A weekend in Mobile

2 weekends ago we decided to drive down to Mobile (where Todd's grandma lives) to visit her and Todd's dad and stepmom (who were also there visiting). Lucky for us it was Mardi Gras Weekend! The girls had never been to a Mardi Gras parade before so we took the opportunity to expose them to "Beads"

 AUbrie Kate loved the idea of Mardi Gras...esp. when she learned she got to wear funky clothes and fun hair

 madyson waiting on the parade.

This was our neighbor's set up. they found that couch on the side of the road...notice the net for catching. They were too funny.

After the parade! They were loaded down the beads!!

When we returned home, my mom had purchased the girls some new clothes! They wore them that monday...its amazing what new clothes will do to a kid! Here are their sassy selves

 Both outfits were under $20. One from Gymboree Clearance, 1 from Dilliards!

Oh...The highlight of MY weekend?? I found 2 chairs in the garbage!!!

 and my sweet husband loaded them for me!! Gotta love being married to a willing garbage diver!

Fun Friday: SLoth

I am sure you have seen this, but if not, the Sloth meltdown on Ellen. I get this way alot, about random things...

Simplify.

the past 2.5 weeks have been chaotic.

 We had Adoption Classes m-f 5:30-8:30, 45 minutes away from our house 2 weeks ago. then last week we had revival at church. Both were a blessing and much needed but BOY did it cause havoc on our house. Its a big ole mess right now.

So, I have decided to join in with "White House Black Shutters" and do 40 bags in 40 days. I am really hoping I can do this. The hardest part of being a working mom is the few hours a day we are actually at home. So I am saving the big stuff for weekends and hoping to knock it all out!

I have such a desire to have a simply life. All the clutter and such just drives me crazy. I am going to do my best to "rid" of it all. Who knows...I might even open the garage full of good picks and have a sale.

We will see!

In other news, I would like to introduce you to our newest family member, Minnie.

 Minnie is our newest rescue. Todd and I are huge animal lovers. We currently have 2 cats and 3 dogs living at our house. Plus we have 3 more with my parents. Minnie was dropped off in Todd's work parking lot (as was Roger) She is the sweetest little dog. She minds well, sleeps through the night, doesn't run off if she isn't on her leash, doesn't chew on things..her only fault is she will not potty train. So it looks like we will be going to obedience school.

 Rescue dogs make the best pest! If you are thinking about getting a pet, I highly suggest adopting one.

Looks like we are going to need a new family photo.

Momma, it wiggles.

This weekend we took a trip to Mobile to visit Todd's dad, stepmom, and grandmother. We haven't seen them in over a year and they were down for Mardi Gras, so we decided to pack up the car and join them.

We hadn't been in Mobile 45 minutes when Madyson came to me and said, my tooth hurts. Figuring she had bumped her mouth playing or she was getting a cavity, I said, "Well let me see". I was looking in her mouth and I asked her "where?" and she pointed to her little bottom tooth. When I touched it, it moved!

I didn't say anything and she responded with "Momma, It wiggles!!!" This is a huge deal for her. I didn't loose my first tooth til 2nd grade, so I was assuming my children would be the same, and stay babies forever. Boy, was I wrong!

Within 20 minutes of discovering the loose tooth, it was dangling on a string of floss.

The Tooth fairy came to visit. Leaving $2 for her first tooth. She was so excited to "sell" her "old" teeth.

My baby is now a kid. and yes, I cried.

Our annual love day.

 This year's love day was alot different than the past few years. In 2010, we saw a wreck, that ended in death...missed nap...melted down before dinner..you can read it here Love day 2010. Then on
 Love Day 2011 we were suffering from the flu :(.

 This year however, we seemed to make it through the day.  I woke early and prepared the girls favorite simple breakfast (eggs and pancakes) they woke up to happy treats of a tshirt, shaky cup, candy, and suckers. After breakfast they got dressed and went to school for their valentines parties.

After their parties we headed to walmart to pick up a few things for Aubrie Kate's birthday party! (I can't wait for you to see it!!!) Here is my "crew" at walmart. I make them all ride in the buggy to prevent someone ki*nappin* them. (have you seen that video??)

They came home and ate alot of candy, then the 4 of us went to our favorite spot to have dinner. Pizza Hut. We are always the only ones in there and they get the whole play area to themselves. (Plus dinner is under 17$ bucks for all of us ;)

Todd got off work and met us at church and we attended a life action service. It was a great way to spend our Love day.

Happenings

Life Action is over. I am so sad. I really do enjoy coming to church everyday and being fed the word of God. Once they leave, its reality and I know have to do it own my own. I can though.

The greatest thing about Life Action is last night, my dad was in church. Its been a long time since he sat in church for something other than a funeral, wedding, or musical performance. I was so happy he was there.

There has been alot going on in our family so lets catch up, shall we? and excuse the terrible phone photos, my big camera is in todd's truck and I keep forgetting to get it out!

Madyson and her class had a field trip to the Rodeo. Then they had a "Cowboy Lunch" afterwards.

Aubrie Kate had a school music class "parent's day" she loves singing and music.

Finally, after 2 years of praying, wrong roads, etc. Todd and I have completed our 15 hours of adoption training, turned in all paper work, been fingerprinted, and tested for TB.

Next we have our homestudy update then it will be baby time. We have a prospective mom, but we are also looking into the foster system at ages 2 and under. No decisions have been made, because we haven't felt a direct answer from God on which way to go. We knew though we had to finish all this first.

These are my new obsession. I adore them. I also like the smore flavor. great for a quick snack. 

We survived valentines day! more on that saturday. Here are the valentines I made for Aubrie's class. Thank you Pintrest!

This weekend we are taking a quick get-a-way to visit Todd's dad, stepmom, and brother. We are excited about our little road trip!

Glory: Life Action post #2

Last night Steve & Jeremiah both taught. I really enjoyed Jeremiah's lesson on Glory. And have decided to share my notes from it.

What is Glory? When God's holy life goes public. Lesson from Jeremiah 13:1-11

Questions asked:

Do you understand your responsibility when you call yourself a Christian? To do it all in the Glory of God. To Honor Him, To put nothing before him.

What is an idol? Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God.

Jeremiah then asked us, "what is an idol in your life?" Immediately a word popped into my head. I said to myself.."no, thats not an idol."

He gave the diagram of: When you Refuse to Listen ->you become stubborn ->which leads you to create idols ->and makes your life worthless.

He gave the illustration of standing in front of a mirror and said, "Whatever is in front of you is what you will reflect." I began to think of how many time I have watch a popular reality tv show that is about singles throwing themselves at a man..is that what I want to reflect? Or how about being too busy in the morning to sit down with God, first thing. An idol?

Jeremiah then said, "I asked you earlier what was an idol in your life. I am sure something popped into your head, and  you said to yourself no...thats not an idol"

So he gave a list:
~Work: do you work more than you spend time with God?
~Kids: do you spend so much time being a good mom, you lack the time to be a Godly mom?
~Marriage: Do you value your spouse more than God?
~TV: Do you watch more television than you spend time with God?
~Shopping: Do you spend more on stuff than you give to your church?
~Eating: Do you invest time into food when others are hungry?
~Money: Do you store away money while your church needs help providing?
~Reputation: Do you value your reputation as a "good Christian"? It takes more than showing up for worship, going to Sunday School and tithing to be a Christian.
~Fear: Does your fears control you?


At the end of the service he asked us to write down that word(s) that was our idol. And then he asked us, if we felt led, to come and place it on the alter and give it to God. I took my word down, prayed and asked God for his guidance in this matter.

What are your idols?

Life Action post

This week, we have the pleasure of hosting Life Action at our church. They were here last year and I took away so much from their teachings. We have alot of friends that have moved or on mission trips and are missing this week, so I am posting my notes from each lesson. They will not be in order of how they were taught to us, but I will do my best to post them all.

Our first lesson is from 2/12 pm service. Steve taught about "The sport of fools"

We as humans, find it normal to look at our life and compare it to others. I spoke about coveting a few weeks ago, and this lesson, spoke words to me. Here are the steps that he discussed how we become discontent with our lives.

*Discontentment: A lack of gratitude for what God has provided.*
Discussion from 2 Corinthians 10:12 & Psalm 73


I. Comparison: we compare us to them.
a. Home: examples: They are building a new home, our house is small, we need a big home...even if we can't afford it.
b. Mate: examples: we see their spouse at their best and ours at their worst. Then we compare the two.
c. Finances: examples: I would love to go on a European vacation like them, but we can't afford it. We can't even pay our bills. I bet they never have that problem. It must be nice to be rich.
d. Clothes: examples: I can't wear these shoes! They are old and ugly. I wish I had shoes like hers. 
e. Acceptance: examples: She is so outgoing, and has lots of friends. I don't fit in anywhere, I don't belong to anyone. 
f. Marital Status: examples: Why am I  still single and my little sister is engage? why did my marriage fail and theirs work?
g: Parents: examples: I wish my parents had of done that for me. Why does my dad wear black socks with sandals?
h: Future: Never in a million years will my life be as good as theirs. 
 

II.Complain: Ways we whine.
a. Negative: When you are always negative eventually you become...
b. Angry: and after being angry for so long you just become....
c. Bitter

III.Criticize: Your spouse, your boss, your friends, your children.... 

IV. Condemn
a. Assume negative (the worst about a situation)
b. Judgmental 
c. Gossip 


Steve shared a story about a family whose 5 year old was diagnosed with leukemia. Instead of the family going into the initial meeting with the doctors having a "why me" attitude. They decided to "Make God look good in all circumstances". Throughout treatment dr.'s and nurses commented on how great their outlook was. And they shared that it was because of the Lord. How often do we allow God to look good in all circumstances? 


How can we fix our discontentment? 


I. Confess
a. Specific areas
b. self pride
c. the need to rejoice


II. Change your focus
a. yourself
b. pride
c. others
d. insecurities


at the end he challenged us to get in groups of 3/4 and talk about where we have discontentment in our lives and to pray that God helps us remove these. I was in a group with some of the older members of our church. We shared, then I led the prayer. I am not a group prayer (hard to believe with as much as i like to talk...) but I felt God saying, "let go of your pride, and speak to me, just like you do when its just us." 

 
   

Working Mom

I am taking a break from Fun Friday to talk about my life as a Working Mom (for Kelly's Show Us Your Life) I am the mom to two wonderful little girls Madyson (5) Aubrie (3) and my husband and I are in the domestic adoption process for our precious #3.

I have been a working mom for all but 6 months of my children's life. At the beginning I worked insane hours, climbing the ladder of success, and state hopping for meetings just to fulfill my goal of becoming a successful woman.

Then God grabbed a hold of me and took me on a wild rollercoaster. He snatched the reins of life out of my hands and planted me in the church that I grew up in. (Feel Free to Read all of 2009 post to see the plan of God unfold infront of your eyes)

I have been apart of this team since June of 2009. And I am so thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to work at a place that understands family is most important and doesn't make me feel guilty for being a mom. I might not make as much money as I did before, but the ability to have lunch with my kids, bring them to work, and be off with them when needed is worth more than money.

So here is our daily schedule.

6am: wake up/shower.
6:30am: wake kids up, feed them breakfast, get myself dressed
6:45am: get them dressed, teeth brushed, hair done, etc.
7:15am: Dad leaves for work
7:30am: Drop madyson off at school
7:45am: Drop Aubrie Kate off at Preschool
8:00am: arrive at work. Have quiet time with the Lord/coffee.
8:30-2pm: Work
2:00pm: Leave work to pick up Aubrie Kate from Preschool
2:17pm: get in carrider line
2:30pm: Madyson gets in the car
2:45pm: Home/ Snack Time
3:00-4:00pm: Play outside or Movie if its raining
4:00-5:00pm Homework, read book for AR, get lunch ready for the next day, pack backpack for next day
5:00pm: start dinner. Girls Play
6:30pm: Todd gets home from Work and we eat dinner
8:00pm: Girls get in bed

 On Mondays both girls have ballet from 4:15-5:45 so we do homework and such while the other is in dance class. Then we go to Family Bible Study at 6:30 were we finish homework, and study together.

On Wednesday Nights: we have Church so we eat dinner at the church then have service and such.
One Thursday Night a month: Madyson has girl scouts, Aubrie tags along.
and starting this Spring, Aubrie will be playing T Ball.

Our life gets very chaotic sometimes. Todd's work doesn't allow for him to miss alot, so when he is off, we stop whatever (including missing dance...etc) to be a family. That is the most important.

A few things that help me is:
1) we have a family calender where I write out everything for that month. It is positioned in our pantry for all to see.

2) We do everything for the next day before dinner. Picking out clothes, getting bags ready, etc. that way in the mornings we aren't rushing around. NONE of us are morning people so it helps alot.

3) We keep a chalk board in our kitchen that we write out grocery needs, things that need to be done around the house etc. we all help out on this so its not just one persons responsibility.

4) Stopping when I see fit. I do not care if we are at every dance class. Sometimes, life is too much and the girls need a break. By not trying to be everywhere at all times, it helps us relax and breath.

Thanks for visiting the Broadus Bunch! We would love to have you join us as a follower so you can keep up with our crazy life!

growing up

Madyson is growing up so much right now. We are well into our 2nd half of kindergarten and I am seeing such a huge change in her. She adores school. I have no doubt in my decision to send her to school, and public school at that. She has 2 amazing teachers and she honestly looks forward to going each and every day.

In January, she started the Accelerated Reader program. She loves to read and I find I can no longer spell out words to Todd, because she will sound them out and catch me.

Her handwriting is slightly better, she is def. my child when it comes to writing. We do not boast at having good penmanship, ever.

Spiritually, I can see her growing more in Christ each day. Yesterday, her heart blew Todd and I out of the water. At school, if they stay on the green light they get a treat at the end of the day. Madyson had a snicker bar (her favorite) she got in the car and proceeded to tell me all about her "SNEEKER bar" then her sweet friend that rides with us, said "I didn't get one because I was talking". Me, not thinking much about it said, "well thats okay buddy, you can get one tomorrow" Just then, madyson spoke up. "Here, you can have mine. Its a sneeker bar, its peanuts and caramel and chocolate, its my favorite, but I want you to have it." She then, turned her snicker bar over to her friend and sat back and was okay with her decision. My heart stopped. My five year old, has been listening. We have been talking alot about Grace in our house. The definition we use is "getting something great that you don't deserve" She deserved the candy bar, because she stayed on green. But because her friend did not, she shared her "something great" with him.

I was so moved by her decision and attitude. I told Todd about it and he just hugged her and told her how awesome she was. On the way home from Adoption Class last night, we stopped at the store and bought her a bag of mini snickers. When we got home, we explained how proud we are of her for showing grace to her friend. How she made us happy and God happy, just by using her heart. we presented her with the bag of snickers and told her these were not a reward for showing grace, these were a gift from us to her, because we are proud of her achievements in school. She was elated and ate one at that moment.

While all of the above sound fabulous, she is dealing with the pressures of "mean kids" at school. She wears glasses, has eczema and has dark arm hair (like her Italian momma). The arm hair thing, I totally relate to. I was made fun of alot for having more hair than normal girls. I was called things like Hairy Goat, Wooly, and other hurtful names. My mom would say, "your hair is beautiful"..um no mom, its weird. So right now, we are learning how to cope with hurtful words. I feel the urge to bop little kids on the head, but instead I remind her that God carefully creates each of us. He designs our eyes, our skin..he knows the number of hairs on our head...and I am sure he knows the number on our arms as well. We talk about how he doesn't make mistakes and sometimes children see "differences" in others and use that to hurt them.  But thats because they haven't been taught how to love everyone, despite their differences.

She is growing and learning and understanding. My baby is no longer a baby, but a child. and a wonderful one at that.

Weekend and crazy weeks ahead

Welcome to the world of overbooked/crazy weeks. and YES...i know I did this to myself.

First the weekend.

Saturday morning Madyson had a girl scout activity. It was lesson of Zink the Zebra. Zink teaches us to love each other regardless of our differences. She had a great time. While we were at Girl Scouts, Aubrie Kate was hanging out with Todd's Mom, and Todd was at work!

After our morning we went and met grandmomma and aubrie kate at Corner Bakery for lunch. The kids love going there, as do I.

Once we ate all of our lunch, we headed to Target to pick up a birthday gift for a friend. We drove home in the monsoon and then Todd and Aubrie jumped in the car to head to a birthday party. Madyson and I stayed home and made our grocery shopping list.


When Todd and Aubrie Kate got home from the party, we all headed out to Sams & Kroger to get stuff for our Super Bowl Party. (which, I have NO pics of :(

Sunday Morning we got up, went to church, taught our classes first hour, second hour we worked the preschool hall. Then we went home to get ready for our party. we had 24 of our sweet friends and their babies over! The house was full, the food was off the charts, the fellowship was great. I love our friends!

This week Todd and I are in adoption classes Monday-Friday. We are so excited to be marking this step off of our to-do list. The classes are in Vicksburg, which is 40 minutes away from our house, so we have to drive there and back. But whatever gets us closer to our little one!

This weekend is LIFE ACTION! if you remember last year I blogged about the revival we had at our church. We enjoyed it so much and are so glad they are coming back this year! Saturday they will be doing a "Home Life Cafe" that discusses Marriage...Finances, etc. If you are in the Jackson area, I would LOVE for you and your spouse to come! Childcare is provided its 9am-1pm. Let me know, and you can sit with us!

Next week we will be doing revival until wednesday and then *hopefully* a little road trip during the weekend! Plus both girls have field trips and valentines parties! (and yes, I am homeroom mom for BOTH!)

WHEW....are you as tired as I am?

one last bit. Madyson sold 408 boxes of girl scout cookies! I am so proud of her!

Fun Friday! The Ellen Show

The Ellen Show is one of the Broadus' favorite shows! The kids and I dance along in the afternoons then Todd and I watch the DVR show at night!

The best part are the audience dancing before the show! Todd says this would be me.

11 things

 To help you get threw your hump day. My eleven things.

11 Random Things About Myself

1. I secretly want to have a blog alias so I can write about BIG things: politics, laws, etc.

2. I am working on going totally vegan. This is a slow process. Right now I am cutting cokes out of my diet. 1 a day is my allowance. This is a choice I have to make for myself.

3. My biggest regret in life is NOT going to culinary school. Stupid nursing school.....

4. I am the worst speller, grammar user EVER.

5. I teach first grade Sunday School and adore it. My kids are the most remarkable learners.

6. I sit at work jamming out to Glee soundtracks (in my headphones of course)

7. As stated in the previous post, I hate socks. It has to be below 20 for me to wear them.

8. My reading has been blah lately. I am having a hard choice deciding what to read.

9. I haven't watched home improvement shows on diy since the kitchen remodel. Still recovering.

10. However, I love me some nate berkus.

11. I am planning a junking trip to alabama soon.(p.s) this is my 400th post!

11 Questions to Answer:

1. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood. 

2. Name one song that you like to jam out to that is totally embarrassing.
probably vanilla ice, Ice Ice Baby...I rapped it, on stage, at a club once, in front of people.

3. Where do you want to send your kids to school? Public/private/homeschool?
For now, its public schools. We have an amazing district with awesome teachers. We are the random family that lets our kids pick. Madyson adores going to school and her friends. But if a situation ever arose that she asked to be homeschooled, we are prepared for that as well.

4. One food you will never grow tired of?
Quesadillas. I love them and eat them everywhere.

5. What is your favorite Pinterest search?
I love repurposing pins. Finding new use for old things.

6. Did you order Girl Scout cookies? If so what kind?
Yes! Since madyson is a girl scout we ordered alot. a few of each. We love them all.

7. What color do you decorate with most?
Blue & Green

8. Which store is a total guilty pleasure?
Target

9. What are your favorite baby names? 
we have alot. but i am not sharing :)

10. What is your dream home vision? 
country chic.

11. Is your current job your dream job? 
I love what I do. I wouldn't say it is my dream job, because that would be being a wedding planner for Disney. But I do enjoy what I do. I love the people I work with and the atmosphere.


Feel free to participate!