5 Months Old

I'm a little late in posting this. O is 5 months and it's hard to believe. She's doing great. She is finally, finally, finally getting into a groove. I do feel like the clouds are parting and I can get a grasp on life! She is such a joy. Her face lights up when she smiles. And she has two teeffees!!!

April 5, 2009

I've been contemplating exactly what I will share for this post. In July of 2006, we dedicated J to the Lord at camp. It was such a special time for our family. I wish I blogged then because I never put into words what that service meant for me. On that day, our dear friend and mentor led the service. He challenged not only us as paretns, but all our friends and family who were there, to bring up J in a God honoring way. I remember, as they all laid hands on us to pray for us, that my prayer was that J would come to know the Lord at a young age and others prayed the same. Even as I write this, there are so many emotions and memories from that special service. It's a moment in my life that I will not forget.

Last Sunday, my little 4 year old accepted Jesus into his heart. J is very inquisitive and asks questions about everything. As we were passing a cemetery, he asked about the people who where in there. So I began to explain again (we've had this conversation before) that when people die they are buried there. Only there bodies go there, but there spirits go to heaven if they have Jesus in their heart. He then asked me "Mommy, do I have Jesus in my heart?" I said, "well, you have to ask him to come into your heart." And then as a full of faith 4 year old, he said out loud, "Jesus, will you come in my heart?" So, we spent the next few minutes talking about exactly what that means. At the end of our time, he said he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart.

Obviously there is so much a 4 year old doesn't understand. Only the Lord knows his heart. But I am so encouraged and I rejoice! There are so many teachable moments throughout my day with my kids. I love the time I get to spend just explaining life, explaining how things work, and teaching them about God's amazing love for them.

Disney bliss!

watching the princesses at the castle

Our day began at the park at 9:00am. We were all so excited. The weather was beautiful and the crowds not too bad. I think us adults were more excited than the kids!

Donald's boat was the kids favorite spot!

The kids loved the rides. J even went on Splash Mountain...so freaked out.

Our day ended at 9:30pm. The kids went strong all day and did great! M & M took naps in the strollers. We were all beat at the end of a great day at Disney. Thanks to our friends for helping us with the kids...there were a few "hairy" moments that come with having a pre-schooler, toddler, and a newborn with you at the happiest place on earth.


Because of cell phone mix ups, we finally found the M's at the end of the night. Look at this cutie!



WE SURVIVED.

Laughter is soooo good for me

Check this out. For those of you who share my love for Chick-fi-la will relate.

It was really a vacation.

A week ago today we got back from our vacation to Orlando. Now, my hubby and I have come to realize that vacations with young kids are unpredictable. We have learned the hard way several times. We finally know to have low expectations because you never know who's sick, who's cranky, who's cutting new teeth, etc. Well....WE HAD A WONDERFUL TRIP!!!!!!! Thank you all who prayed for us. The kids did great! Of course it's not relaxing when you vacation with 3 young kids. But, I did honestly come back refreshed. I have truly been blessed throughout my path of life with wonderful friends. You know who you are. On this trip, 2 special families joined us. G & B invited us and the L's to come and share their vacation with them for the week. It was so refreshing to be with long time friends. We relaxed at the resort everyday except the day we went to MAGIC KINGDOM! Again, we went with low expectations and it turned out to be an awesome day! We got there when it opened and pretty much left when it closed. A great day to see life through the eyes of a kid. Here are some pictures of the trip.




The pool area was great! So beautiful. You also felt like you were at the beach because of an area with hammocks and sand where the kids loved to play!



*Since Magic Kingdom was a day of lots of pictures, I decided to do a separate post of our day there. Stay tuned....

A weekend getaway

Jon and I were blessed to have a weekend away without the kids last weekend. Thank you to my WHOLE family who pitched in and each had a kid. We could not have done it without them. Our church had a Marriage retreat at Winshape. We were pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the place was. Jon and I never really thought we would do a marriage retreat, but let me tell you it is great to do. Marriages need to be focused on. It is so easy to put aside your husband or wife while you are raising kids. You don't even realize it's happening. It was great to just spend time together and talk. Who'd a thought....communication. These days, communication is tough when 3 kids are fighting for your attention. The weekend highlights for me were
1. riding bikes all afternoon with Jon
2. yummy cookies
3. food was wonderful
4. tranquil room with great music
5. laughing with Jon
6. star gazing (don't get to see stars anymore since moving here)
7. FULL and complete conversations with friends
8. sleeping for 7 hours straight and not waking one time!!!!!
9. taking walks/hikes

It was constructed after French architecture.

*notice something about the picture of Jon and I? I was trying to get a nice picture of us. After several tries with him making some obnoxious face, I gave in.

It's been a while...

It's been a while since my last post. Honestly, by night time, when O is finally in bed for the night, the last thing I want to do is use my brain. I just want to be comatose in the recliner. Is it weird that sometimes I stay up late just so I can be awake with a quiet house? No one is crying, no nose to wipe, no diaper to change, no snack to get, no sippy cup to fill, no shoes to put on, and I could go on. BUT even though they are long days, I do cherish these long days. I hear they go by quickly. As my brother says, "little kids, little problems, big kids, big problems". I'll take the little problems for now. Does anyone remember that commercial "It's 9 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" It was a NY commercial when I was a kid. Anyway, right now I DO know where my kids are and for that I'm thankful for this stage.

O is growing!!! It's hard to believe she will be 4 months next week. She's a happy baby. It's amazing how all three of my kids have been completely different babies. You'd think they'd be the same, but no...of course not. She's sleeping through the night - Praise the Lord! But naps are inconsistent. She's kind of a cat napper. I'm trying to just go with it.

And of course, my almost 4 month old is trying to cut her first tooth. AND my almost 2 year old's molars are coming in. Oh, what joy! Today was just one of those days. God is good and his grace ABOUNDS in my life. His grace makes up for all my weaknesses. And I thank God for that daily.

We head for Orlando tomorrow!!!! Yippee! We are meeting friends there and are so excited. We'll be going to Disney one day! J does not know yet. I know he's going to LOVE it. M on the other hand will probably be scared of everything. I'M SO EXCITED! I'll post pictures when we return.

Pictures of our week...


At Dekalb Airport picnicing at the playground. So fun to watch the planes coming and going.


After J's face plant into our cement patio. Turned into a nice black eye.