Different forms of Worship

I thought it would be neat to share with you the different forms of worship I enjoy most and hear what yours are too. I wholeheartedly agree that every aspect of our lives should show worship to the Lord but some ways are easier or more personal to some more then others. I feel the best way we can worship the Lord is by using our giftings and talents that He has personally laid inside us. Wouldn't you agree? These are some ways I personally love to Worship the King of Kings, and in no particular order.

Singing.
Anytime and anywhere. I love the typical singing on a Sunday morning at church or jamming out with the radio. I was in my schools choir for as long as I can remember and have always loved using my voice. A random fact, I used to be a total soprano but during a 7th grade chior concert the director needed more altos so I switched and have been an alto ever since. I physically can't sing super high notes anymore, without sounding like a dying cat or something.ha
Anyway, I love using song as a way to bring praise and it is also a beautiful way to pour your heart out sometimes. My all time favorite band is Switchfoot, I also enjoy Hillsong United and lately I've really been into Lauren Daigle.

Cooking/Baking.
Food, Food & more foooooood. I likey to eat! haha. I am super into cooking shows on TV and I watch a ton of them on Netflix. My newest obsession has probably been Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman. I seriously recommend checking her out if you're into good food too, and by good I mean made with tons of butter and probably not always "good" for your health lol. I can serve God when I am cooking because it brings me joy and I have a passion for whatever I'm making. I love seeing the smile on Katies face when she's eating a home cooked meal and when Troy tells me something is delicious. I love knowing their bellies are full and satisfied and I feel like I've somehow taken care of them. I love it and sure as heck can worship through it.

Writing.
No surprise here write (see my little joke there? lol.) My heart is very passionate about the art of writing. I am a huge list person, I probably write 2 or more lists per day if I'm honest. I learn through writing and it is a great tool of memorization for me. I doodle names, places anything really and play with different fonts and formats. I care about my penmanship a ton and have been known to start letters or birthday cards multiple times because it "didn't look good" to me. I have multiple journals laying around my house and just asked for another one for my birthday.
Writing releases tension for me and provides a safe and calm place. I take notes at any and every event, I write Troy love letters all the time, I journal  about life, jot down ideas and random thoughts, write down dreams and passions and I also write poetry. It all flows from the ballpoint of my pin to the pad of paper and I love every moment.

Being a wife & a mother.
You might be wondering how I can use this part of my life to serve and worship God or you may be thinking that this is a no brainer. Either way, allow me to explain. I have a spot in my husband's life and my daughter's lives that no one else can fill. My job is seek Christ first and be a shining light for Him to my family. To honor Him and teach my children about Him. I am privileged to be the one standing in and praying continuously for my home and those who reside in it. This is a position I do not take lightly. If this isn't considered an act of worship I'm not sure what is. God so graciously gave this family to me and I want to honor Him greatly.

So there you have it, four different ways I can and choose to worship in my life. I know God can talk to us in numerous ways for example my husband is very outdoorsy and athletic. God is continually speaking to him through physical education, long mountainous bike rides and more. I love how unique it is to him and his personality.
How do you personally worship in your life? I would love to know and encourage you to open your heart and ears and ask God what exactly He has placed specifically inside of you to bring Him glory.

XoXo

September Goals

It's time to share this months goals and then at the end of the month we will come together and share just how well or not so well we did. First let's take a look back at last months Goals and update with how I've done on achieving them.

1)I wasn't as patient or kind on some occasions as I could have been but so definitely see and feel improvement in this area and that's what counts.

2)I think I failed with giving her a bath weekly but.. maybe every week & a half? does that count.lol

3)I raise my hand admittedly and say I failed this one. It comes around to bite my in the butt when I forget to Brush her hair after she sleeps. Those tangles get so bad and then she cries as I try my best to be gentle whilst removing such nasty tangles. My poor girl. I am aiming to do way better at this.

4) Most unpacking is done, thanks mainly to my husband, but our place still doesn't feel completely Like "home" just yet.

5)We did great at only eating out if Troy wanted to and I tried my hand at some New meals for the first time. Cooking is a huge hobby for me so I loved it.

6) We did a decent job staying on budget so that's good news too. We definitely deserve a high five for that one. lol

Now September is here and I am excited for all that the new season is to bring. A feeling of refreshment and new opportunities. My birthday also falls in the month of September so that may be aiding in my excitement.

SEPTEMBER GOALS

Family-
°Have one date night a week with my wonderful husband. (This could include a movie at home or the theatre, having dinner together, going shopping,taking a walk together.)

°Continue helping Katie get ready for the day & learn those responsibilities as well.

Friends-
°Write a letter to a dear friend I've had on my heart for awhile.

Spiritually-
°Read my bible & journal more. (writing is a beautiful art of worship to me. I love writing on here, journaling and poetry.)

°Continue reading and finish Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman.

So those are my personal goals for this month. I really am striving to meet these goals but it has proven to be difficult at times. I am looking forward to this months fresh start and I hope you are too. 

How did you do with your goals from last month? What are your old or new ones for this month? Share with me in the comments below and let's encourage one another on this journey.

XoXo

Funny Friday

Lets start the day off with a good laugh and a smile on our face
enjoy!

(Mean girls anyone?)

Hahahaha!
I hope you guys enjoyed these just as much as I did.
Seriously, looking up funny things on Pinterest late at night when your beyond the

point of exhaustion is too fun.
Happy Friday
Hurray for the weekend!

(Follow me on Pinterest to see & repin these if you'd like)

Motherhood is hard

As a matter of fact, parenthood is plain hard. Whether you're a mother or a father, being a parent is rough. Don't get me wrong, being a parent is one of the greatest gifts and joys that life has to offer but this is not that blog post. No, this is the blog post about how crazy life gets when your name is mom, mother, mama or mommy. 

Raise your hand fellow mother if you have ever felt completely defeated. Raise your hand if you have ever felt at a loss in the midst of this journey. Raise your hand if you've ever cried in your bathroom while your children are crying and hanging onto your every limb while you pray your weary heart out. Is that last one just me? surly it can't be.

Plain & Simple.
I am currently adjusting to being a parent of two kids and while it has been amazing it has also been extremely rough. I know many of you have more than two children and probably think I'm joking when I say two kids is hard work but to me, in this current stage of my life, it is hard work. Most of our days seem to be pretty smooth sailing until daddy leaves the house. That's when all H-E double hockey sticks seem to break loose. Katie is extremely attached to Troy right now ever since Ella has been born. Honestly once summer break started and Troy has been home more, their bond has strengthened beyond anything I imagined it would, in such a short time. I love watching them develop their father daughter relationship. The only downfall to this is the scenario when Katie is unable to survive without daddy being near her every 5 minutes. She really loses her cool when he is away and with work starting back up, I'm not sure how she is going to do.
 I'm not sure how any of us will survive really. 

Thank you Lord that Ella is a very easy going baby so far. Though lately she gets really bad spouts of gas pain that cause her to cry and scream which makes it really hard for me to do anything other then hold her. I feel so bad for both my girls as they cry. One is crying because of emotional pain as her daddy is at work and I know she misses him terribly (trust me sister, so do I) and the other because she physically isn't feeling up to snuff.
Sometimes, in all the chaos and confusion, I feel lost.
I feel like I have no idea why God has entrusted me with these two tiny people.

 I feel so unworthy and not up to par.

 I feel more than ever before, my need to call upon the Lord and give him every part of my life.
I feel the burden of my self restricting thoughts being taken off.
I feel Him whisper gently that I am more than enough and I have my two daughters for reason and He will continue to carry me though this season.

 I feel a peace that is beyond my understanding just like He promises us in His word.
So, motherhood is capital H.A.R.D
 It's messy, tiring, trying, confusing, frustrating and heartbreaking at times. It's ok to admit that, you're normal and you're not alone.
So now fellow mothers instead of raising your hands I ask you to raise your voices in prayer. Pray for me and my strength to raise my two girls in a God fearing manner and for restoration to my soul. I vow to do the same for every one of you.
And because I know you need it just like I do, here's a hug.
;)

New Goals

As of late my life has been pretty crazy, crazy beautiful that is. Ella was born mid June and is now almost two months old, we moved into our new place a few short days ago and my husband is going back to work all too soon. Why must summer end? Next I begin planning Katie's 3rd birthday party for November! Yes, I am serious about already planning because that jazz takes forever to actually come to be. 

I currently did a guest post over at 

ourprettylittlegirls.com about being a girl mom and it was awesome. I love reading her blog and seeing all the cool things she's about. She recently talked about monthly goals she sets for herself and it has inspired me to
do the same. So let's get to it, here are my August 2015 goals...

1) Have a good attitude. Be more patient & show more Grace toward my husband, myself and our children (mainly my very energetic toddler).

2) Give Katie a bath at least once a week if not more, and use this as our special Katie & mommy time.

3) Brush & style Katie's hair every-single-stinking-day. Those tangles come fast and fierce for a toddler with curly hair.

4) Make our new place feel homeish & finish unpacking.

5) Make all home cooked meals. No more eating out unless desired by the hubby.(Side note, I read something that said a home cooked meal is anything you had a hand in preparing.

 I will take that statement to the bank.lol)

6) Stay on budget!
This is of major importance right now.

So there you have it, my current goals that I really hope I can stay loyal to. At first, I felt a little sketchy about setting goals for myself. I was unsure if it was the right time to do it or if I would be putting to much pressure on myself, after all I have a newborn right?
 But after some prayer I thought ya know, every stage of life will be different and present challenges so if not now, when? and then I made my list. Nothing to huge and yet completely realistic. Just what this mama needs.

Do you set goals for yourself?

How often and what are they?

Wish me luck in sticking to mine. :)

And because no post is complete without a cute little photo, 

this is one of my faves of Ella and I.

Ella Alana's Birth Story

I am so overjoyed to announce the arrival of Pamella Alana Boyer.
She is such a sweet heart and smells like heavenly bliss. Needless to say, we are head over heels and feeling awesome as a new family of four.

Fathers day was Sunday June 21st and it started off like any other Sunday in our house. Troy woke up early to head off for worship practice at our church and Katie and I slept until 9 that morning. I chose to wear the same dress I wore to my baby shower for Katie and noticed that it has tons of purple in it. Looking back this makes me smile because I always like the color purple for Ella. Right before Katie and I left for church I decided to snap a picture of my baby bump knowing full well it could be my last one considering I was 40 weeks and 5 days prego. After church was over we headed up to my grandfathers house at 1:30pm for a special family BBQ. I was incredibly excited to partake in the grilled hot dogs and freshly made potato salad, my grandmothers perfect recipe,  pure goodness I tell ya. Anyways, as we made our way there I told Troy that my stomach was feeling tight but that I truly didn't think much of it at the time. Around 2pm that "tightening" feeling began to intensify so using an app on my phone I started timing them. These contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes consistently and lasting anywhere between 20seconds to a minute long. I ate my lunch and made jokes about actually being in labor, praying that my body was truly beginning that journey. Soon it was 5:30pm and Troy and I decided it would be best to leave and go home for some last minute things and rest if baby Ella was soon to be on her way. Once we were home I dialed the midwife and told her my symptoms at the time. She thought it would be best if I came down and walked the hospital grounds and see if the contractions intensified. If they did I could just walk on up to labor & delivery and be checked in. On that note, Troy, Myself and Katie packed back into the hot car and drove over to my in laws to pick up Troys mom. She was who we had planned to help us take care of Katie while Ella was born. Once we all headed down to the hospital some major stress struck our car almost like a lightning bolt.
Katie was screaming her head off and I couldn't show an ounce of emotion otherwise
she would cry even more and tell me to just be happy. I felt miserable. I was so stressed out thinking that all of the craziness would cause my contractions to cease. A seriously aggravating thought when you're nearly a week past your due date. I admit to having a pretty sour attitude once we arrived at the hospital and wanting to walk alone and leave the rest of my gang to fend for themselves, silly hormones. ;)
After walking around and a few minutes spend praying and crying (or balling my eyes out.lol) in the car, I felt ready to go to labor & delivery and have my cervix checked, just for the fun of it.
Yeah right
We kissed Katie goodbye and Troy and I headed upstairs. Troy thinks its pretty humorous how I so calmly walked up to door, rang the bell and said "Yeah I think I'm in labor" and wam-bam-thank-ya-mam I had my baby a few hours later. It was now around 8:45 and I found out I was 3 and a half centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. They decided to have me walk the hallways or use the tub for a couple of hours until they would recheck me to see if any progress was made. Sure enough when they checked me again at 11pm I was 4cm and still 80% effaced, not a huge difference but enough that they decided to admit me as a patient.
Before I continue the L&D story let me just include how blessed I was to have the staff that was on that night help deliver my baby. They were seriously angles and Troy and I couldn't have asked for a better team.
So after we walked the halls and got admitted I decided the most comfortable position for me to face these contractions was lying down. I could not handle the more intense pain that came while I was trying to stand through them. While the contractions continued to intensify and become far to frequent for almost any relief, I was so glad my Midwife stayed by my side the entire time. She was so great at soothing me, talking to me, helping me breath through the pain and still remained such a solid coach through it all. Jesse, my nurse also stayed with me most of the time and was like a close friend, we truly appreciated her.  Soon enough the lovely anesthesiologist came around to my room and gave me a much wanted and appreciated epidural and hallelujah it was fantastic lol. After that we just relaxed and waited for the big moment of finding out it was time to push.  I could still feel the pressure from the contractions but the endless pain was at ease and for that I was grateful.  Around 5am they checked me again and I was at a 10 and it was time for this baby to make her way out. Call me off the wall or crazy (because I always told myself I wouldn't do this) but I chose to watch myself deliver her with a mirror & even touch her head as she was crowning. Yeah, kinda weird but one of the coolest experiences I hold in my heart. I also feel like watching helped me push through the contractions and focus and understand the process better. Surprisingly compared to my labor with Katie I only pushed for a solid 15 minutes and Ella was here. With all surprises to me I didn't even tear, and if you've ever had a baby and had to have an episiotomy (I did with Katie) or have torn you know how glorious it would be to avoid that drama. Troy and I had the privilege of being able to grab Ella once her head and arms were out and pull her up onto my chest. It was a beautiful moment to say the least. Finally my little and long awaited Pamella Alana was in my arms in all her beauty. Tears flowed and I was overcome with joy and fascination. She was born on June 22nd 2015 at 5:57am weighing in at 8(holy cow) pounds and 8oz and 20 and a half inches long. My biggest baby yet y'all. My aunt Sherri and father were in the room for my labor and delivery and it just made the moment even more special and unique. Ella is named after their mother, my grandmother and the girls Gigi, Pamela Lesley who passed away in July 2014. We miss you greatly grandma and I hope you know I could feel you with me every step of the way.

Some major stuff went down with me and my health almost immediately after I delivered Ella and I will explain all of that in an upcoming post. Until then I will count my blessings and hold on tightly to three of them. My loving and ever supporting husband and our two beautiful daughters.
Katie Annabelle & Ella Alana


Welcome to world Pamella.
Here is now another piece of my heart running around
the outside of my body & I trust in the Lord
to take care of you in every way better than I can.

I love you honey.

Bump date: Week 40 + A letter to Ella

My dearest little Ella, June 16th was officially your due date. Over the last few days I have thought your arrival was coming so much sooner than later but, here we are, still pregnant and you seem to be fine with that. I have enjoyed being pregnant with you so much, and I will never forget feeling you inside my womb, but my arms are ready to hold you now. I can't wait to hold you and smell your sweet new baby smell. To hold you and give every ounce of the glory to our heavenly daddy. To see your face and know your beauty. Oh what a beautiful moment it will be. I have always liked the color purple for you and have been seeing much more of it in the last few days. Purple flowers, purple clothes, purple cars, nearly purple everything and I keep wondering if maybe this means  you are coming soon. In these last few days and hours I have soaked up the last moments of our family of 3 and prepared my heart to become a family of four. I have imagined your daddy holding you bundled in his strong and protective arms, or your sister rubbing your cheeks and telling you just how soft you are. I lay in bed and secretly wait for contractions to begin, I wait for that feeling of "she is coming" and heading off to the hospital to meet you. Know my dear child that you are loved, and so greatly wanted and cherished. I am so thankful that Jesus chose me to be your mommy. A job I promise to never take lightly.
So, as for today I will continue to wait for you with my purple nails, special for you, and enjoy you in my tummy. But hey...come see me ok. :)
Love, Mommy at 40 weeks & 2 days




Bump date: Week 40

How far along: 40 weeks baby! A whopping 10 months.

How big is baby: The size of a watermelon.

Belly button: Out.

Total weight gain: 37+ pounds.

Sleep: I.cant.get.comfortable.to.save.my.life! 

Movement: staying consistent.

Maternity clothes: Still trying my best to stretch all my regular clothes into fitting this gigantic bump, or wearing Troy's clothes. 

Gender: Girl

Best moment this week: Reaching my estimated due date...and then passing it slowly waving goodbye. I am just sitting on pins and needles waiting for her. Trying some natural "Inducing labor" tricks and so far nothing seems to be working. I guess she is pretty comfortable. I had my "possibly" last doctors appointment on Wednesday and am scheduled to return Friday at 1pm for an ultrasound if labor hasn't started on its own. They will check all her fluids and what not to ensure it's safe for her to continue on the inside throughout the weekend. Otherwise we will discuss possible induction. 

Looking forward to: Meeting this baby one way or another, sooner than later. 

Ella at 40 weeks gestation.
I love you baby girl.