Treasure in my boxes

Life right now pretty much consists of making meals, changing diapers, preschool, swim lessons, sorting, throwing out and packing. I know packing might sound crazy since we aren't moving for another two months and have another year until we make the trek cross country but there is a lot of work that is involved. We are packing for two moves. One here in California, the things we need on a day to day or random basis and the other half is getting sort and packed for storage to send to Tennessee.

We're sort of getting ruthless if you will, the last thing we want to do is haul a bunch of crap across the country only to get rid of it once we arrive. The daily grind of this is tiring and I'm already over it but I keep reminding myself of what's to come and keeping my eye on that prize! 

The garage has been our main focus since that's pretty much where everything is. It's Chris' space and he does not run a tight ship like I do inside. {wink} So, clearly it's one big straight up mess. 

We have been cracking ourselves up over the things we're finding. Seriously can't believe some of the things we've held onto and brought here! The best belly laugh we had was over my glasses from third grade. I will never be able to live them down. So many of my friends has glasses and I was sure I needed them too. I somehow convinced the Lens Crafters lady that my eyes were bad by not passing the eye test and ended up with a pair of glasses that were beauty's. My eyes are still 20/20 and you better believe I packed the glasses up for the move.

I've had the joy of going through the picture boxes. I had three large container boxes filled with pictures and old things of mine. I've condensed it all into one box, that felt good!! While going through them I found myself laughing and crying. SO many memories. All I could think of was, where has the time gone?
My entire weekend was consumed by these boxes and I felt like I was in a time warp and had an amazing trip down sweet old memory lane. 

Treasures and look, I've been Southern at Heart since I was tiny!

I found pictures of when I was little and pictures of just about every trip I've ever been on. Found all of my old journals from the early 90's to the early 2000's. My life flashed before me like one of those flip books. I relived it all. I found myself trying to explain them all to Chris, I wanted him to see how amazing my life has been and have him try to relive it with me. 


I found some absolutely precious items that I have packed away and will cherish forever and ever. Letters from my incredible grandparents and parents. Words on a page that filled my eyes with tears. My heart is filled with more love that I know what to do with. And you never know how precious something as simple as a handwritten note that your grandma sent you at summer camp is or a certificate that your grandpa made you that says "redeem for one big hug" until you can't redeem it and no more letters will be written. I tucked it away safely and thanked the Lord for such sweet memories. I've got treasure in my boxes, y'all.

This time has been so refreshing in so many ways. Getting rid of so much "stuff" feels amazing and finding old treasures you didn't even know you had is like a sweet reward for all of this work. This is definitely cleansing and we still look at each other some days and smile, can't believe it's all happening.

 More to come soon..

The start of a new story..

I'm back! Had to push myself through boxes and piles of stuff to get here, but I'm back!
This past month has been a whirlwind. A good kind of whirlwind, but also the kind where you crawl into bed each night and thank the sweet Lord that it's time to rest. I do love that the last post I wrote was about my box. So fitting, since that is what I have been working on since I was here last.

I don't even know where to start. If you follow me on social media you've probably figured out that we're moving. If not, SURPRISE! We have sold our precious little cottage that sits here in sunny Southern California and are about to embark on a new adventure. I am so giddy that I haven't even had time to sit and be sad about leaving this cute place where our story began. We are in escrow and are scheduled to close in just a couple of weeks, at the end of this month!

So, where are we going? That is the question we get asked all the time. Have we bought another house? We are moving in with my in-laws! We're not crazy, I happen to adore them. Also, for everyone's sanity it's not forever! They are retiring and will be traveling a lot so we will be there to take care of the place and when they're home it will be great to be together and have some extra help with our crazy little people! We will move in once all of our rooms are ready, shooting for the 1st week of August. Our neighbor bought our house so we are stoked and get to rent it back for a couple of months until "the new place is ready".

In the meantime we are cleaning out, purging and simplifying our life...

BECAUSE....

We will be packing up the Uhaul, road tripping across the country and moving our life to
TENNESSEE next summer!!!
I still can't believe I am able to say that.
I'll do a whole other post on that but y'all, we are going country and my southern heart will finally be home! The whole goal and point of the move is to simplify our life, to slow it down a little, have more time together as a family and enjoy life.

It's not that life in California isn't good, it's just not where we want to raise our kids and spend the rest of our days. We are ready for land, wide open spaces and a new adventure. And hello! Biscuits and sweet tea!

I will go into more details along the way. We want to document this journey and be able to look back on this one day once we're all settled.

Until then, we are savoring our last year in California.
Soaking up the sunshine and time with our dear friends.

But, I AM looking out that windshield of mine and am so excited to to make the next turn, get over that next hill and finally get to where we're going.

Hold on tight and join us on this adventure!

I can't wait to share more in the coming days!

My box.

If you read my previous post you will know that I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. Not just on how to figure out how to make teething as easy as possible naturally but thinking long and hard about my life. I'm going to dig down DEEP so grab an iced tea or a warm late' if you're in the snowy midwest!

Life is busy and messy and loud and lonely at our house these days. You're thinking, two kids and you're lonely? Yeah. I am. My sweet husband is working way too many hours for me to even try to count right now with him being an accountant. This is not the happiest time of the year. Thank God for sunshine. He's also in grad school full time so those two combined means he is never home. It's hard for all of us, especially since we are a tight knit family and we love spending time together. I adore my husband, our babies love their daddy almost more than anyone in the world and he loves all of us just as much. So, its hard when our hearts desire is to be with one another and it's not possible. I could go on but you get the picture, especially those of you who have spouses away with work or war. It's not easy, especially with two little ones. 

These past couple weeks have really worn on me. To the point of tears daily and being so lonely my heart just hurt. I cried out to the Lord all throughout the days asking for my joy to be restored, for a my a smile to be put back on my face and to just be genuinely happy again. I literally felt like a sob story...which if you know me is so not like me. I felt sorry for myself. Awkward. But I did.

A couple of nights ago I stood in my shower and cried my heart out, like wept. 
{side note: the shower is the best place to cry}

I said, LORD! FILL ME UP! I want my JOY back, I want to LOVE like you LOVE and LIVE the LIFE that You have for me! I want to be the best wife and mom, and daughter, sister and friend that I can be! But Lord, this is HARD!

I cried some more & then was just still, I let the water pour down on my face & it was if He was whispering to me... 
"My child, walk through these waters with Faith in Me and I will see you through..." 
That was it. I have been depending on my husband and my children and loved ones around me to satisfy my needs, to fill me up with joy and everything else and HELLO they're all human and whether they mean to or not, they will fail us.

My heart has done a 180 since that shower cry fest. It's like the Lord picked me up off the ground during a thunderstorm and placed me in the flower fields. No, things aren't perfect nor will they ever be but He has changed the tune of my heart strings and I am having to make a choice daily to depend on Him throughout the day in every circumstance that I come across.

This morning at Bible study it all came together. We are wrapping up a Beth Moore study and she was talking about our most treasured moments and our treasure box. The treasure that has been in my box recently hasn't been pretty. I've been carrying around frustration, sadness, loneliness, and stress. And I've been sharing all that crap with the ones I love. You know happy wife, happy life. Or if mom ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. COME ON, life is too short and ain't nobody got time for that! It was such an encouragement to me to really think about my attitude, the words that are coming out of my mouth and the way I respond to certain situations. I'm working on filling my treasure box up with truth, joy, promises, and sweet sweet memories. I want to hold them close to my heart and be a woman who truly cherishes and savors each day, even when they aren't the best and be a light to my family and the world around me. 

We've only got one shot and tomorrow isn't promised so starting today I am choosing JOY.

What's in your treasure box that you're carrying around?

Identity

Nikki Andrews.

I'm Chris' wife and Kate and Will's mom. 
I pour my life, my everything into those three souls. 

^
That's who I am. 

I never thought about my identity too much until recently.  When I was working {pre-kids} I was Chris' wife and the High School Administrator. Work was never "who I was" but it was part of me and was what I did. Now that I've been home for almost 5 years I have come to realize that my identity is found in my children.

 It all clicked when I was at Target child free and a mom with her very loud and wild children said something to me like, oh enjoy the quiet! I smiled and told her that I was and then quickly followed it up by telling her that my two children were at home with daddy and so on. Ever since that moment I now feel the need to wear a sign on my chest that says I'M A MOM when my children are not with me. Or when I'm grocery shopping with Will while Kate is at school and a mom tells me to enjoy every minute because it goes so fast! I find myself saying, I know...I have a 3 year old too. It DOES goes too fast!

Why do I feel the need to respond and tell people that I'm a mom to two precious children?

Chris and I went on a little weekend getaway and were surrounded by families with little ones. We would be at dinner and couples would smile at us like we were on our honeymoon or something. Again I wanted the world to know that we have two children who were at home with their mimi and papa.

I've never felt so insecure about myself than when my children aren't with me. That sounds so weird and is the honest truth and is something that I am working on daily. I give my all to our babies and it feels like a piece of my heart is missing when we're not all together. 

I will be the first one to say that alone time is GOOD and is HEALTHY for all. I don't want to be the kind of mom who can never leave her children and have them become so dependent on me or vise versa that it makes growing up even harder. Same goes for our marriage, we need little getaways together away from the kids to reconnect. It also makes us crazier about the kids and appreciate the wild times even more. 

All of that being said, my kids are who I have found myself in. I am doing what I was created to do. To be a mom, to love and encourage and nurture and grow little lives.

But I don't want them to be my identity. Just like I would never let any other job identify who I was.

Maybe it's just a phase? Since my life is completely consumed by these two little ones who are completely dependent on me to take care of all their needs. I wouldn't change it for the world. I just never noticed how "lost" I am when they aren't by my side.

Anyone else out there struggling with this? 
Surely I'm not alone..

Sweet dreams.

I've been asked several times how we got our kids to be such great sleepers so I thought I'd do a short post on it. There is no magical potion or anything silly like that. It happened by 2 little words, SLEEP TRAINING! 
 When I was expecting Kate I read the book "Baby Wise" which really helped guide me as a new mom on how to get our baby girl to sleep. The first few months are seriously pointless in even hoping to get more than a couple hours of sleep a night because their tiny little bodies need to eat every few hours plus isn't every baby born nocturnal? 
We start "sleep training" from the day we bring them home from the hospital. And by that I mean we start a routine and are consistent with it day in and day out. Of course there are days when things are off a bit and that's ok but so far we are 2 for 2 on amazing sleepers and I give all the credit to being consistent!
Starting around 5-6 months we start a schedule with naps and move bed time up earlier and earlier. 

William is now 13 months old & is still on the same schedule he was at 5 months. 

7am, usually his wake up time {diaper change and play time}
8am, breakfast and then play time
9am, nap {for an hour or 2} then more play time
11:30am, lunch and outside time
1:30pm, nap {for an hour or 2} then play time
5:00pm, dinner
5:30pm, bath
6:00pm, bedtime

His bedtime was around 8pm until he turned 9 months old and we started moving it up earlier and earlier. We top him off with a warm bottle and he sleeps through the night straight every night. We have those occasional nights where he is up due to teething or a cold but for the most part he goes 12+ hours.

Kate was and still is on the same schedule except she only has one nap {which lasts about 2 hours}, she goes to bed at 8pm and is usually up by 6:30am!

The key is consistency! I truly believe a warm bath at the same time every night followed by jammies and a feeding is what helped our kids know that all of the above means that it's bedtime. 

You have to do what works for your families schedule, this is what works for ours and we literally plan most things around it. Sleep habits start when they are tiny... schedules! schedules! schedules!

And on the whole "cry it out" thing, we did it with both of them. They were both 6 months. Each of them cried for 20 minutes for 2 nights and that was it. Yes, those two nights were awful and I felt like a terrible mom but I would do it all over again. It works! 

There's my two cents. Hope it helps some of my mommy friends out there who are in sleep-deprived land. You will sleep again, you're just going to have to put in a little extra work to get there. But it will pay off, I promise! 

Love wins

I, along with the rest of Orange County woke up to news of a shooting spree that happened and ended a few blocks away from my parents house this morning. The news is depressing, not even sure why I let myself turn it on. There is so much evil in this world. Why don't they ever share the happy and encouraging stories? Will people not be as intrigued? I don't get it.

I had a decision to make this morning. I could either be discouraged and upset about the madness that is going on all around me or I could put my head up and be a light that this dark world needs. I went on with our typical morning and had breakfast and got the kids ready for the day. Will and I dropped Kate off at school and did our errands and instead of heading back home I felt like I was supposed to do something nice for someone. I took the easy route with a little guy in tow and headed to my local drive-thru Starbucks (which isn't so local). There was a long line of cars and just as I was about to turn around and leave the parking lot about half of the cars were gone so we got in line.  Totally embarrassed but I was praying for the Lord to bring someone "good". Not sure what I meant by good but I sat in my car and no one was behind me for the longest time. So there I was like, Lord really? You brought me all this way and now there is no one!! I ordered and next thing I know a mini van pulls up behind me.

I'm totally checking her out, old lady who looks like a mess, angry, shes smoking and has two little dogs on her lap and a man in the backseat. I was so disappointed in myself for "judging" her. Next thing you know she is ordering and nosy me rolls down my window to see if I can hear what shes ordering. Will was talking away and I again realized that I was being ridiculous so up went my window. I already knew in my heart I was to pay for her order so I didn't care what the total was. It was my turn to pay so I did that and then told the cute cashier girl that I wanted to pay for the lady behind me. She looked at her order and said, "oh honey, it's kind of a big order...are you sure?" I told her yes, I was sure. So that was done and the cashier had tears in her eyes and couldn't believe I was doing that. I thought I was the only person left who hasn't paid for the car behind. She asked if I had a message to give her so I smile and told her to tell the woman that I pray God blesses her. She began to cry and so did I. {she cried first, I blame cute starbucks girl}

So, I pull out and the van pulls up to pay and I got to watch the whole thing go down at the red light. The van lady was shocked and the cute starbucks girl was learning out her window with her elbows on the counter having a sweet conversation with her. My heart was literally singing as I sat at the longest light ever and watch those two talk. I went with the intention of blessing someone in a small way and drove off feeling like I won the lottery {and just paid for the most expensive carmel macchiato ever}. But seriously, the van lady had a face that went from angry to a smile that was so beautiful, and that Starbucks girl...she was just so sweet. Seeing the joy on her face alone was worth it. She has been on my heart and in my prayers all day, I just pray that she knows how much she is loved.

Do you realize how easy it is to make someones day? You don't have to drive across town and pay for someones coffee, sometimes a smile is all someone needs to get through their day. This world is tough, be easy on one another.

Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness?

Spread some joy.

Love always wins!

Water break.

2013 arrived and I felt like we hit the pavement running. This is going to be a big year for our family in so many ways and I already find myself with my jaw to the ground amazed at all that has already been done. I have to remind myself daily that this isn't a marathon and not everything is going to happen at once, I need to slow it down a little and enjoy each mark and not try to race to the finish line. 
I can't wait to share all that is going on and the incredible work that the Lord has already done and is doing. That time will come but right now we really feel like we're supposed to be still and content with where we are at in all aspects of our life and as we continue to wait on the Lord and following His leading we will get to where we're supposed to be in His perfect timing! 

I've had days recently where I feel like my head is spinning. There is so much going on, so much we want to do, decisions that need to be made, life changes big and small and you know what I'm learning? To not worry about it. A lot easier said that done. But seriously, I am OCD when it comes to organization and planning and schedules so when we're looking at {big} life changes I find myself trying to plan out every detail and work out every kink on my own. And surprise surprise, it doesn't work! I found out the hard way. 

The best feeling is what we're experiencing now, freedom!! I am no longer carrying around the worries of how everything is going to work out, I am no longer trying to figure out every detail because I sure as heck can't plan life. I have let go and am letting God take control. We are waiting on Him and His timing because.. pssst. let me let you in on a sweet secret...it's PERFECT. Do you know how refreshing it is to go to bed each night without the burden of worrying about life? And to wake up each morning knowing that the One who created this universe and little you and little me is in control of every detail of what is going to happen that day. That's where we're at and it is so freeing! Arms open wide ready to receive all that He has for us and following as He leads. 

Do you feel like you're running a marathon right now and you thought you signed up for a little 5K walk/run? 
Take a water break, slow it down and just breathe. 

One day at a time, we'll get there and when we do that finish line is going to feel so so good.

Happy Day!

A year ago on January 21st, 2012 - our life was forever changed.
A little blonde hair, blue eyed boy was born and my heart hasn't been the same since.

William Allan Marshall Andrews.
6 pounds and 14 ounces of pure sunshine.

Your sister is the pitter and you are the patter to my heart.

The timing of your birth could not have been more perfect.
You were the light in the darkness that was all around us.

And son, you haven't stopped shining since that day.

You are my angel pie..
my wild man..
boomers..
the willster..
our little man..
and my sonshine.

This past year with you has flown by yet we feel like we've known you our entire life.
You're an incredible child, a precious gift from the Lord.
We are so thankful that He sent you to us to take care of us raise.

And while I wish we could keep you tiny forever, we are thrilled to watch you grow and thrive into the little man that God designed for you to be. It is a joy to watch you reach milestones, to watch your tiny teeth grow and to snuggle you in those quiet moments. I cherish each and every bit.

Your first year was one I will never forget. I hold each memory close to my heart and my cup is overflowing when I think about what this next year of your sweet life has in store.

We had a small and intimate party to celebrate you and are so blessed by the friends and family who have stood by our side and have a role in your life. You are so loved baby boy.

Birthday boy sick on his 1st birthday, but still so handsome.

My heart

Our dear friend dedicated Will to the Lord.
Such a blessed moment where we publicly committed to raising our son up in the ways of the Lord.
Our hearts desire is that our children will come to know and love the Lord at a young age and follow and serve Him all the days of their life.
Our job: to raise them in a loving home showing them the love and grace that the Lord gives us and always pointing them to Jesus. Not an easy thing to do in this world.

Will's grandpa prayed over him

and so did his papa..

So thankful for the examples he has to look up to and follow.

The ones who make my heart sing

 

I think he liked his cake

 I love the way she loves her baby brother

I love this boy more than he loves his cake.

Happy 1st Birthday, Son!

I pray you always know how much you are loved.

Back where I belong.

I just returned back to So Cal from an awesome girls trip Nashville, Tennessee. My mom, sister and I flew out to spend 5 days with our family there and to soak in the southern hospitality and all it has to offer. From the minute we landed to the second we took off, my little southern heart was home.

We celebrated my birthday at Cancun, the best Mexican food I've ever had, which seems funny! We drove down beautiful back roads listening to country music. Pretty sure that is the most natural feeling. The wide open spaces, farm houses, the charming little cottages and the gorgeous cities we drove through were breathtaking. Liepers fork and Franklin are at the top of my list. We might have done a little house hunting! {wink}

We visited the Loveless Cafe not once or twice but three times! Their homemade biscuits are to die for. I'm pretty sure they are missing us and wondering where we've gone.

The pie lady made the Goo Goo Cluster pie for me on Friday. I've been drooling over it on Instagram and asked if they had it in, which they did not so she made it. And let me tell you, it was ahh-maazzzing!

Talk about southern hospitality.

We spent our afternoons driving, exploring, eating, shopping and meeting the neatest people. Our evenings were spent with our precious family and the in between times were spent dreaming about a life here in the south, the heartbeat of America.

breakfast at the Loveless

Dinner at the Pharmacy in East Nashville

tourist, what?

Hey y'all!

Need to get us one of these

just rockin' with our sweet tea after some pie

winter time

happy place

It was an awesome time and so good to be back in the land that I love, all that was missing was my man and our babies. Every time I leave Tennessee I leave a little piece of my heart there. It's hard leaving something you love so much but we look forward to watching the Lords plan unfold for our life and our families! Good things are in store. Thankful for the open heart and promise that God has given us.

Now, will someone please ship me some biscuits and fruit tea?

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11 months.

11 months.

My boy is weeks away from turning ONE.

In a way I feel gypped.

Where has the time gone? 

So much has happened that I can hardly wrap my mind around it.

This is the last month our baby boy is an infant.

William Allan Marshall Andrews.

My sonshine...

You are working on your 8th tooth.

You really have no interest in walking.

You eat everything we eat, tons of it!

You love playing with sissy and adore all of her toys!

You love to sleep and need lots of it!

You say mama, dada and badanujboi.

If you hear the word "yay" you automatically start clapping.

You're learning to wave hi and bye bye..

You love to dance.

You give the best open mouth wet kisses ever!

You are a precious gift.

I thank the Lord for sending you to us daily. 

Love you, sweet baby boy.

 

1st Christmas

 

 I'm sure one day he'll love books..

for now they are great chew toys!

This Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas 2012 has come and gone. 

We enjoyed every bit of the season with lots of traditions...

and even started a new one!

Last week we went to "The North Pole" with the Golinos

to visit Santa and Mrs. Clause 

and brrr was it cold there!

so excited to get on the train to the North Pole!

on our way!

The girls meeting Santa

Rach and I and our fab 4.

Kate asked Santa for gummy worms and a scooter. 

I have no idea where that came from...

 We requested that Santa send a helper to keep

 an eye on Kate to make sure she would make the nice list.

This little guy named Rusty appeared at our house early December. 

He was a busy little elf who was all over our house watching 

little miss busy butt. 

 Christmas morning came & Santa left an abundance of toys for our babies!

Something about Christmas morning is so magical.

The beauty, the warmth, the joy, the anticipation...

It all reminds me of the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

I can't even find the words to describe how incredible this Christmas was.

It was SO full of love, joy & endless blessings.

 

We got to spend the day with both of our families & when we packed the car

up to head home on Christmas night our SUV was packed to the brim & our hearts...

 were even more full.

It took us over 3 hours to put everything away when we got home

 & there is still more to do...

I cried while sorting through all our goodies,

so undeserving of it all..

All of the stuff was amazing & so greatly appreciated but the love

that our family has is the most incredible gift of all.

We are so so grateful for the love that the Lord has for each one of us,

even when we are unworthy of it all. 

 

 I pray y'all had a blessed Christmas

& as this new year approaches you know just how much you are loved

by the One who humbly came to this earth for you and for me..