I'm so excited to introduce our next momspirational mondays contributor, Lauren Attaway. Lauren is my good friend and also my current hairstylist! She is not only a superstar with hair but she is an amazing friend, wife and mama! Lauren inspires me in so many ways but her soft spirit is what I find most inspiring. In all situations she is calm and level headed which are qualities I strive for but don't always get quite right. I'll let her takeover now and you all can see for yourself why I wanted to include her in this series. Enjoy!
P.S. Aren't these two stunning?!? Just wait until you scroll down and see their kiddos!
Hi! My name is Lauren, and I am delighted to be guest blogging
for Mandy on this Momspirational Monday! Thanks for having me, Mandy!
I am a 29 year
old mom of two (more on them later!). I stay at home Sunday through Thursday
with my kids, and I work part-time Friday and Saturday in a local upscale
salon. I have been doing hair professionally for over seven years, and will
celebrate six years at my current salon this fall!
I love getting to spend the majority of
the week with my littles, and love that I still get to enjoy doing something
creative with people I have come to know as friends on the weekends. I
regularly brag that I have the very best clients, only because it’s true!
When I’m not at
the salon, you can find me hanging out with my kids and husband, taking a
million pictures with my not-so-professional iPhone, looking up recipes on
Pinterest, roaming the aisles at Target, and singing at my church. Family is
one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given, and I am lucky enough to live close
to my parents, and my sister and her sweet family.
Speaking of
family, why don’t you meet mine? My husband, Kurt, and I have been married for
8 years. We first met when we were just four years old when our dad’s worked
together at the church we attended. Kurt has been my forever crush! His family
moved to Dallas when we were still kids, but we reconnected after graduating
high school, then became friends again through long emails and nervous phone
calls. We dated long distance for a year, and were married at 21! He is truly a
gift. Kurt is genuine, always ready with a compliment & encouragement, and
has been the very best Daddy to our kids. The. Very. Best!
Now to my pride
and joy... my babies!
Canten Alan is
our very first child, our son. He will be 4 this fall and can’t wait for his
birthday. He is such a sweetheart,
full of compassion. He loves super heroes, sports, his little buddies at church
and pre-school, scrambled eggs, and chocolate milk! He has recently decided
thats “girls and princesses are kinda gross”, but assures me that he still
loves ME! What a relief! He absolutely loves to sing and to worship (and play
air guitar! and play air drums!), and to pray. I am regularly in awe of his
prayers... the overflow of his heart.
Emersen Kate is
our second-born and will be 2 in January. When Emersen was born she came out
with the highest-pitched cry I had ever heard, and my exact thoughts were,
“Here we go!”. That mentality has followed me as I’ve been raising her these
last 20 months. She is an absolute joy and
keeps me on my toes! Emersen loves her big brother (and everything he does!),
saying “Hi!” to everyone we pass wherever we go, coloring (but only markers
will do!), climbing everything, other babies, spaghetti, and fruit snacks! She
has always been and excellent communicator and I am looking forward to
continuing to watch her big personality grow as she grows.
Family is
definitely a huge priority for me, and I feel like the biggest building block
for how we choose to parent is team work. Kurt and I from the start have given
our best to being together in our
approach. From diaper changes, baths, and bed time, to navigating discipline
and emerging toddler opinions, neither of us expects the other to handle it
all. I am so thankful I have, truly, a partner who I can share this amazing,
but often challenging, journey with as we walk down this parenting road. At the
end of a harder-than-usual day when I feel like I’ve given all that I’ve got
and the countdown to bedtime is on,
there is so much reassurance, for me as a mom, to know I have someone who loves
my kids as much as I do, that’s going to walk through that door, have my back,
and help me pick up the pieces I’m dropping.
There is so much
I could leave here in a letter to these sweet kids of mine, but for now, I
leave you, simply, with what’s on my heart.
Dear Canten and Emersen,
I want you to
know that it’s ok to not have it all together! There are going to be many
seasons in your life where you’ll feel on top of the world, and you will be!
Seasons will also come that are challenging, painful, and stretching.
My desire for your lives is that you will grow to be confident in
who God created and is calling you to be... That you can walk through this life
with your eyes and hearts open, unintimidated to stand out in a crowd, allowing
your light to shine. There are so many distractions and temptations to pull us
every which way, and you will feel
the tug. But as my dad always told me growing up, as I was walking out the
door, “Remember who you are!”.
I pray you can know who you are, that Daddy and I can help guide you in that
discovery, so that as the seasons of life change, you will remember who you are and walk confidently through this life!
Love,
Mommy
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