Stewart Christmas Lights

We moved here five years ago and we finally went to the Stewart Family Christmas Light display this week. Ronnie met Carlin through his interactions with Everett/Maxey a few years ago. We had heard about this guy who set up tons of Christmas lights and inflatables every year and just asks for donations to cover the cost of operating. I was picturing a few trees and a hot chocolate station. NO. There are over 200 inflatables, over 200,000 Christmas lights, a train that you can ride, a fake snow blower, a food truck, a lighted path, and the symbol himself, Santa Claus. Here is a link if you want to go check it out http://www.facebook.com/StewartFamilyLights . My kids asked if we could go back every night till Christmas.  It was really fun and we would love to go back.

Living Room Redo

Most of you all know we bought a new home in May. We then spent the months of June and July having some renovations done.  We loved the house, but we needed to put our stamp on it.

We ripped out the carpet and replaced with wood flooring

Knocked out the wall between the
living room and dining room

Painted the brick on the fireplace, Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.
Then the carpenter crafted the amazing rustic mantle.

We also had all the trim painted Alabaster and the walls are painted
Silver Strand by Sherwin Williams. Thanks Joanna and Fixer Upper.

I'm a bargain hunter so everything was on clearance or
marked down with an extra percentage off.

looking toward the kitchen

the fireplace

If you are willing to wait a few weeks you can get really good deal.
I got those poufs for 60% off and they are great additions to the room.

Looking into the family room where the
wall used to be.

Thanksgiving 2015

We decided to lose our minds and travel with our 5 kids to Knoxville, TN and Louisville, KY this year for Thanksgiving. We took the kids out of school early and loaded up the ole minivan. I think we made it maybe 10 miles before someone asked for a snack and a movie. The car ride was every bit as awful as you could imagine while traveling in the day with kids ages 21 months to 8 1/2.  Really, I'm probably the worst... While my awesome husband listens to podcasts with his headphones, I'm fending off boredom, starvation, wars, and car sickness. My eyes seethe with anger, you know the look. We roll into Ronnie's childhood home that night and the kids thankfully went to bed easily. Four kids in one room with Smith in a pack n play with us ( We did this in Kentucky too).
      My mother-in-law makes the best fudge, so of course I had a piece before bed. The next day we took it easy, hung out,  and let the kids play outside before it turned freezing cold. On Sunday afternoon we had a big thanksgiving meal with Ronnie's family. Ronnie's parents, Ronnie's brother and wife and kids, their cousin and kids, and our family of 7. For whatever reason I signed up to do a turkey trot 5k at 3pm so I could only eat a little before we left. I made up for it when I got back thankfully. The kids had fun playing in the garage with new toys and climbing on papaw's boat and pretending they were on adventures. Ronnie and I even got to do some outlet shopping before we headed to Kentucky.
       It's about a 4 hour drive from Ronnie's parent's house to my parent's house. You'd think this leg would be the easiest, but it was probably the hardest. Who knows why?  Maybe because they were trapped inside because of the weather. My kids NEED the outside, ya know? Mama needs them to burn off a smidge of energy each day. Tuesday night we just hung out with my parents. Wednesday we got to catch up with old friends and it was awesome!! Wednesday night we did Lights Under Louisville which is a drive through light show in an underground mega cavern. My brother got in to town late Wednesday evening too. Thursday we had a big breakfast and then opened Christmas presents. After the kids played for a bit we went to walk around a new park with some silos. We finished getting the meal ready while the kids played on my parents creekbed. Amen and hallelujah for a pretty afternoon.
     Thanksgiving meal was divine per usual and we ended the night playing the traditional game our family plays which is Thanksgiving bingo. Smith woke up all night long and so Friday morning I took him to an urgent care center to get the send off of a double ear infection. We decided to head home early because we figured the 11 hour car ride home would be a trial. We drove home in a torrential downpour the whole car ride except for the last 30 miles of light rain. Thankfully we made it home safe and sound and were thrilled to be back in our own beds. The silver lining is when I walked through the door, I walked into am spotless house. Ronnie had secretly called a cleaning lady to come and fix up the house to be ready for our arrival home. What a treat!! We all have those family members that we laugh, cry, or cringe at and our family is not without exception. But, that is what makes for great stories and memories. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!!

wait, weight?

                                                  It's that time of year when all I want

to do is drink apple cider and eat fudge. all. day. Ronnie and I wanted to prepare for Thanksgiving by going on the Whole30 diet. We tried it for about 12 hours and we both caved to Ben and Jerry. I suppose we have a sort of weakness to sweets.

 All that to say, don't get too caught up in your weight. Which is way easier for me to say than to actually live by.  Do I want to see my scale go down? Of course I do. Do I think it's important to exercise? For sure. But, I'm learning that a lower weight does not necessarily mean a healthier body or a smaller size.  Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. I do realize I'm not a quintessential  heath expert on fitness or diet, so this can be taken with a grain of salt. However, if you feel yourself chained by comparison or defeat, let it go. I weigh 10lbs more than I did a few years or so ago, but I'm 2 pants sizes smaller. Could I improve? Sure, but that's not the point.  

The point is, we women can be so hard on ourselves if we don't fit this mystical mold of what we think we should look like or think we should feel like. Satan likes to play off of our weaknesses of comparison, anxiety, anger, stress, and just a plain ole’ rainy day. We must know our weaknesses and let Jesus be our strength. We must remember that we have been created in the image of God and made new in the likeness of Jesus Christ. We find our true identity there and we fight our fleshly urges with the power of his Holy Spirit.

So, my food advice?  Practice moderation in every aspect of life. Thank the Lord for good chocolate and friends to share it with. Enjoy the mundane of apple cider and grandma's fudge as the leaves change.
 

5 THINGS FOR NOW

Being a female, a wife, a mother, a friend, a daughter, and a pastor's wife are all nouns I would use to describe me. It's hard to juggle all the roles in today's society. So here's a short list of what I'm learning and working through:

1. Sometimes God does not meet my expectations. However, that does not mean I'm right or that He loves me any less. Sometimes junk happens, it stink for sure. It should serve as a reminder that the Earth is just temporary. We are all passing through; some of us just get a head start. Romans 8:28, " and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. "

2. Grace is real and should be accepted fully. I tend to go over scenarios in my head of how I could have handled a situation better. Romans 5:20b says, "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more". No matter how many mess-ups I have, the grace of God trumps it. Matt Chandler talks about how Jesus paid all our past sins, current struggles, and future screw-ups on the cross. So we should live in that freedom.

3. I'm weak and that's ok. I typically think I should be known as Dr. Marci Parrott, PHD, MD, MSN, PLLC, all knowing guru. The truth is that it's ok if I don't know something and I'm not perfect. When I'm not perfect it creates a need for me to lean into and depend on the one perfect god, Jesus.

4. Be Honest. Some days I just don't feel like it. I don't want to read my Bible or pray or sing or journal...gasp. Remember that grace, it hopefully is something I let reign in me and feel the freedom to pour my heart out to the Lord. Ask him to change me. Psalms is full of prayers from David asking the Lord deep questions and searching his heart for truth. I know that most often when I do not feel like spending time with God, that's the time I most need to.

5. Finish Well. We've all been there where we look at the clock praying for bedtime so we can tuck the kids in, eat ice cream, and watch our dvd'd shows. Just as you get cozy under the blanket and take your first bite, someone starts whining they are thirsty, need an extra hug, or a bedtime story. We get annoyed, lose our temper, and tears roll. Nevermind the fact that you have played patty-cake 100x, thrown the football, painted nails, and cut out cute pumpkin shaped pb&j's. It can all be undone in a matter of 120 seconds if we don't take a step back, breathe, and offer grace to those special people in our homes.

Hudson's growth 1 year later

    I can't believe we are at the one year mark of Hudson being on growth hormones. I was so hesitant to begin them at first. Today, I can say I am so thankful we started them. We continue to pray God makes him big and strong in all aspects of his life. In one year Hudson has gone from weighing 27lbs to weighing 36lbs. This puts him in about the 20th percentile for weight. More importantly, he has grown 5.5 inches!! He's on the growth chart at the 4th percentile. His bone age is still about 12 months behind, which means he has added time to grow. We are thrilled!! What a great year.