Wednesday, March 31, 2010

It's NOT All About Me (Even When I Think It Is)!

This week the Lord has really used some key ladies in my life to remind me that this life is NOT about me, it's ALL about Christ.

Over the years, my spiritual life has definitely been more mountains and valleys than a consistent foothill, if that makes any sense at all! I've had times of spiritual highs (i.e. - Kanakuk, Retreats, etc...) where I truly feel like I am in constant communion with the Lord, and then other times, more times than not, I am in a valley of just feeling very complacent with my life and not pursing Christ the same way that He continually pursues me. I'm sure there are some out there that can totally relate to this! I do realize that these highs and lows, in my life at least, are circumstantial. A couple of my best excuses are, "well, I just had a baby, I don't have time for anything else, not even a shower!", or one of my most recent ones, "I'm too lazy, all I want to do is watch TV, be on the computer, etc...." And the all encompassing one, "I just couldn't get out of bed this morning before my child woke me up, even though I had my alarm set." It makes me sad to not only write those down, but read them over, becuase it's such truth in my everyday life, and I know that the Lord is not looking for excuses, but for a humble and willing heart to just listen to Him and follow Him and spend even 15 minutes a day with Him!

As many of you know I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, and I'm thankful for that for many reasons, but honestly I think there is a small part of it that is also a detriment to myself. The part where I'm great at speaking the "Christian" language, saying all the right things, at the right time, even if that's not truly where my heart is at. I blame myself, and only myself for this, but it rings so true in my ears this week.

With all that said, there will always be an excuse to use to not spend time with the Lord, whether in prayer, journaling, worshipping, reading the Word, doing a study, or just being quiet before the Lord. no matter how old I get, there will always be something, it's part of being human, and not perfect. What I have the opportunity to do, is to look at my daily life, my priorities, and decide, "is this really what is best for me, or am I giving into my selfish nature and fulfilling what I want out of today, be it to do lists, crafting, sleeping (excessive), being lazy, etc...." And while I know I will never be perfect at my walk with the Lord, I feel like that's almost the point of it all. If I was perfect at getting up at the same time everyday, reading the same amount of scripture, praying for the exact same thing at the same length, journaling for the same amount of time or length, what would be the point? The Lord does not ask for perfection, just a willing heart to come to Him, in ALL honesty, and be able to say, "you know what, I've screwed up this week, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me and help me to forgive myself and move on so that I don't miss out on the amazing things you have for me."

Francis Chan has a great quote in Crazy Love, that I'm stealing from an e-mail I received from a friend this week...

"If you merely pretend that you enjoy God or love Him, He knows. You can't fool Him; don't even try. Instead, tell Him how you feel. Tell Him that He isn't (or hasn't been) the most important thing in this life to you, and that you're sorry for that. Tell Him that you've been lukewarm, that you've chosen _____(fill in the blank) over Him time and again. Tell Him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell Him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you'd willingly sell everything in order to get it. Tell Him what you like about Him, what you appreciate, and what brings you joy."

I would add a few things to this quote, from my perspective only...

~Ask for forgiveness, from Him, and forgive yourself. It's too ridiculous to hold on to guilt and shame. You will miss out on so many great things He has planned for you!

~Don't just ask Him to change you, YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO CHANGE, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THAT CHANGE AS WELL!

~Affirm Him, His characteristics. Yes, He already knows who He is, but He LOVES hearing it from the mouths of His children!!!!

~LISTEN~ Listen for the Lord, just be quiet before Him, and listen. He has so much He wants to bless you with!!

Last Monday (no, not this past one, but the one before) was the last time I have spent time with the Lord. In my mind, I think, "Jill, that's PATHETIC!" And is it, but to also be able to move forward, and say you know what, I have messed up, I haven't spent invaluable time with my Savior today, and then move past it is the very best thing I could do for myself. I'm doing Beth Moore's "Jesus" study and it truly has been wonderful. Thought provoking questions, time in the Word each day, learning who Jesus was and is. A little background...Aaron was up by 5am and headed to the airport for a business trip to NYC (yes, I was jealous). I got up with him, around 6am and sent him off. When I looked at the clock and realized I had at least an hour before Caleb was going to wake up, I immediately went and did the dishes, cleaned off the kitchen table, took a shower, and then when I realized I still had at least 30 minutes, I FINALLY decided to sit down and have a quiet time. Wow, what a revelation, to actually sit down for time with the Lord! (See what I mean about priorities)!

Anyway, the study that I did that morning was titled, "Jesus in the Morning, Jesus in the Evening". Mark 1:35 was the passage, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."

Wow, for the first time in I don't know how long, I was up before it was even daylight, sitting on my couch with my coffee, bible and journal and THIS is what my study was about! HOW COOL! It's so amazing to me how the Lord plans these things out! It was like I could picture exactly what Jesus was doing at that same moment (obviously thousands of years earlier). Anyway, my point is, the days that I am faithful and prioritize the Lord before myself, are my best days. I have more patience, I am more forgiving and gracious, I love better, I am more thankful for my life and the blessings that I have been given, and most of all, I am more conscience of the work the Lord is doing in my life, as long as I choose to let him!

My prayer that early morning was this...

"Lord, so often I dictate my day, rather than allowing you the ultimate control. I pray now, for more mornings like this, where I am uninterrupted by anything and can truly take you in! Help me to be diligent in finding my quiet place each and every morning before Caleb rises, so that I can be a better mommy and a better wife. Pull me from complacency and into your presence. I long to be in communion with you! I love you Lord!"

Something that was brought to my attention this week, thankfully, is a concern that my blog does not consistently coincide with how I am if you truly were to sit down with me and get to know me. While that was a VERY difficult thing to hear, I know that the Lord used that person specifically to bring that to the light. Not that I'm a lier, but just that my struggle with consistency in my spiritual walk is much more than what I allow others to perceive when reading my blog (if anyone does for that matter). With that said, I want to be transparent, I want my life to reflect the glory and grace of Christ, and I truly do not want to be misleading whatsoever in any of my posts. Yes, my spiritual walk is not consistent, or daily for that matter, but I truly believe my heart is in the right place as I struggle with the balance of everyday life. The times that I do post "spiritual" postings, is more becuase I've just had an awesome time with the Lord and want others to know what I've learned or what he has shown me, than to give off the impression that I'm perfect, have it all together, and have this amazing relationship with the Lord that happens on a daily basis.

If I have been misleading at all, I am so very sorry, and ask for your forgiveness. This blog is not just a daily musings blog of what goes on in my life, it is my journal. My insight to my relationship with the Lord, and with others, and my desire is that somehow, whomever actually reads this, would be encouraged to spend more time with Christ.

All that to say, I'm so thankful that I am at a place in my life where I truly feel like I have a teachable and willing heart to listen to those around me (this does NOT come naturally to me, and it took a long time for me to allow the Lord to break me), who love me and want to see me grow as a woman of God, and not just sit in the complacency that I often find myself in.

I promise to do a better job of sharing both sides of my walk with my Savior, in hopes that each of you who might not know me fully, will have a better understanding of the grace and mercy of our Lord, and the passion that I have for the Kingdom of God.

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

April Challenge

For the month of April, we are joining some of our friends in a challenge to not eat out for ANY meal or snack. I'm talking about no Starbucks or Einstein Bagels runs, no Sonic runs, no McD's, Wendy's or Chick-Fil-A for lunch either! We're doing this for multiple reasons, but really just to see how much money we can save, and in turn how much better we can truly use the financial resources the Lord has given us, in the best way possible. I will be cooking with a conscience mind of what exactly is going in my recipes and will try to use as much fresh produce, fruit and organic meats, poultry and ingredients as financially possible. Our bodies are not our own, and it is our job, while on this earth, to take care of them, and use them for the glory of God, in ALL ways possible!

To help out with what could end up being a little stressful to cook and eat everything at home, every Tuesday I will be cooking double and feeding the family we're doing the challenge with, and they will in turn do the same for us on Thursdays! How nice to know that I will only be cooking 4-6 nights of the week instead of all 7!!

I've already planned out our meals for the entire month and will post the weekly meal plans on Mondays, as I did today! I'm so excited about this and even though it will take a lot more effort and stamina, I'm ready for the challenge! My grocery trips are planned for Sunday afternoons (except for this week, I'll go tomorrow night, since I got a late start), and I will be stocking up on everything I need for that week only. I'll be posting my weekly shopping trip cost just to keep track of spending and also to help hold me accountable to what I'm purchasing.

So, here we go!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!









Tuesday, March 30, 2010

17 Weeks

I can't believe I'm already 17 1/2 weeks pregnant! This pregnancy is flying by so much faster than Caleb's, but it's been so much better! Here's some pics!


Recap of week 15

Week 17

Be Blessed and Encouraged!




Monday, March 29, 2010

iPhone Envy & Thoughts on Technology

In an effort to save money (we're kind of on a saving money kick right now), I have bowed out and given up my iPhone. This has NOT been an easy transition, for completely selfish reasons, however, I have noticed a significant difference in my everyday life because of it. I switched a couple weeks ago to MetroPCS, and although I really don't like the service, overall it's been a good experience so far.

My iPhone envy happens when I see Aaron playing Word With Friends, or checking e-mail or updating Facebook from his iPhone. But especially when playing Words With Friends, I really enjoy that game!

Since I've made the switch, the biggest change I have seen is that I spend less time on my phone and more time with my sweet boy! I'm realizing how much of a hold technology has on me, along with others too, I'm sure. As I've mentioned before I struggle with TV time. It's just easier to have it on in the background than have pure silence. I have my good days and my bad, and I am aware that the good days are 100x better than the bad, just as far as attitude, time spent with Caleb, energy and creativeness.

There are days that I wish we didn't have cable TV, and I look forward to the day when we get rid of it, honestly (which hopefully won't be too far off if we decide to move in May). Not only does it eat up hours during the day, but it also is an added cost that we don't need right now. Unfortunately, with teh apartment complex we currently live in, it's an automatic, mandatory payment each month. And that makes it difficult to pay for something and then not use it, so we do. (Yes, it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of, to make it mandatory, and if I would have known the effect it was going to have, I might have pushed back a little more on moving to these apartments)!!

Needless to say, I'm excited that we're saving money (at least $60 a month just on my phone), and also that I'm spending more time with Caleb. He's such a honey, and the thought of having him to myself ending in a short 5 months makes me sad sometimes (even though I'm thrilled to meet this precious baby dos). I want to make the best of the time I do have with him, and this is a small start to doing that!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!


Menu Plan Monday

So, I've started to follow another blog (yes, I know what you all are thinking, another one Jill, really?!?!?) and another one here, and it's been really motivating to get me back to one of my favorite things I get to do as a SAHM, COOKING! Even though I know that I'm not as confident with new recipes, I have a great selection of about 15-20 recipes that I rotate, and I do step out of my comfort zone at times and try new things!

I'm excited to share our meal plan for the week for a couple different reasons...

1.) It will hold me accountable to actually cooking, in order to save us money on dining out/ordering in. My default is if I haven't prepared for dinner by 4pm, we usually end up ordering in, or going and grabbing fast food.

2.) It will take me out of my comfort zone and get me to try new recipes because I will be posting all of my recipes as I cook them for that week and I don't want to run out of recipes to share!

So...here's is this week's meal plan and recipes!

Monday: Parmesan Chicken, Roasted Red Potatoes, Salad, Sister Schubert Rolls

Parmesan Chicken Recipe
Serves: 2 (if you need to feed more, just double the recipe)
Prep Time: 10 Minutes

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 fresh or defrosted boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 cup stuffing mix or bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and mix with garlic salt. Mix cheese and stuffing/bread crumbs. Dip chicken in butter & garlic mixture and roll in stuffing mix. Place is greased baking dish and bake 1 hour.

Roasted Rosemary Red Potatoes Recipe
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Coarse Salt to taste
2 tsp. Dried Rosemary
4 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Minced Garlic
2 lbs. quartered red potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If making with the Parm Chicken, you can cook them both in the same dish, just don't add the potatoes until half way through cooking the chicken (30 minutes left to cook).

Wash and scrub potatoes, leaving the skin on. In a large bowl, mix together well: salt, dried rosemary, olive oil and minced garlic. Once mixed, add potatoes and toss until fully coated.

Add to baking dish and roast for 20-30 minutes, or until hot the entire way through.



Tuesday: Salmon and Asparagus Bake, Brown Rice

Salmon and Asparagus Bake Recipe
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 20 Minutes

1 lb. Asparagus, ends snapped off
2 fresh salmon fillets
2 tbsp. butter divided
1 tbsp. flour
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup crushed club crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, bring about 1-2 inches of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the asparagus (if you have a steaming dish, use that, if not, just place the asparagus in the water) and cover and boil/steam for 3-4 minutes. Check to make sure the asparagus is still crunchy. Drain and place in casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with fish; set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Stir in flour, salt & pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, cook & stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over fish.

Wash out saucepan and reuse. Melt remaining butter and stir in crushed crackers. Sprinkle over cheese sauce.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until salmon is cooked throughout.


Wednesday: Frozen Pizza, Ceasar Salad

Wednesdays are difficult for us becuase we both have small group and are out of the house by 6:15pm. For the three of us to eat by that time is a miracle so it's the one day during the week that I try to make something as simple as possible! Of course, I don't feed Caleb the pizza, he usually gets leftovers!

Thursday: Mom's Meatloaf, Green Beans, Sister Schubert Rolls

Mom's Meatloaf Recipe
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 5-10 Minutes

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup stuffing
1 lb. fresh or defrosted lean ground beef
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. dry mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce
ketchup

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, add all ingredients except beef. Once thoroughly mixed together, add beef and mix with hands until married with mixture. Place in an UNgreased loaf pan. Cook for 45 minutes. Once done, cut in to center of meatloaf and check to make sure it's cooked thoroughly. next, layer top with ketchup and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Friday: Leftovers Buffet!!

Friday is my no cook day and I LOVE it! Sometimes we order in and sometimes, if there are leftovers, we try to eat them up!

Saturday: Southwest Chicken Chili, cornbread

Southwest Chicken Chili Recipe
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 Minutes

1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can chili beans, UNdrained (level of spicy-ness is up to you!)
1 can chunk white chicken in water, drained
1 can green chilies
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients in large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve hot with cornbread and enjoy!

I hope this is a bit of encouragement to all you wives and moms out there! I would love to know if you use one of the recipes and if you liked it or not! Enjoy!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!



7 x 7 Follow Up

So, I completely and MISERABLY failed at my 7 x 7 prayer challenge! YUK!!! I'm going to give it another shot this week and will let y'all know how it goes, so if you want to jump on the bandwagon and make a go of it with me, I'll be doing it TOMORROW, Tuesday!!

Me reasoning behind this is becuase I have felt convicted that I do not pray nearly enough for not only my child, but for my family, friends and just life in general. I have a prayer calendar, but seriously have not put it to good use in months, and I can tell a difference in the days that i dont' start with prayer time/time in the word.

So, here it goes, try #2!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Belly

So, this pregnancy I popped out WAY early, somewhere inbetween 11-12 weeks I looked down and thought, "that's not just my fat belly, it's my baby belly!" You can imagine my excitement as I came to this realization! So, to document this pregnancy, since I've not been as faithful with my pregnancy journal, I'm going to take weekly belly photos and post them here. This is something i didn't do when I was pregnant with Caleb, and wish I had, so here we go!

Week 11Week 12Week 13
Week 15 (yep, I missed Week 14)







Tuesday, March 16, 2010

And Another One...

I promise not to keep posting every single bag I make, but I wanted to post this one in particular becuase it's the one that I've been trying to make the whole time, for my scrap retreat coming up in April! I'm so excited to finally finish a bag that fits my scrapbook and all of my supplies!! The best part is that its multi-purpose and can be used not just for crafting, but for going to the market, or if you need a larger carry-on bag or even a diaper bag as well! Anyway, just wanted to share my best-yet bag!!













Thursday, March 11, 2010

Another Success!

So, I've been on some medication for the past 4 days that has been keeping me up late at night. And rather than just sit in front of the TV and waste away the time, I've actually been productive, on top of still being sick. How, I don't know, and I'm sure it will catch up with me soon...

Anyway, tonight, I wanted to attemp to make a bag more like a heavy duty book bag, or daiper bag type of project. Since I had enough of the same fabric left over from my other bag, I thought I would use some of it to create this! I'm completely happy with how this bag turned out, yet there are a few things I would change about it...

1. The height of the bag came out to be only 10" and I would have preferred at least 14" so I'll be sure to cut differently next time!

2. The "base" part of the exterior doesn't quite match up on both sides, one side is shorter than the other, but I know that with experience will come a better match up.

3. The cutting and ironing were TEDIOUS!! While it took me the same amount of time to sew this bag as the last one, I felt like I spent most of my time actually cutting the fabric and piecing it together. Again, I know experience will help this out.

Other than that, I love how it turned out! I'll probably be using this as my Bible Study bag for small group, or my craft bag for my scrap weekend coming up seeing as the width was a perfect fit for Caleb's album!


Outer front of bag

Inside look at bag, there is one pocket on each side (I haven't overcome my fear of doing inner pockets all the way around yet, maybe in the near future!)

Only becuase I've had a few ask, I'm not sure when I will be putting any of the bags up on my website or what the cost will be. I'm still trying to figure out the time committment of making a single bag, and really want to price fairly, so give me a little bit of time to think on this. In the mean time, if you are interested in possibly purchasing one for yourself or as a gift, just e-mail me!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Wordless Wednesday









Be Blessed and Encouraged!!







Tuesday, March 9, 2010

My First Bag!!!

Sooooo, this is what I stayed up until 2am making tonight and I LOVE it!! It's the very first bag I've ever attempted and even though it's got a couple flaws, I still think it turned out pretty cute! It has a double pocket on the front of the bag and two pockets on the inside. Originally, it was supposed to be bigger, but I actually like this size better. WOW, I just can't believe I did it and didn't mess up but on one thing! Anyway, just thought I'd share!

Julie - I hope I made you proud!!


Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Monday, March 8, 2010

7 x 7

So, I came across this blog post from a blog I used to follow (had to downsize my blog stalking roll), and was really convicted about where I am in my prayer life. Angie from Bring The Rain did a post back in 2008 about praying for your children 7 times a day for 7 days. Not only do I love this idea for my babies, but for my husband, for my marriage, for my family, for my friends and for so many others (thinking about my prayer calender here).

So, although I'm super late on joining here when she did the challenge, I'm going to still take it on, starting tomorrow (which TOTALLY goes against my Type A personality since tomorrow is Tuesday and not Monday, but I'm going to do it anyway)! I would love to have someone, anyone go through this challenge with me over the next 7 days, so if you are interested, leave me a comment! I'm going to do all seven days praying for Caleb and Baby Dos, and here's what Angie's events and verses she chose as inspiration were that I'm going to use as well:

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) words of your unfailing love, for he/she has put his/her trust in You. Show him/her the way he/she should go, for to you he/she lifts up his soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (Child's name) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances he/she has against others. Help him/her forgive as the Lord forgave him/her. And over all these virtues, help him/her put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (Child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation wether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach him/her that he/she can do everything through him who gives him/her strength." (Adapted from Phil. 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Child's name), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: "Lord, give (Child's name) clean hands and a pure heart, and let him/her not lift his/her soul to another or swear by what is false. Let him/her receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his/her Savior. Let him/her be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob." (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph. 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (Child's name) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Phil. 2:14-16)

Another great idea to go along with this is to write them down on notecards and put them wherever you are at that moment of the day that you will be praying, and to pray outloud so your child(ren) can hear you praying specifically for them by name!

What a great leagacy to start, and leave for you sweet babies! I know I"m not only convicted, but completely encouraged! Hope y'all will join me on our prayer warrior week!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Just Couldn't Help Myself

So Saturday morning Aaron went in to get Caleb up and called out for me, which is unusual. When I went in, Caleb was screaming and as I looked down, he had poopy stuck to his poor little bottom. We think he pooped close to after we put him down for bed and didn't wake up again. Poor little guy! As we gently cleaned him off he cried in pain, and I cried with him. His little bottom was completely red and raw. After doing a post on FB to get some ideas on what I could do to clear this up quick, we decided to go with a baking soda bath and some naked time.

How could I resist taking some pictures of my naked baby? He's just so stinkin' cute!



I just LOVE all those rolls he still has on his thighs!! He's lost some of his rolls on the top half of his body, but not on the bottom half thank goodness!!

Sweet boy is doing better, but still healing. The redness and rawness has greatly decreased and he doesn't cry anymore when I change him. It had been months and months since he had a diaper rash, so I'm thankful that this one has been so short lived!! Can't wait to get him back in those cute cloth diapers of his!!




Sunday, March 7, 2010

14 Months Old

My sweet honey! You are now 14 months old! I thought that one year was big, but I just feel like you are so much more grown up now than you even were two months ago! Here are some thins that I don't want to forget about this past month...

1. You are starting to understand what I've been teaching you each day. When asked what sound a sheep makes you say, "Ahh Ahh" (doesn't quite get the "b" sound at the beginning, but does it with a raspy voice, so cute!!)

2. You say, "ny ny" which is code for Night Night time, but you say it all throughout the day so I don't think you've quite made the connection yet!

3. You are standing on your own for 5-10 seconds at a time

4. You love to open and close ANYTHING possible!

5. You are back to one nap, which is great! What a schedule opener it is, truly! And now that mommy has some energy back it makes it easier to actually get out and do fun things!

6. You just said, "Ba" (Ball) yesterday for the first time when mommy asked you about it!

7. You still love food, and I'm SOOOOOO thankful for this! You have gone back to liking peas, which makes it even better!

8. You just about jump out of your skin whenever mommy asks if you, "want to take a ride in the car?!?" You LOVE riding in the car, even if you never get out until we get back home

9. YOU ARE HEALTHY!!!!

10. You got to experience you first snow, and you thought it was, lets just say, interesting...

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from this past month, you are such a big boy, no more baby in you!!

Just sitting reading your books, oh how you love to read!!

Checking out the snow!

The snowsuit that Papa bought you, that unfortunately doesn't fit!

Exploring the white stuff


I get lost in those big brown eyes everytime I look at you! You beautiful boy (yes, I'm partial!)

All smiles when you're looking out the patio door!


You LOVE it when Daddy gives you fast rides down the hallway in your laundry basket!



The mohawk daddy gave you after your bath last week, we couldn't get your hair to "lay down" again until your next bath, no matter how hard we tried!


I LOVE your profile!!

This is your "focused" face, you spend a lot of time with this expression on that cute face of yours! You have been a studier since day one!



This is one of my favorite pictures of you because it captures the essence of your eyelashes! They are long and so stinkin' beautiful and it's hard to see them when we look directly at you.

You stand at the TV like this anytime I put on Little Einsteins and Curious George, which is not that often, hence the excitement of standing directly in front of the TV. Don't worry, I move you back almost immediately to make sure your eyes aren't damaged!

My honey, baby, love...there is nothing that is more rewarding in life than being your momma! You are an absolute blessing and one of my greates adventures! I thank the Lord each and every day for you and will till the day I die! I love you my precious son!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!