Youth Summer Days & Sermons on the Mount!

Well in my mind, it is officially summer! I am so excited for the warm weather and free spirit that the season of summer seems to “spring” upon us. See what I did there?

On Friday, our church group met up for Youth Summer Days! Caroline had a blast and I’m sure if I could ask Lawson he would have said he enjoyed being held and walked around a park. Here are some photos…

Aunt Allie!

When Josh got home from work that afternoon, we packed (the rest of the way) and hit the road to go to Ohio for an amazing revival at Lake Mount Church of Christ. Josh and I, a few weeks back, had booked a hotel to stay Friday and Saturday night with the kids to enjoy this awesome event for an anniversary gift to each other – and it did not disappoint.

I’ll tell ya, there is nothing like staying in a hotel with a toddler and an infant. Caroline decided she didn’t want to sleep in her pack n play and laid next to me saying “Robo Dog” (this is a Paw Patrol character for those of you who do not have kids who belong to the cult of Paw Patrol LOL) until about 11:45pm. We have no idea how she had the energy since she hardly napped Friday, but hey, we lived to see another day!

Of course the messages from two faithful preachers, Kerry Allen and Aaron Davis, were excellent! We were also super, super proud of Caroline for just totally going with the flow and going into a strange place with all new people and actually loving it! She ended up crying on the way back about how she wanted to see JoJo, one of the little ones at the church.

The next morning, we headed to Bob Evans and enjoyed a delightful breakfast as a family, which I realized was the first time we have brought BOTH kids to a restaurant! They did well! YouTube may have been played, but hey, we did it!

The boys!

The girls!

Josh took this adorable picture of Lawson!

Paw Patrol finger puppets for the win!

While we were there, we decided to get ahold of the preacher of Lake Mount Church of Christ to ask him some good things to do around there and he invited us over to his house for lunch and some swimming! It is absolutely amazing how the family of God extends to everywhere and how our bond in faith is unlike anything else in this world. Anywhere you go around the world, you will feel at home. We experienced this when we visited Kentucky in November of 2019.

These are our (now) great friends, Aaron & Christa!

To say that we had a blast would be an understatement. We are truly grateful to Jason and Stephanie for welcoming us into their home! We headed to Dollar General and picked up a bathing suit (size 4T was all they had lol) for Caroline and one for Josh too so he could get in with her. Then we went on a hunt for swim diapers at Giant Eagle and picked up some snacks to bring along. Photo bomb below!

It wasn’t too big at all!

I think she pretty much smiled like this the whole day!

Lawson and I chilled on the deck.

This little sweetie did so well holding Lawson!

Josh chatting with two of his big role models, Jason and Aaron.

She slept on the 20 minute ride home, and then somehow was ready to roll when we got back to the hotel!

We were all smiles too!

That evening we met back at the church for a fellowship meal at 5:30 and then the next sermons at 7pm. It was so much fun.

Lawson slept great through the sermons.

The next morning was the early church service at 8am, Sunday school at 9:30am, and the worship service at 11:30am. Caroline enjoyed playing with her newfound friends again and cried more for JoJo when we left.

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep once we left. And that brings us to now! We are heading back to PA. What an amazing weekend. I wouldn’t change a single thing. I love learning more about my Lord and Savior, meeting more of those whom I will spend eternity with, exposing our children to God and new experiences, and of course growing in my relationship with Josh – since this whole trip was to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. God is so good!

What is a mountaintop experience you have had in your life?

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

A Day in the Life…

Happy Wednesday to you all! I hope your week has been great thus far! I figured I would post about a day in my life – a day where I am not cleaning at the church building ☺️

So I slept in a little, until about 5:20! My alarm goes off at 5, but I just kept hitting snooze! Thankfully Josh got up with Lawson at 4:30 (that’s when he gets up anyways) while I slumbered! Anyway, I threw in some laundry and did a quick workout to start the day. Then I did my devotional time and drank some coffee!

I am currently reading through a commentary of 1 Corinthians by Jason Cole – it is excellent!

Lawson joined me for a little and then fell back asleep 😴

I decided to get our dinner ready (at 7am 🤣) because it’s a crock pot meal! I made this crock pot chicken noodle soup!

https://pin.it/5oEcsbK

I always think a variety of veggies looks so pretty!

I use these and water instead of chicken stock!

Spices

Before I let Caroline escape her room (she was starting to make some noise by now), I folded laundry, changed the sheets out for some fresh ones, and made the bed!

She woke up in a great mood!

We have been trying to start potty training. It definitely has its moments, but she is starting to like sitting on her new Paw Patrol potty chair instead of having her own little toilet, so maybe this will be they key!

Next was breakfast time… “Eggy’s”, a cheese stick, and cantaloupe!

Since Lawson was still sleeping, we decided to do “school time.” As I said, we started Abeka’s preschool for 2s and 3s, and she’s really loving it!

Today we learned about family and the number 3!

And since Lawson was STILL sleeping, I took advantage of it and cleaned the bathroom!

He finally woke up! I changed him into a new, adorable outfit my mom got for him!

Next we went on a nice long walk around the neighborhood! Indy was certainly happy.

When we got back, I vacuumed the floors rather quickly and served Caroline some leftovers for lunch.

Caroline played very nicely with her Paw Patrol toys while I cleaned.

After she ate, I gave her a mid-day bath because that makes it much easier when we get home from church to be able to just put her into bed – we even bring her PJs with us to change her into for the car ride! After her bath, Caroline was very ready for a nap – and it was only 12:15!! I wasn’t complaining 😋

I always feel like such a creeper with her baby monitor, but hey, I love checking in on her!

Then I started to work on my Mary Kay business, followed by making an anniversary card for Josh – I can’t believe tomorrow we will have been married for 4 years! Then, I planned our meals for next week and wrote out my grocery list!

When Josh got home I was still working on some things and Caroline and Lawson were both sleeping! Around 6pm we will head into Bible Study. We love Wednesday night studies – it’s the perfect midweek pick-me-up!

Does your church have a Wednesday night study?

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:24-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Count Your Blessings

Whenever I look at my life I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am to God for every little blessing. And even in the trials that we suffer as Christians, we can glory, because God is growing us! I’d like to talk about some blessings today because I think we need some positivity these days, am I right?

Plants and flowers! Although this isn’t the greatest photo, it shows my favorite plant and my favorite scent… lilacs!

Childhood friends. What’s crazy is this is my childhood best friend’s (who is still my best friend) children with Caroline! Even bigger of a blessing!

The innocence of children!

When a baby smiles in their sleep!

Pure happiness!

And of course some things I do not have pictured:

• Sleep and rest!
• Sunrises and sunsets ☀️
• Birds chirping in the morning.
• The start of a new day!
• A home to live in with air conditioning!
• Simple conversations with neighbors.
• The satisfaction of completing a task.
• Cleanliness in our living spaces.
• Hot shower/bath after a long day!
• The satisfaction of walking and exercising.

It’s amazing how God created us to enjoy our blessings that He has granted us. God is good.

What are some blessings in your life?

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:17-18‬ ‭

Where June Finds Us…

Well, hello again! It has certainly been a while. And man these 6 months have held some major milestones and amazing gifts! God is always so good to us.

Lawson has arrived! Our second child and first son made his appearance in a rather speedy fashion on March 24th, 2021 at 2:14pm weighing 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.

I have once again found myself wondering what life was like before he was born, it seems so normal now that he is here, and has been for over 2 months. Josh and I always like to joke and refer to the time before we had kids as “Life BC”, BC standing for “before Caroline.”

Since he was born, Lawson has gotten so big! He is doing really well with head control, is extremely smiley, has slept through the night about 5 or 6 times (not in a row) and eats about 5oz of formula every 2-4 hours (no wonder he’s getting so BIG). Here are some updated photos of him…

Caroline turned 2!! On May 24th we celebrated 2 years of our precious Caroline being in our lives! She is so so so much fun! Her personality makes me smile. She is adventurous, loving, outgoing yet shy, and very silly. Her stuffed animal BoBo is a staple to almost everywhere she goes and everything she does. He was gifted to her at Christmas by her great grandma. We have since then washed him a few times and purchased two replacements. One of them remains in our room for emergencies and the other we like to call “Car BoBo.” He stays in the car and is the one that goes places with her. Listen, BoBo is a very serious matter. Caroline loves to read, learn, color, play, swing, slide, and take care of her little brother! She is learning about numbers, shapes, and lots of new words! Her favorite foods include strawberries, Mac n chase, chicken noodle soup, cheese in general, and chicken nuggets dipped in ketchup! Her favorite phrases are, “Hi LawLaw,” “Inny, no!” “Off the table!” (Wonder where she hears that from?) “I wanna go ousside” “See Sadie” And “I wanna snuggle.”

Yes they are sitting in a bin…

This is BoBo, her red bear!

Josh & I have been chugging through life and loving every moment. I couldn’t ask for a better husband and father to our children. Josh is currently still working for People’s Gas. He didn’t get to do much Turkey hunting this year, granted we had a newborn, but I know he’s looking forward to archery in the fall. He has been doing lots of teaching and preaching at our church and I love watching him grow in his abilities! He is also a deacon at our church and is doing a great job at serving our congregation and those around us! He also is trying to finish up his Summit Theological Seminary Diploma of Biblical Studies – he’s getting there! We’ve also been doing some Bible studies with our neighbors which has been great!

This is seriously my all-time favorite picture of Josh!

I have been busy myself with lots of exciting things! I am still cleaning our church building 2 days a week and selling Mary Kay as a “side hustle”. It has been a lot of fun! I’ve also been enjoying just being with my little ones! Caroline and I have officially delved into “Preschool for 2s and 3s” by Abeka and she seriously loves it! I am also involved in our new “Sisters in Christ” ladies ministry at church! I’m part of the encouragement team planning and we do monthly “encouragement events” which are so much fun! We also have monthly Bible studies and have been studying the fruit of the Spirit!

Indy is also doing great! He still loves his walks and retrieving toys when he feels he is not getting enough attention! I love my Indy boy ❤️

Things we are looking forward to as a family:

• Youth Summer Days every Friday morning at different parks with our church family!
• “Sermons on the Mount” this weekend! We are staying at a hotel in Ohio and attending a little revival/seminar held at a church in Ohio! Can’t wait!
• Caroline being a flower girl in Josh’s cousin’s wedding in July!
• Hillsboro Family Camp in July! A week full of great preaching and teaching along with fellowship with many other Christians!
• Josh being a groomsmen in our good friends’ wedding in August
• Outer Banks vacation in September!

Tell me one thing about each of your family members and what you are excited for this summer!

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭

The First Snow of the Year

December 1st and we woke up to a blanket of snow – how fitting! Western PA isn’t so bad 😉

My morning started with working out and my daily bible reading, I am still reading through a commentary on the book of Hebrews. It has been so insightful in my faith.

Once Caroline woke up, I finished a few chores around the house. Caroline has been loving sitting and “reading” to herself while I work around the house.

Then we headed outside for her (and Indy) to play in the snow! Caroline was too small last year to actually play in the snow. We practiced saying “snow” and she got it once by saying “sah-NO!” It was easy to get the last half because that’s her favorite word!

She was upset that you can’t, in fact mow the snow.

Indy pulled her hat right off of her head and proceeded to play with it.

Next we headed out of the house to drop off some of Josh’s suits to be dry cleaned and to get gas. Naturally I had to make the trip out in the snow worth it by getting some coffee. It hit the spot.

Caroline and I then did what I like to call “school time.” She’s not two yet and we don’t have a plan or anything, but I’m enjoying doing puzzles, reading, and practicing words with her. We also do lots of crafts. We made a painting for Josh’s mom because her birthday is this Thursday! She loves to finger paint.

Puzzle time!

Caroline calls her Gigi (she pronounces it “doo-doo.”)

Next we ate some leftover wedding soup that my mom made us, it was so delicious. Caroline really liked the little Acini de Pepe noodles.

After we ate, we read some books together and I laid Caroline down for her nap. That brings us to now… time to work on homework. Definitely not my favorite part of the day, but I’m going to try to knock this week’s lesson out and hopefully only have a little left to do tomorrow. Then I’ll be taking Indy for a walk, Lord willing, when Josh gets home from work. I’m thinking Caroline will still be sleeping by then since Josh gets home a little after 3pm. Then I’m going to try a new recipe… Shepherd’s Pie baked potatoes… if you’re interested to see how they came out, let me know in the comments!

Okay… no more stalling… time to get to work. I hope you all are having a great day thus far.

What did you do today? Did you have snow where you live?

Our Gender Reveal!

I am so thankful. Our baby is healthy and I got to see the little peanut for the second time. I have been feeling kicks and just cannot thank God enough for the wonderful blessings He has given me and my family!

The ultrasound was Friday morning and I called Josh at work when they told us the gender, it was very special. Last week at Bible study, a few people had mentioned doing a “gender reveal” at the next study since we meet on Friday’s and it’s the same day. So we did! I commissioned myself (lol) to make some cupcakes with pink or blue frosting on the inside. I used my sister’s favorite buttercream frosting and some Betty Crocker chocolate cupcakes. It honestly took way longer than I thought, but it was a lot of fun to learn and be creative.

We told all of our immediate family and grandparents right away and the rest had to wait until Friday night!

Thanks to my friend, Melissa, for videoing the reveal!

AND… the icing was blue! It’s a boy!! We have decided on the name Lawson Martin Rowe. We are so grateful to have the chance to raise a boy next, Lord willing.

Bible study was a great time of fellowship as always. Saturday brought even more fun and fellowship! My sister hosted a Mary Kay party at my mom’s house, it was my first in person party because of Covid, and it went off without a hitch! We had so much fun!

I love my sister! Please pray her fractured hand heals quickly!

After the party, we went to Cracker Barrel with the girls and once again had an awesome time. We loved looking around the store and enjoyed a great meal! Afterwards we headed to Once Upon a Child to get Caroline a pair of sneakers and naturally we floated to the baby boy clothes. Then we headed out to Allie and Jimmy’s house and the girls played their little hearts out together and while in the bath tub! Caroline was fast asleep within a minute of us getting in the car.

These girls are seriously best friends.

All of this was only $32!!!

Needless to say, we had an amazing few days and I cannot thank God enough.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Hello…again!

Well, it has been a while. Life has gotten busy, but I have loved it. I have missed blogging about my life for a few reasons and have truly missed reading about all of your lives. It’s time to get back to it! I’d like to share some recent life updates.

#1: We are expecting!

Yes, you read that right. Josh and I are expecting another little peanut in late March and are so very excited! We find out the gender next Friday, November 6th!

#2: Caroline is an absolute blast!

I would never trade a moment with my baby girl. I love spending time with her and bringing her practically everywhere. She is my little buddy and is so much fun, now at 17 months old. I can’t believe she will be a year and a half next month! She has been talking SO much. She says things like mama, dada, yaya (my mom), gigi (Josh’s mom), pappy (synonymous for both grandpa’s), Inny (Indy), ball, uh-oh, hi, bye, oh no, etc. She has also been putting together two words like “Inny, no!”, “Hi dada/mama”, “night, night”, “hereyago” etc.

#3: I have taken on another job (lol).

I am still not practicing as a nurse, but I am working towards my BSN as we speak (actually I am currently procrastinating working on an assignment lol). I am still working for my parents, but on an as needed bases like when they go away – I fill in for my mom as the administrative person. But mainly, two days a week, I am cleaning our church building. I have so far loved serving the Lord in this capacity.

#4: I have been loving fall!

This fall has been fantastic so far! We have loved going to Friday night bible studies with a group from our church where we all share a meal and then learn from the Word.

The Corn Maze that our church family attends was a blast, as always.

Hunting has been great so far. I haven’t gotten a deer yet in archery, but something about sitting in the woods, high in a tree, and praying while you watch God’s beautiful creation either awake or fall asleep is just plain therapeutic. Getting a deer would be a bonus!

Josh, on the other hand, harvested an amazing buck this year. We are so grateful to God.

#5: Indy has been great, as always!

My first baby is still living the dream, with a minor setback – an ear infection. Goldens are prone to those. He’s getting some antibiotics and it seems to be on the mend. In the mean time we have enjoyed many more walks together!

#6: Reagan Lynn was born!

Our niece, Reagan Lynn Stolarski, was born on August 26th, and she is just absolutely precious. Josh’s sister, Lindsey, and our brother-in-law Nate, are over the moon happy. She’s a doll.

What is your life like lately? What is your favorite part about fall? What is your guess on the gender of our baby?

Our Weekend

This weekend was truly great, but boy did it fly! Friday night we went to Bible study once again and enjoyed an Italian meal with some church family.

Saturday morning, I got up and went hunting while Josh hung out at home and Caroline slept. I saw two doe, but nothing that was in range. It was very chilly, but I still felt refreshed from just sitting, praying, thinking, and pausing for a moment surrounded by the trees high up in a tree.

Josh enjoyed sharing some time in the morning with his little girl!

Then we headed out to my parent’s house because they were watching our niece, Sadie, so that the girls could play! A little later on, Josh went and sighted in our rifles with a good friend of his.

Then, in the evening, our church hosted a “Halloween Alternative” where we all got together to roller blade and eat some pizza! At first I had considered not going because Caroline can’t roller blade yet, but then a friend from church reminded me we could push her around in the stroller. I am sooo glad that we went, because that was the most fun I’ve had in a while! We brought our new double stroller and pushed Sadie and Caroline for a while and then let them run around and play.

Sunday consisted of church in the morning, visiting with Josh’s grandma and family, some housework and prepping for the week, and then back to church in the evening! Our weekend ended with all the kids running around the church with lollipops and just getting their wiggles out.

I truly am so thankful for our family (both blood and church). Josh and I have started to write down one thing we’re grateful for each day! It has been a positive influence on our days and I hope to continue doing it! We use a little chalkboard and each update it in the morning.

What are you grateful for? What did you do that was fun this weekend?

Friday’s are for Fun!

Hi everyone! This week has been nothing short of crazy, so I am just getting on to blog now! I’d like to just share some words and pictures from my day today!

It started with getting up at 5:10am this morning to see Josh off to work. Then I did my daily Bible reading. I am currently reading the Daily Bible in a Year, but I’m going to try and do it in 6 months by simply ready 2 readings a day. I am loving it so far because of all of the explanations it provides. I am also participating in a few devotionals in the Bible app with my mom and sister!

Nothing like Jesus and coffee 😉

Here is an example of my list that I use to organize my day. Call me psycho, but it works for me!

In the mornings, I like to sit at our door to our backyard and pray, Indy also enjoys this time with me.

Before Caroline woke up, I worked on some homework for my summer online course. I also threw in a load of laundry.

Once Caroline woke up around 7:30am, I read her some books and got her ready for the day.

While I did the dishes and packed our lunches, I laid out a muffin tin and some of her ball pit balls, an idea I saw on Pinterest! She seemed to like it.

That isn’t quite how it works Caroline…

At 10:30am I met a few ladies and their children from our church at a park about 40 minutes away. There was a dog park as well that Indy enjoyed. It is always such a blessing to enjoy fellowship with those of like-faith.

Snacks!

Indy enjoying the playground!

All of the kids at our church are so good with Caroline, she had a blast!

Swinging!

After the park, I stopped at my parent’s house to visit and I did a little Pilates workout. I thought Caroline would take a nap, but she decided otherwise. She ended up playing while I worked more on my homework.

I went and got groceries from Aldi in the meantime.

Caroline and Papap walking through the yard!

About half an hour after I got home, Josh headed out with his cousin and good friend to go fishing for the evening! Caroline and I headed out to Dollar General and picked up some fun things: a slinky, some pompoms, stickers, softer hair bands to try in her hair, a bath toy that moves, and cards for a birthday party we’re going to tomorrow! After that we went to Giant Eagle to grab a couple things I couldn’t find at Aldi!

The slinky was a big win!

This is another idea I spotted on Pinterest.

First experience with pompoms!

She caught on!

After our fun, it was bath time and then some milk to finish out the day!

A new nightgown from YaYa!

What did your Friday look like?

4th of July Weekend 🇺🇸

Happy Independence Day! What a blessing to live in a free country.

This weekend was an absolute blast. It began Friday night when Josh, Caroline, Indy, and I headed over to Josh’s grandparent’s house for dinner. We haven’t seen them in a little over a month, so it was definitely time. We enjoyed laughs, food, and chasing Caroline all around their yard. Here are some photos from Friday.

Caroline and Pappy Kim swinging.

Playing in the cozy coupe!

Grandma showing Caroline how to put the key in the ignition.

Grandma, Josh, Caroline, and of course Indy, too.

Caroline found a bench just her size!

After Grandma’s house, we headed over to my in-laws and dropped Caroline off to stay the night. It’s such a blessing to have so many people in our lives who love us and care for us. I never have to worry when she’s with family.

The next morning (Saturday), Josh and I woke up around 6am and headed out to go fishing along the Allegheny River, at Kelly Station. He mostly wanted to catch Catfish and I was just excited to fish in general. Indy also came along. Here are some photos from Saturday morning!

On our way!

It was so peaceful!

Getting things rigged up and ready to go!

Indy, looking so astute.

He got a catfish!

Indy was very intrigued by this new animal.

I love my little buddy!

Good quality time is so important for every marriage! Whether you spend it fishing, going out to eat, walking, shopping… whatever works for you and your spouse!

Once we picked Caroline up from my in-laws, we headed out to my sister’s house for a picnic! We had an absolute blast and the food was so delicious! My sister even made this delicious strawberry rhubarb pie… I NEED the recipe! Here is a bomb of photos for you!

The boys playing hacky sack!

Pool time with Caroline, Sadie, and Macie!

Hi, American cutie!

I love my sister so much!

Caroline and I! She was saying “hi”.

Caroline and YaYa!

My sister’s dog, Niva!

My sweet little niece, Sadie!

Buddy, my sister’s in-law’s dog!

My cousin, Bre, Allie, and I!

Allie and Sadie!!

Sadie and I!

The girls and Yaya!

Well, what a fun-filled day! What did you do for the 4th of July?