I just love them...

So... in less than a month...

Sweet baby girl will be here...

And oh my word, aren't they just the cutest?

Love them so much. And can't stinkin' wait to meet sweet Harper!

This joy the Father is gifting me with through them is just priceless. So, so, thankful.

~Bailey

P.S. Jessica over at The Making of M.O.M. took these pics...how lovely :)

It's Summer!!!

Even though it's technically been summer for quite some time, it's just now feeling like it.

And sadly the business of summer has hit, and though it is wonderful- it is sometimes a bit crazy.

We've had VBS this week, and I've been with three year olds, and wow. I am so tired. They are CRAZY. But I love them and I constantly have a cloud of little children surrounding me and about four children asking to hold my hands. Apparently they don't understand that when I have one kid on each hand it means I don't have any more hands to go around...so they just grab my arm instead. But I'm totally okay with it...mostly because I just love them :)

This weekend is going to be packed and I'm so excited about it!

I have a 16th birthday party for one of my best friends at the lake on Friday, Amanda and Nick find out that same day if lil' Land is a boy or girl(what do you think??? Tell me please!). I think that the baby (who is already moving inside it's mama!) is a boy! I plan to go scrapbook shopping Saturday for more scrapbook stuff for this lil' peanut...We of course have church on Sunday and who knows what else it will bring!

Oh, but yesterday- I finished Little Women. It was tragic. But yet amazing. Very bittersweet. And that's all I can say. I just LOVE that book.

Oh and it's almost been a year since the Taylor Swift concert :) Such WONDERFULLY AMAZING memories :):):)

We've been swimming a whole lot this week- in fact we are going swimming today with some friends!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has to hold- and I can barely wait until Summer With the Arts!

What have you all been up to this summer so far?

Have a great rest of the week!!!

~Bailey

What a legacy

Today I went to a funeral. (no, not for Little Women)

And it was beautiful. I've only been to a few funerals, but this one was beautiful.

The gentleman that passed away loved God with all of his heart. And his son was my dad's youth pastor. And one of his other sons goes to our church(as did he, and his wife still does) and he has led my dad in many of the decisions he has made in church. Without both of these men- my father would not be who he is today. I owe so much to these men.

My dad did the funeral, and was able to tell stories of this family. Stories of how he loved Christ, stories of how he led his family to love Christ. Stories of his perseverance, his passion for life- his love to watch things grow.

And his wife of 67 years cried, as did the five rows of family in our sanctuary where he once sat.

What this man did, he loved his family but more importantly loved Christ so much that it carried down through many generations- he left a legacy. A legacy of what a man and woman who love Christ can do, how they can raise a family, how they can change so many lives. Because in those five rows of people sat in our sanctuary, he gave them each a gift- he taught his children to love Christ and they taught their children to love Christ and they taught their children to love Christ.

What a legacy. What a beautiful legacy.

Don't you want to leave behind a legacy like that? Don't you want to leave behind a huge family who all love Christ with everything they have, because of YOU?

I know I sure do.

I want to work hard, with perseverance, to leave behind a legacy like that. To love Christ like that.

And I know that not only did Mr. Avis Tobin leave behind an incredible legacy, but today as you read this, he sits at the throne of God praising HIS father today- because he's home.

~Bailey

Dad

To my daddy on Father's Day 2012,

I love you more than you can imagine.
Thank you for the example of Christ you are to me and to so many others.

Thank you for everything you do for us. Thank you for loving Amanda like your daughter, because without that I wouldn't have my big sister.

Thank you for buying me special treats and taking me to get a milkshake after a horrible day of school.
Thank you for buying me and my best friend tickets to Taylor Swift.

You're the best, seriously.
And sadly you have raised my standards so high(which is a great thing) I don't think I'll ever find a husband- and then I can blame it on you!
Even though your little girl is growing up quite quickly right before your eyes, please know I will always love you with an unending love and will always, always be your little girl.

You will be the best "papa" to lil' Land- I'm sure of it.

I love you.

~Bailey Elizabeth

Happy Father's day everyone.

Summer thoughts...

I find it incredible that while we are struggling it brings us so much closer to God, and how much more aware we are of other people's difficulties. Don't you?

This past semester, there were tears so many days, all I could do was rely on God to bring me through each day. I had to remember daily this was the plan He had for my life, and everything had a purpose.

And when exams were over and I finished my bible study...I wasn't making time for God, wasn't giving it as much importance as before and most importantly wasn't continually thanking Him for bringing me through such a tough semester.

Yesterday, well actually this has been brewing in my little mind for quite some time, I realized, God brings us through such tough times so that we will grow stronger in Him and grow closer to Him- and after that struggle is over CONTINUE to grow closer to Him.

And so this summer...I'm going to do whatever it takes to grow closer to God. To make sure that when I start next semester I have the fruit of the spirit flowing out of my mouth. To make sure that I continually have the right attitude about school, knowing that God is and always will be by my side.

To make sure that I will always remember this summer, the summer of 2012, as one of spiritual growth and nearness to my Savior. To be able to look back and know that God changed my heart forever this summer, that I grew closer than ever to my Savior and will be ready next semester for whatever challenges he places in front of me.

Lord, 
Use me. Strengthen me. Help me grow in you. Shine your love through me in the words I speak. Help me love you more than I have ever loved you before. Show me your unfathomable love and help me grasp that in every area of my life. Lord, help me love you with an unconditional love, so that I will be prepared for wherever you are going to take me.


~Bailey

What are some of your summer thoughts?

Let's be honest here...

Alright dear friends, I have a confession.

I seem to have one of these about this time every year...but they are always good!

I believe last year's was about Taylor Swift...this year...well...

It's about...

Pinterest.

The craft encyclopedia. The best place to find quotes.

Source: Uploaded by user via Bailey on Pinterest

And- well, fantasy football for girls to be honest.

I am quite obsessed. So on many days when I could be writing a nice blog post for you all, I am spending excessive amounts of time on pinterest. But don't worry- I'm not leaving you in the dust, I will still be writing here, because I love it so very much. It's like my diary...I can tell you all what I am feeling and what I am doing and I love it!

But folks...pinterest is addicting, just throwing that out there.

But I have been working on narrowing down my pinterest time because honestly it has been taking away my writing time but more importantly, Jesus time. So I have spent much less time on there the past few days.

However, I still love it...and highly roccomend it to any of you crafty folks out there.

And that is my confession for today...do you have any confessions to make?!?

~Bailey

And my heart just keeps growing...

All of you know about my adopted big sister Amanda and her husband Nick, both whom I love so dearly.

A few weeks ago(almost a month actually) they told us something that excited us(excited is an understatement), but we couldn't tell anyone- no one.

And before they told us, I thought that my heart was full that I couldn't make room for anything else at that time...but oh was I wrong.

Yesterday, they finally told everyone.

And you see why I am BEYOND EXCITED, little Land is on his or her way!!! I am going to be an aunt :):) We are all so very excited. And my heart is already filled with so much love for lil' Land. 

My Amanda, who I met when I was five, is going to be a mom- I can't even wrap my mind around that thought. It's about all I can think about. And this summer...I will be making a scrapbook for this little person :) and you know how thrilled I am about that! 

And when I saw the ultrasound of that lil' guy yesterday... my heart was in awe of what God is doing. Isn't it amazing how God continually stretches your heart...and for such a little person!  

I love you lil' Land!!! 

With all the love in the world, your Aunt B.

I Saw the Light

Ahh.....

I can finally breathe.

Exams were today, and I've never been so grateful to be done(with classical, that is).

This year, in no way, has been easy. There have been many tears...and many hours of frustration. But I made it through...with many people by my side supporting me.

Amanda, Paige, Mary, mom, your support means the world to me and I can't tell you how thankful I am for you,

But most of all, God has helped me through everything. He has helped me through horrible days, continued to strengthen me when I felt like I wanted to give up, and today...he refreshed me of everything I studied this semester for my exams and I feel so proud of what I have accomplished.

This year has been very challenging, I feel like I have learned and accomplished so much that I would have never had the opportunity to do in a public school. I am so thankful for this opportunity to homeschool...and even on the hard days, I have to remember and remind myself that later on I will be so thankful I learned how to study and know how to learn hard material. And though it's been quite rough...next year, oh next year, I have one of my favorite people in the world as my tutor...and well...I'm quite extremely excited. :) And yes I just said I'm excited about school.

The main thing I have learned...other than defending what I believe(don't get me started)...is that God loves me. No matter what. He will never give up. He is always there. Through good and bad. When we are crying. He has placed people in our lives to encourage us and continually be there for us. He's just amazing. And I, after this year, have grown closer to Him...and I feel God has let me struggle through these assignments and this year to teach me that He is all I need, and He will get me through any struggles. And show me that light at the end of the tunnel.

And today- I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. And I breathed a sigh of relief.

Because now I can write a book. And yes, I know I'm a nerd. But hey, that's how God made me! And even after a year of struggling- I'm still thankful for this opportunity to learn, to open my mind...and I'm thankful for everything that God has taught me. He has given me the opportunity of a lifetime- and I'm trying to make the most of each day He is giving me.

~Bailey

P.S. And just incase you didn't pick up on it...I finished Challenge I...and I didn't give up...HA!

The Moment

Is it really November? It can't be...the calendar has to be wrong. It feels like yesterday was New Years of 2011, and soon we will be celebrating new years 2012. Crazy. It feels that every year of my life is flying by so much faster than I would like it to.

I want to spend all day with Paige, and Mary laughing over Paige stuffing fries in her mouth at Zaxby's.
I want to spend all day with my BFF's, Emily Grace, Anna Gray, Beth, and Breanna, goofing off and being girls.
I want to spend all day singing at the top of my lungs at a Taylor Swift concert.
I want to spend hours in God's word, and letting myself fall deeper in love with God everyday.

I want time to stand still for just a few minutes(or hours or days) so I can appreciate the moment even more. I don't really want to grow up any more than I have now.

I want to stay in 9th grade, and still be a "little girl".
I want to stop growing since I have so many cute clothes, but obviously that's not going to happen just yet.
I don't want to think about college, when I don't know what God is calling me to do after high school.

But the weird thing is...I am looking forward so much that's not in this moment.

I am looking forward to Christmas, and everything that it entitles.
I am looking forward to driving my self to places.
I am looking forward to seeing Sonia grow up to be a Godly young woman.
I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in my life.

But for right now...I'm going to stop trying to think about "Later" and think about today, and what today entitles and appreciate every second of it. It may be crazy that it is already November, but that's life. And our life is incredibly short in God's ultimate plan. This means we need to live it to the fullest, love God with everything we have, and be open to his plan for tomorrow, next week and the rest of our lives, no matter where that will take us.

~Bailey~Philippians 4:13~