Adventure Day!!!

Tuesday we had an "Adventure Day"

I am trying really hard to stay home and do things with the kids there (bc its cheap :) but somtimes you've gotta get out of the house! With all the Disney excitement I know an Adventure day would have to take place this week! Todd was off so we decided to go for it!

We loaded up the kids and didn't tell them where we were going. (thats always fun!)

We took them 45 minutes to Vicksburg, MS to the splash pad and park.
 {{insert: Yes we have splash pads closer to our house but I wanted something different!}}

They LOVED IT! They played for hours. The ambience there is really nice. They have fun music playing, when we arrived there was a Disney tune on! After a few hours of running and jumping we took a walk down to the river front to view the murals built on the Levee wall. They kids adored getting to see this HUGE paintings up close.

Of course, when at the river you have to view the Mighty Mississippi upclose.

After our walk, we headed to the car and took a drive across the Mississippi bridge into Lousiana! We stopped at the rest stop to have a picnic lunch and the kids collected information on Lousiana.

We road around some of the smaller towns in that area then headed back to the hospitality state.

We had one more "stop" on the adventure. We headed up to visit one of the canons used during the civil war. Gavin's quote was "It is as big as my head..."

Once we got home-we dressed up as pirates & princesses and took our adventure outdoors for some fun at the "jolly roger play ground"

All in all-it was  a really fun day!

The Highlight Reel

Today is my due date. The date that I have been dreading for 7 months now. This morning I woke up to an email from a private adoption friend saying the June baby we were *praying* for-has been born prematuraly and that the mom isn't looking into adoption anymore. Another let down in this rollercoaster of adoption pain.

I know that God has a plan for our family and for each of his children. My heart aches as we move on with the persuit of another child. Our #3 will be here one day. Today-just isn't it.

With that said, Yesterday on Twitter, Kelly tweeted about how she feels like every mother is at home sewing, baking, in their perfectly clean houses. And I thought to myself-thanks to social media (blogs-pinterest) we are all basing thoughts on the highlight reels of others.

Tuesday-we took the kids on a daytrip, Tuesday Night we did laundry. Wednesday we worked on closets and stuff all day (getting ready for Disney) so our house was neglected. When kelly posted her tweet, I snapped a photo of our laundry room (right then) and sent it to her. I wanted her to see the unperfect lifestyle that we were having so she would see that no-not every house is perfect or clean all the time.

As mothers-we put so much pressure on ourselves to make sure we do all the motherly duties plus wifely duties-plus extra duties. That we build up this idea of perfect life in our mind and when we don't meet it we allow ourselves to get down. When in fact-everyone has a laundry room that looks like this at somepoint in life.

This week is a hard week for me. I knew the due date would put a big damper in my mood. It is so hard to think I could be having a baby right now-and be joyful that I am lying on my couch with my 2 girls. I have a room full of baby clothes and a crib that is ready for a baby that is lying in a hospital in the NICU with a young mother that wasn't sure 6 months ago if she even wanted to be a mother and now-has a huge responsibility on her hands.

I have to take these "messy" issues and expose them for the simple fact-someone out in our world is going through this same thing-and I don't want you to see my highlight reel-I want you to see the real me.

Today-I am choosing to be happy and thankful. Ever so often, my heart begins to sink and my mind wonders off on the what could be. Then I pull it back to reality and say Thank You God for these blessings you have given me.

Tomorrow-I will be back with details on our day trip tuesday and some other things we have done this summer. 8 more days til Disney-

we are entering crazyville.

Life is crazy. Thats about how I feel. We are a few weeks away from our Disney vacation and I can not wait!

On the SAH front...it is going good. Todd and I were in our room the other night talking and he said, "I sure do like you being home all the time". I told him I sure was thankful that I didn't have to get up and go to work the next morning...or any morning for that because I had so much to do.

I have realized (so far) that I was an extremely stressed person suffering from severe depression and I masked it by staying busy. Being here all day has taught me alot. This week I am really struggling with the thought of all the "things" we have. I am 85% sure I am ready to sell it all and move to a farm way out in the country.

I am seeing, with the help of God, that we are way too materialistic in this house. I did an experiment the last 2 weeks. $50 of groceries...for 2 weeks. It forced us to eat what we had in the house. How many times have you said, "we have nothing to eat!" when in fact you meant, "we have nothing that I want to eat!" We ate until the pantry was almost empty and the fridge was bare. Then we refilled.

Also, the desire to go and buy new things for the house isn't there anymore. I am very content in what we have. Sure I would love new towels, but ours aren't that old.

I am praying about what we should do over the next year about the "extras". Television is a HUGE thing in our house. I believe that is the next to go or maybe instead of 5 tvs we will downsize to 1. I think we are going to take a year off of extracurriculars except tball and girlscouts. Those are both 1 small payment instead of monthly. I really want to simplify....everything. And really just get down to the basics. (Food, Water, Shelter, Family)

Let me pause to say that I am so thankful for my husband. He is working so hard so I can do this experiment and doing it with a happy heart. He is under alot of stress to provide a 2 income family with 1 (new job) income. I am proud of him of so thankful for his desire to better our marriage and our family.

On the Adoption front, the other night Todd and I had a few hours to ourselves thanks to his aunts helping his mom keep the girls for the evening. So we went and had an appetizer at a simple restaurant. While we were waiting to be seated sweet Alison and her family walked in! This was my first "blogger to blogger meet" and it was so much fun! And VERY weird to know alot about these people just from reading their blog!

We are patiently praying and waiting for God to show us our #3. All of the paper work is done and we are simply waiting to be matched. Unlike international adoption you don't get put on a list and counted down...you get matched with either a potenital birth mother or a waiting child. Our criteria is under the age of 2. So it could be a newborn-2 year old, boy or girl or even TWINS! We are very excited for Him to reveal His plan to us. But we know it will come in His time...not ours.

I have alot of pictures to upload (trip to science museum, instagram photos, and a few more!) I will get to those tomorrow!

This week the kids are going to another VBS at the Methodist Church. Alot of their school friends are at this VBS and they wanted to see them! I couldn't say no to 3 hours of me time a day! They really enjoyed it today and said they wanted to go back tomorrow. So I will get to go for a good run in the morning!

How much does a large utility tote hold?!?!

Since this month's special with Thirty-One is spend $35 get the Large utility tote for $10 I thought I would show you HOW much the large utility tote can hold! Enjoy my video!

And remember I have 2 parties closing this week if you want to take advantage of this special! www.mythirtyone.com/SarahMS
All you have to do is order thru one of the parties and have your stuff sent to your house! Can't get much easier than that!

in the kitchen

Some food we are loving this summer are....

Oven-Roasted Corn.

Turn your oven on 400.

Stick corn in the oven.

Cook until brown.

the corn steams itself and is so full of flavor! You don't even need butter!

 Kale Chips. The Girls ADORE these! you take Kale and remove the vein. Toss them in a little EVOO and Sea Salt then stick them in the oven til Crispy!

Random Happenings :)

A random Thursday....I have discovered that my kids Adore cheez-its. They want them everyday with lunch. Well with cheez-its being 2.50 a box and them going through 4 boxes in 7 days (yes I am serious. They adore them.) I had to find an alternative route. So off to the dollar tree I went where I found.....

 For $1.00 a box. Now, I know..."They can't taste like real cheez-its." But they are very close! Even I couldn't tell that big of a difference. I divided them up into bags and got 1 weeks worth of lunch crackers out of 1 box! so for $4.00 as opposed to $10.00 We have a new snack at the house.

 To keep on the food...The kids (and Todd) have become loving of pancakes this summer. I think its me being home and up to make them. I have perfected my pancake making. Check out this circle of yummy whole wheat pancake goodness :)

Another Dollar Store find was Make your own Pizza kits! They had 2 crust in a pack, pepperonis, and pizza sauce all for $1.00 each! I had cheese from taco night so on Monday we had make your own pizza lunch! It was really GOOD! ($3.00 for pizzas and we have plenty of sauce and pepperonis left over for another round!)

This summer Madyson is taking swim lessons. She started swimming a few weeks ago at the beach but needed some technique. Todd's dad offered to pay for her lessons so we signed her up with the BEST swim teacher ever! Mrs. Barlow taught me swim lessons 23 years ago! and she is teaching Madyson now! I LOVE IT!

 And if you follow me on Twitter, you saw where at 12:15am Monday morning...madyson walked into my room and said "I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH!) At 10:45 Tuesday night, it was out! The tooth fairy visited and brought $2.00 :)

 We have been doing school each morning to help the kids stay on track through the summer. We do Bible, Reading, Writing, Math, Computer, Science and Art. The kids really enjoy it! We start our day off with this (8am and work til 10am) then we spend the rest of the day playing :)

 Their favorite activity is swinging. They are some swinging monkies :)

 and this little thing is just so loving right now! I adore age 4!

ALSO DON'T FORGET!!! This month's special at Thirty-One! I have 2 parties open online you can shop from! www.mythirtyone.com/sarahms

The parties close on the 14th & the 15th!

AK's TBall Party!

Aubrie Kate played Tball for the first time this year! We (the broadus girls) are not very sportsy when it comes to playing sports that involve doing multiple things (hitting, running, throwing, tagging out...) esp. when it is HOT. Now don't get me wrong, we love sports! We just like Cheerleading, Dance...long distance running to the IPOD type :)


But Aubrie Kate tried Tball this year at the request of a dance buddy and I am so glad she did!

This past Saturday are fabulous coaches hosted a swimming party for the team and each girl got a medal and a trophy. Aubrie is over the moon with her trophy, she cleans it daily :)

 Allie, Aubrie, Ramsee, and Pollyanna in the wading pool :)

 Aubrie "that's not my bat" Broadus getting her medal and trophy from Coach Brent :)

So proud!!

 Happy Little Team :)

13 years.

13 years ago tonight, at 11:37pm I lost my best friend.

For a small recap, a bunch of incoming High school sophomore girls went to a high school guys birthday bbq. On the way home (the girls were in 3 separate cars) One car flipped and crashed then was struck by another car. In the main car was 4 of my dearest friends. Jennifer Shelby (who Madyson is named after) She was killed and the others injured.

My entire life was changed that night. We had a group of friends but Jennifer was my best friend. I wasn't in the car with her. I was in the first of the 3 cars. But as soon as we got the call, I was at the scene and the smell and the sounds and the lights....It is still so fresh in my mind.

Today, 13 years later, I sit holding my girls thanking God for everyday we have together because you never know when that last day will be. Jennifer was such an amazing person. I see her spirit in her niece Shelby (who is 1 year older than Madyson) she is a performer like her aunt and full of happiness too.

The other day I had todd pull out boxes of memorabilia from my jr. high and high school days. It was so nice to see pictures of her and her smile and to read notes from her. And just for a minute I could smell her perfume and hear her laugh.

I miss her greatly but rejoice that while I am here on earth figuring out whatever God's plan is for me, she is in heaven hanging out with Him watching from above.

Enough.

I am heading into week 3 of stay at home mom life and I am getting more and more questions about "how it is going", so I thought before I bombard you with pics from the weekend, I would share.

For me deciding to quit work without a financial plan on how we would pay our bills, keep our lifestyle... was totally a faith in God moment. I knew in my heart that it was time for me to be a mom. I had missed out on so much of my girls lives because of work. I went back to work 2 weeks after Aubrie Kate was born because I was "needed". I continued to work 40+ hours a week because it was my "job". When I was at the church I was given the first bit of comfort in knowing "its okay to be a mom". Man, that was a huge blessing. When I left the church to go work for the social media company I knew that God wanted me back in the "real world". I was going to be a rockstar and do my thing. But then 2 months into it I came to the realization that it wasn't enough for me to be a rockstar for my friends, or to do my job because in reality I wasn't doing my job.

I saw this story....

"Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. The Gate had announced the plane was ready for boarding
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'
The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'
They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'
"Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..
"I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough..' May I ask what that means?'
He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory. I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting. I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
He then began to cry and walked away.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.
TAKE TIME TO LIVE...."

and thought to myself. I need to live. I need to do my JOB. I am needed not in the work place, they are their own rockstars. I am I needed as a mom. Maybe God's plan for me was to show me, that I didn't need that confirmation of being a working mom anymore. Maybe his plan was to break me of the pride that I felt being able to juggle it all. Who knows what it is. All I know is that I never felt more needed by my children during those 2 months.

Before we decided to take the leap of faith and for me to stay home. Todd and I sat down and talked to the girls. We explained how life would change. Chick-fil-a would no longer be a daily thing, Chuck-e-Cheese would have to see us for birthday parties only, can't run to the store to pick up that new toy or other none necessary item. It was going to be the basics and mommy. (my paycheck was our "play money") We asked them if they were okay with this and they both agreed.

3 weeks into this experiment and they have only asked for chick-fil-a once. They are enjoying our days of playing and exploring and tell me on more than one occasions how happy they are that I am home.

Each day that passes by and every milestone that we hit, I see my girls growing more rapidly. No longer are they babies, toddlers or preschoolers they are kids now. And they are at the point in their life that they are capable of making decisions on how to act in public or how to treat other people. Where do I want them learning these skills from? Me (and Todd). My desire for my girls is to have a relationship with me that is open, loving, and secure. Where I would be better than a gift certificate and they knew confidently that I had the time for them.

I have been that working mom for six years. I know the rewards it reaps but I am learning the rewards it brings to be a mom full time. I always thought to myself, we would NEVER be able to afford me to quit work and to be honest, its can get a bit stressful. But we are being very diligent with our finances, not buying things we don't need, staying away from sonic and chick-fil-a, not eating out as much and just spending more time at home as a family.

I have never been as happy as I am now. I am calm, I am productive, and I am at peace.

“… seek peace and pursue it.”Psalm 34:14 (NIV) 

This week in Instagram

We got back from the beach on Monday! Tues-Fri we have spent it at the house, at the pool, at the park....
Cleaning....playing....having fun!

Summer is off to a really good start and I am getting the hang of this stay-at-home mom stuff!



Since it is June 1 I want to share what the Thirty-one special is for the month!

Spend $35 get the large  utility tote for $10!! This is a great tote for the beach! I took mine there this past week. It held 4 towels, the thermal tote cooler, floaties, sunscreen, and my zipper pouch.