Family Time

We have been on the go. And it is just going to be better. We cut our cable as of today, and are going to be investing into each other. I am so excited for more family time. I know that the Lord will bless this time with each other as we build our relationships and strengthen our family. And as we also get ready to welcome little Noah Jacob too. Praise the Lord for all he has given to us, I am richly blessed!Family Time! We went down to the park to play with Hannah and blow some bubbles. I love my family!

Hannah dug around in the sand.

She really is little Mama, she was making dinner.

You might think that by the picture that a child took it....nope just Jacob, and I only have half a face. Love you babe!

My loves. I love that Hannah loves her Daddy so much! He is such a great Daddy.

Honor Thy Husband

I love The Home Experience! Seriously the Lord has been showing me so many principles to live by through the book and the scripture that is in it. Here is what I am learning and living.

My Husband, Jacob Masciave, my gift from God.

Serving:

Often we serve our children and train our husbands, Instead we should train our children and serve our husbands. --- this principle really hit home to me. I was raised in a home with a single mom. My parents were married but divorced when I was really little. I do desire to serve my husband. I have been doing really practical things for Jacob these last couple of weeks, like making his lunch for the next day, and getting the coffee pot ready the night before. I have also been trying to keep up on the house so that it is a comfortable place for him to come home. I don't want him to come home from work and feel stressed out at home, with his family. I am still in the early stages with Hannah, but with another one on the way (baby "Noah") I want her to learn to serve with a joyful heart, and that Mommy does it out of love, not with a bad attitude. She is so sweet, she already is learning, she loves to help with what she can. She helps unload the bottom shelf of the dishwasher (gotta love Corral, they really never break) and putting away laundry with me).

His Helper:

I was created to be his helpmate. He was not created to be mine.----- So simple, yet so hard to swallow. This was the way that God intended it be.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said,"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him"

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

I have really been trying to be a good helper to Jacob. It is not always easy, when my tired pregnant body just wants to sit and not make dinner. But God has really been doing great stuff in my heart and even when I don't want to do something he gives me energy to do it. And our Marriage is so reaping the reward.

There is so much more that I am learning and I just finished the first section. Part of me just wants to read as much as possible, but I really want to practice what I am learning. I want to have it make a difference in my life. And the slower I go, the bigger I am seeing the differences.

Here is what I am seeing so far:

A clean house- I used to just try to clean once a week or so, but doing the little stuff daily has taken off so much pressure. I love going to sleep at the end of the day with the dishes done and the laundry put away. It has also encouraged Jacob to put his laundry in the hamper and rinse the dishes when he is done with them.

Friendships- I love being busy, but I now feel that I am investing in the Friendships/ Relationships that I have. Instead of chasing down someone that is too busy for me, I am taking advantage of the ones that are here, now. And the time seems to be blossoming.

Quiet Time- Oh this is my favorite. I am challenging myself to get up early everyday to spend that time with my Maker in the morning. It has been so incredibly rewarding. Even the mornings that I just don't want to get up, some how I do. I feel like I am seeing parts of the Bible in a whole new light. And the encouragement from my Husband has been so amazing too. He has been making my coffee in the morning, and leaving a love note/ word of encouragement for me. I just love waking up and getting that love back from my husband, and then my Maker. The Lord has been so faithful.

Mommy- With everything that I am doing around the house, you would think that I am just cleaning or out with friends all day long. Not true. I am not sure how, but after getting into my new routine of things, I have found I have so much free time! I am spending a lot more time at home with Hannah. I really want her to see how a house runs, and we have lots of playtime together too. I, by only the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit, have had so much patients for her. She has been teething like crazy, and was sick for two weeks straight, and not sleeping (both nap time and overnight). But God is so good, he has been giving me everything I need at that moment so I can keep it together. I have been praying a ton more too! Both for her, and myself in those moments.

And my Husband! He is amazing. I love seeing that God is doing such great work in his heart. You would think after being married almost 7 years and together 11 years, we would totally know each other by now and have it all figured out. NOPE. But that is ok, I love being on this adventure with him, especially when I know who is steering our ship :)

So YES, I do recommend this book to everyone. Be inspired. Do something.

So BIG

Hannah has so many new loves I thought I would share.

Like shoes, even high heels. She was walking on the entry way so she could hear them clop.

And getting herself dressed. This is Daddy's shirt, her head is in the arm hole and arm out the head hole.

She played in the shirt for a while. She also takes the kitchen towels and wears them around her neck like a scarf.

More shoes. She actually had a harder time walking in these. She used the stroller like a walker, like an old lady.

And anything she can sit on. She will make a chair out of any toy she can. I really need to get her a little chair and table set.

Change is in the home

Awww the house is quite. Hannah is napping, which is great because she has been such a bad napper lately. Not to sure why (she has a cold) but is refusing to go in her bed, but today she finally went down for a good nap. I usually work or do house work while she sleeps but today I am having some me time. Jacob is at worship practice at the church. He probably won't be home until 7:30 or 8, so I am on my own.

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Art of Marriage, it was so amazing reignited passions in our marriage for each other. This year we will be married for 7 years and together for 12, crazy how fast time flies. I truly did marry my best friend, but over time of doing the day to day and starting a family, we kinda forgot about each other. God kinda got pushed aside from the center of us and just getting things done and laziness entered in. It wasn't terrible, but not balanced, not the way God intended it. So after going we are now rebalanced with each other and God is back in the center. Seeing Jacob as my Gift from God has totally shed a new light to him on how to see my husband. After all God did give him to me.

The weekend of the Marriage seminar I got a book in the mail that I had ordered for my birthday, The Home Experience. I have wanted this book for some time after hearing Devi Titus speak a number of times I knew that it was going to be great. I was really excited on God's timing too, I wasn't expected to get it just yet, and I was excited to continue what God had already started to do in my heart over that weekend.

So I am still on the first section of the book, but WOW! So many great principles. It really all begins in the home. Relationships for example, I never thought that what we practice and set in our home will carry over to Hannah and what she will consider to be the normal. I came from a house of chaos, not necessarily bad chaos but chaos it was always full of people, there was always a sink full of dishes and stuff, lots of stuff. It was the normal, and it did carry over to me. Chaos was ok in my house, granted it was more organized chaos than growing up but still I was ok with it. But I don't want Hannah to grow up thinking chaos is ok, that her mommy has a level of laziness that she is ok with. I started with my "Grand Central Station" my home, and began to clean and organize, I want to feel comfortable inviting people over without excuses or having to say, sorry for the mess. And its been great. I love having a clean home, dishes done, freshly dusted and the laundry is done and put away.

It has been really great having a clean home in the sense of Relationships. With a clean home, we have so much more family time. I am not so worried about what I should be doing, because it is already done. I can focus on my family. I am also spending way more time in the word, it has been so amazing fill my soul with quality time with the Lord every day. We are still fine tuning little things, and I must admit sometimes I really don't want to put away something or pick up Hannah's toys for the 50th time of the day, but when I do I have such a sense of accomplishment. I also feel like it carrying over to my character, and if I can that much more of an example to Hannah it is so worth it. I have noticed big changes in Jacob, like he started putting his dirty clothes in the hamper..... which is huge, without me even asking, it looks like it can be contagious.

Overall based upon what I have read so far, I LOVE it. and even more so the amount of scripture that is in the book too. I feel like it's the guide to becoming un-lazy in the modern day, how God really created a home to be. I can't wait to read more.... I am sure more Blog is to come about it.

Side note- it's now 8:14, life as a Mom, nothing ever goes as planned :)