Summer recap...so far

Our summer so far has been jam packed with fun.  In fact, this week has really been the first week we haven't had much going on.  By not much, I mean two out of town doctor's appointments, but really it's been a relaxing week.  So here goes our June recap:

Week 1: VBS AND swim lessons...back to back.  Talk about exhausting for all of us!  But Sam had a blast at both and we had a great turn out.  The best part is that 4 kids decided to accept Christ into their life!  Made all the exhaustion worth it for sure!
Week 2: Swim lessons continued...Sam LOVED them.  I think what he liked most was the sucker he would get every day after they were over, but nonetheless we are learning to swim which is the most important part.
Week 3:  My sister and her family came down from Colorado AND Jared was at youth camp.  So I spent the week at my mom's hanging out with them and getting to 1. love on my nephew and 2. get pampered by my sister.  We had a blast and I'm so looking forward to the next visit. :)
Week 4 (currently):  Monday Nate went for his 9 month check up (even though he turned 10 months on the 26th...).  He's doing great...pulling up on everything and cruising/climbing on everything!  He's way more rambunctious than Sam was at this age, but I guess he's got a big brother to look up to!  Today I had a check up with my RA doctor.  He decided to put me on some meds that should help with my flare ups.  Only thing is they're shots I have to give to myself once a week!  Yikes!!! I'm a little nervous about that, but it's the best thing for us since we're not ready to be done with our little family just yet. ;)

So...that's been our fun filled summer so far.... We're planning a little family vacation to the Houston/Galveston area in July and I can't tell you how excited I am about that!  I'm ready to get away just the four of us for some fun family time.

Now that our crazy June-ness is over, I've got lots of crafts I'm planning on working on too.  Some for school, some for the house, and some for Christmas...already!  I've got to get my craftiness going during the summer when I actually have time and energy bc once August hits...exhaustion sets back in again! :)

Hope you guys are all enjoying your summers...if anyone out here is still following me after so long!  Sorry...

Child Like Faith

  "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

The Lord reminded me of this truth in such a neat conversation the other day.  While driving to church, Sam and I had our usual conversation about the things we saw on the way there. "Did you see those cows?  What are they doing?  Who made those cows?" etc.  We started talking about the trees and how God made it rain that day so that the trees and grass and flowers would grow.  I told him that trees needed the sun and water to grow.  His simple reply was "Oh.  Okay."  

That was it.  There was not a hint of hesitation in his breath.  In his mind trees will always need water and sun not because a book told him but because his momma told him. If I said trees need candy to grow...he would have believed me.

This has been the case with several lessons so far.  I've talked about something and Sam has replied "Oh. Okay."  Never once does he ever say, "I don't think so, momma." or "Are you sure about that?" He believes with his entire heart, his whole being.


These recent conversations have reminded me of two things:
1.  That's how I'm supposed to trust God.  With total, complete, unwavering, unquestioned faith.  Because I know God loves me (like Sam knows we love him) and he wants the best for me, I can trust, without fear, that what God says is Truth.  Even if it doesn't make sense or it seems crazy, I should be able to say, "Oh. Okay, God."  I love how God is already using Sam to teach me more about Him.


2.  There is a huge responsibility that comes with this truth.  Because Sam trusts us with reckless abandonment, it's our job as parents to show him The Way.  I can't let someone do that for me.  I can't rely on his Sunday School teachers or a Christian dvd.  It's got to be us leading him in the right direction, because through his little eyes we're always going to lead him the right way.  We're momma and daddy.  And right now momma and daddy know best.  I know he won't always feel this way, but I'm praying that we'll continue to lead both our boys in the ways of the Lord.


I'm so thankful for moments like these where God completely speaks truth to me through one of my boys.  It's so amazing to think that as much as I love them...and I wish there were a bigger word than LOVE....God loves me WAY more than that!  And it's not just me.  It's you, too!

Update through pictures

 This kid is all boy!  He loves playing with planes, cars, trucks, and DIRT!  He's so imaginative and loves telling elaborate stories.  He's very interested in where airplanes live and is absolutely fascinated with them!

You also never know what you're going to get... Usually if a sentence begins with "Hey, you know what?" you're in for a giggle or two.  Some of my favorites recently have been

"Hey, you know what..."

God made the grass grow.

Jesus not on the cross.  He's in heaven with God.  Me in heaven too.

Those are the same match! (which means same color)

Airplanes live in the airport.

We took this picture on the train ride at the Lufkin Zoo (one of the highlights of our Spring Break)

I love this kid to pieces!  Every day he's learning something new, but he's very shy about it.  He doesn't like being put on the spot (like his momma), but I'll catch him saying something and it will blow my mind.  For the longest I thought he must be color blind because I would ask him what color something was and he would just say "I don't know".  Then out of nowhere he starts telling me all these colors.  He even told me Nate's newest mosquito bite was the same match (same color) as his bath crayon!  :)  Such a funny kid...and so much like his momma and his daddy in so many different ways!

 Nate is growing so fast and it seems like everyday he's learning something new too!  He's finally got teeth so we're all happier for that! He also got tubes put in his ears today so we're hoping that will help with his runny nose/chronic yuckiness too. He started holding his own bottle and starting to crawl!  It's so funny how he's more like his daddy and Sam is more like me.  Nate is definitely our laid back baby!

 This picture makes me giggle...they sure do love each other.  We took this at the zoo and the expression on Nate's face says it all.

 Checking out something gross I'm sure...

 The only matching shirt they own....I HAD to get a matching shirt picture, right????

I get this look a lot from him....It's like he's saying "Oh Mom...you're so silly"

 Such a happy baby...he will just sit around and watch Sam act crazy.  I mean who doesn't enjoy that hilarity?

 Big brother "helping" Nate crawl to his toys

 Again, with that handsome little look :)

Finally getting into gear!  Nate is fully "scooting" I guess you could say.  He will get up on all fours then lunge himself forward.  Repeat process until he reaches desired location.  It works for him and he's now all over the place.  When we leave him, he's somewhere else when we come back.

Nate- 5 months

I'm not even going to apologize this month for my lack of posting.  I'll just be honest and real with the few of you who actually read this thing anymore...I will post whenever I don't have school. :)  So pretty much stay tuned over Spring Break, Easter, Summer, & Christmas Break.  I can't believe Nate is almost 6 months!  I had to hurry up and do this post before it's time to turn around and do another one!  My how time sure flies.

Here's what this little man has been up to:

Wearing 6-9 month clothes
Size 3,sometimes 4, shoes (holy cow, I know!)
Size 3 diapers
Drooling like crazy, but still no teeth!
Sitting up with a boppy so Momma doesn't worry
Sleeping wonderfully until 7 am (unless he's sick)
Getting lots of sicknesses from brother
Scooting and/or rolling over and over to get places
Laughing out loud (it's the cutest thing)
Starting to have some favorite toys
Sucking on his thumb AND a blanket
Loving everyone!  Always smiles for family, friends, neighbors, whoever!  :)

Here's what this big boy has been up to:

Outgrowing all of his 2T clothes
Size 9 shoes
NO pull ups anymore (except at night)!!!! Can I get an AMEN!?!
All about being a big boy!  Nate is a baby, but he is a big boy
Such a helper! Everything is "Sure!"
A little ham like his Daddy...
Favorite sayings:
"Awesome!" (with two thumbs up of course)
"Sure!" (when asked to do something)
"Oh, sorry sorry" (you must repeat it twice)
"I'll be a good boy" (if he's gotten in trouble)
"I do it by myself, Momma" (makes me sad every time)
"I wanna read my Bible" (favorite stories are usually about Paul or Jacob & Rachel)
Loving preschool and learning so much!  He enjoys his friends and his teachers.  I'm always amazed at what he says.
Loves, loves, loves going to church and seeing Mrs. Kim and all his other church friends.  He's already learned where the candy is kept...those preacher's kids I tell ya.
Favorite books: His Bible, Goodnight You, Goodnight Moon, & still Five Silly Monkeys


Who would have thought my life would have been this crazy fun with these two little guys?  I'm so thankful that God has given me such an amazing blessing.  Jared is one heck of a guy and we get to live this life together raising these boys to love Jesus.  It's not easy, but I sure feel blessed to do it.

Nate- 4 months

I feel really bad that it's taken me this long to post!  Nate turned four months on the 26th of December and is closer to five months at this point!  Oh well...better late than never.

At 4 months...
Nate is in full teething mode...and WAS sleeping through the night, but not anymore. :(
Wearing size 3 diapers, size 3 shoes, and size 3-6 months clothes
Loving his oatmeal and baby food.  Not crazy about peas, but really who is???
Rolling over, scooting, and starting to sit up by himself though he prefers just rolling over onto his tummy.
Getting better about tummy time, but enjoys being in the exercauser  more
LOVES watching his brother do everything.  He just watches and grins.
Such a happy baby...always smiling.
Cutting teeth pretty bad so he's always got his fingers in his mouth...even more than normal.

Sam at 29 months...
LOVES talking and playing with his brother...his favorite things to say are: "Hey, Nate!" and "Here ya go!"
Know his name, momma's name, daddy's name, brother's name, what city he lives in, and the cities of all his grandparents, his birthday, what momma does (teacher), where momma works, what daddy does (preacher), and where daddy works.
Imagination is unbelievable right now...tonight we were playing outside and he was mixing up sticks and water in the fire pit and said he was making squirrel stew.  Then he chased all the squirrels yelling out them to eat his soup.
Loves reading his Bible stories every night.  He's a creature of habit just like his momma.  But he remembers everything from the stories we read so far, that kid NEVER forgets anything.
Favorite sayings: "Aw man!", "Um, I'm thinking...", and "Where?"  Most kids always ask why, nope not my kid.  He always asks "where?"
Loves going to church seeing his friends.

Lessons learned along the way

Let me just say this first...I love being a mommy.  I do.  It's the most rewarding experience ever, and I'm incredibly thankful that God has given us TWO amazing blessings.

BUT....since having children my insecurity level has skyrocketed!  Before I used to be insecure about my body or my hair or something like that, but nothing makes you more insecure than other mommies who have kids the same age as your own kids.  Why is that?  You hear it all the time that every kid is different and that they learn at their own pace, but why is it when your kid seems to be the one behind you freak out inside.  Am I doing enough?  I'm not spending enough time with them.  I should provide some crafty activity to help my child learn his stinking colors, right?  Why can't he get them...we've been doing colors for FOREVER!!!! And he's 28 months and still not using the potty.  Other kids are already totally potty trained. It must be because I work full time and have a crazy life.  We're never home, maybe that's it.  Okay, that's it!  I'm quitting my job and losing all socialization so that my child will finally learn his colors and pee in that stupid potty!!!!  (Obviously an exaggeration though I will admit to thinking these things)  And don't get me started on the second one.  I'm determined that he will have just as many pictures as Sam and he will be read to and talked to just as much as Sam did...even though I'm running ragged doing potty training business.  And the thoughts go on and on and on.


I know that people blog and post about their children because they're proud of their achievements.  I've even done that a time or two.  But sometimes I feel like it's just a mommy competition.  Almost like a prize that you're a great mom and that you can get your kid to read by age 2 because you're awesome and I'm not.  I'm human.  I'm exhausted.  I teach other people's children all day and when I come home, I want to love on my boys not be teacher to them, too.  Is that wrong?  Maybe.  I don't know.  I love teaching Sam...I just don't want to feel like I'm constantly quizzing and teaching him to make sure he's ABOVE where he needs to be because so and so's kid can do this. 

I'm being brutally honest, because that's how I feel.  There are days when I feel like a great mom.  Sam will say something or do something that is so sweet.  His prayers are about the sweetest things ever. And Nate is already doing things before Sam did, which makes me super proud that he's getting challenged even with a crazy brother running around keeping us busy. But then, I read someone's blog.  Their baby is potty trained and reading paragraphs.  Their 4 month old is already sitting up by themselves.  Maybe I should just blog and refuse to read others blogs, facebook, etc.

Is it just me or is this a "normal" mom struggle???  I'm praying DAILY that God would make me secure in HIM.  Not in my uncool hairstyle or my son who refuses to potty in the awesome potty chair we have for him or my 4 month old whose not sitting up yet or my awesome husband who is doing all our holiday baking while I recuperate from a bum toe.  I've always struggled with being insecure...since childhood.  I thought this would get better but apparently the struggles of a child (if not dealt with) only turn into the struggles of an adult.  And adult sized struggles can really get to you.


So here's to this momma becoming a less media involved, others focused momma and becoming a more God focused, family focused momma.  :)

You'll wake up one day and....

People used to tell me all the time when I was pregnant, "You'll wake up one day and you'll think you've grown over night." (FYI...totally true)  Or after I had Sam they said, "You'll wake up one day and all of a sudden they're grown."  Today that moment happened for me with Sam.  I've always known that time has and will fly by, but it seems like more and more each day the days are going by faster.  Yesterday I was making Sam a pb&j (his favorite) and I asked him to sit on his bottom at the table.  We don't have a booster seat anymore for him and he LOVES being able to climb onto the chair himself.  So I told him to sit down and he just looked at me and said why?  He's NEVER even muttered the word before.  All of a sudden, I realized we were entering a new territory.  So I explained to him that if he didn't sit on his bottom he might fall and hurt himself.  To which he then told me he would cry!  Later that day I was sitting with Nate in my lap and Sam wanted to climb up.  So here I was sitting with BOTH boys in my lap and all of a sudden Nate's little hand touched Sam's arm.  I thought it was so sweet and before I could soak in the moment Sam looked at Nate, removed his hand, and said "No Nate.  Stop."  Where did that come from?  All of a sudden, my little toddler is growing into a little boy and my baby is quickly rolling and scooting into a bigger baby. :(  People told me that with each child you have the time flies by faster.  I'm really starting to believe them!  I'm missing my boys so much right now!  I had planned on hanging out with them over the break but I had to have a minor procedure done to my toe and haven't been able to walk around much.  My mom kept the boys over the weekend and I thought that would be long enough for me to heal, but it wasn't.  So now my sister in law kept them today and my mother in law will keep them tomorrow.  Hopefully that will be long enough for me to get somewhat back to normal.  I miss them so bad!  I'm so thankful that they are both sweet, happy boys.  And I'm so thankful that we haven't had to do a spanking or time out on Sam in I can't remember how long!  Yay!  I'm thanking Jesus for that everyday!  Speaking of thanking Jesus, that's another thing Sam has started doing.  He thanks Jesus at meals and He prays at night now.  Kinda makes me sad, but proud at the same time.  It's always interesting to see who he thanks God for each night.  Nate has started rolling over now (way before Sam did) and it's funny to see him immediately roll over as soon as he lays on his back.  He even rolls over in bed when we put him on his wedge!  He has also started scooting.  I can leave the room and when I come back he's rolled over and scooted somewhere else! The first time he rolled over I was so excited and I ran to Sam and said, "Look!  Nate rolled over!"  Sam just walked over to him and rolled him back onto his back!  I laughed so hard!  Nate is such a happy baby!  He loves to talk and squeal with delight.  Most mornings that's how he wakes us up and talking or rather yelling.  He is such a blessing to this family and I already can't imagine what our little family would be like without him.  I'm extremely blessed by my God and need to stop and thank Him more for what He does for me.  I'm praying that sometime during this busy season you would stop and thank God for what He's done for you.  He's blessed each and every one of us so much.