3 weeks already!

Just hanging out having some chill time with the family.

My favorite picture of Jared and Sam...he's such a proud daddy.

Jared made Sam's ears looks HUGE! They're not actually that big, but it was pretty funny to look at.

He's getting so big so fast.

It's hard to believe that this Thursday Sam will be three weeks old! Man how time flies! What a joy he has been in our lives. Jared and I were talking tonight about how it seems like the time has flown by but it also feels like being in the hospital was forever ago. Tomorrow we go for Sam's first pictures. I'm so excited....we got a gift certificate to a photographer as a shower gift (best idea EVER!) and we're planning on using it all up! We probably never would have been able to do this had it not been for the gift certificate. I'll post the website whenever the proofs are available and certainly post pics when we get them. For now, we just have the homemade pics I did the other night when Sam was awake for a little while. He still sleeps a lot so the times when he is awake, we try to make the most of it. We read Bible stories, Dr. Seuss, and go for walks. I don't know how Sam sleeps through the bumpy walks, but he does. Tonight we went to the park for a walk. The mosquitos are really bad at our house so we had to go to the park. It was nice to get out and actually experience the seasons starting to change. I hadn't been outside in almost a week I think. Anyway, things are starting to get back to normal. I love being able to be home with Sam and love on him.

P.S. Sorry all the posts have been of Sam, but that's our life now. And I love it.

~Elizabeth

Our first trip to "the tree house"

Sam and his cousin Jake. Jake informed me today that Sam is his new baby cousin. Seriously, our nieces and nephews (on both sides) are the cutest kids in the world...besides Sam of course!

The "hotel" deer stand Jared and my brother in law Chris built. Roomy enough for children to hunt in. Not that Sam will be ready quite yet.

Sam loved this little portable pen? I don't really know what it's called, but it was great. There's a net you can zip up to keep the mosquitos out too.

This past weekend we managed to sneak away and go to "PawPaw's tree house" as my nieces and nephews call it. We really went to the deer lease so I could visit and Jared and my brother in law could do some work to get ready for deer season. I just can't wait for it to cool off and if we happen to kill a deer in the process I would be okay with that too. Obviously I'm not a die hard hunter girl...who would have thought. I do love drinking coffee with my dad while we anxiously anticipate the arrival of all the other die hard hunters. Getting up early and freezing my tail off only comes once a year and that is the day after Thanksgiving shopping trip with my mother in law....not hunting. Anyway, I thought I would post some pics of the eventful day. Sam did GREAT! He slept most of the time, but apparently that's normal and we should thank God for that everyday...we do by the way.

We're enjoying Sam soooo much. He's starting to stay awake a little longer and his little personality is already starting to take shape. He really is a great kid. He doesn't really fuss unless he's hungry, and he already melts my heart with his smile. He definately has me wrapped around his little finger...already.

~Elizabeth

The best thing in the world

The best thing in the whole world is holding Sam and watching his little smile come across his face as he dreams. He's starting to stay awake a little longer now and he's starting to smile. I love looking into his eyes and just talking to him. He's such a happy baby and I love spending every minute with him. It's crazy how the time has already flown by. Thursday Sam will be two weeks old...what did we do before he came along? I certainly love staying home and loving on him. What an amazing gift God has given us. Hopefully I'll be able to catch his smile on camera soon. He's such a cutie. I tell him he's the cutest boy in the whole world. I'm kinda bias I guess.

~Elizabeth

Parenthood

Remember that movie? I love that movie. And remember the scene where the kid is sick and throws up all over Steve Martin? Classic. And funny...and oh so true.

Yesterday was my first day to go back to the office since Sam was born. We slept a little late, I took my time getting ready, helped Liz, ironed my clothes, got dressed, put on my last clean pair of jeans. I was about to put on my socks when Liz asked if I'd change Sam one more time before I left. Sure. I throw him up on the changing table- I'm getting pretty good at this diapering thing. I put him on the table, take off the old one, clean him up, and then like a tiny little garden fountain, things come to life and Sam pees all over himself. I managed to avoid being hit, but my boy was covered up. What do I do? He's wet, so I pick him up and kinda shake him off. Just up and down a few times to shake off the excess. To the bathroom we go. We've got this little foam mat that you can lay in the bottom of the tub, so I put him on that, get a washcloth and some soap, and clean him up. Top to bottom, head to toe, he's clean as a whistle. I grab a towel, wrap him up, pick him up, he's feeling good, I'm feeling good- then he poops.

Now at this point, let me point out that baby poop is not at all like grown up poop. It's not like he did it, and it rolled out of the towel and onto the floor, and we just picked it up with a paper towel. This stuff is liquid. No solidity to it. And when it came out of the towel, it ran down my thigh, all over my foot, and onto the bathroom floor.

..........of course.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gotten dressed so early. Or maybe I should have changed my clothes before I changed him. But here's what I'm learning. There's something in me that wants to make sure he's taken care of. It's this weird fatherly thing where I care less about my jeans than about him being cleaned up. I want to make sure he's fed, dressed, warm, satisfied, happy with life. And the louder he cries, the more I want to hold him.

I'm also learning that this is exactly how God feels about us. 1 John 3:1 says, "How great is the Father's love for us that we should be called His children." We're His children. He's our Daddy. He doesn't mind the mess we're in, He just wants to get us out of it. And the louder we cry, the more he wants to hold us. He'll never abandon us and say, "Ugh...come back when you've cleaned yourself up." He loves us just where we are, and He wants to take care of us. He wants to clean us up, make sure we're full and content. He wants to bless us, and when things are going wrong, He wants to hold us and say, "What can I do?"

This week I've caught a glimpse of how much God really loves us. As much as I love my little boy, God loves me infinitely times more. It's unfathomable. I can not wrap my head around His love for me, but I am so thankful for it.

Be blessed today,

Jared

Our new little man! :)

I've wanted to update the blog for a while now, but it's just been crazy around here these days! We're adjusting to life with a baby and Jared is getting back to work, so our life is starting to get on a schedule of somesort. First off...I have to brag, then I'll get to the heart of all of this motherhood stuff (without bursting into tears of emotion hopefully). Our little man came into this world weighing a whopping 9 lbs. 13 oz! Boy am I glad we chose the c-section or what!? By the time we left the hospital he dropped to 9 lbs. even, but his jaundice levels were elevated. We had to get his heel pricked on Monday to see if his levels were going up or down and unfortunately they had gone up from a 13 to a 16. Two days later we had to go to Beaumont for a weight check with the pediatrician and he had gone back up to 9 lbs. 12 oz. (woo hoo!), but his jaundice levels had gone up again. This time they sent us home with a billi blanket for Sam to sleep on and pretty much spend most of his days on. It is supposed to get some of that jaundice out (you'll have to ask Jared all about the info...he's been googling A LOT since Sam's arrival home). As of yesterday, when we had to get his heel pricked for the 4th time, it was starting to go down. Thank you Lord! Sam is doing great...he is such a good baby. He's a good sleeper and usually wakes up every 4 hours to eat. And boy can he eat! We feel so very blessed to have such an amazing gift from the Lord.

Yesterday, Jared went to his weekly "staff" meeting at the local Mexican food restaurant and Sam and I just got to spend some mommy son time together. I had some praise and worship music playing and I just sat there with my little man and sang to him. There was this song that came on and I couldn't remember the title to tell Jared, but when it came on I burst into tears holding my little boy in my arms. The basic message was if I could tell you anything it would be to never lose hope in the Lord b/c He's got great plans for you. It was by a group called Streetside Prophets maybe? If you know what song it is please let me know b/c it's been driving me crazy! I never knew it was possible to love someone so much so quickly. Even in the craziness of getting back into the swing of real life when bodily fluids leak and spray, I still love our little man. I can't help feeling so undeserving of such an amazing gift. I find myself asking God, "What could I have possibly done that was good enough for you to give him to me?" The answer is nothing. God is so good. I am full of emotions of joy and gratitude all at the same time. I never quite expected all of that so soon. I knew I would love Sam and have prayed for him since we found out we were pregnant, but now that he's here its....just amazing. That sounds so cliche but its the only word that can quite describe motherhood. We are so blessed with such a wonderful little family. Sam is starting to smile...in his sleep...but it is sooo cute! I can't wait to grow with him. As he learns, Jared and I are learning too. Its a great adventure that's for sure. I just wanted to update everyone on Sam's homecoming. He's doing great. We're loving him and I think he's loving us too! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to get adjusted. Jared goes back to work Sunday officially and it will be just Sam and I at home until I go back to school.
On another note, in all the emotions I've been feeling joy and gratitude overwhelms me because of three very special people. Jessica, Leslie, and Alexa. You have given me a peace about staying home and not starting school that cannot be thanked enough. I can't even begin to imagine all the things you're doing at school to help make the transition easiest for my students. There are things you're doing that I don't even know about. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! God has certainly blessed me with amazing friends. He is soooo good.

~Elizabeth

Samuel Joseph Hollier

He arrived at 1:18 this afternoon. 9 lbs, 13 oz, 20 inches- and amazing...

More pictures will come soon, but now it's late, I'm exhausted. Liz and Sam are both asleep, and I'm gonna join them. It's amazing that he's here. We've been planning and waiting and talking...now he's here. Say a prayer for him and we'll update some more through the weekend. If you're reading this, we love you and are thankful for your prayers and friendship.

-Jared

The Big Day!

This Thursday at 1:00 Samuel Joseph Hollier is expected to make his big debut into our world! I can't even begin to tell you the whirlwind of emotions I'm feeling at this very moment. The fact that there is a day and a time attached is a little crazy to think about, but we are so excited! Everyone keeps asking us, "Are you ready?"....I want to say are you crazy?! Who can be ready for this baby who is going to come in and change your life completely in ways that you don't even know about yet. So I simply say, "We are as ready as we can be." We've read the books, talked with each other, talked with other people, prayed about it (A LOT!)...we've done everything possible to prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, but there is no way that we could know the depth of the change we are going to feel. When I think about how I'll feel when the doctor first puts Sam into my arms, I just about lose it emotionally! I know it's going to be an amazing ride that we are going to learn sooo much through. I can't wait. I'm so excited to actually see Sam face to face...not feel him inside me or see him on a tv screen, but actually see him, touch him, kiss his chubby cheeks (yes we have already seen those 3d), get to know his little personality, teach him about the ways of the Lord...all the things that parents do for their little ones.

Just yesterday I was telling Jared about the dream I had...again pregnancy brings about the weird dreams. Anyway, my dream was that Sam (who was like 7 or 8 years old) and I were sitting at the kitchen table and I was talking to him about how we treat other people when they are ugly to us or to people we love. I was still thinking about this past Sunday and how we would have to explain things if our son had been a part of the whole night. Anyway, I was explaining that Jesus taught to love and have compassion. Then Sam asked what compassion was, so we continued talking about compassion and why do we need to have compassion on people just like Jesus did. It was really an amazing life lesson I was teaching my son here! It made me excited for the times when I will have teachable moments to teach my son about how the Lord wants us to live. It's so different from the world, and from what is natural to us..to me. My first reaction is not to love and forgive....it's to take offense and defend my man (or whoever is getting hurt), but that's not what God tells us to do. He tells us to be sssslllllooooowww to anger. I'm still working on that.

I'm praying that through all of life's changes, especially Sam's arrival that the Lord would use this little life to teach us life lessons just like we want to teach him. He has so much to teach us, and we have so much to teach him. Truly a life changing, growing process.

~Elizabeth

Feeling Lumpy

When I first started talking to people about being in full time ministry, I was told on more than one occasion- "If you can do anything else and be happy, do it instead." I've been warned time and time again that it's not a business for the faint hearted, thin skinned, easily offended. I'm learning how true that is.

The thing about being a pastor is that when it's good, it's really, really good. I get to be on the frontlines of life change. I see it happening firsthand. I get to officiate weddings, and be a part of those couples' special day. I get to baptize children who have trusted Jesus to save them. I get to talk to men every day who are figuring out that Christian doesn't equal wimp, and are choosing to love the Lord and their families better. I get to walk beside people who are choosing to love Jesus, and we're figuring out together how that plays out in life everyday. What does it mean to love Jesus at home? At work? When I'm grocery shopping? When I'm out to eat? When I'm playing with my kids? It is an incredible honor to walk with those people.

Unfortunately, I'm also on the frontlines for the not-so-good. And when it's bad, it can be really, really bad. This weekend, I experienced some of the bad. I felt attacked. I felt let down. I was angry, discouraged, disappointed, hurt. I had thoughts of typing up a letter of resignation, of just quitting and throwing in the towel. But all day long, my Father has comforted me. Just today he spoke to me through words of kindness from friends, a song on the radio that said, "It's all yours, God, everything is yours," a blog post from my wife (who is seriously one of the wisest, most Godly women I know- I married way over my head), a sermon I read online, a phone call from a pastor/mentor...It's just been all day. He's spent the whole day covering me with reassurance. Reminding me that He's still God, and He's still in control of things. That He knows my hurts and disappointments, and will walk with me through them.

I don't expect God to remove my frustrations or hurts. I think instead He wants to use them to shape me, to make me something better. In Job 2, after Job has lost all of his livestock, children, and health, his wife says, "Why don't you just curse God and die?", and Job replies, "You're talking crazy. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?"

In Jeremiah 18, God sends Jeremiah to a potter's house to watch him make a pot. God tells Jeremiah that His people are like clay in the hands of a potter. Have you ever seen someone throw clay on a wheel? They throw it, pound it, poke it, cut it, shave it, squeeze it, shape it- and if it gets wobbly, they'll wad it up, throw it down again and start over in order to get what they want out of that lump of clay.

Psalm 66:8-12 "Praise our God, o peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For You, o God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads. We went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance."

What I'm saying is this- this weekend was tough. I'm not over it. I'm still upset, and get mad talking about it or thinking about it. But I know God has a plan. He is shaping me, poking me, carving me, refining me. He will use this to make me a better pastor, Christian, husband, daddy, a better instrument for His kingdom. And I also know that the people that hurt me, the ones I'm upset with, the ones I'm mad at- Jesus died for them. God loves them deeply, and I should, too. Even when they're unlovable, my responsibility is to love them, take care of them, encourage them, and serve them. Jesus washed Judas' feet, too.

Ugh...feeling like a lump of clay tonight...
-Jared

Insomnia

It is almost midnight and I am still awake. For those of you who are night owls this is no big deal, but I am not a night owl. I like to go to bed early and sleep late. I know those days are about to be long gone for a while, but still I like my sleep. I've been up praying for Jared, our church, Sam, our doctor's appointment, c-sections...you name it. I suppose I have a lot on my mind lately. I have this running to do list in my mind, and it keeps growing by the day. Unfortunately, my husband can't read my mind and know what's all on my list. I wish he could. It would save me a lot of "Hey babe. Will you do me a favor?" I'm sure Jared is getting really tired of hearing that. He's the best though. Even when I get frustrated b/c I want him to magically know what needs to be done and do it, he still understands (or at least tries to) that my brain is operating on overdrive (literally I have a running list on every surface of our house and my purse it seems). The neat thing is that God knows everything that's running through my brain. He knows my deepest darkest fears and my deepest darkest hurts. I'm so thankful that we have a God that is soooo big that with one tilt in a different direction and our world would be history, yet He's not too big that He doesn't care about our each and every need. How cool is that! It's been a long day. One that's been tough for us at the Hollier household, but I'm finding more and more comfort in the fact that God knows our hearts. He knows our hurts. He knows it all...I'm praying that I would find rest and peace in that fact. I know I'm not the only one that's had a rough day, week, month, year. Sadly this world is filled with hurting people. Our own church has hurting people. I pray that whoever you are, wherever you are in your life, you would find comfort in a God who knows you and loves you. He desires to take your heart and make it more like His. All you have to do is give it to Him.

Thank you Lord for keeping me awake...even though I wasn't happy about it at first. Through the insomnia you have once again spoken to my heart. Sorry for being stubborn and not listening at first. You are truly good all the time.

~Elizabeth

Sunday Morning at Home

Yesterday I think I must have overworked myself b/c all last night and well into the morning I have felt horrible! My back is killing me and my stomach hurts. I feel like I'm in school all over again, staying home and doing nothing! It's weird not being at church. I told Jared this morning that this was the last Sunday that would be just the two of us. Next week, as crazy as it is to think of, we'll be with a baby...either in the hospital or at home. One way or another, things are about to change for our little family. Yesterday we had our friends, The Whites, over for dinner. They helped us get some work finished on the house and Bridgette hung shelves up in Sam's room. Its really started to come together, and get really small really quick! When I think about this past weekend I can't help but feel blessed my all the great friends we have made since we've moved to Jasper. God has certainly filled our lives with amazing, Godly people. I don't know what I would do without my group of close friends. There is no doubt in my mind that if I ever needed prayer, encouragement, advice, whatever...that my best friends would be there. There are a lot of people who don't have that in their lives. They have friends but when times of trouble come, they don't necessarily offer the best advice and show themselves as wise friends. I'm so thankful to have wise people in m life. Not just my friends, but my family too. I joke about my family sometimes, b/c we aren't the most...."normal". People think b/c I'm a pastor's wife that my family must be perfect, but we're far from it...and I think it's safe to say that we would all admit that. But I wouldn't trade anyone in my family for the world. We've been going through the book "The Principle of the Path" by Andy Stanley in Sunday School and it has been great. In his book, Andy challenges us, the reader, to stop and think about the decisions you make and decide what path is that going to lead to. Be honest with yourself. Are you choosing happy now or happy later? This principle was established long ago in my house growing up. I tease my dad on one of his favorite sayings: "It's all about supply and demand,Liz." , but there are extremely strong, core values that my dad taught me growing up that I will never forget. Happy now vs. happy later was one of them. Don't ever spend what you don't have. Save for a rainy day. Although at the time, it didn't make sense and seemed redundant, I'm so thankful for the wisdom my parents instilled in me. So much wisdom seems common. I can look at an outside situation and see the "didn't you see that coming?" Not everyone's parents taught them what mine did. As I think about what I've been learning through the book and with Sam coming soon my heart in heavy with all the things I want to teach Sam. I want to teach him to be wise concerning the things of this world and the things eternal. I don't ever want him to get wrapped up in all the "frill" that this world seems to offer. Those things don't last. A prayer that I read and have since been praying for our family goes like this: Lord, help us to see trouble coming. Give us the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to actually do it. I encourage you to pray that same prayer.



I'm still thinking about my parents...I have two sets. :) One thing I learned from each and every one of them is this. Time doesn't matter. Whether you're putting your head in their lap for a head rub and just talking, time doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what else you have to do or how your day went. If you give your children your time, that in turn gives them a sense of value. No matter what has gone on in my life...good or bad...I have never, EVER lost my sense of worth to my parents. No doubt, I'm sure I wasn't the easiest kid to be around at times. And I know I could be a brat too! I know, it's hard to believe, but I never once doubted their love for me. They didn't always have to say it, though they did and still do, it was what they did with the time spent with me that mattered most to me. I pray that I would do the same with Sam. That our time together would not be wasted, but that we would make the most out of every second. What an amazing privelege it is to be a parent. To think that you are who you are b/c of your parents, and that your kids will become who they are b/c of what you do....wow. I need a moment to take that all in.



Overall, I think I've had a good Sunday. Not typical, but nonetheless I think the Lord and I have had a good time visiting with each other. FYI: Another book I'm reading, even though I'm a little behind on the times, is The Shack. Now I'm not much of a reader you know, but it is a really great book. I highly recommend it to everyone...even if you're not a reader. My husband would be so proud, I just referred back to two books I'm reading at the same time! He is the reader of the family, but I'm getting there. Anyway, I guess that's all for now. I'll be sure and post an update after the doctor's appointment on Monday. That should give us some answers as to next weeks timeline of events. Until then, have a fabulous Sunday and be sure and make the most of the time you spend with your family and friends.



~Elizabeth

Updates Please!!!!

Last Wednesday we went to the doctor for our weekly check up and got some unexpected news. Not bad, just unexpected. The doctor checked everything out and told us that the baby's head felt "big". Once he said that, I started getting a little nervous. I mean this whole pregnancy I knew Sam was big. Every ultrasound we've ever gotten, which is like seven at this point, have all shown him to be "big" with "a big head"...whatever that means. So for the doctor to be the one to mention it this time, it made me stop and listen. We had to wait for about 15 minutes to get an ultrasound since this one wasn't scheduled, but it was really fine with me. The waiting room had cleared out since most everyone was going to lunch so it gave Jared and I a chance to kinda talk things through, whatever the possibilities might be. After a little while, the ultrasound tech came by and took us back to the room where I lie down and try to get as comfortable as I can at this point. She started looking around and taking the babies measurements...which were looking at about 40 weeks at this point. We asked her how much the baby weighed and she said....are you ready for this??? At 2 weeks before my due date Sam weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz.!!!! HOLY COW!!!! That's a big baby! Why was I so surprised to begin with??? I knew he'd be big. Jared and I were both big babies. The doctor told us that we would discuss the results from the ultrasound at our appointment on Monday, so I was very surprised when he called me that night. He was very concerned about the size of Sam and about how much he would weigh when we came back next week. So he gave us some facts and told us to talk it over and pray about it over the weekend. So...we're praying through what to do. To have a c-section isn't bad, it's just not what we "planned for". Which to say that out loud sounds kinda stupid. I mean the whole conception process is a miracle from God...completely ordained by Him. Why would I be so worried as to things not going according to my plans? Duh Elizabeth! Haven't you learned anything through spending time with the Lord these last 9 months! I'm a slow learner...what can I say? So on Monday we'll go back to the doctor and see what he has to say about our options and sometime next week we'll be bringing a baby home...one way or the other. That's crazy to think about. We just had our friends, the Williams, over for dinner. After dinner we all decided to run to Wal-Mart and buy a new Rock Band game for the Wii, then we played till midnight....we won't be doing that for a long time. I'm excited though. I can't imagine going to the hospital with Sam inside me, then he'll be here...right in front of me. I already feel a whirlwind of emotions just thinking about it. I'm so ready for it. Not ready like I've read all the books now I'm going to be an awesome parent, just ready...anxious....excited...a little impatient. :)

So for now, all we know is that some time next week we'll be having Sam...either by c-section or natural. Either way, next week is a big week. We'll update everyone after our doctor's appointment on Monday. Please keep us in your prayers as we get ready to welcome our little Sam into the world. I can't wait to meet him, and I can't wait for you in the blogger world to get to know him too....no matter where you might be in the world! More info to come,

~Elizabeth

Thankful

This weekend was one of those that really helped me realize just how blessed I am. Saturday, Liz had her fourth and final shower, this one at Peachtree. Uh...to say we got a lot of stuff would be an understatement, but- we got a lot of stuff. Clothes, gadgets, gift cards- lots and lots. We were talking afterward about how great it is to be part of a church family. It really is like family. We love and take care of each other- if you're reading this and don't have a church family, go find one. Right now. Life is just so much better with them around.

Yesterday, church was good. I preached fom Philippians 2, and talked about how Jesus chose to step down from heaven into this mess that we live in because he saw something down here worth saving. It's like when you were in high school, and there was the kid who threw away his retainer at lunch. Then while everybody else was in class, he's digging through bags of garbage, trying to find his retainer. Why? Because there's something valuable in there that's worth saving. And that's what Jesus did for us. (I literally woke up in the middle of the night last week when that illustration popped into my head. I was sound asleep, then BOOM. I woke up and that was on my mind. Thanks, Lord.)

Then, last night after church, we went to the home of Justin and Leslie Williams- formerly Leslie Rector, but they got married last weekend. (See previous post) We ate hot dogs and played Rock Band until midnight. It was just a fun weekend. Maybe I'm still "young and dumb," but I think sometimes people get too caught up in life. What I mean is, I think we make too much of the little inconveniences in life and forget to enjoy it sometimes. Most of the times I get mad or annoyed, it's over little stuff. And when I'm wasting my time being in a bad mood, I miss all the blessings God's sending my way. My wife, my home, my friends, the joy of the Lord, etc. I know it's Monday, but I'm having one of those days where I'm just thankful and seeing things with the proper perspective. Let the little things stay little, and enjoy the important things while you can.

Kiss your spouse and play a game today,
-Jared