Adam: 1 YEAR!

Well, I must have accidentally blinked because suddenly my littlest baby is already a year old! I realize I haven't properly documented his first year on here. Because the reality is -- life with 2 kiddos, working full time, being involved with church, and trying to find some time for quality time with Scott, cleaning the bathrooms, and sleeping as much as possible (which isn't always very much!)...is just a little consuming!

Little Adam -- my sweet, sweet baby-baby -- it does not mean that I love you any less. What is lacking here on the blog was hopefully justified by real-life snuggles, stories, songs, walks, and meals.

Dear Littlest,

Stay sweet, stay calm but curious, stay easy-going, and never stop dancing!! You may be quiet, but your eyes speak volumes -- I can tell when you're studying something, when you're frustrated, when you're excited, and when you are bursting with pure love. Those big, beautiful eyes! You have much more hair than your brother did at this age, which I love to lightly stroke while we're snuggling and laugh when I see it blowing in the breeze when you go for runs with Daddy. I know how much you love Grayson, and how you long to play with him! I appreciate your resilience when he's just a little too rough. And it melts my heart when you crawl to him and lay your head on him. I hope you will always be close friends, even if you both get a little hurt in the process sometimes! Thank you for rounding out our family and filling my heart! Thank you for willingly joining us for adventures and errands alike. And I know it's hard when things don't go the way you want them to. I understand your heartbreaking cry. Because it really does hurt when we don't get our way, when we lose something, when it's time to move on from something we love. Later in life you learn to control those big feelings, but sometimes I wonder if we all wouldn't benefit from crying big sloppy tears more often. So, go on. Share your feelings with me. I won't always be able to fix it, but I will always love you through it! Keep dancing and lifting your hands when the music moves you. Never let self-doubt get in the way of that natural response. I have a feeling you have a gift that involves music -- singing, dancing, or creating music in some way. I can't wait to see how that plays out! And my sweet, sweet baby, whatever you do, never forget that you are deeply loved! By me, by Daddy, by Grayson, by so many others in our family, and most importantly, by God. You are treasured. You are flawed but always loved. And nothing you can say or do will ever change that. 

Happy first birthday! 

Love, 
Mommy

December 2016

Christmas morning - 2016

January 2017

January 2017

January 2017

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2017

January 2017

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2017 - enjoying a Frosty

January 2017 - Oklahoma

January 2017 - first ride in an airplane! Going to Oklahoma!

Feb. 2017 - Opening Valentine's gift from Granna

9 month checkup!

First bath with Grayson

March 2017 - Gibb's Gardens

April 2017

April 2017

April 2017

April 2017

Easter 2017

Easter 2017

April 2017

April 2017

See? LOVES food!

Now, for the milestones/updates!

Mad Skills:

+ Crawling, pulling up, and cruising while holding onto furniture. He hasn't taken any independent steps yet, and won't stay up on his feet when I try to hold his hands, but I'm sure all that is just around the corner!

+ Babbling in more sentence-like sounds. Not saying many actual words yet. He can say "mama" and "dada" and "no-no." He tries to say things like "cah" (cat), "daw" (dog), "duh" (duck).

+ High-fives

+ Pointing

+ Eating! He loves food!

+ Going for runs with Daddy & Grayson

Favorites:

+ Movie: Moana

+ Song: "Hair Up" from Trolls

+ TV Show: Daniel Tiger

+ Book: Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham (according to school. We mostly read library books at home, so we don't keep them longer than a week or two.)

+ Toys: Sesame Street kitchen, play structure he can climb at school, stuffed Nala that he likes to hold onto in the car. 

+ Foods: black beans, banana oat pancakes, mandarin oranges, spaghetti, peaches, goldfish crackers, pouches, most foods that are given to him!

Loves:

+ Chasing the cats, playing with Grayson, snuggling, climbing, DANCING, eating, taking baths and playing in the water. He will happily let you pour water on his head! Mommy and Daddy, sleeping in our bed, his paci, his banana toothbrush, looking out the windows, being outside, going for walks.

Dislikes:

+ getting strapped into car seat, getting diaper or clothes changed, going to bed, being redirected when he's getting into something he shouldn't, having his face and hands cleaned.

The Cause of Ruin

This morning, after turning off my alarm and telling myself I was getting up, I promptly snuggled back in with the warm little body of 10 month old Adam and fell back asleep for another 10 minutes. Oops! I blame the time change. And general sleep deprivation.

So, running 10 minutes behind on my morning routine meant a quicker version of Bible study. I chose Proverbs because they are like little truth nuggets that you can chew on all day long, and I chose chapter 19 at complete random.

There were so many delectable nuggets in that chapter that I felt like I couldn't savor them enough! Do you ever feel that way about the Word? I mean, I should always feel that way, but let's be real.

I could write a post about nearly any verse from the chapter, but Prov 19:3 resonated with me the most. "A person's own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord."

Okay so first of all, I see this almost every day with college students. Not necessarily raging against the Lord, but blaming someone else for the consequences of their own mistakes. Just this morning I was met with an email from a student, demanding a refund for a class because he was displeased with his grade -- blaming the professor. Insert my eye roll here.

But I think on a larger scale we all do this. How many times has something gone wrong or not the way we had planned and we think WHY God?! How many times have we felt angry with God or abandoned by God for the results of our own mistakes? I'm not saying we deserve every bad thing that happens to us. Some things are just a result of a fallen world, where "we," as in creation itself, are experiencing the results of original sin. That can be hard to swallow because listen, I didn't tell Adam to eat that dang apple.

But are we maybe misplacing some blame onto God when we suffer? Are we feeling abandoned when we haven't done a thing to connect with God anyway? I mean, what do we expect? Actually, I would argue we get a LOT more than we deserve. God continues to reach out to us, even when we continually push him away or are indifferent to him. God continues to care for us, even when we are not thankful for all the many blessings we have...for our very BREATH!

So, next time you feel like lashing out, or the next time you find yourself frustrated with God... take a minute. Is God really to blame for your circumstances? Are you focusing on the negative when there is a lot of positive you could be thanking him for instead? Is there a lesson in this that maybe God is trying to teach you? Don't let your heart rage against the Lord when the cause of your ruin is your own folly.

Pray to Him instead. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for help. Ask for strength and peace. And thank Him for all the undeserving goodness in your life.

And I'll try to do the same. Even when I'm sleep deprived. :)

Sermon Notes - 1.15.17

I'm a note taker at church, but sometimes my mind starts to wander and I lose interest. I think about what I'm going to do for the rest of the day. What we're making for dinner that night. How little sleep I got the night before. And suddenly I'm behind on my notes and have totally missed the point of the message. This past Sunday, I tried something new. Instead of writing standard notes, I wrote them in a sort of poem. Mostly rhyming couplets, which is kind of my thing, but my scheme wasn't really consistent. You would think it would be difficult to focus while trying to come up with a poetic way to jot down the points, but I actually found myself much more engaged with the message. I felt like the Spirit was moving through me as I wrote. I don't know if I'll always take notes like this, but it was pretty awesome! And I thought I would share with you all! These are the notes on Brandon Williams' message "Everyday Christian: Week 2" from Jan.15, 2017.


These are not edited or polished. This is how I wrote it in church.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Revelation - transformation - declaration.
Grace, thanks, service, praise.

Tired and tarnished, overworked
Trying to love with a heart that's broke.
Shiny finish over rust and sin,
through the struggles of life - so easily chipped.

Holiness does not exist
without the holiness of Him.
Only with God's love can our love be true.
The Holy Spirit who makes us new.

My old habits lie in wait.
So easy to return, retreat, or run--
but face The Cross and see the way.

One step at a time on that narrow path,
lifted up by He who took on God's wrath.

Let's lift and raise our hands and our friends
with reverent fear and love of Him.
Abba Father, good and kind
will also judge my heart and mind.

Jesus stands and holds my hand.

Gives His righteousness, perfection
and so this is my revelation.

Clean to unclean. Unclean to clean.
This the work Jesus did for me.
So, become a fisher of men.
Jesus tosses me, the net.

Declare the work of what's been done
by Christ the Lord, the Holy One.

Our sin and filth painfully revealed,
a necessary step to being healed.
This healing, transforming--such high a cost
Jesus slain to save the lost.

This Perfect Lamb was not surprised
to have to die for you and I.
This was the plan from the very start.
We were not an afterthought.

Baffled, doubtful, it's hard to believe,
but the resurrection is the key.
Peter, Paul, such sinful men,
then chose to die to honor Him?
And then there's James--also to Mary was born,
writes parts of the Bible, calls Jesus his Lord.

So many reasons it must be true--
strengthens this life that's been given anew.
My heart has been changed, my salvation secured
because of the death that He has endured.

But he rose again, resurrected, Alive.
And so such is true for both you and I.