to remain in a state of gratitude, because what the song says is very true and I will certainly miss this.

A 'Bear Cave' is a common request when she wakes up in the morning. Typically after blue pancakes (food coloring) we make a bear cave. Spy my coffee and water bottle next to the couch. Looks like I got to finish my coffee that morning!

With heart from our home, 

Jordan