The Howard Family: July 2013

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Four Year Old Mirror...

As Sonny and I have said so many times, parenting has been the most sanctifying thing that we have ever gone through. Daily you are surrounded with these little humans (who you absolutely love and would die for) that reveal your own struggles and strengths. In some ways it can be comical- Sonny and I crack up at how much Zoee is like him and can get so easily deterred from what she is doing by the slightest distraction. We also sit back and marvel at how much of Sonny's adventurous spirit/ love for climbing EVERYTHING that Asher has been given. It's crazy how much kids mirror their parents! With that said, there are SO many lessons that the Lord has shown Sonny and I these past four years as we have invested into our little ones. We will see something they are doing that shows us more of the love of the Father and we also see things that they do that reveal to us our own shortcomings.

Yesterday I had such an eye opening moment with the Lord as I was trying to answer ALL of my sons questions. He has been in this new phase where he wants to know everything. Here is the conversation that led to great conviction from the Lord...

Me: "Okay guys, in just a little bit we can head outside and play in the pool"
Asher: "What are we going to do after that?"
Me: "Then we will eat lunch."
Asher: "What will we do after we eat lunch?"
Me: "After lunch we will take our rest."
Asher: "What are we going to do after we rest?"
Me: "After we rest, we are going to get the house ready for bible study."
Asher: "What are we going to do after bible study?"
Me: "After bible study we are going to bed?"
Asher: "What are we going to do after we go to bed?"

At this point I was exhausted from trying to answer all of his questions without getting frustrated. I finally said, "Buddy, you don't need to worry about what we are going to do tomorrow- just enjoy today." I felt like the Lord was looking down at me with a smile and saying, "Hey- you too missy. Enjoy today and do not worry about tomorrow." As a mom I just want my children to enjoy the moment that they are in and not worry about the future. From my time in the Word I know that this also is God's heart as our Father. He wants us to be content in the season we are in, not anxious or worried about seasons that have not come yet. I pray that I can learn from this interaction with my son and simply enjoy today and walk in thankfulness.

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

~Matthew 6:25-27

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain."

~1 Timothy 6:6

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Daddy/Son & Mommy/Daughter Day!

I cannot believe how fast these littles are growing up! We had a big day today! Asher got to go with his Daddy and some great friends- Jesse and Hudson- to his first Astros game and Zoee and I got to go on a date to Panera Bread. I was trying to take Zoee to a little tea room to have a "real" tea party but when we got to the tea room it was closed, so we decided to head to Panera Bread. She got to get orange juice in a real coffee mug and had an m&m cookie =). We brought some Tinkerbell books to read and had a great time. Asher loved getting to spend some alone time with Daddy and time with his friends. He is just getting so big I can hardly stand it! Where did the past four years go?!

My 2 favorite men!

Jesse, Hudson, Asher and Sonny =)

My "tea party" date. We both wore dresses and she even had stick on earrings =)

My precious little girl is just getting too big!!

Panera Bread with baby girl!

Last but certainly not least, Sonny and I went out for his birthday for a day long date! We got to go to the Woodlands to eat great Tex-Mex food and then headed to the John Mayer concert. It was so refreshing to get that alone time together. We even were blessed by two ladies who gave us there covered seat tickets when it started pouring- We had been on the lawn seats and were huddled up by the metal rail to try and stay out of the pouring rain (along with hundreds of other people) and out of no where two ladies came up to the rail from the section below us and asked if we wanted their extra tickets that they had for the covered section!! Thank you Jesus!! I am kind of a baby when it comes to getting rained on but I had been trying so hard to be tough so Sonny could enjoy the concert. How sweet is Jesus to give us those seats!! Here is the only picture that turned out from the concert... this was pre-rain...

Sunday, July 7, 2013

4th of July

This 4th of July was very different than any previous year and I hope it never has to be this way again... we were without our husband/Daddy this year! Sonny and a team of youth went to Peru to help with building an orphanage and to do evangelism and thus he was not able to be with us on the 4th (Sonny just got back TODAY and to say that we are thrilled to have him back is quite an understatement!). It was so sad to be celebrating the 4th of July without him. The kids and I missed him so much and were literally counting down the days till he would come home. We decided to stay pretty close to home this year and ended up hanging out with some great friends in Waller. There church had dinner together and then all did fireworks. The kids were SO dirty when we got home but they had a blast. Zo did get a small burn because when she was done with her sparkler she held it down by her side and it burned her leg =(. She is okay though. Asher loved the fireworks and would have stayed out there much later but I needed to get them home, bathed and in bed before too late! Overall we had a great time with wonderful friends- we just missed Sonny.

Happy 4th of July 2013!!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Happy Father's Day 2013

So, I am super late getting all of these pictures up. It's been a crazy summer with Peru trips and so many other things. And with the summer heat I am just so exhausted after I put the kids to bed so editing has been put on the back-burner. Father's Day weekend was nuts this year with it also being the weekend of Asher's birthday. I will have to plan better next year! I asked Sonny what he wanted to do for Father's Day and he said that he wanted to go to Wharton and spend time with his Dad and family down there. It was a relaxing day just hangin' with the family and watching the kids play. I am so thankful for Sonny and for the amazing Daddy that he is to our two children =). Here are some pictures of our Father's Day...

My two sweet men...

Charles (Sonny's Dad), Sonny and Asher...

Little Miss and her Daddy...

Grandma Howard and Asher...

Grandma Howard rocking Zoee as she was pretending to be a baby =)

Playing with remote control cars!

Asher's cousin, Caden. Their birthdays are both in June and they got matching remote control cars.

Cousins!!

O how I love them!!

Asher's 4th Birthday Party...

Wow- am I late getting these pictures up! This summer has been going by so fast that I can barely keep up. Asher's birthday was so much fun and somewhat low key. We had a bunch of friends over for fajitas and rented a bouncy house. We had tons of sweets- Asher LOVES sweets- and a pinata. It was nice to try and keep things simple (even though I did spend ALL of Friday making a million cupcakes!!). It seemed like the kids had a blast and it was fun for us to catch up with friends. We are thankful for the sweet friends that Asher has and that we were able to celebrate his 4th birthday with them. I still can't believe that he is FOUR!!

Ash got a new bike from Mimi and Papa and LOVES riding it!