Hey Y'all! It's Dusty tonight. I wanted to say a BIG thank you for all of your prayers and support. God is using each of you in beautiful ways. And one of those ways is me being able to stay home with our two amazing children, Sawyer and Jahnabell- so THANK YOU!!! I enjoyed working with children with special needs, but man, I love "working" with my babes. I am blessed constantly through them. Life with littles, as some of you know, is primarily a life full of eating, pooping, sleeping, and making messes. With a gifted little toddler and a ten month old flirting with walking, it is a life that goes 100 miles an hour. And I love it.
But it can be wearisome. This week I have found myself pitching more tantrums than they have. "Over what?" you may ask. Not being able to sleep in, not being able to watch tv, not being able to eat junk food, not being able to use the restroom in privacy, and the list goes on. It has been a hard adjustment being home alone all day with them, especially with Sam's crazy schedule. He has been leaving for work before the kids and I wake up and working late into the night every day this week because he is leading worship and teaching on worship this Sunday. This week, and some other ones recently, I have found myself being stretched and pulled in every direction all at once. I have questioned why can't I have lunch-dates and coffee meetings and just a break in general.
Then the Lord gently reminded me tonight of how precious this time is. How honored I am because He chose me to raise these two amazing little ones. How I can teach them about Him and glorify His name to them. How I can show them His grace and His mercy. How I can love them because He first loved me.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Without Jesus Christ, I fail 100% of the time. I cannot be a "Mama" without Him. This week I have been praying each morning for the Lord to get me up and carry me through the morning. We have been going on very little sleep in this household. And will probably continue to go on very little sleep. For those of you who know me, you know I NEED my sleep. Or so I thought. Now I see I need Jesus more. That in my weakness of being so utterly exhausted, He carries me through. He alone sustains me.
So, thank you all again for answering the call to partner with us. For allowing me to be where I am. Sawyer told me this week: "Jesus is in my heart." Y'all- I can't even!!! I almost started crying. The fruit is starting to grow!!! He still loves everything music, especially the drums and piano. If you see pictures of him and wonder what is drawn all over his arms, those are "tattoos like Mr. Aaron" {Thanks Aaron Ivey! He especially likes the flower}. This week he learned how to write the letters "T" "H" "P" "O" and "I." He is also really into telling stories and imaginative play. Jahnabell is on the move!! She has been pulling up and walking around holding onto things for awhile now. Today she really started standing for long stretches of time without holding onto anything. She has 6 teeth. She loves saying "hi" "bye bye" "bubba" "dada" "night night" and, of course, "mama." And she loves solid food!
We love you guys!!
