Weekly Events

One day, out of no where he asked me if I could marry him; it totally melted my heart.  And then he put this ring on my finger

Teach them young; Amari LOVES the car

Beckahm and his buddies are so obsessed with moths right now; he was so excited to catch one.  He named it "Mothie" 

Apparently moths love blueberries; such a good little care taker

How we beat the heat

AP twiners in their wife beaters

So much to contemplate

My little church goers

I never know what I will find after I put Becks to bed; I was SO proud of his car placement: everything in the RIGHT order, all organized :)

And this is why shopping with kids gives me anxiety

Amari LOVES animals; it was so precious to see him love on these ducks at Alridge Gardens

Like

Cap, skirt, high tops...who would have thought? But I kinda like it. I LOVE clothes!!

Late Night Epiphanies

Why my late night epiphanies/confessionals always seem to come at the most inopportune time—when my "little angels" are in a "perfected state" (aka asleep), and my drool has a date with my pillow (aka exhaustion)—is a question that will haunt me till the day I retire from mothering (aka NEVER).

Okay enough with the "aka's". The epiphany I had as I lay in this pitch black room next to my comatose husband (who is richly blessed to give in to slumber) is:

Look for the opportunities each day presents to either ignore, tear down, OR build up the character of your children.

In my often failed attempt to do better at this thing called parenting, I realize just how furtive these moments are—how numerous, yet how quickly they come and go (from an accidental spill, to a quarrel with a sibling).

It is time to revamp the new year resolutions, and make it my mid-new year goal to take a moment—before the moment ignites a reaction— and process the situation, to ask "as their mother—the person who wants them to succeed most in their life, the person that wants to help them grow into GREAT men (cause God knows we need GREAT men in this world)—is my reaction conducive to lifting them up? Is it helping define their character? To build trust, love, and respect?"

I know it's a goal I will most likely fail at miserably at least another 100 times before 8am tomorrow morning, but the epiphany has at least sparked an interest, a resolution, to proactively do better at loving these little men God so kindly entrusted to my care.

—Sleepless in Alabama signing off

#theepiphaniesofmotherhood

Weekly Events

This is what working out while being a parent looks like....Because working out is THAT important to us :) #workout #parentduty #pushups #daddy #son #beckahmmoment #greatdad

Boys playing on Daddy's skateboards

 Like father, like son: loves to skateboard

My handsome little stud aka Amari #amarimoment #towhead

Sweet dreams #amarimoment #naptime #slumber

Fun in the car; I love Marsh's laugh--cracks me up #boys #mama #stinkysock #joyride #laugh

 Look who's sportin brothers old shoes @yesmikegoremember these??? :) #whatsmineisyours #handmedowns #thegreatest #vans #shoes #toddlerhood #brother #amarimoment

Apparently my children aren't getting enough to eat--Amari dug this rind out of the trash, walking around the house with it till I caught the little dumpster diver gnawing on it while watching Justin Time on the living room floor #starvingchildrenstatus #watermelonrind #amarimoment

 And this is how we do it in Alabama: no clothes 

This is how exciting going to the pet store to see the fishies are for my family; imagine what seeing an aquarium would do to them #amarimoment #fishdance #petstore #excitement

The entirety of this moment cracks me up; I live to capture such moments on camera #slaphappyfishdance #brotherslap #mamascold #petstore #family #adventure

Amari Ari, aka spectator, aka food hoarder #amarimoment #proudbrother #happy #towhead #foodie #kids #basketball

Trip to the Zoo, Ice Cream, Loves, Bugs, Head Banging, and More

My jibber jabber :)

This is one of their favorite rituals: eating popsicles/ice cream out on the deck after dinner.  Beckahm always yells to the people outside: "come and get your ice cream!!!" 

Alabama bugs are seriously on steroids 

The Target shopping cart is proof alone that I am only destined to have one more child; where do you put a 4th??

Amari LOVES music and he loves dancing.  He also LOVES copying brother

 He hasn't QUITE figured it out yet :), but he is OBSESSED with Beckahm's sunglasses!

Amari's two favorite things: Monkeys and food :)

Amari just loves his stuffies! 

Amari loving his stuffed animals!

Pool day, just me and my boys!

The shiz we take as parents: feet in the face while trying to change anothers diaper :)

Boys having fun on the carousel

I honestly could not get enough of Amari's faces; so adorable! After a while he wanted to get off, but he sure was awed by the carousel

Some how they inherited the Zoolander gene :)

My little excavators; could have spent all day digging in the dino pit!