I know you’re wondering if I’m actually doing this Social Media Fast…

I AM!!!
I am happy to report that I have only looked at Facebook 4 times – specifically to post on both mine and Andrew’s business pages AND to check up on my Fall Prebook for Sseko. I have also only looked at Instagram ONLY to check messages {I had 3 yesterday} and to post a daily devotional piece in my Instastory {so two times}.

Other than that, no mindless scrolling and getting lost in all the things that distract me from LIFE.

What have I done with this newfound time? I’ve talked to people. lol. I’ve texted friends, I’ve talked on the phone, I’ve talked to my husband and my kids. I’ve read emails that have just been pushed to the side. I’ve READ. I’ve organized a little more in our home. I’ve done things I’ve wanted to do, rather than gotten lost in the cyber stuff.

Benefits I’ve noticed in just two days:
1. I have no idea of what’s going on in the “world” and I like it. I’m not caught up in what everyone else is doing.
2. I’m not wasting time, that is often so precious.
3. I’m not distracted when my kids are around, by things that are less important. I’m being a present parent.
4. I’m not comparing…ah, that’s a big one, am I right?

Negatives I’ve noticed:
1. I have no idea of what’s going on in the world, and I feel a wee-bit left out.
2. There are things I actually want to share with people. Ha. Like my tire went flat this morning while going thru the car line at R’s school. #goodtimes
3. There’s this community within the social media realm, that I have found is bigger than my real-life community. I’m currently missing those people/relationships.

Andrew asked me at supper tonight what day I was on, and when proudly chirped “TWO!”, he was surprised and said he thought it had been longer than that already. Nope. Two days down….38 to go. My nail lady said yesterday morning that you have to give up something ‘hard’ for Lent. If it’s not hard, it’s not worth it. I know that this is hard for me. My automatic reaction to sitting down somewhere with my phone in hand is to tap Instagram first, and then Facebook. So to refrain from that has been difficult. I’m having to change my habits, I’m having to look around a lot more, and observe, and talk out loud. 🙂

This is going to be a very, very good thing I believe. And I hope that if you’re giving up social media, or chocolate or caffeine or something else for 40 days, that you are also finding it to be a very good thing…albeit hard temporarily. We can do this. Phil 4:13.

I’ll leave you with yet another quote from my little Birthday Card book:
“Stuff is overrated. Stuff doesn’t last. Everything in this world – even the world itself – is temporary.”
Until next time, my friends…

Hi Friends! I hope you’re all having a great week. It’s cold and yucky here today, but the birds are chirping outside so that means Spring is almost here, right?! I’m ready for all the 70-degree weather that Mother Nature can offer. Seriously.

So, last week I announced that we are going to be getting a puppy {in 3 weeks!!} and that we weren’t sure which puppy we would be getting, but hoped to know by the end of the week. Well, after driving Andrew completely bonkers for 3 days, asking if he’d gotten an email yet from our breeder about our puppy, he finally emailed her. 🙂
The family in line above us hadn’t made their pick, so we were waiting on them.

Then Saturday rolled around and we were driving around looking at houses and it came. Andrew passed me the phone so I could read the email.

The family in front of us had passed on a puppy this time {not sure why, maybe they wanted a ‘red’ girl?}, and our choices were:
Red Boy – remember he was the one Reynolds REALLY wanted
Turquoise Girl – all black with a little white on her paws
Blue Boy – the sweet baby that fell asleep on my lap during our visit last Tuesday

We got to the house we were looking at and I had a fun conversation with Reynolds about our options. It went like this:
Me: Reynolds, which puppy do you want?
R: Red boy or Blue boy
Me: Why do you want Red Boy?
R: Because in the video we watched it looked like he got electrocuted {he was stretching :-D}
Me: {lauging} Okay, why do you want Blue Boy?
R: Because he looks like a police dog and I like police dogs
We talked about how police dogs are German Shepherds and that this dog is not a GS…but he was not swayed.
Then we talked about how he could only pick ONE puppy. Red boy or Blue boy. Eliza Jane piped in a few times about how she wanted Pink girl or Flower girl or Teal girl…but knowing that this dog is primarily going to be R’s responsibility, we gave him the choice.

ONE choice.
Red boy or Blue boy.

Who did he pick?

He surprised us all and chose BLUE BOY! We are so excited! We are going to call him Bleu {French for ‘Blue’…I know, we are SO fancy.} I mean, that was better than ‘Police Dog’ which was an actual suggestion by one of the kids…

Eliza Jane was not thrilled with the decision to get a BOY dog…but she will live.

Bless her heart…sweet girl…I’m sure once she holds Bleu she will be just as smitten with him as we are.

Okay…so switching gears for a moment. Y’all know about the 40 day Sugar Fast I did last year and this year. If you didn’t know about that, read this post from last year about it. This year I wasn’t as strict on myself, and I probably didn’t do as well, but I still survived!

Well, in January or so I had been thinking about doing a social media fast during Lent. Then Wendy Speake – brain child of the 40 day sugar fast – announced that she would be doing a Social Media Fast during Lent!

Y’all…it just has to be. How many days do you/we get on Facebook, Instagram or whatever and just scroll? Every time I get in the car {when I’m not driving of course}, I open up something and just start scrolling. It’s ridiculous. My kids are calling my name, and I’m all like, “hold on a sec…” because whatever it is I’m looking at is somehow so much more important. How about all the things I could be doing that are more productive in my home, my quiet time, my time with my husband/kids/friends. I’m telling you. My life is a giant scroll and I don’t want it to be that way.

So I’m doing it. Starting tomorrow, March 6th, my social media time is going to be seriously limited. Unless there’s a purpose {which, if I’m completely honest, how often is there a REAL purpose?}, I’m not getting on. No more looking to see what’s going on in the world, when there’s a world right in front of my face. Waiting for me to behold.

If you’re following me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll see much less from me over the coming weeks {maybe you’re happy about that? haha. I hope not!}. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you or want to know what’s going on in your life, because I do. But I want my contact with you and others to be outside of social media. I want it to be REAL. So, if you don’t know how to reach me – email, text, phone {do people call each other anymore, anyway?}, let me know and I’ll get you my info.

My deepest desire over the next 40 days is to be present. Present with my family, my friends, whomever it is I am with in the moment. And to draw closer to my Lord, the lover of my soul.
If you want to join the Social Media fast with me, click here to find out more from Wendy: The 40 Day Social Media Fast.

I’m excited to see what happens over the next 40 days. Of course I’ll be writing, maybe even more with all my new-found time!
Today I’ll leave you with a little quote from my Birthday Card Book: You are worth celebrating. A masterpiece created to do great things.
Until next time…

Last week, in the post about Grammy’s Cake, I told y’all how great our Easter weekend with my dad, brother and his family was…so here are the pictures to prove it!

Our trip to Macon started off with playing with some new Dr. Seuss color and flash cards.  Thanks Aunt Mimi for these – they were a great hit, and provided at least 2 hours of entertainment! 🙂

Once in Macon, Dad and I took selfies and texted them to sister-in-law, Joey.  Your welcome.

My mom’s Amaryllis…hoping my dad digs up a big chunk of these for me to bring back to Columbia…they are certainly stunning!

Can you tell that my mom liked flowers?  I remember her ordering Irises from California one year…and I think these were some.

Saturday afternoon we had a few egg hunts…Bert’s basket wasn’t quite big enough for all his eggs!

Trying to get a photo of this motley crew was fun…

“Too loud!” – Eliza Jane

Uncles and nieces <3

Ha!  #1 babysitter right here!!  Love you, PopPop! ….zzzzzzzz

Then some good clean egg-dyeing fun!

I just love Emory’s smile in this one!!!

It’s not the end of the day until somebody burns a Grammy cake.  Read more about that post here: Grammy’s Cake and How She Played a Trick On Me.

This picture makes me laugh so hard.  I got up at 5 a.m. to feed Emory Easter morning and this is what I saw leaving our bedroom.  Kids so exhausted asleep he has no idea that his foot is on her face, and she doesn’t even care.  When we showed Reynolds this photo later in the day, he belly-laughed out loud!

Easter morning at church…

The cross at Dad’s church was really beautiful, but the sun was incredibly bright!  We all needed some shades!

Sweet PopPop in his new dapper blazer! {I love Eliza Jane’s hand wrapped around is arm}

Our precious neighbor from my child-hood home…

Two of my Momma’s dearest and closest friends <3

A proud PopPop with all his grandbabies.  {My heart is a pool on the floor around me…I just adore this picture so much}

I love all of this.  And know Grammy is smiling down on all of us.

You know it’s a good weekend when less than 5 minutes into the drive, the big one is out cold.

“Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.” Psalm 107:31  He has been so good to us and for that we praise and give thanks to Him.

As you reflect back on your Easter weekend – I hope and pray it was as filled with joy and laughter as ours was.

Much love,