Nothing could prepare me for the emotional Mommy Meltdown that just took place in the middle of the little girl's section at Target today. I wish you could have been there to see it... or better yet... to give me a hug.

For weeks now I have been eying this mysterious "little girl's section" of the store, a section I never venture into because I'm a mom of two littles who proudly rock the "baby/toddler section" outfits like pros. This section might as well be called the "big girl section" to me because it's a place that I will be years down the road... you know... when Liv becomes a big kid?! 

What has caught my eye lately though, is how eerily close in size the outfits seem to be looking to what my Liv would wear. 

Then today... I was enlightened 

Like a magnet I was drawn to this adorable dress in "that" section. I looked at the size benignly labeled XS but it was what was next to the XS that brought grief to my heart and sent the tears trickling down my face. 

XS (4-5 years)

Liv will be 4 in less than two weeks.

Wait a minute... I can buy something from this section that will fit a child of mine?!? 

I was NOT prepared for this! I have been pretty open about how I feel that Liv turning 4 sounds so much older than 3... but a clothing section CHANGE in our favorite store only solidifies my suspicions. 

My little Liv Monroe is turning into a little girl.

Mortified at my uncontrollable emotion I headed over to my old stomping grounds (the baby/toddler section) seeking some solace from the storm only to find my tears turn into sobs as I looked at all the teeny tiny outfits with affectionate sizing ending in a capital letter T. Sizing that until only moments ago was all I knew. 

The embarrassment of my very public displays of emotion was only further validated when a very cautious Target employee graciously (and probably with some trepidation) asked me if I needed help.

Yes I need help!!! I need someone to tell me when this happened?! Where was I when my baby got so big?! Why did no one warn me of this?! 

But suspecting that this answer was probably more than he asked for... I politely responded (through tears and snot) with a "No, thank you... I'm just looking."

Just looking for where the last 4 years have gone?! I thought to myself as the worker ran (not walked) off... 

I finally pulled myself together by talking to my Heavenly Father. 

Silently... I didn't want people to think I was crazy or something. 

As I shared my heart with Him in prayer I felt a peace that can only come from my Creator and the thought came to my head...

The best is yet to come....

Jarryd and I have been going through a difficult season with Liv over the last year, dealing with her having some fears, anxieties, and lots of sleepless nights. My exhaustion and frustration from this season has pushed me to my knees begging God for encouragement. For me to not wish this season away but rather to be able to slow down and see it for what it is... a season that is fleeting... here today and gone tomorrow. A season that He can and IS using in my ongoing sanctification. 

I know one day I will miss it and I will not remember all the hard. Over the past couple of months God has been reminding me of what immensely invaluable gifts my children are. He has been granting me patience and given me a deeper joy and love for my kids amidst any difficulty the day might bring.

Even though I had been seeing this heart change for a while now I was not prepared for the culmination of His answer to my prayers to be in the middle of Target today... but hey... He knows I'm always there ;)

Mommas of littles... this season is unbelievably demanding but so very short. Take it one day at a time, bathe your family in prayer, and soak up every second that you can. 

The days are long but the years are short. 

And anything that pushes you to run to God for help is worth it's weight in gold.

Now somebody bring me a cupcake and a hug! ;)

Nothing could prepare me for the emotional Mommy Meltdown that just took place in the middle of the little girl's section at Tar...

Photo taken by Steven Bush from the Austin Stone Story Team

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." -Ephesians 5:18-20

Jarryd and I drove down to Austin and back last Friday night to go the the Austin Stone Worship Live album recording that will be coming out this fall! This night was well worth the exhaustion that we felt the next day... but more on that in a minute!

Any of you with children know how crazy it can be when you travel, EVEN when you are leaving the kiddos behind with friends or family. We had sweet friends offer to watch Liv and Landry so that both Jarryd and I could go to Austin but the hours leading up to us leaving were a little hectic. When we were finally out the door and on our way (at a much later time than we had wanted to leave) we realized that we had forgotten to eat!! It was about 1 o'clock at this point and we were running on nothing but coffee. We decided to wait a while and stop in West to go the Czech Stop for kolaches! Random I know... but it's a place everyone raves about and we had never tried before. 

We rush in, get our kolaches and inhale them as we continue our drive. We had initially wanted to get to Austin in time to eat dinner at a fun place (I dream of Austin food) before we had to be at the church but after our delayed start, kolache stop, and the insane monsoon weather we hit on the way down we realized that our time was running out and we were going to have to go directly to the church, malnourished and all.  

We finally make it to the Stone (on time) feeling a little sick but none the less so excited to be there. And NOTHING could have prepared us for what an incredible night it ended up being!

I told Jarryd when we left that it was the closest glimpse into what Heaven must be like that I had ever experienced in my 10 years of being a follower of Jesus. I was actually sore the next day from singing so loud and praising God with everything I had! This could mean I'm a little out of shape but it definitely is evidence of how powerful and incredible the night was! 

Worship has always been a deep love of mine... many of you know the Lord saved me (broken and deep in sin) in the middle of worship when I was a junior in college. (Read my entire salvation story here.) Leading up to that moment, as a non-believer who was dragged to church by her best friend, the singing worship part of the service was always so uncomfortable for me. Seeing all these people around me look so crazy... singing at the top of their lungs and lifting their hands scared me to death. But in addition to making me uncomfortable, it also made me so curious... 

Who was it that these people LOVED so much that they didn't care how crazy they looked?!

 They all seemed to authentically love something or SOMEONE and the Holy Spirit used that among other things in my life to open my eyes to His beautiful grace and mercy. It wasn't long before I found myself in tears with arms lifted high, singing a song about God's grace... finally understanding that THIS GLORIOUS GRACE applied to even sinful old me... crying out to the ONE who was to redeem me. After that I was given new eyes and a passionate love to sing praises to my God... this is what I was created for. 

"There is a horizontal spiritual impact when we, as the body of Christ, come together and sing." (Matt Carter) 

We are filled with the Spirit when we address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as Ephesians 5:18 says. However, we are not just singing for our own personal benefit, but so that others around us can be filled with the Spirit as well. There have been so many times where I have walked into a worship service so beat up and broken but almost immediately after I start to sing and hear the praises of God around me from my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am ministered to in powerful ways. Last Friday night, surrounded by over 300 amazing Christ followers from the Stone, we lifted our voices and hands together as one body... passionately proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. Praying that all who would hear this recording or see these videos would also be filled with the Spirit's power. A power that was so evident that night... we left filled to the brim! 

Click here to hear an incredible sermon by Matt Carter that explains why we sing in church! 

Love this picture from the live recording! The chandelier was meant to represent how when a bunch of tiny little lights come together, they are able to illuminate the entire room. This is representative of when the body of Christ (the light) comes together to worship God they can light up the darkness. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14  Photo taken by the Austin Stone Story Team.

I know a lot of you have read by now our BIG news of stepping out in faith and moving to Austin for Jarryd to start a residency position at the Austin Stone. If you haven't read about it check out our story here.

We are walking away from a lot of perceived securities and comforts. We are leaving a generous salary, a spacious home, and dear friends. 

However...

We will be walking in OBEDIENCE to the Lord... we will be running into a season where we will get more of Him. Our love for our Savior and our passion to make His name known drives our ability to take this step of faith. Entering into a new season of ministry where we are having to raise our own financial support is already stretching us and strengthening our faith in so many incredible ways. 

We sang this version of Cornerstone at the live recording in Austin last Friday and the Holy Spirit comforted me with it's beautiful lyrics as it is so relevant to our life right now: 

So thankful that Christ alone is our cornerstone and that He is enough... He is faithful... and He is Lord of all. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support during this time. God is answering them in BIG ways and we are not even down in Austin yet. So excited for this new journey the Lord is taking our family on! If you would like more information about Jarryd's residency or how you can financially support us please check out his website: www.jarrydforeman.net

And be sure to look for the album and videos from the live recording sometime in the fall! 

Photo taken by Steven Bush from the Austin Stone Story Team "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, ...

See if you notice anything similar in these two pictures... I'll explain later in the post.

Us leaving for the rehearsal!

Liv and Howard (in his tutu) at the church.

Liv caught a strange virus that made her have high fever, labored breathing, a crazy rash, and vomiting for days on June 1st of 2012... our very first and unfortunately not our last ER visit.

Liv's hair in this picture says it all... us leaving the ER in Boerne, TX.

The four of us at the wedding! So excited I finally have a sister!

I am so grateful that God chose me to be Liv's mommy... I hope she reads all of these things one day and is reminded of how loved she is by her family but more importantly her Heavenly Father. I have no doubt that God is going to do big things in her and through her in the future... June 1st, 2013 was not going to get in the way of that. 

See if you notice anything similar in these two pictures... I'll explain later in the post.  This past weekend our little Foreman f...

At the Colonial!

August 24, 2007

After running around this building like a mad woman I finally found my class and walked in fashionably late... as usual. Immediately I see the boy from outside, our eyes meet, butterflies dance in my stomach, the red cheeks return, and I knew I was in trouble. I didn't know anyone at the school yet so I chose a seat by some girls and introduced myself. Glancing over in the direction of "the boy" every chance I got. Every time I looked over in his direction I would have to look away quickly because it seemed as if he was already looking at me. When the class was over I tried my hardest to keep a calm composure as I walked out realizing that I didn't hear a word the professor had said the entire period. It was official... it was only the second day of school and I had a crush... a crush that was so distracting I couldn't remember a thing that happened... other than him of course ;)

Jarryd:
It was after lunch time and me and my good friend John Brewer were standing outside of our building that our Old Testament class was in. All of a sudden I saw the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen climbing the stairs into the building! I was hooked and couldn't stop staring, I knew I had to meet her soon!

We decided it was time to go to class, so we walked into our classroom and found seats towards the back of the room. Since it was only the second day of school there were plenty of new faces and an excitement about the new semester. ALL OF A SUDDEN, the door opens to my left and in walks the girl that I had seen earlier! I couldn't believe it, she was in my class. This was going to be a great semester :) She walked towards the front of the class and took a seat. In my mind I just knew that she felt I was staring at her, but I couldn't stop... and I never tried to! The professor introduced himself and then had each of us introduce ourselves and where we went to college. I listened intently as it got to her: "My name is Jessica Elton, I graduated from Texas A&M..." Jessica Elton... I need to meet her... 

September 11, 2007

Jessica:

When I first got his facebook message I was unsure of who it was. 

I saw this profile picture: 

The message was asking me if I was in his Old Testament class?

Could this be? No... surely it couldn't be! The boy that I couldn't stop staring at?

 As I opened the message and began to process everything I went to sit in my chair at my desk and because I couldn't take my eyes off of the computer screen... my clumsy self literally missed the seat all together and I fell on the floor... right at the moment that my brain registered who this mystery message was from. Little did I know that this was foreshadowing of how I would some day "fall" for him. ;)

We began to talk back and forth on facebook, and one message quickly turned into dozens. I would get so excited every time I got a new message from him. We talked about everything and anything and our conversations would keep us up late at night... sleep was quickly put on the back burner. 

Jarryd:

I remembered hearing her name in class and I did what any other self respecting guy would do in my position... facebook stalk! I typed in her name in the search and several possibilities came up but one in particular caught my eye: 

Even though I couldn't see her face... I knew it was her! Before I knew it I was messaging her... I just couldn't wait to get to know her! 

*********************

We finally officially met each other on September 12, 2007 in class. Jarryd asked me out for a cup of coffee and we made plans to go the next night.

September 13, 2007

We met at a cafe Starbucks (it's still our favorite one to go to). We talked for hours. They closed while we were there and we weren't ready to go home so we sat outside under the stars for the longest time. We shared our testimony of how we came to know the Lord and all the things that He had done in our life. We never wanted the night to end. 

We patiently remained friends over the next couple of months. We started hanging out a lot with all of our friends and we were constantly wanting to be around each other. We knew that there was something special between us but we were praying for God's timing on when we should enter into a relationship. 

Needless to say... the Lord gave us such a peace about each other and in October of 2007 we officially began the last relationship either of us would ever have! 

August 23, 2008 

Jessica:

This was one of the most amazing days of my life! Jarryd had been planning it for weeks... I am not easy to surprise so he had his work cut out for him! Of course he enlisted the help of my closest friends and together they came up with the perfect plan! 

My friends out of no where asked if we could have a fun girls night where we would get all dressed up. I naively thought it would be fun so I made plans with Rae, Katie, and Jaclyn. We went out to dinner, then to the Village Church for their Saturday service, and then got ice cream! When the girls finally dropped me off back at my apartment nothing could have prepared me for what I was walking into...

Jarryd:
The day had finally come! To say I was anxious throughout the day is a understatement. I couldn't wait to pop the question. My OCD nature took over and I found myself continually checking to make sure the ring I had purchased hadn't grown legs and walked off. Most of the day was spent at Jessica's apartment where I watched a movie (or at least stared blankly at the screen). As soon as her friends picked her up that evening I immediately went into stealth mode, transforming her apartment into the perfect romantic setting. I put rose petals, candles and pictures from our dating relationship all over the place. I knew she would love it.

After a few hours (which seemed like years) Jess arrived back and the look on her face when she walked in was priceless. With my guitar I sang her a song that I wrote for her over the course of our relationship. This was the first time she had heard it! Afterwards I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife as the tears started to flow down her face. She said YES and made me the happiest man alive! We then danced to "our" song and prayed for the Lord to guide our future together.

Everything had gone perfectly so far and I still had one more surprise. Waiting outside was her close friends and her mom Cathy, whom I had asked to drive up from Galveston to experience this moment with us. I couldn't have been more happy, but more importantly I couldn't wait to start my life with this amazing woman!

My beautiful mommy came up to be a part of the surprise!

January 10, 2009

We wanted this day to be a day where through our love and our lives together, people would see a picture of Christ's love for them. Our wedding ceremony was a time of worship and praise... we wanted people to walk away from it hearing the Gospel and feeling like they encountered the presence of the living God. Some of the most special elements of our wedding to us were the time of worship through song, the time of communion and the washing of each other's feet as a picture of humbleness and servanthood that we wanted to demonstrate in our marriage. 

In the reception we played a video that we had made documenting each of our testimonies in how we came to know the Lord. If there was anyone who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus at our wedding, we wanted them to leave at least hearing the great news that He saves! 

It was one of the most magical days of our lives and one that we will never forget! 

and... we know that the best is yet to come! 

This is the story of how the Lord brought us together... 2007 Meet Jessica Lynn Elton... Recent Texas A&M gradu...

Click above to listen to and download the album! Also please feel free to leave a review!


Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the album artwork:

All the proceeds from the hardcopy CD sales go to benefit missions!

Here are some pictures from the album release concert: 

Many of you know that my husband released his first worship album at the beginning of this month! I could not be more proud of him or o...