In four weeks our sweet baby girl is due to make her appearance. When that happens I feel like the dynamic of our little white house is most definitely going to change!

Let me explain.

When we found out that I was expecting and Gram passed away the entire time I just felt like I was going to have a girl. They call it intuition. I was right but you know-not bragging about that ;)

At the same time Jason was convinced that is was a boy. Until a few days before we were going to have the gender ultrasound.

I was puttering around the house and all the sudden out of the blue Jason turns to me and quietly says: "I think it is going to be a girl."

I asked him why and his reply was: "Well, we know what to do with boys I think God is going to mix things up."

And he was right!

I feel very comfortable with boys. Boys are pretty easy at this point. Yes, their energy makes me want to go hide and eat chocolate on a regular basis  occasionally but other than that-we have setttled into our boy filled home with not too much issue.

Over the last few weeks I have really started to realize that our little world is about to be turned upside down in a very exciting but somewhat terrifying way.

Enter our baby girl.

So I have been preparing the boys and they are so very excited for their baby but it has definitely made me stop and think about some things.

Like the fact that they will someday (Lord willing) have wives and daughters of their own. How am I going to train them to treat women in general? And that every day is training and teaching them in some way to grow to be Godly young men that love and serve others.

So I have been challenged-I realized I am teaching them even when I don't say a word.

And yes-that thought scares me! Why? Well-I am FAR from perfect or even far from being anywhere near perfect when it comes to my mothering.

Then I came across the following quote:


Is that not the most beautiful thing you have read lately? Forget trying to be perfect and pinterest worthy in everything I do.

Just love.

So that is my new goal: love my boys. Love my husband. Love my baby girl. Love those around me. Love my God.

Yes, things are going to change when Clara decides to make her appearance!

Yes, there are days where I do not love the way I need to.

Yes, I serve a God that I can lean on for help on the days I just do not know what to do. Because with His help all things are possible!!

And when I start thinking about that-all the sudden raising my boys does not seem like such a scary and impossible thing!

Have you ever taken a picture of yourself and then just sat and looked at it and wondered-who is that person? OK, that may sound a little weird but just bear with me!

I have struggled my whole life with who I am.

I was never the prettiest in school or the most athletic. I had horrible acne and glasses. To top it all off I really didn't know how to put on make-up so I always felt super self conscious.

I was not the greatest reader. I struggled with my schooling.

I am a klutz.

I am horrible at organization.

I really seriously thought that I was a joke that God decided to make just for the fun of it.

Then add getting married and two babies right after the other resulting in a post baby body that (in my mind) left MUCH to be desired I was pretty angry at God.

There. I admitted it-I was angry at God.

March 2014-I realize that for years I have been listening to so many lies and believing them and I pray and ask the Lord to show me who I am in Christ.

Wow.

As I dove into scripture I realized the TRUTH that has been in there all the time about who I was in Christ and what beauty there was in that!

So I thought I would share some of those truths for any of you that really made and continue to make a difference in my life:

Lie: I am unworthy.
Truth: Jeremiah 31:3-

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Lie: I am a failure.
Truth: I am a work in progress! Phillipians 2:6-

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Lie: I am taken advantage of.
Truth: Jeremiah 29:11-13

 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Lie: I am alone.
Truth: Hebrews 13:5

 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Lie: I am useless.
Truth: Phillipians 2:13

 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Lie: Fear is a part of life.
Truth: 2 Timothy 1:7; Joshua 1:9; Proverbs 29:25; Psalm 27:1

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.


Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

Lie: I can never change.
Truth: Ezekial 34:27

Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

Lie: God does not want to help me.
Truth: Psalm 118:5-9; 13-14; 17

I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.

You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.

Lie: I am unholy.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:9-10

 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Lie: I am not cared for.
Truth: Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Lie: I am given the short end of the stick.
Truth: Psalm 1

Have you ever come to a point in your life where you are just not where you want to be but you see no way out of where you are at the present time?

It happened.

A little later he was playing by the couch and I was reading in my chair. I looked up and noticed that he had a pen in his hand (isn't that just the one of the funniest expressions). Getting up to investigate I discovered this:

It was at that moment I realized that how I reacted was going to set the foundation for how I would react from here on out as the Mama of a very busy baby boy.

Option #1:
Get uptight and upset because, while he didn't realize what he was doing this time, my couch had pen on it! What would Jason say and again-my couch has pen on it. How am I going to get it out? Ugh what an inconvenience.

Option #2:
Well, so the pen has gotten on my couch. That is OK I am going to go on pinterest and look up a solution and just clean it myself because honestly we paid $10 for this couch and it is not the end of the world.

I went with option #two.

I was thinking about that later that evening and I realized that there will be messes created by little hands. Toys that constantly could be picked up. Windows and doors that need washed because of little hand prints all over.

But you know what? I am OK with that.

Because I have realized that this will all be gone some day. All too soon I will be past these baby years and then I know I will wish for those little hands. I will wish for toys all over my house. I will wish for hand prints on my door.

That day will come. My baby boy will grow up someday. And I know it will come way to fast. So in the meantime I am going to cherish each moment with my baby. Yes, some days will be frustrating. Sometimes I will want a house that stays clean without constant cleaning up. Sometimes I will just be exhausted and want to sleep!

But that will come soon enough.

So for now-for this moment I am going to cherish that smile:

You know the scenario. You are walking through the store and you go to check out. As you are standing in line you look to your left (or right) and see all these magazines. With these gorgeous girls. Gorgeous people.

So if you are anything like me it is all to easy to compare ourselves. Especially when the featured model is a Mama of three months and looks like she never gave birth-let alone gained weight over a nine month period!

But here is a question:

How much of that is real?

Here is a movie that I recently re-discovered and thought it would be good to share it once again.


Can you believe that???

You can watch it again if you are in as much shock as I was the first time I watched it!

I don't know about you but-it makes me feel a little bit better when I realize that those pictures and billboards...most of them are NOT REAL. They are powdered and squeezed and spend hours getting make-up and hair PROFESSIONALLY done and THEN-they are photo shopped till, in all honesty, the original person does not really even exist anymore because they had to be made "perfect" according to the world's standards.

Now, does this mean that we do not make an attempt to dress nicely and take care of ourselves? No. But it is nice to realize that these models we hold ourselves up to so often...most the time they are normal people...they are real too and nine times out of ten-even they do not look like the photo shopped pictures of themselves.

So what is beauty?

What does the Bible say about beauty?

I googled that and found a really neat list of Bible verses HERE. Below are some that ministered to me:

1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

Psalm 139:14 ESV
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV    
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV     
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

So what are your thoughts?

 What are some of your thoughts on beauty?

 Do you ever struggle with comparing yourself to others?

Do you have any lessons you have learned along the way to share?

I would love to hear them! :)

So lately I have been wanting to blog. Really! I look at all these amazing women on other blogs that I follow and I wish that I could be a Mom like them or a wife like them. To me their life seems absolutely perfect and I know all to well...

...my life is not perfect.

That is humbling.

So here I sit wanting to blog about the cloth diapers that I used, the completely natural 17 hour labor that I had, the amazing whole foods I have been making for my family, my clean house, the latest DIY project I have been doing, the latest devotional the Lord has laid on my heart and so many other things. Yet. I can't.

Real life of Katy here:

I wanted to use cloth diapers, even bought them. They are adorable and I love them. However, when little man was two weeks old we took a trip to NY and they got left behind. So, he has been in pampers for his entire 6 week life.

Now, there is a really neat alternative (completely chemical free and plant based disposables)  that I will be using that I just found and LOVE (more on that later) but still-I wanted to do cloth.

I was so set on a natural home birth. I had it all planned out in my mind and was SO excited for it. Then-my blood pressure rose and I ended up in a hospital with a birth that EVERYTHING I did not want to happen-happened.

I felt HORRIBLE for having an epidural and really struggled with GUILT that I was not a good enough Mom for my son just because I could not handle the pain (my labor was induced).

The thing was though that once I got the epidural I was able to sleep for a few hours which I really needed for when I started to push (considering I had not eaten anything and had not really slept well the night before due to contractions) but still-I wanted a completely natural birth.

I want to be completely whole foods/organic when it comes to the foods that I am feeding my family. However, first of all it is quite expensive and second of all I am somewhat lazy at times when it comes to making meals. Quicker is so much easier and I hate that sometimes I sacrifice nutrition or even variety for something that is easier.

The neat thing is that while I am not quite where I would like to be I am a lot farther towards healthier living then I was a year ago but still-I want to be where I NEED to be...now.

I want to have a perfect house. Real life-it is hard for me to motivate myself and so it does not get cleaned the way it needs to. Actually right now it does not really count because we don't even have a house since we are in NY with family but still-I want to create a haven for my husband and son.

The neat thing is that soon we will be heading back to Florida and I will have the opportunity to work on being more motivated and creating a haven for my family in my little white house.

I want to do so many DIY projects! Thing is that I just don't have or don't MAKE the time.

I want to change that. I want to MAKE time for projects instead of just being in awe of them when I see them on pinterest.  


I want to be able to share the latest thing that the Lord has been teaching me or write a devotional that He has laid on my heart. Truth to be told I can't because I have really been struggling with spending time with Him.

That is GOING to change. And it started last night when Jason and I sat and prayed over Elijah and asked the Lord to help us be parents that HE wanted us to be. It started when I asked the Lord's forgiveness for not MAKING HIM A PRIORITY and trying to live life...well, without Him.

One of my biggest vices is the time that I spend on the computer. It really is hard for me to not waste hours of my time on it. That was also something I repented of.

No. I am not perfect. In fact, I am far from it. But I want to be more like Jesus and right now that involves me taking the time to really re-prioritize my time starting with the time I spend on the computer.

I will still be around but-I will be much more careful to not let wanting my life to be like ____________________ but instead focus on the life that God has given me and living it first and foremost for HIS honor and glory and then investing it into my little family that He has blessed me with.

I am not perfect.

I am me and yet I am striving to be more like HIM. Because without Jesus Christ...life is really never truly able to be LIVED.

So many times life is about me. So many times all I think about is what I want in a situation. It needs to end. Jesus needs to be the center of my life once again instead of me trying to fit Him in my life where it is most convenient for me.

What about you? Do you ever struggle with feeling imperfect or with comparing yourself to those around you? Do you struggle with not having Jesus the center of your life? Have you talked to the Lord about it lately?

We had communion today for church and I sat in the back ,with my sweet little man cooing away, and I talked to the Lord about it. About making Him the center of my life once again. About spending more consistent time with Him in the Word and in prayer.

I re-surrendered.

And I continue to re-surrender...and I am pretty sure it will be an everyday thing. But you know what-that is ok. Because honestly that is real life for me right now...

39 weeks. Wow. When did this happen? I mean honestly-on one hand I feel like I have been pregnant forever and then on the other-I can not believe that literally at any time I am going to meet, in person, my precious little boy.

When did this happen?

So yes, I am 39 weeks! On thursday is my official due date! After MONTHS of looking forward to this time I can hardly believe it is here! But it is.

My sisters Abby and Jen and my sister-in-law Sarah and brother-in-law Matt (moral support for Jason lol) are on their way from NY. In fact, they are driving RIGHT NOW and will get here, Lord willing, TOMORROW. We are SO excited!

This picture is all of us this past Christmas. Front L-R: Sarah, Abby, Yours Truly, Jen. Back L-R: Matt, Danny, My Prince. I am sad Danny is not coming but he is going to be working hard plus we are going to be able to spend lots of time together this summer Lord willing :)  We truly have an AMAZING family and since I married Jason it is just like the Case family added on three new siblings not just one :)

I have waited for them to get here for months and now-they are going to be here tomorrow!

When did this happen?

I have our room all set up for our little man. For the longest time his room had a hole in it caused by a leaking pipe. So in the meantime I decided that we may as well set up stuff in our room just in case! Well, the hole is now fixed thanks to some amazing friends who came and blessed us with the help! But we have decided that we are going to have him in our room anyway for the first few weeks :)



Our house is slowly getting more babyfied (is that even a world-not sure-but now it is)! And I could not be happier. But still-it blows my mind that soon I will be rocking that sweet baby boy in that chair, using that adorable boppy pillow that my amazing friend Gretel sent me in the mail, changing his diapers on that changing pad and watching him sleep in that bassinet. Wow!

When did this happen!?

Sweet baby boy. His chubby cheeks, little button nose...soon I will be able to kiss him and snuggle him and smell his sweet newborn scent.

When did this happen?

I used to dream of this! I never wanted to have a career. I just wanted to be a wife and Mama. And I am...wow! God is so amazing! He truly gave me the desire of my heart!

When did this happen!?

Soon, I will not be pregnant anymore. Soon Jason and I will have our son with us in person! Soon, we will be comparing who he looks like more. Soon, we will be figuring out his little personality. Soon, he will be here!

There are things I will miss about being pregnant. Feeling my little one move inside me is one of the most amazing things I have EVER experienced and I will miss that but oh...I am sure nothing will compare to having my son HERE. Wow!

When did this happen!!!????

I am so ready for this sweet little boy!

In the meantime, the Lord has been teaching me a lot. I have so much I want to share with you all. Lessons I am in the midst of learning.

Things like not being lazy and wasting so much of my days on the internet. Anyone else really struggle with that? How do you fight the temptation to be checking facebook, blogs etc constantly throughout the day?

Things like being a better wife. A wife who is the crown of my husband and is his help meet and support even in the "small things" like having a clean house...that is something I really struggle with. Granted-it is hard for me to be on my feet for super long amounts of time yet, that I found today that cleaning for 15 minutes then resting and repeating that really gets a lot done. Why have I not been doing that? Well, laziness to be quite frank. I have really be struggling with that!

I figure my prince is working 10+ hours days in the HOT Florida sun brick paving for our little family. He is an amazing provider and that is on top of his ministry to the youth...why on earth do I find it such a huge burden to clean the house (which takes less than 2 hours of those 10+ hours), have dinner ready (less than an hour of those 10+ hours) and have myself fresh and prettied up (less than 15 minutes of that 10+ hours) to greet my hard working man with a smile and a kiss at the end of a long work day? Ever felt convicted? Just writing this is convicting me all over again.

I want to put Jesus first then my husband. I am so blessed and yet so often I take the man of God I have been blessed with for granted. God forgive me! Today I read a really good post: I Work Outside My Home Now by Traci over at Ordinary Inspirations. It really made me re-think my role as a stay-at-home wife and Mama. Check it out and let me know what you think.

So that is something that is what I am working through with the Lord's help. He is so faithful and merciful to His children! I am truly thankful that His mercies are new every morning!

So what has the Lord been challenging you with lately? I would love to hear about it!

My friend posted this on face book and it was something that I absolutely wanted to share with all of my readers!

Modesty is something that I am passionate about and ever since getting married it is something I am even more passionate about because the lack of modesty that is so prevalent in our world today effects my husband and someday will effect my son.

What a difference I believe there would be if we began to truly think how we would want other women to dress around our husbands and then dress according to that. I know it makes me think!

And I want to know your thoughts-what do you think?

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Pondering this: How can I make much of my Savior in every part of my life today?

It is easy to think "I am not making a difference anyway I am just at home while Jason is at work." But that is not right. But it is how the subtle mindset I have had these last few weeks which in turn has resulted in wasting time and energy on things that do not matter.

"God created us to live with a single passion...: to joyfully display HIS supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of HIM in every part of our life." -John Piper

It is so so easy for me to waste time at home. When I do not have someone behind me pushing me or motivating me I tend to have a hard time actually doing what I need to do and not wasting time doing things that have no lasting value.

The last few days I have really been convicted on how easy it is for me to not accomplish what I know I need to at home and the Lord has been helping me. To-do lists are absolutely amazing and
have really helped me prioritize my day and yet-I still stumble. And then I think "Wow, If I can not get a handle on this now what about when Elijah gets here?"

I so desire to live for my Savior and to be the wife and Mama that God calls me to be in His Word. Sometimes it just is easy to wonder does it matter? I am not a nurse or a missionary or a lawyer. I am just a stay at home wife and mama-to-be. But can I bring glory to my Savior in that? Yes! I can! A friend told me about this song by Steven Curtis Chapman and wow did it speak to me! I included it below but I wanted to focus on the first verse and chorus (granted I am not quite there yet but I will be soon with the baby):

"you’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you
Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do"


Wow! I hope that encouraged you the way it encouraged me! What a reminder that WHATEVER we do it does matter as long as we are doing it for the right reason-bringing honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ!
Any thoughts on this stay at home wives and Mama's or anyone else for that matter? :)

This is a guest post that I am very excited to share! A few years ago I can across a blog called A Rather Unusual Maiden for God and met a girl named Rebecca :)

We quickly became very good friends and over the years she became a sister of my heart :) Jason and I were so excited to actually get to meet her in real life along with her now husband Justin! You can read about that visit here: "Meeting Katy and Jason".

God has been doing some really neat things in her life including her marrying her prince and to chronicle this new chapter of her life she has started a new blog entitled Butterfly Days. Please feel free to stop by and meet her :) She is an amazing person and truly a blessing from God in my life :) And now without further ado-here is her guest post:


One beautiful spring day last year my brother was outside when he heard strange noises coming from a bush. Being the ever curious one, he set out to investigate. He found a Robin trapped. Some string was tied around her leg and had snagged onto a branch. Try as she might, the Robin could not get free.

My brother managed to catch the robin, and gently untangle the string and remove it from her leg. Then he let her go. She was free!!

I sometimes feel trapped by problems, and end up making a fine mess of it on my own. Thinking of the Robin makes me realize- I too can't get out of trouble alone!! Just like when the robin couldn't free herself. She needed a rescuer. My brother rescued that little bird and she was free!
So when troubles come I turn to my Redeemer, and He "frees" me.


I have trouble with.... Worrying. I worry and worry and worry….. lol. Many young ladies tell me they suffer the same affliction. I often become tangled in this web called "worry" till I am so consumed in my worrying that I forget to call upon my Savior.

I know the Lord is in Control of every situation- but I need to make this "head knowledge" into "heart knowledge".

Psalm 27 is one of my favorite passages to read when I am worrying, it is a beautiful comfort to me.
It is also a blessing to go to my husband when worries come. Justin will always stop what he is doing and hold me close and remind me that I don't need to worry. I am blessed!!

If you ever find yourself worrying, the best way to stop is…

-pray!
-read a few psalms
-talk to someone who you can count on for encouragement.

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Encouragement.

Have you ever been through a time in your life where you are just weary? Weary of trying and yet still being judged. Weary of ministering. Weary of not living up to the standard you feel you need to live up to? Weary of giving in to things that you know the Lord wants you to give up in order to spend more time with Him?

Weary.

I think that we all get weary.

But what do we do with that weariness? I find myself so often go to anything but the place that I KNOW I will find rest. People. Things. Activities.

Anything but Jesus.

I was reminded of that tonight as I was having a time of sweet fellowship with another women and she took my problem and discouragement-straight to Jesus in prayer.

I was reminded how I have not been going to Him for comfort but rather the internet (where I stay in contact with so many people that are so encouraging) which ,in and of itself, is not a bad thing but when it is priority of Jesus and my husband...not the right place to go.

So I am meditating on this verse tonight and tomorrow as I re-prioritize some things in my life:

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Yesterday I went to a ladies house and was watching some tv while she napped and was shocked. All over there were ads for great buys and specials that were going to come on but...not once was Christmas mentioned. It was all about the "holiday season". Now, do I think that it is wrong to say holiday? No. But I do think that it is sad that we are forgetting the true reason for the season.

What is that reason?

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 Christ is the only thing that makes CHRISTMAS. Lets not forget the TRUE reason for the season! Jesus is the only thing that can make our holidays happy! Lets not forget that! :)

So what are your plans for this Christmas? In a few short weeks we are heading back up to NY and I can hardly wait! We are going to be spending time with both of our families and I just am so excited! One of the most exciting things to me is being able to play piano in church on Sunday, Christmas Day 2011 (a year to the day when we got engaged which-I need to write that story soon) with my sister Abby. What a special gift that will be. My Dad is a pastor and for years Abby and I were the pianists and church and I miss that! Super excited :)

What blessings are you looking forward to in these upcoming months?