More Time. More Grace.

More time. More grace. Goodness, after so much reflection and thought and prayer, this is where my heart has landed...

It seems that having a baby in the Riddick household doesn't really sink in until about six months in, when we've tried to carry on and continue life per usual as we did before Baby came... And then we realize that the reason it is tremendously harder is because we have another person in the family now. 

Cue looking back to that sweet Fall 2022 - I tell everyone that we didn't know it while we were in it, but it hit us hard as we were reflecting back through it... I was still tutoring up to nine sessions a week (!!), blogging five days a week, we were hosting our small group during dinner and bedtime every other week, redoing our popcorn ceiling in our living room (call us crazy!! Hahaha), traveling many times, saying yes to truly 15 visitors/guests that fall to stay at our house all during a big transition of Pierce working more and us having a newborn... I thought something felt different and then I realized that maybe it was because we didn't allow any real change in our schedules even though we were also transitioning to life as a family of three on still semi-little sleep....haha!

Fast forward a little over two years, and our late fall 2024 looked and felt very similar as we tried to carry on as per usual, wondering why everything just felt slightly harder, more difficult, exhausting and more challenging to fit everything in... 

And it hit me one night as I was praying while putting Andy down for bed..... I really have not been giving myself more time to do anything, even though there is now another person in our family who takes a lot more of our time, love and energy (in the best way!). But I don't think it had hit me until then... Of course our schedules and commitments might need to look slightly different because our season of life just took a ginormous shift and change... 

So, over break, I started realizing that maybe a little more time and a little more grace is what I need in this season... From tutoring to mentoring, hosting, blogging, taking care of our home, our family, our meals...etc. Life just kept moving fast and full-steam, but I am on a mission to slow things down a bit this January and New Year and focus a bit more of the foundation and basics of life as a family of four and taking care of two littles at home... 

Saying no to a few more things, so that I can say yes to a lot of things here at home and hopefully eventually yes to lots more "extras" outside our home as well... All the while giving myself a little more time in a lot of areas, so that I can give myself more grace in the ways I feel the Lord calling me to still be very present. 

Pierce and I like to pick a verse at the beginning of each year to just memorize, focus on, and come back to throughout the year and the seasons that we walk through. And this year, I chose 2 Corinthians 12:9, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

So, I am praying my way through this verse and this truth these next few weeks, as we are loving our time at home a bit more with a few less commitments, and lots more time and lots more grace to focus on a few of the basics of our rhythms and routines with two... 

It's fun and crazy and chaotic, but somehow, the past two weeks have felt the most restful that they have in a long time. We are shaping our days on the foundation of the Gospel each morning and going from there, and it's been a huge blessing. 

Just a little insight into my heart as we step into the New Year!! I will still be back here as often as I can because I LOVE this space so much. I decided to do my Frame This Moment each week, and then give myself a little more time to work on my other posts and blog every other week for a few weeks while we are resetting some things and getting a bit more grasp on this new and sweet season of life as a family of four. 

THANK YOU to all of YOUR grace, love and support as well and to all the moms, friends, family and more who have poured into me whether through a comment, email, text, blog post of their own on here. They have all been so very refreshing and encouraging in the very best of ways!!

Here's to following the Lord's sweet prompting a little deeper in 2025! And as always, enjoying the little things, celebrating the big things, and soaking in all the moments in-between! 
I'll plan to see you back here tomorrow!!! 

Sending lots of love!
XO
Tab

(Also thanks to sweet Kayla Kirk from our church for some of these sweet snapshots of life and family in this season!!!)