A Family of Four

Ok, seriously, I really do want to blog more often. I know I keep saying that. I can't believe I haven't blogged since October. WHERE has the time gone? Since it's been so long, this will probably be a long post. Well, this is where we are now. We've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, a New Year, and the biggest celebration this year  is welcoming our son into the world!  

 Murphy William Dearman was born March 13th at 6:03 am weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces. He is named after his great grandfather (my PapaJack-Richard Murphy "Jack" Pullig) and his Daddy (Matthew William) , grandfather (Wade William Jr.), and great grandfather (Wade William). His name means "Seawarrior/Determined Protector." And our prayer is that he is a warrior for Christ who is determined to stand strong for the gospel!  

 He's already 6 weeks old (today actually) and has been such a joy to us. He's a healthy baby boy and growing so fast. In fact at his 6 week check up he weighed 11 pounds. I'm not surprised at all, he's a great eater! We're so overwhelmed with the love we have for him and his sister. They truly are two of the greatest blessings we have! 

The reality of having two babies though can be very overwhelming. I have no idea how people handle twins (or multiples)! And how do people have more than two- you all are my heroes! We love them like crazy but they are both pretty high maintenance right now being a newborn and an 18 month old. We are good if we get dressed everyday and actually leave the house. I do try to though for our sanity-ha! Addie Grace has been adjusting really well surprisingly. She's just learning to not have as much attention from Mommy like she used to. She's pretty independent, so she's good at just doing her own thing when I'm taking care of Murphy (most of the time). She loves him and wants to hug and kiss him all the time. Anytime she sees him or hears him fussing, she says "baby" and wants to take care of him. It's the sweetest thing in the world! She will even bring him a blanket or burp cloth too. Her favorite is bringing him his paci (or taking it away and putting it in her mouth, depending on the day). But she's such a little "Mama" herself. There are times though when she still wants to be the baby too and be held, which is fine, because she is still a baby herself.  

One day at a time, we're adjusting to having two kids. It's tough but totally worth it all! My maternity leave will go until the end of this school year, so it's nice being able to be home right now. I'm so grateful for this time.The Lord is teaching me a lot right now through this season with two littles. 1~I'm realizing my need for Jesus more and more every day! Parenting is one of the hardest, yet rewarding jobs there is. You learn what it means to sacrifice your needs and desires to put your kids' needs first. It's hard to do that. I'm selfish, I want to just get a few hours of sleep at night, wash my hair, clean the house or just be able to do something for myself. But the fact is there are days when I have to function on 4 hours of sleep (if that) or not get anything done around the house. I'm learning that it's okay in this season to function that way because I rely on Jesus more. 2~God is really revealing a lot to me about my desire to "have it all together." For some reason some days I think I can be "Super Mom" or something. I think I can run errands like I could before and get a lot done on my to-do list as well. The truth of it is, as humans we will never "have it altogether" because we aren't perfect. It won't always be this crazy (or maybe it will, I don't know). I am slowly, but surely learning that this "having it altogether thing" is just not reality. No one really has it altogether. Even if they look like they do, they aren't perfect. I read something recently pertaining to parenting a newborn that said, "the most important job you have right now is taking care of that babies' needs" (I don't remember where I read that now, probably on another blog). It also said something along the lines of "the dishes may not get done, you may not get to do all the things on your "to do" list but your newborn baby is learning how life works and depends completely on you (and God's grace) to meet his needs. It's such a short season that they are this small, unpredictable and needy. So let the dishes wait, the "to dos" will eventually get done and take care of that precious life who is quite needy right now." (it was something like that) I'm trying not to get caught in the mindset of "oh, when they're older, it'll be easier because..." That will only make it worse. The fact is they are one month and 18 months right now and they won't be this little forever. I heard recently "the days are long, but the years are short." I'm sure I'll look back on these days and miss it! So that's where I am, learning to live in the chaos of all this and learning to love it, right where we are! My prayer is that I embrace what God is doing right now, right where our little family of four is and not long for something different. He's got a purpose in this and that's what it's all about! I'm continuing to be refined one day at a time through this process of parenting and even though it's hard, it's worth every minute! 

It's the End of October Already?

Well, I've pretty much been out of the loop for a few months on the blog! It has been a busy few months for our family. From me starting back to work, getting into a new routine, and oh so many changes in our world, there's a lot to catch up on the blog.

We have a ONE year old! Where did the time go? I cannot believe our sweet girl is already a year old. I cannot even explain in words how much we love her. She's such a joy and blessing in our life. She continues to amaze me every day. I love seeing her grow and develop her little personality. I pray that God continues to shape and mold her into His image.

It's been an adjustment with me going back to work full time. It does make it better that Addie can come with me (to the faculty daycare). I love that she's right down the hall (even if I don't always get to see her during the day). But God is so good in that He's taking such good care of her there and me while I'm teaching. The girls who keep her are so sweet and take such good care of her. I'm so thankful for that. Teaching is going well, it's been a different kind of teaching situation, but I'm learning so much!  The Lord is providing for us and has been so faithful.


In the past few months a few other things have happened. We're expecting baby number 2 in March! We are so excited! We just found out we're having a boy! So, here we go again!

Also, Matt's brother got married! It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so excited to continue to see how God uses them as couple. Addie was a flower girl...such a sweetie.

We celebrated two very special birthdays in October-Miss Addie Grace and Matt! What a fun time it's been celebrating my two favorite people this month!

I'm leading a small mom's group on Tuesday nights through our church called Mother2Mother. It has been a wonderful time of connecting with other moms and learning from each other as well as ultimately letting God use that time to teach us!


I'm sure there's more I could go into detail about our little family, but it's time for me to get ready for bed. Hopefully it won't take me so long to update next time! Here's a few pictures of the past few months. She's changing so fast!

 Love my baby girl!

We love fall!

It's a boy! 

4th of July Fun

9 months and having a blast! She's crawling everywhere and getting into everything! I know, everyone keeps saying "just wait until she's walking."  We are enjoying seeing her grow and develop such a little personality. She seems to already be a little social butterfly and smiles when we're around new people. She's also very adamant when she doesn't want to do something and gets a little attitude. As for now, it's still cute. I know it won't be for much longer-ha! 

Another Fabulous Fourth!

We had a blast at the parade in Kenilworth, enjoyed seeing lots of friends and family too. We also had some pool time the next day with family. Lot of fun! And going out to the country with the Hamilton's that weekend was such a sweet time. It was nice to get away from the city for a little while and relax in the country! Here are a few pictures!

AG is so loved by her grandparents! They've already spoiled her rotten!


                                             These Daddy's love their girls!

Making Memories 

Getting some MeMaw love! 

~Sweet Summertime~

It's summertime and we are loving it! We're getting into our "summer schedule" and adjusting to life with me being home again. The school year ended and here we are already a week into June. Since June is my birthday month and anniversary month, there's a lot to celebrate. I had a wonderful time with family and friends celebrating my birthday all week. I've felt so loved!

One thing about the summertime in south Louisiana is it is HOT and very HUMID! But that is why we spend a lot of time at the pool, inside, or staying outside for only a little while. We've actually had more visits to the pool already and we're loving it!

Something I've been wanting to challenge myself in is being content. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to know- what's next? What can I do to stay busy today? What can I get for the house? What new clothes do I need (or nowadays, what new clothes does baby girl "need")? Anything to keep me going or having something to do with my time. I came across this blog, nancyrayphotography.com. On the blog(which is like ten times cooler than mine, by the way), she shares about a challenge she's doing called "The Contentment Challenge." As I read about it, I thought, "no way, this would be too hard for me." But as I started to really think about it and especially in the summer with more time on my hands, I knew I needed to do this right now. I prayed about it and I knew God was leading me to take on this challenge. Go ahead and look at the blog if you're interested in all the details and guidelines. The challenge is to "give up shopping for clothes, accessories, household decor, and "stuff" for 3 months to focus our hearts and minds on the root of true contentment. You actively pursue fulfilling activities that will replace your addiction to material things."(Nancy Ray)

So I'm not putting this on here to say, "look at me, watch me do this because I'm so awesome." By far, I'm putting it on here so that I can have accountability and maybe even encourage you to try it as well if you're struggling with this. It is to pursue something greater and something that has eternal fulfillment instead of temporary joy. Because usually when I buy that new item that I didn't need, it's only a temporary joy. The challenge is to help me gain perspective on the things that really matter and have eternal value. It is to help me to spend time resting, being more intentional with my time and ultimately being content. I'm doing it for the months of June and July.

My goals for June are to read the book "7" by Jen Hatmaker, get rid of clothes and stuff we don't use, learn some basics of sewing (got a sewing machine for my birthday), cook at least 4 times a week, and have/maintain a healthy lifestyle (eating, exercising, etc). Now, some of these are just basic goals and some have to do with the contentment challenge, but either way, there they are. I get a little nervous putting them here because that means you know what I'm working towards. But that is something else I really want for myself is to be more authentic, to not pretend I have it all together in front of other people. Because I DON'T and I desperately need Jesus. So, ultimately, I hope that's what you see, is my need for HIM in every aspect of my life. And this challenge is something I hope He uses to make me more like Him.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world." 1 Timothy 6:6-7

                                                                   Baby dedication

                                                  Anna graduated from nursing school!!

                                        Katie and Steven are getting married in September!

                                                  Family night at the box! Geaux Tigers!

                                            Fun memorial day at False River with the family.

                                                            First time in a big pool!

                                                          Happy Birthday Mommy!

                                                        Loving our little family of three!