Crazy Love

For those of you who don't know, I have been in graduate school for almost the last 3 years working on my Master's in Nursing. Unfortunately, between my roles of full-time wife, full-time mom, full-time nurse educator and full-time graduate student, I have not been able to read anything thing much besides textbooks:( However, over the last 2 weeks I have had a short break before the summer session begins and I have gotten to catch up on some books that I have been meaning to read for a LONG time. One of these being Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I bought this book about 2 years ago.

Let me just say that I am crazy in love with this book, even though it has definitely stepped on my toes, BIG TIME. The book speaks about "lukewarm" Christianity. It's funny... I never thought of myself as lukewarm. We go to church, we read the Bible to our children, we don't swear, we give to others, we work hard. But, as I read through this book, delved into the scriptures and took a good, long look at myself, my life, and what I consider important, I discovered that's just what I am... lukewarm.

Do I give until it hurts? Do I willingly and joyfully put myself out of my comfort zone to do what God has commanded? Am I willing to be uncomfortable and to trust in God to provide me with everything that I need? These were some tough questions for me to answer because, you see, I don't want to be lukewarm. I want to be crazy in love with God! God didn't just give up a little for me, He gave up His best. He gave Himself. Am I giving Him my best?

One of my favorites lines from this book was, "Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy". If you haven't read this book, I encourage you to. It is eye-opening and has sparked a fire in my life. It is my hope and my prayer that one day people will look at my family and think, "Wow, those Hatley's are CRAZY"!!!!!

It's Official..... Only a Summer Away from 2nd Grade!!!!

Sigh...... I have been really emotional this week just thinking about how fast my kiddos are growing up. As of today Zoee has officially finished 1st grade! I cannot believe it. She has learned so much and is so smart (yes I know I am a little biased!) She has mixed emotions as well. She is super excited to be out of school for the summer so we can enjoy sleeping in, hanging by the pool and of course spending as much time at the beach as possible, but she was really attached to her wonderful teacher this year, and was really sad to say goodbye. Thank you Mrs. Pridgen for your kind, gentle spirit and loving my special girl so well this year:)

Here are a few pics from the last day of school:

Zoee and her friends hiding in their cubbies. She doesn't exactly look to thrilled to be leaving huh?? Poor thing.... I really felt sorry for her!


Zoee & Mrs. Pridgen



Zoee's teacher had each student's stories from the year made into a precious scrapbook!



Each student receives a Fruit of the Spirit Award. The award is based on the special quality that the student displays. Zoee received the Peace award. Mrs. Pridgen said that, "When Zoee walks in the room she is at total peace. We talk about jewelery and shoes (haha!) and she is the first one to say (if there is a problem) we just need to stop and pray about it".

Congratulations on doing such a spectacular job in 1st grade Zoee!!! You make me and daddy so incredibly proud and we love you so much!!!!!

Can I Do It???

So I've been following other people's blogs FOREVER, and always thought it was something that would be nice to do myself, but until now I just have never gotten around to it! So, here we go! If there is one thing that has become clearly apparent to me lately, it is that time flies whether we slow down to appreciate it or not. I'm getting older everyday ( Thank you Jesus!) and my babies are growing up way faster than I would like them to. So, for me, this blog is a chance to document our wonderful life and force me to take the time to slow down, capture my thoughts, document our memories, and take pictures (and actually get them out of my camera!)

Feel free to follow along on the journey of The Hatley Home!