Growing up and Growing in Christ

Happy November! It's weird to even say those words. If it is November we are just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving, and then Christmas will be here before ya know it!...And then New Years... This is a great segway into my thoughts lately. Where does the time go? Seriously!

Here is a video of Paysli when she was a baby! I weep like a baby when I watch this! Is freaks me out how fast she is growing up!

Molli is 10 weeks and Paysli is 25 months

Molli is now 3 months old and Paysli is 26 months. I feel like I just left the hospital with Molli, and Paysli is starting to look more and more like a small child instead of a toddler. If any parent out there has figured out a way to keep your babes sweet little babies, please pass along the magic potion to our family! I remember being in school and feeling like the years went by so slow. A year sounded like an eternity, and now that I'm a mommy a year means my baby goes from babbling to speaking in 3 word phrases, crawling to running around the house, and from eating baby food to gobbling down any pizza, cookie, or ice cream she can get her hands on.

Here is a video of what our car rides look like these days! So fun!

Molli is 3 months and in her spirit shirt to celebrate
Daddy's championship football game!

Molli is now smiling, cooing, and chuckling anytime a familiar face glances at her. She is such a happy baby. She loves to just hang. She loves to be spoken to. And she just loves life. We just learned that Molli is extremely ticklish. Molli has grown a lot too. Molli started off with most of her percentiles being in the 30's and 40's. Molli now has percentiles in the 70's. I have always been amazed to see how much different of a baby Molli is than Paysli was. Paysli slept like a rock whereas Molli wakes up just from the sound of my voice. Paysli hated sleeping on her back. Molli loves it. A lot of people said Paysli looked like me more than Tim, whereas Molli looks a lot like her daddy. Paysli was a ginormous baby initially, whereas Molli was small to average. Examining their similarities and differences will always be something I will enjoy observing.

Hanging out before bed.
Doesn't she look old?!

Paysli is just growing up faster than I could have ever imagined. She is now getting to where she can have conversations with us. Before Paysli was always in her own world and didn't pay much attention to anything being said around her. Now we can talk about her day, things she likes, what she's doing, favorite things, etc. She can request specific things like particular episodes of her favorite shows ("I want spooky Bubble Guppies" for the Halloween episode). Paysli is really loving her cousin Luke right now. The other day she asked me to watch Ninja Turtles (one of Luke's favorite) and then Wendi found Paysli and Luke playing in Luke's closet together one morning. One morning when I dropped Paysli off at Wendi's, Luke had just woken up and walked out of his room into the living room. As he walked passed Paysli she said "Hey buddy!". Luke is also playing baseball for this first time.  We recently went to one of his games and Paysli would cheer him on by saying "way to go buddy!". I LOVE watching them together! I also love watching Paysli and Kynli, her cousin, together. They are truly like sisters. Kynli is excited to see Paysli if she is gone for too long... like a few hours. Kynli is Paysli's caretaker. She is always making sure Paysli stays on the right path during their daily adventures together. And if I have to get on to Paysli, Kynli is right there next to me giving Paysli a good talkin' to. As far as Paysli and Molli's relationship, it's a little non existent at the moment. Paysli rarely acknowledges Molli, which I think is because Molli is boring to Paysli. I have caught Paysli a few times pointing to Molli's ears, hair, nose, and eyes and talking about how they are little, but that's about the most interaction that happens between the two of them independently. Paysli has never been into baby dolls or pretending to care for them. It's just not her thing. She currently prefers to either enjoy her favorite episode of Paw Patrol or doing something athletic, like jumping on the trampoline or climbing anything/everything.

Here is a picture of Kynli and
Paysli back when Paysli was 14 months.

Here is a picture of Luke and Paysli
 back when Paysli was 6 months.
Best buds!

Tim and I are growing as well. We are on fire for Christ. I always think our faith can't grow anymore than it's current state, but God loves to prove us wrong. Lately we've had opportunities to serve more. For years now we have used the excuse of  "Things are just too crazy right now", "Life is just too busy", or "We will wait till things settle down." We have learned that in this life we will ALWAYS be busy. Our days of being bored are over. And we are good with that. In fact we are excited about that. We have been blessed by a church that seeks to glorify God by serving the weak, poor, and lost.


I recently served at the Samaritan Inn in McKinney with a few girls from church. We had a Mary Kay party, and then a a speaker spoke and shared the Word of God. I was blessed to meet a 22 year old girl who has been through more pain, hurt, and disappointment than many experience in a lifetime. The loss of her mother a few years ago, currently homeless, jobless, and going through a divorce. When I saw this girl walk in, she appeared weak and tired. Her eyes seemed empty. She sat at a table by herself and kept her head down. You could see the lack of self esteem and self worth in the way she carried herself. A few of the girls working the event would ask this girl about herself and she smiled sweetly while answering in 2 to 3 word phrases before breaking eye contact. I felt God tugging on me to just love on her.  To just give her attention and make it known that she is special. She has a Savior on her side, and He loves her more than any man would ever love her. He is more dependable than any human being that will walk this Earth, and He will bring her out of every obstacle that is set before her.

I sat down next to this young girl, introduced myself, and just laughed with her during the Mary Kay party. Once the Mary Kay party was over, the speaker came forward and shared her testimony and God's Word. The speaker asked the women "How did you feel when you walked in today?". This young girl spoke out in front of a room of 20-30 women. "Lonely", she said. The speaker asked the women, "Did you feel special?" She quickly shook her head no with many of the other women. "How do you feel now after the woman here have served and loved on you?". She replied "special and important". My eyes immediately welled up while I sat next to her. I thought in my head, "All I have done is sat down next to this sweet girl and given her pure attention that God called me to give her." That was enough for her.

She did not want help financially from me. She did not want me to feed or clothe her. She just needed a friend, someone to love on her, and maybe even make her laugh a bit. She needed to know someone would be praying for her... because if my family was not going to pray for her, who would? Young girl, you are a beautiful child of Christ. He wants you. He wants your good and your bad. He is watching you every day and is giving you that attention you so thrive on. Find rest in Him. Glorify Him because there is nothing like His name. He will provide you more than any earthly treasure could ever give you. Jesus walked with the weak, the poor, the sick, and the lost. They were his favorites, and I believe it's because they were vulnerable. Vulnerable enough to let Him in because they could no longer rely on themselves. His love will provide all the riches you could ever imagine. His grace will provide a home for you in Him. And faith in Jesus Christ will provide an eternity of living in God's riches. Sweet girl, you are beautiful because you are a child of Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God is working in the Matthews' family. He is stirring our hearts and oh how I am excited about what God will do through our family. We are a small family who lives in a small town, but our love for Christ is HUGE. God, use us! Use us to glorify Your name.