Making Home Home

Annie's Birth Story (Better late than never, right?)

2012-01-12T11:27:00.000-06:00

I originally started this post back in August...I am a bit embarrassed how long this has taken. However, between homeschooling, moving and having four kids five and under, I think it is ok. ;)

I am only a little behind on posting Annie's birth story. To say that I have had more important things than blogging to do is quite the understatement. We are getting into a pretty good groove, though I doubt I'll be blogging that often still. ;)

I promised a birth story, so I figured I should honor that promise by actually posting it. I can hardly believe that it has been almost three months since our sweet baby was born.

Since all of my other children have been born after their "due date", I was well prepared for that to happen again with my fourth pregnancy. So, it was no surprise that my due date of May 30th came and went with no fanfare or labor.

Thursday, June 9th started out like any other day - disappointed that labor hadn't started during the night, and hopeful it would be the day to welcome Annie into the world. For weeks I had been having lots of contractions and pressure from the baby. I had been warned by more than one person that it would likely go fast since so much was going on ahead of time, but I had it stuck in my mind that it would be similar to the other three - between 7 and 8 hours from start to finish.

I am not much of a nap person, but this particular day I was very tired and actually took the time to lay down and nap while all the kids were down. Providential, for sure! I woke up from my nap at 3:30 that afternoon with decent contractions about every 5 to 8 minutes apart.

After getting up from my nap I decided to change over laundry...just in case. I got on the computer to check to see if my friend Annie happened to be on to chat. Thankfully, she was! We spent a good 30 minutes on Skype chatting, IM style. It was such a blessing to get to "talk" with her before the birth of of the baby named after her.

While I was still chatting with Annie I realized this was actually labor, and that I should give Nathan a call. He was working on a project in Denton, and would hit rush hour traffic on I-35 Southbound if I didn't hurry. I tried his cell a few times, but it wasn't working in the building. Thankfully, he had given me some other numbers on the job site to call. I was able to have one of the contractors get him off the site to call me. He left almost immediately after talking to me. I think that was somewhere around 4pm.

At this point I called my midwife to give her the heads up that I was in labor, and I would call her when things got a bit more serious. Nathan called his mom while driving home since she was planning on coming to help with Lucy, who was going to stay at the house for the birth.

When Nathan and I got off the phone I continued to work on the laundry and work through early labor contractions. The contractions seemed very manageable, and nothing too exciting, though I knew I was definitely in labor.

Once Nathan got home, about an hour after I woke up from my nap, Lucy was already finished with her quiet time and hanging out in our room. The contractions were a bit closer together by now, and a bit stronger. I am always very unsure of when to tell my midwife to come. You'd think that with this being our third home birth I'd have a clue, but I tend to really doubt how far into labor I am. Since that is the case, Nathan urged me to go ahead and ask Christy to make her way to our house. I called her, and said she should go ahead and start making her way to our house (she was coming to Fort Worth from Bedford), but no rush. I also called my friend Keri, who was going to come and pick the boys up once they were up from their naps and things really got going, and our birth photographer, Rebecca.

At this point I did my norm for labor. Take a shower. I always, always, always take a shower once I know that it is the real deal. Let's face it...it is going to be a few days before this happens again. Such is life with a newborn. ;) At this point, it is approaching 6:00pm (I had only been up for two and a half hours at this point).

While in the shower things began to progress quickly. It wasn't long before I realized I was already feeling a ton of pressure from Annie on my cervix. My first thought was, "oh no!" I had just told my midwife to take her time getting here...and now I was in transition. At this point I earnestly began to pray that the Lord would allow her to get there in time for the birth.

After getting out of the shower I spent what felt like quit a bit of time working through contractions while sitting on the toilet. I tried to get up many times to let Nathan know what was going on, and to get to the phone, but the contractions were coming on pretty fast and strong at this point. During this time I could hear Nathan getting things ready for the boys, and rushing around to finish up a few last minute things around the house.

I finally managed to get back to where Nathan was and told him I thought I was already in transition. I am not sure what he was thinking, but the look on his face sure said a lot. I immediately called Christy to tell her I was feeling a lot of pressure and thought I was in transition. I believe my first words were (in a very concerned voice), "are you on your way?" She was in fact on her way, but stuck in rush hour traffic (not shocking since it was around 6:30pm). Christy thought that her assistant, Kelli, would be there first. She then went on to tell me that if we thought the baby was coming before she got there, she'd walk Nathan through what to do. Ack! This is not what we were planning, or wanting. At the same time, Nathan called him mom to see if she was on her way since we needed her to take care of the boys (things were progressing so fast we knew it was pointless to try to have Keri come and get them). Thankfully, she was on her way already, but stuck in traffic as well. We also called Rebecca to let her know she should head on over (she lived down the street from us when both Samuel and Annie were born...thankfully!).

I relayed this to Nathan in between contractions. I made it back to our room where Nathan had gotten down the birth kit, put the birth sheets and liner on the bed and started putting down the bed pads "just in case". All three kids were quietly (and happily) watching The Backyardigans on our computer via Netflix while all this was going on. It was a bit surreal that things were happening so quickly, and that the Lord was so gracious to give the kids such sweet dispositions during this time. What to do with the kids during birth is always my biggest stresser before labor.

I was in quite a bit of pain by this point, and really had to focus on relaxing through the contractions. I was leaning up against the bed while Nathan was still working hard to get things put away, or ready for kids. I was continually praying that the Lord would just let Christy get here in time. I was not interested in delivering without her, and neither was Nathan.

About ten minutes after getting off the phone with Christy, Kelli got there. She immediately checked the baby's heart rate, and started getting stuff ready for the birth. She assured me that Christy was going to be there any minute. Thankfully, any minute was about five minutes after this. During this time Nathan took all the kids to Lucy's room to wait for Nana. A few minutes after this both Nana and Rebecca walked in the door. I am thinking it was round 6:45 at this point.

Rebecca came straight back to our room to start taking photos. I was ready to push at this point. Really. Looking back, I know I felt the urge to push earlier, but fought it out of fear of doing it without the birth team there. I already got on the bed to start pushing and Nathan was still in Lucy's room. He realized he needed to come back to check on me, and Lucy asked to come with him. From the beginning we had told Lucy she could stay to see Annie born if she wanted. She had said no up until this moment. They both came in to me pushing, and were able to see our sweet Annie born about three minutes later at 6:50pm.

I immediately held Annie up to my chest, and then was able to lean back on the bed and nurse her while we waited for the cord to quit pulsing. Eventually, Annie's cord was cut (how awful is this, I can't remember who cut her cord!), and we made our way to the herbal bath.

After the bath, our birth team had changed out the sheet on the bed, and got things ready for the infant exam. Nana had taken the kids to Chick-fil-A for dinner, and Target for gifts, while we were doing this. They had a blast, and came back super excited to check out their new, baby sister again (at least Lucy was). We are were and are so grateful for everyone that was there for Annie's birth. We rejoice that He heard the cry of my heart to have Christy there, and made that happen. We rejoice that Nana was there just in time to watch the boys, and ministered to our family in many different ways that day and the days, weeks and months since Annie's birth. I rejoice that Nathan worked so hard to get things in order before the birth, and spent two whole weeks taking care of everything around the house while I took time to rest and enjoy our newborn daughter. God's gracious gifts to me our family. :)

Annie weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz, and was 20 inches long. She was just between Lucy and Ben in size, and has stayed there for the last 7 month. She is a big girl, but that is normal for my babies. ;) She has been the most laid back baby we've had yet, which is such a blessing since she is on the tail end of lots of little ones.

We are so grateful for this sweet girl. When we found out we were pregnant with Annie, it was such a shock. And like any other parent, I wouldn't change the timing at all. The Lord's plans are always better than ours, and His plan to bring this sweet child into our family was much better than what we thought the plan would be. Hopefully I can post some updates soon (no promises!!), but here's a link to the birth photos. They are sweet reminders of blessings to our family. Enjoy!

By the way, if any of you are thinking of birth outside of the hospital setting, and live in the Metroplex, I would really encourage you to contact Christy Martin, our midwife. I can't say enough good things about her. Both she and Kelli were such huge blessings throughout my pregnancy with Annie, and I truly miss seeing them on a regular basis. Love you two Ladies!

I'll end this post with a current picture of our little munchkin. Man, we love that girl!

Happy 5th Birthday, Lucy!!

2011-08-22T16:56:00.000-05:00

She's Here!

2011-06-20T19:55:00.001-05:00

Annabel "Annie" Jeniece Carruth

June 9, 2011, 6:50 pm

8 lbs 3 oz, 20 inches

A gift for Annie

2011-06-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my mother-in-law made a trip to see Erin, David and the kids before their big move from Texas to New Orleans. She came back with quite a few things for Annie that were handed down, and a really sweet gift made especially for her by Auntie Erin.

Annie will be wearing that sweet, yellow hat the day she is born. And isn't that the cutest quilt and matching owl toy??? I know we'll get lots of use out of them. I envision Annie laying on that blanket and going to town chewing on the little owl when she is a few months old.

Thank you again, Erin! I am so blessed to have you as a sister-in-law, friend and sister in Christ!

40 weeks, 2 days

2011-06-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

I took this on Wednesday morning right before we left the house for my chiro appointment. This is what I am looking like these days. :)

I still think it will be a bit before Annie arrives, and that really is okay with me. I've got plenty to keep me occuppied until then.

Granbury City Beach, Take One

2011-06-01T06:43:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago we made an impromptu visit to the Granbury City Beach. The kids and I were fed, bathed, dressed and ready to go when Nathan got home from a men's breakfast at church. We didn't have anything on the agenda for that Saturday, so we decided a fun outing was in store. Thankfully, Nathan remember that this place existed.

You can read more on Nathan's blog about our outing, but here are a few pictures to enjoy.

Since we had so much fun we opted to go back the following Saturday...swimming suits and beach towels in hand this time though.

Oh, and I am two days shy of 39 weeks pregnant in the picture with Samuel. Wow! More on that soon.

Toddler View

2011-05-29T23:17:00.001-05:00

Yes, it has been two months since my last post. Let's just say taking care of three littles and growing a fourth is hard work... I am not complaining. I know abundantly we are blessed to have these sweet kiddos. It just means different priorities. And really, blogging is at the bottom of my "to do" list (especially when nesting hit over six weeks ago).

However, I thought I'd update with a ridiculous number of pictures that both Lucy and Ben took. Enjoy the view from where our toddlers stand. :)

What's in a name?

2011-03-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

Names. It can be so hard to pick a name for your child. Not until the last few year did Nathan and I put more thought into name meanings, and who they are named after. I am glad we did. It has prompted me to pray the meanings for them.

Lucy means "light" and I pray that she would shine the light of Jesus to this world as she grows older. Benjamin means "son of my right hand". This was a place of honor in the Old Testament times. My prayer is that Ben's life would be one that honors the Lord in all he does. Samuel means "heard by God". I pray that like the Samuel of the Bible that our Samuel would preach the Word in love and grace, but with boldness.

So, when we found out we were pregnant with baby #4, I had knew it would take more to come up with a name (that and we kind of have a trend going - Old Testament names for boys that are easily shortened). From the beginning I had my heart set on a certain name if this was a girl.

Now that we are 100% set on a name I am super excited to finally share the name for our sweet baby girl!

I want to start with girly's middle name. While in college Nathan and I were in a Sunday school class taught by Bobby and Jeniece Giles. They were the first believers that I had met that "spoke the word". You know what I mean. The Word was so ingrained in them and a part of who they were that it was like a language they spoke. After college we kept in touch with them and went through premarital counseling with Bobby, who married us back in 2004.

Along with our families, they were some of the first people to know we were expecting our first child. It was Christmas 2005 when we decided to stop in unexpectedly to see them in Austin on our way back from Rockport to Fort Worth. Those are sweet memories from that night. Unfortunately, that would be the last visit we would have with Jeniece. She was very ill (more ill than we had expected to find her).

When Lucy was born in August of 2006 we debated on her name up until after she was born. We kept going back on forth on her middle name being Jeniece. We ended up making it Elizabeth, thinking we'd have the opportunity in the future to name a sweet girl after our beloved Jeniece. After Lucy was born I was so caught up with the transition to mommy-hood and breastfeeding issues that I did not make the time to call Jeniece to talk about all that was going on with us, and to see how they were doing (Nathan talked to Bobby right after Lucy was born).

Three months after Lucy was born we received word that Jeniece had gone home to be with the Lord. We were not expecting this at all, and I still remember sitting on the floor calling Nathan at work to tell him. The regret in not letting Jeniece know how much we loved her and though of her is hard to explain. We agreed then and there that our next daughter would have the middle name Jeniece.

When pregnant with Ben I looked up the meaning to Jeniece. It is a variation of Jane and means "God is gracious." I could not think of a more appropriate meaning for the Jeniece we knew. She handled a long and hard illness with such grace, and truly grew to love Jesus more and more through that trial. If you knew Jeniece, you knew she loved her Savior and His Word deeply.

It saddens me to know that Jeniece will never know that we named one of our children after her, but we pray that she displays the same grace and love in her life, and has a deep, deep love for Jesus and His Word.

And Bobby, if you are reading this, we love you just as much!! :)

Bobby, Jeniece, myself, and Nathan on our wedding day (May 2004).

Now to the first name. This was a bit more challenging for us to make a final decision on. I knew what I wanted to call her, and we needed a name that could be shortened to that...it took a while for us to agree on one that we both liked.

In January of 2008 our family started going to Calvary Bible Church here in Fort Worth. I was three weeks away from my "due date" with Benjamin at the time. It was a bit of a whirlwind in meeting people, and I could barely remember my own name at the time. I remember meeting a mom who asked where I was giving birth. When I told her at home she asked who my midwife was. Small world - we had the same midwife. It would take me months to figure out who it was that had the same midwife as me. I was a bit preoccupied and for the life of me could not remember her name.

Eventually I was able to get to know this other mama more and more. We had daughters that were a month apart (and they ONLY girls their age at church), and they hit it off immediately. And, as it turns out, we had a lot in common. Even if we didn't have tons of non-important things in common, we both love and serve the same Savior.

(As a side note, I have never experienced the friendships like those with the ladies at Calvary. There is such sweet fellowship, and a real desire to see each other grow in our walks with the Lord. Sometimes that means we have to gently and graciously rebuke each other, but the in the end it is to bring us closer to Christ. There's no husband bashing or gossiping. It is SO refreshing to me, and honoring to Jesus. I am so thankful for these friends!).

There are quite a few women that I truly admire as women who love and serve the Lord, but only a handful that truly "get" my convictions on my role as a wife, mother and keeper of the home. Some of these friends I get to see regularly, some live far away. These friendships are even more precious to me as we encourage each other along. One of these is the same friend mentioned above.

In eleven days this precious friend will be boarding a flight with her husband and two daughters for France. There they will live for 15 months to learn the French language, and then they will be off to Cameroon, Africa to serve with Wycliffe Associates (part of Wycliffe Bible Translators). It is likely that we will not get to see this family face to face for another four years. And while we rejoice that they are walking obediently where our Lord is leading them, we will miss them dearly.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you've read my posts about the Dorin family. And if you happen to know them, you love them...especially our sweet Annie. It is hard for me to put into words how dearly I love this sister in Christ. She is one of the strongest believers I know, and continues to grow in humility and grace, seeking to put others first and bring glory to God. He has done a marvelous work in her and Matthew's lives, and as a family, we are grateful to be a witness to that. I can honestly say that I would be beyond grateful if my sweet girls turned out to love and serve the Lord in this same way.

From the moment I knew I was pregnant I had a strong desire for this to be a girl named Annie. Thankfully, Nathan was on board with this. We (finally!) decided on the name Annabel, which means "beautiful grace", but will be calling her Annie. I could not think of a better name for my precious daughter, and pray that she would display the beautiful grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And, I hope that some day she'll get the chance to be loved on by her namesake, and to see the beautiful grace in her life as well.

It is truly a joy to me to think of these two women who've love Jesus so deeply, and to know why we chose to name I daughter after them. Both have endured trials with such grace that only comes from depence on our Lord, and both have served Him wholeheartedly (in the field and not). I look forward to someday telling our sweet girl why we choose those name for her.

Annie, Keri and I right after I found out we were expecting #4.

So, in approximately three months (though I'd be perfectly fine if she decided to come really close to her "due date"), you will be to see pictures of our sweet Annabel "Annie" Jeniece. I can't wait to meet her!

Helping Little Hands

2011-03-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

More and more Lucy and Ben are wanting to be involved with helping in the kitchen. Yesterday we made Sourdough Tortillas for dinner. They did a pretty good job helping me out, plus it was lots of fun! Plus, we enjoyed getting to snack on them during the process.

Lucy rolling out some tortilla dough. Not bad, eh?

"Look Mommy, it's tortilla dough!"

"Look!!!"

More rolling from Lucy and flatening by hand by Ben.

A few heart shaped tortillas requested by Lucy. They didn't even make it to the freezer or dinner.

Gotta love Lucy's face here. "Take the picture, mommy. I am rolling the dough."

"Come on, take the picture."

As a side note, I've been wanting to make the switch to sourdough breads this year. I've attempted to make a starter twice and failed. I was super excited to find out from my friend Diann that Central Market sells their sourdough starter in the bakery department. Nathan kindly picked some up for me on Sunday afternoon. Two pounds for $4. I talked to the bakery manager on Monday morning for about 20 minutes getting the ins and outs of keeping the starter alive. He was super kind and told me to call back any time with questions. So, if you are local and interested in getting a starter, check out Central Market.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

2011-03-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

This last weekend we went to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to hang out. It was a beautiful day, and we had a blast. Lucy now refers to it as "the place where daddy asked mommy to marry him." :)

Ben's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-02-26T21:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Ben's 3rd birthday. Originally we had planned a small family-only party here at the house. Unfortunately, every single person that was invited either became quite ill (flu and stomach bugs) or had other things come up that prevented them from coming. So, late on Thursday Nathan and I decided to come up a with plan B.

Plan B involved calling a few friends up with kiddos close to Ben's age at the VERY last minute to see if they wanted to come and celebrate with us. Of course we bribed them with the offer of dinner and dessert, so we were able to get mostly yeses. :)

It turned out to be a really fun night. The kids played outside while the dads talked theology. Yes, at one point Brent even had Nathan's Bible out for them to make sure they were right on a certain point. The ladies were mostly inside chatting. We had dinner, dessert and more fellowship.

We certainly missed all the family that would have been here, but were thankful that we were still able to celebrate with others that care about our Ben boy.

After everyone left we gave Ben his present from the family. We ordered him a backpack from LL Bean (thank you, RetailMeNot, for helping us get free shipping AND an extra 30% off!). Inside was a dinosaur coloring book from everyone and a little dump truck that Lucy bought with money from her piggy bank. He is liking having the backpack, but loves the truck from Lucy. :)

Here are some picture from the night. Enjoy!

P.S. Note that Lucy now poses for pictures. There were plenty that Nathan took with her making goofy poses and generally just hamming it up. Silly girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Benjamin!!

2011-02-25T07:30:00.000-06:00

It is really hard for me to fathom that our first born son is now three years old. I remember his birth like it was yesterday. I suppose it will always feel like this...at least that is what I am told. Today we celebrate that the Lord blessed us three years ago with the birth of our Ben.

A few hours after he was born.

His first birthday.

His second birthday.

Three years old.

Benjamin,

Your daddy and I are SO grateful that the Lord blessed us with you as a son. Your energy and love for adventure keeps us on our toes. You are still the most snugly child we know, and love it when you come to snuggle when you wake up before Lucy and Samuel. It has been a joy to watch you recently with your love of letters and understanding of learning something new.

Your name means "son of my right hand", which was a place of honor during the Old Testament times. Our prayer for your is that your life would be one that brings honor to our Savior, Jesus. May you know the amazing grace that was poured out for your sins by Jesus on the cross at Calvary, and live a life that seeks to tell others of this wonderful truth for His glory.

We love you, and look forward to what the next year with you brings. Happy Birthday, Ben!!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Tea Party, Anyone?

2011-02-24T23:19:00.000-06:00

This is what we often find in Lucy's room after her "quiet time" while the boys nap. Notice that everyone is dressed up and ready for their tea (and cakes, I believe). I love her imagination and creativity. I think she is going to really enjoying teaching baby sister about being a girl.

Jessica's Hope

2011-02-21T23:13:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine shared a link on facebook today from a blog she reads. The blog post, Hope does not put to shame, was written by a husband who lost his young wife to cancer on February 8th, just two days after delivering their second child. I hope you will head on over to Jessica's Hope to read their story.

Though I grieve for this family, and am praying for them, I found their firm faith in the Lord Jesus incredibly encouraging. I have a great friend that says she wants to suffer well for Christ in trials. I have to say that this is exactly what the Council family has done, and God is certainly using it for His glory.

"After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:10-11

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-21T16:33:00.000-06:00

Last Monday the kids and I had loads of fun celebrating Valentines Day. This is not normally a day we celebrate, but we thought the day of "love" would be a perfect time to talk more about God's love for us.

We made cards for grandparents and a few friends the week before. Most were mailed beforehand, but we ended up delivering quite a few that day. Before that though, we enjoyed heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes. They were pretty tasty.

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

Early Spring?

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-06:00

I am not sure about everyone else, but we are loving the current Spring-like weather that we are experiencing right now. It has been SO nice!! One can't help but spend the majority of the day outside when it is sunny and in the 70s. If I didn't know any better I'd think it was Spring already!

We've managed to get a few pictures over the last few weeks of the kids enjoying the warmer than normal temps. Enjoy!

Samuel playing in the back garden bed. This will have veggies growing in a month or two, but right now he thinks it is his very own dirt pit.

And yes, that would be dirt he is eating. Boys...

Ben & Sam enjoying the "dirt pit".

Last week it was warm enough to put water in the water table. All three kids were super excited. This was Samuel's first experience with the water table. He is a big fan.

Like I said, he is a big fan.

Another first for Samuel - sand in the sandbox.

Lucy showing Samuel how you are "supposed" to play in sand.

He ended up liking this better than the water table.

Snow Day!

2011-02-20T21:38:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we a decent amount of snow fall for North Texas. We woke up to a Winter wonderland. The kids were so excited when they looked out the window to see it had actually snowed why they were asleep.

We managed to get a few pictures, but not many. Turns out the extremely cold temperatures (I believe in the low 20s this day) were not fun to be out in.

Ben likes the idea of snow. He was outside all of two minutes before falling and coming inside crying. He wasn't hurt, just mad. He decided to snuggle under our covers and watch The Backyardigans while Lucy continued to play outside.

Lucy actually playing in the snow. I think she lasted about 10-15 minutes.

Both kiddos snuggled up and enjoying the show while little brother napped.

Nathan had gone into work that morning, but decided to just pick up some things to work on at home since he thought the roads might get worse throughout the day. Here he is hard at work on specs for a project. It sure was fun to have Daddy home, even if he was working most of the time. :)

One of the benefits of playing in the cold weather outside...hot chocolate!

The first two days of snow were nice, but we were glad when it melted and could leave the house. I think most of North Texas was less than thrilled when it snowed again the following week.

Samuel's 1st Birthday Party

2011-02-13T16:58:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Samuel's birthday on the 22nd of January with some of our family. It was a lot of fun, and such a blessing to get to hang out with everyone. The kids had a blast, though we only managed to get almost no pictures of anyone but Sam. Oh well. It was his birthday party after all.

Nathan replaced the photos on our photo wall with pictures from Samuel's first year of life. So sweet!

Enjoying some nice weather outside while Grammy walk the birthday boy around.

Hmmm. Chili for lunch.

Apparently we have made it to the stage of goofy picture poses from Lucy.

Again, goofy girl. :)

Singing "happy birthday" to Samuel.

Ben "helping" Samuel blow his candle out.

Sam's first bite of anything cake-like (that I know of). He has issues with gluten, so I ended up making gluten-free chocolate cupcake. They were really good!

This face means he approves.

Playing with the fun pull toy from Nana. All the kids think this thing is the greatest. It is really cute.

I can still hardly believe our little man is a year old. He is not near walking, which isn't surprising since both Lucy and Ben walked at 15 months (hopefully he will be soon...our backs hurt from holding his hands as he has us "walk" him around the house). You can tell he wants to keep up with Lucy and Ben, especially Ben. He loves being wherever they are, and trying to get into their things. He is saying more words (Mama, Daddy, no, ruff ruff ruff, yes, uh oh...I can't remember the rest right off hand), and is able to communicate what he wants much better than Ben was at this point.

We are so grateful for this little guy. He is so sweet. Really, so sweet. Although I am ready for him to walk, I know that I will miss how often we get to carry him about these days. I can't believe he is going to be a big brother in four months!

Free Audiobook: Adopted for Life

2011-02-09T11:22:00.001-06:00

I learned today that February's free audiobook of the month is Russell Moore's Adopted for Life. I recently posted about reading this last month. You can find the audiobook here.

Besties

2011-02-03T17:04:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago our church family was delighted to have the Dorin family in town for their last visit to Cowtown before they depart for France, and then Camaroon, Africa. Everyone was excited to get to spend some time with these dear friends of ours, especially Lucy!

You see we have a very heavy boy population at our church. Very much so (to the point that at Lucy's second birthday party she was the only girl!). However, when we got to Calvary there happened to be another little girl who was a month older than Lucy. Danielle (aka Dani).

Lucy and Danielle soon became friends, and later to be besties. It was so fun to watch them play and interact with each other. Dani was most definitely the leader and stronger personality, and Lucy happy to follow. Their personalities were perfect for each other, and their sweet, little friendship flourished.

Since Dani's family moved for training with Wycliffe, a summer in Camaroon, Africa, and then back to Houston to stay with family and continue on with raising support, Lucy has constantly talked about Danielle moving to Africa and missing her. Often she would say out of the blue how sad she was that Danielle was moving so far away. These have been great teachable moments for Lucy to learn about missions and going to preach the Gospel.

All that said, Lucy couldn't wait to see Danielle one last time for a few years (or at least FOUR!). Nathan managed to get a few pictures of the girls for their last visits together. :)

Notice the picture of Lucy and Danielle on her desk? :)

Lucy showing us the paintings Danielle gave her as a goodbye gift. She also got a pair of authentic African sandals that came from Camaroon.

We can't wait to see how the Lord uses the Dorin family for His glory and to spread His truth. We will miss them VERY much, but rejoice that they are following the Lord in obedience.

Lucy's Alphabet Practice

2011-01-29T21:05:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I saw that Lucy had written the alphabet on our chalkboard. No one asked her to, or prodded her. She just did it. I was really impressed. I love how both her and Ben love letters, sounds and figuring out words these days. It makes teaching much easier when they want to learn.

Sorry for the bad picture. The flash and angle makes it hard to see the whole thing.

Can you tell she is ready to be done with the pictures? At least you can kind of see her hard work a bit better on this one.

22 Weeks and...

2011-01-26T16:17:00.002-06:00

Monday marked the twenty-two week mark for our little one. I am still feeling great. I am finally starting to feel more movement. We had found out at my last appointment that the placenta implanted anterior, so that would be why it is taking longer than normal to feel more movement.

This morning we had our sonogram. With Lucy we decided to find out the sex, but with both boys we opted to be surprised (which I love!). This time around we knew that Lucy had her heart set on having a little sister, and decided for her sake we would go ahead and find out ahead of time to prepare her for the possibility of having a brother.

Sorry for the blurry picture. I took a pic of the sono pic, so there you go.

I was convinced that we are having a boy, and had really gotten used to the idea of three little guys close in age. Nathan was convinced it was a girl based on the heartbeat. Only one of use could be right. It was not me.

It's a GIRL!

Lucy was there for the sonogram, and was very excited. She told me that this is her favorite sister, and that they would share a room. She is going to love this.

As for the name, I will share that soon. We have had the middle name picked out since Lucy was born (and still regret not making it her middle name), but the first is one that we need to settle on. I have one that my heart is set on, but we shall see what Nathan says.

The Perfect Pot Roast

2011-01-25T21:21:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I love beef. Specifically, grass-fed and finished beef from one of our many local farms. However, this type of beef typically costs much more than the grain-fed, feed lot counterpart you find in your local grocery stores. Who wants to waste expensive meat on a so so or bad recipe? Not me!

So, I set out to find a good pot roast recipe that didn't involve it basically boiling in a pot of water with potatoes and carrots for the day. This was the only way I'd ever known to cook a pot roast (in the crockpot), and it worked for us for a long time. However, after a while, we just were tired of it. It didn't have a great flavor, and seemed like it could be much better.

Enter allrecipes.com.

After a little searching, I found this recipe. I decided to give it a try. It seemed almost too simple, but the reviews were great (don't you love getting to read reviews of recipes to know what to expect?). Let me just say that this is the only recipe I will be using for our pot roasts from here on out. Every time I make this meal both Nathan and I can go on and on about how much better this is than what I used to make.

I thought I'd go ahead and share the recipe here and a few tips that might be helpful.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil (I used coconut oil)
4 lb boneless chuck roast (I used bone in chuck roast)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic, so I used 4 cloves)
2 bay leaves (I used 4)
1 tsp salt (I used Real Salt Sea Salt)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.Heat a heavy Dutch oven on top of the stove over medium high heat. Add oil, and sear meat in the center of the pan for 4 minutes. Turn meat over with tongs; sear all sides for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove meat from pan. Arrange onion, garlic, and 1 bay leaf in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return meat to pan, place remaining bay leaf on top of meat, and cover.
3.Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove roast to a platter to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice, and top with onions and gravy.

Tips
1. You really, really, really do have to sear for the full 3-4 minutes. Use a timer, it helps.
2. Do NOT add the salt and pepper to the hot dutch oven before adding the onion and garlic. Especially if you do not have an overhead vent. Trust me. You and your family will regret it and have to evacuate to avoid coughing fits.
3. You may need to check on the roast after it has cooked for the initial 30 minutes at 325 and an hour at 350. My roasts are thin and wide, so they cook faster.
4. You could probably cut the salt in half if you wanted. We like it at the full tsp, but it could be too salty for some.

This seriously is a delicous roast. Once you pull the roast out there is a delicious gravy in the bottom that goes great over the meat and mashed potatoes (or mashed cauliflower, like we had to night). The Pioneer Woman's Roasted Carrots are a perfect side with the potatoes and meat. Along with some fresh baked bread and a salad. Yum!

Educational DVDs - Skeptic No More

2011-01-24T20:50:00.000-06:00

Let me introduce you to something that I was very skeptical of owning. I had been told by multiple homeschooling moms that I respect that they didn't actually teach their children their phonics, but let them watch the Letter Factory DVD by LeapFrog.

I initially wrote off the advice I had received and thought I'd go ahead and just teach the kids this information myself. And with Lucy that worked great. She was eager to learn her letters and their sounds early on. So, we just did it. Ben was another story. He could have cared less about learning this information. And that was okay...he is not even three yet.

However, at Christmas my sister Suzanne was doing the grandkid gift shopping for my dad. She needed suggestions on all three of ours, and I was at a loss for Ben since I knew what all his other gifts were going to be...and that he did not need anymore toys. I thought, "why not give it a try?" So, my sister picked up a package of LeapFrog videos including Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory and Let's Go To School.

Fast forward to three weeks after getting a chance to watch the videos a few times a week and Ben already knows ALL of his alphabet and sounds. Seriously! I was shocked that he learned it so fast. Not only that, but he is now pointing out letters and sounds everywhere we go. He is constantly getting the letter magnets off the fridge to come tell me the letter and sounds, and is interested in our "lessons" with the letter of the week now. It is great!

So, from one mom to another, don't be skeptical when an experienced mom offers you advice. It might be worth listening to and taking. It was for us, and many other moms I know.

Good Bereans

2011-01-23T21:29:00.005-06:00

I had been anticipating tonight all week. The team from our church that went to Uganda to serve with SOS Ministries was giving their mission trip report. I couldn't wait to hear what the Lord had done while they were there, and to find out how He had used this to work in their own hearts during that two week stay.

Oh, why do I always seem to think that I will go to things like this to just enjoy myself and not think (or pray) about how He could use it to change my own heart? So naive...

Almost every mission report I have ever heard given the people talk about how they go thinking they are going to make an impact for God and teach those they are going to only to have their own hearts worked on, and learn from the people they go to serve. It was no different tonight when we heard the report.

There were three things that I have been thinking about since hearing of them. One was how the Ugandan believers were so desperate for more of the gospel, more of Jesus, more of His word. Like I blogged about yesterday, they long for Him and His Word like a newborn babe longs for his mother's milk. To think I was just studying about this and was being convicted in my own heart about where my longings are.

The second was how every time they would share something with the believers there they would be asked where they found that in the Word. They consistently wanted to know where that was in the Bible so they could know for themselves. It reminded me so much of Paul talking about the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12:

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

You often hear pastors and teachers tell us to be "Good Bereans", meaning we should be constantly examining the Scriptures to see if what we hear is true. I don't know about you, but I don't always do that...and I should. We should never take what we are taught about God, Jesus or the Scripture as truth until we have seen for ourselves what the Bible says on a subject (and definitely make sure it is not taken out of context and twisted!).

Convicting? It was to me!

The last was when one of the men shared about how they had gone into the village to share the gospel with the locals there. It was interesting that they received the same responses and questions that they would when going downtown to witness on the weekends. He kept saying that they are just like us, just in a different place with a lot less than we have. And really regardless of where anyone is the biggest need is Jesus. It doesn't matter if you living in plenty or in want, Jesus is the most important thing. As it was put, "Our most basic need is the gospel, all else is a blessing on top of that."

Turns out that God can use even a report of what His believers are doing in Uganda to teach me a thing or two...I have a lot to learn.

Like a baby longs for milk...

2011-01-22T22:19:00.003-06:00

Have you ever seen a hungry newborn baby? If you are a mother you definitely have. They root around searching for the source of their nourishment, sometimes almost desperate to meet their longing.

Then once found, they drink in their milk in with vigor and satisfaction.

And so it should be for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Not for milk, but for the Word of God. It is our nourishment, our satisfaction, our lives. Without His Word we can not be sustained.

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this was the word preached to you. Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. ~ 1 Peter 1:22-2:3

Happy 1st Birthday, Samuel!!

2011-01-21T16:49:00.006-06:00

It is hard to believe that a year ago today our sweet Samuel was born. I can honestly say that this has been the quickest year of my life. It has been a wonderful year, and we are so grateful to our Lord for this sweet gift of a son.

Samuel in the herbal bath right after his birth.

Nathan and Samuel a week or so old.

Nathan and Samuel at one month.

Two months old with mama at a kite festival.

Three months old - Easter Sunday.

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months - he loves sucking his fingers.

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

Samuel, you have been such a blessing to our family, and we are so thankful for your presence in our lives. The Lord has definitely taught you Daddy and me that we really have a lot to learn as parents...and that we can not do it on our own. We are certain that He will continue to use you to teach us, and we pray that He will use you to show others what He is like in the future. May your life bring Him glory. We love, Son! Happy Birthday, Samuel!!

Book Review: Adopted for Life

2011-01-20T11:14:00.006-06:00

Before the new year I decided to more intentional in what and how much I read outside of the Word. I had been encouraged by Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking about finding more time to read as a homemaker, and by my bother-in-law's reading goals for 2010.

So, I decided to make a reading list to help keep me on track.

I knew the first book I wanted to read this year was Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore. I had seen this book at the home school fair last year, and it was recommended by a number of friends. I actually finished this one over a week ago, and it is now being read by Nathan.

Moore not only brings to light why Christians should be at the forefront of adoption and the care of orphans, but the importance of seeing the gospel in the the adoption orphans. And really you can not separate the two as adoption is such a clear picture of the gospel.

The only part that I could not agree with Moore on 100% was with regards to an adopted child's heritage. I know there are many thoughts on this, but I still think it is important for a child to know their roots and have that included in some way in their lives. Though their lives are now with their new family and they have a new heritage, so to speak, I find it a bit concerning to totally cut them off from the heritage they were born into.

Otherwise, this was an excellent book. I think the subtitle could scare some off from reading this book, but I would not let that deter you. Certainly, Dr. Moore has given our family a lot to think about. Not only about the orphan crisis that exists and what role we will play in caring for them, but pondering our own adoption into the family of God through Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ~ Ephesians 1:3-6

If you are interested, you can find a great review at Discerning Reader on this and many Christian titles.

Quinoa and Black Beans Recipe

2011-01-19T15:48:00.002-06:00

This is one of our favorite recipes in this house. It is rare that we have a recipe that everyone will eat more than once a month without complaint. This is one of those recipes that we are all happy to enjoy.

This recipes is based on this Pinto Bean recipe that I used to make often as well. However, I have been trying to eat fewer grains, so quinoa was a perfect substitute for the brown rice. I am also working on simplifying the foods I buy since we are moving to buying more foods in bulk, so black beans it was.

This is a relatively inexpensive and tasty meal that I though could be enjoyed by anyone that is interested. So, here you go...

Ingredients

1 lb dried black bean
1/3 cup salsa
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
3 bay leaves
1-2 cup cooked quinoa

1. Sort and rinse beans in colander.
2 Put in a crock pot (or large pot) with 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and enough warm water to cover for 12-24 hours.
3 Drain and rinse, cover with water plus about 2 inches over top of beans.
4 Add all ingredients, except rice.
5 Cook on low in crock pot about 6-8 hours til tender. (Add water if necessary)
6 Add quinoa and cook until warm.

We like to eat this with sour cream, avocado and salsa on top, a side of veggies and cornbread.

Enjoy!!

Halfway There!

2011-01-17T21:27:00.002-06:00

It is hard to believe, but today I am 21 weeks pregnant with baby #4. It has flown by SO fast. So incredibly fast!

One might wonder why I consider 21 weeks as the halfway point...well, because my pregnancies always go long. So, I fully expect to be closer to 42 weeks than 40 weeks when I deliver. Thankfully, Nathan and I have learned enough to know that this is normal and okay. So, we just wait a wee bit longer, and learn about patience and trusting in the Lord's timing for our little ones.

Here is what pregnancy.org says is going on this week:

•White blood cells are under production. Leukocytes (or white blood cells) form our body's defense system. They help fight infections and diseases.
•Our little one's skin has changed from translucent to become more opaque.
•Our infant's tongue is fully formed.
•If our baby is a girl, her womb and vagina are formed. Unlike males, females have a limited supply of eggs in their lifetime. At this point our daughter will have 6 million eggs. This amount decreases to approximately one million by birth.
•Baby swallows more this week. After our baby takes in amniotic fluid, his body absorbs the water in the liquid and moves the rest into the large bowel. This is good practice for his digestive system!
•Wake and sleep periods become more consistent. Some research suggests that baby sets her internal clock to match the outside world's even before birth! My eating and sleeping habits as well levels of light and noise serve as her signals.
•Length is now measured crown to heel.
•Baby measures about 10.51 inches (26.7cm) and weighs nearly 12.7 ounces (360g).

After a lot of discussion and consideration Nathan and I did decide to find out the baby's gender this time around. I am a tad jealous of my friends not knowing until the birth, but know that we agreed to this at the beginning. So, Lord willing, we will get to peak at baby #4 next week and may know if we are having a he or a she. My bet is on a he. Either way, I am excited!

Christmas with Nana

2011-01-17T16:24:00.008-06:00

Our last celebration was with Nana and the W's. Lucy and Ben are always excited to see their Houston cousins, and had a blast with them. We were able to have our Christmas celebration on Christmas eve, go to the Christmas Eve service at Nana's church, have Christmas lunch at our house (hmmm...fajitas!), and one last get together at Nana's with a surprise for her on Christmas night.

Everyone just getting to Nana's. The W's have a tradition of getting PJs for Christmas, and wearing them to open presents.

Ben and Jono. Oh these two...boy do they love each other. They are like best cousins. It would be wonderful if we lived closer to them...I know these boys would love it.

Kiddos opening gifts. Look at that hair on Hazel!! Lucy is the only girl on either side of our families with straight hair.

Lucy and Baby Sally.

Nana showing Ben his combo Christmas and Birthday gift of a train table. He plays with this every.single.day.

Lucy and Nana checking out Sally.

Jono showing off his flying chicken game. Hilarious!

Nana giving Samuel his snuggy of a soft, yellow elephant.

Samuel showing off the adorable hat that Aunt Erin made him. I wish I had her talent.

Charlie playing with the cars.

Lucy acting as goalie. Not sure that she got the point of her job... She is at least enjoying the hat Aunt Erin made her. Again, isn't she talented?!?

Lucy, David with Hazie, Charlie, Nana and Ben - enjoying some time outside before it started raining.

Lucy more interested in taking photos.

All the boys playing ball in the back yard at Nana's.

More soccer. Lucy looks a little more ready.

Ben and Charlie. Charlie might be the most photogenic child we've ever met.

The Cousins and Lucy.

The kid's table during dinner.

Christmas morning was at our house and the cousins brought their bounce house with them. It was a hit...mostly.

Ben and Lu.

Samuel and me staying inside where it was warm.

Back at Nana's for dinner on Christmas...the kid's table again. They are getting so big!

Gotta love that face...he was annoyed that Nana would take his other finger to walk with him. He has strong opinions, and is not afraid to let you know about them.

Hazie dressed as a Christmas angel. We surprised Nana by dressing the kids up with Nativity costumes. I was able to borrow everything from a friend at church, who has them for her grandkids to dress up with every year. It was so fun.

Jono the Shepherd

Ben (shepherd), Charlie (Joseph), Lucy (Mary) and Hazel (angel)

Attempting to get the kids situated for pictures. Samuel the Shepherd was not very cooperative.

The three that seemed to actually enjoy this. Charlie, Hazel and Lucy.

Samuel didn't last long.

Hazie was a great angel. She might just look the part.

Charlie, Hazel, Lucy and Jono

We ended the night with our little crew watching a Charlie Brown Christmas and eating popcorn. It was a good end to a great time of celebrating and fun.

Christmas at Home

2011-01-17T16:07:00.003-06:00

When we got back home from Rockport we went ahead and celebrated at our house. It was pretty simple. One gift for each kiddo (plus Lucy bought a gift for each of her brothers out of her savings). It was nice to just relax and enjoy some down time with each other before getting to see Nana and are Houston cousins the next day.

Lucy showing off the gifts for her brothers.

Lucy approaching her gift. Yeah, we didn't "wrap" it. It was a doll house.

Samuel and Mommy. I love this picture!

Samuel opening his gfit from Lucy.

I guess he didn't realize you don't actually eat an ice cream truck.

Ben loved his race car. I am still not sure why he is doing his "chugga chugga, choo choo" in this one though.

Lucy got me a pack of gum. Not sure what to think of that.

Christmas with Pa

2011-01-17T15:58:00.004-06:00

While in Rockport we also were able to spend a little time with Pa and Bradley (my dad and baby brother), and get to celebrate Christmas one night at their house. Though we were not able to see my dad a lot since it is his busy season, we enjoyed the time we did have.

Samuel enjoying his dinner. He couldn't have the seafood boil the adults were able to enjoy. Hmmm...

Pa and Samuel.

I was being a bit goofy. Samuel was in his normal pose. Fingers in mouth.

Emah. Not sure what this face was about.

Ben and Pa while we opened gifts. You can slightly see Sarah on her laptop. She is always on her laptop.

Rusy and baby Quinton. This was the first time I was able to see him in person. Precious!!

Christmas with Opa and Gigi

2011-01-17T15:33:00.006-06:00

After our two days in Austin we made our way down to Rockport to celebrate with my side of the family. The kids had a blast with their cousins, Emah and Taylor, and loved getting to see all the family in general.

Everyone hanging out outside while the kiddos played. You can kind of see Samantha's baby bump for Emah's little brother or sister. :)

Sam and Sam coming down the slide.

Ben checking the horses out. He was quite timid around them.

Lucy was not near as timid. She loved them.

Sweet Samuel...he was all smiles.

Ben being a boy at the pond.

And in the tree.

All the girls (and Ben) hanging out outside some more.

Ben and Opa lounging. So sweet!

Samuel attacking Gigi in an attempt to get the grape she was peeling. Hilarious!

Lucy playing with an old toy mini van.

Showing off her ballet outfit and clips made by Aunt Suzanne.

Samantha was our gift passer-outer. Is that a word?

A picture that my sister Sarah drew of Emah for Samantha's gift. We were all very impressed!

I got to love on my newest nephew, Quinton!! He was only a few days old at this point. Eek!!!

Lucy was obviously just as excited as I was!

Opa and Ben checking out the horses a bit closer.

Lucy and Opa...again, she wasn't shy.

Taylor and Ben enjoying some swing time with Aunt Suzanne.

We had a great time, and were sad to leave. It is hard to get all of my family together (there are only ten kids...seven of them living somewhere other than Rockport), so we definitely enjoy it when we do. Since there will be two little cousins added to the bunch this summer, it might be a bit before we get to do this again.

Christmas with Grandude and Grammy

2011-01-17T15:10:00.004-06:00

We started of our week of Christmases in Austin with Grandude and Grammy. We had a wonderful time with them for two nights. The kids had a blast, and we are thankful for the time we were able to spend together.

Grandude and Lucy coloring paper peaple while Ben plays with some of the toys.

Samuel and Grammy. They were like two peas in a pod while there.

Ben found this toy while there and was a hoot! He looked like he was ready to play in a jazz band.

Grandude reading the Christmas story from the Word before we opened gifts.

Samuel and I during the present opening.

Happy Sam.

Grandude reading to Ben and Lucy.

Grammy and Grandude getting some laughs and tickles out of Samuel.

Fall Fun

2011-01-16T21:14:00.003-06:00

I shot this video a month or more back of Lucy and Ben enjoying all the leaves from the back yard. We raked them up to put on top of our garden after planting garlic.

They enjoyed the whole process - raking the leaves, jumping in them, and then putting them in the raised bed. Even if we don't end up with an abundance of garlic (yum!), at least we had fun in the process.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-01-16T15:07:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd share some of the prep work in preparing our home and hearts for Christmas this year. Somehow I managed to not get a final picture of our decorated tree, but at least there are some "in progress" pics.

Wooden Nativity set Nana gave us last year. The kids absolutely love playing with Nativity sets.

Nathan and the kids getting the tree and trimmings down from the attic.

Ben standing and wondering why this tree is coming out of a box...allergies, dear.

Lucy helping.

Lucy with part of our wooden Nativity set shown above, and a felt Nativity scene. The girl likes for us to take pictures of her.

Lucy and Jackie Lee. She apparently dressed herself, but not JL. They are showing the work of an over-zealous, white light loving Daddy. He ended up taking them all off to redo the lights.

And even though we didn't get a picture of our tree from this year, it looked the same as last year. Like last year, we used the tree as a tool to teach the kids about the coming of the Messiah and the Gospel. Amazingly, Lucy remembered everything from last year. It is exciting to see how the Lord is already working in her little heart.

We hope that you all have a blessed Christmas season, and joined with the Shepherds in worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Actual pictures from our FIVE Christmas celebrations will hopefully be up this week. Hopefully. I make no promises.

Dora and Friends

2011-01-16T14:59:00.001-06:00

Lucy is definitely a budding little artist. She loves all things arts and crafts. Unfortunately, most of her great drawings are done on a dry erase board. So, we have to get pictures of them to remember them since they will soon be destroyed by a certain little brother.

Lucy drew this back in December. Can you pick out all the characters from Dora the Explorer (the show I swore my children would never watch)?

Thanksgiving Tree

2011-01-16T14:49:00.003-06:00

Yes, I am a little late on this one. Just two months, but who's counting?

I just wanted to share a family project we had leading up to Thanksgiving, and that we kept up for much of December. Our Thanksgiving Tree.

I drew the tree trunk on brown packing paper free hand, and stapled it to white paper on a cork board. I ordered various fall-colored paper leaves to write on. Every night after finishing family worship, we would write something on a few different leaves that we were thankful for.

As you can see, we easily filled up the tree by the time Thanksgiving came around. It was a great way for the kids (and me!!) to visually be reminded of how blessed we are by our Lord.

We will definitely be making this a tradition in our home.

Oh, and please forgive the messy, crooked handwriting. It happens. A lot.

"I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High." Psalm 7:17

Broken

2011-01-07T15:09:00.004-06:00

I just got the boys down for naps and Lucy settled for her quiet time. I decided to indulge in a few cookies while catching up on some blog reading. Little did I know that God was going to totally break me within a few minutes.

There are a few ministries in Uganda that I have become aware of, and have been following the blogs of those that are ministering there. One of those is Renee with Serving His Children. While reading today's post by Renee, I totally lost it. Sobbing crying losing it. Crying out to my God and my Savior on behalf of the least of these that He seems to keep making me more and more aware of. I don't know what He is doing, or what I am supposed to be doing, but I am broken - that is for sure.

And really, how could I not be when I read up on orphan care and find the following stats:

Sub-Saharan Africa Orphan Statistics

•The total number of orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa is greater than the total number of children in Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Canada and Sweden.
•There are currently an estimated 53.1 million orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of those children, 30% lost parents to the AIDS epidemic.
•An estimated 12% of all children in Sub-Saharan Africa are orphans. Of those children, 5.7 million were orphaned in 2010 alone.
•There are 28.5 million estimated maternal orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Asia Orphan Statistics

•There are currently 68.9 million orphans in Asia, giving this region the largest absolute number of orphans in the world.
•Roughly 6% of all children in Asia are orphans, with 7.7 million orphaned in 2010 alone.
•In Cambodia, Laos and Korea the prevalence is even higher where 10% of all children are orphans.
•There are 20.3 million maternal orphans in Asia.

Latin America Orphan Statistics

•Roughly 5% of all children in Latin America are orphans (10.2 million in total), with 1.2 million orphaned in 2010 alone.
•Even before the tragic earthquake in Haiti, over 15% of children were estimated to be orphans, more than twice the regional average.
•There are 2.5 million maternal orphans in Latin America.
•Many are orphaned or abandoned as a result of poverty, conflict, or natural disaster.

Foster Care in the United States

Approximately 25,000 children age out of the foster care system every year at age 18.

•25% of these foster children will become homeless
•56% of these emancipated foster care children enter the unemployment ranks
•27% of the emancipated male children in foster care end up in jail
•30% of the emancipated females in foster care experience early parenthood

It is easy to read something like that and to just see the numbers and be overwhelmed. But those numbers represent LIVES. Lives of millions of babies, children and teenagers that were created just like us in the image of God.

This immediately makes me think of what Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-46.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne."All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

How we treat the least of these is how we treat Jesus Himself. Those are sobering words...at least for me! Regardless of who you are, if you are in Christ, you ARE called to care for the least of these in some form or fashion. I am not sure what this will look like for our family exactly, but I know where my heart is - with the fatherless, the starving, the least of these. My heart is burdened to do something, anything.

We are told in James 1:27 that

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

After visiting two widows in our family in nursing homes over Christmas (one there temporarily recovering from surgery, but normally lives with her daughter and son-in-law, and one that lives there permanently), Nathan and I became more convicted than we already were about caring for our parents as they get older. I felt just as broken leaving those places as I did when I read Renee's blog post today. It is no wonder that we read in 1 Timothy 5:8

"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

As Nathan put it, "it seems scandalous to put one of our parents into a nursing home when you think of all they have done for us." I agree. And again, I am not sure what this will look like some day, but I am burdened that we not leave it to someone else to care for those that spent a large portion of their lives caring for us.

I just started going through 1 Peter in my quiet times. It amazes me how even in the introductions I can learn so much! Peter is writing this letter to the persecuted first century church. I was struck by what he says in the first two verses:

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest."

Did you catch that? "Chosen...to obey Jesus Christ." Regardless of where you stand on the predestination issues (and that is not the point I am trying to make here), the point of our salvation is not just peace in death. We are saved to obey, and that obedience brings Him glory and shows others what He is like.

I am keeping this at the forefront of my mind. My purpose in life is not about me and my own comfort and pleasure.

So, I will continue to cry out to my God on behalf of these, and seek His wisdom on how our family fits into His plan of caring for those that so many will easily cast aside as unwanted, unloved, or not needed. I know that He has a plan for us in all of this, and I am certain that it will involve Him being glorified and us being sanctified.

"Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." 2 Corinthians 5:9

For those interested, here are some other blogs/ministries that have been laid on my heart:

On Earth As It Is In Heaven - Katie's blog

Amazima Ministries International

Project Hopeful

Drawn from Water

Elpis Ministries International

Be the Hands and Feet - Renee's blog

Serving His Children

Walk down memory lane...

2010-12-05T15:08:00.003-06:00

Nathan and I were looking through some old pictures on the computer and found this video of Lucy from two years ago. I can't believe how little she was...and how BIG she is now! Sweet girl. I love her so much!

Nana's Birthday

2010-12-03T15:51:00.003-06:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we were able to celebrate Nana's birthday with her. She and the kids played outside, we enjoyed grilled fajitas with all the fixings and leftover deep dark chocolate tart from Thanksgiving. It was great fun, though we certainly missed getting to spend the celebration (and Thanksgiving) with the Wallaces.

Here are some pictures from that day. Somehow they are mostly of Samuel, but I figure that is okay since we have been really bad about sharing more recent photos of him.

Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you!!

Rub A Dub Dub

2010-12-02T18:38:00.002-06:00

Three kids in a tub!

The night before Thanksgiving all three kids took a bath together for the first time. Lu and Ben usually take a bath together, but this was Sam's first time. He liked it much more than his normal, lonely baths.

Don't they look like they are having fun?! Of course, I love getting to watch all our kiddos play together. It brings me a lot of joy to see them begin to form friendships with each other.

And as a side note - can you believe Samuel is now 10 months old!? Where did my newborn go? He is so cute I just want to squeeze him...so I do! :)

Here With Us

2010-12-02T14:25:00.002-06:00

I usually don't listen to a lot of Christian radio around here since I find the commercials and programming a bit frustrating. However, one of our local stations plays Christmas music starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. And since we don't own any Christmas CDs, this is great.

The other day the kids and I were running errands when I heard two of my favorite Christmas songs in a row. The first was O Holy Night (who doesn't like that one!?!), and the second was Here with Us by Joy Williams.

I am pretty sure that Here With Us is my favorite contemporary Christmas song. So much truth to ponder. I especially love how she sings Hallelujah in response to the truth she just sang about. Thinking about the truths being sung was a bit overwhelming to me as I was driving, and I admit that I was certainly worshipping through tears of joy as I sang along.

I thought I'd share the song with you all. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas!!

14 weeks and my first midwife appointment

2010-12-02T11:04:00.002-06:00

I am not sure how it happened, but I am already out of the first trimester. If we continue on at this rate I will be totally unprepared for this baby! Not really...well, not totally, just somewhat.

As of Monday I was 14 weeks along. Below is a picture of a what our little one might look like. What an amazing Creator we have that knits us together.

According to pregnancy.org, here is what is happening this week:

•Thyroid gland has matured and baby begins producing hormones which will be used throughout his or her life.
•In boys, the prostate gland develops
•In girls, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis
•Baby's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day!
•Baby's skin is very transparent still
•Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the baby's body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in all that water!
•Baby is approximately 3.42 inches (8.7cm) long and weighs about 1.52 ounces (43 grams) - approximately the weight of a letter!

On Monday I also had my first midwife appointment. Everything seems to be great, for which I am grateful. I was excited to get to hear the baby's heartbeat (always such a surreal experience to realize there is another human inside you!)...160 beats per minute. I still feel great, just more tired this trimester than the first. Weird.

Our midwife team is a bit different this time around. Christy Martin is our primary midwife, with Cindy Haggerton as backup (she was an assistant at Ben's birth, and was the primary midwife at Samuel's birth) and one of the student midwives (not sure which at this point). I am excited to have these ladies that love the Lord as our birth team. I love that they are my sisters in Christ - it is such a huge blessing!!

I hope to upload pics of the kids soon. I make no promises...I am BUSY around here! lol

Baby Progression & A Correction

2010-10-22T14:35:00.005-05:00

As usual at the beginning of my pregnancies, I told you the wrong number of weeks along I am. Can I just blame the pregnancy brain and taking care of a home and family? Because I am...

I am actually 8 1/2 weeks along. I will be 9 weeks on Monday. My estimated due date of May 30th still stands. However, I know my babies like to bake extra long. Since that is the case I am not counting on giving birth before June 10th. We shall see. lol

According to pregnancy.org, here is what our little one looks like.

These are the normal developments for week eight:

Cartilage and bones begin to form
The basic structure of the eye is well underway
The tongue begins to develop
Intestines move out of the umbilical cord into the abdomen
The fingers and toes have appeared, but are webbed and short
The baby is about the size of a kidney bean

Sweet Friends

2010-10-21T12:17:00.004-05:00

We were blessed to get to spend time with the Dorin family while they were in town at the end of September. The last time we saw this familiy was in May, right before they left to spend the summer in Camaroon with Wycliffe Associates. Lucy and I have especially missed our dear mother/daughter friends, Annie and Dannielle. So, were were more than a little excited to see them!!

While Matthew and Annie were busy at a event one afternoon, we were able to watch the girls. It ended up being such a sweet time with them, and this little one, Lily, was not even sitting up yet the last time we saw her!

Somehow we all forgot to get any pictures of us together as families (probably because we were too busy TALKING), but I did manage this one of Lily while babysitting. Isn't she adorable? I think so.

I will have pics soon of our kids, the Dorin girls and the Osterberg boys all at the park the next day...so much fun. Until then, you can just enjoy sweet Lily's face. :)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-19T21:01:00.002-05:00

I am so grateful these kiddos love their smoothies packed with lots of greens, yogurt, berries and banana. It has been a great way to get some good stuff into picky eaters. :)

Picnic Lunch with Daddy

2010-10-15T15:29:00.007-05:00

The kids and I recently met Nathan downtown at Burnett Park for a picnic lunch. The kids loved the new rope structure to climb that was added with the renovation last year.

It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed getting to have that mid-day time with the most special man in all our lives. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T15:29:00.003-05:00

Isn't He Good?

2010-10-11T17:21:00.003-05:00

That's right. Bambino #4 is expect June 2011. We are excited about this new little blessing, but were definitely not expecting to get pregnant so soon after Samuel's birth.

As of today, I am 8 weeks along. My first midwife appointment will be in two weeks. The tiredness has definitely set in, but I am incredibly grateful that it the extent of my symptoms early on. God is very gracious in that. I have many friends that are very sick their entire pregnancies, so I definitely don't take the "ease" of my pregnancies for granted.

Since this completely took me (us) by surprise (and I mean it was definitely a surprise), the Lord is using this to teach me about trusting in His sovereignty and plan for our lives. And the more I reflect on His plans, the more I think about how good He really is. I thought I'd share one of my favorite worship songs that we often sing at church. Isn't He good?

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Just a walk in the park...

2010-10-11T16:28:00.005-05:00

Happy Fall Y'All!!

2010-10-11T15:54:00.003-05:00

A few weeks back I promised Lucy and Ben that we would get pumpkins to celebrate the first day of Fall. She was so excited, and asked me multiple days in a row if it was time to get pumpkins yet. They definitely enjoyed getting check out all the varieties at the farmers' market.

Lucy and Ben with one of the "monster" pumpkins.

Ben's bottom and some of the pumpkins on display.

More pumpkins.

A little post pumpkin shopping decorating for fall. Tutorial for the fabric wreath is here.

More pumpkin decor.

I didn't get pictures of the dining room table or hoosier cabinet, but we are all enjoying the look of Fall around the house. They are a good reminder of the changing seasons, and how creative God has been with His creation.

Happy Fall Y'All!

Samuel

2010-10-10T16:15:00.005-05:00

Because everyone need to enjoy some more Samuel pictures!

Dress Up

2010-10-10T15:44:00.006-05:00

Just some pictures of the kids playing dress up over the last few months. A favorite pastime. Enjoy!

Lucy's 4th Birthday

2010-10-10T08:41:00.006-05:00

This is a bit late, but here are the pictures from Lucy's 4th birthday party. We celebrates with a breakfast party for our "early bird" with some of the little girls in her life. Everyone came in pajamas, and we had lots of fun.

Lucy enjoying cinnamon apple waffles for breakfast.

The girls (plus Ben) enjoying their breakfast.

The other Lucy playing dress up.

Lucy and Annie

Izzy (I love the expression on her face!)

Elizabeth

Everyone decorating their cupcakes.

"Happy Birthday to You!"

She was able to blow them all out at once.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Lucy! We love you lots and are are continually grateful to the Lord for placing you in our family. You are a blessing and a delight to be around. We love you!!

Conversations

2010-08-21T21:44:00.002-05:00

Today we celebrated Lucy's 4th birthday (her actual birthday is tomorrow). It was a lot of fun, and I plan on posting pictures later this week or next. I also a separate post about our sweet girl turning FOUR! However, I wanted to get a couple of things down from some recent conversations with this girlie.

It seems like we've known a lot of people having birthdays lately. As we've talked about these, or attended birthday parties, Lucy has inevitably been thinking a lot about birthday cakes. Fairly often (every day as of late) she will tell us what kind of cake she wants for certain birthdays.

I wish I could remember them all, but can't. However, she did have one request that I had to post about. I can't remember what we were doing yesterday when Lucy started talking about birthday cakes. She looked at me and said, "for my eighteenth birthday I want a princess party and a cake shaped like Cinderella because I love princesses and they are beautiful!!!" Hilarious! I wonder what she'd do if I actually made her a Cinderella cake for her 18th birthday? I might have to surprise her with that one.

Since we celebrated Lucy's birthday today, we let her pick a restaurant to eat at for dinner. To her father's delight, she picked Kincaid's. I am pretty sure this is Nathan's favorite restaurant in Fort Worth...or possibly anywhere.

On our way to Kincaid's tonight Lucy was talking about her friend Lucy (yes, they are both named Lucy) that was at our house this morning to celebrate her birthday. She was a little confused on how we knew Lucy since they don't go to our church. So, we were explaining that Nathan and I had gone to church with her mommy in college (for you Focusites, that would be Anne Marie). Lucy asked what college was and Nathan told her it was a place you went to learn how to do things for when you grow up, like being an architect. She thought for a few minutes and said, "I would like to go to college to learn to be a princess." LOL!

I told Nathan she wouldn't even have to leave town since TCU is in Fort Worth. Plus, she could even wear purple. Ha! Obviously, I meant that jokingly (no offense to those that love TCU).

That girl is such a delights. Even now I am thinking about how four years ago at this moment I was in the beginning stages of labor, eager to meet our first-born child. Only the Lord knew what a blessing she would be to us in so many ways. Gosh, I love that girl!!

Let's talk weeds...

2010-08-12T15:48:00.003-05:00

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

It is no secret that our kiddos love their books (though Lucy would be quick to tell you we shouldn't love them, our clothes, car, house, toys, etc. more than God), and are eager to be read to often. One of our favorites is And So My Garden Grows (The Mother Goose Collection) by Peter Spier. Wonderful art and classic rhymes - what's not to like?

Anyway.

The above poem is in this favorite book of ours. I never really put tons of thought into the words until this last month. You see, I've been thinking and praying about simplifying things around here. I have been feeling very distracted in the last few months from what I feel called to as a wife, mother, homemaker, etc. And gently as ever, the Lord has made it clear that I need to put my priorities in the right place again.

As I was thinking about ridding myself of things that have become a temptation or distraction from what I should be doing, this poem came to mind. And though it is not Scripture and of ultimate authority, I would say the saying still has a lot of truth to it.

Today we would likely say, "actions speak louder than words" - I still prefer the poem, as it gives more of a visual to think about...

So, in obedience, I have begun getting rid of things that are causing me to stumble. First thing to go? Facebook. It should have happened long ago. I know it isn't an issue for many people, but it is for me. I would get on and think, "I'll just check it quickly and only stay on for 5 minutes." Then that 5 minutes would turn into an hour. An hour of time I could have been using doing something, anything, more productive that benefits my family or honors the Lord (not that you can't honor the Lord on facebook...I know plenty of people that do).

As I see it, I have a limited amount of time here, and especially with our children. If I want to make the most of the time I have with my family, and strive to obey Deuteronomy 6:7 so that our Lord would be glorified in our home, then I need to be more intentional in my every day action and how I spend my time...even my "spare" time.

"Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."
James 4:14
"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a
heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Lucy will be four next month and in another year will be starting homeschool kindergarten (yikes!). Between Lucy's schooling (which won't take much time, the girl catches on quick), beginning to nurture and encourage her homemaking skills, normal toddler playing and reading, loving on the kids, cooking, cleaning, disciplining, exercising, spending time with the Lord in the Word, and making quality time for Nathan and I, I am not sure how I would have time for much else. Something would have to give, and none of those things mentioned here are the ones I'd want to let go of (well, except for exercising, but I'd like the kids to recognize exercising is a way of staying healthy and taking care of ourselves).

I have actually felt a lot of freedom in getting rid of Facebook. Really. I'll miss the pictures and updates from friends, but it is not a big deal. In some ways, I feel as if I knew what was going on with over 400 of my closest friends (feel free to roll your eyes now...), but I actually spent very little time outside of Facebook nurturing real friendships, or forming new ones. I don't want to depend on Facebook updates to know what is going on in the lives of my friends and family. I want to know what is going on in their lives because I am connected with them more personally than that, and spend time connecting with them in person (or on the phone when they don't live close by). Of course, with the busy schedule I laid out above with family life, that will again take some diligent planning and prioritizing.

I ran across this article a few days ago that spoke about phone calls becoming an endangered species. I actually started writing this post weeks ago, but am just now finishing it up. Can you tell I am busy?

In addition to getting rid of the biggest time waster of my life, I have also cut out many of the blogs I read. I generally just get onto my google reader account once a day to read the blog entries (if you don't have a google reader account, and read very many blogs, I highly recommend this...it saves a lot of time, in my opinion). I was finding that I would have so many entries in a day that I wouldn't read them, I would just mark them as read so they would stop taunting me. I started noticing that it was the same blogs over and over that I wasn't reading, so I just unsubscribed. I am mostly reading blogs that are edifying and educational to my role as wife, mother, keeper of the home, teacher, cook, buyer, etc. You know...all the things involved in being a stay at home wife and mother. It is nice to only have 10-15 entries a day (some of which are just a picture and a few words), instead of 35-50. Really, it was ridiculous. I know that. Again, I am feeling more freedom from doing more weeding out of things that take up my time.

Speaking of weeding. I was literally weeding recently. The back garden bed that I dug up earlier this Summer (but have yet to do much with) and the now empty raised bed (both recently planted with a, hopefully, bountiful Fall garden). As I was removing the many weeds from both bed, I was thinking of how much easier this would have been had I just pulled each weed when I first saw them.

Since I'd already been thinking about weeding things out of my life, it probably isn't shocking that I was seeing a connection between my sin and weeds I have been pulling out of my life, literally and figuratively. In thinking of that, I present a parable to you...

There was a young(ish) woman who had a garden she tended to. At first she was diligent to water the plants, provide them with nourishment, and quickly pull any weed seen as soon as it sprouted. However, towards the end of the growing season the woman frequented the garden less often, and the weeds began to grow bigger.

For a while, the woman would pull the bigger weeds out since they were easier to get, leaving the smaller weeds to grow a bit before dealing with them. But after doing this for some time, the woman found that her beloved garden became overgrown with weeds. Small, large, medium. Easy to pull, and not so easy to pull. They were everywhere.

So, knowing that it was time for a new growing season, the woman set about pulling all the weeds from her garden. After much toil and sweat, the garden was mostly weed-free. The woman, knowing that letting the smaller weeds go was part of the problem to begin with, set out to get rid of all the weeds seen. Each one removed, as it appeared. At last, the garden was ready for a new planting.

Now, for a bit of explaining. I am that woman, and that is my garden. And I realized that there was a very real connection between the way I have treated the weeds in my garden, to the way I've treated sin in my life.

It was fairly easy to get rid of the "big" sins in my life, but I would overlook the "small" ones as no big deal, or I'd deal with that later. I know, I know...there really aren't big and little sins. There is just sin. That just goes to show how easily worldly thinking of sin can slip into our lives. Do we believe His word or not?

I also realize how wrong I was to overlook any sin in my life, and to arrogantly think I could deal with it later. I can definitely sympythize with Paul's "chief sinner" comment in 1 Timothy.

The more time I began spending in the Word with my Savior, the more He began to reveal to me how each of these "little" sins has grown and bloomed until I had a garden full of weeds. A wasteland. My Jesus didn't die so that I could be a wasteland. He died so that I could be forgiven, have freedom in Him, and show others what He is like for their joy and His glory.

And little by little, as each sin has been revealed to me, I have quickly repented - my heart heavy and pained for choosing to dishonor a Holy God with my words, actions, thoughts and deeds. Praise be to Him, for He is quick to forgive!

I will end with some verses from Scripture that I hope will encourage you, and that He would use them to reveal Himself to you today.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!" Romans 10:13
"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth the confesses, resulting in salvation." Romans 10:9,10

How wonderful is our God? That we deserve nothing, but He is gracious to offer us forgiveness and eternal life.

Here is a post that from twenty-one months ago that I shared that I felt fitting for this post. I hope you find comfort and hope in these verses.

"The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Penmanship

2010-08-12T14:34:00.004-05:00

A few months back I found the book How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons at a used homeschool book sale (thank you, Janis, for the heads up!) for $7. Many of the homeschooling moms at church have raved about this for teaching all their kids to read, so I decided to go ahead and buy it. We had been working through the Hooked on Phonics program my mom had used with my youngest sister, but we were both getting very frustrated with it. So, we took a break.

Lucy, being the book lover that she is, kept asking me to do school with her and teach to read. Who is going to say no to that?!? So, I finished reading through the intro/parent guide of 100 Easy Lessons (it is just easier to write that every time), and we started the lessons.

I have to say, I am really liking this book a lot. Lucy already knows her letters and sounds, but she'll be learning much more than this. Plus, every lesson we work on penmanship and writing the sounds (they refer to the letters by their sound, not the name of the letter). I really like that she is learning to actually write the letters while we are working on the sounds.

Lucy can write her and Ben's names, and sometimes gets mom and dad correct, but those are pretty easy. Lots of times she'll ask us how to spell something, and can write it down that way. Since she was working on writing her M's today, she wanted to write my name. Below is her practice work from the M's and writing my name. Not to bad for an almost four year old (and how in the world is she almost FOUR!?!).

I stopped her just as she was beginning to write her name (hence the L all by its lonesome) to take this picture.

Disclaimer: Just to say this, the only reason we are working with Lucy on this is because she continues to ask and express a desire to know how to read and write. Otherwise, we wouldn't even bother for another year or two. I don't want anyone to think we are forcing this on her, or making her try to do things she is too young for. ;) Plus, the lessons are only about 15 minutes a day...

New Research on Breastfeeding

2010-08-04T21:32:00.002-05:00

Another benefit of breastfeeding has been discovered by researchers. As one researcher puts it (as they discover more and more of the relationship between breastmilk and babies), "for God's sake, breast-feed."

Don't forget there is one in the middle!

2010-07-24T20:38:00.004-05:00

Poor Ben, I've not blogged anything about him in quite a while. I guess he'll have Middle Child Syndrom for sure...kidding, kidding. :)

This sweet ball of energy with beautiful blue eyes could literally live in this pool all day long. He loves it. He and Lu were BEYOND excited when I (for the first time in three years) put on my suit and joined them. It was loads of fun, and I enjoyed the quality time with my two oldes babies.

He's got shades

2010-07-24T19:51:00.005-05:00

This is what I found a few days ago after asking Lucy to play with Samuel while I put Ben down for his nap. I am not sure that pink is Sam's best color, but I still think he is cute. Lucy was very proud to have someone to dress up...this could be bad in the future.

Guess if you are tired...

2010-07-24T19:38:00.003-05:00

you don't mind if you are uncomfortable...or babies have a different idea of what is comfortable.

Gosh, I love this boy!!

Happy Half Birthday, Samuel!

2010-07-20T20:47:00.002-05:00

We can hardly believe that it has been six months since Samuel's birth. The last six months have been such a blessing with this little guy. He is one of the happiest and easy-going babies I've ever met. Even in the midst of figuring out all of the food issues he is having, the Lord has given him a happy disposition (more on the food issues in another post - the Lord is providing answers - Praise Him!!).

When he smiles, his whole face lights up...it is precious. He loves watching Lucy and Ben play, and would love to join them. He isn't much of a comfort nurser, but loves to snuggle. He is a great sleeper, though he has been waking more frequently the last few weeks. Of course, we know what is causing that - he cut his first tooth today!

We have all been blessed by Samuel being added to our family. And though the first six months of his life flew by, I felt like we were able for the first time to truly treasure this short amount of time of him being a newborn and younger baby.

Happy Half Birthday, Samuel!! We love you and thank Jesus for creating you and putting you in our family. You are a blessing, sweet one. :)

"Teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

But I don't need a nap.

2010-07-20T09:11:00.003-05:00

This is how I found Lucy yesterday after I finished my post-workout shower. Guess she needed a nap afterall.

I should have known...

2010-07-14T14:02:00.008-05:00

better than leaving scissors in the bathroom cabinet. In my defense, they were up high. However, I was just thinking this weekend, "we should probably put these much higher." I should have followed through with this thought...

While sitting with Ben in our room this morning Lucy ran in, threw her arms in the air and yelled, "HAIRCUT!!!" That's right folks. Lucy gave herself a haircut while I thought she was going to the bathroom.

It is hard to tell here, but she now has bangs. I am not a fan.

Oh, that sweet chunk of hair she took off.

Even more hair gone...and a good view of the bangs. Argh!!!

But the back is still long. It took such a long time for her hair to get this long...

I called Nathan at work to let him know. It is never good when the first words out of my mouth are, "Don't be mad." He was not near as upset as I expect (he likes her long hair a lot), but asked I make an appointment to have it fixed. I did not feel confident in trying to fix it, so off to Maria we went.

Getting ready for the big fix.

Doesn't she look excited?

Yikes!!! That is short!

A sucker makes it all better. Well, it actually just appeases two toddlers at the beauty shop.

Here you can see how I managed this trip solo with three little kids. Sam on my back, Lucy in the chair with a sucker, and Ben roaming with a sucker. It really wasn't bad.

And here she is with her new do. She is such a big girl!!

And with that, I am off to put all the scissors in the house far, far, FAR away from little hands!

One Thing Necessary

2010-06-22T22:56:00.002-05:00

Two Sundays ago we had a missionary family from Uganda visiting at church. Shannon Hurley, the founder of Sufficiency of Scripture (SOS) Ministries, preached Sunday night a sermon that he preached at the last pastors' conference SOS held in Uganda. Our pastor, Dan, was there to help with the conference and asked Shannon to share this same message with our church when he came to town.

I'd like to encourage others to listen to Shannon's sermon. It was definitely one of those sermons that will stick with me for a very long time. His sermon is from Luke 10:38-42. You can listen to his sermon here.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-22T11:48:00.002-05:00

These are the pictures I took for Nathan for his father's day gift. They are now proudly displayed in his office at work. This was definitely a "quick" project since I had to be quick to get them before the crying and whining started. :) My sister Shannon pointed out that if we had five kids we could spell D-A-D-D-Y.

We are all so grateful for Nathan as the daddy, husband and leader of our family. I am personally grateful for how seriously he takes his role, and that he diligently fulfills his role with tons of grace, love and patience. He is such a blessing to us all, and I know it is all because of the work Jesus has done in his heart since being saved a few years back.

We love you VERY much Nathan, Daddy, Dada, Dad. Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family and lead us in a way that honors our Lord. Happy Father's Day!!

5 Months

2010-06-22T09:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked 5 months since Samuel was born (and so many years since my own mama was born - Happy Birthday, Mom!!).

It is hard to believe that our little guy is already almost half a year old. The time really flies faster the more kids you have. He is such a sweet and easy-going baby that you can't help but love being around him. And a snuggler...both my boys are snugglers. I love it!

To celebrate his 5 months he decided to sleep through the night on Sunday. He is probably not going to have any repeat performances any time soon, which is totally fine by me. The sleep was nice since Nathan and I were up much later than normal putting a shelving unit together.

Samuel looks like he has his two bottom teeth coming in. I can see the ridges on both sides of his gums, but no little white lines at the top yet. Lucy was 6 1/2 months when she got her first tooth, Ben was 5 1/2. So, I'd expect it fairly soon. I am going to miss those gummy grins.

He is now rolling over both ways, but not anywhere close to sitting up. He loves to laugh and Lucy and Ben, and his whole face smiles when he smiles. Precious! He has a favorite toy, a little soft book with tabs to chew on. This was Lucy's favorite as well. We are still having some food issues that Nathan and I are figuring out. We are hoping to have it all figured out in the next month or two. He is nowhere close to having any solids, especially given all the issues he is having with just what I am eating. We will likely skip pureed foods and move just to small pieces of soft foods like with Lucy.

We are so thankful that the Lord saw fit to bless us with this sweet boy. Even in the difficult time he is a blessing.

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward." ~ Psalm 127:3

Say what?

2010-06-16T16:56:00.004-05:00

Ben is finally saying lots of words, but still not making sentances that often. However, we are thrilled that his vocabulary has exploded in the last month or two!

He loves to look at pictures and point out who he recognizes. Or you could ask him to say certain words and he is happy to repeat them. It goes something like this:

Me: Say Daddy
B: Dada
Me: Say Mommy
B: Mommy (sweetest voice ever!)
Me: Say Lucy
B: Not Nice (at least that is what we think he is saying)
Me: Say Ben
B: Ben
Me: Say Sam
B: Baby

We are pretty sure he calls Lucy "Not Nice" since he is often told that HE is not being nice to her. LOL. He is such a stinker and a sweetheart all wrapped up in one stout, little boy. Gosh, I love that kid!

Lucy Art - Cinderella

2010-06-11T14:28:00.003-05:00

Please forgive the poor quality of the picture. It was taken on my phone at night. :)

Last night when we got home from church Lucy pulled my ring sling on the floor, added various blocks and created her own version of Cinderella. Nathan and I were quite impressed with her creativity.

Healthy Toddler Snack Giveaway at The Mommypotomus

2010-05-11T22:51:00.003-05:00

Heather over at The Mommypotomus is hosting a giveaway for a healthy toddler snack option.

After entering her giveaway, check out her blog. It is fabulous. Heather's posts are well-researched, well-written and thought provoking. Her topics range from eating local to church life to being a mommy.

Conversations

2010-04-22T20:49:00.002-05:00

Lucy is finally hitting the "why?" and "what's that?" stage. It seems like she just keeps asking either one until you finally answer. Lucy and Nathan had the following conversation while we were in the van tonight:

L: What's that?
N: The Vending Nut.
L: What's that?
N: It's where they sell nuts.
L: What's that?
N: Fort Worth Billiards.
L: What's that?
N: Kilpatrick Insurance.
L: Let's sing "Blessed Assurance"
N: Okay.

Nathan is pretty sure she thought he said Kilpatrick Assurance and that is why she asked to sing "Blessed Assurance". He may be right.

Time for a Big Boy Bed?

2010-04-20T17:41:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I hope not!!

While working out this afternoon I heard what I thought was Lucy trying to open my door. I kept going knowing that she could open it just fine. After a few minutes of not being able to open the door, the child on the other side started to whine. You could say I was a little more than surprised to find BEN on the other side of my door.

Looks like someone figured out how to climb out of his crib.

I am not ready for this...

Giveaway: What He Must Be...If He Wants To Marry My Daughter

2010-04-20T14:15:00.005-05:00

Jasmine at Joyfully At Home is hosting a giveaway. She is giving away one set of DVD from the What He Must Be Conference. The conference is based on the book What He Must Be...If He Wants To Marry My Daughter written by Voddie Baucham (Jasmine's father).

I have heard wonderful things about this book, and we can't wait to read it. Having the DVD from the conference would be great. Not only will this help guide us through Scripture when thinking about who can marry Lucy (or any other daughters we may have), but show us what kind of men and husbands we want our boys to be.

If you are interested in entering, go here.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T20:39:00.002-05:00

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-05T19:57:00.004-05:00

Check Out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more menus and organizing tips.

For breakfast this week we'll have one or more of the following:

Green Drinks

Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Waffles

Eggs
Cereal

Fruit (apples, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, clementines)

For snacks we'll have one ore more of the following:

Apples with pecan butter

Almonds
Raisins
Chocolate "Pudding"

Carrot sticks
Clementines

Lunches are generally leftovers from the night before.

Monday - Easter Dinner Leftovers of Salmon with Asparagus, Quinoa, Spring Salad with Strawberries and Creamy Avocado-Orange dressing

Tuesday - Baked Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli, Salad and Bread

Wednesday - Egg Salad (made with homemade almondaise), Homemade Crackers, Hummus, Carrot and Celery sticks

Thursday - Quiche, Fruit Medley, Salad

Friday - Moroccan-Spice Chicken, Minted Carrots, Olive, Apricot and Pistachio Couscous, Salad

Saturday - Homemade Pizza with Soaked Crust and Secret Pizza Sauce

Sunday - Taco Salad with the fixings (turkey, olives, onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, salsa, lettuce and chips)

Easter Story Cookies

2010-04-05T17:47:00.006-05:00

I have had this recipe printed out since Nathan and I first got married to make with our kids some day. We decided this year we would start a new Easter tradition of making Easter Story Cookies.

Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer
duct tape or packing tape
Bible

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300*F.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life.

Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus's followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus's body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door.

Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Leave the kitchen. If you've been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED!

Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they've worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus' followers were in sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow!

Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!!!

Easter 2010 (a day late...)

2010-04-05T17:35:00.002-05:00

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” Luke 24:1-7

Finger Paints

2010-04-01T13:09:00.003-05:00

I saw a recipe online recently for homemade washable finger paints. As soon as I saw it I wrote the recipe down to make for Lucy and Ben. It was very easy and quick to make (under 5 minutes), and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Lucy had more fun with this than Ben. As usual with crafting, Ben tried to eat the paint. I think he was a bit disappointed since it has dish soap in it. After that he was just done and wanted down. Lucy wanted to finish her masterpiece for Daddy to put up at his desk at work.

For anyone that is interested, here is the recipe.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T16:22:00.002-05:00

Pound for Pound Challenge

2010-03-30T15:41:00.004-05:00

We don't own a television, so I can not tell you the last time I regularly watched a show. I generally find that TV sucks away my time, so we removed the temptation almost four years ago. However, I somehow started watching Season 9 of Biggest Loser on hulu.com...and I am hooked.

If you happen to watch this show you know that they frequently have commercials for the Pound for Pound Challenge. I have been working on losing some baby weight (yeah right, that would be from three babies), and wanted to pledge that weight to our local food bank.

All you do is go to their site, click "pledge", and fill in the info. For every pound you pledge (up to 50 lbs a person), they will donate $0.14 to your local food bank. That is roughly the equivalent of one pound of food.

Easy enough, right? So, what are you waiting on? If you are working to lose weight, or planning on it, go pledge that to help feed the hungry people in your community.

And no, I am not sharing how much I "donated". ;)

Menu Plan Monday

2010-03-29T15:35:00.003-05:00

It's that time again...

For breakfast this week we'll have one or more of the following:

Green Drinks

Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Waffles

Eggs
Cereal

Fruit (apples, strawberries, bananas, kiwi)

For snacks we'll have one ore more of the following:

Apples with peanut butter
Pecans or Almonds
Raisins
Chocolate "Pudding"

Lunches are generally leftovers from the night before.

Monday - Passover Seder at a friend's house. We are bringing along Sauteed Green Beans and Carrots (EVOO instead of butter) for the meal afterwards.

Tuesday - Crockpot Pinto Beans and Rice with avocado, sour cream and cheese, Cornbread

Wednesday - Goat Cheese Pizza with Soaked Crust, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday - Egg Salad (made with homemade almondaise), Homemade Crackers, Hummus, Carrot and Celery sticks

Friday - Stuffed Green Bell Peppers (from Nourishing Traditions, minus the cheese), Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday - Spaghetti, Salad and Bread

Sunday - Salmon with Asparagus, Quinoa, Spring Salad with Strawberries and Creamy Avocado-Orange dressing, Strawberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream (using this method) or Garbanzo Bean Brownies...or both

Happy Eating!

Two Months

2010-03-24T22:20:00.003-05:00

Our sweet Samuel turned two months old on Sunday. Gosh, where does the time go!!??!! I love every day with this sweet baby. It seems like with each new addition the more I begin to grasp why children are called a blessing. I definitely enjoy each stage more, and cherish these days, as I know things change so fast.

Right now Sam is really a smiley guy and is cooing all the time - I love it! He has a little giggle, which is adorable. He definitely prefers me over everyone else, though he enjoys getting to smile and coo at Nathan and Lucy (Ben is too busy to stop and play with Sam most of the time). It is pretty amazing to me that he can be crying in someone else's arms, but as soon as I pick him up he is fine. :) He is still sleeping better than Lucy or Ben ever did as babies - praise the Lord! And like his big brother, he is a champion nurser - another praise the Lord! :)

Now, I might be slightly obsessed over comparing weights of Ben and Sam, but if you saw Ben as a baby you'd understand why. He was enormous...26 lbs at 6 months. Seriously. He didn't even nurse that often - he just got really big, really fast. It appears that Sam's weight gaining is slowing down significantly compared to Ben. I am honestly thankful for that, though I do love my Chunkers. Ben was just so big and hard to carry around that I am hoping that won't be the case with Samuel.

So here is the breakdown so far with them...

Ben
Birth - 8 lbs 6 oz
2 Weeks - 9 lbs 15 oz
1 Month - 11 lbs 15 oz
2 Months - 15 lbs 13 oz

Sam
Birth - 9 lbs 7 oz
2 Weeks - 11 lbs 3 oz
1 Month - 12 lbs 15 oz
2 Months - 14 lbs 15 oz

After Samuel's one month appointment, I was starting to get a little concerned. I mean, he started out a pound heavier, and seemed to be on the exact same growth curve...sheesh! However, I noticed in the last month that Sam started to slow down on chunking up, but was getting much longer. He is currently wearing 3-6 months and is going to be out of those soon in length. He is 24 1/2 inches long right now, an inch longer than Ben at the same age.

Regardless of how big (or small) my kids are, I love them to pieces and know they are some of the sweetest blessings I'll ever get to experience.

By the way, we were coming back from my sister's wedding in San Antonio on Sunday, so I am just getting the chance to post this. Unfortunately, our most recent photos are still on film (waiting to be developed), so I will have more recent pictures soon. Very soon.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-24T16:28:00.002-05:00

Who dresses this kid?

2010-03-17T23:02:00.004-05:00

SHE DOES!!!

It is fairly normal to find Lucy wearing something completely random after "quiet time" (used to be known as nap time). Lately she's taken to wearing her tutu to bed over her pajamas. She loves to dress herself up, and we let her go for it...for the most part.

This was today's outfit. We couldn't help but get this documented on film. I love this girl!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T21:26:00.002-05:00