FAITHFUL

The last few months have been filled with much joy, fun, excitement and sweet memories but have also been filled with lots ofquestions, insecurities, challenges and fears.

I LOVE being a mom to my 2 beautiful girls. They make me laugh, make me cry, they make me want to be a better human being. Its funny how parenthood will do that to you. You suddenly realize all your short comings and are inspired to change, to grow so that you can be a better example for these little people.

Our sweet girls teach me so much more than I could ever teach them. Each day I find myself wishing that I could stop time because sweet moments pass so quickly, yet wishing I could go back and do something different (not in a guilty way but more in a wish I would have known that before kinda way, learning kinda way).

I have grown a ton over the last few years. I have rea

lized things about myself that were hidden deep within. I have conquered so many of my insecurities and faced many of my struggles. I

am still learning, still growing and thankful for the self awareness that God has provided. Today I took time to STOP and thank God for His FAITHFULNESS to me.

Today...as I was spending some time with God. The word FAITHFUL came into my mind in BIG, BOLD letters. I pondered the word (means devoted, consistent with truth) and what it has meant to me over the last few years/months/days/hours/minutes (ha lets be honest). My mind was flooded with so many memories, answered prayers and verses that remind me of God's faithfulness.

God is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. Psalm 145:13

God who has called you into fellowship with his son Jesus Christ is faithful. Psalm 57:10

Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3: 22-23

To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless. 2 Samuel 22:26

Your love O Lord reaches to the heavens your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 57:10

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. Psalm 33:4

I know that each and every day I fall short, I fail, I say something I wish I didn't, I am not enough for Adam, our girls, my friends, my family. But God is ...THE FAITHFUL ONE! I can't tell you how much encouragement, power and and strength this brings to my heart.

More than anything I want it to be said of me that I am/was a faithful wife, mother, friend, and servant of God. I praise God today for his faithful answers to my prayers, the way he provides wisdom like no other in parenting, the way that he intimately knows me, my struggles, my imperfections and the way that he LOVES through his faithfulness. Because of his faithfulness to me how can I not desire to grow in faithfulness toward him. I know that the only way that I can understand and appreciate his faithfulness is to allow him full access to my heart and to seek him with all that I am.

So...this is my prayer....for myself and our girls

Psalm 27:4-5

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple.

How have you seen God's faithfulness in your life lately?

Sing Over Me

This is one of my FAVORITE baby cd's . It is a collection of beautiful worship songs and lullabies. Perfect for days like today (a little gloomy) when you just want to rock your babe a little longer and sing them some sweet melodies. I started singing these songs to Harper as a baby and now I get to sing them to Sydney too.

Check out a few of my favorites below (How Deep The Fathers Love For Us). I thought this one was fitting considering that it is almost Easter and it really spoke to my heart today.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/nichole-nordeman/tracks/how-deep-the-fathers-love-for-us--34122278

I also love this song (Hold On To Jesus) for those of you with little girls. It often comes to mind in the night when I am feeding Sydney. It is such a beautiful song and a great prayer to pray for girls and boys

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Over-Me-Worship-Lullabies/dp/B000GEU6FO

ENJOY!

Our Girls

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Texas weather! We have so enjoyed playing at the park, walks with friends, painting outside and impromptu tea parties at our house this week.

The sun always brightens my spirit, helps to jump start my creativity after hibernating over the winter and most of all reminds me of the goodness of God, his creation and new life.

We had a bit of a rough winter at the Hammack household. Lots of sickness and cold indoor days. Thankfully we are all feeling better and looking forward to all this new season will bring.

Here are a few pictures I found on my parents computer. We are hanging out here for a few days while Adam is enjoying a much needed vacation/boys trip (snowboarding in Mammoth).

Sweet Sydney! Her nickname is "All Smiles All The Time" She really is the most happy and contented baby. She reminds me to be thankful in all circumstances and to find joy in even the most mundane moments of mothering. She is always so sweet and patient and her smile really lights up the room. She just turned 4 months old. She is starting to talk, and loves to kick her little legs (most of the time out of her clothes), she is starting to drool and may be getting a tooth before we know it.

Harper is my sweet little social butterfly. Here she is at my dad's office talking on the phone. Fast forward.....20 years...I can see her working with and serving people in some capacity. She is so loving, kind and social. She talks a million miles and words a minute and always has something cute to add to the conversation. We are working with her on stranger danger stuff since she trusts pretty much anyone and everyone. Oh if only the world was as small and innocent and as a 2 year olds.

Another Happy Picture of Sweet Sydney. I love this little hat. My parents got it for her for Christmas. Check out that smile...seriously captivating

Harper and Sydney sweet friends allready. Sydney loves to watch Harper and Harper is the sweetest big sister. She is so loving towards her and is my little helper. My prayer is that they will become the best of friends

Back In Full Effect

Okay friends....I know it has been like 3 months since I

have posted and I think this pictures says it all. I thought no one really cared that I had left the blog world but I was surprised to discover that there really are people out there who read my blog. So I am BACK...You have to admit that I deserved a bit of a break. I had another baby and for those of you who are parents with little ones you might remember what those first few months are like.

I had forgotten what having a newborn baby was like and was reminded the moment we brought sweet Sydney home from the hospital. Not much sleep, lots of crying (both baby and momma), dying to self, and of course the sweet moments that go by too fast. It is hard to believe that Sydney is 3 months old. It has gone by so much more quickly this time around. I am trying to savor every sweet milestone and moment that I can and feel so blessed that I get to be home with my girls.

Okay so here is what I have learned over the last few months:

*Accept Support With Open Arms : I have to admit that I thought I knew what I was doing because I had done it before (not all that long ago) and didn't think I would need as much help this time around. Boy was I WRONG... Adam was able to take 2 weeks off work. I was so thankful to have him home to help, to encourage, to love and support me and to spend sweet time together with our new family of 4. I also felt so blessed to have the most amazing friends, neighbors, and family. We had meals for 2 months 3 -4 times a week which was such a blessing this time around and Harper always had a fun play date which gave her some normalcy admist all the change.

*Every Child is Different: I used to hear people say this and honestly thought that it was an excuse for their child's bad behavior haha. Now that Harper is 2 I know that is not the case =) (random people please forgive me for judging you =) It took me a few weeks but I learned that it isn't fair to compare Sydney to Harper or Harper to Sydney. Each child is uniquely, fearfully and wonderfully made. Harper is our little social butterfly and Sydney is very rexaled and low key. It has been so fun to see and embrace the unique differences in each of them.

*Let Go of Mom Guilt and Move On: No matter how hard I try I am never going to be able to spend the type of one on one time with Sydney that I did with Harper. I am also never going to be able to give Harper the kind of attention that she was used to. I try to make the most of the time I get with each child and now understand why mom's with multiple kids struggle with mom guilt. I do my best each day and ask God to fill in and provide them security and significance where I can't.

*It WILL Take Your First Child Time to Transition To the New Baby: Harper has done amazing with Sydney and loves to hug her, kiss her and play with her. It was an adjustment though and she didn't want to share the attention at first. At the suggestion of a friend, we made a special box filled with toys, snacks, and treats, just for Harper, that she could play with when I nursed. This made her feel special and kept her entertained. She has adjusted well and I honestly don't think that she will ever remember life apart from Syndey. It is so sweet to see how she loves her sister and makes me dream of the years ahead. I hope and pray that they grow to be the very BEST of friends and I know that Harper will be a great role model for Syd.

*Let Go of Expectations: If I am honest...I want to be a Martha Stewart/fill in the blank role model type mom. I mean who doesn't? But....the reality is that I am never going to be the PERFECT mom. All that to say I had to embrace that I wasn't going to be able to make a gourmet dinner every night, keep my house perfectly clean, look like Angelina Jolie, run 10 miles, get up early to read my bible every morning and have a child who is 100% obediant all the time. SHHHEEZ that list would make any mom overwhelmed. Then why do we have those types of expectations for ourselves? I am learning to let go of my expectations and allow God to show me how to prioritize my day and what to invest my time and energy into. I am still learning how to do this.

*Be Where You Are: As many of you know I am a people person. I love to be around people, talk to people, watch people, listen to people, etc. One of the hardest lessons I have learned since I have become a mother is that I can't do everything, be everywhere, or meet the needs of everyone. I just need to be content and present where I am, in this season. Whether that means taking care of sick kids or running around the playground. I want to embrace each stage and not wish it away or wish for the next best milestone.

Okay...so that is all....nothing profound just a few things that I have learned and am still learning. Isn't LIFE fun! Always a learning process until Jesus calls us home.

I would love to hear from all of you other mom's out there. What has been your greatest learning lesson on the road of Motherhood?

And Now for a Few Past Due Pictures: (BTW I have issues with uploading pics on my blog...anyone else have that problem or am I just computer illiterate? help please if you have tips) I can't ever figure out how the spacing works and I can only upload a few pics at a time)

Family Pic Syd is 10 days old

Snow Day January

Introducing...Sydney Leigh Hammack

Here are two pics...I hope to find some time this weekend to blog about Sydney's arival

Harper's Birthday

So it has been a month since Harper turned 2. She has grown so much and we have really enjoyed getting to know her over the last year. Her little personality has blossomed and she is growing into such a sweet, caring and compassionate little girl.

For her birthday we took her to a little Tea Room in Plano that specializes in little kids parties and had a Princess Tea Party. We decided to keep it small with just family, my parents and Adam's parents came. We dressed Harper up like a princess and she got to wear a fun crown. She got to drink unlimited pink tea(aka lemonade) and got ice cream with sprinkles. She then got spoiled by her grandparents with lots of fun new toys

Funny Sayings/Big girl bed

Harper in her big girl bed (a bunk bed). She has been in it a week and is loving it. She hasn't fallen out and can't wait for sleepovers with friends =)



Harper has been cracking us up lately with her little sayings. I bought a little book to write things down as she says them and hope to one day give it to her when she is an adult so she can laugh and we can enjoy the memories together. Here are a few of her most recent and my favorite sayings, things that she has said out of the blue without being prompted I promise.

"Excuse me can I get by"
"Perfect" at random times
"I'm styling" when we took her to Old Navy to try on some fall clothes
"Hmm let me see"
"Ohhhhhh'kay"
"I forgot or I not feeling good" when she doesn't want to eat something
"Where my seat belt so we can be safe"
"Get out of my bed" she told me that the other day after sleeping in her big girl bed for 3 whole nights hahah isn't she a little young to be telling me to get out of her room =)
"I'm a boobie" when we were at Gap Body walking past all the bras, she said it very loudly and repeatedly..Adam and I tried so hard not to laugh so that we wouldn't encourage repetition
"My birthday September 11th" She makes sure we are not going to forget
"Jesus loves you mommy"
"Your a good driver daddy"
"Put that down" when I was on my cell phone in the car, if that's not convicting what is =)
"Okie dokie"
"Ready freddy"
"Good singing mommy" I'm not making this one up promise
"yeah, yeah"
"prays out loud on her own for anyone and everyone and anything" She prayed for the bike today =)
"Old Mcdonald had a chicken"