Generations of Friendship...

One of my absolute dearest childhood friends, Jessica, and I have known each other from birth. We grew up playing together, graduated together, were in each others weddings, etc... The Lord has graciously allowed us to walk through life together. However, after I moved to Kentucky, soon she and her husband joined the military and they have been stationed in New Mexico. So, because we live in different states now, our trips home to Texas to see our families do not usually coincide. Because of this, we have not seen each other since I was 20 weeks pregnant and she had just found out that she was pregnant with twins. We gave birth in separate states and have been raising our children for the past year, apart from each other. While this is the Lord's will for this season of life, we so look forward to the hopeful day when we will once again live near each other and our kids can enjoy frequently playing together, like we did!

One of the most exciting parts of our trip to Texas last week was that Jessica and her little family were also in town visiting their families, so we actually got to meet up for a short visit and allow our children to meet (and here I was, 16 weeks pregnant again!!! haha...). It was such a sweet, sweet time! We chatted and laughed while we watched our kids play together. SO CUTE! It's crazy to realize that there will be four children between us the next time we see each other!

 Our two families!
(Kyle, Michelle, Abigail, and Baby Roland. Mark, Jessica, Aksil and Avery.)

 Aksil showing Abigail how to ride his super cool toy!

 Abigail loved their ball toy! It shoots the balls up in the air...

 Avery... so cute!

 Our girls!

 Avery and Abigail playing together.

 I love Avery's enthusiasm for life!

 Trying our best to take a group photo! (Notice they each have toys! haha)

 *Cheese*

 Abigail thought she'd surprise Aksil with a kiss... Avery thinks it's pretty funny! (Aunt Jessica, we've got our work cut our for us with these kiddos!)

 Abigail is acting like the big sister... haha...

 This is a more "natural" shot of our kids! haha...

Abigail being Abigail... haha... she loves to touch other kids! Avery's like... "Uhh... Mom!!! What's she doing?"

I am so incredibly thankful for the short time that we had to visit with these dear friends! I look forward to many more playdates in the future, Lord-willing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So I know this is late and that while in Texas I dropped the ball on my "thankfulness" posts. I'm so sorry! I would like to extend a late "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone from our family and share a few photo highlights from our trip to Texas to see my side of the family. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed making many wonderful memories.

 Our wonderful extended family... Four Generations... So thankful for this heritage!

The Oliver/Roland side of the family.

Our little Roland Family

 Us with my Grandparents... We are so blessed with every opportunity we have to spend with these two godly, dear people!

Abigail sitting on the little couch her Grammie recovered for her. So cute!

 I love seeing all the little great-grandchildren playing with my grandparents! Such a sweet time!

Banana Bread Muffins

So, over the last couple of years I have tried multiple coconut flour muffin recipes and none of them have been my favorite and certainly none of them have made me say "Wow!"... until today! I found The Spunky Coconut's Banana Bread recipe this morning and I decided to brave it. I had to change it up a bit though due to being out of a few ingredients she calls for and due to our taste preferences. So, this is what I came up with:

Banana Bread Muffins

3 small mashed bananas
4 beaten eggs
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup raw sugar (I'd prefer to use coconut sugar but I'm all out)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Combine wet ingredients in mixer. Blend. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl then add to wet ingredients. Mix until combined. Add walnuts. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 11 muffins.

A Side-Note Word Of Encouragement

I read this article tonight and found it so encouraging! It is a mom (who is a wonderful blogger) and she writes a post about how we are all a mess... meaning, none of us wives and mothers are perfect! None of our homes and cars are perfectly clean all the time. Our kids don't get baths every night. Our meals are sometimes scraped together instead of intentionally thought out, etc...

I needed to read this post! I struggle so much with comparing myself and our home to other women/moms and their homes; their schedules; and their seemingly "perfect life"... Yet, in all actuality, we're all a mess in our own ways!

Moms/Wives, read this and be encouraged!

We're All Just A Lovely Mess

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #16

Tonight, I am thankful for God's gracious forgiveness when my heart, mind, and mouth struggle to put to death sin. I am also thankful for my incredible husband who loves me no matter what I say and who offers godly forgiveness even when I mess up. :-)

It is good to have evenings when I am humbled by my sin because it shows me my great need daily for a Savior!

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #15

Tonight I am so thankful for a husband who puts up with all of my desires to fulfill family holiday traditions! :-) We put up our Christmas tree tonight and started decorating the house. While we still have much more to do, it was so much fun to work together as a family to decorate!

I absolutely LOVE Christmas and the holiday seasons in November and December! I am also a very sentimental person and traditions are a HUGE deal to me. Not only do I love starting new traditions as the Kyle Roland Family, I also love keeping a few traditions that I grew up with. Tonight, Kyle graciously went along with one. :-)

You see, growing up, one of my favorite nights all year long was the night (usually after my brother Michael's birthday in early December) that our family would decorate for Christmas. But, what would add a special hint of holiday cheer was that every year my sweet Dad would go to Braums (for those of you who don't know, it's a great ice cream place in Ft. Worth) and buy egg nog for us to sip while decorating. Then after we were finished we would sit around and enjoy the lights and decorations while enjoying our drinks.

Sure, egg nog is a small thing, but it's part of what made that night so special for me as a kid and teenager! So tonight, although this tradition is foreign to him, Kyle graciously stopped by Kroger on his way home from work so that I could have my egg nog as we decorated. We then enjoyed continuing this tradition in our new little family. I can't wait to share it with Abigail and the rest of our kids as they grow up!

I am so blessed by my hubby and so thankful that he loves me for who I am... quirks and all! :-)

Abigail's 1st Birthday Party!

What a joy it is to celebrate our baby girl's first birthday! Even though her "big day" isn't until November 25th, we celebrated here in Kentucky with our friends a little early because we will be out of town on her actual birthday. Abigail loved having some of her sweet little friends over to enjoy celebrating with her. They were so cute playing around together.

We were blessed to be able to use our apartment's community room to host everyone. They have been adding tables, chairs, and such to help build community as well as they have a great little kids play corner that Abigail loves to go play in!

Here is a picture overview of her party. Enjoy!

 Our big birthday girl!

The table all set with strawberry cupcakes, strawberry ice cream, red punch, and hot cider.

 A picture progression of her as she has grown month-by-month. So glad we took these each month!

 Her little gift table. Balloons inspired by Pinterest (of course!).

Excited about her party!

 Singing "Happy Birthday!" to Abigail! She was so cute as she just stared at everyone singing to her.

 She liked her pretty cupcake!

 "Ooo... what's that white stuff, Mommy?"

"Oh, yummy!"

 "Maybe this is how you eat a cupcake?"

 "Or, maybe this way?"

"This is so yummy, Mommy!"

 Present time...

 Opening her gifts

 "Ooo... I like this!"

 Her little buddy Laedin decided to help too! So cute!

 Her first real baby doll! She loves this and carts it around all the time now at home! I am so grateful!

 

She enjoys her little stroller too and pushing her baby in it.

 Playing with her friend, David.

 Playing with her friend, Laedin.

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #14

Today I am thankful for wonderful mothering and parenting encouragement provided through books and blogs! We are so blessed in our day and age to have the internet at our fingertips and to be able to access wonderful, biblical material. Yesterday, as I was reading a friend's blog, I was encouraged by a blog that she posted based on this site. I haven't read this book yet but from what I've heard, it's great!

She offers several great free resources.The one that my friend posted about was "10 Points of Joyful Parenting."
It is so helpful in thinking through ways to be joyful throughout the day with your children and to show grace to your kids as you instruct them each day. Sometimes its so easy to get bogged down in the daily grind that as mothers we lose sight of the joy of training and raising up our children. So, I'm so thankful for blogs like these that offer practical, godly encouragement!

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #13

What a fun time we had this afternoon celebrating our baby girl's first birthday with friends! Even though her birthday is not actually until near the end of the month, we celebrated early due to people's holiday schedules.

I am so thankful today for all our friends who were able to join us (in person and in spirit)! It was such a blessing to us to feel supported and loved. Abigail had a wonderful time and has been enjoying her new little gifts. Thank you so much!

(Actual party post to come soon; hopefully tomorrow!)

Sneak peak picture:

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #11 & #12

I know I'm not supposed to post two days as one, but these two days pretty much blended together for me. :-)

Today I am so thankful for a very sweet friend and neighbor who has been helping me get ready for Abigail's birthday party this weekend. She has taken time several days this week to help me brainstorm and then put into action my thoughts and wishes.

Katie, this party would not have been the same without all your help and enthusiastic encouragement and ideas. I am so thankful for you!

Here are a few pics of our kids playing together as we shopped and prepared party stuff. They are so cute together!



Basket of cuteness!



Follow the leader! :-)




Play buddies

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #10

Sorry my posts has been falling behind, but I have been trying to keep a mental track of what I'm grateful for each day so I can come back to post on it. I will continue to post as if it were that day. Thank you for your patience! We have been so busy this last week with life and planning Abigail's little birthday party (pictures and details to come!).

Day 10 - Today has been a hard day but a great day to be reminded that I am so thankful for difficult trials that the Lord uses in our lives to teach us dependence upon Him alone. Whether we face small "bumps in the road," or huge tests of our faith, both are opportunities for me to practice waiting upon the Lord; His provision and will.

Sometimes I can become easily overwhelmed when looking over things like finances that I tend to lose sight of Who is in charge of even the smallest details of our existence. I am so grateful that God has given me wonderful parent's whom I have watched over the years as they trust God pertaining to this topic! They have set such a wonderful example for me as they have sought to rely upon the Lord for monetary possessions.

I am also so grateful for my husband who seeks to make wise financial decisions for our family and who desires for us to live debt-free. That is a HUGE blessing to me and a very big priority to me. Even though my sinful desires to buy and own new things can be a struggle for me, I deeply desire to better learn to live within our God-given means with Kyle being our income provider. We believe That God has called me to be a stay-at-home mother to Abigail and the new baby (a full-time job in and of itself!!). We are very committed to this and I believe that God will honor us living out this calling if we are faithful to live with what He gives us. This doesn't mean that we will be able to afford all the fun things that people with bigger or two incomes can, but it does mean that God will provide us with what we actually NEED. Sadly, in America, our definition of need (my definition of need!) is much more than so many people have to live on.

God is teaching me during this season of life to trust Him in the big and small things and to be willing to let go of many of my "ideal" desires, which really boil down to lusts and covetous desires for material possessions that will only distract me from keeping my eyes fixed upon serving my Savior each and every day.

My prayer is that I will continue to grow in thankfulness for and knowledge of living simply and frugally. Living in this way prompts me to think through what is really important in life and what is just trivial or something I desire due to coveting.

I have to admit that not having a ton of money is such a beautiful gift from God! People who are blessed with a lot of money or who are even blessed with a nice, slightly plush income, do not have the same opportunities to trust God like those of us who have to pray for money every time a large medical bill arrives, or some other financial crises comes up, or even just to meet monthly bills! Even to have money set aside for vacations must be nice. However, for us, each year we get to watch God provide money out of seemingly "no where" to answer our prayer and desires to be able to take a simple trip. I am SO grateful that God is teaching us so much by requiring that we be patient and wait on His provision. This by no means is to imply that I have this down or that I choose to be happy or joyful all the time when money is tight, but God has been convicting me of my sins of complaining and coveting and I am slowly being sharpened and pruned for His glory.

What a great, mighty, and awesome God we serve that He would take time each and every day to provide for us in simple, yet big ways. I am so thankful for this!

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #9

I am thankful for the godly example of our church pastors/elders!

Tonight Kyle and I had the opportunity to witness our elders walking in godly, gospel-centered church leadership. While it is never fun to see the issue of church discipline come up, we highly respect our elders and how they dealt with a particular issue. They extended so much grace and patience, and praise the Lord that the discipline did not have to be carried out. God was gracious and gave our elders wisdom in this situation and Kyle and I discussed tonight how much more we respect them because of how they handled this particular issue in the church!

So many churches are being led by pastors who are afraid to speak truth to their congregations or to extend church discipline when someone is blatantly walking in sin. Yet, that is an offense to the gospel of Christ! As the body of Christ we are to hold one another accountable in our Christian walks. Of equal importance, pastors will one day stand before the Lord and give an account for how they led and fed their particular congregation. So if they allow blatant sin to go unchecked within the body, they will be held responsible!

We are so grateful that our church seeks to walk in gospel-centered living! We love our elders and support them as they lead our congregation!

A Month Of Thankfulness - Post #8

A little over a year ago, Kyle and I attended our first Bradley Birthing class. That night, we met a fun couple, Trent & Emily. Little did we know that they would become dear friends of ours as Emily and I went through pregnancy together, hearing of each others daughter's birth, and enjoying play dates and dressing our girls alike for pictures (they are only five days apart!).



Emily not only became a great friend, but also a wonderful sounding board and confidant as we talked through mommy and parenting questions. There are no telling how many late night texts we have sent each other, trying to figure something out (like our daughter's sleeping/eating schedule, etc...). There have been many opportunities for us to pray for each other and seek to encourage each other. Emily has been so gracious to offer wise and biblical counsel and encouragement too. I highly value her friendship and I'm so very thankful for her!

Sadly, yet at the same time excitingly, Trent and Emily are moving to Georgia this week because the Lord has called them there to plant a gospel-centered church. We are thrilled for them yet already miss them! However, God has given them a wonderful passion and vision for serving the "churched" and inviting them to hopefully better understand the importance of living in gospel community, holding each other accountable, using scripture to counsel life's daily trials and struggles, etc... They seek to plant a church that is not programmatic but rather that emphasizes living truly gospel-drenched lives in community with one another. That is what churches should be like! It's so easy to get lost in so many church programs and expectations that we lose sight of the purpose of the community of believers gathering!



Our daughters, both named Abigail Grace.



Abby Grace and Abigail holding hands. Sweet little friends!

So, for today, I am so very thankful for Emily and what a blessing she has been in my life!
Love you, sweet friend!